Blog

We left Bora Bora for Niue in the tail end of a front, which we then hit, and rode the wake of its aftermath. For most of our 1100 mile passage, we had 10-15 ft swells abeam at short intervals (e.g big waves one after the other, approaching us on the side) wind speeds averaging… Continue reading The Savage Passage

It's ironic how fast time seems to pass by, considering we move through life at an average speed of 5.5 miles per hour. We are half way through our year, and our time in French Polynesia is officially over. We spent our last month sailing through the Society Islands: Tahiti, Mo'orea, Huahine, Raiatea, Taha'a and… Continue reading The Society Islands

M: If the Marquesas post was called “Paradise found”, what am I going to call this? A: Paradise found... again. Paradise-er. Paradise 2.0. Landfall in the Marquesas was obvious: there’s a monster mountain in front of your face. After a very mellow 3.5-day passage, land ho in the Tuamotus was harder to spot.... here you… Continue reading Holy Fakarava, that’s a shark!

Bonjour, bienvenue sur le Marquises. Excusez-moi s'il vous plaît. Je ne parle pas français. Je suis un ignorant américain. Thank goodness the ‘smile and nod’ is universal and that the Marquesans are a friendly and patient people. We hired Tahiti Crew to process our customs, immigration, and bond exemption paperwork, so despite our serious language… Continue reading Paradise found

Land ho! Land ho!!! LAND HO!!!!! At 2300 UTC we spotted the island of Hiva Oa through the haze. Deeply immersed in a Gillian Flynn novel, the moment from haze to right in front of my face passed in an instant. We arrived with enough remaining sunlight to see this small island in all its… Continue reading Day 19.3 – Land ho!

In a short time we will be making land fall in the Marquesas, and the toughest challenge we have undertaken will be complete. Last night we had another cheerful visit from our friends, you could see them coming up to us like a cavalry. We also had two more bites to our lures yet no… Continue reading Day 19

Last night we had a second visit by a large pod of dolphins. Common, spinner, and another type with a pink nose we’ve never seen before. They seemed to be having as much fun with their visit as we did. Sans squalls, night watch was clear and mellow. The day sail was lovely, ocean state… Continue reading Day 18

How would you like your night watch, shaken or stirred? Perhaps a little battered or bruised? The gusts from last night’s squalls caught us totally off guard, and they were big. A heavy night of swells, wind and rain left us sleep deprived, with a locker that took on water and a load of drenched… Continue reading Day 17

With the doldrums behind us, conditions are starting to pick up again. We are entering another area of squalls, so we are keeping a close eye on the weather. We rounded up on the spinnaker with an out-of-nowhere gust but made a quick recovery and doused. With lighter winds in the forecast we swapped the… Continue reading Day 16

I bring you news as newly anointed Shellbacks. Today at 2020 UTC, coordinates 0°00.000 South 130°00.000 West, Bravo and crew crossed the Equator, thereby transitioning from lowly Pollywogs to distinguished Shellbacks. As dictated by tradition and as the sole Shellback onboard, Captain Andy led the ceremony. We asked the Gods for forgiveness for our Pollywaggery,… Continue reading Day 15 – from Pollywogs to Shellbacks