Pitufa.at

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• Going exploring!

  The weather looks settled enough, so we’re sailing to some little islands north of the Lau group. Looking at sat images we hope for some pristine nature, but we’re also worried that we may find uninhabited islands that get exploited by neighbouring islands and are therefore in a bad state. We’re hoping for the best and will keep you posted! From now on you’ll see… Continue reading »

• Forest fires

  In so many places on earth forests are burned down to make space for cattle, agriculture, etc. Here on Vanua Balavu every second hill features only blackened tree stumps, the soil is getting washed away and erosion is clearly visible. We have talked to people and apparently there’s no plan behind the fires that are devastating the island–just carelessness and stupidity. We talked to the… Continue reading »

• New Pitufino hardware model

  We’d like to proudly announce Pitufino’s new hardware model! Besides a few smaller changes (like the addition of a reset button or a status LED), the new model V1.1 features an alarm buzzer. This brings the advantage that mobile devices can go into a sleep mode or offline and alarms are still reliably raised. This further enables Pitufino to be used as a repeater (or… Continue reading »

• Noisy neighbourhood

  Our anchorage here on the East side of Vanua Balavu is very calm and protected from the current NW winds, but still we’re woken up at each morning at 5–it’s the noisy neighbours returning from their foraging in the forest. A big colony of fruitbats (flying foxes) live on the island next to us! They spend their days hanging upside down and supposedly resting, but… Continue reading »

• grib files

  Whenever we’re underway and the weather’s not acting according to the forecast, I complain about the grib files… So here’s what they look like: this is today’s American GFS model of the SW Pacific. While NZ is squashed between two nasty weather systems, Fiji (top middle) is having a little branch of the convergence zone that gives us oppressively hot and humid weather with thunderstorms… Continue reading »

• Fruit and veg!

  Even though Vanua Balavu has a weekly flight, the shops only have basic supplies and there is no local veg market. We asked around and got plenty of fresh veg and fruit from friendly women here! Today we’ll make preserves

• Interview on the radio

  We met with Ursula Burkert for an interview in August and on Sunday it will be on air on Ö1, the Austrian station for classical music, news and culture Here’s the link!

• Tabu – protected taboo areas

  After the success we had in Matuku persuading the chiefs and headmen to install protected areas (Tabu) around the island to protect the reefs from overfishing and to ensure a sustainable use of the resources, we tackled the same issue here in Fulanga. The problem’s the same like everywhere in Fiji (and the rest of the Pacific islands and probably elsewhere): the islands were able… Continue reading »

• No reef no fish, no fish no reef

  When corals die, we generally think of pollution and global warming as the culprits. But overfishing is also an important factor as weakened reefs need herbivore fish to clean the dead bits, so the coral can recover and regrow. The reefs in Fiji have mostly still beautiful coral, but overfishing is a big problem, especially near densely populated areas. Here in Matuku the people are… Continue reading »

• Kava

  The Fijians drink the ground up root of Kava like we drink beer, just as a social thing in the evening. Kava used to be highly ritualised and mainly for men, but nowadays it’s served casually among friends or family. We were anchored in Vaga Bay on the West side of Beqa Island, when our shore neighbour Albert (Pati) stopped by and invited us for… Continue reading »

• Article on Fishing and Canning in Boating NZ

  Birgit Hackl, Christian Feldbauer: Can it! Fishing and Canning, Boating New Zealand, Sept. 2022, p. 104–105. Read the online version of this article.

• Checking out cyclone holes

  Warm weather, calm seas–summer in the South Pacific is the best time for cruising. Unfortunately it’s also the cyclone season, so most yachts are already leaving westwards, but we have decided to stay. Instead of leaving the boat in a cyclone pit or marina, we are checking out different, protected anchorages, so we’ll know where to run and hide when a cyclone is approaching. It’s… Continue reading »

• Read our article on our sail wardrobe online at All At Sea

  Birgit Hackl, Christian Feldbauer: How many Sails does a Cruising Yacht need?, All At Sea Caribbean, August 2022, p. 44–50. Read the online version of this article or download the whole magazine for free.

• Rubbish and pollution

  When we were out on the little island Matuku, we asked what they did with their rubbish. The headman explained that they know that burning rubbish causes pollution, so they are filling up sinkholes instead. They would like to reduce their amount of rubbish by recycling, but don’t know how to achieve that. I therefore promised to look into options on Viti Levu, the main… Continue reading »

• Interview on LifeRadio (in German ;-))

  When we were in Austria, we did some PR for our books and on October 5 one of those interviews will be broadcast. On LifeRadio in Upper Austria at 5.45 UTC+2 at 7.45 UTC+2 and sometime in the afternoon. Here’s the link to the station