Recently in Preparations Category

We knew since we arrived that there would be a weather change this week at Niue. The winds were going to clock around to the north, northwest, west, etc. all the way back to the normal ESE direction. The problem is that the anchorage is on the northwest of the island and is completely exposed to the sea. So, once it got to the northwest, the anchorage became choppy. The winds were forecasted to be less than 15 knots. So, being in a catamaran, we didn't think it would be much of a problem. In fact, on Monday and Tuesday we had a taste of the conditions and it was fine on Tahina. Some of the mono-hulls were less comfortable and a few boats left.

Last night, things got a little different. There was a light front associated with weather change that crossed over around 2 to 4 AM. But, it had a squall with it!

We first notice it getting really choppy and Tahina started bucking a bit - around 2 AM. Suddenly we heard a loud crash in the galley! We forgot to close our dish drying bin and two plates fell out and shattered. Ugh! I went over and closed the bin and took a look outside. Two boats had their navigation lights on and suddenly I heard some calls on the VHF. One boat was leaving and another was asking if everything was ok. They decided they had had enough and were going to move out. Most of the mono-hulls were really bucking around out there. A quick look at the sky and I could see a big black cloud to the northwest headed our way. Winds were up to 25 knots at this point.

Since Tahina was on a mooring closest to the reef, I was pretty awake at this point. I had checked the mooring line underwater days earlier and the rope was in good condition. But, there were coral rocks all around the mooring base. As long as we stayed pointed away from the north, our mooring line should remain free from the sharpest rocks. I put on my handheld Garmin GPS with an anchor alarm set. That way I would know if we slipped free. But, given we were only 75 meters from the shore reefs, I would have to respond quickly if we came loose from the mooring. I stayed on watch. Three other boats left in the next few minutes. It probably wasn't fun preparing to leave in those conditions at that hour.

About 20 minutes later the winds picked up to 30-35 knots (I even saw gusts to 38). And it started pouring rain. I kept an eye on other boats and our position, and made sure our hatches were all fastened tightly. But, the worst of the squall only lasted for about 30 minutes. Things gradually lessened and by 4 AM it was down to less than 10 knots. Niue radio hailed the boats in the anchorage to make sure everyone was ok. A couple of the boats asked what would happen if they continue to Tonga without properly clearing out. They were told Niue could fax the paperwork to Tonga and they could send their fees back. The seas remained choppy with 3-5 foot seas, but I was able to go back to sleep (still with the anchor alarm on) and slept until dawn.

We plan to clear out of Niue this morning and return our rental car. We hope to take a few more pictures before we leave as well. Then later this afternoon we will depart for America Samoa. We have heard you can find good ole American products at the grocery stores there, and they even have American electronics and other goods we haven't seen in a while. Plus, we can have our mail delivered. Maybe they'll have good Internet - but, I won't hold my breath on that. The trip there is about 36 hours. Should arrive by Friday morning.

We have had a great time visiting Rarotonga. Lots of beautiful places to see, and the inexpensive scooter transportation has been liberating. We traveled many miles around the roads and had a wonderful time on the back roads through rolling hills of farms and seeing secluded houses amidst the tropical vegetation. Check out the photo album below and read more below about what has been going on and our plans:

On Saturday several boats arrived. First two cruising sailboats: "Iles de Grace" (which we first met in Manihi) and "Liberty". We helped both get tied up in the harbor. Then a short while later a tall ship called "Picton Castle" with a crew of about 60 arrived under full sail. They had traditional square rigged sails and there were people in the rigging putting it away as they arrived.

Also on Saturday was the market next to the harbor. It was more like a county fair than a market. There were plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables (which helped fill our provisions), but also all kinds of souvenir booths, and many kinds of foods.

We had a final special dinner with Jason and Lara on board. We grilled up some steaks and corn, baked beans, salad, and french bread. And had wine to drink. Jason and Lara have been part of the Tahina family since March. They have been great crew and have enhanced our experiences in many ways since we left Panama. It's actually going to be difficult I think at first to adapt back to just sailing with the two of us. And, we will miss them in many ways beyond just the sailing elements. We wish them well as they attempt to temporarily settle in New Zealand in the coming months. They are leaving some of their gear on board and we will link up with them when we arrive in New Zealand in November. Jason may even fly up to Tonga to help us with the sometimes challenging passage down to New Zealand.

On Friday we cleared out of the Cook Islands planning to leave on Sunday. We are hoping some stronger winds will develop along our route than what has been forecasted for Monday and Tuesday. Otherwise we may be motoring some towards Niue - 600 nautical miles away. If we leave on Sunday we should be there by Thursday.

Since Karen got back on Wednesday, we have been trying to pack in our final sightseeing. There is a weather system moving through the south Pacific next week that will influence our weather for our trip to the Cook Islands. Due to visa limitations, we have to leave by next Wednesday. But, if we wait until then we will not get good winds for the passage. So, we are now looking to leave on Saturday night (tonight). NOTE: lots of photos of the sights of Bora Bora below.

When Karen arrived on Wednesday at the Raiatea airport, the first thing she did at the boat was to unpack her new bags with all the stuff from the US. It was like Christmas! Just a few examples: a new dive computer, new WIFI antenna, candy, Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies, and the very important boat part from South Africa. Karen was really tired after nearly two days without sleep. She managed to sleep for almost 24 hours straight. While she was sleeping, we moved Tahina back to Bora Bora from Raiatea.

Karen had heard about our bike tour last Sunday, so I took her on the trip around the island with the electric bikes on Thursday. Karen had a great time on the bike tour, and I took the opportunity to take several 360 panoramas along the way. We arranged to meet up with Jason and Lara at the famous bar/restaurant called Bloody Mary's. When we arrived, another table was being set up for a bunch of other boaters, so we joined them. I took a 360 panorama of the group in the restaurant. It may be a while before I get the 360s processed though.

Jason and Lara went diving at the pass and saw lots of shark and fish. I went with them on Friday, but we saw fewer fish that day. I did get to try my new dive computer, which worked great. I did see some of the very large lemon sharks, and lots of black-tipped sharks. It was sad to see that nearly all the coral outside the pass at Bora Bora was dead. We covered a large area, and could find very little live coral along the way.

On Friday night, there was another pot luck at the Bora Bora Yacht Club. It's a great way to meet up with other cruisers and pick up tips and compare notes on places to visit. The cupcakes Lara cooked were a popular item and were soon all gone.

Jason installed the new main traveler while I went ashore to get paperwork completed for duty-free fuel. Afterwards, we moved Tahina over to get her fuel tanks filled. Unfortunately, the fuel dockhand did not tie off Tahina's stern, and we shifted such that the corner of the dock rubbed along our starboard bow where we didn't have a fender. This happened while I ran to a bank ATM to get cash since they didn't take credit cards. As a result, our starboard name decal got all scraped up. Bummer! While we were at the fuel dock, Jason took our air tanks to the scuba shop and got them re-filled.

Check out a bunch of photos of the sights we've seen in Bora Bora in this photo album. The album includes photos of the day we got to pet and feed the stingrays, the day I went spearfishing with the new speargun, pictures from our second bike tour, and more.

Today Jason and Lara are going to try a dive with manta rays on the other side of the island. Karen and I are going to do some shopping and prepare the boat for our trip. I'm also working on weather and route planning, and going to get cleared out of French Polynesia with the local gendarmerie.

Our next stop is Aitutaki in the Cook Islands (see map). After exploring there, we will move to Raratonga, where we will drop off Lara and Jason so they can catch a flight to New Zealand. Karen and I will continue on from there on our own.

While Karen was in the US, we bought a number of boat parts and supplies and hard to find provisions. Whenever someone is coming to visit the boat from home, its a great opportunity to have them bring us stuff and avoid the big hassle of customs and shipping. Since we are a "yacht in transit", such goods are supposed to have no customs charges or hassles. But, in reality many countries manage to still charge "other" fees and there are sometimes delays of days or even weeks before you get your package delivered.

At the end of the hard beat upwind to see the eclipse, we did a close inspection of our gear. We noticed that our main sheet traveler (a special "block" that slides on a track and provides a flexible connection point to attach to the main boom) was showing signs of wear. Since this is a critical part, we immediately investigated getting a new part ordered.

We couldn't find the right part on the Lewmar (the manufacturer) web site. So, I sent an E-mail to our boat's builder (St. Francis). The owner quickly replied that after calling their supplier that they have upgraded that particular model, but his rigging supplier could get the new part and configure it for our boat. We explained we needed it quickly since Karen was in the US and would be returned in 2.5 weeks (at that point) and it would be best to have her bring it back with her.

A week later, I heard that they had the part ready and were going to deliver it. I asked that they send me a tracking number as soon as it was ready and to send the bill. It was still 10-12 days from Karen's departure. But, I didn't hear from them as the weekend approached. The following Tuesday, I again asked if they had a tracking number. The next day (since they were 13 hours ahead of us it would take a while to get a reply) St. Francis confirmed the package was sent, then later they said it had already been delivered and here was the tracking number. The tracking said they left it in the front yard. I immediately called Karen and she said they had not seen that package! Karen's sister, after double-checking around the yard and not finding it, left messages with her neighbors. By Friday there was still no sign of the package. At this point, it was already four days since the package was supposedly delivered.

On Saturday, I sent messages to St. Francis asking what our next steps were going to be. This was not a happy occasion as everyone (the shipper, the builder, and the boat supplier) was hurt by the package disappearing. Apparently the package was stolen. But, a few hours later, one of Karen's sister's neighbors finally showed up with the package! What kind of neighbor picks up a package without leaving a note or calls, and then doesn't show up with it for 5 days!?!

So, we got the package after all! I would like to thank St. Francis, and the rigging company (Central Boating of Cape Town) for responding quickly. My only complaint is that they didn't tell us the tracking number when they sent the package so we could make sure Karen or her sister was home when it was delivered. Otherwise they did a great job of getting the part, assembling it, and shipping it to us right away (without even waiting for our payment).

Today we finished all the important tasks in Tahiti and finally departed. Before we left, we had to get fuel in Tahina and get one of our two propane tanks filled. We had planned to get the fuel and then go to Papeete to fill the tank. But, there was a 1.5 hour wait at the fuel dock. So, I took the dinghy the 3.5 miles to Papeete and got the propane tank filled, and returned just in time to move Tahina to the fuel dock. After we got the fuel, we took advantage of the free water to wash the outside of Tahina as well. We also managed one last run to the grocery store early in the morning.

At 1:30 PM, we left Tahiti and motored and later sailed to Moorea for one last time. We wanted to take advantage of the better Internet connection at Opunohu Bay. Tomorrow we will leave in the afternoon for an overnight sail to Bora Bora. But, hopefully I'll get another post out in the morning with some more photos I plan to process tonight.

I also went to Papeete on Monday to pick up the part we had made to fit on the bottom of our spinnaker sock so we can more easily lower our sock over the sail when taking it down. Then I rushed back to get it to the sailmaker who managed to finish the job by the end of the day. We used a sailmaker whose sail "loft" is a trimaran sailboat right in the Marina Taina anchorage. Michel is the owner and his boat's name is "Samba". He did a good job with everything except he forgot to complete our eye splice for our new topping lift.

Many people hear about us traveling by sailboat around the world, and hanging out for months in places like French Polynesia. They are naturally envious about the incredible opportunity we have to visit these islands in paradise. White sand beaches, coconut trees over turquoise waters, snorkeling with beautiful fish and coral, the beauty of the environment, the list goes on.

There is no doubt that it is a fantastic experience being here! However, many people think all we do is enjoy the scenery, sip our cold drinks while watching the sunsets, and relax all day. The reality is that we actually have periods where most of what we do is work ourselves silly so we can enjoy the next set of new islands. That's what we're doing right now.

We are back in Tahiti for the fourth time. Our primary motivation is to visit the biggest island in French Polynesia (at least in terms of population), so that we can prepare Tahina for the next phase in our trip. We have a huge list of tasks to perform for the next several days. Just a quick summary:

• Perform maintenance on the two engines and generator (change oils, filters, check belts, radiator fluid, etc.)
• Have maintenance performed on several pieces of sailboat equipment. This includes some repairs to fabric on the spinnaker sock, replace a furling line, fix some chafing areas, replace a broken outhaul strap, and more.
• Have some minor metal-work repaired.
• A huge list of household stuff like: laundry, cleaning inside and out, sorting storage area, etc.
• Get scuba tanks refilled
• Refill propane tanks
• Go up the mast to fix a light, check the rigging, clean stainless up the mast
• Go to chandlery and buy maintenance supplies, new lines, oil, etc.
• Replace a faulty pump
• Buy provisions for the next month

That's just a sample of the full list. All the work on our list will take 4-5 days to complete (maybe longer depending on the sail repair and metal workers we've hired).

Last night, to reward ourselves for work we've already completed, we did go ashore for happy hour at a local restaurant, and shared in some big orders for pizza there along with crews from a number of other boats (like "Liquid Courage", "Songline", "African Innovations", "Ultimate Lady", and more). Jason also took off for a couple of hours during the day and went surfing. So, it's not all work and no play, but it is a lot of work! One common saying among sailors is that cruising is simply working on your boat in beautiful places. It is true a lot of the time, but it does have its compensations!

Yesterday (Saturday, July 3rd) we had been striving to depart Tahiti to sail 500 miles east to the easter Tuamotus Islands so we can watch the total eclipse of the sun on July 11th. We plan to watch the eclipse from one of two islands: Hao or Amanu. It appeared a good weather window was opening for Saturday evening. So, we worked hard all day to get the boat ready. This involved getting fuel, scuba tanks filled with air, new food provisions, cash from the ATM, checking the boat engines, getting laundry done, taking trash ashore, and many other details.

While we were doing all the items on our checklist, we sent Patti and Gerard ashore so they could do some sightseeing until their plane left later in the night. They finally left around 6 PM to have dinner ashore before heading to the airport. We were all sorry to see them go, as we had a fantastic time together.

Meanwhile, we had managed to get most of our assigned tasks done. But, a series of problems were thrust in our way during the late afternoon. For example, we tried to hang our laundry on our boat like we normally do. But, a series of rain showers drenched the clothes making it impossible to dry quickly. We would have to go ashore to get them dried in the expensive machines, but the marina office was closed so we couldn't get money changed to coins easily. We tried using our onboard machine, but it was too much clothes for such a small machine. Meanwhile, some of the rain squalls started shooting out lightning offshore. Not only that, but the winds shifted and another boat was in the way and we would have to ask them to move in the middle of the night to pull up our anchor. At least two of us have colds now. The Internet was acting up making it hard to take care of last minute e-mails.

Any good sailor (sailors for centuries are known to be very superstitious) will tell you that if you have a number of calamities and you are trying to depart in a rush, it is now time to consider delaying. Given the number of issues we were having, and how tired our crew was looking, I made a prudent decision to delay.

We should be leaving soon. If so, we will be without direct Internet access for up to 2 weeks. We will still get posts out via our radio E-mail system and our satellite phone. But, it will be difficult for us to check our normal E-mails. Please be patient if you can't reach us.

After very busy day on Wednesday, we relaxed in the morning on Thursday. We did our early morning walk to the local store to get some bread, but they were out at the moment. A new batch of baguettes would be delivered at 10:30. We went back at 10:15 and they asked if we had reserved any! Thankfully, the woman we had talked to earlier had saved us a couple.

After breakfast, we split up a bit. Jason and Lara took Coconut and went to do a scuba dive. Meanwhile, the rest of us took Tahina out for a sail. The winds were pretty strong - about 20-25 knots - so we were double-reefed. But, we had a nice sail just offshore from Moorea doing up to 9-10 knots. Gerard loves to sail, and we hadn't had a real sail so far. So this one was for him. But, even Patti was getting into the spirit of the ride.

The night before, during the happy hour on the beach, some of the boaters had found out I have a degree in astronomy. They asked if I could give a talk to the kids about the upcoming solar eclipse the next day. They also invited us to a pot-luck dinner for boaters in the anchorage. I ended up giving a talk to the whole group of about 50 people and kids. I especially enjoyed involving the kids by picking three of them to play the parts of the sun, moon, and earth. After my talk, several people came up to ask for more details and I showed them the map of the path of totality on Google Earth (see earlier Tahina post on the eclipse). We all enjoyed the potluck dinner and the bonfire afterwards.

Earlier in the afternoon on Thursday, Jason offered to give Patti a basic introduction to scuba diving. Jason has been a dive master for several years. This was a real accomplishment for Patti who before coming hear had a bit of a fear of the water. On Friday she finished the introduction with a dive to 30 feet and even watched a sea turtle feeding on a reef!

The next day, we planned to move east to a new anchorage. Patti and Gerard wanted to go to a restaurant for their anniversary. We left mid-morning and moved over to Cooks Bay. We had a nice spot with the anchor in shallow water, but the back of the boat over deeper water. Some of us spent part of the afternoon cleaning growth off the bottom of Tahina. We have the big trip to move to the eastern Tuaomotus to see the eclipse - right after Patti and Gerard leave on Saturday. It took four of us about 2 hours to get it all cleaned off.

In the evening, we all got ready to go ashore. The rest of us planned to find a different restaurant while Patti and Gerard had their anniversary dinner. But, first we had to find a way to shore. We forgot to plan a way ashore before it got dark. On our first attempt, we ended up getting trapped briefly in some shallow area, but managed to get the dinghy back out. We went back to the boat and looked things over in Google Earth. We also called the restaurant to get directions (Gerard spoke to them in French). We still got off the proper pass and caught up in shallow areas. 15 minutes later, we finally found a dock next to a resort like what was described to Gerard. Two locals helped guide us to the right spot with their flashlight. Unfortunately, they told us we had gone to the wrong place! We needed to go the OTHER direction in the bay! They told us how to get back, but even so, we still made a wrong turn and got stuck on a reef briefly. We then went all the way past Tahina again another 3 miles and finally found the right place. Yay!

Gerard and Patti had a nice dinner. We asked someone what was nearby and they pointed us to a pizza place. This was a bit of a weird pizza joint right on the street. They had bar stool seating, but they didn't sell alcohol - not even beer! But, the pizza was good and we were all happy with the choice. We went back to the restaurant and ordered some dessert while waiting for the others to finish their dinner.

We needed to get to Tahiti so we could get things going early in the morning. So, we left Moorea and 9 PM and sailed to Tahiti. We had a nice sail with 15 knots of wind. A couple of squalls came by and gave us more wind and we hit 12.5 knots at one point. I think Gerard had a great time. And Patti even seemed to enjoy it as well. She didn't get queasy even though it was a night passage.

Today (Saturday) we plan to get Gerard and Patti off to Papeete so they can shop. Meanwhile we will be trying to provision the boat for our 2-3 week trip for the eclipse. We need to leave as soon as possible, so it will be a busy day! We have a bunch of photos to upload, but the Internet is being slow. I have managed to add a bunch of photos to the two previous albums posted on Moorea. It may be a while before we can get the photos up, because we are likely to not have Internet while we are in the eastern Tuamotus. They are very remote.

On Thursday afternoon we left Huahine to make our way back to Tahiti. Our friends Gerard and Patti from North Carolina, who two weeks ago had their flight canceled due to the strike in Tahiti, are finally re-scheduled and will arrive today at last to visit us on Tahina!

We had light winds pretty much on the nose for our 90 mile trip from Huahine. We actually sailed for three hours down the coast of Huahine and then tacked a few times trying to go upwind. But, it would take us too long to beat our way against the wind - especially with less than 10 knots of wind. So, we ended up motoring the rest of the way. Here's a map of our GPS track:

View Huahine to Tahiti in a larger map

We arrived Friday morning and spent the day cleaning the boat, and running errands. We have all day to finish cleaning the boat and buying more provisions before our guests arrive in the evening We are really looking forward to seeing them - especially after the very disappointing cancellation two weeks ago! They will also be bringing a box with stuff we've been buying for the past several months (DVDs, books, gadgets, boat parts, and gifts). There are many things we just can't get in the remote islands. It is also a pain to have things shipped both in terms of costs, and hassles with customs. So, the best way to get such things is when someone flies out to you.

We moved 80 miles west from Hiva Oa on Friday night to Nuku Hiva. We have spent several days here working on (very SLOW) Internet, getting provisions, and exploring this island. There are some beautiful places here which we will have to share with you soon. We need to make our way to the beautiful pacific atolls of French Polynesia next. They are about 500 miles south of Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas. We had intended to leave the Marquesas on Tuesday, but the winds were too light for sailing for the next couple of days. We have done some interesting sightseeing on the southeast side of Nuku Hiva, but haven't been to the other side of the island. So, we may go to a bay called Anaho on the other side, which reportedly has the most beautiful beach in the Marquesas. It has to compare to the beach we found by dinghy (and Google Earth) in Hiva Oa though. We also have some more tasks to do for Tahina while in the main town of Taiohae: provisioning, more propane, fuel, and Internet stuff.

We had a fantastic time here in Nuku Hiva going to a bay called "Daniel's Bay" - just a short 5 mile trip west of Taiohae. I will do a separate post on that trip after I get the photos together. We were there along with 15 or so other boats. Our friends on "A Small Nest" were there, as well as new friends on "Elena", "Quarter Moon", "Asia", and a few others. We did an awesome hike to the tallest water fall in French Polynesia while there, and you have to see the pictures to really appreciate it - especially the 360 panoramas. We also had a wonderful beach outing playing with kids on some of the boats including hacky sack, juggling, frisbee, and wakeboarding.

We are really looking forward to the Tuamotus which have fantastic diving and snorkeling, pearl farms, interesting people and cultural interests and beautiful lagoons and motus (small islands in the lagoons). After our 3 day trip, we should have well over two weeks to explore. That's hardly enough time to get a real feel for the islands, but we will be back to the Tuamotus later for the eclipse. We need to be in Tahiti by June 10th to prepare for the arrival of our friends Gerard and Patti who arrive a couple of days later from the US. We are really looking forward to having them visit, and they will also be bringing a bunch of much needed items and mail with them.