Your Essential Guide to the Shores and Marinas of Fiji
The Pacific Rally & Go East Rally 2024 is now well underway! We’d love to have you join us.
We are also excited to announce we have purchased the Down Under Rally and there are going to be other options for people wanting to join from Australia or finish up in Australia as well.
More info here…
Fiji’s leading marina, Port Denarau, has confirmed its support for the inaugural South Pacific Superyacht Rendezvous as a Gold Sponsor.
Island Cruising and Down Under Rally are excited to announce the commencement of the much-anticipated Pacific Rally 2024.
This year’s rally marks a significant milestone, with over 100 boats registered from all over the Pacific to participate in the annual sailing event – the biggest number yet.
“We are thrilled to have such an incredible turnout of the rally this season,” said rally director Viki Moore.
The entire Pacific Rally fleet comprises mid-size sailing vessels and power boats from Australia, New Zealand and international cruisers worldwide. The smallest vessel is 10m and the largest is a 32m superyacht.
Over the last few weeks, the rally has hosted the pre-departure activities at the Bay of Islands Marina in Opua and last week at the Boat Works on the Gold Coast.
“We have been so warmly welcomed by all the marine businesses in the precincts and the rally participants have been really impressed with the facilities and hospitality on offer,” Moore said.
The rally enables people with their own boats to blend adventure with safety and camaraderie with independence, fostering a sense of community among the participants while empowering them to explore the Islands of Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. They can choose to sail independently or join in with the events that are held along the way. At the end of the season, they can choose to return to New Zealand, Australia, stay in the tropics or continue their adventures further north to Asia.
Rally participants have had extensive online pre-departure training in the months leading up to the departure as well as practical offshore medic and sea survival courses, seminars on weather, documentation, navigation and passage planning and social events and briefings with our rally partner businesses to meet the rest of the fleet.
The yachts leaving from Opua today will be sailing to either Tonga or Fiji and the passage will take them around a week to complete. The second group is departing from the Gold Coast, bound for New Caledonia.
“The rally is flexible and there are other vessels departing from different ports and at later dates,” explained Moore.
“This allows people to sail to their own schedule but still stay connected with others heading in the same direction.
“The rally is not just about sailing; it’s about forging lifelong friendships, experiencing diverse cultures and embracing the spirit of adventure. We encourage our rally participants to be mindful and respectful of the local people, culture and environment on our travels. We also love to support various community-based projects with our partners such as Days For Girls, Sea Mercy, Rotary, and this year we are very excited to be partnering with Citizens of the Sea. Many of the vessels on the rally will be helping collect eDNA samples and mapping the seabed to enable scientists to better understand our oceans”.
The Pacific Rally participants will be away in the Islands until November this year.
The rally progress can be tracked here.
The kids make friends anywhere and this time, they made friends with the kids at the sailing club which is supported by Copra Shed Marina in Savu SavuMore info here…
South Pacific-based organisation The Superyacht Gathering has announced it will host its inaugural rendezvous in Fiji in August 2024.
The programme will feature friendly regattas raced around the Fijian islands, interspersed with “barefoot beach parties” to allow owners from Oceania and further afield to meet. The event is open to sailing and motor yachts 22 metres and above, with $500 from each yacht entry being donated to the Fiji Yachting Association’s Kids Sailing Program.
The Fiji Yachting Association has also deeded the historic 1997 President’s Cup as the winning prize and will be running the races in partnership with Australia’s Southport Yacht Club. The yacht’s name and year will sit on the plinth along with “some of the great racing yachts of the South Pacific”.
Original: https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/news/superyacht-gathering-rendezvous-fiji
The 40th Anniversary Musket Cove Fiji Regatta week was launched yesterday at Musket Cove Island Resort.
The week-long event will be held from September 11-15 2024.
A growth in small yacht and superyacht arrivals will further increase investment and development opportunities for Fiji’s tourism industry.
This, according to the final draft of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation 10-year National Sustainable Tourism Framework (NSTF).
The event will be held among the idyllic islands of Fiji, uniting the superyacht community in the tropical waters of the south seas. It is set to become an annual occasion in the superyacht calendar.
Designed for a multi-generational group of international and local yachties, the event program will feature barefoot beach parties interspersed with friendly regattas for sailing and motor yachts measuring over 22 metres.
In collaboration with the Fiji Yachting Association, the first South Pacific Superyacht Rendezvous pledges $500 from each superyacht registration to support young sailors across Fiji for the youth program.
Programs in Suva, Lautoka, and Savusavu will focus on sailing, safety, and ocean conservation, enriching children’s lives and nurturing Fiji’s maritime legacy.
For further inquiries about Fiji Yachting’s Youth Program, please reach out to Lisa Philp at [email protected]
