We left our boat Stella Maris in Vuda Point Marina in Fiji for the 2011 cyclone season. Mr Bharros took care of the boat. He hangs out at the Marina every day and they know him well, Tony can help with locating him.

We were in the keel pit, on the tire. We came back to the boat and it was clean and in good condition and we were quite happy with Mr Bharros’ services.

He opened the boat every day and took care of the interior. As far as we know nothing was missing, and we hardly had any mould inside the boat (they had an extremely wet season).

He is a nice old guy. Overall Vuda point marina was very helpful, particularly Tony, who was very prompt to answer any questions via e-mail.

The only thing is that they just changed their price, making their services more expensive.

Virginia Connor

SY Stella Maris

The cruisers who sent in the following report have asked to remain anonymous

Information for fellow sailors of changes at Vuda Point Marina.

Vuda Point in Viti Levu, Fiji, is a very useful Anti-Cyclone Marina with hardstanding, marina berths, and dug out cyclone holes, where many Insurance companies will insure yachts throughout the cyclone season. It is a very attractive marina with two contractors, a chandlery, shop, cafe and sea view restaurant at sensible prices. There are also reasonable showers and washing facilities.

Whilst it is a pleasant marina with very good yard staff, we would like to pass on the following information to fellow cruisers so they can arrive prepared:

• The marina does not have pontoons, so getting on and off the boat can be tricky at times. Planks can be used in a set-up similar to the pasarel system.
• Most of the electrical connection boxes at the dock are purely a household system and therefore may not be waterproof.
• The Marina boasts a yacht hoist. The maintenance of this, however (at the time of writing) is poor, especially to the tyre area where all of the tyres currently being used have huge bits of rubber hanging from them, exposing the inner tube. Vuda Point marina has good, experienced operators, but they may operate on their own even when moving large yachts, with nobody watching apart from the driver. When your boat is being moved around in the hoist, there may be damage to the sides of it as there are many potholes within the marina and the yachts tend to swing from side to side as the hoist moves through the potholes. The slings are also pretty old and not very well maintained.
• The hard standing is generally in poor condition and certain areas are prone to flooding. The marina does occasionally use pumps to clear the water out.
• Mosquitos are very much present and there appears to be little spraying of any insecticides to help alleviate this problem.
• Branches from trees may be a problem to yachts as they are placed in the cyclone hole, however, these are trimmed on request but at a cost.
• All ladders, scaffolding, metal drums, yacht legs, wooden benches and electricity are charged for. After antifouling, there is also a charge for the relocation of the yacht legs.
• There is water both on the hard and at the marina berths, but this may occasionally be subject to water restrictions. No hose pipes are provided.
• There is a fuel dock for all boats run by the chandlery shop. All fuel prices are the same as they are controlled by the local government.
• There is a 7.5% levy imposed by the marina, on both labour and materials on all work carried out by the local companies. Local government taxes are levied on top of this.