Adventures of the Good Ship Tarun

The Last Voyage of the Good Ship Tarun

2010-05-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

May 10, 2010 – The Last Voyage of the Good Ship Tarun

On fifth of May, in the year two thousand and ten, the ownership of the good ship Tarun passed from the vivacious Catherine and the seasoned Brian to a New Zealand bloke named Tom. After nearly 9 years, in which she served her two masters extraordinarily well; enabling safe passage across turbulent seas and stormy oceans; providing a snug and welcoming home; it was time for her stalwart owners to let her go and follow a new and different dream.

The process of sale was not without its dramatic moments. We were advised of an offer on Easter weekend. No worries, all was right with the boat, in fact I had just replaced the fresh water pump on the engine (more on this later). The mechanical survey was arranged, and the day before, I ran the engine and made sure it was all nice and clean. The next morning the diesel engineer (NEVER call them mechanics in MZ) arrived, I took off the engine cover, and there, lying on the bottom of the drip tray was a puddle of nice fresh antifreeze. A good start! The mechanical survey went well, a small oil leak from the front seal but nothing major. The next day, was haul-out and completion of the mechanical survey while under way. The day dawned overcast and the winds picked up to 25-30 knots. Not a situation I really wanted to take Tarun out the berth in, but, the buyer had flown from Wellington, the haul out was booked across the harbour, so with five of us on board we roared out of the berth (and I mean roared, full revs in reverse) and off we went. Got to the other side and I wanted to back Tarun into the travel lift, NO WAY. So front first but luckily the travel lift could lift us without dropping the forestay. The survery went well, a few small blisters on the bow, and then (drum roll please), the diesel engineer is spinning the prop and I am watching the prop go around in circles and up and down. We had a bent propeller shaft. Well, I contacted the insurance company, made a claim and after a frustrating week of trying to get someone to do something, we hauled the boat out, dropped the rudder, pulled the shaft and sent the whole lot off to get a new shaft made. Amazingly it only took 3 days and we re-installed on Thursday afternoon and were back in the water Friday.

The new owner is a novice sailor, Tarun is his first boat, so he is having a delivery skipper sail her to Wellington. Unfortunately weather is terrible just now, so the delivery crew, who arrived in Auckland on Monday after delivering a yacht from Wellington turned around and made their way back to Wellington, on land! As we have been paid, I wish the new owner the very best of luck!

At Anchor in Islington Bay Rangototo Island

2010-02-14T13:03:00.001-08:00

Cathy has been working weird shifts with split days off since the beginning of the year to cover for everyone else who was lucky enough to take vacation. Now, back on Monday to Friday as of yesterday, we can get away on weekends again. I had the boat ready to go and when she got home at 5:00 we let go the lines and gybed out way out of Auckland harbour. Islington Bay (Izzy Bay to the locals) is long and deep and lies between Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands in the Hauraki Gulf. Very popular as it's close and pretty protected from most winds. There are great walking trails on the islands as they are both Department of Conservation reserves. Rangitoto is a currently inactive volcano; we hope it stays that way! Not too many boats in last night but by noon today it looked like they were lined up waiting for a parking space. Anchor carnage quickly ensued with people just not getting the idea that you actually need to put out a bit of scope or yes, you will drag. Very entertaining as it really is a spectator sport. Had a nice walk on shore this morning, and then back to the boat for some scrubbing on the prop and general look see under the boat. The prop wasn't too bad but the keel is a mess and if we don't sell it soon, we'll have to haul out and antifoul as well as strip the keel and get it cleaned up again, the ongoing joys of yacht ownership. Maintenance hasn't been too bad this year so far. I had to replace on salon window as the safety glass failed. I went back to hardened, tempered glass, what I should have been using all along. Hopefully the other 3 will be OK, regardless; I bought glass for all of them anyways.

On the work front, I've ended my association with MMC Software and the My safe Ride Home program. The cost to set up in NZ is quite high and the financial risk, as I evaluated it was too bloody high as well. I'm working on getting McApples Enterprises Ltd up and running. So far, I have 4 contracts to develop and deliver some training which will bring in a bit and give me some great exposure. I'm also looking for a JOB, yes and real JOB. The economy is picking up and my skills seem to be more in demand. Working full time would be a change and a way to build the critical NZ experience. We'll see how it all pans out. I have one hopeful in mind and should know in a week or two.

We've dropped the asking price on Tarun from NZD $150,000 to $135,000. It seems Kiwi's are not likely to offer much below 10-15% of the asking price so there is no point in trying to get them to give low offers and negotiate upwards, they just don't deal that way, generally. We'll see if this gets us any more action. In the meantime, anyone interested in a cruise ready, ocean going yacht with great gear and impeccably maintained, call us or email.

Phone: +64 (0)21 270 2151

Email: mcapples@gmail.com

A Relaxing Chrstmas Cruise

2009-12-28T18:57:00.001-08:00

We got up early on boxing day and were underway by 06:30 on the way to Te Kouma Harbour on the Coromandel Peninsula. No wind, flat seas, clear, blue sky, idyllic really. After spending some time calling family in Canada to wish one and all a merry Christmas, I went to use the head. For the next three hours, the relaxing Christmas cruise was all about stripping and cleaning the waste pump and all the outlet lines. Down to the through hull. In a word, YUCK! Anyhow, job done, and we motored slowly onwards. We dropped anchor in Sargents Bay, a few power boats closer to shore, but not crowded at all. More boats arrived, and by 19:00 there were 19 boats in the bay, all quit, and no worries, lots of room. The next day, the weather once again looked terrific, so out for a tour in the dinghy. We headed off, I throttled up, the engine died, we rowed back to Tarun. An hour later, after stripping and cleaning the carburettor, we headed off again to the beach at Rangipukea Island. A nice sheltered beach, and some handy rocks to perch on while sitting and watching natures beauty all around (that and the no trespassing signs that is). Back to Tarun to see if the ocean temperature was high enough for me to at least get in the water and clean off the propeller. We only managed 4.5 knots under power on the way out, I was pretty sure it was the prop. The water was actually pretty nice, and to my surprise, the prop was pretty clean. I polished it up and then looked at the rest of the hull, it was a mess. The keel had a bunch of weeds growing out of it, the zinc and cooling shoe for the fridge were covered in oysters, and the hull was completely slimed. Oh well! An hour or so of free diving later, the hull was in pretty good shape, and I wasn't. Back on board for a nice warm shower. We had to had back the next day so up at 06:30 and underway by 07:00, again motoring, no wind! We were however up to 5.5 knots, much better. It's amazing that little wavy plants can cause so much drag. We motored until we were about 10 miles to the marina. The wind came up so we tacked our way down the harbour, hitting 6.8 knots to weather, not bad for a big ol ketch, and we easily outsailed a Benetau, too much wind for the poor fellows.

So a relaxing Christmas cruise, just like the cruising brochures promise. My advice, read the fine print, be prepared to fix stuff, and, of course, LOVE DOING IT.

Waxing Philosphical at Christmas

2009-12-24T13:25:00.001-08:00

Christmas day in New Zealand is one for the books this year. It's a sunny, warm, calm day over almost the entire country. As the newspapers say, finally, a perfect Christmas. It still seems odd to get up Christmas morning, put on your shorts and tee shirt, and keep blinds drawn to try and keep the boat from getting too warm. I seem to retain a residual "Christmas" memory of snow on the ground, fireplaces and it being dark until 8:30 or so in the morning and getting dark again around 4:30-5:00 in the evening. Suns up here at 5:00 am or so and it's still pretty light at 9:30 pm. Decorated houses are fairly rare here, too light to see the effects of the lights. This is time of year for family and friends. We are having dinner with friends today, but alas, family is far away and spread out around North America this year. Mom and Dad in a hotel in Portland, my brother and family spending their first Christmas without Erika (Karin's mother passed away a few weeks ago). They are having Christmas at the family home in Ottawa and likely continuing a lifetime of traditions. Cathy's mom is in Belleville having Christmas with Alan and family (Cathy's oldest brother) while younger brother Iain is having a family Christmas in PEI; everyone celebrating in their own way.

I think back over the past 20 years and where we have spent Christmas's. Our parent's homes in different parts of C|anada a hotel in the British Virgin Islands, Sweden, and New Zealand. Our first year in New Zealand in 1996, we had Christmas day with a family who we barely new, they were friends of friends, now good friends of ours. We've spent 3 Christmas's with them over the years, but this year we had to pass, not enough time off work. Instead, we will go up and spend time with fellow sailors in the marina starting at noon today and later on we will drive over to our friend's house for a nice meal and get together in their backyard. A relaxing, easygoing day, and why not, after all, it's summer time and as the song says, "the livin is easy"

Merry Christmas All, and no matter where you are, or what you are doing, raise a glass and know that we are there with you in spirit if not in body

Observations

2009-10-31T12:14:00.001-07:00

Living in your car in Auckland

We witnessed the most bizarre behaviour we've ever seen in a car recently on the motorway into Auckland. We were driving in morning rush hour, traffic was moving along steadily, a bit slower than normal, but steady. We looked to our right and there was a young couple, we presume, heading into work. She was driving and he was sitting in the passenger seat eating his bowl of cereal. Ok that was a bit odd, but what really caught our attention was seeing her (the driver) eating her bowl of cereal! Driving with her knee, holding the bowl with one hand and spooning in with the other. We gave them plenty of room. A bit further on, cereal now finished, she has the visor down so she could use the mirror on the back side of the visor to apply her makeup, still driving in rush hour, still driving with her knee and using both hands to apply makeup.

The Merge Game

There are a quite a few areas in Auckland where there are two lanes of traffic at a stop light and maybe 75 meters on, the left lane ends and traffic has to merge into the right lane. The normal behaviour for drivers in the left lane is to assume that drivers in the righ lane will slow down and let them merge. Drivers in the left lane all drive cars without a right turn signal so drivers in the right lane are also presumed to be mind readers. I no longer look in the mirror to see if someone in the left lane expects me to slow down. I assume that there is no one there and drive straight on. So far, no one has hit me, I'm still waiting!

The Passing Lane Race

We took a small mini vacation to celebrate Cathy's 50^th birthday this past weekend and drove about 3 ½ hours to Lake Taupo. As with most roads in NZ, once out of the major urban areas, they are two lane highways with passing lanes every so often to allow traffic to pass safely. There is a consistent behaviour to drivers in these situations. You will be following behind someone who is doing maybe 90 km/hr in a 100 km/hr zone. You're patient as you know there is a passing lane likely not too far ahead so you wait to pass. As soon as you both get to the passing lane, the car in front speeds up to anywhere between 100-110 km/hr, so to pass you pass at an even greater speed. If you don't pass them, they get to the end of the passing lane, and immediately slow back down to 90 km/hr. Not sure of the reasoning behind this, but there is probably a deep seated competitiveness that erupts in these situations.

Parking In Strange Places

True story from a couple of weeks ago. A family parked in the drive through lane of a fast food restaurant in Auckland and went next door to the shops to pick up a few things. We see this behaviour or it's variant a lot lately. The "you don't mind if I park here and block you in, I'll only be a few minutes, surely you can wait for me" syndrome otherwise known as the "Its All about Me Syndrome!"

Life in the Marina

2009-08-30T20:57:00.001-07:00

As it is the last day of August and I am feeling like it, I thought I would see what comes out in the blog. I have spent a tremendous amount of time attending networking events handing out business cards, collecting business cards, shaking hands, that sort of thing. Not at all nautical! There hasn't been much nautical going on. We haven't had the boat out of the berth since Easter. No particular reason, we've just found ourselves wrapped up in getting life on land sorted, you know, grocery shopping, laundry, that sort of thing. We hope to get away at least overnight in the next couple of weeks. I have had a couple of business trips, one to Brisbane, one to LA. Brisbane was a lot nicer. I ended up flying to LA for 2 days of meetings. It took 5 ½ days to do it. I am hoping not to have too much more in the travel department this year. Maybe back to Aussie, but we'll see. Winter hasn't been too bad. June was pretty cold (well cold for us) with temps doen as low as zero. Lucky for us, daytime temps are pretty much always double digits. It's getting progressively nicer now with highs 16-19, pretty much perfect. The winds are here however with the equinox approaching so still a bit cool when facing into 35-40 knots. The boat has been over almost 10 degrees in the berth today, fun! We get a fair bit of movement on the boat in this marina. The floating breakwater doesn't damp down the swell, just breaks the waves. There is a ferry that runs past the outside of the marina and you can always tell they've gone. 7 ½ minutes after they pass, the boats rolls around like we're on the ocean sailing in cross seas. Some days, it's lots of fun as you grab in to the coffee pot to stop it sliding off the table during breakfast. The 7 ½ minutes by the way is the official number from well placed marina staff (ok the security guy). It can be a bit weird when you're walking down the dock and the swell rolls through. Visually, the dock is rolling up and down with the boats not quite in sync to it. Maybe this is where the whole "drunken sailor" thing came from.

Not Much to Say

2009-06-12T19:52:00.001-07:00

It’s been awhile since I decided to update the blog so I thought I should just sit down and write something. Cathy is settling into her job, sort of. The people she works with are nice enough but the job certainly is not mind taxing. She spends a lot of time grooming the fruit and veggie displays, misting lettuce, discarding questionable produce, that sort of thing. It does pay the bills though. I, on the other hand have been sitting on the boat trying to sort out how to make money as a consultant when I have very few business contacts left in NZ. I have joined the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and attended one of teir events and will attend as many future ones as I can, as long as they are free. I spend A LOT of time networking. Eventually it will result in business. I don’t expect to get rich this year, but certainly by early next year at the latest (I can dream!). I have also spent a fair chunk of time working on issues for MMC Software New Zealand Ltd. We have negotiated an agreement that makes me the President and CEO of the company here in NZ for a modest salary and based on target, I get to own more and more if it. The company started in Canada and is a Risk Intervention system called My Safe Ride Home™. The idea is pretty straightforward, there is a prepaid taxi card with priority queuing that is used with participating cab companies. I am working at preparing a business plan, making contacts into taxi industry, all sort of fun stuff. The company should be officially formed by early next week. That will at least [ay the bills while I beaver away on McApples. The name McApples Enterprises is getting a good review so far. People I talk to are intrigued by it and at first glance assume that we are somehow associated with Apples and Macintosh computers. I quickly point out that we are not (I really don’t want a law suit here) and then describe the how and why of the name. It makes for a good ice breaking conversation starter. Who knows, maybe Apple will buy us out (still dreaming). We have had one more run in with WINZ, my all time favourite NZ Government department. Despite our having advised them of changes in income etc as soon as they took place, they continued to pay us more than they should have. I realized they were were overpaying but I had no way of stopping it and after all, money in the bank is after all, well, money in the bank. We got a notice a week or so ago rather bluntly stating that THEY had overpaid US and we now had around a week and a half to cough it up and pay it back. They were gracious to say that we could let them take money directly from our account on a payment plan (as if!!!). The money was due on the 12^th of June. On June 11^th, I paid them. On June 13^th, I receive a letter dated June 10^th, saying that the amount owing is now OVERDUE. Needless to say, I am PISSED OFF. I can hardly wait for Monday to talk to them, and the media, and whoever else I can think of. Oh well, everyone has a hobby, mine is now Work and Income New Zealand.

On a positive note, I did stick up my hand to volunteer for the NZ Coastguard. I was involved with them in Wellington when we last lived in NZ. They now have a formal induction training regime, one night a week for 7 weeks covering Search and rescue, communications, personal safety and in water survival training. The run 4 intakes a year and I am signed up for one starting in October.

Business, Bureacracy and .......

2009-05-21T13:36:00.001-07:00

Cathy has a new job (yeah), out of Robert Harris and on to a high end deli across the harbour. The commute is OK, the ferry runs form our marina and then she has a 20 minute walk to work. Total travel time from the boat to work is around 40 minutes. She’s quite happy with the new place, the people are nice and treat her with respect, a welcome change. It was comical when she resigned from Robert Harris, she told her boss she was leaving, he said she had a contract and had to give two weeks notice (it was actually Cathy who insisted on the contract), Cathy replied, yes, I have a contact, and as I am still on probation, I only have to give you 48 hours notice as per page 6 section 9, paragraph 3(she was actually giving him 4 days). His response, well, that’s 48 working hours. She laughed and left.

I have been working steadily on getting myself going with McApples Enterprises Ltd. I’ve written a business plan, looked at the market figures, come up with some ideas about services, put together a first year’s budget and generally got myself organized. I’ve made contacts with a couple of training organizations to offer my services and have received positive feedback and will hopefully meet with them in a couple of weeks. I’ve joined the Chamber of Commerce here in Auckland and will hopefully get some useful contacts out of the networking opportunities they provide. All in all a positive couple of weeks. The challenge has been once again dealing with WINZ. I found out that they run a business support grant system called the “Enterprise Allowance”. OK, McApples is a start-up, we could use some money for advertising etc. so off we go on the merry-go-round again. It started last Friday when I had a meeting with WINZ to advise them of Cathy’s new job. The case worker was very supportive of what McApples planned to offer and arranged for me to attend a required seminar that afternoon. She said Mt Albert but printed out an address in another part of town. I didn’t realize this until I left to go there and “assumed” she had printed out the correct address. So 30km through Auckland to find this WINZ office. There is no parking, the sign was missing, but I did find it. I get in there and there is line of about 25 people. There is another reception desk with no one in line, so off I go. I tell the lady why I’m there, she replies yes, take a seat across the way and wait for Graeme. 10 minutes goes by, another lovely lady comes and asks who/;what I am waiting for, I tell her the Enterprise Allowance seminar and she looks surprised. Long story short, there was no seminar there that day. I leave with an appointment for the following Wednesday. Wednesday afternoon (this past Wednesday) off I go to WINZ in Waitakere again. I get into a seminar, with Graeme leading it, and around 20 people in attendance. Graeme spends 2 straight hours speed talking through a presentation that had maybe 45 minutes of content. That being said, the grant process is a mess. You create and submit a business plan, well that sounds right. The catch is that the business plan needs to be a particular format. OK, I ask if they have template. The answer, NO. BUT, they recommend that you attend a 6 week “Be Your Own Boss” course where they walk you through building a business plan. The next course starts in August, there are 12 places left on it for the entire Auckland region. Midway through the 2 hour speed talk, a person representing the private company that has a government contract to supply the course gave a brief presentation. I am a suspicious person, granted, but I find it odd that a government department that is supposed to support New Zealanders requires you (actually not required but STRONGLY recommends) you take a course from a private contractor that is paid for by government money. Don’t get me wrong, I actually think this is a good idea for a lot of people, but the ENTIRE SYSTEM is set up around this with little provision for deviation. We get to the end of the presentation, I have made a few notes of additions to my business plan, learned about the VERY strict and rigid guidelines about the grants, some of which are just plain bizarre. To explain, the Enterprise Allowance is a grant system of a maximum of 11,000 dollars for up to 52 weeks. The grant is designed to pay for living allowance and a portion can be used for capital acquisition. The maximum capital acquisition is 5000 dollars. If you get approved, you submit a budget detailing what you will spend money on (a budget). WINZ then says OK, and give you the money in one lump sum, in advance, to purchase what you have defined. You have EXACTLY 3 weeks to buy everything. If you don’t get everything in this SINGLE 3 week period, you will loose your grant and be kicked off the Enterprise Allowance scheme. I can see all kinds of issues with this but I won’t go into them here.

Getting the grant is a whole other issue. There is exactly ONE person in the entire Auckland region (Warkworth to the Bombay Hills) who runs the scheme, processes and makes the decision, and you guessed it, Graeme, the speed talker is the one. The business plan is reviewed by an independent person and gives a pass/fail check, literally all it is given, if it fails, there is NO explanation given. The independent reviewers are under government contract by the way. The Business Plan is then sent back to Graeme, who then has the ultimate authority to say yes or no. Not only does this one person have this level of control but he is also the only person that you send copies of your receipts to, and woe to anyone who does not supply receipts in a timely manner, you will be cut off, asked to repay etc., no word of what happens if he gets behind on his email. Speaking of email, at the end of the presentation, I ask him for his email address (this had been conspicuous by its absence). He is very hesitant to give it to me and when I ask why, his reply is:

I don’t like giving out my email address because people then send me their Business Plans by email

My response;

What is the problem with emailing you my business plan?

Graeme’s response

When I send the business plans to be vetted, part of the approval is dependant on the presentation, the format of the plan.

My response:

I’m not actually writing my business plan in the email, I am attaching either a Word document or a PDF file TO the email

Graeme’s response;

I can’t open those types of documents and besides, I don’t want to have to print off 30 pages of your Business Plan, that’s for you to do

At this point, I express extreme surprise that the government can not open internationally standardized document formats (PDF) and literally turned away, and walked out. I could not believe that a government department would insist on a paper copy only of a Business Plan for review, AND that the independent vetting of the plan included deciding if the plan LOOKED GOOD. It did however explain the strong push to attend the government funded Be Your Own Boss course that apparently teaches you how to make a good LOOKING business plan, who cares about content. I am not applying for the grant, it’s not worth the time and effort to deal with them any further.

Updates on Life in New Zealand

2009-05-07T14:09:00.001-07:00

Its been awhile since I wrote anything here and I thought I better remind myself what’s been happening. We have been basically cut off from WINZ because Cathy is working. It really makes me scratch my head in wonder at the logic of a system that says you will receive no more support from the government if one of you is working full time at a minimum wage job. This seems absurd to me as minimum wage, is just that, minimum. Apparently the government feels that it is more than enough money for TWO people to live on, bizarre. Anyhow, we are surviving and will continue to survive, unlike many others who are in desperate straits here. There are an increasing number of mortgage sales as families can not afford to keep their homes are forced to sell. I had a long conversation with a person at WINZ the other day and she had never seen so many people in one day requiring emergency assistance, i.e. food vouchers. As we drive around, I am noticing more people apparently living in the vehicles, either cars or vans. Maybe I am seeing more because I am looking for it. I continue to send out CV’s to all and sundry and have started work defining a new, affordable project management service for small business. I am drafting a white paper and hope to have it available on my website within a week or so (www.mcapples.co.nz) . The “My Safe Ride Home” program has been slow but there seems to be an investor that is interested so we will see how that pans out. Not much can be done until we get some infrastructure in place in NZ which requires capital of course. In other fun news, I decided to go to the new Pac-N-Save on opening day last Sunday to see if I could find any amazing bargains. I was amazed alright. I was circling the car park looking for a spot (with everyone else) when after about 30 minutes, I heard a pretty good bang from under the hood of the car and a saw a lot of steam escaping. I quickly shut the car off, and popped the hood, careful to step around the river of antifreeze running out of the engine. NOT GOOD I thought. I was off to one side and not really blocking cars too badly. It was then I became REALY glad we had spent the extra 25 dollars on our insurance and purchased the Roadside Assistance package from State Insurance. I called the number, gave our license number and they dispatched a tow truck. They did say average time response time was 30-45 minutes. After an hour, when the engine had cooled down, I could see fluid in the bottom of the radiator and on a lark, poured in some antifreeze I had in the boot (trunk). Nothing poured out so I started the car up and drove out of the busy parking lot and around the corner to a nice quiet place which fortunately had an outside water tap that worked. I called roadside assistance and told them I have moved the car and as I was adding water the tow truck turned up. I topped off the radiator and looked under the car to see that it was still leaking so decided to get it towed. The tow truck driver gave me my options, tow it their yard for the night and then get it towed to the garage the next morning thereby using both of the free tows for the year, tow it the marina and get it towed to the garage the next morning, again using our free tows for the year, or call and see if the dealer was open in Takapuna and drop the car off directly. She seemed to think it was (yes the tow truck driver was a woman, and very good at her job). I called, the sales people were there and said no problem, drop the car off. We did. I had an enjoyable walk home (around 5.5 km) on a beautiful sunny day and that was that. I called the dealer Monday, they said no worries we’ll look at it, they did, told be good news that it was a relatively simple issue, they fixed it. I had the service done as well which found worn ball joints and other assorted front end issues, BAD, and had them fixed as the warrant of fitness is due next week and it would not have passed. Got the car back, it runs great and we are hopefully over the big bills on it. It annoys the hell out of me that the warrant of fitness check done 6 months ago when we bought the car was a not properly done as there is no way the ball joints etc could have deteriorated in so short a time. Lesson learned, get a warrant on ANY used car through VTNZ (Vehicle Testing New Zealand). They are thorough and have no vested interest with used car dealers or repair shops, all they do is warrant of fitness checks.

The weather continues to be challenging, sun, rain, hail, wind, rain, wind, sun, rain, wind, rain, rain. You get the picture. As I look outside just now it looks like dusk, it’s a shame it’s 9:00AM. I have been looking at weather for our friends David and Linda on Toketie as they are heading to Fiji. Unfortunately they will likely be waiting until later next week unless something changes significantly in the next day or so.

Life on a Boat Continues

2009-05-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

After a couple of weeks I thought I should put down what’s been going on in our lives. Cathy got a job, on her own imitative, i.e. without going through a recruiter etc. Since we moved to Bayswater, Cathy has been going around to the various cafes in the area and dropping off her resume. She got called back to the Robert Harris café in Takapuna. Cathy was asked to go in for “training” last Sunday so off she went for 4 hours. She went for more “training” Friday and started full time today. Not a career job but enough to get us of WINZ. Needless to say, the search for a life continues.

I have accepted the position of President/CEO of MMC Software New Zealand, a grand title. The challenge is that they need an investor for MMC in New Zealand before the company gets off the ground, so until then, I’m looking at the market here and making plans but can not do much else.

The highlight this week has been the formation of our company. Cathy and I officially incorporated McApples Enterprises Ltd. Hopefully we will be able to generate some business.

The weather has turned to typical autumn here, wind, rain, sun, cloud, all in the space of about 45 minutes. The forecast is for rain through mid week but who knows. It was supposed to rain all day yesterday but the sun came out most of the day. Speaking of yesterday, our day started really early, around 4:00 am. We woke up to the really loud flapping sound. I poked my head out to see a partially unfurled headsail on a boat on C dock. I first tried to call 24 hour security, they didn’t answer, so I got dressed, walked around to the C dock and spent 15 minutes or so unwrapping lines, and getting the sail sorted out before it beat itself to pieces. I would hope that someone would do the same for us if the situation occurred. Anyhow, no drama, got it sorted and back to bed. Later in the day we decided to torture ourselves a bit and went around looking at houses in a couple of different areas. The farther you are from the motorway, the less expensive. A relative term as something halfway decent will still run 350,000 plus. Prices are insane to say the least. There is a small, 2 bedroom 1940s brick bungalow on a subdivided lot for sale near here, asking price, 495,000 dollars. Unless the interior is fitted out with gold trim and expensive hardwoods, I can’t see a lot of people shelling out that kind of cash for a small place. The consensus is that prices will continue to drop as we have not seen the bottom of the recession here yet. Unemployment continues to rise with more and more companies now laying people off. There was a mood of general optimism a couple of months ago, but that seems to have disappeared. Interesting times ahead. That being said, there are still jobs being advertised but the number of applicants for each job has risen dramatically. Cathy applied to one customer service job and the email she received back stated that they had received over 300 applicants for the position. Feedback I have received indicates that at the professional level, companies are receiving 50+ applicants for each role. The responses I get range from you are over qualified, to “the client has put that role on hold”, to “the client only decided to interview 2 people”, to, my favourite, “ thank you for the time and effort you have put into your high quality application…. but our client had very specific requirements that were better matched by other applicants” I am always curious what the specific requirements were, and no one seems willing to tell me. It is odd, as I am careful to read descriptions and make sure I address ALL specific requirements in my application but apparently there are other more specific requirements somewhere else. If the last sentence sounds confusing, it is.

Oneroa Bay, Waihekle Island - The Bay of a 1000 Boats

2009-04-10T15:02:00.001-07:00

We decided to get away for the Easter long weekend. The weather forecast for Thursday was terrible, and the weather WAS terrible so we decided to leave Friday. A good thing too! Thursday afternoon, there seemed to be a endless progression of fronts go through. The worst of them saw winds to around 40 knots in the marina and a pretty impressive hail storm. Enough hail came down to cover the decks in ice. We are NOT amused! The forecast for the weekend was for sun and light SW winds, perfect for a trip to the north side of Waiheke Island where we were told to check out Oneroa Bay. We started to leave the dock just before 9 am and usually, that process would not be a problem. This time however, we managed to screw it up completely. We backed slowly out of the berth but the stern got pushed onto the finger and the bow swung out towards our neighbours boat. We fended off and ended up pinned between two pilings, one on the port stern and one of the starboard bow. They arrange the berths in New Zealand so that there is a piling between the two boats that each can tie off to so that you tie all four corners at dock. Well we put on a show. A kind dock mate ran down and helped us off, and we needed the help, and we got out. No damage to anyone (I think). The winds that they promised did not appear and we ended up motoring for 3 hours. No problem, it was a beautiful day, sun, clear blue sky, you get the picture. On the way out, it was amazing. I don’t think I have ever seen so many boats heading the same direction. It kind of reminded me of salmon spawning, everyone jockeying for position to get somewhere known only to them. We arrived around noon and there were probably 20-30 boats already at anchor. We took our normal position on the outside. By the time we had gone to shore for a walk around the township and returned, there were well over 100 boats here. By suppertime, I would put the number between 150-200 boats all told. It was incredible. We only had one boat that decided that they just had to anchor really, really close to us, within boathook length. They were behind us and did not seem concerned so I said to hell with it, they are insured, if we hit them, they are at faulty as they anchored after us. We had a nice dinner, watched a movie and were relaxing when we heard “ahoy”. I stuck my head out and our too close neighbours were hanging onto our stern rail fending off. There was no wind (an important point). The female partner of the two declared that we MUST be dragging. I calmly informed them (really, I was calm) that we had 40 meters of chain out and a 45 pound CQR anchor and were likely NOT dragging. The male of the partnership wisely did not get involved in the discussion and suggested that the female partner return to the cockpit and, in his words, “just try and follow instructions”. He proceeded to pull up their anchor, by hand and we (Cathy and I) kept him off Tarun. He managed to pull in all 15 meters of his rope and chain and I gave him a good shove backwards. The problem was the tide had come in and they were so short scoped that as they went up they moved forward by about the length of our boathook. I mentioned this to the female partner and her reply was that surely you would have moved forward as well. I went below at that point, deciding that I did not want to get into a discussion of physics and anchoring scope etc. We had a gook night’s sleep.

We are actually not staying out for the weekend as Cathy has a job interview in Takapuna Sunday afternoon at a rather nice Café/Bistro. We were going to go back Sunday morning but tides are wrong and the weather is not as nice as they said. We’ll sail back later today.

Sun Swell and eWOF

2009-04-03T14:51:00.001-07:00

We arrived at Bayswater last Sunday after spending a weekend away with Tarun on Waiheke. We left Friday afternoon and after motoring out of the harbour we had enough wind to sail comfortably at 5-6 knots. This was good, the prop was really fouled with barnacles and clams. We had hoped to leave earlier in the day but due to circumstances beyond our control we were forced to wait around all bloody day. The saga starts with the re wiring of Tarun to provide 220 volt power for connection to shore power. I went to the local trade supply and the electrician there spent a lot of time with me going over what had to be done and what I would need. The cost was reasonable as he did give be trade price which saved us over 300 dollars. I spent a day and bit getting all the old out and the new in and was really happy with the job. Now the fun begins. In order to connect to shore power systems at many marinas in you need an eWOF no, not some strange Star Wars furry creature, an electrical Warrent Of Fitness. IN order to obtain said document you have to have the system inspected by a certified electrical inspector. IN order to get the system inspected by the certified electrical inspector, you have to have the work inspected by a licensed electrician, that is if you were silly enough to do the actual work yourself. Well, I called the local marine electrical place, World Power, and explained what I had done and what I needed. They said no worries, we’ll send an electrician down to look at the system and take it from there. Well, Chris showed up, nice guy, we made a couple of small changes, took less than half an hour, and he went away to arrange to get the inspector down the next day. Tony, the inspector, was supposed to show up early afternoon (12:30, 13:00). He showed up at 15:00. He proceeded to test the shore power cord, looked at the circuit breaker panel, tested the outlets. He then informed me that I could not use black and white wires in New Zealand and I had to use red, blue wires (I made a couple of connections inside the panel with north American standard wire). OK, I grabbed by bag of wire, found some suitable and changed the wire. Well, he was NOT happy as I was now working on the CIRCUIT PANEL, only certified electricians can work on CIRCUIT PANELS. He calls World Power and tells them (not me) that more conduit needs to be placed and the system must have a Certificate of Compliance signed by an electrician, before he will grant the eWOF. What really pissed me off is he is talking to World Power about our boat, in front of me, without telling me any of this. OK, we are subject to the rules, I get some conduit, etc and sort it all out. I call World Power Friday morning and they say that yes, they can send an electrician to inspect the wiring and issue the CoC that day. I suggest to them that I have ALREADY paid one of their electricians to do this and they say well he’s on holiday and never wrote one up. OK, we wait around all day for this guy to show, no electrician. We finally get a call at 15:45 saying that he got held up and wouldn’t be able to make it and that he would need 4 hours on the boat to do the inspection. I politely thanked them hung up, turned the air blue about incompetent, ignorant people who don’t what they are talking about (it really only took about 4 hours to install the whole bloody system). Anyhow, we got out for the weekend.

Monday roles around, we are now in Bayswater and can not connect to shore power, no eWOF, so I call World Power again. They agree to send the electrician out and he says he will be here between 11 and 12. He shows up at 15:00. I have at this point taken the system to pieces to he can see everything. He looks at the installation, congratulates me on doing a very tidy job, then informs me that the wire I have used is not low smoke halogen free oil resistant wire suitable for marine applications. I suggest to him that this is a sailboat, we are not awash in oil and if the boat catches fire, the total of 15 meters of NZ certified residential grade wiring will NOT kill us, the exploding LPG tanks yes, the wires, no. No, that will not do. I can not issue the CoC without the correct wire. OK, I hop in the car, head up to the wholesaler and purchase the correct wire, I tell them to give me the same price as World Power pays, and they do. At this point I am not a real happy camper. The first electrician (remember the first electrician) never mentioned anything about the wire type, he inspected the circuit panel and did not complain about black and white wires, and was happy with the work. Tuesday I spend an hour and a half replacing the wire. The electrician shows up at 15:30 (this time he showed up when he said he would), looked at it, signed the Certificate of Compliance and called tge inspector. Tony, remember Tony, said he would be at the boat between 08:30 and 09:00 Wednesday. Great, we will finally get this sorted out. Wednesday, up early, get the boat cleaned up, and we wait. 09:30 comes, no Tony, I call and leave a message. 11:00, no Tony, I call and leave another message. 12:30, no Tony, I call but do not leave a message. 14:30, no Tony, I send him a text message. 16:00, no Tony, I call one last time and leave another message. I get a text message from him at 19:00 that nigh saying he will be here Thursday morning at 09:30. He did show up Thursday (10:15) with no explanation of why he did no show up Wednesday other than to say he could not come to circumstances beyond his control. I will take the most positive view of this and hope that whatever family member he was visiting in the hospital is doing well. We finally got the eWOF and are not legally plugged in to the world. Next time I will settle for a fuzzy Star Wars animal!

The up side of the week is that the weather has been wonderful, lots of sun, nice daytime temps and cool evenings. We are getting used to the swell in the marina generated by the ferry that runs from here to Auckland central. The boat has a lovely “at anchor” feeling all the time.

The End of Days (at Westhaven Marina that is)

2009-03-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

Far ago and long away (whatever) there was a couple of gentle souls living an unassuming life on board their faithful ketch Tarun. They travelled here and there, crossed mighty oceans, swam in tropical waters and finally made their way to the paradise known to some of you as New Zealand (always wondered what happened to Old Zealand?). Anyhow, there they settled in the north of the north island until it became apparent that although it was a lovely place, finding a means to be gainfully employed would be no mean

Where's Tarun?

feat. Off they went to the big city to find their fortune. They travelled by night and arrived on a beautiful day to their new home at Westhaven marina. Asimple place with only 1500 neighbours. There they were made welcome by the very friendly office staff who politely informed them that they were welcome to stay for 3 months in recognition of their epic journey but after that they had to apply to stay longer, with no guarantees they would be able to stay. This proved a burden on the pshche of the two gentle souls who were looking for peace and restful surroundings in which to contemplate their future. They searched high and low until they
chanced upon Baywater Marina, a manmade marina sticking out from the north shore of Auckland Harbour. After many heartfelt meetings they were approved to live aboard their floating home at this wonderful place. All that remained was to completely re-wire the boat, get it inspected then get it certified as safe and they would once again be able to finally call someplace home.

A Slow News Day

2009-03-06T01:19:00.001-08:00

The following are REAL headlines from New Zealand Today. For more detail on her stories go Google news and search for stories from New Zealand

· Kiwi Porn Star breaks nose falling off pole – Was Lisa’s pole dance to risky or risqué?

· Fraudster uses disguises to evade police – in the story police are asking for information from anyone who has seen this person

· Recession driving Sealord job losses – John Key (our prime minister)

o Gee do you really think that the global downturn in the economy has resulted in job losses, go figure!

Not much else is happening here other than the fact that WINZ has finally agreed that living on a boat an renting a marina berth is just like living in a house or apartment and we are allowed an accommodation supplement, not much but every little bit helps.

We did go the boat show here on Thursday, more to meet up with friends than for any other reason. Paul and Gina had flown up from Christchurch, the couple who graciously lent us their spare antenna tuner in the Marquesas last year. Paul had a tough time health wise but is fully recovered and looks great. They are flying back to French Polynesia in May to resume their cruise. We also ran into Sally and Geoff from Grace. The 4 us had a great lunch. We will make every effort to catch up with everyone before they all take off for the islands in a few months.

Wind Rain and the end of Summer

2009-02-28T19:17:00.000-08:00

Well, the last day of summer is upon us already. It’s official, after nearly 2 years of summer we are finally going to experience autumn and winter again. OK, not winter like Canada but still MUCH colder than we have been used to. Just to emphasise the point, we are getting nailed today with 40 knot winds, driving rain and all that fun stuff. It’s nice to be tied up to a nice sheltered marina. We continue to grind away looking for work. It has been a bit weird of late. A couple of weeks ago I received 2 emails from Vodafone HR saying they understood how frustrated I must be and they were apologizing about not briefing me on a role I had applied for. The bottom line was a offer to meet with the HR person to find out more about the role. Great I thought, I’ll give this person a call. Of coursed, no answer, so I left a message. No return call was forthcoming so I sent an email off the next morning, no response. Another phone call that afternoon (we are now up to Tuesday afternoon), no answer, so I leave another message. One more email Wednesday which finally got a terse response that my CV had been forwarded to another person and they would contact me if they wanted to see me. It was a VERY strange apology to say the least. I sent one last email off to the head of the PM group yesterday to see if I could get a response. I’ll wait and see what happens. I did get a call from Telecom NZ about a training specialist role I applied for and I had a video conference interview yesterday. It went well, I think. I will find out next week just how well it went. It’s an interesting job and a good entrance to Telecom. The other high point is that we have finally confirmed a permanent live aboard berth here in Auckland. As of April 1^st we are moving across the harbour to Bayswater Marina. It will be nice to be settled and get an address at last. There is a ferry that runs across the harbour from the marina to the downtown core. If I get the job with Telecom, I may use that to get to work instead of fighting traffic. I’ll have to work out the costs involved and see if it’s worth it or not.

Heat, Rain, Humidity and WINZ

2009-02-13T15:07:00.001-08:00

32.4 degrees in Auckland Thursday, the warmest it’s been here since 1872. Even the wind felt warm, but less warm than sitting in the sun. We haven’t been up to much this week except looking for work and trying to keep busy. We had our friends Tony and Helen and their family, Jonathon and Sarah down on Sunday for a leisurely sail on the harbour and a BBQ after. All in all a very relaxing day. Not a lot of wind but we did sail a bit so it was worth it. I spent Saturday cleaning up the mooring lines and pick up lines for our berth. We don’t actually tie up to a finger like we have in the past, instead we are stern in against the main dock and there are two pilings, one on either side of the bow that we tie off to. The idea is you attach permanent lines to the pilings then pick them up as you back in past them. What you end up doing is attaching a small diameter, floating line to the mooring line, then that is attached at the main dock end to the stern line. In order to keep the whole thing out of the way when you leave the dock, you attach a counterweight through a pulley on the piling and in theory that pulls the lines out of the way. When we arrived last week, the lines were a mess and hadn’t been used for some time. I removed all the old lines Saturday and replaced them with our own lines, fixed the counterweight system and generally made it so we could easily get in and out of the berth. We got to test it on Sunday and other than a couple of wee adjustments, it all works well.

We also managed to get our unemployment benefit sorted out finally. We had an appointment on Monday for a Search for Work Seminar at the local WINZ office. We got in to the seminar and were told to look for 3 jobs in the lists they had supplied that we could apply for then wait to meet with a counsellor to work through them. As we were not yet receiving an unemployment benefit, I though maybe I should ask what was going on. I called the seminar leader over and asked what exactly we were supposed to be doing here. He started to explain that as a condition of continuing to receive our benefit we had to apply for work through the seminar. I politely informed him that perhaps he was making an unwarranted assumption, i.e that we were actually receiving a benefit. He looked a bit surprised and went to check our status on the system. It turned out we were not actually on the system (we knew this but of course he didn’t). He then asked if we had attended the initial seminar where we were informed of our obligations about finding work etc that we were required to attend BEFORE submitting the application. I again politely walked through all that we had gone through at this point with WINZ. He asked how we had seen initially, I handed him the business card of the seminar leader for the initial seminar that we had attended. He then asked if we had submitted our application and had it vetted. I handed him the business card of the next person we had seen to get the application sorted out. He took both cards a trundled off to check into it. It turned out that there was absolutely no record on the system, no notes on file, nothing, of our attendance at the initial seminar, our subsequent meeting with the case worker in Kerikeri or anything else for that matter, other than our address change that we had registered with them last week. He managed to get hold of the case worked in Kerikeri, Hori, who told him he was swamped with work but that he had some “processing time” that afternoon and that our file would be dealt with that afternoon and that we would be sorted out by Tuesday AM. When we were told this, Cathy and I both smiled and politely informed the case worker in Auckland that we had been promised that before and nothing happened. He gave us his card and said that if nothing had happened by Wednesday to call him. Remember this was Monday afternoon. OK, Tuesday, nothing, Wednesday morning, nothing so on the phone again and informed Gary (our Auckland case manager) that nothing had happened. He was most displeased and promised to call me back. We had a few calls back and forth to make sure he had the complete and accurate story then managed to get hold of the office in Kerikeri. He first tried to call our case manager in Kerikeri, Hori, and got as message saying he was unavailable. Gary then called the next person in line and got the same message. He then called the manager in Kerikeri and found out that Hori was at the manager’s desk. When he talked to Hori, he asked what had happened. Gary was once again told by Hori that he was swamped with work and the application still had not been entered but that there was a woman who was going to be entering data and he would put ours on top of the pile. Thursday morning I just about fell of the seat at the nav table when I checked our accounts and we had received the money they had promised. Although we got sorted out by applying gentle but consistent pressure on the system, what about all the others that had applications lying on this guys desk that had no been dealt with. We are fortunate in that we were not destitute. There were a lot of other people in Kerikeri that were severely unemployed. I hope that they got their benefits sorted out as well.

So Friday came and friends from Opua were coming in town to check out the Louis Vuitton racing so we bummed around with them most of the day and checked out the race village. If it stops raining today, we will wander over and check out the action. The series is almost done so this will likely be the last weekend of racing.

Waitangi Day 2009

2009-02-05T17:12:00.001-08:00

We sailed south to Auckland from Opua on Tuesday. We left with a forecast of NE to E winds which although not ideal looked not too bad. What the forecasters meant to say was ESE to SE winds, which became obvious after we rounded cape Brett and could barely make our course to weather. We motor sailed in light winds and by 20:15, the winds strengthened enough for us to sail and we had a good sail to weather for most of the night. The winds lightened again around 04:00 and we motor sailed ther rest of the way. We were tied up in Westhaven by 13:00, a total of 27 hours from dock to dock and 139 miles. Not too bad. The marina here is a bit more spread out than Opua but surprisingly pretty quiet, considering we are in the middle of Auckland. We do here city noises bit they are not intrusive. Yesterday I took the bus back up to Opua to get the car. I left at 08:30 and was back on the boat by 16:30. The bus ride up was great, I got to see a lot more than when we drive, it was a nice tall bus!

We got up this morning, Waitangi Day, for you non NZers, the agreement that formed New Zealand, otherwise known as the Treaty of Waitangi, was signed in 1843. It is a peaceful celebration of cultures coming together, at lease now it is. There was a big due hosted by Auckland City Council and Ngati Whatua o Orakei. We spent a few hours listening to music, wandering around and getting throroughly baked in the hot sun before we gave up and came back to the boat. All in all a pretty busy week. Cathy has a job interview on Wednesday and I am still chasing a job on the North Shore. Hopefully we can get something happening sooner rather than later. WINZ still has not seen fit to complete the process required to get the Unemployment Benefit. Don’t really know what the holdup is but we have another meeting on Monday with the WINZ office here in Auckland and should get it straightened out then.

Another Week Dirfts By

2009-01-31T13:59:00.000-08:00

We started the week with another visit to Tony and Helen’s bach in Whangaemu Bay. We went up Monday morning and came back Tuesday afternoon. We got to sleep inside this time, but we were prepared wit the tent anyways. Not much done other than walking on the beach, taking a long kayak tour with Tony on Tuesday and eating well. They a re a truly wonderful family and we always have a great time with them. We had hoped to get them out sailing with us in the Bay of Islands but that was not to be as we had not received the parts we needed to complete the refurb on the cooling system. By Thursday, I was getting nervous about the parts, so back up to Seapower. Chris called Lust and Blundell in Auckland and they said, yes, they had the parts and would be sent to be received Friday. Well, no parts Friday morning, so back up to Seapower just before noon. No worries, they get deliveries all day. By 14:00, still no parts so Chris calls Auckland and they say, no we did not get the parts and nothing was sent. They had plain out lied to her on Thursday. It turns out the parts haven’t even been shipped from the Netherlands much less made it to NZ. Well, I was less than impressed with Lusty and Blundell. We have to vacate our berth here this week and need a running motor. Well Chris’s husband Bruce, the mechanic, offered to build up a hose for us from parts. Well between the two of us, we cobbled together a few pieces and made a hose to go from the fresh water pump to the heat exchanger that also allowed me to have the thermostat back in the system. I got it installed, resealed the leaking filler cap fitting and started the motor up. It seemed OK but after about half an hour, I was still getting a small leak around the filler cap. Saturday morning, I took the fitting off again and managed to find a way to seal it up properly and got the system leak free, or so I thought. I started the motor, and noticed an exhaust smell inside the boat. So, back into the engine compartment to find that two of the hose clamps for the exhaust hose were loose. OK, I tightened them up and all was fine. While I was doing that, I noticed the shear pin connected the propeller shaft to the transmission was half way out of the coupler. It turned out the pin had broken in half somehow. After a couple of hours of patient work, I got the old pin completely removed. It would have literally left us stranded and caused considerable damage had we left the dock with it in that condition. The shaft would have pulled out of the coupling and slide back. The prop would have hit the back side of the aperture under the boat and probably wrecked the prop and would have definitely gouged a chunk out. Luckily, once again, we dodged a bullet and it will be fixed before we leave. Now that the pin is out, I run the engine again to make sure the exhaust is OK and no other leaks have appeared. It all looks good until I see a small drop of antifreeze on top of the new coolant tank. I’m looking around and can’t figure out where it came from and I’m thinking, maybe I spilled a drop when I was topping off the overflow bottle. SoI wipe it up and as I watch, I see coolant seeping VERY slowly out of the top of the new tank, the new aluminium tank. It turns out that there is a very, very small hole, a fault in the manufacture, in the top of the tank and it weeps coolant. It will be K until we get to Auckland but now, I have to persuade Lusty and Blundell to get it replaced for free along with the necessary gaskets etc. Should be great fun. I really hope I don’t find any more problems with the boat. In addition to the boat stuff, we have been dealing with government bureaucracy this week. Wednesday, I decided to call Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) to see what was happening with our 2^nd required appointment that we needed to attend in order to get an unemployment benefit. The fun started when I called the 0800 number using our cell phone. The government in its infinite wisdom, does not allow cell phones to call the 0800 number. It is only useable from landlines. If calling from a cell phone, you have to call the local number, which means that we pay for the call. It seems strange to me that the number provided to people who are collecting unemployment benefits, sickness benefits, etc, costs those people money to call. In NZ it is a calling party pays system. I managed to get hold of the person who presented the first seminar and her story was that they were really busy and have been unable to reschedule appointments. My story to her was that all we had was an appointment booked fro Feb. 2^nd , no particular time, just Feb. 2^nd. As we were going to Kerikeri that day anyways to get groceries, I said I would just go to WINZ and get a time confirmed. Around 10:00 am, I get a call from the WINZ office in Kerikeri, asking us if we can be there before 11:00 and we could get the application completed. We made it by 10:45. We went through the paperwork, answered all the questions and I got to stare in disbelief when I was asked to provide proof of my Inland Revenue tax number that I had provided on the form. I politely informed our case worker that they had given me the number off their computer system a couple of weeks ago. No way was that sufficient for them, I needed to provide them with something on IRD Letterhead with my tax number on it. OK, I remembered seeing something in our files from IRD that I had kept on the boat since 1996. When I got back to the boat I managed to find the piece of paper that proved that the number WINZ gave me was in fact the correct one, bizarre. Near the end of our interview Wednesday, our case worked, Hori, told us that we would see the first of the payments into our account Thursday morning. He was also having problems with his system and couldn’t print out our service agreements, the agreements we had to sign saying that we would actively look for work and how often we had to check in with WINZ and prove we were looking for work. He said he would mail them to us, I told him we were moving to Auckland next week, to look for work, and he said OK, he would print them out and leave them with reception and we could come back to Kerikeri and sign them Thursday of Friday. We went back Friday and stood around an almost deserted office (midmorning) and finally someone came out and asked us what we wanted. Told them the short story about having to sign our service agreements (and drop off proof of the IRD number). The lady who was asking the questions, went way, copied the IRD number and when she came back, I asked about the service agreements and also what had happened to the money that was supposed to be paid into out account (still not received Friday) . She went away again, found Hori, had a quick discussion with him, came back to us and said that they were really busy and quite behind so she had no idea when we would see any money. She also said that Hori would mail us the service agreements next week for us to sign and send back. I politely (I was trying HARD to remain polite by this time) informed the nice lady that we would not receive our mail as we were moving to Auckland next week. She snapped back with “You know you have to tell us when you move to which I responded, politely, that we had already informed Hori of this. She snapped back with “So when are you moving? I politely replied that it depended on the weather as we live on our boat and were sailing our HOME to Auckland. She snapped back (she was really not very pleasant) with “So, what type of work do you do?” to which I politely responded that I was an IT and Telecommunications Project Manager and that I thought I would have a better chance at finding work in Auckland, rather than in Kereikeri. She agreed that was probably true. So off she went back to speak to Hori, and came back and said, well, you need to call us when you have an address in Auckland so we can mail out the service agreement to you. To which, I politely replied, that we would certainly do so. We then politely left.

Bay of Islands Sailing Week

2009-01-24T19:10:00.000-08:00

I’m recovering from the last week’s hectic schedule helping out with the regatta they have here every January. I found out last Monday they were looking for volunteers at the cruising club to help out cooking breakfast Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for the event. I stuck my hand up and ended up in the kitchen at 06:00 with 6/7 other people preparing a full cooked breakfast for about 100 people a day. It was great fun. We each had our jobs to do and we all got stuck into it really well. I worked with a lady named Jane, and between the two of us we prepared scrambled eggs and beans. We had three other guys on bacon, sausage and hash browns, three people serving plates and Carla, our German lady washing dishes. Heidi was on toast out in the club and Graham (commodore) and his wife as well as Murray (past commodore) and another gent who’s name I didn’t get, provided support and cleanup throughout the morning rush. All in all we averaged about 100 breakfasts a day for three days. We did the eggs, a dozen at a time, in the microwave. They were great! So that took care of the mornings on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I also decided to help out in the evenings tending bar under the big marquee they put up on the pier. David, the bar manager was great to work with. He’s organised the bar for the past 6 years and has a great system down pat. We had a trailer the size of a horse trailer that was actually a cold store. That held all the beer, around 300 dozen or so. There were 7 cases of rum, maybe 20 cases of mix (coke, sprite, ginger ale etc.) and wine. They have a purpose built bar that they use year to year and with a staff of 6-8 of us, we poured drinks and served beer from 4-10 Tuesday and Wednesday night. Thursday we hired one of the old car ferries and loaded up the chiller trailer, a generator, an old dinghy full of beer and ice, and headed out to a small island for an after race beach party, The ferry was able to pull up to the beach and drop his ramp so people could get on and off. We set up the bar on the ferry, there was a catering company doing lamb sandwiches, and we had a band playing for a few hours as well. The party went from around 15:00 to 19:00 then we pulled up the ramp, backed off the beach and headed back to Opua. It was a great time. The sailors were pretty impressed with the whole thing. We had loads of compliments from everyone. Friday was the big finish with prize giving etc. We closed the bar about 23:00 and sent the last remaining die-hards out. It was a great week and everyone was pretty well behaved, at least in the marquee, not too sure how they were outside of it. All I know is that I had a great time volunteering, got a couple of new shirts and met a lot of really great people.

Another Exciting Blog Entry

2009-01-16T19:57:00.001-08:00

It’s been two weeks since I published anything to the blog, mostly because not much is happening. The days are an endless round of internet job searching followed by follow-up phone calls, some of which amazingly enough even get returned. Not much happening on the job front yet but is it is still early days and things are not really moving much. I am classed an academic here due to the fact that I have been training project managers and managers how to do their jobs. It seems that most recruiters subscribe to the “those that can’t do teach” scenario. It’s all BS but what can you do. Words don’t change their minds and it is difficult to get past them (the recruiters that is). We are working on that however. We have decided to move to Auckland and concentrate our job search there. We have a berth reserved for January 7^th for three months. The price is a bit higher than here but not too bad. If at all possible we would like to stay in Auckland rather than Wellington, mostly due to weather. Of course, as soon as we get settled in Auckland we I will likely get a job in Wellington but that’s life!

We did start the process of getting an unemployment insurance benefit while we are looking. It’s not much but it will offset most of our costs. The only problem is that some bright spark a few years ago decided that it would be better if people did not talk to counsellors individually but rather they (we) need to sit in on two information sessions before the benefit is granted. The process, at this point, looks to take 4-6 weeks. Oh well, red tape abounds everywhere and we are at least fortunate enough to have a little aside to tide us over for a wee while longer. On the boat front, we are still waiting for parts for the motor. The Vetus dealer in Auckland who everything must go through is not the best company in the world to deal with. I wasn’t impressed with them 9 years ago when I was refitting Loon Echo, and surprisingly, I\m still not impressed. The parts MAY be here this coming week. Other than that we struggle on with the usual readjustment stress about ripping our lives up and restarting them. Some days are good, others we just get through.

A Lovely Day

2009-01-04T01:16:00.000-08:00

Don’t really know why I’m writing the blog tonight other than the fact we had a really pleasant day. We started off with a nice cooked breakfast and then after a few minor chores (washing rags, after all, you have to BUY rags now) we headed to Kerikeri to go for a walk. The idea was to walk from the Stone Store to rainbow falls, an hour and half return walk, so the guide said. Well, we got to the Stone House and couldn’t find a parking spot, so we drove to Rainbow falls and walked from that end. It took about 50 minutes at a brisk pace to get to the Stone House. The walk followed the Kerikeri river and meandered through woods and under the new bypass bridge. It was a beautiful day and a great walk. By the time we got back to rainbow falls, we both felt we had earned the sandwich I had carried in the pack! We washed the car on the way back to Opua and by the time we got back, we had time to prepare for dinner guests. We had invited Tom and Dawn from Warm Rain, Geoff and Kathy from Bold Spirit and David and Linda from Toketie over for a summer BBQ. The weather was perfect, light winds, blue skies and not too hot. It was a BYOM. David and Linda couldn’t stay, they are in the middle of repainting the interior of their boat but did take an hour off and brought over a appetizer to share. We ended up having a wonderful evening, and got to know people a bit better. It was a celebration of our getting back into the water after the haul out.

It’s days like today that we really appreciate being here. Not that you can’t go for walks anywhere you are but somehow it seems better in NZ, at least to us. The trails are not too manicured and there aren’t an abundance of safety rails etc. It is on your on good judgement not to fall over the bank etc. and no warning signs other than those that are absolutely necessary, i.e “Do not enter when the river is in flood”. We are also getting a lot of entertainment from the marina. The Aucklanders are her in droves and it is fun watching them load and unload their boats on the weekends. The marina staff are going nuts trying to police the place. There are a subset a people that think that they can come into the marina and just grab any empty berth for a few hours or so to top up on water, get food, etc. The problem is that they don’t ask permission; they just grab an empty berth, thinking that its OK, we’ll just be a little while. The problem is that when the berth holder returns in their boat and their berth is occupied, it can cause a bit of a problem, The current runs pretty fierce through here and when you are coming into your berth, you really only have one shot at it. If you can’t get in, because, say another boat is there, you can easily end up pinned up against the pilings by the current. Needless to say the marina staff are running around chasing people out. They have a good sense of humour (they\d go nuts otherwise) and realize that this too will end once summer holidays wind down.

Boat Fun on Land

2009-01-02T11:11:00.001-08:00

We hauled the boat out on the 30^th of December with big plans add a boot stripe along the waterline, paint the bottom, touch up the paint on the topsides where we removed the wind steering and generally make the boat tidy again. Surprisingly, it all worked out really well. We came out of the water Tuesday morning and by Tuesday night we had Tarun wet sanded, the keel covered in Primicon, and the water line taped and straightened. The rest of the work went well and we finished everything we planned to do yesterday afternoon. We are hoping to go back in the water today if the weather holds. The forecast is for 20-30 knots but at 08:00 there is not much so maybe we will be all right. It has been a treat doing the work here. They parked the boat right outside the toilets and shower so no long walk. They yard has proper scaffolding that you can use (for money of course), and the guy that is running the travel lift over the holidays (Val) is great. He’s been around for a long time and fills in on holidays. He takes great care of the boats and is generous to a fault. He is coming in today to launch us when it is rightfully his day off. I suspect he kind of half lives in the yard.

The boat looks great and I will post a few pictures of the new paint job on the blog as well. It’s been really quiet in the yard over the holidays. Most of the stands are empty and not many people are around.

Christmas Eve in Palmerston North

2008-12-23T19:01:00.001-08:00

Well, we are thoroughly landlocked for Christmas. We are at least an hour from the coast at our friends Penny and Spencer’s house. We had a good visit with Jan and Tony and even managed to get our for a sail for a day on Monday. It was an early start because of the tide and the bar. We left the dock around 07:15 and despite the fact that Tony made us leave REALLY early to make sure we had lots of water over the bar, we still touched the bottom on the way over the bar. That really confirmed our decision that if we end up in Wellington working we will NOT be in Mana but rather we will take the boat over to Seaview in Wellington harbour. We talked to them last week and they were really quite nice and said that there would be no problem with availability etc. It’s across the harbour from the city but it’s not too bad a drive. We lived a bit further around the bay in 1997/98 in York Bay. We left Tuesday morning and went to Porirua to get the tires checked and balanced. The car was vibrating pretty good at between 80 and 100 km/hr. It turned out that all the tires were a different make and one of the rear tires had a separated belt. To top it all off, the tires were the wrong size. So, new tires and then off to Palmerston North. The plan is to head back to Opua on the 26^th. The parts are all there for the motor so I can get it back together and hopefully not need many (or any) other parts. The weather is typical for this time of year, a couple of days of sun followed by a few days of cold and rain. Should be right by tomorrow for the traditional Christmas BBQ.

Wind, Rain and Christmas

2008-12-19T18:32:00.001-08:00

What can I say, we’re in Wellington and it’s blowing 40-50 knots with rain, ahhhhhh home!! We had planned to try and sail to the South Island over the weekend but alas, the weather, she no play nice no more. Other than that, we took 3 days to drive here from Opua, something like a new record for me. Normally I would drive it in one day. WE stopped in Auckland the first night and had a great evening with Tony, Helen, Sarah and Jonathon. We haven’t seen them for nearly 5 years and other than maybe a few more grey hairs, tony looked about the same, Helen looked exactly the same. The kids on the other hand have grown up. Sarah enters University next term and Jonathan is into racing bicycles, road and velodrome. Needless to say, we had lots of catching up to do. We stopped the second night in Taurangi at a cheap motel. It rained. We drove through rain, wind, sun, rain, wind, and sun then got to Wellington. The weather hasn't been too bad except for the wind, blowing 25-35 in the marina pretty much since we got here. Had a good meeting with a recruiter, we’ll see how that plays out in the new year. Other than that, a quiet week. Drove around the east side of the harbour and checked out the marina and rates. If we come to Wellington because of work, we will keep the boat at Seaview Marina in Wellington Harbour. No bar to contend with and good sailing around the harbour.

Land Criusing

2008-12-13T17:40:00.001-08:00

We still haven’t got a working motor. The parts supplier for the motor expects everything to be in Opua next week so hopefully it all shows up and when we get back here on the 27^th I can bolt it all together. We haul out to bottom paint on the 30^th so an engine would be nice. On the bright side, the remaining engine bits have all been cleaned and the engine painted with T29 School Bus Yellow Super Enamel spray paint. It looks great. The alternator has been rebuilt and is ready, the rest of the boat is together complete with new Wind, Depth/Log instruments (replaced for the 3^rd time under warranty), a new antiglare coating on the Chart Plotter. That one was my fault, I got carried away cleaning one day and used the wrong rag to wipe off the screen, it had Windex on it, a DEFINITE NO-NO. Anyways all we need is a motor. We had a Treasures of the Bilge sale yesterday and we got rid of lots of stuff from the boat. I dug out the 40 meters of spare chain and spare 45 CQR anchor, sold that, chopped 40 meters of chain of the bow (left 60 meters) and sold that, dug out the 6 year old laptop, sold that, took out the 110volt battery charger, sold that, rounded up every bit of spare junk we didn’t need and sold it! All in all, the boat is riding back to her designed water line and I’m looking to forward to sailing here with all the extra weight removed. The only other thing we did was get the front brakes serviced on the car. I was expecting to only have to replace the disk pads but like always, we had a choice to either turn the rotors or replace them. As the price difference was not great between the two options, we put new rotors on. The car is like new. I spent an hour this morning cleaning the inside, for the first time!!

It’s beginning to look like Christmas around here (NZ style that is). The Pohutukawa trees are in bloom (red of course) and people are loading up their boats for the annual Christmas/summer holiday cruise. We leave tomorrow for Wellington, by car, and hopefully some good career contacts. I have one meeting lined up and hopefully another will materialize by weeks end. With any luck will sail over to the Queen Charlotte Sounds with Jan and Tony for a few days anyways before heading to Palmerston North for Christmas with Penny, Spencer, Jake, Harry and Ned. The plan is a traditional Kiwi Christmas BBQ, should be fun.

Chapter 3 Life in New Zealand Begins

2008-12-06T11:23:00.000-08:00

We are beginning to settle in and I’m at least getting serious about job hunting. We took a long drive last weekend over to the west coast, down to Dargaville, over to Whangerie and then back to Opua. A lovely day on the coast and through the Kauri forest. That was pretty much the high point of the week. We took the car in for service, not too bad, only needs front brake pads, not bad for a 10 year old used car! The big issue turned out to the boat engine. I started Wednesday by changing fuel filters. That led to replacing the alternator belt which led to removing the alternator to get the bearings replaced which led to draining the cooling system and finding out that most of it needs to be replaced due to corrosion. Fun, fun, fun.
Like I said I have also been serious about getting a job, especially now that we need to spend a heap of cash on the engine. The down side of job hunting in NZ is that 99% of organisations go through recruiting agencies. Some are good, most are not. The more I look, the more likely it seems that we will end up in Wellington. Essentially, the choice boils down to Auckland or Wellington and at this point we choose Wellington. We are planning a road trip there in just over a week. The plan is meet up with some old colleagues and friends and then spend Christmas in Palmerston North with Penny and family. Back here before the 30th as we have to haul out and do the bottom paint etc then we will see where we end up. If something comes up in Wellington we will sail south, doing it in day hops as much as possible.

End of Chapter 2

2008-11-27T14:55:00.001-08:00

Well, after nearly three weeks in New Zealand, we are now legal. The boat has been officially imported, duty and taxes paid, and we have a permanent berth in Opua. The money from Canada is here, the debts are paid and we are looking for jobs. The second chapter of “The Adventures of the Good Ship Tarun” can now be closed. We have done a number of repairs and maintenance jobs in the past couple of weeks, namely resealing fittings to stop leaks. It’s amazing how much you find out about your boat when you sail hard to weather for a few days straight. We have sold the Monitor Wind Steering system as we don’t need it for sailing around New Zealand and are in the process of sorting out the re-wiring of the boat for 240 volt shore power.

Other than that, we have been having fun dealing with Canadian Financial Institutions, trying to sort out credit cards, addresses, etc. We think it’s all done but not sure yet. Cathy had her visa card cancelled without notice after having it for over 24 years. Maybe an hour on the phone this morning has probably fixed it. It’s amazing that banks will drop a customer in good standing simply because the card has not been used for a period of time. I guess the banks are more interested in the people who have lots of debt and pay the banks lots of interest. It really brasses me off that those of us who manage our money to avoid debt are penalized by the banks. Other than starting our own bank, we can’t really do much about it except spend time on the phone with ineffectual, so called, “customer” service reps who are trained to say “NO” over one hundred different ways. Every once in awhile you find a person who can actually help you and when you do, please say a big thank you for yourself and all the other long suffering people who deal with telephone support in all it’s guises.

On a brighter note, I am including a couple of sets of lyrics to songs that I rewrote while under passage.

NOTE: The author is NOT responsible for any throwing of fruit, veggies, etc due to the public performance of any of these songs

Tarun, The Ketch Song

(sung to the music of Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot)

I can see her sitting there with her sails a mess

You can see she’s a ship in need of much redress

Sailor, you better take care or you’ll spend all your money making her real fair

She’s a tough old ketch with a heart of gold

But you don’t really know what the bilges hold

Sometimes I think it’s a shame when I get feeling better when I’m sailing again

I can hear every groan that her spares will make

I can see every wave that her bow will break

Sometimes I think it’s a sin when I get feeling better when I sail hard to wind

Sometimes I think it’s a shame when I get feeling better when I’m sailing again

Canadian Farewell

(sung to the music of Jamaican Farewell)

In Sidney town where the old folks frown

And the sun shines sometimes when it’s not raining

I took a trip on a sailing ship

And when I reached New Zealand I made a stop

Chorus

But I’m sad to say, I’m on my way

Won’t be back to Canada eh

My heart is down, my boat is spinning around

I had to leave our rusty bikes in Sidney town

From Halifax to Vancouver

Canadians cry out no more winter

Icy roads and heavy snow

But the beer is better than Mexico

In Alberta they burn the oil

In Newfoundland they fish for cod

In Toronto they make the cash

But on the BC coast we sail and laugh

Settling In

2008-11-16T11:22:00.001-08:00

A hectic week to say to say the least as Cathy and I try to sort out our life back in NZ. We spent Monday night on land with friends of Jan and Tony who have a lifestyle block (18 acres) outside of Kerikeri. It was very peaceful and a welcome change. Cathy had her first bath since March. We looked at cars, bought food, spent a lot of time getting a cell phone sorted out, and had wonderful discussions with NZ Customs regarding the importing of Tarun to NZ. Despite many good arguments (well I thought they were good anyways) Customs was very clear about the fact that we had to import the boat to NZ. I argued that we were not residents of NZ as we are still tax residents of Canada. We were informed in no uncertain terms that as soon as our feet touched the dock we became NZ residents again as we are NZ citizens, we have to import our boat. They assessed the value based on the purchase price converted to NZ dollars then depreciated at 10% per year for the time we have owned her. The bill was not too excessive but it still hurts a bit. I asked if we could arrange a payment plan with the government and the Customs official we were dealing with said in no uncertain terms “The government does not do payment plans!” We have another 3 weeks to pay before they chain the boat to the dock. Hopefully our RRSP will get cashed out and have enough remaining to pay the bills.

We did manage to buy a car on Wednesday. We looked at and bought a 1998 BMW 318i. Low kms and a great price. So now we get to drive around in a red Beemer as befits our new station in life (broke and tied to a dock).

The week has also been filled with free food and social activities arranged by the Opua Business Association. They put on a welcome to Opua week that included a free seafood supper at the cruising club on Tuesday, a wine and cheese on Thursday, Bangers and Beer on Friday and the final event, a pig roast yesterday with some great door prizes. We won a nice Garhuer block that we have no need of so I traded it for a 50 dollar voucher from one of the local electrical places. We need to rewire the boat to 220 so that will be a bit more useful.

Opua, the Final Frontier

2008-11-08T10:42:00.001-08:00

We made it to the customs dock at the Opua Marina at 06:00 Saturday morning, exactly when we had said we would! The last day was spent motor sailing in order to make sure we made it early. The wind was predicted to come around to the SE and that would have made it hard going to weather with big seas. Anyhow we made it fine with half a tank of diesel to spare. We cleaned up the boat, Jan cooked us an amazing meal with the last of our fresh meat and veggies. We had chicken and stir fry veggies for breakfast, it was awesome. Cathy pulled out all the questionable food for Biosecurity NZ to inspect and I got all the paperwork ready for Customs. Around 09:00 or so, a lady from Customs (Jo) came on board. She spent maybe 5 minutes with me as there was nothing left for her to do except collect the paperwork I had ready. She thanks us for being so well prepared and off she went. The downside is that we have to se Customs on Monday about importing Tarun to NZ. Oh well, we'll cross that bridge as we go. Next, Biosecurity NZ (Formerly Ministry of Agriculture and Forests) arrived to inspect the boat and make sure we weren't bringing any dangerous foodstuffs in. Helen and Daniela were very nice and when they saw all the food piled up on the salon table they were more than happy. We had everything ready for them, garbage bagged, food listed etc. It pays to make their life easy. They took the fresh food, including the eggs. They did NOT take any dairy products or pasta and the only rice they took was a small packet of wild rice we had brought from Canada. Again, they thanked us repeatedly for our preparation and gave us our clearance. We were free to go. Our marina berth was still occupied but they found another place for us so off we went with Tony waiting to grab our lines. We were tied up by 10:30. After getting squared away with the office we had showers on land (hot, loads of pressure and 4 minutes for a buck). Lunch on board then we piled into Jans' car and off to Pahia for a bit of shopping to replace fresh food and get some NZ cash. First stop was the polling booth though as it was Election Day yesterday. Cathy and I even managed to vote by special vote. The rest of the day was a bit of a blur. I figure I managed to sleep about 10 hours in the three days prior to getting to Opua so I was pretty tired
In total we travelled 11224 Nautical Miles from Victoria to Opua from August 2, 2007 to November 8, 2008. We're HOME!

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The Almost There Blog

2008-11-06T22:46:00.000-08:00

Well, 50 miles to go. We are motor sailing hard on the wind with double reefed main and half the genoa out in order to point high enough to make Cape Brett. We have been using the motor since about 08:30 this morning. We've had a few moments of fun today, most notably me going up on the foredeck to fix the furling line for the headsail that had almost chafed through. We have it fixed enough to get us to Opua but can no longer unfurl the whole headsail. On the bright side I did provide entertainment for Cathy and Jan as the waves crashed over top of me, great fun. The upside was that I fixed the problem before it became a real issue and I got to do it in daylight. It's always easier when you can see what you are doing. By this time tomorrow, we will have showered, cleared customs and dumped a lot of food that we can not bring into the country. Not in that order mind you but close. The boat is going well and will get a well deserved rest when we tie up to the dock in Opua in less than 10 hours.

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Bolting for the Barn

2008-11-06T10:46:00.000-08:00

Latitude : 33? 32' South
Longitude: 175? 12' East
Still charging to weather at 5.5-6 knots. The rule of the day is each 2 hour watch must complete at least 11 miles. Our current ETA at OPUA is 04:00 Saturday morning. The weather should hold for the next 24 hours so we will have a great sail in. Everyone is a bit tired but holding up well despite he 30 degree heel. Home soon!

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Lows, Highs and Wind

2008-11-05T10:37:00.000-08:00

Latitude : 31? 41' South
Longitude: 176? 18' East
A long couple of nights and one long day. Tuesday night the shore station we check in with twice a day told us to expect winds rising to 25-30 knots with gusts to 40. Well we prepared what we could, single reefed mizzen, a couple of reefs in the main and waited. Sleep was hard as we were all waiting for the wind. It never got over 20. The seas however got quite big and from astern and by 11:30, after passing through one frontal system and sailing into the second one, I decided to heave-to and wait it out. The boat hove-to well after a couple of tries to get her head through the wind and we sat with the wind and seas more or less on the bow quarter. We stayed that way for about 3 hours until the winds shifted around to the SW and then off we went again on a rhumb line to Opua. We have a heading of 207 degrees true but are generally only able to make 190-195 at best hard on the wind. We slowed the boat down last night and flattened her off to get a bit of sleep and now that it is daylight, I have more sail up and we are back around 5-5.5 knots hard on the wind. The forecast is for the wind to go more west which will help. Hopefully we will make Opua on Saturday as long as we can maintain some decent speed. We are 230 miles away so two reasonable days should see us in.

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Flat is Fun

2008-11-03T10:13:00.000-08:00

Latitude : 28? 44' South
Longitude: 177? 55' East
Eerily flat best describes the sea state for the past day. There is a long gentle swell slowly running under the boat with a ripple on top. The big down side is the severe lack of wind. We have been under motor since Sunday but expect the winds to pick up later today (famous last words). We have spent a lot of time pouring over weather maps and analysis charts trying to figure out what the next few days will hold. It looks like we will see some wind as a front passes over us in the next 12-18 hours, but not too much. There is a low pressure system that will affect us but it looks like it will be less severe than we originally thought. It seems to change every day. It does serve to pass the time. We have been eating well, cooked dinner every night and we are getting through our fresh food at a rate that will see us have to throw out very little. We can't bring anything fresh into NZ, and in fact they ask if we are going to dispose of food at sea we do it outside of the 12 mile limit. For some reason that makes a difference. Jan managed to finally talk to Tony last night n the SSB, she had been trying to contact him every night. Other than a ship that passed us between 1 and 5 AM sometime nothing else has happened of note. I did re-seal the aft hatch after finding out it was leaking again when we had all the rain a few days ago. I managed to squeeze out enough sealant from the end of a tube. I can tell we are getting closer to NZ, it's getting colder. Long pants and layers are becoming de-rigour. It will get colder and I suspect that I will have to hook up the furnace again when we get to Opua to take the chill off in the mornings for the next month or so. I'm glad we still have some kerosene on board.

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Killing Dinosaurs

2008-11-02T10:03:00.000-08:00

Latitude : 27? 15' South
Longitude: 179? 16' East
Still motoring. We sailed for a few hours yesterday but the winds did not stay and back to the motor. We have a total of 5 days of fuel on board and have now burned around a day and half. Hopefully the wind will come back in soon. It is calm with no real seas and light SE winds. The guy we are checking in with in Opua, Des from Opua Offshore Communications, thinks we will get more easterly winds today, we'll see. We are trying to get south to miss the worst part of low that is predicted for mid week. Not much else happening. Cathy saw a ship the first night out, Jan saw a plane a couple of nights ago, we had showers yesterday, pretty normal stuff. The engine is purring along beautifully and the boat is working fine.

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A Day of Rest

2008-11-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

Latitude : 25? 40' South
Longitude: 179? 04' West
Captain and crew are all in good health and spirits and the sails needed a rest so we have been under power since late last night. The wind began easing in the afternoon but we managed to keep 5 knots with all sails up until around 22:00. Oh well, that's why we have all this diesel on board. We have been struggling with the voyage forecast as we jumped ahead of the game and winds are not quite what were predicted. What wind we have is from NE and as we are heading WSW so we have it very deep on the stern. We were, and are, expecting the winds to move to the south which would help us make easier westing. The temptation of course is to follow the straight line from Tonga to Opua, the only problem would be that we would get nailed as we approached the NZ coast with winds on the nose. The plan is to head west until we are almost in line with Cape Reinga and then head south. I asked for an update from Bob McDavitt yesterday but have not yet heard anything. The weather files I have accessed and emails from friends don't seem to show what he is predicting but I won't second guess the experts just yet. As long as we are heading west fine and besides, George is driving and doing a stellar job.
As I write, I am sitting in the cockpit watching the sun rise. Despite all other feelings, the sunrise on the ocean is on of the lasting memories I will take away from this voyage. The swell is actually rolling gently under the boat and all seems right with the world (excepty we only have 4 knots of wind!)

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Clear Skies at Last

2008-10-31T11:50:00.001-07:00

Latitude : 24:27 South
Longitude: 177:34 West
After 100% overcast for the past 2 days, the day dawned with only 50% clod cover, yeah. We are still charging SSW and making good time with an average speed of 5.6 knots which is putting us ahead of the voyage forecast from McDavit so I sent him an email requesting an update. We have been doing a lot of sail changes as the winds have been up and down, backing to the NE then veering back south again. We motored for about an hour last night to get through a calm patch and will see what the day brings. Everyone is well on board which his great but we all seem a bit tired. We have sailing on a tight reach since we left Tonga and hope to crack off to a deep reach later.

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Underway at Last

2008-10-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

Well, 17 months after giving up our marina berth in Van Isle marina in Sidney, we are on the last leg of the trip to New Zealand. W3 dropped Tony off at the resort this morning so he could catch his ride to the airport and then back to the boat to get ready for an 8-10 day passage to Opua. The weather routing we got from Bob McDavitt has us heading south for a few days before heading off west to almost the longitude of Cape Reinga at the tip of the North Island. Winds are predicted to be between 15-25 for most of the trip. We spent 40 minutes under power when we left the anchorage then all sails up and with a few gybes, out of the western reef. We are deep reaching at between 6 and 7 knots. We'll see how long we can keep this up. With 3 of us on board, it is a different sort of passage. I am more aware of the responsibilities I have towards everyone on the boat as well as what the boat is doing and how she's performing. The more speed we can wring out of Tarun on this passage, the better. We have a voyage plan made for 5 knots so if we do significantly better we will need to get an update mid passage. The sun is out, we saw a big sea turtle on the way out of the final reef and everyone seems happy on board. We're off to NZ!!

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The Final Preparations

2008-10-28T11:55:00.001-07:00

Our time in Tonga is drawing to a close. We arrived here August 13 and it's time to head out on our last leg of the journey. We have been going through the systems on Tarun with a bit more rigor for this crossing to New Zealand. The South Pacific can have more surprises in this stretch than the others we have done. So the rigging has been checked and adjusted, motor serviced, inside stowed securely and generally everything has been looked at. If all goes according to plan we will leave tomorrow morning after we drop Tony off so he can catch his flight back to NZ. WE completed the clearance paperwork yesterday, immigration, Port Authority and Customs. The port fees are more than 4 times the fees in Vava'u which surprised me but that's the price you pay. We will go back over to town today for some fresh provisions and then that's it. Hopefully we will have a good clean passage in about 7-9 days depending on wind and seas. At this point we think will be able to sail a direct course for NZ for the first 4-5 days then head west for a day a or two as systems change. I am waiting for McDavitts voyage forecast which we will see today, should be interesting.

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The Birthday Blog

2008-10-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

It's Cathys' birthday today so it no work today. A lazy day planned with French toast on the menu or brunch and steaks for dinner. Tony and I took the dinghy across the bay yesterday morning to get the meat. We though we would be leaving on Tuesday but we just received an email from Bob McDavitt saying we should wait until Thursday now unless we had a deadline to get to NZ. We don't have a deadline!! Works out better for everyone involved. Tony leaves Thursday and was looking to stay in a Fale (small beach hut) on Pangiamoto (where we are anchored off) for a couple of nights. It saves some money and gives him a better place to sleep. I guess we will fill in our time touring around Nuku'alofa for the next few days and getting the rest of the boat ready to go.

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A Great Sail

2008-10-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful sail yesterday with consistent winds and gentle swell all the way to Nuku Alofa. There were 3 boats behind us when we left, all bigger than us and we left them behind us. We sailed a close reach all the way with full rig for a change. We averaged 5.9 knots which wasn't too bad as we had only 10-11 knots of wind. We made it to within 2 miles of the anchorage before we had to turn the motor on. As we approached the outer reef, I saw a whale blow and we sailed past a mother and her calf as they stayed on the surface. We were maybe 100 meters away. It's the longest time we've been able to watch them. Last night we celebrated at Big Mama's Yacht Club. It was a great evening hampered only by the fact that screwed up our food order and prepared 3 meals instead of 4 so I didn't get any dinner. They kept apologizing but no food appeared so we left. Today is officialdom day and scoping out the town.

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Off to Nuku Alofa

2008-10-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

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Reefs, Rocks, and Reefs

2008-10-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

Well checked in and out of Ha'apai on Monday in Pangai and instead of staying for the night we decided to jump ahead of the pack of boats that was there and go to Uoleva Island. The pack is getting on my nerves lately, In particular the attitudes of some of them (not all of them to be sure). There is constant reference on the VHF to the US election (we really DON'T care) and there seems to be a lack of respect for local customs on the part of some of the cruisers. Case in point, Sunday night, a few of the boats in the pack went into Pangai to Mariners Café with their instruments and played at the café. No big deal, except, in Tonga, Sunday is day when it is illegal (yes, against the law) for locals to work, swim, etc. It is a day for church and sleep. You may not agree with it but it is the way it is in Tonga. One of the cruisers boasted that they were here to raise a ruckus. Another instance of our might makes your right, and yes, they were American. I sincerely wish that they would just try and experience the local culture for what it is. In the USA, if a foreigner acts out of the norm, it is generally derided. What makes them think that they can do the same thing in another country and not been seen as arrogant and uncaring. Enough of this.
We anchored about 14:00 in the south anchorage of Uoleva and had a short snorkel in murky waters. The wind was from the north and the anchorage is pretty exposed to that sector so the decision was made to get underway the next morning to head south to the island of O'ua in the Kotu group. The 4 of us poured over the charts and thanks to Janet and Colins' waypoints that were carefully annotated on the side of the chart, came up with a safe route through the reefs and to the anchorage. We motor sailed in light winds after getting underway around 08:00. It was a beautiful day, sunshine, flat sea, enough wind to keep the revs low on the motor, almost ideal. Of course when we got to the tricky bits, getting around reefs and through the reef entrance that had been blasted out some years before, the clouds came in and it started to bucket down rain. We worked our way inside the reef, no problem, the waypoints from Kens' cruising guide were very accurate, and made our way towards the anchorage. We stopped short. Visibility got too bad so we dropped the hook and after chunking a banging over the coral, stopped. May 45 minutes later, the sun came back out and the skies cleared, go figure. By 17:30, I was getting nervous about the anchor so I dove in to check it out. Underwater, visibility was not more than 3 meters, very cloudy water. I followed the anchor chain as it went along the bottom, over one coral outcrop, across to another coral outcrop where I found the anchor hanging over the far side. I could have swum under the chain where it passed over the last two coral heads. Well, we weren't moving so we decided to leave it. By the time I got back to the boat, a couple of local lads had made it out to Tarun in a dugout canoe with outrigger. They were the most opportunistic we had met so far. They asked to come aboard to see the boat so we said yes. Tony gave them some candy and coke and they asked for anything else they could; shirts, shoes, snorkel gear, hats, playing cards, whatever they could think of. We had a few giveaways on board and after trying to explain, that no, they could not have or shoes or snorkel gear we got them off the boat. The youngest one (8) was the most forward of the two. They gave a bag of mangoes that the pulled out of the bottom of the canoe. The water that they were sitting in was dirty brown and after they poured it out of the bag, we put it on the back deck. Although it was nice of them to give us the fruit, we will toss it over-side today. I'm not taking chances at this stage of the trip with contaminated food! With the anchor alarm set, I did manage to sleep most of the night and today as soon as everyone else gets up, we're off to he Island of Nomuka-Iki, 18 miles further south.

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Ha'apai (Again)

2008-10-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

We got up at 03:30 yesterday morning and with the crack efficiency of a well trained and seasoned crew we were underway 20 minutes later. What a team. We had the sails up once we got abeam Ovaka Island and sailed the rest of the way in ESE winds to Ha'apai. A bit more forward of the beam than I would have liked. I think that we will be keeping track of how much to weather work we do in Tarun when the Braddocks are aboard. I seem to recall a lot of on the wind sailing when they came to Canada. We'll log it this time and see how it all works out. The major highlight of the sail was the blue marlin that we hooked with the new improved fishing rig. I was looking aft and the bloody great marlin is jumping and thrashing around just about 25 meters behind the boat, the length of the line. It only lasted maybe 5-10 seconds then that was that, line broke (300 lb test) and the new lure and line has now become a fashion accessory for some fish. It's amazing how quickly you can spend money fishing. We came up with another lure combination but didn't land anything else. When Tony pulled the line in however before we got to the anchorage, one of the treble hooks had been straightened out, so something hit it. I think we have to use smaller lures to attract smaller fish. We will experiment as we sail south through the Ha'apais'. We did have a great sail, averaged 6.6 knots again and were anchor down between the reefs off Nukunamo Island at 14:20. The passage into the anchorage is straight past a lot of coral and around 20 meters from a reef with breaking seas. Jan couldn't quite believe that we were coming in but once hooked we were well clear of all dangers (the reef is now al least 25 meters away). We will spend today cleaning the boat this morning and then wandering around shore this afternoon. Nukunamo is a deserted island and looks pretty interesting.

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Moving On South

2008-10-16T10:57:00.000-07:00

We managed one night in Neiafu and with a bit of division of labour got everything sorted out without running around like mad. It's amazing the difference is makes having a couple of extra, experienced sailors on board. Its east having Jan and Tony, they know what their doing, understand the logic of a boat (if there is such a thing) and are relaxed about pretty much everything. Checkout with immigration etc was pretty straightforward except the Port Authority did not have a record of us arriving from Ha'api in September. We did inform them when we got back but somehow we slipped between the cracks or fell between the chairs if you're Swedish (odd how some expressions stick with you). Customs was a bit different as well. The customs agent, when filling out the clearance form, asked what type of boat we had, I said ketch. He didn't understand, asked if it was the same as a cutter and of course, I said no. Tony spelled it for him and then while he was completing the form, Tony drew out pictures of a sloop, ketch, cutter and schooner, labelled them and when we were done gave them to the customs agent. This distracted him enough that he did not inquire too closely when we were leaving. He did ask what time we were leaving Neiafu but not when we were actually leaving Vava'u. Immigration did the same thing and when they asked how long it would take us to sail to Ha'apai, he didn't think it strange at all that I said it would take us at least two days (it's only 65 miles!).
We also went once again to the fishing supply store and bought some 300 lb test line and new lure. Tony put together a shock line last night and tomorrow when we actually do sail to Ha'apai we are guaranteed to catch a nice Mahai-Mahi (if you believe, it will happen). For what I've spent so far on fishing gear, we could fill the bloody boat with fish. Never mind, it's the sport that's fun.
We sailed finally yesterday by 14:30 and headed first to Mala Island, too windy, then to Lapai Island, too windy, then on to Vaka'eitu where after a couple of attempts, got securely hooked by 17:30. We have a long sail today to Ovalau (4 miles maybe) but then it's an early morning departure (04:00) Saturday for Ha'apai.

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Tongan Cruising

2008-10-14T11:45:00.001-07:00

Hi Guys,
Hope you survived the season and are winding down. We are getting ready for our last push to get to NZ in a few weeks. Be well and enjoy the winter and please pass our hello's, best wishes etc to everyone on the GNBN.

/Brian

We had a very pleasant sail from Tapana around the corner to Port Maurelle on Monday. We managed to pick up one of the two moorings here. Cathy and I have been in here a few times and there have usually been 10+ boats. This time, there were three, very pleasant. We all piled into the dinghy just after 14:00 for a ride out to Swallows' Cave, a MUST SEE for all Tongan cruising sailors. Not a hugely sunny day but still pretty nice. The cave is actually full of starlings, not swallows'. Oh well, whoever named it was about as good with birds as I am. The only reason I know they aren't swallows' is because I read it in one of the cruising guides. With four of us in the dinghy the trip was not the fastest on record but not too bad. When we got back, Tony and I reset the motor to try and get a bit more out of it. Definitely faster with one or two people it but not a lot different with 4. What can you expect out of 8hp. We took a ride down to Nuku Island yesterday and walked around the beach. Nuku is the favourite place for the locals to come and picnic and swim on the weekends. The king had his picnic there in August after the celebration(?) in Neiafu. Reportedly he over indulged and fell off his chair, kings will be kings. The island is actually a bit f a rubbish dump. One corner of the beach is piled with cans, bottles and trash and inland, the garbage is piled everywhere. It seems at odds with the people who are always neat and tidy.
Last night was the socializing evening. A Canadian couple I met last week on a catamaran named "Cop Out" invited us a and few others over for appies and drinks. Interesting evening. He's a retired policeman from Calgary (hence the boat name) and she was originally from NZ.
The idea is to head back into Neiafu today and re-provision, get fuel for the dinghy, check out of Vava'u and start heading south to Ha'apai. Needless to say, that won't all happen today.

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The Feast, The Fire, The Forgiveness

2008-10-12T11:37:00.001-07:00

We decided to go to the feast once again at Ano Beach with Jan and Tony. When Tony and I booked it through Aquarium Café, Jason told us there would be fire dancing which proved to be different. We started getting ready to go but were a bit delayed as I ended up relaying a distress call from a catamaran called Top Cat that had hit a reef in on the eastern side of the Vava'u group and damaged a rudder. The rudder was jammed so they had a problem steering with engines. Another boat, "Linda" was able to help but for whatever reason, VHF had to be relayed through us until they were within hailing range. At the end of the day, Top Cat managed to get their damaged rudder freed up and with one good rudder and two engines they managed to get to the Tapana anchorage. We got to shore and browsed the local crafts, of course, Jan and Tony got talked into buying a few things from the locals. Tony was a mad photographer and took at least 150 photos during the time we were on shore. They evening started with the dancing which was pretty much the same as we had seen before but the Quina, the local fire dancer and his son performed the fire dance which was pretty spectacular. The feast was as good as before with tons of food and after eating we settled into the Kava circle while the locals jammed with guitar, banjo and ukulele. The kava is pretty weak. We shared around a bit of rum we had brought, much appreciated by the players!! Quina had asked Tony if he could burn the photos to CD and bring them into the village the next day so before we left, we asked him what a good time would be, and he said come before church at 10:00 and we could then go to church. We decided to go and hear the singing. Cathy and I had talked about it for awhile anyways. We were on our way by 09:00 this morning and after a good hot, sticky walk into town, tracked down where Quina lived, delivered the CD and he took us over to the local Tongan church. He was feeling pretty rough and didn't join us. You start by joining the men in a kava circle before the service. It was odd, they were all sitting around in the circle in the shirt, ties, jackets, and either dress wraps or pants. Cathy and Jan were the only two women there. The older minister was not too enthused about it but nothing was said. Allowances were made for the Palangi's. The service lasted an hour, the singing was terrific, the service was incomprehensible but we were thanked for being there at the end. Not really sure of the denomination but it really doesn't make much difference as it was all in Tongan. We had plans to move today but by the time we got back, everyone was pretty much beat from running around like mad since Wednesday. Maybe tomorrow, we will explore some more!!

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A Little Rain

2008-10-10T11:50:00.000-07:00

After a bit more running around in Neiafu yesterday we left the mooring around 11:00 and headed out to sail down to Tapana Island. For the fist time we had to motor out of the harbour, no wind! Once we cleared the harbour the sails went up and we rifted slowly south. As always, the winds shifted around but with Jan on the helm and Tony tweaking we managed to keep steady. The weather was gorgeous so we stopped at Eukafa Island for lunch and a snorkel. Jan went, Tony decided not to. It was her first time snorkelling since they went to Fiji a few years ago. The visibility wasn't too bad and lots of fish and coral but not as good as the last time we went. Still, it was refreshing. When we were heading back to the dinghy we saw a couple of other people swimming against the current in the pass so we offered them a tow which they seemed to be pretty happy about. Mother and son off a Moorings charter. We managed a nice gentle sail the rest of the way to Tapana and picked up a mooring by around 16:00. Jan and Tony borrowed a cruising guide and charts from Janet and Colin and before they arrived and they had marked a few places to go. We managed two of them. Despite predictions, it rained in the night so once again, 02:00 I'm up, putting the enclosure on, pulling the bung out of the dinghy and generally getting really, really wet. As the saying goes; Into every life a little rain must fall, but why oh why at 02:00??

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4 Years and 10000 Miles Later

2008-10-08T11:21:00.001-07:00

Despite a few hiccups, Jan and Tony got to Neiafu. Cathy and I had gone into town in the morning to get a few things and we checked with Chatham Airlines and they assured me that the flight was on time. Unusual but great. We took a taxi out to the airport just after 14:00 and got there about 15 minutes before the plane was supposed to land. I asked a couple lf people if it was on time, yes, no problem. Well arrival time came and went and no plane. Our taxi driver, Alemba, called the tower and they waid yes, the plane should leasve Tonga Tapu soon. OK, so another hour waiting. After 4 years nearly 10,000 sea miles, another hour was fine. They got in, we got in the taxi and headed back to Neiafu. The taxi got a flat tire. No apare! He called his son who also drives a taxi and he came out with a spare and changed it for his dad who actually has a problem walking so never leaves the drivers seat. We got to the boat around 17:00 or so. Lynn and Larry Pardee came over for a while for a chat which hwas a bit different. They are very traditional sailors with no electronics on board and no engine. They described using a GPS for the first time and checking it constantly with their sextant. Oh well, to each their own. The adventure continues as we try and figure out where we will go together and what new things we will see.

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Neiafu (again!!)

2008-10-05T22:19:00.000-07:00

We finally left the mooring at the Ark Gallery at Tapana Island and headed back up to Neiafu. We had a great sail back, winds 15-20. We managed the whole sail with only one gybe and sailed basically to the harbour entrance. It took us a bit of time to find a mooring (anchoring REALLY SUCKS HERE) but we managed to get one on the west side (the quiet side). We decided to get fuel and water sorted today and got it all done. Fuel is not cheap but you have to have it, even on a sail boat. We've had to run the engine for power a lot as we have been on a sheltered mooring with not really much sun. Not much else happening in our life just now other than many get togethers on various boats for dinners and games to pass the time. Mike (Kokoamo) and Ernst (Accord), who are both single hander's have been a riot to get together with. Single handed sailors are definitely a breed apart. Ernst makes a mean lentil curry by the way. We will get a few more chores done tomorrow in preparation for Jan and Tony's arrival on Wednesday.

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The Cruising Life

2008-10-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

After our obligatory couple of hectic days in Neiafu we did get out and sailed down to Tapana Island. We sailed off the mooring in Neiafu with spectators so that was fun and then managed to sail the whole way with about 30 minutes of power tacking to clear between a couple of small islands as we pounded head to wind. Our friends Barry and Ann were here off Cats paw IV who we hadn't seen since Bora-Bora so it was great to catch up with them again. We got together with a few boats that night onboard "Linda" and 1957 Rhodes cutter, beautiful boat! Friday was a slow day with a lazy morning and a bit of snorkelling. The weather was not too bad but there has been a distinct lack of sunny days. We were told that the locals were hosting a feast on shore on Saturday and we decided to go. Well there were over 60 of us all in all and it was great. The whole village gets into the act with local artisans selling their wares before the dinner. They started the night with a display of Tongan dancing. They were great and of course at the end of the dance they came and grabbed people to go up and dance with them. Once again, I got grabbed and Cathy did as well. We had a riot. The dancers ranged from early to late teens and all of us had a lot of fun. Dinner was laid out on long tables covered in leaves with the food presented either wrapped in tarrow leaves, laid out in large local celery, in half green mango's, or in half coconut shells. The cooked food was all prepared in a big umu (earth oven) and they spent most of the day preparing for the feast. The charge TOG 40.00 per person and it was well worth it. No plates, no utensils, you eat with your fingers. The food was prepared and portioned per person. There was LOTS of food. After dinner, there was a mad exodus but a few of us stayed and sat around with the family and the musicians. There was a banjo player and 2-3 guitar players as well a couple of wooden drums. The drums got passed around to a few of us and we banged away quite happily. They sang traditional songs, drank kava, and talked. The kava was very weak but it was shared around. Sunday was clean up day and Cats Paw IV hosted a pot-luck on Sunday night. By the time Sunday night came around the weather had turned for the worse. By late afternoon it had started to rain steadily. While we sat below on Cats Paw IV, the rain lashed down, the lightning flashed, the wind howled. We played dice. Monday was the sunny day we were hoping for and it was calm so Cathy and I walked into the village in the morning. Later in the afternoon Cathy and I along with Ann from Cats Paw took the dinghy and went over to Fafini Island and snorkelled the reef; lots of fish and coral. I saw one lobster hiding in the reef and Ann found an octopus. I towed the dinghy along with us so when we got tired we stopped, hopped in and went over to explore another reef. No matter where we go, we always see something interesting. We had quiet night on Monday and Tuesday, after I got a haircut courtesy of Sheri in the Ark Gallery, we took the dinghy and went out exploring. Sheri and Larry are great. They first came here in the mid 80's and have been more of less here since then. About 8 years ago they built a small floating home/gallery in the bay by Tapana Island and out in 10 moorings. Everything is well maintained and the mooring charge is reasonable. As I was getting my hair cut, Sheri chattered on about this and that and mentioned that Larry had been out Sunday night during the wind, rain and lightning checking the moorings and making sure all the boats were all right. He couldn't understand why no one on their boats. I told her we were all on Cats Paw IV and had no worries about the state of the moorings so, no problem. Wednesday we decided to take off for the day and then come back to the mooring. The weather is forecast to turn ugly again and this is a nice protected place with good moorings. We let go the mooring and sailed slowly out to Euakafa Island. The cruising guide said that the snorkelling was very good as there was good water flow through a break in the reef. We anchored just at lunch and went for a walk on shore before swimming. The beach was hard packed and sand was very fine, almost powder like in places. We met another couple from NZ on shore, Bruce and Ricky off Seagoing, a steel cutter from Tutukaka. They mentioned that they are looking for someone to housesit next year and who knows it might work out. The snorkelling was the probably the best we have seen so far on the trip. As soon as we got in the water, we saw a large stingray slowly swimming along the reef below us. It got better! The coral was large, colourful and healthy. By the time we got into the pass to swim to the other side of the reef we started to see fish by the thousands. I remember clearly, watching National Geographic specials with Jacques Cousteau and seeing massive schools of fish where they were diving. This was pretty close. As we swam along the other side I decided to dive down and take a closer look. Once underwater, I started to hear whales. It was eerie and beautiful at the same time. We both listened but never saw the whales. Hearing them was, in its own way, just as special. We got back to the mooring at the Ark Gallery late afternoon after another very pleasant day of the Cruising Life.

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Back to Vava'u

2008-09-24T11:02:00.001-07:00

After very nice couple of weeks in the Ha'apai group, it was tie to move back north. We checked out with all the officials in Pangai on Monday and sailed to Ha'ano Island to get ready for an early morning departure on Tuesday. The anchorage was not the greatest this time. The SE winds was blowing right through the anchorage and the swell was coming over the reef making it a bit rough. We decided not to launch the dinghy and go snorkelling and instead got the boat ready for Tuesday's sail. We were underway by 04:00 in 15-20 knots of SE winds with SE swell. Genoa and mizzen and off we went. We had a great sail with speeds touching 7.5 knots at times. We decided to hed all the way back to Neiafu as we had lots of time and the picked up mooring by 15:30. All in all we averaged 6.6 knots on the way up and sailed on starboard tack from Ha'ano Island to the entrance buoys to get into Neiafu. Yesterday was check in and re-stock day so busy, busy, busy. I don't know what it is about this place but it always drives us both a bit nuts. We walked out to the big hardware store in the afternoon more for the exercise than for any other particular reason. On the way back we stopped at a few more of the small stores that you see everywhere and found a few little things. The big score was the case of diet coke we found at the Coca-Cola distributor. We have been looking for sugar-free stuff in preparation for out friends Jan and Tony and we finally found some. We got the last case in Vava'u, and at wholesale price. Today we will likely get out of here and go around to Tapana Island and hook up with Cats'Paw 4 and Toketie.

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Bikes, Dogs and Rain

2008-09-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

We had a nice sail from Uoleva back to Pangai on Kifuka Island Thursday after a morning beach walk. The beach walk was interesting, especially the dead pig floating just off shore. We had earlier seen half a dozen piglets on the beach with no sign of mom which we thought a bid strange, but the mystery was soon solved. Nature at work! When we arrived at Pangai, we saw another ketch anchored that we didn't recognize but figured we would run into them sooner or later, it's not that big a place and there's only one bar/restaurant. We stocked up on a few supplies and treated ourselves to a cold beer at Mariners Café. We found out the other ketch was also Canadian registered and from Vancouver. That made it a full Canadian anchorage. While we were refreshing ourselves, Malachi came into the harbour and stern tied to the wharf. OK now it's getting weird, three Canadian boats here, no other boats, and all registered in Vancouver. What are the odds? One the way back out to Tarun, we stopped by and said hello to Salena and her owners Michel and Carol. We talked for a bit and they invited us for dinner, so sure why not. It turns out that they left Canada in 2005 and have been cruising three months on and three months off since then. He works three months on and three months off as a Captain on one the Royal Caribbean cruise ships. Not a bad gig. Nice people and we had a great evening getting to know each other.
Yesterday we decided to get some exercise and rented a couple of bicycles to tour the island. We went to the north end of Lifuka, crossed the causeway to Foa and went to the north end of Foa. Mostly flat, this was good as we had single speed bikes. Brakes were the old style, push backwards on the pedal, so that took a bit of getting used to as well. Stopped for a snack at the top of Foa then rode back to Pangai for lunch. We got chased by a dog on the way back and Cathy got nipped on the ankle but no damage but we will watch out for distemper and we may have to put her down if she starts foaming at the mouth or something (I'm kidding OF COURSE). We had lunch on the waterfront in Pangai under the tree's then rode south to the end of Lifuka. It was getting on to low tide and the locals were out on the reef connecting Lifuka to Uoleva harvesting giant clams. We ran into to some kids, as we do everywhere and they were a blast. One of them was quite an artist and was drawing figures in the sand. I got some pictures and will post on the web site when we get back to Vava'u. Last night was cooks night off so into the Mariners for dinner, pizza, burgers and beer. We had planned to get up early for the Saturday AM market (6:00 to 08:00) but it has been blowing 20 knots and raining since the wee hours of the morning so nuts to that. I didn't bother pulling the dinghy out of the water last night so this morning, I had to bail it out and haul it up. It was literally half full of water, so much so the gas tank was floating around inside. Its up out of the water and the plug is out so it drains. Looks like we'll have a boat day, put up the rain catcher and fill the water tanks and generally take it easy. It is worth noting that Cathy did get Coffee and Juice in bed this morning.

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Ha'afeva

2008-09-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

We arrived here Sunday after a gentle deep reach from Uoleva. The only anchoring information we had any detail on was for the anchorage east of the island so we headed there. The wind and seas when we dropped anchor were not great so we looked at the charts and decided to head around the island and find some more shelter. We headed south and dropped the hook where we thought it would be OK but the depth sounder through a wobbly and instead of 6 meters we were in 25 meters, so off we went again, further around to the west side of the island. It is marked on the charts as a deep ship anchorage but it looked like you could get close to the reef to find shelter and better depth. We saw another boat here so we figured if they could anchor, we could. The other boat turned out to be Malachi, another Canadian boat from Vancouver that we had not seen since Avalon on Santa Catalina Island last November. We found a place in 8 meters of water and hooked in nicely. The winds were from the NW so we had some protection from the seas but not the wind. Good holding so we weren't worried. Three locals guys paddled out in a beat up aluminium run-a-bout and offered us fruit and yams so we traded some notepads for them. One of them, Peter Tuulli, invited us to his home for lunch the next day so we said sure, why not. Well we had a windy, rainy night with winds to 25-30 knots from the NW then clocking around to the SE, then SW. I was up a few times checking on things and then the winds settled in from the SW. A small low had passed over top of us that had not been on any weather charts. Tuesday morning was spent pouring over weather maps and talking to our friends on Crazy Diamond about weather. Things finally settled down somewhat, the rain stopped and by 12:00 all looked pretty good so we headed to shore for lunch. Barry and Sue from Crazy Diamond were also invited and weren't far behind us. Peter met us on shore and helped us pull the dinghy up past the tide line and then took us to his mother's home. His house had burned down a short while ago. The family has a bit of land with pigs and chickens fenced in, a garden, a building for sleeping and a separate kitchen/eating area. There is no stove but rather a earth oven or Umu where most of the food is cooked. This had caused a problem for them as well as the first kitchen had also burned down a short while ago, due to the Umu. Cathy had baked a lemon bread to give to them and presented it to Peter's mother when we arrived. Well she opened it right up and sliced off a piece for herself, for Peter, for their friend Linda who was there and for one of Peter's young sons Issi. They loved it! We thought it a bit different that they were eating sweets before lunch, but what do we know. Barry and Sue arrived and Peters mother (never did manage to get her name) proceeded to bring out fish, lamb, yams and breadfruit for us to eat from the UMU. The food was placed in the table to eaten communally and they gave Cathy and me one plate to share and Barry and Sue one plate to share. You eat with your fingers, no cutlery. They stood around and watched us eat and when we asked if they were not eating too, they said no, they had already eaten and this was for us. The food was excellent, simple, but excellent. The lamb was salted as they have no refrigeration. It was cooked in coconut milk as was the fish. Peter had caught the fish off the beach that morning, small but tasty. Well we ate all we could and still managed to get through only about half of the food provided. We knew it would not be wasted. Peter's mother asked us if we by chance had a spare tarpaulin on board. They needed something to put on the roof to cover the holes in the tin. I had one so said yes, you could have it. Peter asked if he could come out and see inside our boat so we brought him out and showed him around and gave him the tarp to take back. He liked it a lot! I took him over to Malachi as they were not onboard when he came out on Sunday. He offered them fruit and asked them to come to shore and get it. I took him back and after many thanks from both of us, left him on shore.
We were sitting on board Tuesday morning when we heard this voice hailing us. One of the young guys that had been with Peter on Sunday in the run-a-bout had rowed an outrigger out to us. It was a shaped, hollowed out log with lots of patches. He did stay afloat but it was a close thing and he had to bail like mad every few minutes. He was desperate for some rope so I gave him a piece of line that I had extra from the old towing bridle for the dinghy. He was wearing the Canada cap that I had given Peter so they trade around a bit I think. We went back in to shore for a walk yesterday and when we went to see if Peter was around, we found out he had gone to Nuku-Alofa on the supply ship that had called into the island on Monday night. Oh well we will likely be back here with Jan and Tony in a month or so so maybe we will see him then. Today we plan to head back north, maybe to Pangai depending on the weather and explore around he island of Lifuka for a few days before heading back to Vava'u next week.

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Moving On South

2008-09-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

After 4 days on Uoleva we've decided to head a bit south and try and find some shelter from the NW winds that are expected in the next day or so. That coupled with the increasing swell that is rolling us around a bit too much makes it easy to leave. We've actually been quite busy here. Cathy took the enclosure and dodger off and re-stitched it (again) to try and make it last to NZ. I re-sealed the starboard side of the pushpit, glassed in the veggie locker to stop it from getting wet when take seas through the hawse pipe, and rebuilt one of the manual bilge pumps (the one I cannibalized for parts for the head). We've walked the beach, snorkelled, and generally been living the cruising life. We had one boat come into the anchorage for the night on Friday, Crazy Diamond. They're a nice British couple we first met in Nuie. They are heading off for Tasmania to have Christmas with their family. Other than them, there was a boat here when we arrived, Galaxia, a German boat skippered by Wolfgang but he moved on in the afternoon as he had to get back to Tonga-Tapu to drop his guests off. It has been MUCH quieter here. We are not missing the crowds from Vava'u yet. The idea is to stay here another couple of weeks, weather permitting, then head back to Vava'u. We'll see how it all shapes up. We are relying on electronic charts now as today we sail off the edge of the paper charts. We have found that the detailed electronic charts are accurate here so hopefully that will remain true. There's lots of coral out there!

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Oh My Aching Head

2008-09-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

Well we are still at anchor in Pangai but will leave this morning for Uoleva. The idea was to leave yesterday but after my morning "constitutional", the waste pump for head decided to stop working. Not my favourite job at the best of times but this was at the worst of times. There was nothing for it but to take it apart, clean it and put it back together, simple really, hah. Taking it apart relieved all the built up pressure in the lines and I now know what it would look like if the shite really did hit the fan. Got everything cleaned up, put in one of the new kits hat Rob and Nancy had brought down when they came to Mexico (THANKS MUCH!!!) and put it all back together, carefully. Unfortunately, it leaked. Why oh why does this happen just about every time I take it apart. So, strip it again (MUCH cleaner this time) and I find that the pivot arm that is essential to the operation and seal of the pump has cracked. No spare, but we have two manual bilge pumps that are identical to the waste pump so I strip one of those, cannibalize the pivot arm and put the head back together. Of course one of the self taping screws that join the two halves of the plastic pump body strips. No problem, each rebuild kit comes with machine screws and nuts to replace the self taping screws. They didn't fit! After futzing around with it for awhile, I dig out the spare bits bin and found a longer screw, problem solved. Finally after nearly 4 hours the toilet was working properly again, yeah. I glued and clamped the broken pivot arm and will re-enforce it with epoxy today and repair the bilge pump so we will still have two manual pumps. Not the best way to spend the day. We did however go to shore (after I had a swim and a wash) and managed to track down a telephone so I could call my parents. I haven't spoken to them for nearly 2 months. The phone system here is somewhat lacking, the delay on the call was incredible, at least a couple of seconds so using the phone was like making a radio call, each person speaks in turn, still nice to be able to talk to them. Today, we sail!

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Ha'apai

2008-09-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning we pulled up the anchor to make our way south to the Ha'apai group. The day before when we sailed to Ovalau from Neiafu, we had put in a number of waypoints to get us safely outside the fringing reefs around Vava'u. Early Sunday morning we upped anchor and got underway. The sails went up immediately and after one gybe to put us on port tack, we followed our track to get out. The wind was ESE so we had it just forward of the beam and we trucked along between 6-7 knots under genoa and mizzen only. In fact we didn't even take the sail cover off the mainsail. By daybreak, the wind had freshened and we took a reef in the mizzen and rolled up a bit of the genoa. The seas were 3 meters with breaking tops with a fairly long period between them. They were however just forward of the beam so we occasionally we took a good spray over the bow. We had 65 miles to cover before dark so we made sure to keep the boat speed up. The challenge was to get to the island of Ha'ano at the top of the Ha'apai group before dark, hence the early morning departure. As we sailed along, we both realized that we really had made very few early morning departures (i.e. before dawn) on the entire trip. After puzzling it out we figured out that the first time we pulled up anchor in the dark was in Bull Harbour on the North end of Vancouver Island last year when we were getting ready to go around Cape Scott and explore the west coast. The second time was when we left Niue to come to Tonga, and then we only had to slip easily off the mooring. As it turned out, we had lots of time for the trip. The winds stayed constant and we had the anchor down by 15:15. We had until about 19:00 before it would have been uncomfortably dark. The anchorage at Ha'ano is a large bite of island between two reefs. We followed the course given by the photocopied cruising guide and had no trouble. We would be lost without that photocopy. We also had to photocopy charts from that we borrowed from a Kiwi couple. The charts we had did not have enough detail and the electronic charts are not very accurate here. When Jan and Tony come in October, they are bringing charts for the Tonga group that they are borrowing from mutual friends in NZ.
We had to check in formally in Ha'apai so we Monday morning we upped anchor again and set sail for the village of Pangai on Lifuka Island. This is the administrative centre of the group. The challenge is that the anchorage and approach is very shallow and littered with shoals so we picked our way in carefully. Again, mostly under sail, the winds have been very cooperative! We got the anchor down outside the breakwater before lunch. After getting some food in us and getting the boat cleaned up a bit, we headed to shore to find Immigration, Customs and the Port Authority. We found the main government complex, realized we were too early (lunch from 12:00 to 13:30) so we wandered around the village a bit. It's very peaceful, so unlike Neaifu. The people seem more relaxed, and the pace was a lot slower. When we did get to customs, we thought we would have forms to fill out etc. Nope, just hand over the form we got from Neiafu and that was that. Immigration was pretty much the same. It took us maybe 5 minutes for both and after a handshake and welcome to Ha'apai, we were on our way. We had forgotten about the Port Authority. When we got back to the dock, we wandered over to the main building on the pier. One guy stretched out having a snooze and a lady was busy creating souvenirs. She was the one in charge of the Port Authority and had us sign in. Everything was so relaxed and informal. Today we will move a bit south (maybe 5 miles) to the island of Uoleva and stop for a awhile.

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Money, Money, Money

2008-09-05T11:25:00.000-07:00

Well Neiafu certainly takes its toll on the cruising kitty. We came in here on Thursday to re-provision and clear out for the Ha'apai group, 60 miles south of here. By the time we got through food, laundry, 20 litres of gas and 20 litres of diesel, the money seemed like it disappeared, The gas and diesel cost TOG 150.00 (about 100.00 CAD). We're both pretty glad we can sail most everywhere here as running the diesel is getting expensive. Checking out of Vava'u was strange. Although we are not leaving the Kingdom of Tonga, we had to clear out with immigration and customs. We also had to pay our port fees, based on gross tonnage, ours came to TOG 7.40. When we get to Ha'apai, we have to go through the process again, check in with immigration, customs and the port authority and when we leave, check out. It keeps people employed. All the records are kept in beautiful ledgers, painstakingly written out longhand, very Dickensian. We went to the yacht club last night for the weekly race and prize-giving. It was packed! There has been 15-20 knots of consistent wind so the race was pretty close. The winner took the line by half a boat length. They don't bother with handicaps here and every boat that participates wins a prize of some description. The idea for today is off to the market for more fresh food, pick up a loaf of whole wheat bread that we ordered yesterday, pay our mooring fee and then sail south to Ovalau Island for the night before leaving at 04:00 Sunday for Ha'apai.

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The Electrical Storm

2008-09-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

We've stayed in Port Maurelle waiting for the winds to go back to somewhat normal. We've had 25-30 knots for the past couple of days and there wasn't much point in moving. Monday was shore day and I managed to get all the rust stains off the boat and cleaned up some corroded bits on deck. We had a great walk into the village on the north end of the island yesterday and weather permitting I will go back today to help one of the locals tour operators with some wiring on his boat. As I write this however, it's grey, overcast and raining. The weather has quite frankly been less than we had hoped for here. Last night, in particular was bizarre. In the wee hours of the morning Cathy woke me up saying someone was shining a spotlight on the boat. We very quickly realized that it wasn't a spotlight at all but lightning! We got up, put our spare GPS and a handheld VHF in the oven (theoretically it would protect them in the event of a strike on the boat), switched off most of the breakers and watched as the sky was lit up by crash after rash of lightning. OK we've both seen lightning storms before, but this lasted well for almost 4 hours and it really didn't let up. There were a couple of close strikes and I'm hoping that they weren't boats. It was nerve racking. A couple we met in Mexico in January got hit while in Central America and basically blew out every bit of electronics on their boat. It was the last straw for them and they're selling the boat. All these things go through your mind as you watch the sheer fury of nature as you are blasted with rain squalls, listening to thunder and watching lightning crash all around.

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Vaka'eitu

2008-08-30T21:35:00.000-07:00

Well another day, another anchorage, actually another couple of anchorages. We came back to the west side of Vava'u on Thursday and anchored off Taunga Island, between two reefs that come out from shore. It was quite protected at the time as the wind was from the east. We had a nice walk along the shoreline and explored the reef snorkelling. Unfortunately by 17:00 the wind switched around to the SE and we lost all the protection from the island. Although the winds were not that strong, we were uncomfortable between two reefs, especially when we were getting blown onto one of them. So, up anchor and back to Tapana Island, 30 minutes away. Friday morning, one of the local fishermen came by and offered to sell us some fish. We got two nice snapper for TOG 10.00. When he came by, watching him get the boat alongside was a good show. They do not have a lot of extra money to replace parts when they fail so locals seem to be masters of the jury rig. The tiller arm had broken off the outboard at some time and had been replaced with a piece of wood. Obviously, no throttle control, so, the throttle was a piece of rope that was hooked to the linkage inside and out through the side of the motor. You pulled on it to go faster and I guess he must have rigged a spring to pull it back to idle. The reverse lock was also gone. When he first came by, he went a bit too far so he wrestled the motor into reverse and then by leaning on to hold it from kicking up and working the throttle rope (which was pretty sticky, i.e. either on or off) he managed to get back to Tarun. When he got alongside, there was a 6+ foot lemon shark in the cockpit that they had just caught. He said they actually caught two of them but the second was too big and they couldn't land it. We asked him what he was going to do with it. His response, "someone will eat it". Later, after walking into the village for some bread and getting a few boat chores done, one of the local carvers came over in their boat. He carved beautiful mahagony figures and his wife did the finishing work. We bought a small carved turtle and tiki for TOG 40.00. There was probably a good 20 hours of work in the tiki alone and the turtle probably took 5-10 hours. Nice souvenirs. Saturday we decided to hook back up with friends and had a nice downwind sail from Tapana to Vaka'eitu. Toketie, and Scarlett O'Hara were there and it's nice and sheltered. Toketie hosted a get together for all the us and another small boat Mai(Miti)Vavau, sailed by a young couple (Amber and James) from Hawaii. They are on a 26 foot Contessa and loving it! We had a bit of a walk on shore this morning and explored the deserted resort. Apparently 4 years ago it was a going concern, today, the bush is taking it back. We decided to pull up the hook after lunch as the wind was clocking around more into the anchorage and most of the other boats had problems with their anchors wrapping on coral. We were lucky and the anchor came right back up. We had a great beat to windward with just the mizzen and a bit of the genoa out. We were able to point 40 degrees off the wind and hit 4.5-5 knots which was not bad for the old girl. We anchored in Port Maurelle where we will shelter form the winds for a couple of days. The forecast is for 25 knots tomorrow and then maybe easing a bit later.

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The Reef

2008-08-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

We decided yesterday to move over to the east side of the Vava'u group and explore the anchorage off Ofu Island. All well and good except you have a bit of a tricky reef transit to get from west to east. We have a copy of a copy of an old cruising guide that described the transit in detail so off we went. The sun was not quite in the right position but we could still see water colour change pretty well. Cathy was on the bow for a awhile then she took the helm and I went up the rat lines to get a better view. You transit by heading due east, then a slight jog SSE , then back NE. There are apparently marks but they turned out to look like fishing buoys. There are actually two reef markers and one red buoy. We got through OK and never saw less than 2.5 meters under the keep but still it was a bit nerve racking. We tried to anchor off the village on Ofu Island but the wind was from the NW and it was completely exposed so we headed about a ¼ mile further north and anchored off the south shore of Mafana Island. We headed out exploring with the dinghy and snorkelled a bit and went right to the eastern reef and watched the swell crashing over the reef and against the barrier islands. It was a fantastic sight. The water was a bit cloudy, I guess from all the sea crashing over, so the snorkelling was not the best. Before heading back to the boat we decided to take a walk through the village on Ofu. We landed in front of the new school and the kids of course came over right away. I pulled out the camera and started taking their pictures and they were thrilled. They LOVE getting their pictures taken. I got them to come over and look at the pictures on the screen of the camera and all you could here were squeals of laughter. It was fun. We walked along the track parallel to the beach from one end to the other. The village is very neat, the track bordered with plants, and the houses very well kept. We headed back to Tarun and got a visit from Bill and Sue from Crazy Diamond who had come in after us. They invited us for sundowners and we of course said yes. Well about 17:30 we headed over, settled in and were having a good talk when the wind decided to swing from the north to the south and blow up to about 15 knots. I took a look at Tarun and we quickly got in the dinghy and headed back to haul up the anchor. We were blowing directly on shore. We got the anchor up before we grounded and headed back towards the village. Although we were exposed to the wind, the anchorage was NOT on a lee shore. No harm, no foul!

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Tapana Island Anchorage

2008-08-25T19:44:00.001-07:00

We pulled up the anchor yesterday around 09:45 in Port Maurelle and set sail for the 8 mile trip around to Tapana Island. Downwind then hard to weather is the order of the day for sailing around here but we had a great sail, and its good exercise to tack, tack, tack. The anchorage is very sheltered form the seas but enough wind spills over from the east to keep things relatively cool. We went for a short walk on shore and toured around the "Ark Gallery". The artist, Sheri, is a wonderful American woman who first sailed here with her husband in 1983. They have their boat "Splashes" and the floating gallery. They also have around 10 moorings that they offer to guests for 10 Pa'anga a night, cheaper than Neiafu. We got together with Rush and Six Pack last night. We managed to get 10 of us on the aft deck of Rush. Lies swapped, stories told, a typical cruiser get together. Today is chore day, laundry, then into the local village to find the store to try a get a few little things, and generally to get a good walk on land.

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The Tongan Feast

2008-08-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

We never did get to shore on Ovalau. Thursday I spent most of the day pulling the port side of the pushpit off and re-bedding the bolts. After 32 years, they had begun to leak a bit. The worst part was taking the Duogen of the back of the boat. It's designed to be done at dock so it was a bit tricky but between Cathy and I we got it off and back on without dropping anything. Friday we sailed over to another anchorage for lunch, Nuapapa South and decided we would like to go back there and spend some time. We have been surprised that we can sail pretty much everywhere here. The winds have been consistent from the E/SE at 15-20 knots. The islands make the wind shifts a bit fun but that's all part of it. We may have used the motor for 20 minutes so far, just to pull up or drop the anchor (ok other than the time we run it when we are making water!). We sailed out of Nuapapa and after tacking hard to get around a few reefs and islands, we ran up to Port Maurelle on Kapa Island. Port Maurelle is a pretty popular anchorage, mostly because it's close to Neiafu and also convenient to the Tongan Feast at Barnacle Beach. Other cruisers we had talked to told us that the feast was a definite must and well worth the TOG 35.00 each. It's held once a week on Saturday night and hosted by Tali. Saturday came and along with Toketie we walked over to check out the area and the nearby village of Falavai. No roads on Kapa, no vehicles either, just paths all over the island. The village is spread out over a large area and each house has a fenced yard, mostly to keep animals out of the gardens. Water is scarce so gardens are protected really well. It's funny really because Port Maurelle was named after the first European to see Vava'u, the Spaniard Maurelle. He stopped here to get water and according to one of the cruising guides, the spring that provided him with water is still here but has been overgrown and is now a swamp. The village itself was very neat and all the common areas were swept clean. Not much trash in evidence. A subsistence economy based on tourism and fishing keeps the village going. There are 4 churches here which is amazing; the Free Church of Tonga, a Catholic Church, a Mormon Church (complete with basketball court) and a Methodist Church.
We went back to the boat for lunch and lazed around for the afternoon until it was time to head in for the FEAST. There was 21 one of us in total off 5 boats. Tali, our host, had a bit of a panic as he had prepared only for 16 initially. Not to worry, there was plenty of food to go around. Just as we were getting ready to sit down to eat, he brought out the main dish, a whole roast pig, just a small one mind you. The food was fantastic and well worth the money. After dinner a couple of the local girls provided us with a traditional Tongan dance and of course we were all asked to donate a dollar or two to help with their school supplies etc. Most were happy to. The trail back in the dark was fun with a long line of cruisers, all with flashlights stumbling along. No damage and everyone made it back.

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Southern Vava'u

2008-08-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

We let go the mooring this morning around 10:00 and headed south for a more remote anchorage and away from the crowds in Neiafu. We sailed off the mooring under headsail alone and sailed with a couple of gybes and a couple of tacks we dropped anchor at Ovaka Island for lunch. The anchorage was pretty exposed so we really only stayed long enough to eat then upped anchor to head around the corner to Ovalau Island, a much more protected place. We anchored in 15 meters of water and there is only one other boat here, a Moorings Charter Catamaran. I went for a swim and snorkel around the boat and in towards the reef. There are lots of fish and nice clear water. We will not bother with the outboard on the dinghy as we are close enough to row to shore tomorrow. For now, we are relaxing and getting used to being away from towns and traffic.

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Long Live the King!

2008-08-18T01:28:00.001-07:00

Well, his royal highness King Siaosi (George) Tupou V has arrived in Neiafu. The first major event was supposed to be a large church service Sunday night. Well the children's choirs were there, the princess and queen were there, but the king decided not to show for some reason. There was a bit a feeling of resentment in town today. The military parade is tomorrow and there is a street party tomorrow night that we are going to then we are out of here. There are lots of beautiful anchorages in Vava'u that we want to explore so we plan to spend around two weeks out and about then back here to Neiafu for re-supply, then back out again, should be fun. Our snail mail arrived yesterday with David's (S/V Toketie) oldest son. Always nice to receive bills from Canada. We have to spend some time tomorrow trying to straighten out the mess with Cathy's taxes and BC health care. Apparently, they applied the refund due Cathy to the theoretical debt we owed the BC government when they unilaterally re-instated our medical coverage in June after we cancelled it in January. I suspect that getting the money back from them may be a tad difficult.
I am slowly getting the pictures from Niue on the web sire. Some are there now and the rest will be there in the next day or so. Internet here is somewhat erratic.

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Neiafu Vava'u Kingdom of Tonga

2008-08-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

We arrived outside the entrance to the Vava'u group at 04:00 yesterday morning so hove-to for an hour and a half to wait for some daylight. We had a good run the last day with 20 hours at 20 knots. We kept shortening sail to keep the speed down and averaged 5-6 knots. The seas were short period and got up over 3 meters but they were dead astern so they k=just rolled under us. The boat was rolling around pretty good though so sleeping was a tad challenging. We tied up at the fisheries dock and waited for customs and immigration to come down to the boat. Just after 09:00 they showed up and the clearance was done. They asked us to wait an hour for the health inspector to come and if they did not show we could go and anchor. We got a 31 day visa with the option to extend which is good as we will be here for 2 ½ months. It is is odd, but the people we know travelling on Canadian passports received a 4 month visa no problem. I guess they want to keep closer track on New Zealanders!! We decided against anchoring as we were really tired and the anchorage is pretty crowded so we arranged to pick up a mooring with one of the local cafes. They are $15.00 Tongan Pa'anga a night (about $9.00 Canadian). We really did not spend any time ashore yesterday; just enough to go and exchange some money and that was about it. Today is exploring day! The Kings Coronation ceremony is happening here Sunday though Wenesday next week so we will stick around for that.

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Underway from Niue to Neiafu

2008-08-11T07:03:00.000-07:00

We had an easy last day on Niue on Saturday. Our Samoan friend showed up on the dock early and after we finally found out his name, Metu (last weekend he told us but we couldn't understand) we came out to the boat. His wife couldn't join him unfortunately. He was a bit surprised at what we had on board and he said if we get to Samoa he would love to out sailing with us. He will be back there in 8-10 years I think. He has a job with Reef Shipping and they send him around to different islands for a periods of years. He has two years left on Niue then on to Rarotonga in the Cooks for 5 years. Before I took him back to shore we went over and visited the big ocean canoe from the Cook Islands. Pretty impressive. Ian, the president of the association was on board and toured us around. Pretty basic accommodation in the hulls, 8 on one side, two in a deck house cabin and 6 in the other hull. No mattresses, just camping mats. Ian was trying to work out how to use a new sail that that got from some Hawaiians in Samoa to maybe help them go a bit more upwind. I gave him a bunch of screws and a couple of shackles to get it working. I hope they have good luck getting home. Apparently they are going to try for Palmerston then Aitutaki then Rarotonga.
We started out for Neiafu in the Vava'u Group of Tonga Sunday morning just after 04:00 and motored for a few hours until we cleared the lee of Niue and got into a bit of wind. The winds have gradually built to 15 knots or so and we are running dead down wind with just the mizzen and headsail poled out. We are comfortably making between 5 and 6 knots with the occasional 7. At this rate we are going to arrive way to early but we will deal with that later as I don't want to slow down just yet. My philosophy is sail while you can; you can always heave-to once you get close to wait for daybreak.

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Born to be Wild

2008-08-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

Another week gone in Niue, how the time flies. We've spent the week doing a few different things. Monday night was the Hash House Harriers walk/run/cycle, we walked! After a nice 3-4 km walk we sat around at the police chiefs house (who was providing the venue this week) and had a bit of a sausage sizzle. There are Hash House Harrier groups on many different islands and it generally brings the expats together. The NZ Army engineers are on Niue helping spruce things up for the Pacific Leaders Forum so they came by as well. The army guys of course ran, we walked with most of the others. We got back from the walk and the army guys still weren't back. Eventually they showed up and it turned out they got a bit lost and ran an extra 3-4 km. Fit bunch of lads as they say in NZ but they really need a compass or better map reading skills. Most of Tuesday we spent on the boat, it rained off and on most of the day, but cleared up by late afternoon. We went to shore to meet up with my friend Ian that I worked with in NZ and had a wonderful Niuean dinner at one of the local restaurants. It was great to catch up with him and find out where some of the other people were that I had worked with in Wellington. As always, the best of them all are doing really well and I'm looking forward to catching up with them when we get to NZ later this year. Wednesday we decided to rent a motorcycle for a couple of days and see a few more sights on the island. We were going to rent bicycles but two bikes were $20.00 a day and the motorbike was $25.00 a day. For $5.00 we decided NOT to pedal. They rent 125 cc road bikes that are fine for two people. We had a great time running the roads here. So much so that I've decided to re-interpret the song "Born to be Wild" according to the Niuean experience (translations in brackets);

BORN TO BE WILD (Niue Style)

Born to be Wild
(sail to a small rock in the middle of the South Pacific)
Get your motor running
(push the electric start button on your 125 cc Suzuki that has seen better days)
Get out on the highway
(maximum speed 60 km/hr)
Looking for adventure
(getting up a hill with two people on an under-powered 125 cc bike)
Or whatever comes my way
(in Niue's case, LOTS OF POTHOLES)

Wednesday night we parked the bike and hitchhiked out to one of the local hotels for "Whale Watching Wednesday". Another excuse for people to get out during the week. Again, we had a great time talking to people who have made their lives on the island, Kiwi's, Samoans, and yes, even Niueans!
Thursday was Sausage Sizzle night at the yacht club and just as we were heading in, a double hulled ocean going canoe form the Cook Islands came into the anchorage. They had sailed from Raratonga to Samoa for the Pacific Arts Festival and were trying to get back. Well the winds they weren't cooperating for them so after nine days of trying to beat into the wind, they came to Niue instead. There are sixteen of them on board. We talked to one of the guys on Friday and he said that they had a great time in Samoa. They were the hit of the festival, arriving as they did. Friday was checkout day for us as we have decided to move on to Tonga on Sunday, our last stop before NZ. The days started early though as we decided to get in to the other bakery up buy the airport that is only open Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 06:00 and 08:30. We got there shortly after 07:00 and they were already out of croissants but we did get a couple of nice foccia breads. We made it back for the market in town and tried the local coconut porridge, fantastic, found a few veggies and generally spent a lot more time just talking to people.
The really BIG excitement this week though has been the arrival of the SHIP!! It's really quite an event and it's been great fun watching it all unfold. The ship can not come to the pier so they anchor off and a large stern line is taken to shore. There is a big aluminium barge that holds two containers, and a beat up government launch to move it around. They move two containers at a time off the ship by crane, back to the wharf, lift them off by crane and truck them away. Because of the leaders' conference, there were around 8 more cars brought in, and lots of goods. The cars arrived simply tied down on top of the containers on the ship. The last ship delivered a couple of small buses to move people around and apparently one of the buses didn't make it onto the wharf in the condition it left the ship, kind of hit a few things I guess. No damage this time though. It took two full days to unload and then load the returning containers. Friday night was the crowning highlight of our social calendar this week. The high school put together a cultural concert. Entry by donation and it was incredible. Cathy and I hitchhiked up and got a lift with two young ladies who were performing, one in year 11 and one in year 13. They were a bit nervous but seemed really excited as well. The school population is divided into four "houses" and each house had been assigned a dance/culture tutor. Each house performed 4 different items and they split the night up in 4 groups of 4 performances each, each house performing once in each group. They were amazing. What they may have lacked in professional polish (although not much was missing) they certainly made up for in enthusiasm. The entire student population was involved with support of their families and teachers. It was a great night.
Today we expect a couple of visitors on the boat. The couple who picked us up last Sunday and drove us out to the Washaway Café are coming out to look at our boat this morning. He's Samoan and she's Niuean. When we were talking to them last Sunday while they drove us out to the Washaway, I asked him what brought him to Niue and without even a moments hesitation, his wife spoke up and said simply, 'ME" She works at the NZ high Commission. As it turned out, we saw them again at "Whale Watching Wednesday" and we ran into him again on the docks on Thursday as he worked for Reef Shipping and he was down unloading the ship. He asked us then if he could come out and see the boat as he has never been on a yacht before. It should be fun, he's a pretty big guy!

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The Hair Cutting Ceremony

2008-08-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

The big excitement on the island yesterday was the hair cutting and ear piercing ceremony. Legend has it, that when Niue was attacked by Tongans or Samoans, they would kill the young boys and steal the woman and young girls. In order to save some of the young boys lives, they used to have them grow their hair long so they could pass as girls. When the invaders came, they couldn't tell the boys from the girls so some of the young boys managed to escape being killed, to go on later to be warriors and kill the invaders in turn. At their coming of age, they held a ceremony where their long hair was cut off and they became a man. The tradition holds and each year, there are typically 3-5 ceremonies on the island. The event has grown to a grand affair and has become somewhat of a banking system. The family holding the ceremony sends out invitations and the invited guests donate food and bring cash contributions. Each person's contribution is recorded and at the end of the ceremony, all the food that was donated is divided up between the guests, according to how much each originally contributed. The cash of course stays with the host family. According to some of the people we talked to yesterday, the event can raise as much as $60,000.00. The general feeling from the people doing the preparation work that I talked to was that the events are getting somewhat out of hand, with families trying to outdo each other.
Cathy and I had decided to go to the ceremony and we made our way to the pier just after 09:00. One of the guys helping out with the lift for the local fishing boats, offered to give us a lift so of course we said yes. He finished his morning tea (a can of Steinlager) and took us down the road. The family had decorated the house and yard and there was a lot of people helping out getting things set up. We wandered out to the backyard where the men were busy preparing the donated pigs. The preparation consists of first killing the pigs (done long before we arrived) then burning the hair off either in a fire or using a big blowtorch. The hair is then scraped off with sharp knives and the pig is cleaned up. The guts are removed and they cleaned pigs are taken down to the sea and cleaned off in salt water. All in all, 50 pigs were donated, slaughtered and cleaned up. Other food donations included cases of frozen chicken (probably close to one hundred cases all told), fish (whahoo, tuna, opau, swordfish). One of the swordfish donated was a good 4 meters from sword to tail. There were also donations of tarrow root, it looked a field of it. All this food was piled up and displayed so the guests could see how much the family had received. The family provided juice and cakes for all the guests and these were brought around during the opening speeches by the family, the local clergy, etc. Typically long winded, the speeches took the better part of an hour and half. In the meantime, the young boy and his sister were sitting on display waiting for the big event. The ear piercing was first and was a simple affair. She didn't flinch! The hair cutting ceremony took a lot longer. The young lads hair had been combed out and bunches of it were tied off in blue ribbon. In turn, people came up and cut off a piece to take home with them. We didn't stay to the bitter end but saw enough. The host family specifically invited their overseas visitors to get a close up view of the event which was very nice. Like everywhere and everyone we have met here, the welcome has been extraordinary.

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Exploring Niue

2008-07-31T18:54:00.000-07:00

We spent Tuesday and Wednesday trying to see all that we could with a rental car. This island is stunningly beautiful and when I can get a good internet connection (probably Tonga in a couple of weeks) I will upload the pictures we took. There are many caves along the coast and there are trails leading to a lot of them. We got some great touring info from Keith, the yacht club commodore, and following his advice certainly paid off. We got to the caves on the west coast at low tide and were able to wander around and search the caverns and look into the pools. The water colour was an almost too perfect shade of blue. We saw stalactites and stalagmites, some floor to roof, some just barely starting. The "new" ones look like eggs frozen in the rock, really amazing to see. We stopped at a place called Limu Pools to have a snorkel next. It is fed with fresh water and the ocean swell provides a mix of salt water as well. The two layers (fresh and salt) are quite distinct and the boundary between them creates a blur when you are looking through a mask on the surface. The fresh water sits on top and to get to the warm ocean water you have to dive down. A bit backwards from what we are used to. Just before lunch on Tuesday, we walked out to the Talava Arches on the north end of the island. You scramble through this low cave and using a rope (provided) you work your way down to the shore. There are two arches, one right on the coast and one inland. The inland one you really don't realize is there as it is very high. There was a small bar/patio at the head of the trail so we had lunch there and then went down a much shorter trail to the swimming hole. It's a chasm that has a narrow entrance from land with sides that are near vertical. You are protected from the ocean by a rock wall on the seaward side that lets some swell in but not much. The lagoon is fed with fresh water and is substantially cooler than the ocean.
Wednesday, the major excursion was to a place called Togo Chasm on the east coast. A good 30 minute bush walk brings you to the coast. The landscape is unique. There are rows of sharp uplifted limestone that march in parallel lines towards the ocean. This island is still rising and these represent some of the movement (I'm guessing here!) The government has made a path to get to the actual chasm which is an oasis of white sand, complete with palm trees, surrounded by vertical walls. Access to the bottom is via a long and large ladder. The ladder verticals are the size of telephone poles so it's nice and solid. We were glad we went on Wednesday and it did drizzle off and on on Tuesday and the ladder may have been a bit slick. Once you are in the chasm, you can scramble through a cave system to get out to the coast at sea level. We have never seen anything like it, and it is probably the most amazing bit of geography we have seen anywhere in the world. We toured most of the island roads and with only 1500 inhabitants; most of the place is pretty deserted. We did visit the Noni farm that is probably the biggest bit of agriculture on the island. Noni fruit grows naturally in the islands and is the juice is touted as a wonder elixir. You sure don't drink it for the taste, which is quite frankly, pretty bad. They are currently shipping between 10-15 tons of juice a month and are hoping to increase production. They have interest from Japan, China and Germany. The process is pretty simple, they hand pick the fruit which is about the size of a tangerine, wash it off and put the whole fruit in sealed barrels for 8 weeks. The juice works it's out of the fruit and they then press it and pasteurize it prior to shipping it out. They harvest all year and pick every two weeks. The kiwi couple who are managing used to farm in NZ and have been here for only 6 months. They have gone through 4 managers in 5 years, a pretty remote place to work. Tonight is sausage and beer night at the yacht club, and today is also the last day on the island for many of the tourists that we have met. The weekly flight leaves Friday AM anywhere between 04:00 and 5:00, depending on the arrival time. We have no set plans to leave so will get to greet the next lot of tourists arriving.

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And the Whales Make Free in the Harbour

2008-07-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

The humpback whales are here! Each night we see them around the boats, yes around the boats. Friday night they were around Toketie and Madeline (a young American couple Jeremy and Megan). Saturday night they were around us. We were sitting below after dinner and we heard them blowing right next to the boat. Kind of freaks you out.
We went for a bit of a walk on shore on Sunday and explored a few of the sea tracks from the road down to the cliff edge. The last one we went down we sat and watched a pod of humpback whales slowly work their way north along the coast. I hope to see them during the day around the boats as the water is so clear you can see over 35 meters to the bottom. It would be fantastic to see them swimming. The whales continue to amaze us. Sunday night we listened to them underwater as they swam beneath the boat. They are calving here so lots of noise and activity.
We continue to have a great reception from people here. Sunday, we hitchhiked down to the south end of the island to the Washaway Café, the only self serve bar in the South Pacific. It is on the "Must Do" list here. Willie, the owner/cook/host is great. During a slow time he came over and we talked about the island, the culture, the people, what was happening and why. He had spent a number of years in New Zealand as a mechanic and came back to Niue recently. Like everyone else here, he has a number of things on the go to earn a living. He has the café that is open on Sundays, he is a fishing guide, and he is the local mechanic. His experience with cyclone Heta was a bit different. There used to be trees in front of the café that you could see through to the water. The cyclone wiped them out of course and now, there is a panoramic view of the shoreline and people can watch the whales from shore. Willie described it as a three million dollar view, courtesy of cyclone Heta. I call it urban renewal courtesy of nature's fury. We caged a ride back with an Australian couple who are here for a week on holiday that we had met the day before at the yacht club. Monday morning was laundry day. Part of the facilities provided by the yacht club is a shower/toilet block on the pier. It is kept immaculately clean and has this nice, large, stainless steel sink for doing your laundry in, a treat after doing it in buckets in the cockpit. Cathy and I spent the afternoon on shore walking around, arranging for a rental car and generally getting to know a few more of the locals. We went the local backpackers as they have a book exchange and met the owner Illa. Her family is from Niue but she was born and raised in New Zealand. Her father always wanted one of the daughters to return to Niue and a couple of years ago, Illa and her husband decided to do just that. They, again like everyone else here, have multiple jobs and are slowly making a living here. You won't get rich but everyone seems pretty content with things. We pick up a rental car today for the next three days to explore the island. There's a lot to see!

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Arrival on Niue

2008-07-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

Around 05:00 we called Niue Radio to report our imminent arrival and the lady who answered couldn't have been more helpful. She welcomed us to Niue and asked us to call her back after 08:00 so she could arrange for customs clearance. We picked up a mooring south of the pier at Alofi at around 06:00 local time. David from Toketie was up and heard us call into Niue Radio and guided us to the mooring with his nice bright spotlight. That is the one piece of equipment we are lacking in board. Just after 08:00 we contacted Niue Radio again and they arranged for customs clearance for us at 09:00, on shore. Landing here by dinghy is a definite experience. They have blasted a channel through the narrow fringing reef and built a large pier. You take your dinghy in through the cut and let off your passengers on some rather slippery steps. You then go a little further in and there is this electric hoist where you attach your dinghy's lifting bridle to hoist the dinghy up onto the pier. If you don't, the surge would pretty much wreck it. Normally the swell is pretty low as it generally comes from the SE and the island blocks most of it. Just now there is a swell running here from a pretty big storm that is around New Zealand. Toketie came and picked us up in their dinghy and the 4 of us headed for shore. The passenger drop off was interesting. Cathy was first off and after waiting for the swell to lift the dinghy high enough, she got off with only a small scrape on her knee. Linda and I got off next then David took the dinghy down to the hoist. Luckily for us, Ernie, and 81 year old gentleman from the yacht club here (more on that in a bit) had come down to the pier to give us a hand getting in. We got the dinghy hoisted and just in time as shortly afterwards, a couple of big breaking swells came in through the cut.
Customs clearance was simple and easy, one form to fill out and then on to the police station for immigration. There, each person fills out an arrival declaration and your passport is stamped and you're here, simple as that. It was a lot different from Mexico ad French Polynesia.
We made our way to the local market and found some fruit and Roti (chicken and veggie wraps) and then on the yacht club to register for the moorings we are using. The Niue Yacht Club (NYC) is probably the only yacht club in the world where the resident members don't have a boat between them. As there is no harbour here, yachting is not a recreational pastime. We met the manager (Jim) and his wife (Mamata) and got checked in. Something about Jim seemed familiar but I was tired and didn't think any more of it. As we were sitting there in the shade, Keith, the yacht club commodore showed up. We talked for a bit then he offered to take the 4 of us on a brief tour along the waterfront.
Cyclone Heta devastated Niue in 2004 and most of the damage was around the main settlement of Alofi. Niue is the largest raised coral island in the world. It has a central plateau which his about 70 meters above sea level and the fringing area along the coast is about 30 meters above sea level. When the cyclone hit, the waves reached 32 meters and destroyed most building along the shore line. The fuel storage tanks by the wharf were damaged and one was knocked sideways off its base. Ernie, the gentleman who helped us with the dinghy hoist, had his house and workshop along the cliff destroyed. The waves literally removed everything. All that's left is the concrete pad with the highest remaining thing being the base of the toilet. It was scoured clean. As a result of Heta, many of the islanders relocated to New Zealand where they hold citizenship. There are only about 1500 residents left on the island. It's a beautiful place, remote and essentially unspoiled. Keith also took us along to the local jail (currently unoccupied) and gave a bit of a history of some of it's notorious inmates. There was one guy, a large Maori, serving time for assault, who was troublesome to the guards. Well one day, he just wouldn't do anything that he was told and picked up the guard and pinned him against the wall. He guard kicked him where it would hurt the most and then went to his truck and got his shotgun, loaded with light birdshot. Well the birdshot only made Maori angrier so the guard went back and reloaded with slugs and killed him. The guard was convicted of manslaughter (despite the fact that most islanders wanted to give him a medal) and served quite a long sentence. During his incarceration he created a beautiful market garden and landscaped the grounds which are really quite beautiful. Quite an interesting little tour.
We went back to the yacht club and had coffee and scones and just generally chilled out in the shade. I was just finishing my coffee when this tall guy comes in. I recognized him right off. Ian and I had worked together in Ericsson New Zealand during the mid nineties. He is currently working for a group that running the "one Laptop per Child" campaign in the South Pacific. The idea is pretty unique. MIT has developed, from the ground up, a laptop computer for 6-12 year olds in developing countries. It uses some pretty unique networking schemes and is also enabled for WIFI for internet connection. He is here with 500 laptops for the local school kids a pilot in advance of the South Pacific Leaders Summit that is on Niue this year in the middle of August. It's a fantastic program and I really hope it gains acceptance. Anyhow, Ian and I had a great chat and I got to do something that I had wanted to do since the last day I was with Ericsson. As I was leaving Ericsson on the last day in 1999, Ian came up to me and said "They really don't appreciate all that you have done here, but I do". I'm sure I said thanks at the time but I wanted to reiterate to him as it meant a lot at the time and still means a lot. He will be here for a couple of weeks and I am going to try and get together with him at lest once before we leave. As we were leaving I ran into Jim again and we got to talking about New Zealand etc and I told him about my encounter with Ian. He got this funny look in his eye and asked if I knew a guy named Dominique Jodoin. Well, Dominique was the reason we went to NZ in the first place in 1996. I then asked Jim what his last name was as we had previously introduced ourselves first name only. He replied "Jim Gill". My brain we thunk. I worked with Jim in the Asia region during the nineties with Ericsson and spent nearly a week with him in Beijing in 1999 during a user conference. So, within the first 4 hours of being in the smallest republic in the world, I met two people I knew, a very small world indeed
The rest of the day was spent wandering around Alofi and waiting for the tide to turn so we could return to the boats. It was quite the first day on Niue.

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The One That Got Away

2008-07-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

Well, imagine our surprise yesterday afternoon when, after nearly two days with the line in the water, the fishing reel starts squealing. We rushed into the cockpit and about 200 meters behind the boat, I see this lovely fish jumping, trying to throw off the hooks. I ran up on deck, dumped the main sail and we quickly furled in the genoa. (Exciting so far isn't it). After about 5 minutes I managed to get the fish along side and I had hooked, what looked like, a 15 pound sailfish. I tried to net it and missed and just when I went to go a second time, the line broke! Oh well, Cathy did see it, and can, and will corroborate the story under oath if need be. It was hard to see the broken line and realize just how close we were to having fresh fish for dinner, lunch, breakfast, dinner, lunch, etc. We would have been eating the fish for 4 days. Unfortunately that was my last hoochie (plastic squid) and I don't have anything else to drag behind (except maybe Cathy). Perhaps I will find something in Niue.
We started to loose the wind late yesterday and by evening we were down to 4 knots or so. As we weren't going to make it to Niue Thursday anyways, we decided to just keep going at that pace. Again, unfortunately, the wind went lighter still and by 04:00 we were down to about 2 knots. The weather was not encouraging to stick it out as the forecast is for light variable winds for the next 5 days. We are basically in the middle of a high pressure system that is almost centered over Niue. We are running at low revs to try and conserve diesel as much as possible as it is around NZD 2.50 a litre to replace it. The motor was a bit difficult to start but has been running fine. I'm hoping that a good long run under load will clean it out. I just ran it up to full RPM and it didn't miss a bit so maybe the airlock is gone and we are back to normal. The problem is likely dirty fuel and getting air in the lines when changing filters, I hope!

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Wind and Sun and Fishing

2008-07-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am fishing. I got the urge this morning to figure out how to get a line in the water from the comfort of the cockpit and after a bit of head scratching got it sorted out. Now all we need is a nice Mahi-Mahi for dinner (hahaha). So far my record fishing since we left Canada is fish 2, Brian 0. I did hear some sage advice from a fellow cruiser awhile ago that will help my fishing immensely. Apparently you actually have to put the hook into the water, go figure. I kept hoping for one to just jump into the cockpit and nicely expire. I'm not sure what kind of fish we can possibly get as we are sailing at 5-6 knots, it will have to a pretty quick one. We had a light wind day Sunday afternoon and night but winds started to fill in again yesterday and we spent most of the day under full canvas. We reefed down as it got dark to mizzen and genoa as the winds came up a bit. We still averaged between 5-6 knots so all is good. We are getting little anxious about the weather as it looks to start going light in the next day or two so we are trying to get as many miles under the keel as possible. At our current rate, we will make Niue at dusk on Thursday, not great but not too bad. We will able to contact Niue Radio via SSB when we get close and hopefully get assigned a mooring. The other idea is that we will get to Niue Friday morning, which either means slowing down on purpose or getting slowed down by the weather. Regardless we will get there when we get there. It turns out that the boats that went north to Suwarrov sailed through a shear line, with reported winds to 45 knots. They are still getting 30 plus knots around Samoa. There was a bit of damage reported from the boats, one cracked mast from a knock down, one broken boom and torn sails. We are sailing in almost ideal conditions here and are glad we decided NOT to go north to the Samoa's.

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Still Sailing

2008-07-20T14:43:00.000-07:00

The winds are still 15-20 knots and the seas aren't too bad and we are still moving along between 5 and 6 knots. The only down side is the seas. They are FAR from regular and the swell period is quite short. We are taking them on the stern and it is eerie to watch sometimes as the swell comes up behind you at 3 meters and gently lifts the stern and passes under the boat. The wind steering does an amazing job surfing us down the waves and we have seen over 8 knots at times on the downhill slide. Every once and awhile we get slapped on the side by a cross wave and take water onto the enclosure. Are we ever glad to have the enclosure! We have had both side panels in since the first night and the cockpit has stayed dry despite some pretty good waves over the port side. The boats north us going to Suwwarrov and Samoa have been getting a lot more wind and have reported taking waves into the cockpit and flooding down below. We tend to leave the hatch boards in when it gets like this. I guess others will now too. The catamaran rush made it safely to Aitutaki last night and is waiting for good light to enter the pass. Alan has to be careful with currents as his power comes from a 9.9 horsepower outboard. He thinks it should be OK. Elyios is 175 miles from Rarotonga and after a rough first night are cooking along at 7 knots or so. When I spoke to them a couple of days ago, they weren't happy but conditions have moderated and they are making good time. The weather is really in our favour just now. The high pressure system south of us has nice, evenly spaced isobars where we are which means consistent winds at 15-20 which is what we are getting. With a bit of luck we will make landfall Thursday in Niue although we need to keep our speed up to do it. Still over 500 miles to go.

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Wind, Wind, Wind

2008-07-18T13:26:00.000-07:00

As the saying goes, be careful what you ask for. We saw increasing winds from yesterday early morning and have been sailing in 25-30 knot SE winds for the past 26 hrs. We expect this to continue for the next day or two then ease back to 15 knots or so. We were running just aft of a beam reach with reefed mizzen and about half a headsail but decided to go more downwind this morning to ease the ride and dropped the mizzen. The wind steering is taking us along nicely and we are actually running quite flat just now. We are averaging 5 1/2 to 6 knots so are putting lots of miles under the keel. I am running a small controlled SSB net with Toketie, Rush and Elyios. We are all experiencing similar conditions. The difference is that Toketie is a 17 ton full keel steel cutter, Rush is a 35 foot catamaran and Elyios is 38 ft full keel cutter with a small child (2 year old) on board, makes for interesting choices. Everyone is OK, which is the main thing. The boats that headed north to Suwwarrov and Samoa are getting 35+ plus knots and at this point the swell and winds will stop people from getting into Suwwarrov as it's and Atoll and the pass will be treacherous in these conditions. We are running on course for Niue and if we continue at this rate will make it by Thursday AM next week at the latest. We are both getting lots of sleep as even sitting in the cockpit is a workout, not to mention the art of using the toilet in these conditions which I won't get into further. All movement is one hand for the boat and one hand for yourself. I had lots of fun this morning taking the mizzen down then going out to the foredeck to plug the hawse pipe (the hole the anchor chain goes through for you non-nautical types), and tie down the whisker pole. What's a whisker pole you ask, well, if you have a beard and the wind is blowing, you need to have this pole to hold on to on the boat due to the increased wind resistance on your face due to the beard. Not buying that explanation, OK, it's used to hold the headsail out when you are running deep downwind. Enough for now, must check the course and conditions again.

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Underway Again

2008-07-17T10:27:00.000-07:00

The week has flown by so far. We spent half of Monday the 14th in the village of Vaitape watching the Bastille Day festivities. There was a parade, speeches, a traditional foot race, all kinds of fun. There must have been a couple of thousand people in the parade itself, not bad considering the total population of the island is only 5000 or so. There were more in the parade than watching although there was a great turnout. They had floats, they had groups marching but what they didn't have was marching bands. All the resorts participated and for the first time ever, I saw pastries on display in a parade. The Intercontinental Resort had this elaborate display of pastries carried by 4 buff guys. The pastries were carried like a sedan chair. The rest of the group from their resort were carrying small plates with cookies and pastries on them, but they weren't giving them away. It was a bit bizarre. The parade came down the road, looped into an area that had been set up for the month long festival (dancing, choral) past a reviewing stand with appropriate dignitaries, back out onto the road again and through the village. Once that was all done, the local politicians got into their act and the Mayor of Bora-Bora who also happens to be the President of French Polynesia, gave a VERY long winded speech that repeated itself quite a bit. One of the basic truths in this world is that politicians like to hear themselves talk and assume that everyone else does too. The foot race was spectacular. There were maybe 10-12 guys and they had to run a course that had to be a kilometre long, carrying a pole that was 6 feet long and maybe 8 inches in diameter that had fruit tied on to each end. Not just any fruit. They had a full hand of bananas on each end as well as several coconuts on each end. These poles were heavy. By the time they got back to the finish line, they were hurting pretty bad, but everyone made it back. I went down and watched them inspecting the poles after the race and it was taking two officials to pick up and inspect each pole. They then brought out the free beer and pastries for everyone which we took a pass on. The crowds were pretty thick as you can well imagine.

On Tuesday (my birthday), we were in town early and checked out with the Gendarmes and retrieved our bond refunds from the bank. We did the last of our shopping and were back on board by 10:30. A few more chores and a saltwater scrub and we took our last few French francs and headed to the yacht club to enjoy a nice cold beer sitting on the deck looking out over the anchorage. It was great. We had Ann and Barry over for dinner and also invited Glenn and Marilyn from another Canadian boat called Tin Soldier. Glenn and Marilyn only stayed for a drink but it was great of them to come over. Ann made me a birthday cake which was way cool and Cathy prepared an awesome roast lamb dinner. I'll likely always remember turning 47 in Bora Bora.

We pulled up anchor this morning around 09:30 and said goodbye to French Polynesia. We are heading for Niue and hope to get there in 8 days or so. It's just over a thousand miles. We motored for the first couple of hours and then the wind came in enough to sail for the next few. It died out and we have been under power for the past 6 hours. There are clouds forming as I write so I am hoping to see some wind in the next few hours. It will come!! I think we must have got some bad fuel somewhere as we have been going through fuel filters at a great rate. The engine quit about an hour and half ago and once again it was a plugged filter. I'm really glad we spent the money in San Francisco and got the dual Racor fuel filters. A flick of a lever and you are up and running on the other filter and then you can change the plugged one while you continue on your merry way. Hopefully we are getting the last of the gunk out of the tanks now.
Sunday July 13, 2008 Bora-Bora Yacht Club
We moved from Bloody Marys to the Bora-Bora Yacht Club on Friday. There are new owners and they are in the process of fixing it up. There are a few moorings here but we decided to anchor as they charge or moorings here. Moorings are 2000 CFP per night, about $25 dollars but we are trying to conserve a bit, and we have a perfectly good anchor. The weather has been a bit strange with fronts passing through bit not much wind, just occasional gusts. The boats that have left to head west in the past few days have had light winds if they went north towards Suwarrov and those heading to Raratonga are getting 20-25 knots from the SW, right on the nose!! We are looking at leaving here later in the week if the weather settles down they way it has been predicted to. By Wednesday/Thursday the easterly trades look to build back in and stay steady for awhile, maybe long enough to get us to Nuie. Not mush happening around here the past few days, getting the boat back in passage condition after 3 months of short hops. Nuie is 1050 miles so we are looking at 8-10 days depending on the wind. Better wind, faster passage, we'll just have to see.

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Bora-Bora Yacht Club

2008-07-13T18:09:00.001-07:00

We moved from Bloody Marys to the Bora-Bora Yacht Club on Friday. There are new owners and they are in the process of fixing it up. There are a few moorings here but we decided to anchor as they charge or moorings here. Moorings are 2000 CFP per night, about $25 dollars but we are trying to conserve a bit, and we have a perfectly good anchor. The weather has been a bit strange with fronts passing through bit not much wind, just occasional gusts. The boats that have left to head west in the past few days have had light winds if they went north towards Suwarrov and those heading to Raratonga are getting 20-25 knots from the SW, right on the nose!! We are looking at leaving here later in the week if the weather settles down they way it has been predicted to. By Wednesday/Thursday the easterly trades look to build back in and stay steady for awhile, maybe long enough to get us to Nuie. Not mush happening around here the past few days, getting the boat back in passage condition after 3 months of short hops. Nuie is 1050 miles so we are looking at 8-10 days depending on the wind. Better wind, faster passage, we'll just have to see.

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Bloody Marys

2008-07-11T10:43:00.001-07:00

We moved over to the main island of Bora-Bora on Monday and decided to try and get a mooring at a place called Bloody Marys. The restaurant/bar is a well known fixture on the island and they have put in moorings for use of their guests. The three Canadian boats arrived here together (Toketie, Cats Paw IV and Tarun) and there were actually three empty moorings. We went ashore and found Rick (owner or manager, not quite sure) he made us feel entirely welcome. He said the rules are simple; you can stay 4-5 nights on the mooring before moving on and eat, drink and be merry. He then went on to tell us that there was free water at the end of the dinghy dock and to use it as needed. So all they ask, is that you have a drink at the bar, or a meal, and feel welcome. We went in for a drink the first night and shared an appetizer at the bar, talked to a bunch of really great people and had a wonderful time. We decided we weren't going to spring for dinner as it is a bit expensive, but had a beer Tuesday night and lunch there on Wednesday which was quite reasonable. It is a bit awkward getting into town but you can generally get a ride hitchhiking or a longish dinghy ride if it's not too windy. We went for a long walk on Wednesday and found a dive place so Ann (from Cats Paw IV) and I booked to go for a couple of dives on Thursday. Cathy decided that she didn't want to dive with sharks so backed out. We got picked up Thursday morning at the dock at Bloody Marys and off to the dive centre. A very professional operation and we were on the boat by 08:15 and in the water for our first dive by 08:45. We did the first dive inside the reef looking for Manta rays and unfortunately saw only one but did see lots of fish and it was a great dive. We went back to the dive shop for a break and after being out for an hour we went outside the reef to dive with the sharks. They feed the sharks here to keep them around (I wondered if they fed them the odd diver but decided not to inquire too closely). There are Lemon sharks and Black Tip sharks here and they are pretty amazing. There was one pregnant female that was at least 3 meters long and we were told that she will shortly leave the area to give birth before returning. We saw a lot of sharks! They are magnificent underwater. Other highlights of the dive were large schools of fish and great coral. We saw one school of yellow-fin tuna but when I think about the ciguateria poisoning that you can get by eating larger reef fish, you kind of loose your appetite for them. Thursday night we went in to see the best male and female dancers for their month long Heiva festival. The place was packed and the dancers were stunning. Today we will leave the mooring and head over towards the yacht club and anchor for a few more days until we check out next week and head west, likely now for Niue but who knows!

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Feeding the Rays

2008-07-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we moved away form the town anchorage to the other side of Motu Toopua to try and find a quieter anchorage. We ended up in about 10 meters of water on a sand/clay bottom so nice and secure. We spent the afternoon snorkelling and generally relaxing.
Sunday started with chores, laundry, engine service, scrub the hull, you know the standard Sunday jobs. Mid morning we got a call on the VHF that the tour boats were arriving on the reef close to where we were anchored to feed the Manta Rays. Along with Toketie and Cats Paw IV, we a headed over to get a look. We anchored our dinghies a respectable distance away and after a warning from the guide not to swim with fins but to walk over only, we made our way closer to his group. The six of us stood off to the side and stayed in a group so we didn't interfere with the tour and watched as the guide fed the rays. They were swimming all around us, it was unbelievable. A 4-5 foot black tipped reef shark swam lazily by which was pretty amazing. We've seen smaller sharks around the boat but this one was a respectable size and we were in the water. We all stood there spellbound as the rays gently swam around us and tour group. After the guide had finished with his group, he came over to me and handed me a fish to feed the rays. I was blown away. Here we were taking advantage of his tour that he got paid for, and he is offering me the same thing that he gives his tour group. Anyhow, I held this small fish down in the water and this big ray, swam up and ate it out of my hand, quite gently really. After that they rays were all over us, swimming right up and rubbing against us looking for more fish. The experience was fantastic, and the generosity of the guide was amazing. Part of it, I believe, was due to the fact that as a group, we were careful to stay separate from his tour and were content to watch and not interfere. Feeding the rays, an awesome experience.

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Bora-Bora

2008-07-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we sailed and motored up to Tapuamu Bay on the west side of Tahaa. We got there mid morning and decided to go snorkelling across on the reef. There were three Mmotus and you beached your dinghy on the middle one, walk along shore towards the outer reef, mask and fins in hand then drift back through the pass between the Motu's with the current. It was fantastic. Lots of life, anemones, fish, coral and shellfish. We spent about an hour there before heading back. The rest of the day was spent on fuel and cleanup. Friday we upped anchor early and headed for Bora-Bora, about 25 miles away. We pulled up sails in just after we got the anchor up and sailed about 2/3 of the way. Light winds but good seas. When we got the south end of Bora-Bora, we got great wind rounding the island and had Tarun up to 8 knots surfing the swells, very cool. The fun really began though as we got ready to tack into the entrance and we got hit by a big squall with 35 knots and a ship was coming out of the pass at the same time. Always nice to hit squalls with all your sail up. Got a bit wet but it passed within 10 minutes and we got in OK. We anchored north of the main township of Vaipae. The reason for the early departure was to get to the bank before they closed. We had to order/reserve New Zealand Dollars for the refund of our Bond when we leave. If we didn't, they would refund us in French Polynesian Francs which are pretty useless outside of here. The lady at the bank couldn't have been more pleasant, and the appropriate reservations were done. On the walk back to the dinghy, we saw then setting up for a big spectacle that night so we went and asked and found out that there was a choral group and a dance group performing. We bought tickets at 1500 CFP each (a total of around 40 dollars) and were treated to 2 ½ hours of performance. It was great. The costumes and choreography were stunning. The dance troupe had 40 plus dancers, 10 or so musicians, and 8 people singing, quite a troupe.

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Raitea

2008-07-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

We sailed around the top of Raitea on Monday in a nice 10-15 knots. We ended up anchoring on the NW side of the island just outside of the boat yard. The only reason for coming here was to get our propane tank filled. I took the tank in and it took until the next day to get it back. They gravity fill them and it takes awhile. We did manage to get into the town of Uteroa for groceries on Tuesday. There is little or no public transport here and getting around either means LONG walks (5 km each way), a bit of luck hitchhiking (strangely difficult here), or shelling out for a taxi. We got a taxi. There is a public dock at Uteroa but the wind and tide can make it rough on the boat and difficult to get out of. After the expedition to town, we had a Canada Day pancake breakfast on Tarun with the other two Canadian boats that were here, Toketie and Cats Paw IV. Tuesday night we went over to Cats Paw IV for a Canada Day party, and I was persuaded to take my guitar along. I been writing lyrics about our trip to the tune of "The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald" and I finally played it through. We also managed to mangle our way through a couple of Stan Rogers songs, all very Canadian. Yesterday was an off day, recovering, and sleeping. Today, Tahaa, and a fuel dock before we leave here for Bora-Bora.

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Faaroa Bay Raitea

2008-06-30T23:36:00.000-07:00

We finally left Huahine yesterday for the 20 mile sail across to Raitea. We pulled up anchor around 10:00 in the morning and had the sails up inside the reef and then sailed out of the reef and on towards Raitea. Cathy sailed the boat through shifty winds as they blew across Huahine and finally 5 mile or so out, the winds steadied up and were directly astern. Cathy called for wing on wing so up to the foredeck I go and with the genoa poled out to port and the main full out to starboard we trucked along between 6 and 7 knots. The seas were rolly but with good speed it wasn't so bad. It was a good sail and the winds stayed with us all the way through the reef entrance on Raitea. We pulled in the genoa before we sailed in and went under main alone and shot straight through. The winds by this time were blowing from the south so instead of beating our brains out tacking up a narrow channel, we motored the remaining 3 miles or so to Faaroa Bay. We had been told about this place by an Australian guy we met in Avae Bay on Huahine at the potluck we had on the beach. He said that it is well protected from most winds and that there is water available and a river that you can get up with your dinghy at the head of the bay. We anchored in about 15 meters with a mud bottom so great holding. Good thing too! The bay is protected from most winds, but NOT what we started to get last night and continue to get now. It's blowing about 25-30 knots right down the bay and we are dug in good. I don't think we will be going much of anywhere today, but who knows. There are a bunch of mooring balls about halfway up the bay, owned by Sunsail and Moorings. There are a few American boats on the them, but I tend to trust the anchor more than an old, questionably maintained mooring. The plan is to spend a couple of nights here and then head to the north end of the island to the town of Uturoa. After that, we plan to spend a few days around the other island inside the reef, Tahaa, then next weekend, off to Bora-Bora. We'll see how it all works out.

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Faaroa Bay - Raitea

2008-06-29T10:57:00.001-07:00

We finally left Huahine yesterday for the 20 mile sail across to Raitea. We pulled up anchor around 10:00 in the morning and had the sails up inside the reef and then sailed out of the reef and on towards Raitea. Cathy sailed the boat through shifty winds as they blew across Huahine and finally 5 mile or so out, the winds steadied up and were directly astern. Cathy called for wing on wing so up to the foredeck I go and with the genoa poled out to port and the main full out to starboard we trucked along between 6 and 7 knots. The seas were rolly but with good speed it wasn't so bad. It was a good sail and the winds stayed with us all the way through the reef entrance on Raitea. We pulled in the genoa before we sailed in and went under main alone and shot straight through. The winds by this time were blowing from the south so instead of beating our brains out tacking up a narrow channel, we motored the remaining 3 miles or so to Faaroa Bay. We had been told about this place by an Australian guy we met in Avae Bay on Huahine at the potluck we had on the beach. He said that it is well protected from most winds and that there is water available and a river that you can get up with your dinghy at the head of the bay. We anchored in about 15 meters with a mud bottom so great holding. Good thing too! The bay is protected from most winds, but NOT what we started to get last night and continue to get now. It's blowing about 25-30 knots right down the bay and we are dug in good. I don't think we will be going much of anywhere today, but who knows. There are a bunch of mooring balls about halfway up the bay, owned by Sunsail and Moorings. There are a few American boats on the them but I tend to trust the anchor more than an old, questionably maintained mooring. The plan is to spend a couple of nights here and then head to the north end of the island to the town of Uturoa. After that, we plan to spend a few days around the other island inside the reef, Tahaa, then next weekend, off to Bora-Bora. We'll see how it all works out.

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Avae Bay, Huahine

2008-06-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

Where has the week gone? Last Sunday, we looked up in the afternoon and saw this ugly black cloud front moving in so decided to move off the coral shelf we were "anchored" on. Anchored on is a relative term here. The only thing holding us in place was large blocks of coral that the chain had wrapped itself around. It was only about 15 feet deep so unwrapping the chain was not that bad. When we saw those clouds coming though, we decided that we would probably not risk getting dragging or getting dragged into by another boat. We went back into Haavai Bay by Fitii and anchored for the night, safe in deep water and clay bottom. On Monday we motored south inside the reef to the southernmost anchorage in Avae Bay. He channel is well buoyed and the shallowest we saw was around 4 meters. Very nice here but open to south and southeast winds. The winds by this time had of course turned to the S/SE. We had a bit of a potluck onboard with John and Renee from Scarlett O'Hara and David and Linda from Toketie. John and Renee had spent quite a few years in Mexico working and their stories were hilarious. We've not done much else here except walk and snorkel a bit. Yesterday was spent stripping the paint off part of our water generator system. The propeller assembly that we drag behind the boat to generate electricity when we are sailing was painted by the manufacturer. Nice looking when new but it is cast aluminium and paint doesn't work well. It was a mess. It's stripped now and will stay bare as that won't corrode past a dull patina on the finish now. The day ended off with a big potluck on the beach. We spent a couple of hours swapping lies with other cruisers, a great time. Today we will probably head back to the north end and maybe tomorrow go over to Tahaa, 20 miles west.

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By Land and By Sea

2008-06-20T10:26:00.001-07:00

We rented a car yesterday with Barry and Ann from Cats Paw IV to tour around. We got this little Fiat Punta. There's lots to see on Huahine, including some very well preserved old Maraes', the traditional religious/habitation sites of the Polynesians. The marae culture was pretty much killed by the arrival of missionaries from Europe in the early 1800's after Cook's visits to the islands in the 1700's. The first Marae we stopped at in Maeve at the north end of main island of Huahine, was an extensive area of seven different Marae's. There was a large open air museum that, although light on artifacts, was heavy into explanations of culture and history. There was a fair amount of human sacrifice involved in the local ceremonies. One that I thought was a bit different involved the building of one of the principle structures on the Marae. It had to completed in one day and the human sacrifice required for it's construction had to placed under the main lodge poll. Imagine, you wake up one morning and the chief comes to you and says you are to the mainstay of the new building. Wow, what an honour as you are dragged out and ritually put to death. A different time, a different place. We continued on from there and checked out some o the rebuilt fish traps used by the locals. There is a huge lagoon on the NE side of the island that has a narrow entrance to the ocean. The Polynesians of old, built these elaborate fish traps that allowed the fish to swim in at high tide and they then got trapped when the tide wet out. They could then harvest them at their leisure. The traps were renewed in the 1960's but looked like they had begun to fall into disrepair again. The next highlight was feeding the eels. There is a unique species of blue eyed eel here and they grow up to 6 ½ feet long. Barry had brought some hard sausage that they didn't like to we cut it up in small chunks and fed it to the eels. They loved it. Big suckers too. I guess most of the tourists stop and feed them. From there we continued around he islands, stopped just over the bridge between the main island and Huahine Iti for a traditional picnic, red wine, baguette, cheese, you know the standard picnic fare. The most notable part of the afternoon had to be the vanilla farm tour we stopped for. We saw this sign on road that said turn here for a vanilla farm tour. We turned into this small lane and this lady in the house were driving by called out the window to continue up the lane, turn left and park. OK, we did. I have to describe this next bit in detail as it was absolutely unique. The four of us got out of the car and stood around trying to figure out what's next. This thin bald guy comes of the workshop we had parked in front of and motions us in to the covered stand like you would see on the roadside selling fruit. He has us all crowd around the counter then snaps open an old, cheap plastic briefcase. Then with both hands, one underneath the case to hold it up and one to hold the top open passes it under our noses so we could smell the contents, little plastic packages of vanilla. He then takes out one package, opens it, pulls the vanilla part way out, and passes that under our noses so we could smell it. He informs us at this point that the vanilla is for sale at 1000 CFP per package. We decline to purchase, he points to a sign tacked up on the post with his picture on it and the words "Don't Forget your Guide". The tour is over, he wants a tip, we turn our backs, walk back to the car, and drive away, busting a gut laughing over this 2-3 minute "Vanilla Farm Tour" that consisted of one rude guy, one old, cheap plastic briefcase and a pointless attempt to get a tip. We decided that we wouldn't take any more tours after that and drove around the rest of the roads on the island. Most were great and some were muddy, but it was a great day out. Then we took the car back, which turned into a major undertaking. It had rained off and on all day and the roads were wet and as I said some were muddy (OK one was REALLY muddy). The car was pretty dirty but only dirt. Just before we got back, the car started making this weird noise. It turned out that the electric cooling fan had mud on one side of it and when it started, it was out of balance. The cheap plastic mount, and an unbalanced fan made a heck of a racket. The guy at the rental car refused to give me back my credit car slip after I paid cash for the car. He said that he needed to see if there was any damage to the car and he would then charge my credit card. I had purchased insurance when I rented the car, I told him this, whereupon he got very incensed and said that no insurance covers everything. After a long VERY heated discussion, and me insisting on seeing "The Damage" we went back to look at the car. As I had told him earlier, it was mud on the fan blades that had unbalanced them. The service guy had washed them off and all was fine. What a hassle. All in all a great day topped of with a beer at a beach bar overlooking the anchorage!

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Wind Wind and More Wind

2008-06-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

We actually got off the boat on Saturday for a couple of hours. We took the dinghy the mile or so to the village of Fare, the main village on Huahine and checked in with the local Gendarmes, walked around, bought some fresh food, and generally just stretched our legs. Nice little village, huge supermarket and lots of tourist style shops along the waterfront. The only downside to the trip ashore happened when we were walking back to the dinghy. I felt these two big drops on my head and just then Cathy said, whew, that bird just missed us, no it didn't. I got hit right on the head with lovely fresh birdshit. Luckily there was a public washroom right there so I managed to rinse it out of my hair before it dried. I honestly can't remember the last time that happened. When we got back to the boat, we decided to pull up anchor and motor south inside the reef to a large landlocked bay called Port Bourayne. We pushed wind a tide for an hour and a half and came into this beautiful bay. There were 7 other boats at anchor but well spread out. We ended up anchoring in about 25 meters of water so lots of chain out. Then it really started to blow and it's been doing it ever since. Basically the last 4 days have been windy and wet as opposed to the previous two days that were just wet and windy. Overcast with rain, and too much wind to put the rain catcher out.
Huahine is actually two islands and the bridge that connects Huahine and Huahine-Iti (little Huahine) is at the bottom of the Port Bourayne. Under the bridge and you are in Maroe Bay, where we first went and didn't anchor. Sunday we took the dinghy and went over to the small village in Maroe Bay. There is a beautiful new dinghy landing and little artisan/restaurant right there. There was a bunch of kids swimming off the dock when we arrived. They motioned us in, took the lines, held on to the dinghy while we got out so we didn't fall into the sea (their words and reasoning anyways) and said they would look after the dinghy while we walked around. They were great. They took great fun in running off the dock and flipping or jumping in the water. We walked around for awhile until the rain came (again), got soaked and headed back to the boat. We did manage to do a little snorkelling on the reef near where we are anchored but it's mostly dead and not much to see. Other than that, we have been on the boat pretty much. Did a few little jobs like whipping rope ends (naughty naughty rope!), changed a fuel filter, exciting stuff. I started carving with the yellow cedar I got from Bob on North Broughton Island last year. I decided to start easy and am carving a small Inukshuk. I'm pretty happy with how it's coming along, and so far, no blood!!
I think we'll head back towards the village either today or tomorrow. Cats Paw IV arrived here on Sunday and we talked about renting a car with them for a day to tour the island. We'll see what the prices are like but splitting the cost should make it OK. The weather is SUPPOSED to get better but so far this morning I see grey skies and rain clouds. We are in the midst of a squash zone between a High and Low pressure system that just doesn't seem to want to move. Ah well, it can't be sunshine and blue skies all the time (but I'm not sure why not?)

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Boat Bound in Fiti

2008-06-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

We woke up to wind and rain and it really hasn't stopped all day. I put the rain catcher up but it got too windy. Not much else happening. I changed out the display unit on the Navman Wind instrument to the old one as the new replacement I got in San Francisco last year has died already. The old one works a bit better but not great. I am extraordinarily disappointed in Navman products. So far we have had both the Depth/Log and Wind display units replaced and both the replacements have failed as well. The LCD screens stop displaying. I will contact Navman again and see what if anything they can or will do about this. If they can't supply instruments that will work, I will junk them and replace them in NZ with something with a bit of quality. We wanted to get to shore today to check in but we are reluctant to leave the boat in these winds. You never know. Luckily there is only one other boat in the anchorage, an NZ boat that we met up with in Papeete. They have been circumnavigating for 14 years and are on their way back to NZ. Maybe tomorrow we will get to shore…….

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Huahine

2008-06-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

We left Opunohu Bay yesterday just after lunch for the 80 mile sail to Huahine. We expected to have a reasonable sail in 15-20 knot winds. Oh yes, we expected it alright, what we got was a slow lumpy roll that had us motoring for an hour and a half to get out of the shadow of Moorea and then motoring again from 04:00 to get to Huahine. The wind went light early. The swell was less than swell, with a nice roll from the NE and winds from the ESE. Oh well, you win some, you fight others to a draw. Needless to say, we didn't get a lot of sleep. We actually find the single overnight passages the hardest. You don't mentally get into the rhythm and sleep does not come as easily. Anyhow, we made Farerea pass on the eastern side of the island by around 07:30 and went in to Maroe Bay. Very nice but no real anchorages unless you are in 30 meters or more. We decided we didn't want to deep anchor so headed back out and around the island to attack it from the west coast. We had a great sail around the island and by 11:00 we made the pass at Fare. The pass in looked simple and according to the cruising guide, no problem. There was no real problem but there was significant swell breaking on either side of the pass (LOTS OF SURFERS!!), and good current and eddies in the pass. The funny thing was, the cruising guide states that Maroe (on the east side) is best visited by dinghy from a cut between the west and east side of the islands, rather than use the "possibly dangerous" east coast pass. We found the "possibly dangerous" east coast pass much calmer and easier than the west coast pass. Sometimes I wonder at cruising guides. We have gone where they said not too and found that the areas to avoid were some of the most pleasant. For instance, the entry on Manihi in the Tuamotus starts "I cannot recommend this atoll and goes on from there about how bad the anchoring is, how rough it is etc.
We ended up anchoring in Fiti, just south of Fare. It's a bit quieter and only a mile or so by dinghy to the village in Fare. We have to go there in the morning to check in with the local gendarme. We will do a little exploring on land while we are here and have no idea how long we will stay.

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Boat Jobs and Moving On

2008-06-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

Spent yesterday doing a few boat jobs, going for a walk on shore (first time on land in 5 days) and generally whiling away Sunday in paradise. Barry asked if I could give him a hand adjusting his valves in the afternoon so before I helped him, I decided to check ours. Good thing too. Only one valve was a bit out but the alternator belt was frayed and almost ready to let go. It's such a good idea to check you engine pretty much every day you run it!!
We are planning on moving over to Opunohu Bay today for a couple of nights before heading off to Huahine.
We weighed anchor around 11:00 and headed out to move a whole five miles or so south. In order to do that we had to put the outboard on the rail, put the dinghy on deck, secure the outboard gas can on deck, out everything away in the boat and make sure nothing could go flying. We got out of the reef entrance and immediately pulled out part of the genoa and sailed on a deep reach, headsail only, to Opunohu. We cooked along at a comfortable 6 knots or so. The wind stayed with us so we sailed in through the pass and most of the way into the bay. Once again, we decided to come to the head of the bay rather than stay out near the outside, much calmer and much more peaceful here. The scenery is even more spectacular than Cooks Bay. No real development in the bottom of the bay, so nice and dark at night.
Monday was strange though in other ways. First, we found out that our Kiwi friends Paul and Gina off Solace were racing off to Raitea to put their boat on the hard and fly back to NZ. Paul has a history of electrical arrhythmia and has been feeling very unwell for the past couple of weeks. We're hoping that everything turns out all right. There is another boat in Raitea that will help them decommission Solace so Gina won't have to do it all herself. Then, after we got to Opunohu, we got a call from Cats Paw IV, who were supposed to be following us over here. They got outside the reef in Cooks Bay and their engine died so they pulled up a bit of sail and headed off for Huahine, about 80 miles away. Basically a bummer Monday.

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Cook's Bay Wind

2008-06-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

We had a great evening on board Island Time last night with hosts Mary-Ellen, Ron and crew Bill. They have a 1982 Norseman 440 that Ron has owned since 1985. The boat is showroom clean and set up beautifully for cruising. The plan for today was to move out to the anchorage on the reef at the entrance to Cooks Bay. We pulled up the hook with some effort as it got caught on something heavy. A little motoring around and slacking off the chain finally got us free. As we got out to the head of the bay, the wind started to blow around the corned and the dinghy that we had tied to the port side almost flipped over from wind catching under the bow. We quickly turned around and headed back into our nice, quiet, secure anchorage in lots of deep water. The outer anchorage is on the reef and is only 8-9 feet deep. We draw 6 ½ feet so I wouldn't have got much sleep. I just heard from the boats out there that they have had gusts up to 40 knots. I'm glad we're here!! We did have one small casualty from our short trip today. We left one of our solar showers hanging on the mast and when we were broadside to the wind when we turned back, the bag went plop and drop into the tide. We didn't notice until after I came up on deck to shower off after spending an hour cleaning the bottom of the boat. Oh well, c'est la vie and besides that one was ripping at the handle anyways. On the bright side, the bottom of the boat is nice and clean again and we still have one shower bag. Thanks for bringing two Rob!!
Cats Paw IV hosted a "dessert party" in the afternoon. The previous owners of their boat, also Bluewater Cruising Association Memebers, took a picture of Cats Paw in Cooks Bay. That picture now graces the title page of the dessert section of the Bluewater Cruising Cookbook, hence the dessert party. Ann invited everyone in the anchorage and they all showed up. Steve and Sylvie off 2nd Wind, an Aussie couple who left England in 1999 and who are finally getting back to Aus, Island Time showed up, and the crew off "Far Out", a Farr designed 72 foot sloop that was part of the ARC rally. They were an interesting mix; there was Estelle, one of the paid crew form Spain, Victoria, the 13 year old daughter of the owner, and Jonas her teacher. Jonas and Victoria along with the owner (absent just now) are Danish. Luis, the captain, stayed onboard. I ended up taking Jonas back and got a tour of the boat. A dual cockpit design with crew quarter aft and guest quarters forward. Lots of teak, but surprisingly simple inide.

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Moorea, The Sequel

2008-06-05T19:34:00.001-07:00

After rocking and rolling and dealing with TOO MANY BOATS in Papeete, we decided to formally clear out with immigration and leave for Moorea. Toketie did indeed arrive Tuesday and we had a good dinner with them last night. They will catch up with us as we move through the Society Islands. We left Tahiti via the main harbour this time and ended up having a great deep reach all the way to the reef entrance for Cooks Bay on Moorea. We anchored just about exactly where we were before. There are still very few boats here which is nice.
Papeete just got too weird with all the flotilla arriving from the Tuamotus. The VHF was non-stop and anchoring was a nightmare. Tuesday night I ended up on anchor watch all night because one of the boats beside us got too close. It turns out that they had their chain wrapped around some coral and did not bother to clear it. When the wind changed directions they did not swing and because of that they took up a lot of anchorage room. All boats need to swing together and when one doesn't, it really mucks it up for those around them. When all was said and done, we decided to leave. Formal clearance was a bit bureaucratic but pleasant. On the way over here today we kept a close watch out for whales. We had a couple of humpback's surface about 100 feet from us on Monday just outside the reef entrance to Cooks Bay when we left. Apparently, the Orcas come down around here by the end of June as well. Ahh, the life aquatic.

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Back in Papeete

2008-06-03T20:02:00.001-07:00

We came back to Papeete yesterday to provision, clear out, take an island tour, etc. Toketie was due to arrive Tuesday so we thought we could catch up with them for a few days before we continued on. We put the sails up outside of the pass in Cooks Bay and after tacking a few times and some rather major wind shifts, we better motor sail the rest of the way. We came back in the pass at Taapuna which is close to the anchorage and not recommended when a southerly swell is running. A southerly swell was running and for a some weird reason, the current was strongly against us out of the pass. Strange as there is only about 80 cm. of tide here. We made it through with many revs on the old diesel. Anchored in close quarters as there are even more boats here than when we left. Tomorrow we will book a land tour for Thursday and then Friday, hopefully we can get away back over to Moorea then on to Huahine. Toketie arrived around lunch and found a hole to tuck into. We will catch up with them later, after they have a bit of a rest. Had a long talk with Randy, the net controller for Pacific Seafarers today. The family off a boat we know is having their boat delivered back to Seattle and they are flying to Hawaii for a month. Randy runs a B&B there and I asked for a bit of info on longer term accommodations for them. The guys that are on the HAM nets are a great help and I can't say enough good things about them. Randy cruised for 11 years throughout the pacific and we talked about what he had seen and the changes since he went cruising. I mentioned that I could see over ine hundred boats at anchor where we are. When he was here in 1990, there was no facilities really other than the navy repair yard. Now there are a couple of yards, chandlers, marinas, all the frills, if you have money. French Polynesia for boaters can be summed up I think as "a wonderful place, bring cash".

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Another day in the Life=?ISO-8859-1?Q?=85?=..

2008-06-01T10:24:00.001-07:00

After a quiet morning, we went ashore to make a phone call and get a few groceries. On the way, Cathy spied out a place for me to get my hair cut and with some urging, I did. Once again, short is the order of the day when it's this hot. We wandered around a bit then back to the boat for lunch then off to do some snorkelling by the reef. We did a slow tour by dinghy of the big 4 masted ship that came in Friday night, the "Star Flyer", one of the Star Clipper ships. If I ever take a cruise it would be one of those ships.
The snorkelling was OK, not a lot of life but the coral does show some signs of rejuvenation, mostly though it is pretty dead. Saw quite a few small fish, ranging from black to electric blue. We thought about going down to Port Phaeton but will likely not bother as it will be full of boats and it's better here. Toketie is leaving the Tuamotus today and will likely get to Papeete in a couple of days if they get some wind. We will head back to there likely on Monday. We are both quite surprised at the relatively few boats that are here. Most of the cruisers seem to be hanging around Papeete. Good for us.

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Touring Moorea

2008-05-30T23:57:00.001-07:00

We rented a car today for 4 hours and drove around what is described in the guidebooks as one of the best drives in the world, around the outside of the island of Moorea. It was OK! The island is heavily "touristed" and that takes something away from the natural beauty, still it was pretty stunning. There is one road that goes partway up the central mountain to a lookout looking over Cooks Bay and northward. On the way up are the remains of an ancient Marae that in the time of exploration by the Europeans, was reputed to be continuously inhabited for over 600 years. The foundations are still in evidence (or at least rebuilt for the tourists). We toured a "Tiki Village" which was supposedly a recreation of a typical island village. The effect was somewhat muted as every building was a business trying to sell you something, less a re-creation, more a tourist trap. One of the locals asked if we wanted to tour the "pearl farm" they have just of the beach. We told her that we had visited a farm in Manihi and her only comment was, "Oh, you've seen a real one then". At least she was honest.
When we returned the car and made our way back to the dinghy, we saw that the big steel schooner that had left the day after we arrived had returned. The day they left, they lost a piece of canvas overboard that Cathy and I just happened to see on the way to the juice factory tour in the dinghy. We returned it this afternoon and were hopeful for a tour, we weren't disappointed. The captain (Boomer was his name) invited us on board for a tour. The ship was built in Thailand and is 110 feet long. Very traditional with only a few winches, mostly everything is done by hand. She was built, and is used, as a sail training ship and marine biology research vessel. She has a full time crew of 5-6 and carries up to 24 students. Their plan is to circumnavigate every 2 years, picking up groups of students for different legs. The students do double/triple duty as they learn how to sail the ship, provision, navigate, stand watches, study marine biology and participate in research projects. A very interesting ship and a wonderful group of people crewing. They were all a bit taken aback that we had fished this canvas piece out of the tide, a saved it with the hope of returning it. Just as dark settled over the bay tonight, a large 4 masted ship made it's way in the reef entrance and is anchored about 500 meters from us. Tomorrow we will buzz it with the dinghy, who knows, maybe they will drop something and we can get a tour of her as well!!

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Tahitian Dancing Will Never be the Same

2008-05-29T18:58:00.001-07:00

We actually got the timings right and made it to shore in time to see a Tahitian dance show at Club Bali Hi in Cooks Bay. The dancers were great as were the musicians accompanying. During the introduction, one of the dancers mentioned that about mid show, they would be asking for volunteers from the audience. Have you ever had one of those feelings that you KNOW that you will be asked, I did. I was asked, and what the heck, I went up and had a great time making a complete and utter fool out of myself. Bill, crew off Island Time, and I must have set the art of Tahitian Dancing back at least a century. Everyone had fun so that was fine. A bunch of us headed down the road afterwards to the local pizza place and had a relatively inexpensive dinner out.
Around 03:30 this morning the wind started finally. It has been very calm for almost a week. Because of the step hills, we got some nice gusts. I set the GPS alarm in case we dragged and eventually got back to sleep. It's been blowing a steady 15-20 knots all day and has been overcast but no rain. I spent the day polishing all the stainless on the back of the boat, pushpit, solar panel mounts and Monitor Wind vane. Actually it was an ideal day for polishing with no sun to bake me and nice wind to keep me cool. It looks great, which is one of the joys of a job like that; you get to see the results immediately. We will hang out here a few more days yet before heading back to Papeete. We talked to Toketie yesterday and they probably left the Tuamotus today for Papeete. We may hire a car for a few hours tomorrow to drive around Moorea, depends if the winds drop out overnight.

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Moorea

2008-05-28T15:25:00.001-07:00

We pulled up anchor yesterday in Papeete and after a brief stop at the fuel dock to fill jerry cans, we motored over to Moorea. We were pretty happy at the fuel price for diesel. When we checked into Papeete, we applied for and got a Duty Free form for diesel. It dropped the price by almost one third and we ended up paying around $1.17/litre CDN. We motored to Cook Bay on the west side of Moorea and anchored at the bottom of the bay. There are few other boats here for a change. Most boats are anchored outside the bay in shallower water. The scenery is once again stunning. The bay is steep sided with tall craggy cliffs. When we came in I imagined Captain Cook sailing in here through the reef into a deep water harbour protected from the winds. There is a fresh water stream at the head of the bay and I'm sure in his day, lots of fruit trees and friendly natives. Now, it's small hotels and a road circles the bay. We are planning on doing a little exploring today and then taking in some Tahitian dancing tonight. We'll see how far we get!

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Life in the City

2008-05-25T18:10:00.001-07:00

Another week has come and gone! Time is flying by and we don't sem to be doing much. Our friends got their boat hauled out Wednesday morning and the damage, although ugly is repairable and not excessively expensive. They took us out to dinner as a thank you for following them here and getting their anchor unstuck in Manihi. They chose a restaurant from Lonely Planet, billed as a chic French Bistro serving lunch and dinner. They didn't serve dinner! They did however recommend a nice restaurant just around the corner and we thoroughly enjoyed it. One meal out was enough. Prices are comparable to Europe in just about everything. Eggs are $7.00 a dozen, cereal $6-$7 a box, but bread is cheap. We got a tax free exemption for our diesel so the price is actually less than you are paying in Canada, a small win. We have wandered around the city, experiencing the local market and local transportation. The cheapest ride into town is on "le Truck Bus" A fixed wheelbase truck with seating built onto the truck bed. There are two benches, one on either side, with a roof and simple windows. I'll get some pictures before we leave and post them to the web site. I did manage to get all the pictures from the trip so far to the web site last week. We had to do a few repairs while here. The raw water pump for the motor started leaking so I had to get that rebuilt. Cathy managed to sew out spinnaker back together so we have a light air sail again. This morning, I started the motor to top of the batteries and the oil warning light came on. I changed the changed the oil and filter (most likely cause of the alarm is a blocked filter). That didn't work. I checked the pressure switch, that seemed fine. I finally found the problem, the wire going to the oil level sensor on the oil pan had come loose. I think I've managed to get it sorted out, at least for now. We'll see how long my repair lasts. No big deal, there is no oil leak but when the wire works loose it sets the alarm off, annoying. Cathy also managed to make a bit of cash while here. Our friends that we followed here needed their dodger re-stitched so asked Cathy if she would do and they would pay her rather than [ay the prices here for it. 10 hours of work and we have a few spare dollars. We are planning on going to see some typical Tahitian dancing tonight with he Kiwi couple that leant us their spare antenna tuner for our radio. That's the other thing, we got the new tuner and it's installed and working fine. The price of paradise though is that we by the time all the shipping and hanlding fees were paid, the tuner cost double what it we would have paid if we were in North America. Oh well…..

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Papeete!!

2008-05-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

We arrived here at dawn after a SLOW sail yesterday (on purpose) in order to try arrive during daylight. Before we entered the harbour we called the harbour master on VHF 12 to tell them we would like to enter and transit around to Maeve Beach. He said OK and advised us to call him at the east end of the airport before proceeding. There are large signs on the water advising this so….. We called and he told us to proceed and when we got the west end before crossing the flight path we called again and were cleared for transit. We anchored just west of Taina marina and after talking to Ulf and Christina on Roxy (a Swedish boat) they told us where to go with the dinghy etc. Well, along with Ann and Barry from Cats Paw IV, we headed into shore. We eventually caught the "truck bus" for 130 cfp per person to downtown. We found a place for lunch and stopped and ate and watched the world go by. The anchorage is calm, the dingy landing is free, water is available, diesel and petrol is here and there is laundry on shore. As we explore, I will write more. I am slowly updating the web site, there are a few more pictures and I will get the rest up as I can.

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Still Sailing to Papeete

2008-05-17T12:27:00.001-07:00

We were able to shut the motor off Friday morning after 25 hours under power. We have been making a steady 3.5-4.5 knots which means an extra night underway but better than burning diesel! We changed out our headsail this morning for the bigger genoa that Derek and Anthea gave us almost two years ago before they left Victoria on their boat Sukanuk. It doesn't seem real that it was that long ago. Time just slips on by. We have now been in French Polynesia for over a month and in some ways it seems like a long time and in some ways it seems like we just got here. We have been keeping in contact with various boats via the HF radio which his great and are now pretty much ahead of the pack with our earlier than anticipated run to Papeete. We have been looking at the cruising in and around Tahiti and it looks pretty inviting. We heard on the radio the other day that they ran out of butane on Nuku Hiva and that a lot of boats were basically stuck there waiting for a delivery as here is none available until Papeete and most boats were planning to spend time in the Tuamotus. I'm glad we filled up as soon as we got to Nuku Hiva and didn't wait. I like my coffee in the morning!

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Manihi to Papeete

2008-05-15T23:39:00.001-07:00

We started to pull up the anchor at around 08:30 yesterday morning. A couple of days before I dove to check out how we were hooked and the anchor was caught under the edge of a coral head. When I dove, I attached a retrieval line, hoping that I could use that to pull the anchor out if need be. After a few anxious moments this morning the anchor came loose and we were free. Some of the other boats were taking a few hours to work their anchors free so I felt pretty lucky. Unfortunately Cats Paw IV wasn't having the same luck. Their anchor was stuck but good so I offered to dive and see what I could see. The first dive, in 15 meters, let me see the anchor but not detail. The second time down, I took a knife and went down their retrieval line. That got me to the bottom faster and I found their anchor wedged between two coral heads and under the lip of one of them. I cut the retrieval line and managed to pull the anchor free from the coral heads and made it back up. It was only a little while ago however that I realized that I was free diving to 45 feet!! I'm glad I can still do this stuff. We got out the pass by 09:30, just under 2 hours after low tide, and the pass was flat calm. Fernando came by to keep us centre channel and to say one final goodbye. I will miss him. He called on the radio a little while later and told me he would be in Papeete on June 5 so hopefully we can connect. We are experiencing a no wind crossing right now and have been motoring since we left. We may get some wind by tomorrow morning according to the Grib files. We did have a nice surprise tonight when just after we checked into the Pacific Seafarers net we made contact with Lynn Greentree off Dolphin Tales. They were anchored next to Rick and Dawn on Kalagan on their way to the Bluewater rendezvous. We had great reception and had a good talk.

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