G'Day Dave.
Worse places in the world than Fiji, thats for sure. Would love to do some island hopping over there.
Bead & cove. why bother. There are many builders, myself included, that just bevel the edges.
Haven't had Carpal tunnel issues but had tendonosis pretty bad for awhile. Physio sorted it out initially but switching over to a wing paddle and developing a proper forward stroke has been my saviour. I even race a bit nowadays.
Cheers