Vagabond Voyagesvideo
50-knot gusts… and the Navy on board. Vlog 113
February 20, 2026 · 20 min · 6K views · Fiji
Solar panel flaps wildly on sailboat in rough seas
What this video covers
Sailing through Fiji's Yasawa Islands, Tom and Anissia make a 50-nautical-mile passage to the Yasawas — the filming location for *The Blue Lagoon* and *Cast Away* — with the autopilot broken and the windvane self-steering unable to hold course in under 10 knots from 150 degrees, forcing Tom to hand-steer the first hours under motor before wind filled in enough to sail on a beam reach with full genoa and mizzen.2:18 At the Yasawas, katabatic gusts exceeding 50 knots off the mountains lifted and flipped a solar panel, though nothing broke; the mainsail was fortunately not up.6:18 They relocated to a better-protected anchorage four miles away through reef-strewn water.8:22 Anchoring protocol in Fijian villages requires presenting kava root, rice, lentils, fish, and tools to the village chief before the crew is welcomed ashore and granted access to nearby anchorages.10:32 A Navy boarding party checked the boat one morning.14:06 Tom also discovered severe corrosion on the outboard motor's tilt bracket after only two years of use.18:14 A prior stop at Yadoua Island produced the best coral diving of their Fiji cruise.0:11 Broken autopilot and windvane limitations in light downwind conditions demand hand-steering until apparent wind angle and strength improve.
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