Considering a haul-out at Vuda Marina?
Despite resolving some of the earlier issues, a major problem still remained, we had no usable shore power at our hardstand position. In desperation, and at additional cost to ourselves, we contacted Summer Electrical.
Niraj from Summer Electrical was outstanding, coming to our assistance late on Saturday afternoon to help establish temporary power to the yacht. He supplied additional extension leads so we could at least keep the fridges running and allow the tradespeople we had organised to continue their work.
From Saturday through to Tuesday morning, we repeatedly requested that one of the rear hardstand support jacks be moved forward approximately 100mm to provide proper access to the saildrive for cleaning and painting. Although staff consistently responded with “yes, yes, yes” or “I’ll tell them,” no action was taken. As a result, the contractor we had arranged for Saturday was forced to leave with only half the scheduled work completed.
To be clear, the front-line staff at Vuda Marina are genuinely friendly, hardworking people and, in our opinion, the marina’s greatest asset. They were always smiling, approachable, and appeared eager to help wherever possible. The haul-out crew repeatedly told us, “If you need anything, come and see us,” which we did many times over several days.
However, it became increasingly apparent that front-line staff were unable to make even minor operational decisions without approval from management. It was only after we escalated the issue through one of our contractors that any action was finally taken regarding the hardstand jack.
After three and a half days of repeated requests, the support stand was eventually moved forward the required 100mm, by the same manager who had overseen the original haul-out while remaining seated in the Amarok vehicle.
While standing only metres away from this manager, we were surprised that no attempt was made to engage with us as paying customers. Instead, he quickly turned and disappeared almost as soon as he arrived.
Unfortunately, some of the approved on-site contractors associated with Vuda Marina were also difficult to deal with. Our impression was that contractors were extremely busy and selective about which jobs they accepted and prioritised.
Although we made a genuine effort to support the marina’s recommended service providers, only around half of those we contacted met reasonable expectations for communication, reliability, and professionalism. Our biggest disappointment was Revmarine.
Due to the urgent nature of our repairs, we proactively arranged (a full week before haul-out), for Revmarine’s Raymarine technician to meet us upon arrival. He never appeared and, more concerningly, did not return our calls either before or during the scheduled appointment day. After multiple attempts to locate him, including visiting the on-site office on Tuesday afternoon, one of his staff informed us he was attending a “religious event.” Importantly, the Tuesday appointment date had been nominated by Ravi himself, not by us.
Ravi eventually arrived at 4:55 pm on Wednesday afternoon, only two days before our scheduled launch, apologising and explaining that he had “shoulder problems”. We suspect the visit only occurred after we raised our concerns with Jashinta, a genuinely helpful and professional manager from the marina office.
Unfortunately, the Raymarine component we required had to be flown in from New Zealand. As paying customers dealing with a time-critical repair, we expected prompt communication, reliability, and professional service throughout the process. In the end, the approximately 20-minute installation job, valued at FJD $6,120, was efficiently completed by Boabab Marine instead (a business/contractor not approved or associated with Vuda Marina).
Another on-site contractor we contacted through the marina, quoted pricing we considered excessive, resulting in a further FJD $9,000 worth of work being taken elsewhere.
After considerable thought and reflection on our overall experience, we have also decided to cancel our second planned stay at Vuda Marina in mid-September 2024 and instead relocate our future works to Port Denarau Marina.
Important information in context: Vuda Marina
As our DIYCatamaran.com website reflects, we are not people who normally complain. We generally prefer to focus on solutions, learning experiences, and finding positive outcomes when challenges arise during our travels and cruising life.
Unfortunately, our experience with the hardstand and haul-out division at Vuda Marina was disappointing enough that we felt it important to document it honestly for other cruising sailors considering Fiji as a haul-out facility.
It is equally important to acknowledge that the social atmosphere at Vuda Marina, including the marina staff, restaurants, bars, and broader community environment, was extremely positive. In fact, these aspects of the marina were excellent and created many enjoyable moments during an otherwise stressful period.
We also recognise that many fellow cruisers and close friends staying within the marina facilities reported very positive experiences during the same period. Our comments relate specifically to our firsthand experience with the haul-out and hardstand issues.
Since publishing our concerns, we have been contacted directly by Vuda Marina management. We genuinely appreciate that they took the time to respond professionally and recognise the concerns we outlined.
As a result, we chose to remove most direct links to this page, meaning you may have arrived at this page through a recommendation or word-of-mouth referral rather than through our normal website navigation.
