Ever since he bought Navini Island in Fiji, Arthur Reed has always longed for a time where he could get away from busy buzzing of the city and to unwind some place where he can relax and bond with his entire family.
Originally from Geelong, a port city in Australia, sailing had always been a fond hobby of Mr Reed and his family of three.
According to an article in The Fiji Times on April 18, 1984, Mr Reed’s tale of escaping the reality of life and spending time with loved ones could be something many of us also crave for.
Upon relaying his idea of taking time off from reality to sailing around the Pacific to his wife and two daughters, the three were more than happy to take on this charter.
Mr Reed owned a photo-processing firm in Geelong and three years before this article was published, he had bought Navini Island in Fiji which he turned into an island resort.
Mr Reed was no stranger to Fiji.
As for his two daughters who had spent more than eight months at sea with their parents, the young mistresses found the easy atmosphere of their family yacht and leisurely swims in Pacific waters much more agreeable than their Oberon High School classroom.
Despite this, they still continued with work on their daily school lessons under the watchful eye of their mother, Helen, and had these submitted via mail to the Melbourne Correspondence Centre every Friday.
Their curriculum lessons would then be transported to their school.
Years before this Mr Reed had already had a yacht to his name which he called Sereki Mai, which means coming in for holiday.
The cruising idea was also brought about so that Mr Reed and his family could visit their resort and handle businesses in Fiji.
The Sereki Mai, had an 18-metre motor cruiser with two cabins, a master bedroom with two sets of showers and toilets.
The yacht also contained two generators that provided electricity for light, refrigeration and an electric stove.
Having lived in a port city where one in every five person owned a yacht, sailing and navigating was like riding a bike in the park for the Reed family. Every night during voyage, each family member would take shifts in making sure the yacht sailed in the correct direction.
While in Fiji, the Reed family sailed to the Yasawa’s, Kadavu, Moala, and Navini islands before they regularly dock at the Suva habour to stock up on supplies.
Meanwhile in Australia, “Arthur Reed Photos” was being managed by Michael, the eldest in the family.
“He could not make it this time, but he will be popping in and out to visit Navini,” Mr Reed said.
From Fiji, the Reeds planned to travel to Vanuatu, Noumea, Queensland and then go south to Queens Cliff where Sereki Mai would be docked for a while.
At a time when children grow up and start to move away from the family, this eight-month cruise through the Pacific had drawn the family much closer together, Mr Reed said.
