Emily Grace: Bligh waters and Nananu-i-Cake

We spent a peaceful night anchored off Nabouwalu on the southwestern corner of Vanua Levu resting up for our voyage across Bligh waters. This reef strewn area of water was named after Captain William Bligh, the famous Captain Bligh of The Bounty.

The mutiny on the Bounty, you may recall, was a mutiny that occurred aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty on 28 April 1789, and has been commemorated by several books, films, and popular songs. The mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian against the commanding officer, William Bligh. Bligh was put to sea in a small launch with some of his loyal men and navigated through these waters as he headed west. A model of the launch is shown in the picture below:

On this voyage, the men in the launch became the first Europeans to ever sail through the Fiji islands. Bligh marked all the islands they passed, trying to chart them and give their positions as best he could; so well did he succeed that his chart of "Bligh Islands," as he called them, could be used for navigation today.

Bligh had heard (correctly) from some Tongans that the Fijians were cannibals, so he did not dare to land on any of the lush, inviting islands. On one occasion, however, the launch was pursued by Fijians in fast sailing canoes and almost overtaken.

There was little talk about mutiny aboard Emily Grace as we were blessed with uncharacteristically calm seas, and puffy white, rain-free clouds for our 6 hour voyage. We did find the reefs and passage into Nananu-i-ra not quite right, but we had planned our arrival around mid-day and navigating through the reefs was relatively easy. The Admiral climbs on the upper pilothouse roof where she can see even better and screams loving instructions to the Captain. We picked our way along the western edge of Nananu-i-ra and found a secluded white sand beach on Nananu-i-Cake where we dropped the hook. Each night at dusk we were treated to Flying Foxes returning to roost in the mangroves nearby.

We lowered the dingy and went over to a nearby resort that was under construction to ask the workers for directions to the appropriate village to ask permission to enjoy the waters. The resort will be called the Dolphin resort when it opens next month. We were told that for a mere $16,000 Fiji per night, it can be yours. They made some phone calls and were guided by their launch to the town dock and a waiting taxi cab. A short 5-minute drive and we entered the Nikorokula village and were met by Waisake, the Turaga-ni-Koro or Mayor of the village.