INFINI's Adventures

Feb 10 - Happenings

2012-02-09T22:46:00.001-05:00

We picked up our car yesterday from Phillip (Cars for Cruisers; phillipzisakis@yahoo.com) and are now driving a sharp looking Mazda Capella wagon. We think it will serve our land touring purposes well, and many kudos to Phil for finding it on the spur of the moment for us. Roger of Doyle Sails brought our new mainsail to Infini today, and we've planned a test sail this Monday to see the shape of the new sail once its hoisted and figure any other refinements needed. Sue's been busy sewing up new hatch covers, so it's been a busy day for everybody. Tomorrow is the cruisers swap meet, and we hope to lighten the boat by at least a few ounces...that is, if I don't find anything from anyone else's crap pile, I mean treasures of the bilge pile, to buy.

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Feb 6 - Waitangi Day and Superbowl

2012-02-06T11:10:00.001-05:00

It's Waitangi Day here in NZ, a public holiday to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. To quote Wikipedia, "The Treaty made New Zealand a part of the British Empire, guaranteed Ma-ori rights to their land and gave Ma-ori the rights of British subjects. There are differences between the Ma-ori and English language versions of the Treaty, and virtually since 1840 this has led to debate over exactly what was agreed to at Waitangi. Ma-ori have generally seen the Treaty as a sacred pact, while for many years Pa-keha- (the Ma-ori word for New Zealanders of predominantly European ancestry) ignored it. By the early twentieth century, however, some Pa-keha- were beginning to see the Treaty as their nation's founding document and a symbol of British humanitarianism." Many stores and public businesses were closed. We cruisers, however, got together to watch the Superbowl at the Opua Cruising Club. About 18 people shared a potluck, and enjoyed the game on the wide screen TV. Interestingly, we didn't get to see any of the American TV ads played during the game, as all the ads were either NZ or European!

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Feb 2 - Update

2012-02-01T12:44:00.002-05:00

I installed our new batteries late yesterday and everything checked out OK. Our 2T chain hoist came in handy and saved everyone's backs from strain lifting the heavy 8D batteries. The replacement element for the water heater was installed, wiring rechecked, and we're awaiting one bronze elbow to complete the install of the Aqualarm Save Your Engine Kit (part 20064). The new Doyle mainsail arrives next week, and our projects should be winding down enough to take off for our extended road trip of north and south island. We've been checking maps, noting places we want to see and hike, and are getting ready!

Jan 28, 2012

2012-01-28T14:00:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! We're back aboard after flying almost 10000 mi from Florida to Keri Keri, New Zealand, where our friends Rich & Jan (sv Slip Away) picked us up from the airport for the ride to Opua. The projects have already begun and we're glad to be back. To all our family and friends back in Florida, our heartfelt thanks for making our visit such a memorable one! We've pretty much unpacked and the suitcases are (temporarily) in the storage area. Our house batteries are kaput, so we're more or less camping aboard until new batts arrive next week. We've seen lots of our friends here, and the weather has been beautiful. Folks are already planning next season's cruising, and many road trips around north and south island NZ are happening.

Nov 21 - Off the boat

2011-11-23T14:36:00.001-05:00

We're flying back to the States for a while to visit family and friends. We wish everyone a Happy Holiday season, and will start posting again at the end of January. Cheers!

Nov 16 - It's a juggling act

2011-11-16T17:47:00.004-05:00

Yesterday there were three workman on the boat at the same time. I had requested a canvas shop in Whangerei to send someone to give an estimate for a new dodger and a few other canvas projects we're considering having done. Meanwhile, Bob Evans, a local electrician guru, was finishing up fixing what I had screwed up (excuse me....installed...) in Honolulu. Actually, I had come pretty close to getting it all right...but there were a few wires that I had led to the wrong places....no wonder our readings weren't quite right! (Ya know, when you hire these amateurs to do your work for you, you just don't really know the quality of their work.... just don't tell the Admiral....) At the same time, Rob from Northland Spars and Rigging was up the mast working. Fortunately, he brought an apprentice along with him, so the young un did the grunt work and I stayed down below with Bob. At the end of the work day, the head stay with its new wire was installed, the Profurl and it's grooved luff foil had been completely stripped and refurbished, new upper spreader lift wires were in place, new lower shrouds were installed, and a new set of lazy jacks had been custom fabricated and also installed. The new mast head sheaves had been put in the other day, so the only thing we're awaiting is a new genoa halyard, as the old wire/rope one had frayed wires and a broken SS thimble. (The new one will be Spectra.) Bob had completed his stuff...so it was a funny feeling at the end of the day without anyone working aboard. Sue and I went to the Waitangi Culture night, a lovely performance put on in Waitangi describing a brief history of the Maori.
Everday there are activities sponsored by the All Points Rally (hosted by John and Lynn Martin, http://www.islandcruising.co.nz/), and every evening there are BBQ's or dinners. The other night was all you can eat pizza; lots of varieties, along with a cash bar for beer, wine and soft drinks. More boats are arriving daily; our friends on sv Attitude (Neil & Kathy) arrived in the afternoon. We hadn't seen them since the Gambier Islands, and they returned to NZ from Fiji. Btw, along with all the above work and activities, we've also been packing to depart for the States for a few months to visit family and friends...there's always something going on!

Nov 11 - Out and about

2011-11-10T13:27:00.003-05:00

In between projects we've gone along with friends to Pahia, Keri Keri, Whangarei and, last night, Russell. First off Pahia. It's a touristy little town but has several banks and lots of storefronts with tourist prices for goods. Brian at the scuba shop fixed our regulator, which needed an adjustment as it was free flowing air. We use it with our hooka rig when we scrub the bottom. He didn't charge us, and indicated that January was a better time to go diving around the islands as the water clarity improved then. Grocery shopping is in nearby Keri Keri, with an excellent selection of most anything. We went into Whangarei with our friends on Passages. There's a nice marina there where many yachties spend the season, and the town is really a small city, with lots of places to go, a downtown, and many boat related services. I arranged another sail and canvas maker to visit Infini, so we'll end up with 2-3 quotes from various lofts before deciding on who will do our work. Last night we ate at the Swordfish Club in Russell, the second oldest sport fishing club in the world. It was lots of fun to look at all the old pictures and trophies and talk to a few of the members; the food was really good too. Aboard Infini, the headstay and foil are off and in the rigging shop! We needed to shorten the headstay wire, and figured along the way we'd have the Profurl unit serviced, all easier to do in the shop. The rigger has replaced all six sheaves at the masthead, and from the condition of these original wire/rope sheaves of the Lefiel mast, this was long overdue. We've gone to sheaves that will be for rope only, and our old wire rope genoa halyard will be replaced. The wire was old, a few strands were letting go, and the SS thimble at its terminal end was cracked. Very seldom checked, but time to replace it! With the entire unit on the bench, I had a good opportunity to really go over the Profurl and wire with Paul of Northland Spars and Rigging. I replaced the headstay about 8-10 years ago (my memory gets faulty...) so although the wire and Hayne Hi Mod terminals look OK, I chose to replace the wire. The Profurl unit was due for a major service. In NZ, Profurl parts are expensive, but the shop sells and works on the units, so I've OK'd an overhaul. The work goes on...
Pic: Watching the dolpins play from the Swordfish Club in Russell.

Nov 6 - New photos have been uploaded

2011-11-05T20:14:00.002-04:00

We've been cleaning and organizing; not too exciting! Had some friends over for a spaghetti dinner and later went to see the Guy Fawkes fireworks at the OCC. Sue's been busy on the internet, and has uploaded two new photo albums, North Minerva Reef and Tonga - enjoy!

Nov 4 - Let the organizing begin

2011-11-04T15:30:00.003-04:00

We rented a small storage space from the Marina office and started off loading sails, canvas, and a whole lot of stuff we don't need aboard right now. This will make it easier to empty out lockers and get to areas we haven't really been into for a long while. In the afternoon there was a complementary "sausage sizzle," which is a grill set up to cook, in this case, sausages; it was sponsored by Cater Marine, one of the big chandleries around here. It was a good opportunity to meet other cruisers, and from there we went to listen to a guitar duo that played some nice music at the nearby Opua Cafe. We walked over to the Opua Cruising Club for dinner, and joined as visiting members ($40/year) to support the local kids sailing and take advantage of the amenities of the OCC.
Pic: A gathering of friends we've met along the way...celebrating at the OCC.

Nov 2 - Into Keri Keri

2011-11-02T14:14:00.004-04:00

Today was a buying day for a bunch of stuff we needed/wanted (we'll mention prices as so many folks have asked us for specifics): a suitcase to pack our stuff for our visit back to the States (thrift store cost: $5), a Petanque set (this is a real good lawn bowling set (Bocce), list $50, our cost $45), a 6' fishing gaff, (we lost ours overboard a long while back...list $100, on sale $50), a water hose (15 meter cost $25). Now, don't forget to apply the currency conversion, presently $.81 USD/NZD. Driving thru Paihia to get to Keri Keri is a beautiful excursion. There aren't too many cars on the road, the rolling hills are incredibly picturesque, and the multiple bays have hundreds of boats anchored nearby; we love it! We stopped at the RoadRunner Bar, a local spot, on the way back to the marina. Back at the boat, went for a nice hot shower ($2 coin for 4 min; doesn't sound like a lot of time but it's plenty for us; scalding hot water and nice facilities). One of the riggers stopped by, and we found a broken wire on the port aft lower shroud at the mast terminal. I hadn't replaced any of the lowers when I rerigged in Honolulu, so they'll be changed here. Also saw a few new arrivals: Frank (previously owned the W-43 RiRi, we bought our new staysail from him) as well as Mike and Irene (sv This Side Up).
Pic: Sue walked the coastal trail from Opua to Pahia, with Sharon from Georgia J. It was a scenic 2hr. leisurely hike. (They got a ride back.)

Nov 1 - Getting around

2011-11-01T14:53:00.005-04:00

We've been busy! Both Sue and I have made separate trips to Paihia with friends to get a Sim card, more money, and a haircut. I've seen some of the tradesmen here, and many have good reputations for most yachtie needs. One of the SS fabricators stopped by to help design a fitting needed forward of the headstay, extending from the bowsprit, so we can fly our code zero sail. One of the canvas shop guys came over to talk about a new dodger with us. I've also stopped by one of the rigging shops to discuss some modifications with them. This afternoon, an electrician came by to review a few electrical gremlins that have been giving us a bit of a challenge. Progress on many fronts. It appears that many of the tradesmen here charge in the $65-70/hour range, so major projects can cost quite a bit, albeit many of us are using currency exchange rates to our favor. We were pleasantly surprised when our friends March and Pam of sv Passages docked next to us. (We're in the slip they were in last year!) They had just returned from Fiji and said it was one of their best passages they've had. Lots of folks to see and things to do! And yes, it's rainy and cold; it reminds us of the Pacific Northwest.
Pic: Good to see friends from the past; we had met in Panama. Sue & Pam didn't plan on the same wardrobe.

Oct 31 - Have to get organized

2011-11-01T14:33:00.005-04:00

We haven't even washed the deck yet! Our friends Kim and Sharon (sv Georgia J) had bought a car and invited us to the Sunday Farmers Market in Keri Keri. Kim's doing great driving on the "wrong" side of the road, and we went to scenic Paihia first, found an ATM, walked around, and then went to the market. We bought fresh fruits and veggies, ate a delicious breakfast at the Cinema Cafe, and had a jolly good time. By the time we got back to the boat it was 1300 hours, and I was determined to do a bit of work. I hooked the hose up and the fitting to the dock spigot promptly broke. I took that as a sign that maybe I should just relax more, open the bottle of Ake Ake Merlot we had just bought, and get on the internet. Boats are arriving in hordes to the Q dock, and we don't see too many empty slips. Weather has been fine; sunny and warm (certainly a relative term for those of us who have spent so long in the Tropics!), with occasional light drizzle.
The picture is another view of the Q Dock from our slip. Nobody's there now, but another wave of boats is heading down.

Oct 29 - Team Infini is safely berthed in Opua, NZ!!

2011-10-28T23:26:00.004-04:00

We had what may kindly be referred to as a "long night..." Contrary winds, strong contrary currents, and enough worry to light up a small city. Fortunately, about 20 nm outside of Opua the current changed and the wind backed about 10 degrees; both allowed us to make our rhumb line instead of continuously being pushed westwards. In fact, we continuously had to slow the boat down to allow arrival at dawn. It worked out perfectly, and although a bit tired, we entered Opua in high spirits. The currents coming from the river here are a force to be reckoned with; docking went pretty well though. There were about 10 boats at the Q (Quarantine) dock. Customs and Immigration couldn't have been nicer or more proficient; same with the personnel at Opua Marina. So far, so good. We're seeing a lot of our friends we've met along the way and are just so happy we were able to get here safely with no major systems breakdowns. We ended up sailing 1105 nm on a route whose direct rhumb line is more like 780 nm! Well, that's what's sailing is all about; you take the weather you get and make the most of it, in spite of predictions and expert input. Sue was like glue this trip; holding together and encouraging when I was starting to feel pretty glum about the whole thing...I figured we'd have to detour to Australia or maybe around to the south island before we'd ever get into Opua! Well, she was right, and here we are! Team Infini has now completed a crossing of the Pacific Ocean! We've said many thanks and offered many prayers...can't forget the important things. More later when we're coherent!
Pic: The Q (Quarantine) dock, which is not connected to any other pier. The officials take a dinghy out to clear boats in. You can dock on either side of it.

Oct 28 - Day 9 We're just about there...

2011-10-28T01:04:00.003-04:00

Time: 1200
Position: S34deg02min/E174deg02min
Day 9 run: 105 nm
Avg speed: 4.4 kn
Course: 170 T
Wind: ESE 14 kn; gusts to 20
Seas: E 4-6'
Barometer: 1024
Sails: 2nd reef main; scrap of Yankee
Ship's log: Well, we didn't have to worry about flat seas, little wind and running out of fuel! We've had nice wind, but cross seas and a corkscrew motion (ugh), and still have about 50G of diesel in the tank! In fact, we've been slowing the boat down since last night for our expected arrival in Opua in the early morning tomorrow. Who'da thunk? We've got about 65 nm to go, and will still have to slow down to be near our outside waypoint at dawn. There are a slew of boats making faster passages to NZ; our 9+ days isn't a fast time by any means, but a safe arrival with no major system or gear breakdowns counts for a lot!

Oct 27 - Day 8

2011-10-27T00:22:00.001-04:00

Time: 1200 (2300Z)
Position: S32deg24min/E172deg37min
Day 8 run: 92 nm
Avg speed: 3.8 kn
Course: 161 T
Wind: SE 8 kn
Seas: SE 3'
Barometer: 1023
Sails: None. Motoring.
Ship's log: We've been motoring at 1200 rpm's to conserve fuel, so subsequently our speed is quite low. But, the strategy is working, as we have enough fuel to go the 166 nm to our Opuya waypoint, and the wind may even pick up a few knots to allow us to keep our sails full, thereby increasing our speed even more. This morning we came near an atmospheric high pressure ridge (note the barometer reading), with associated lower wind. We expect to make landfall in two days, which represents about one extra day at sea instead of arriving earlier had we had enough diesel. It's been beautiful out here; the sunrise and sunsets have been awesome -(Sue saw another green flash!) Not too much bird life, and so far, no shipping, although I expect that to change soon. All's well aboard.

Oct 26 - Day 7

2011-10-25T22:31:00.001-04:00

Time: 1530 local (0230Z)
Position: S31deg18min/E173deg01min
Day 7 run: 91 nm
Avg speed: 3.8 kn
Course: 261T
Wind: E 8.5 kn
Seas: E 2'
Sails: Motor sailing
Ship's log: The iron genny is on again in very light, and a bit inconsistent, wind. We're about 238 nm from our outside waypoint into Opua. Not much more to add!

Oct 25 - Day 6

2011-10-25T02:23:00.001-04:00

Time: 1200 (2300Z)
Position: S29deg53min/E172deg26min
Day 6 run: 122 nm
Avg speed: 5.1 kn
Course: 100 T
Wind: SE 10-12 kn
Seas: 2'
Sails: full main, Yankee, staysail
Ship's log: We tacked to starboard tack to gain some easting before tomorrow's expected very light air. The winds have been fluky; one minute we're doing 90T, the next 110T. Bottom line is that we still haven't been able to lay the rhumb line to Opua, so this is taking a while and we expect many more tacks before we're in port. S: All's well...food's great; sun is out; sea's comfortable; getting cooler--so, long johns and boots!

Oct 24 - Day 5 - Way to go, All Blacks!

2011-10-24T00:48:00.001-04:00

Time: 1200 local (2300Z)
Position: S28deg29min/E173deg04min
Day 5 run: 131 nm
Avg speed: 5.5 kn
Course: 188 T
Wind: ESE 16 kn
Seas: ESE 4'
Barometer: 1019
Sails: single reef main; full Yankee; staysail
Ship's log: The wind's easterly component finally showed up at 0930 this morning. We've had a good 24 hour run, but expect lighter conditions to follow. About 400 nm to our outside waypoint at Opua. We listened to the World Cup Rugby match (New Zealand vs France) last night on the SSB radio (1332 AM); NZ won 8-7 in a nail-biter; we're confident celebrations will still be going on when we arrive! All's well aboard. Update: Wind is now SSE, so we're still heading a bit more west than we'd like, on a course of 210T.

Oct 23 - Day 4

2011-10-22T22:16:00.001-04:00

Time: 1200 local (2300Z)
Position: S26deg42min/E174deg13min
Day 4 run: 114 nm
Avg speed: 4.75 kn
Course: 215 T
Wind: SSE 18-20 kn
Seas: SSE 6-8'
Barometer: 1020
Sails: single reef main; full Yankee
Ship's log: We had shook out one reef yesterday when the wind lightened, but the SSE freshened this morning so we may have to shorten sail again later if the pounding keeps up. We're still sailing close hauled. All's well aboard.

Oct 22 - Day 3

2011-10-22T00:41:00.001-04:00

Time: 1200 local (2300Z)
Position: S25deg10min/E175deg25min
Day 3 run: 117 nm
Avg speed: 4.9 kn
Course: 220T
Wind: SSE 13-15 kn
Seas: SE 6'
Sails: double reefed main; full Yankee
Ship's log: The seas have laid down and the winds have steadied a bit. The sun's out and the temperature down below is 75F. So far, there's been no ship sightings, but NZ radio just broadcast an alarm (looking for a particular catamaran near the Bay of Plenty) on VHF 16 - we're about 600 nm away; that's a powerful transmitter! Our progress can be tracked by clicking on the "Where We Are" button; the PacSea Net personnel enter our daily particulars into the ShipTrack registry until we reach landfall. All's well aboard.

Oct 21 - enroute

2011-10-21T00:03:00.001-04:00

Time: 2300Z; 1200 noon local
Position: S23deg46min/E176deg50min
Day 2 run: 127 nm
Avg speed: 5.29 kn
Course: 240 T
Wind: SSW 18-25 kn
Seas: SW 10-12
Sails: double reefed main; partial Yankee
Ship's log: It's been heavy going waiting for the SE to fill in; it's not here yet! At least the distance to go log has finally started to go down in the number of miles to go, not up! Sharp eyed readers of this blog will have noticed that Infini has passed into the eastern hemisphere, crossing the Date Line in the early morning hours yesterday. Of possible import is that we discovered that one of the diesel tank sending units had misread on the guage; it had probably been stuck when it read full...the tank is actually about empty, so we're down about 75G that we usually would have topped off. Hmmm...All's well aboard.
Update: the SE winds have filled in, and we're barreling along in 20-25 knots of wind on a heading of about 235T. Now all we have to do is wait for the wind and seas to calm down a bit....

Oct 20 - Enroute to Opua, NZ

2011-10-20T00:00:00.001-04:00

Time: 2300 UTC
Position: S23deg57min/E178deg58min
Day 1's run: 126 nm
Avg speed: 5.25 kn
Course: 295 T
Wind: WSW 20
Seas: WSW 8'
Sails: double reefed main; staysail, scrap of Yankee jib
Ship's log: We departed North Minerva Reef at 1000 and had to motor sail in very light winds until 0230 in the morning when we finally got 20 knots of SW wind. We've been bearing SW, then W, now WNW in heavy wind and wave conditions, and are close hauled on a port tack at about 50-60 degrees of wind off the bow. In the next few days the wind is expected to back to S, then SE, then ESE, and we'll follow it around as we make a big semi-circle, finally aiming more for our destination of Opua. All's well aboard.

Oct 18 - Minerva Reef

2011-10-18T00:23:00.001-04:00

We've had a wonderful time here. With 360 degree all-weather protection, North Minerva offers a welcome spot to anchor enroute to NZ. Yesterday we saw four whales playing inside the lagoon. We've also walked the reef, taken lots of pictures, cleaned the bottom (again), and Sue's been busy cooking meals and baking. We've met lots of folks from the other five boats here, had a cruisers happy hour aboard another yacht, and had many discussions about the weather. We know of boats that have solicited advice from Commanders Weather, Bob MacDavitt, The Weather Guy, and custom forecasts from Germany, Norway, and even San Francisco! One of the boats here gets real time internet, so up to date information is shared thru our fleet. There's no shortage of opinions! Some pundit has advised against "paralysis by analysis", and our plan is to depart tomorrow (Oct 19 here) for Opua. We'll be checking in daily with the PacSea Net, and attempt to do daily blog updates as well. We're excited to be (soon) underway!

Oct 14 - Team Infini is safely anchored at North Minerva Reef

2011-10-14T01:38:00.002-04:00

Position: S23deg39.4min/W178deg54.1min
We anchored in 52' of sand at 1800 hours after a 287 nm passage. We had varied wx, but much of the time it was cloudy, rainy and winds were high. Minerva Reef is an old volcanic crater surrounded by a thin rim of reef all around with one entrance into the area. The area is claimed by both Tonga and Fiji, and in the past boats have been told to leave the area due to this dispute. Wx permitting, boats stop here on passage to NZ, as it cuts down the long leg of the trip to about 850 nm (approx) and you're able to wait for a decent wx forecast going onwards. Talking about the wx, once again I'd urge anyone following our blog not to rely 100% on grib forecasts. They are often inaccurate and it's very difficult for the models to predict with certainty what wx you'll get in the very small patch of ocean you're in! This two day passage was forecast to have nice 10-15 knot SE winds, not the NE gale that blew constant 35 knots for several hours with gusts we noted to 42 knots. One thing about this sailing game...you take what you get out here and it's better to be prepared for the worst.

Oct 13 - Enroute

2011-10-13T01:04:00.001-04:00

Time: 2300Z
Position: S22deg28.5min/W177deg11.7min
Day 1 run: 129 nm
Avg speed: 5.4 kn
Course: 225 T
Wind: NE 20-22 kn
Seas: NE 8'
Sails: double reefed main
Ship's log: It's been a boisterous first twenty-four hours. We should be able to assess weather conditions to see whether we stop at Minerva Reef tomorrow afternoon as well as be able to reassess weather going forward to NZ. All's well aboard. Update: The predicted 10-15 knot NE wind has turned into a bit more: it's a rainy day, with squalls to 37 knots at this time (0100Z). We've taken down the main entirely and have up a scrap of Yankee jib until conditions settle down a bit.

Oct 11 - Departure preparation

2011-10-12T16:00:00.001-04:00

We took the water taxi from Pangaimotu to town and went to Customs, Immigration and the Port Captain. It was all a bit confusing as the offices are spread out, and in order to obtain the necessary voucher for duty free fuel, yet another Customs office gets involved. We bought some fresh veggies at the market, which was quite larger and had a better selection than the market at Neiafu. In the afternoon I made a jerry jug run for 100 liters of diesel, and we had the dinghy secured on deck by sunset. Another couple of boats are also leaving for NZ, with a possible stop at North Minerva Reef, so everyone's been busy. The passage weather looks good at this time, so it's onward we go; a quicker departure from Tonga than we had originally planned, but things have a way of working out for the best.

Team Infini is in theTongatapu Group, Tonga

2011-10-10T01:39:00.001-04:00

Position: S21deg07.5min/W175deg09.7min. We had a pleasant overnight sail to Tongatapu, our final destination in Tonga. Of interest, besides all the whale watching, is that we used our new staysail for the first time during this short 65 nm passage and are very happy with it. Actually, we're anchored off Pangaimotu Island, a few miles away from the harbor in Nuku'Alofa. Getting back and forth is what a friend of ours called "a wet dinghy ride." Hmmm. We'll be checking out with Officialdom, do a last minute laundry and provisioning, and final prep for passage to NZ. We're checking the weather daily, and figure we'll be prepared for departure in the next few days. Lots of other boats are showing up here; all staging for departure to points south or west; five other vessels have anchored nearby us in the last hour. There are parties right here at Pangaimotu Is. sponsored by the All Points Rally folks of Opua, NZ, here at the end of the month, as well as mid Nov. in Opua, but our planning usually precludes specific commitments for stuff like that; if we're here, we may join the party...unless departure is imminent! We've met Big Mama and her husband Earl, the owners of the island here, and had a delightful talk with Anna (Big Mama's real name) earlier. It's her birthday Oct 28th, and many yachts are expected to participate in her party also. Always something going on!

Oct 8 - Down the island chain

2011-10-08T00:59:00.001-04:00

Position: S20deg16.56min/W174deg48.28min We're presently anchored on the south side of Nomuka Iki island (we did not go to Ofolanga), between reef systems around us. We've been motoring the last few mornings to get to our destinations as winds have been light. At least until this morning, when a southerly squall blew in with gusts to 28 knots. With a trough over the southern parts of Tonga, the mornings here in the mid to lower island groups have started off overcast, and we're going by eyeball navigation along with our charts; but the charts can be, and often are, based on old surveys, and some charts are wildly inaccurate. We've also found currents here to be strong, and consideration has to be given to time of day and direction of travel. To add to the navigational delights, there are also what's referred to as "blind rollers," which are just what they suggest - waves that can only be seen from one side, so going over any of them would provide a rude surprise. We've seen lots of whales, and they're certainly cavorting around having a good time. We should be in Nuku'Alofa in a few days.

Oct 6 - Ha'ano Island, Ha'apai Group, Tonga

2011-10-06T00:40:00.001-04:00

Position: S19deg40.3min/W174deg17.4min We had a leisurely overnight sail down to this northern most island in the Ha'apai group, anchoring at 0900. We've snorkeled the "mushroom rock" here, and passed over some beautiful coral formations and nice fish. We didn't see any big critters, but the boat next to us saw a zebra shark yesterday sleeping in the sand nearby their boat. Tomorrow we'll be going to Ofolanga Is, about 10 nm away to the NW. If weather allows, we're planning on spending about a week in the Ha'apai group before departing for Nuku'Alofa, where we'll stage for passage to NZ. We expect most of our time here will be spent snorkeling and shelling. We enjoyed the Vava'u area; more so the outer island anchorages than being in town. Overall, those islands are higher elevations than those here in the Ha'apai group. These are quite low, and remind us of the low atolls of the Tuamotus in French Polynesia.

Sept 30 - Vava'u

2011-09-30T01:05:00.001-04:00

We've been to a number of anchorages around Neiafu. The Moorings Yacht Charter fleet puts numbers on most all of the anchorages in Vava'u; it's easier to just say "I'm at anchorage 16" than to mispronounce the Tongan name for these places! There are 42 anchorages in the Moorings Guide; some are only day anchorages, some are good for overnight stays. Most are exposed to winds out of one quadrant or another, so careful attention to the wx is important. Last Sunday we went to church in Neiafu and heard the most amazing choir singing. We had been told by another yachtie that it's the best singing in the South Pacific, and we can believe it. I tape recorded most of it, and hope to be able to transfer the music to this blog at some point. We moved over to anchorage 16, then went to Lape Island (anchorage 17) and met some of the villagers from the small population of 21 people (including the children) and bought some handicrafts from a delightful couple. We then went across to Matamaka (anchorage 15), a village on Nuapapu Island, where we are running the watermaker and preparing lunch.
Position: S18deg42.3min/W174deg04.2min

Sept. 24 - Staysail tale

2011-09-24T18:21:00.003-04:00

An unfortunate event occurred a few months back off Palmerston Island, located in the southern Cook Islands. A sister-ship of Infini, another Westsail 43 named RiRi, had her mooring pennant break and she ended up a total loss on the reef just offshore Palmerston. RiRi's owner, a fellow named Frank Conway, is here in Vava'u, enroute to NZ aboard another cruiser's boat. We purchased our new (RiRi's previous) staysail from Frank. It was made by North Sails in Feb. of this year, has three battens and two reefs, as well as adjustment lines all around. It's typical North Sails quality, and a much better cut and in much better condition (it's essentially new) than our previous one. We hope to put on many more miles on her; thanks, Frank.

Sept. 23 - Vava'u

2011-09-22T23:18:00.003-04:00

We've moved over to a mooring closer to the village; the dinghy ride back and forth was a wet one, and we had wrapped a coral head pretty good as well. So...there's a wx trough hovering over Neiafu, and it's been rainy for days. Last night we watched a BBC documentary film presented by the film's maker/producer about the island Tanna, which is in Vanuatu. There are lots of (expensive) bars and restaurants here, very slow internet, and services are available to yachties who need them, such as refrigeration repair, sail repair, etc. There's also a Mooring's Yacht Charter base here, and whale watching tours are popular (albeit, pricey) diversions. We've seen many whales on passage here, but have been a bit too far away for good pictures. Although not our idea of a long term place to stay, Vava'u is another sticky place, and some folks end up spending cyclone season here. We've seen a lot of our friends here, all planning on going on to Australia, Fiji or NZ.

Sept 20 - Vava'u, Tonga

2011-09-20T00:27:00.001-04:00

Team Infini is safely anchored in Vava'u. We chose not to take a mooring, but are across the bay from the village of Neiafu. We had to motor in head seas in order to make our heading, or we'd still be out there tacking around, with yet more miserable weather on the way. As it is, we turned on the Perkins, finally dropped all sails, and entered the anchorage here in Vava'u at about 12 noon. Most of the anchoring areas are taken up by mooring balls, which incur a daily fee for usage, but we dropped anchor in 35' near the edge, heard the chain snub up on some coral, and decided to leave things as they are...for now. We've already checked into Tonga, but do need to show ourselves to Customs anyway here in Vava'u, so tomorrow we'll start exploring the area.

Sept. 19 - Enroute to Vava'u

2011-09-19T00:27:00.002-04:00

Three whales cavorting; two rainbows shining, and one wahoo on our hook - we started our day off right. Otherwise, we've been in a trough with lousy weather; 25 knot head winds; and that was after no wind at all for the first 20 hours....

Sept 17 - Niuatoputapu ("Very Sacred Coconut")

2011-09-16T13:23:00.001-04:00

We've lost a day! Here in Tonga it's one day later than the USA. Yesterday, we were cleared in by two officials; cost was $25 for Customs, $15 for Quarantine, and $100 for Health...all in pa'anga dollars (conversion was .6436/USD yesterday). About 170 boats a year visit here; 70 yachts clear in from Apia or other ports, and 100 yachts come up from Vava'u. We had started walking to the 'bank' to obtain Tongan currency when a new pick-up stopped to give us a ride; turns out he was one of the senior Customs officials, so knew we were going to the bank and his office was adjacent next door. There was a tsunamai here two years ago. Nine people died and a tremendous amount of destruction occurred. There's a new temporary 'bank' (one room area for exchanging money; cash only, no ATM's; $10 pa'anga fee for any currency exchange), Customs office (another one room area), and high school, as well as an entire new village being built nearby for residents evacuated to higher ground. This is a very poor economy; small one room temporary houses abound; land is fenced off by cut off trees and a length of barbed wire and corrugated roofing; there are no bars or restaurants (that we know of) and one small store with limited items for the locals; the supply ship is supposed to arrive today. There are many horses, pigs, dogs and chickens running around,and since it's Spring here, they've all just had their babies...too cute! And of course, many smiling, waving children as well. We took a walk to the end of a small village nearby; according to the local Nurse Practitioner, there are less than 900 people on the island. During our walk we were met by Fehia, a local woman who has a very good command of English, and a picnic lunch had been arranged for the yachties. There are (including us), six boats here in the anchorage, all of them German except ourselves. Twelve of us were picked up by diesel flat bed truck and taken out to the airport (grass landing strip) located just by the beach on the NE side of the island. Fehia's family had prepared a feast: three kinds of fish dishes (fried, sweet and sour and poisson cru), potatoes, taro, cooked papaya, pig, fruits, and mango juice. (Cost was $10 pa'anga/person.) After lunch we toured the island a bit, and suffice it to say this is a small island offering quite a contrast to our last port of call, Apia. The main commercial activity here is preparing pandanus for weaving, and we didn't see any commercial stores at all. Our plan is to depart for Vava'u tomorrow, as winds look favorable for the 175 nm run down there (direction is about 185T).

Sept 14 - Niuatoputapu, Tonga

2011-09-14T14:57:00.002-04:00

Position: S15deg56.38min/W173deg46.14min: Team Infini is safely anchored in Niutoputapu. We dropped anchor at 0815 after a nice evening of stiff 15-18 SSE breeze. Seas weren't too bad, so although we were close hauled to beating (the last 40 miles), it was still comfortable. The time and date changes here...it's actually one hour earlier and one day later here in Tonga; just enough to confuse me...can't wait until they go to DST! We're expecting Officialdom soon, and will report more later.

Sept 13 - Enroute to Niutoputapu (Tonga)

2011-09-13T12:07:00.002-04:00

Position: S14deg19min/W172deg32min
We departed Apia Marina at 1500 hours for the 175 nm run to Niutoputapu, often called "New Potatoes" by yachties. It's located in northern Tonga, and is a point of entry to the Kingdom of Tonga. We really enjoyed our stay in Samoa, and highly recommend the area to those of you following in our path. Unfortunately, we were unable to see a lot of the area, as well as get to the nearby island of Suvaii, as Sue came down with a stomach virus for a few days, and we figured we'd get going to Tonga instead of spending further time here. Of note, there's an FM radio station here that is other-worldly. It's FM 101.1, and plays an incredibly eclectic selection of songs from the 40's thru the 80's; just the most delightful stuff you'd ever want to hear. I call it other-worldly because I can't quite describe the music...whoever does the play list is top notch. Most all musical venues are played and although we've all listened to oldies stations in the USA, 101.1 here is nothing like that...Really good stuff, and commercial free - how do they do that? The weather window so far has been great: 10-13 knots from the E-ESE, 2-3' seas, and this evening's sail was beautiful with an accompanying full moon. While at the marina we did some boat maintenance: I went up the mast to check the rigging and got the autopilot working (rechecked all the wiring and rebuilt the solenoid. Note: for any of you that have equipment that includes a solenoid... take it apart to inspect and clean it occasionally, and carry a spare!

Sept 5 - Exploring Apia

2011-09-06T01:08:00.003-04:00

We departed early and took a bus to Vailima, where the home and tomb of Robert Louis Stevenson is located. The bus ride is, as one would expect, a cultural experience, but I've got to tell you, the little kid in back of us was giving us history lessons, and the woman in front of us with two kids on her lap was contributing to our sense of wonderment. The people here have been SO friendly; everyone asks where you're from, how long will you be here...it's like they must give lessons in school on hospitality management...it's just awesome! We arrived at the RLS Museum entrance and walked the beautifully gardened road to the former plantation house of this Scottish author who was so beloved by the Samoans. It's been restored to its former glory (by the generous donations of an American businessman) and we had a personalized tour conducted by a young man named Nitro (...seriously), and he really knew his stuff. For those of you not familiar with Stevenson's works, they include Treasure Island, Kidnapped; Strange Case of Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hyde, The Ebb Tide, The Black Arrow, In The South Seas, A Child's Garden of Verses, The Vailima Letters and a long list of others. After an enjoyable walk around the house, we hiked up the steep, short path to the tomb on Mt. Vaea. There's a long path you can take which is a bit flatter and not so steep...we chose to exercise those soft calf muscles that haven't seen a hike in way too long. Once there, we were befriended by a group of young people in college, and we learned the names of various birds as well as enjoyed conversation with a few of the folks who had never been there before either. We returned to town by bus in mid afternoon and did a bit of window shopping downtown. There are numerous grocery, department, office supply, fabric and a bunch of other stores for Apia's population of about 44,000 people. It's been a thoroughly enjoyable day! Oh, btw, there was a tsunamai alert last night at midnight; there had been an earthquake in Vanuatu. We were awakened by the marina guard who knocked on our hull and informed us of the alert; fortunately, it was cancelled within about 30 minutes...thank goodness.

Sept 2 - Apia, Samoa

2011-09-02T23:22:00.002-04:00

Lat 13deg49.675min/Long171deg45.549min. We had a wonderful overnight sail in 15 knots of easterly winds to Apia, Samoa, arriving at 0900. We were met by two marina representatives in their small boat, who guided us to our slip at the marina and took our docklines. Anchoring here in the harbor is no longer permitted, and all yachts must use the marina. Being five years old, the marina is beautiful, and Immigration, Quarantine, Health, Customs, and the Port Captain all came to the boat to check us in. Meanwhile, some of our old friends were here, and we were made to feel quite welcomed. We walked the town a little bit, ate a pizza (!) and had a Vailima beer (this is the local beer brewed here in Samoa). Tomorrow we'll do a few boat chores and start our serious exploration of this island. Amazing to think we won't have to worry about our anchor dragging or another boat hitting us...we're behind a gated fence with 24/7 security!

Aug 28 - Pago Pago

2011-08-28T14:20:00.006-04:00

Well, it sure rains a lot here! I guess there's a reason why Mt. Pioa is called Rainmaker Mt. Our Lonely Planet states that Pago Pago Harbour has the highest annual rainfall of any harbour in the world. I'm glad we're here in the 'dry season'! The winds, however, have calmed down enough to allow everyone to get off their boats and stretch their legs. Yesterday, Sue and a few friends went to Cost-U-Less (like a Costco), and this morning, we both left the boat and took the bus to Ace Hardware to pick up a few items, then went to an early lunch at a Chinese restaurant in town. The cruisers have set up a morning VHF net, so this morning I had suggested a Happy Hour get together and one of the local cruisers who has been here for a long time arranged for us to use Sadie Thompson's bar/restaurant, a well known local establishment nearby. They discounted their beers ($3 for Steinlager or Vailima) and served free poupou's as well - two sure ways to attract yachties! Most all the boat crews showed up, and many ended up eating dinner there also. Folks are starting to talk about where they're going to next, and many people have ordered parts to be delivered here. One boat we know is having a Honda 2000 portable generator shipped from Marine Warehouse in Miami to here! For you Westsail fans, there are two W-32's, ourselves, and a W-39 (also called the Fair Weather Mariner 39) here; a pretty good showing, I'd say!

Aug 25 - Pago Pago

2011-08-25T13:41:00.002-04:00

We've all been boat bound these last few days. Brisk SE winds of 25, gusting to 30, with a 2-3' chop from the long fetch here at the anchorage, make any dinghy rides wet and uncomfortable. A few boats dragged yesterday, but most are holding. One boat went to reanchor and found his anchor fouled on 1" chain; what that goes to is anybody's guess. His windlass wasn't powerful enough to bring it all up, so there he sits...not necessarily a bad thing, but would you want to trust that kind of anchor holding? Me neither. Another single hander arrived on a 40' Benateau. He traveled around the anchorage for about two hours and tried multiple attempts at anchoring without success. Our neighbor took his dinghy over and helped him out; turns out this guy's running around with 50' of chain and a small anchor - nope, I'm not kidding. What are some folks thinking? It was finally arranged for that boat to raft up next to a big steel fishing boat. One thing was for sure - there was no way in hell he was going to get a good anchor set with that sort of inadequate ground tackle in this anchorage. Another boat came in, a friend of ours in fact, who had to divert here because his autopilot broke and his engine heat exchanger went bonko. They had a pretty nasty ride from Suwarrow to here. So...wx progs forecast another day of strong winds (it's raining with winds 28-31 knots for the last 15 min) and then it should lay down a bit. From VHF conversations, it's evident the fleet is all getting just a bit stir crazy and are ready to get off their boats and go explore this beautiful island.

Aug 22 - Pago Pago

2011-08-23T03:10:00.003-04:00

Today was interesting. Here's a chronology of events:
This morning at 0400 we woke up in some heavy gusts and noted the 53' boat anchored in front of us had dragged to within a dinghy length of our bow! This was a single hander on a 53' vessel, and he was the only boat in front of us, as we had anchored in the front row of boats in the harbor, and he was a new arrival. After hailing him on VHF 16 with no reply, repeatedly blowing our air horn into his cockpit, and shouting as loud as I could, he finally awoke and retrieved his anchor, all in lousy conditions and without hitting us! Exciting stuff.
At daybreak, squalls were rumbling thru. White out conditions occurred and the VHF was busy with lots of boats dragging and reanchoring. Now...there's a reason for this....Pago Pago harbor is renown for difficult anchoring conditions. Here's why: there used to be three tuna canneries here that for years dumped their debris in the harbor. Then a tsunamai occurred two years ago that washed tremendous amounts of crap into the water. There's all kinds of stuff on the bottom: corregated metal roofing, building materials, tables, cars, fencing, tires...you get the idea. We helped the catamaran next to us when he dragged as his Bugel anchor had snared a tire exactly in the middle of it! (he got a ringer!) It took two of us to get that anchor out of the tire! In the meantime, with heavier winds, calls were going out as other boats were dragging, snagging old mooring lines, wrapping their props in old cables, experiencing engine failure...hmmm. We launched our dinghy to run out some fuel to another dinghy that was towing a disabled boat to the government dock. I had just got back to Infini when a 35 knot gust blew us off our anchor and we dragged. Again, no telling what you get when you anchor and use the engine to pull down on it. It might feel good, but not be a secure hold. So...we reanchored and, so far, things appear OK. The winds are blowing 25, but that's a lot better than 40! There's about 20 boats anchored here, and most have dragged, reanchored, set anchor watches, and the crews are a bit fatigued, all of us waiting for the weather to abate!
Meanwhile, while all this was happening, it was a good day for baking! So...Sue got busy and decided to bake a banana bread. She heard a popping sound in the cockpit (our propane solenoid) and the propane breaker shut off. Racing into the cockpit, she noted the solenoid smoking! Not good. I quick shut off the manual valve to the propane tank and cut the 12 volt wires to the solenoid. There was a hole in the casing of the solenoid, smoke was pouring out, and it was apparent the unit had stuck, overheated, and blew a hole thru its casing! Never enough excitement around here. Of course, let me mention that the solenoid is in line within inches of the propane tank....Well, I dug out our old solenoid and replaced the failed one, never being one to stand in the way of a chef and a banana bread, so all's well. I might mention that Sue was on a roll...she also baked a peach cobbler for dessert and an artichoke-crab dip for dinner. Good stuff.
We're planning on being on anchor watch tonight, as most boats will be doing. If conditions permit, we'll check in with Officialdom tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Picture - Michael and Dennis from sv Lardo off to help other vessels in distress.

Aug 20 - Team Infini is safely anchored in Tutuila, Pago Pago, American Samoa

2011-08-21T13:24:00.004-04:00

We had a four day passage here from Suwarrow. Quite a bit of it was dead down wind, and the sails took a beating. Conditions were much lighter than I thought they'd be, and we ended up motoring a lot more than we had planned. No fun since that means hand steering...the autopilot is not working. Sue had a special event occur two days ago; we were motoring in very calm conditions, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and she saw the green flash at sundown---her first. She says it was the most brilliant green...and big, not a tiny dot. She feels so very special to finally have witnessed one of the rarities of nature. The harbor here is picturesque with the high hills and dense green. The tuna fleet and tuna cannery take up a lot of the shoreline, with a huge generator and lights. Such a contrast to the remote anchorages we came from! Here in Pago Pago, internet 24/7 is $20 for one week - quite a change from the very high prices in French Polynesia. We straightened up the boat today and will go exploring tomorrow (Sunday). Monday is check-in and expected weather changes. Many other boats and people we know are here also; unfortunately, holding is poor in the harbor due to so much debris on the bottom, so dragging anchor is said to be very common.
The pic is of our final approach to the anchorage at the head of the bay

Aug 16 - Suwarrow to Pago Pago, Samoa

2011-08-18T08:03:00.001-04:00

We've departed Suwarrow for American Samoa. Actually, it's just called Samoa now, and the main port is pronounced Pango Pango. There are nine boats on this same passage at this time, so we've set up an informal SSB radio net twice daily, and we check into the Pacific Seafarer's Net also. Winds, so far, have been lighter than we like, and there's an awful lot of banging, slatting, rolling and general noise as we head downwind. But the sun is out, and the meals are fabulous as usual! It's about 450 nm distance, so we figure a 4-5 day passage. So far, no fish.
The picture is of the boats at Anchorage Island behind the reef. Sad farewells....

Aug 15 - Suwarrow

2011-08-16T11:31:00.003-04:00

Suwarrow has been a very pleasant stop. One cruiser referred to it as adult day camp! Most days there are organized activities, as the two rangers here, James & John, offer "guided tours" to the reef, dives, shark feeding, bird watching, fishing trips, night time lobster hunting, potluck dinners, bocce ball, as well as lessons in coconut husking and meal preparation! Unbelievable, isn't it? These are the same (and only) officials that check us in, stamp our passports, and give us departure paperwork! There are also a variety of boat to boat activities and visits amongst the twenty five boats (give or take) and a daily (except Sunday) VHF radio net (channel 16 at 0830). Some cruisers stay for weeks here, as officialdom is very relaxed and quite accommodating…we know of one boat that finally left on their 39th day! So, little boredom, beautiful water colors and scenery, and a great spot to stage for our next stop, which is Pago Pago in American Samoa. Life is good!
Pic- We're collecting the 'properly sprouted' coconuts for the lesson in making coconut pancakes- they are sooo delicious!

Aug. 8, 2011 A very special day....

2011-08-09T21:28:00.001-04:00

S - As we celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, my memory goes back to this day in Olympia, WA, where our friend Dale had brought his shipshape and decked out 26' Seabird Yawl down from Seattle to be our wedding platform. We moved to Florida shortly after and built our first boat, a steel Chuck Wittholtz design Departure 35 we named Beyond which became the first big project we undertook. After 'outgrowing' her, we restored the 73' custom Derecktor built ketch Anore, as well as raised a family and attended a very busy medical practice. We purchased our present Westsail 43 Infini in 1998, and have cruised parts of the Bahamas, Mexico, Cuba and Florida while constantly upgrading her. Our dream to 'go cruising' had never changed, and we finally saw the timing was right when our youngest son went off to college.

We look back and marvel at the road we've traveled, and the many blessings we've had. We wouldn't be here without the help of many friends and family. We are fortunate to know some very gifted and talented people. We continue to meet and marvel at the diversity of backgrounds and knowledge of the cruisers out here. The experiences we've been having are priceless - we truly feel fortunate. We miss family dearly, but know their busy lives are taking their own path and we look forward to each trip back home to see them.

I know I'd make the same commitment I did back in Olympia. I'm looking forward to the next 30 years - Manuia!

M - I couldn't have put it any better! Although, I regret not having married her a hundred years earlier! She's been my saving grace, and is truly a unique and lovely woman, mother, friend and cruising partner. I love you, babe!

Aug 6 - Team Infini is safely anchored at Suwarrow Atoll

2011-08-07T01:01:00.001-04:00

We ran out of wind 9 miles away from the pass and had to motor into Suwarrow. Our anchor was down at 1500 hours, and we saw a bunch of other boats we knew. Tomorrow being Sunday, we can't check in with the caretakers, so our official check into the Cook Islands will be Monday, Aug 8. All's well, we'll catch up on some rest, and relax here nearby an island that has no internet, no stores, no airstrip...not much of anything, and you can only get here by private yacht! Lovely!
Here's what I wrote earlier about Suwarrow...
Have you ever thought about living on a deserted island by yourself? We're traveling to Suwarrow to pay homage to a New Zealander who did exactly that, as a hermit, more than 50 years ago. His name was Tom Neale, and he reputedly treated visiting yachties well during his stay there from 1952 thru 1978. There's a book written of his life at Suwarrow entitled "An Island to Oneself" and it describes his solitary existence on this 11 mile atoll in the Pacific. These days the atoll is a Cook Island's national park, and two caretakers live there and are rotated on a regular basis every six months. There are bird sanctuaries as well as several wrecks, which attest to the place as being unsafe to anchor in any weather except routine tradewind conditions. A visit here also breaks up the passage from Bora Bora to American Samoa or Tonga into two parts rather than one long leg.

Aug 6 - Day 5; enroute to Suwarrow

2011-08-06T23:42:00.001-04:00

Position: S13deg17.5min/W162deg54min
Day 5 run: 152 nm
Avg speed: 6.3 kn
Course: 285 T
Wind: 6-8 kn (Speed is presently 4-4.5 kn)
Seas: 3'
Sails: full main, Yankee jib, and staysail. Starboard beam reach.
Ship's log: We had one of those magical nights. Swells were about 3' with no chop; winds were NNW at 13-15, and our boat speed was about 7 knots the entire night. There was very little sail or vane adjustment necessary, and all we had to do was go along for the ride. A billion stars were out in clear skies, and a few shooting stars were also visible. Landfall is expected later this afternoon. It's ten miles to to to the outside waypoint off the pass into Suwarrow.

Aug 5 - Day 4; Enroute to Suwarrow

2011-08-05T20:47:00.001-04:00

Position: S14deg14.1min/W160deg33min
Day 4 run: 148 nm
Avg speed: 6.2 kn
Course: 290 T
Wind: ENE 12-15 kn
Seas: ENE 6'
Sails: full main and jib; starboard tack
Ship's log: A nice day and evening run. If winds stay up (they're forecast to go lighter), we'd arrive at Suwarrow during daylight tomorrow afternoon; if not, we lay off and go in Sunday morning. Took the anchor chain (250' of it anyway...it continues for another 100' stowed under the starboard V berth) out of the chain locker earlier this morning to mark it with wire ties. Thru the years we've painted the chain, marked it with wire ties, marked it with special rode markers, and used the guesstimation technique to approximate chain paid out. Nothing works all that well. One friend of ours just installed an expensive electronic chain counter and it didn't work at all - probably installation error! So, it's back to inexpensive colored wire ties; replaceable and, when they're there, easily readable in the dark.

Aug 4 - Day 3 Enroute to Suwarrow Atoll

2011-08-05T11:09:00.001-04:00

Position: S15deg04.6min/W158deg14.8min
Day 3 run: 135 nm
Avg speed: 5.6 kn
Course: 290 T
Wind: NE; 12.5 kn T
Seas: NE; 6'
Sails: full main; full Yankee jib; starboard tack
Ship's log: It was a beautiful night sailing on a broad reach. Calm weather; no problems. About 300 nm to go. All's well aboard.

Day 2 - Bora Bora to Suwarrow Atoll

2011-08-04T01:25:00.001-04:00

Position: S15deg43.7min/W156deg05.2min
Day 2 run: 137 nm
Avg speed: 5.7 kn
Course: 285 T
Wind: 10-12 kn
Seas: ESE 4'
Sails: 2nd reef main; jib
Ship's log: Not a bad day's run. So far everything's been a dead run (not our most favorite point of sail) or broad reach, with lots of gybes thrown in. There's been a few light rain showers with not much wind in them. Approximately 430 nm to go. Update: in midafternoon the wind speed has fluctuated; we've shaken out both reefs and put the full main up; boat speed is in the low 6's.

Day 1 - Bora Bora to Suwarrow Atoll

2011-08-03T01:35:00.002-04:00

Position: S15deg41min/W153deg58min
Day 1 run: 145 nm
Avg speed: 6.0 kn
Course: 280-330 T
Wind: ESE 12-18 kn
Seas: ESE 4'
Sails: 2nd reef main; full to partial reefed jib; reaching pole used when running
Ship's log: We departed Bora Bora and took down the French courtesy flag that had been flying for 3 months. We've spent a total of 9 months in French Polynesia over 2 seasons, and it's now time to head west. We were a little rusty for the first few hours, as it's been a while since we've been on passage. Winds were good and the seas were calm, allowing good passage time running and broad reaching. Sue had precooked some meals and we're on a 4 hour watch schedule in the evenings. Max is doing a good job steering. We're checking into the Pac Sea Net every afternoon (14300 mHz USB at 0330 UTC), so you can follow our progress on our blog (click "Where we are"). All's well aboard.

July 30 - Departure plans

2011-07-30T17:16:00.001-04:00

Position: S16deg30.64min/W151deg46.08min We anchored on the west side of Motu Toopua to escape the strong SE winds that came thru. We had some gusts in the 20's but the anchorage was secure, and we got sketchy internet (very slow) as well. Yesterday the weather had moderated enough for us to dinghy the 1.5 miles to Bloody Mary's with Slip Away. Bloody Mary's is a Bora Bora iconic restaurant/bar. We had a wonderful lunch there, served, of course, with bloody mary's, and met up with friends who got out of their taxi at the exact moment we had walked up the dock. Talk about timing! We're making plans to depart Monday for Suwarrow Atoll, an isolated island about 700 nm from here where the Kiwi hermit Tom Neale used to live. Much more about that later. Many other boats are either underway, or are in active departure mode, so I expect a crowd there. We've cleaned the bottom, gone over systems, and S is cooking up a bunch of stuff for passage. We'll be off the internet until Tonga (at least we expect to find it there!). All's well aboard; we're having fun, and as our 90 day visa for French Polynesia is coming to a close, it's time to head west. Hope all's well with all of you reading this; we'd love to hear from you via SailMail. Cheers!

July 25 - Piti Aau Motu - Bora Bora

2011-07-26T13:18:00.001-04:00

Position: S16deg31.93min/W151deg42.35min. We've really enjoyed our anchorage here in the 'swimming pool' - 10' of crystal clear water, but will slowly start to move back toward town, as our time in French Polynesia is coming to a close. Today we enjoyed the clarity of the water when snorkeling nearby. Many rays were sleeping under a thin layer of sand, and others were slowly circling the coral heads. We've cleaned the boat bottom and prop, lubricated a few winches, got a hair cut (M, in the dinghy this time!), and as usual have been doing a lot of reading. We've also enjoyed our friends company on Yolo (You Only Live Once), and Slip Away, both anchored nearby. Overhead, the stars are amazing; the Southern Cross is visible and there's no moon. We've found faster internet connection here than in town, and Sue's uploaded some new picture albums - enjoy!

July 23 - Bora Bora anchoring and mooring information

2011-07-24T07:08:00.002-04:00

Mooring buoys here are like gold. At the old Bora Bora Yacht Club, the new Mai Kai Yacht Club and at Bloody Mary's they're traded, reserved, paid for, and coveted by some, and many cruisers stay on them for a week or two at a time. Some are free; others are 2000 cfp's a night (figure about 80 cfp per one USD). We, on the other hand, don't particularly like to be on a buoy, as one never knows the quality of the materials used to construct the mooring buoy or the maintenance history of it. Unfortunately, anchoring around here is frequently in water 60'-80' deep; you pray you don't wrap a coral head or, in some cases, catch a submarine mooring cable! Infini is like a boat magnet; when other boats see us anchored, they come on over and anchor (it seems) right on top of us! We used to think leaving 100 meters between boats was a courtesy, but don't you believe it; we feel fortunate when a newcomer leaves a boat length between us. Last night was a good example. We had gone into town to see the final Heiva dance performance in the town square. Upon returning to the boat at 10:30pm (yes, I really can, on occasion, stay up past 8pm!), we discovered a 115' megayacht schooner anchored about 25 meters away from us! I called the boat on VHF 16 (he showed up on our AIS unit) and he didn't answer! Hmmm…needless to say I didn't sleep well and had visions of imminent collision, although the winds were calm and there were no problems. This morning we pulled anchor and moved to Taurere Motu on the southeastern side of Bora Bora and are anchored in 10' of sand with several miles of sandy beach in front of us. What a change from being in town for a few days!
Just a reminder, when you check our position, change it to satellite view to see the beautiful lagoon and motus around the island.

July 20 - Bora Bora

2011-07-21T19:47:00.002-04:00

We sailed the 25 miles to Bora Bora in 16-20 knots of NE wind, going 6-7 knots (highest speed was 7.5 kn surfing down the face of a wave). The wind headed us coming into Teavanui Pass, which is the only pass into Bora Bora, and is located on the west side. Current coming against us in the pass was about 2 knots and reminded me, once again, that I had better clean the prop. We at first took a mooring at the MaiKai Yacht Club, but moved over to 80' of mud and dropped the anchor; the moorings had been placed way too close together, and the noise from construction of the new YC was something we didn't care to put up with. So, as a consequence of the squirrelly winds here, we're doing circles every few minutes, and I can't imagine how many twists our chain has! We'll go exploring tomorrow.

July 18 - Taha'a activities

2011-07-19T01:48:00.002-04:00

We anchored in Hurepiti Bay and met Alain & Christine of Vanilla Tours. They provide 4 hour botanical tours of the island and were kind enough to allow us to use their dock to park our dinghies. Knowing we were hikers, they volunteered to drive the four of us (Rich, Jan, Sue & myself) to the town of Haamene, as we were off on a long excursion yesterday. We walked to the entrance of Haamene Bay, and met Tamahere and Virginie of the Tiare Breeze, a private residence and guest house. These folks were so gracious, showing us their unique home and suggesting we walk up a steep incline to their guest quarters on the hill, which provided stunning vistas of the barrier reef and bay entrance. What a grand place; we really didn't want to leave! Their daughter, Tiheni, was our delightful tour guide, spoke excellent English, and answered our many questions. The weather cooperated, and we had sunshine all day, quite a change from the rainy day before. On the way back we stopped at the MaiTai restaurant and had an expresso and profiterolles. This morning we motored to Tapuamau Bay, anchored in 78' (that's not a misprint) of mud, and declared it a boat project day. I changed the engine oil and filter, added battery water, and did a few odds and ends. Tomorrow we're planning on going snorkeling between two motus by the barrier reef, then it's off to Bora Bora the day after.
Pic- Tiheni with us up at the guest quarters...what a view!

July 15 - Uturoa activities

2011-07-17T12:43:00.001-04:00

We returned to town in the early morning and went to the Bastille Day parade. It was a two hour affair, with floats, dancing, the judges booth, sports teams (with soccer, rugby, volleyball, basketball, tennis, and even step aerobics (!) ), a Chinese dragon doing its dance down the street, and then an odd ending - a series of off road Jeep vehicles with souped up engines, all sporting American flags! It seemed like most of the town participated in the parade and everybody was having a grand old time. After the parade we did a bit of provisioning and then went to Happy Hour aboard sv Lardo. The next morning we hiked up to Mount Tapioi with Rich & Jan (Slip Away) and Jason (Yolo). In the evening we went to a Heiva dance and drum competition, where solo male and female dancers from 4 different villages performed, and 10-12 member percussion groups performed all the background music. The audience got involved with cheering and clapping, and Sue took (as usual) many photos of the event. At 0500 a squall with 35 knot gusts rolled thru and we dragged anchor. We were awake, but I hadn't had my cup of coffee yet. Not good. We jigged around about 45 min in the dark, reanchored off the reef in the dawn, and departed for Hurepiti Bay in Tahaa about 0730. We had a wonderful sail over, squalls (again, 35 knots) not withstanding. We're anchored in 35-40' of mud, and the wind is howling. Gusts are 25, but we're holding fine, so we're planning a walking hike later, after lunch.

July 12 - Taha'a

2011-07-14T12:35:00.002-04:00

I don't really know why Tahaa was calling me over there so strongly. There's plenty to do and see in Raiatea, but the smaller island of Tahaa, encircled by the same fringing reef as its larger sister, beckoned me as surely as getting an email invitation. We had a delightful sail over there in about 18 knots of SE breeze and took a mooring at the Taravana Yacht Club in Apu Bay. Unfortunately, the YC is closed indefinitely, but the moorings are maintained by an American expat named Richard, who also collects the daily charges to stay there. We actually ended up on a brand new mooring (purely by happenstance) and invited Richard aboard when he came out to the boat. He's quite the raconteur, and we enjoyed hearing about the way things were in the old days; he'd been in Bora Bora over 30 years and at Tahaa for the last 6 years, so knows the local stuff going on, the people, and speaks Tahitian, French, English and Spanish. He finally had to get going and we settled down to a quiet evening of perfect temperature and no worries. In the morning we slipped the mooring for the Hibiscus Hotel and YC to see the turtle sanctuary there. The building is amazing; colorful flags from yachts of many countries hang from the ceiling beams, and the furniture reminded me of an old European inn. Meals and happy hours daily are served there but we took pictures and departed for the motor sail back to Utoroa. We filled up with duty-free diesel at the Total station (96 cfp/liter, or about $4.56/G at present exchange rates) and then anchored at the reef just across from town where our friends Dennis & MaryLee of sv Lardo were. We took two dinghies into town to provision at the Champion supermarket, and had an ice cream as well. Never shop on an empty stomach, right? The last few days have been busy, and tomorrow is the Bastille Day parade here in Utoroa. Lots of places to go, things to do, and never enough time!

July 11 - Raiatea

2011-07-11T23:17:00.002-04:00

We've had great fun seeing some of the sights here along with our friends Rich & Jan of sv Slip Away. Saturday evening we went into town for the Heiva celebration and enjoyed the dancing and costumes. Sunday morning we departed early to motor down to the south end of the island and anchored in 10' of sand at Naonao Island. The water was crystal clear, and we snorkeled an area called "The Aquarium" to see the coral and fish life. I found the shells interesting too: we saw many conch and augers. Today, we left early and motored to Faaroa Bay to take a dinghy ride up the Apomau River. Afterwards, we motored the five miles or so to Taoru Island, a small motu just off Teavapiti Pass. With all the motoring we're doing we'll need to refill with diesel soon; at least we can purchase it duty free.

July 9 - Raiatea

2011-07-09T19:08:00.002-04:00

We motor sailed in very light wind and sloppy seas the 22 nm to Raiatea. It's another beautiful island with well marked, easy passes to enter (we used Teavapiti Pass), and motored down the channel inside the reef to anchor near our friends Rich & Jan (sv Slip Away) who we hadn't seen for a while. Dennis & Mary Lee (sv Lardo) had also come over from Huahine, and Slip Away hosted happy hour aboard, inviting our old friends Roger and Marion (the latter warding off a cold so she stayed away) from sv Marionette IV, and new acquaintences Larry and Kim of sv Magenta. The place we're anchored is right in front of Raiatea Carenage boat yard, and we managed to anchor in 25', a minor coup since it's so deep around here that anchoring in 60-70' is not uncommon. The next morning we walked down to the Moorings charter base just to check it out. In the afternoon we upped anchor and motored (directly into the wind, of course…) the few miles to Uturoa (the second biggest town in French Polynesia!), as we wanted to be nearer the town for Saturday evening's Heiva celebrations. Finding an anchoring spot was a bit challenging in the late afternoon, but we snagged a coral head and managed to anchor in 25', although we dropped in 15' of sand! Good thing those coral heads were there, as there's a deep drop off to 100' right behind us! Of course, we'll see how easy it is to extricate our anchor in a few days… We usually set our anchor alarm on the GPS, and last night was one of those that I was waiting for it to go off, but holding was fine in the 15-16 knots of ESE wind. In the morning, Jan, Sue and myself went into town (by dinghy) to do some provisioning. The many stores here are very well stocked, so it's nice to be able to keep the larders full aboard. We're also getting internet which, in case I haven't mentioned it, is very expensive, but at least it's available. Having laundry done is also very expensive, so this afternoon Sue did a load aboard while I ran the water maker. There's been intermittent rain but no heavy wind, so overall this anchorage spot is quite pleasant. Since Raiatea is a charter base as well as popular cruising destination with a fringing reef all around it, there's lots of boats moving around. We'll be exploring more during the next few days.

July 6 - Touring Huahine and "doing nothing

2011-07-08T11:48:00.001-04:00

It's been rainy and quite windy here for the last few days. Fortunately, the holding here in front of the town of Fare has been good, so the "cannonballs" of high winds that barrel down the mountains at the yachts anchored here haven't adversely affected us other than slewing everyone around a bit. Hiking the mountains in the heavy mist and squalls didn't sound too appealing, so we ended up renting a car along with Dennis and Mary Lee of sv Lardo. A road mostly encircles the islands of Huahine Nui and Huahine Iti, and we slowly drove around the island taking in the lush scenery and noting how windy it was at most of the other anchorages; whitecaps were constantly visible everywhere. We visited a few beaches and marae, and stopped for lunch at a snack place where we unexpectedly ran into a bunch of other cruisers from boats anchored at Avea Bay. They were all commenting how rough a night they had had in the high winds, and then asked us if we had seen the blue eyed eels. It turns out we had driven right past the small gulley where these unique eels were, so after lunch we backtracked about 10 minutes and found a bunch of kids in the water trying to play with these 3-4' eels. The eels, indeed, had small blue, beady eyes, and the books said they are unique in all the world…where's Joseph Banks (the botanist/naturalist who accompanied Charles Darwin) when you need him? At any rate, after about 10 minutes of taking pictures and looking at the eels we drove away, ending up back in town for an ice cream, and inquiring where we could find the vanilla farm. You wouldn't think you could get lost on a small island like this, but it took us driving around about 45 minutes and taking a back road to eventually stumble across the vanilla farm we were looking for, and that quite by chance when Mary Lee looked up and happened to notice it. We bought some fresh vanilla beans, and now will look forward to recipes which use them. Unbelievably, we returned the car 7 hours and 45 minutes after we left the rental office; all of us shaking our heads wondering where those hours had gone. There's really not that much to do or see here, which is one of the allures of Huahine, but we managed to spend 8 hours "doing nothing", enjoying the raw, lush, natural beauty of this special place. Kind of sounds like a Seinfeld script.

July 3 - Huahine

2011-07-04T11:05:00.005-04:00

Position: S16deg42min/W151deg02min. We departed Cook's Bay at noon and encountered very light SW winds for the first few hours. At dusk the expected SE winds finally filled in, and we had mostly 10-15 knots all evening, with the occasional gust. We sighted Huahine at dawn, and entered the main pass around 0900. We're anchored just inside Avamoa Pass, which is a nice, wide pass with easy entry. The surf is breaking on the reef a few hundred yards away, and as the wx is changing, the surfers are enjoying 10' waves. Swells outside are expected to reach 12-15' before the wx moderates a bit. All's well here.
"Huahine is made up of two mountainous islands, Huahine Nui (big) and Huahine Iti (little), with a bridge connecting them at the isthmus. A common fringing reef circles them, and there are 5 passes through the reef. (Bora Bora has only one.) It is the most laid back, mellow, and rural of the Societies, with untouched coves, wonderful lagoons, killer reef breaks--and the most extensive complex of pre-European marae in French Polynesia. It is approximately nine miles from north to south, and six miles from east to west. There are many places to anchor which entice the cruiser to explore underwater and there are hikes along the ridges and peaks." We've been told there are unique blue eye eels found here that are not found anywhere else in the world.

July 1 - Moorea

2011-07-01T21:54:00.004-04:00

This morning, we walked from the Bali Hai Hotel to the small town of Maharepa, stopping in many of the shops and at the post office. We went into one small shop and met the American owner, who, it turns out, knows a friend of ours back in Florida...it's indeed a small world. We returned to the boat and later went into the Blue Pineapple Bar/Restaurant at the Bali Hai to have a beer and use their wifi and ended up having a nice long talk with one of the original owners, Jay Carlisle, who gave us a bit of insight as to the beginning of the Bali Hai Hotel. For more details look at http://www.bookrags.com/news/a-small-hotel-on-moorea-is-all-that-moc/. With the better internet here, Sue's managed to upload a few more picture albums - enjoy!

June 29 - Moorea - Cooks Bay

2011-06-30T12:22:00.007-04:00

Yesterday we took a dinghy ride and visited the church at Papetoai. The Octagonal Church was built in 1822, and is thought to be the oldest church in the South Pacific. We then dinghied over to where some tikis had been placed underwater for the tourists to find (kind of hokey), and finished up nearby the Club Mediterranee, a rather expensive hotel with a fantastic view, to snorkel with stingrays and black tipped sharks. Very cool. Actually, the best part was finding a flying gurnard fish. I know, a few of you are probably thinking "What took them so long to find a flying gurnard?" Well...for those of you who have never seen one (we hadn't before this morning) the common name is "sea robin." What a great looking fish: it has camouflage to fade into the sandy background and wings that make it look like it's flying as it's swimming around.. pretty unusual! It looks like a moth and moves slowly along the bottom, using his 'hooks on either side of his head to stir up the sand. Thanks, Sheri (sv Reflections) for sharing your pictures! This morning we motored to Cooks Bay and anchored in 67' in front of the Bali Hai Hotel. We tied our dinghy up to their dock and went inside to find the proprietor to make sure it was OK to tie up where we did, and her response was to look at us and say "This is your place...of course you can tie up there." What a welcome! We've made reservations for dinner and a Polynesian dance show tonight. The steak dinner cost 2000cfp, the chicken 1800cfp, and there were many other entrees as well. Some of our friends dinghied over from Opunohu Bay to Cooks Bay just to see the area, and we've met some other cruisers from New Caledonia as well as a French local who runs a catamaran doing day charters here for the last 12 years (actually, "met" isn't the proper term as I went out to "rescue" him as he tried to row into shore against a fresh breeze and couldn't make it, so I towed him in). The views here are beautiful, just a bit different than the views in Opunohu Bay, and it's easy to see the tremendous allure of this area. The weather is doing a bit of change, so we expect to be around here for a few days.

Moorea - June 27

2011-06-27T22:00:00.005-04:00

The second (and last) day (Sun) of the Pacific Puddle Jumps Tahiti-Moorea Sailing Rendezvous began with an outrigger canoe race. There were 26 teams of four cruisers and two Tahitians in each 6 person canoe, and four canoes faced off against each other in each heat until there was an overall winner. We didn't win our heat, but came in third, missing second place by a second or so. There were many activities you could choose from-weaving of baskets/bowls/headbands, or make your own flower headband or lei, or design and make your own pareu. After the outrigger races, a traditional Tahitian lunch was served. After lunch there was a rock lifting (strong-man) competition, as well as foot races and coconut husking sessions. An awards ceremony was held after everything finished up, and all participating boats received a beautifully engraved oyster shell momento of the Rendezvous. Traditional dancing closed out the entire program, and lots of pictures were taken. You can check out the pictures and happenings at www.latitude38.com, the main sponsor for this event. If any of you readers are thinking of coming this way, we'd highly recommend this Puddle Jump get together; we had a really good time, and think you will too!
This morning (Mon), we hiked to the Belvedere, a lookout between Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay. We then took an additional extended hike to the Three Pines, which afforded a beautiful vista view of both bays (Mount Tohieva and Mount Mouaroa) as well. The wind is 20-25 knots outside the reef, although the gribs don't reflect it; it's supposed to lay down tomorrow….we'll see….

June 25 - Moorea

2011-06-26T12:34:00.004-04:00

Lat S17deg29min/W149deg37min.
We slipped our mooring at the Yacht Club de Tahiti at 0800 and motored out the pass in very light winds. Unfortunately, the wind didn't pick up, and instead of motoring down to the entrance of the Port Of Papeete, where the official 1000 hour start time of the Tahiti to Moorea Sailing Rendezvous was, we decided to just motor on to Moorea, as we figured the winds would stay very light anyway. We were right, and out of about 40 boats registered for the rally, only (I think) 7 actually sailed, the rest of the fleet motored here as well. Well, some years the winds just don't fill in as expected. About 50 boats are anchored way to close to one another in front of Mareto Beach here in Opunohu Bay. The bay is stunning, with Mount Tohivea and Mount Muaroa forming a jagged backdrop at the head of the bay (Robinson's Cove), and we'll go exploring and hiking Monday. Today, after all the cruisers arrived, there was a welcoming party on the beach, with traditional dancing and cocktails served. We've signed up as one of the 23 four person canoe teams (we're aboard Team Hawaii with some friends of ours) for the canoe races tomorrow (Sun), and there will be other competitions as well, before a traditionally prepared Tahitian lunch on the beach. Sounds like good fun. We're anchored in 10' of crystal clear water, watching the sting rays glide by, with big smiles on our faces, pinching ourselves to remind ourselves we're really here in Moorea. The only sounds at night or in the early morning are roosters crowing and the occasional dog barking. Air temperature is 73 degrees. Lovely.

June 19 - Tahiti update

2011-06-19T23:22:00.003-04:00

We've been really busy around here. The Tahiti Yacht Club is a wonderful spot. The moorings are (approx) $11USD/day - a real bargain. Included in that price is the use of the Club facilities - hot showers, restrooms, laundry ($3.50USD wash and $3.50USD dry), and there are 2 small restaurants here that are open for lunch. The big draw found everywhere are the 'roulettes' that come out at around 6:30pm. These are trucks which are set up as portable kitchens, fire up a hibachi grill, and (usually) serve Chinese food, chicken, fish and meat dishes. We've found prices are about 1000-1400 xfp (about 80xfp/USD); the food's been fresh and delicious! There are a few roulettes that show up outside the YC but more are found downtown; every night the vans/wagons fill the square on the waterfront, with their tables set up it's quite a scene. We also pulled Infini up to the TYC fuel dock and got duty free diesel (approx 72 xfp/liter or about $4.02USD/gallon at the exchange rate). The public buses run just outside the Club and go downtown to the yacht quay area; we walked around the commercial area in and out of chandleries, an ACE hardware and other local stores. We rented a car with our friends Dave & Sherry on Soggy Paws -(expensive at approx $110USD/day unlimited mileage) and have been seeing many parts of Tahiti far away from the Yacht Club. The big news is that we took Matt to the airport last night for his flight back to Florida. He'd been aboard about 10 months, and decided it was time to return to other priorities and places. We'll sure miss him around here and know it will take a while to adjust to his absence. We'll be staying occupied; more sightseeing today and preparing for the Tahiti-Moorea Yacht Rally that many of the Pacific Puddle Jump cruisers participate in which takes place Saturday. We'll be continuing our moseying west across the Pacific from there (Moorea).

June 13 - Moored at the TYC

2011-06-13T17:45:00.002-04:00

We motored over to the Tahiti Yacht Club this morning and took an available mooring. Tomorrow morning we'll complete check in stuff, and then go exploring. The winds are forecast to go very light, so it doesn't look good for Matt to have decent wx for kiting for another week.

June 12 - Team Infini is safely anchored in Tahiti

2011-06-13T00:36:00.001-04:00

Position - S17deg29min/W149deg29min
We anchored in 25' under the loom of the lighthouse at Point Venus. We had a good day sailing, at times reaching over 7 knots; this speed allowed us to get to the anchorage at dusk - what a pleasure! Tomorrow we'll move around and find another anchorage; tonight is one for celebration. It'll take a while for it to sink in - we're in Tahiti!!

June 11 - Infini is enroute to Tahiti

2011-06-12T00:36:00.001-04:00

Position: S15deg26min/W148deg30min.
Course: 200 T
Speed: 5.6 kn
Wind: SE 22-24 kn
Seas: SE 6-8'
Sails: 2nd reef main; reefed jib. We use the running backstay as much as possible; mast support can't hurt!
This is a fairly short run of about 200 nm from Rangiroa to Papeete. We raised anchor at first light and motor sailed down to Avatoro Pass, exiting the pass at slack low water without problems. Since we expect arrival at Tahiti after sundown, we plan to anchor at Point Venus (named by Capt. James Cook) and go thru the pass into Papeete in the early morning daylight.

June 8 - Waiting for weather - Rangiroa

2011-06-08T13:10:00.002-04:00

There aren't a whole lot of boats traveling around, anywhere. The reinforced trades have brought 20-25 knot winds, and high seas, for days now; mostly SE, but with a bit of E and ENE thrown in. Exiting the passes here is just way too exciting in these sorts of conditions, and we've even seen several yachts thrown about as they attempt departure. We watched heart in mouth as a large Oyster 60-something took waves over the bow back to the cockpit, pitched so heavily its stern was clear out of the water, then slewed around as the waves battered him as he fought to gain steering control....nosiree...we'll wait a bit longer before we get into anything like that! So, we had an open-house (boat)/cocktail party/meet your new neighbors/birthday party aboard the other day; I counted 19 people from 8 boats aboard; a very nice gathering. Matt's been doing a bit of kiting, but the other two boats that had kiters aboard departed a while back, so he's been on his own. We're doing a lot of reading (always), and go into town for fresh baguettes, croissants, veggies and other stuff when needed. The weather in Tahiti, our next stop, is pretty similar to ours, so when the next decent time frame for departure from here to there occurs, there will be boats moving from there to wherever...it's a constant shuffleboard of boats to and from. We have slow internet here, a real bonus, and are enjoying our prolonged stay here in Rangiroa. Btw, two megayachts are here: the 43m Dubois designed sailing vessel "Drumbeg" and the 78m Feadship motoryacht "TV" (it charters for $185000/week! Infini's rates are somewhat less....) - look them up on the net - we did!

The Blue Lagoon, Rangiroa

2011-06-05T20:55:00.001-04:00

We motored down to the Blue Lagoon and anchored in 41' of sand. We anchored about 1.8nm past the anchor symbol on the C-Map chart, and ended up much closer to the Lagoon. The chart marks a fairway from Ohutu all thew way to the Blue Lagoon, and there were no obstructions. Minimal depth in the fairway was 55' for just a short bit, but most of the time it was 80'-100' depth. The first night the wind was about 10 knots right on the nose, and we pitched a bit thru the evening, but there was, thankfully, no roll. In the morning, we awoke to rain and squalls, but at about 1030 we launched the dinghy and decided to go exploring. We had to portage the dinghy over the shallow areas, although there are four mooring buoys to tie off to that the tour boats use to bring folks to the Lagoon to picnic, relax and feed the sharks. We found several picnic tables and BBQ pits set up on both islets, obviously for the tour boats. The black tipped sharks must have been expecting to be fed, as there were about 30-40 of them, from 1'-4' in size, that hung out in the shallows and didn't bother us. Matt waded out to take pictures, and it was funny to watch them circle him! We then toured some of the various motus that surround the Lagoon, seeing little signs of habitation, but you're never quite as isolated as you think! We snorkeled some of the coral formations in the lagoon. The fish were colorful, and the shape of the coral heads was interesting, but the coral didn't have a lot of color or health. We returned to the boat, and in the afternoon were joined for a potluck aboard by the crews of Slip Away and Loon III who arrived in the afternoon, feasting on homemade pizza, chili and peach cobbler! Do we eat well, or what! The night was quite calm, and the boat was surrounded by black tip sharks; we counted 13 of them just off the stern! The next morning we departed to go back to Ohutu to hunker down for the expected blow coming our way in a few days. There's a fairly strong high pressure area SW of Tahiti pushing those isobars pretty close together, so this entire patch is expecting stronger winds and big seas for a while.

The Blue Lagoon, Rangiroa

2011-06-01T23:55:00.001-04:00

We've motored down to the Blue Lagoon here in Rangiroa. Anchored in 41', sand, at S15deg05.727min/W147deg55.289min. We'll go exploring tomorrow and report back! Btw, we're off the internet grid and back to SailMail and our Winlink email.

May 25 - Rangiroa

2011-05-25T16:13:00.003-04:00

We rented bicycles for 1/2 day at 500 fcp (1000 fcp for a full day) and went into Avatora, about 6mi., to the other end of this motu where the other pass is. There was more vehicle traffic than we expected, and several clinics, a bank with ATM, several good magazin's (stores), lots of dive outfits, a few pearl sellers, a couple churches, lots of small private lodging facilities and a few restaurants. People were friendly and the streets were clean.
We went with a few other folks to snorkel Tiputa Pass, but the current was fast and it was so deep we didn't find it all that exciting. We (Matt is still nursing an earache so he stayed back)then snorkeled the west side of Motu Fara, a small sandy motu just inside the pass, where we were able to tie our dingies to buoys set in the coral. There were hundreds of fish, and our friends had brought pancakes to feed them. It was great fun to have them come up and hand feed right in front of our eyes, but we didn't let the large fish get all that close! A few morey eels swam out from their hiding place, and there were a few sand sharks resting on the bottom. We then took the water taxi (250 fcp pp) over to Tiputa (across the pass), and walked thru that small village for a bit before returning by water taxi to the other side and lunch at the wharf. There are about 8 boats here now, and 3 boats expected this morning on the tide. Weather has been blustery, with squalls coming from the E, ENE and ESE directions. Holding is good; we're anchored in 34', sand, and there are a few low scattered coral heads about. Btw, Sue's managed to upload (on very sketchy internet connection!) several new Picasa photo albums - enjoy!

May 22 - Rangiroa, Tuamotus

2011-05-22T20:31:00.002-04:00

S14deg58min/W147deg38min We departed Manihi @ 0730 yesterday, and had a straight down wind sail the 100mi. to Rangiroa (wind was ENE 10-15 knots the entire time). Unfortunately the waves and swell had us rolling quite a bit, so sleep was sketchy. Rich and Jan on sv Slip Away were within sight the entire passage. We entered the pass at 0815 today, and are anchored with 9 other boats. This is the second largest atoll in the world; 40 mi. long and 17 mi. wide at its widest point. The ring is formed by about 240 motus (islets), and we've read there is good snorkeling and a 'Blue Lagoon' to explore.

May 18 - Keeping busy in Manihi

2011-05-19T11:58:00.001-04:00

Manihi has been a good spot. There are a multitude of anchorages available, although we've chosen to anchor nearby a motu called Tatetate, at coordinates S14deg27.893min/W146deg02.120min. When the water clears you can see large coral heads abound, so getting our anchor up may prove to be a challenge. Fernando has dropped off fresh baguettes to all the boats daily, and yesterday fresh coconut bread was available. We dropped our laundry off at his place, and met his daughter Wendy and wife Stella. Getting laundry done here is somewhat expensive at 1500 cfp per load, but we had so much to do from our passage here that we felt it was a good investment. Sue still does some of her stuff aboard, and we've started using a hand roller that fits on top of a 5 gallon bucket to squeeze most of the water out of the fabric, as our hands get so tired of squeezing water from everything before hanging stuff up on the clotheslines strung around the boat. Between the clotheslines lines and the lifelines, we look like a laundry scow with our underwear, shirts, sheets and towels flying in the breeze; quite the site! The small stores here sell basic food stuffs, and when the supply ship comes, fresh veggies are available. Fernando has been most accomodating to all the cruisers, and he can arrange snorkeling excursions, spear fishing, a picnic or pearl farm visit for anyone interested. The anchorage now has nine boats here (1 French, 2 Canadian, 2 Aussie and 5 American) with 3 more expected arrivals in the next day or so, and Fernando told us that there were 30 boats here for the Blue Water Rally last year. We've drift snorkeled the pass a few times and haven't found it as interesting as the pass at Fakarava, but worthwhile none the less. For those cruisers headed this way, a stop in Manihi is highly recommended.

May 14 - The Picnic

2011-05-16T00:21:00.002-04:00

We had arranged a picnic visit to the Blue Lagoon with Fernando, one of the village chiefs of Manihi, of the northwest Tuamotus group. There were four boats, whose eleven people were picked up by two private pangas shortly after 0830. We traveled high speed the 15 nm with several brief stops along the way for Fernando to point out local places of interest. The "Blue Lagoon" is an area in the most northern and eastern part of the lagoon, and has lovely beaches and reefs around it. The yachties were joined by Fernando's sister Eugenia, her husband John, their son Jean, nephew (sorry, can't recall his name) and their cousin Kelani English, the Hawaiian senator from Maui. We stopped at a small beach where the fun and action began. First off, palm fronds were gathered and a small fire started. Coconut bread was made: water, flour and and freshly ground, grated coconut. Then several of us went along fishing in one of the pangas. While the locals spear fished, we used hand lines aboard with bait of octopus and hermit crab. The sharks were circling as the guys put their catch in a floating basin they trailed behind them. We didn't get anything with the hand lines, but the spearguns found their targets often, and we returned to the beach to find the meal in full preparation. Jean had cut down a small palm tree for the heart of palm salad. Several fish dishes were prepared - poisson cru and grilled fish, as well as coconut bread, breadfruit, salad made with hearts of palm and local plants, and ice cold coconut milk. What a feast! Everything was natural - our dishes were made of palm fronds, and we used coconut shells as well. There were no utensils; we used our hands to serve ourselves and eat. As the fish were prepared, the smaller ones were set aside and our son, Matt, got to "shark wrestle." The object was to bait a piece of line, get the shark to chase and finally grab it, with the intent to sweep him up onto the beach where someone else would grab his tail. There were a few close ones, but the final tally showed the sharks won by a landslide; no shark was captured! Ukeleles, guitar, and local percussion were then taken out and to our delight, all our hosts sang and performed for our group. It was finally time to go back to our boats, and we split into our two groups and left the beach the way we had found it - no debris or evidence of our having been there - just our footprints. As we rode home, Fernando again stopped at a few places, one a small islet in the middle of the lagoon where we took pictures and tasted one of the small oysters that abound here. Eugenia and her husband serenaded us on ukulele and guitar all the way back, with the sun setting in the background. It was a wonderful day, and a chance to experience for a brief time the way the ancient Polynesians lived - the gathering of natural resources and the preparation of meals in a totally natural environment. It was a picnic we'll remember for a long time.

Passage summary

2011-05-14T11:58:00.002-04:00

Total nautical miles from Lahaina (Maui) to Manihi (NW Tuamotus) - 2632
Avg. nautical miles per day - 114.4
Avg speed - 4.8
Fish - 2
Total motoring time - 62 hours
Thoughts: Matt: "this was a LONG passage." Sue: "LONG and one I wouldn't want to repeat." Me: "ditto!" We don't find much to recommend this passage unless you're in Hawaii and want to head to Marquiti (Marquesas-Tuamotus-Tahiti). You're hard on the wind much of the time on port tack, hanging on by your fingernails. Fish, for us, were scarce. The boat has to be (as it should be) set up skookum, and you will, no doubt, find leaks you didn't know you had! In our case, total boat repairs will be quite modest, thankfully. So, all in all, we've done it, we're here safely, and we give many thanks for our many blessings and opportunities. For those of you following us along, we hope you've enjoyed the adventure!

May 12 - TEAM INFINI IS SAFELY ANCHORED AT MANIHI ATOLL

2011-05-12T21:47:00.001-04:00

Position: S14deg27min/W146deg02min
Day 22's run: 98 nm
Avg speed: 4.1 kn
Wind: E-ENE 15
Seas: E 4-6'
Sails: motored the last 4 hours to stage for going into Tairapa Pass
Ship's log: 2632 nm
We sailed thru the night, slowing the boat down to go thru the pass into Manihi at high tide. This last day's run reflects that, as well as motoring for four hours to keep the boat slowed down enough to make the tide. We were met outside the pass by Fernando, a local who lives here, and he guided us to a beautiful anchoring spot with protection from the easterly winds. We're safely anchored and it will take a few days to unwind and kind of gather our wits after three weeks of non-stop sailing 2632 nm from Lahaina. I'll collate the details of our passage in the next few days and post them when completed. For now, a well deserved rest!

May 11 - Day 22 We're almost there

2011-05-11T22:06:00.001-04:00

Position: S13deg35min/W145deg06min
Day 21's run: 126 nm
Avg speed: 5.3 kn
Course: 200
Wind: ESE 15
Seas: ESE 6'
Sails: 2nd reef main; jib
Ship's log: 2539 nm
We had a comfortable night sailing and this morning it's been blue skies and sunshine. We're happy with slower speeds now, as we have to time our approach to the pass into Manihi for about high tide or the slack tide, which occurs an hour after the high tide. We were given tide information by the gentleman who runs the SailMail station on Manihi, Xavier Michel, which indicates that high tide tomorrow is at 1:28pm. So, right now we have about 87 nm to Tairapa Pass, and about 24 hours or so to cover that distance, which translates into an overall speed we should be doing of 3.6 knots, but we're going much faster than that. Our strategy is to continue at whatever speed the present wind allows us to go to our first waypoint NE of the atoll, which we should reach at about 11:15pm, then slow the boat down to a crawl for the last 35 nm run to the entrance. In that way, should conditions change this far away, we'll be much closer to our waypoint and make any necessary speed adjustments once we've reached it, rather than make assumptions from 87 nm away. Get it? It really does get the crew into some strategic decision making and since we're closing land, in my eyes the most important part of the entire passage is the next 24 hours.

May 10 - Day 21 - Nice sailing

2011-05-10T22:45:00.001-04:00

Position: S11deg41min/W144deg18min
Day 20's run: 129 nm
Avg speed: 5.4 kn
Course: 195
Wind: ESE-SE 22-25
Seas: ESE 8'
Sails: 2nd reef main; jib
Ship's log: 2413 nm
We had a pleasant night sailing and this morning brought a stiff SE-ESE 22-25 knot breeze. We're tracking well to our waypoint. Not much else new to report. Our French flag is ready to be hoisted!

May 9 - Day 20 Another nice night

2011-05-10T00:15:00.001-04:00

Position: S09deg42min/W143deg34min
Day 19's run: 130 nm
Avg speed: 5.4 kn
Course: 195 T
Wind: ESE 18-20
Seas: ESE 6'
Sails: 2nd reef main; jib
Fish: we won't be fishing for a while....
Ship's log: 2284 nm
We made fast miles last night in a stiff ESE breeze. We were all so tired from landing that big yellowfin and had sore hands and backs. Weather's been pretty consistent, we're on track to our waypoint NE of Manihi. All's well aboard.

May 8 - Day 19 Happy Mother's Day - "Fish on!"

2011-05-09T00:51:00.001-04:00

Position: S07deg41min/W142deg58min
Day 18's run: 116 nm
Avg speed: 4.8 kn
Course: 195
Wind: ESE 12-15
Seas: ESE 4
Sails: 2nd reef main; jib
Fish: 2
Ship's log: 2154 nm
Happy Mother's Day to all moms! We had a beautiful night sailing under starry skies in 12-14 knots of wind. No squalls, no lightning, and plenty of rest for everybody. Which was a good thing for Matt, as a fish was hooked at about 1145 and he landed a 26 pound tuna. We can't ID it accurately, but it has two separate, small dorsal fins; one midbody and one aft, dark black/gray/silvery stripes running longitudinally down its belly and lower sides and a black tail. If you know what it is, please email and let us know. So, besides breakfast made for her, Sue gets fresh sashimi and enough tuna steaks to last a long while. We all hope this spell of good weather continues. Newsflash! We just hooked and landed the largest yellowfin tuna we've ever seen, yet alone landed. Overall length 5'3", tail tip to tip 2', girth 40", weight ?? 80-100 pounds?? We had to take the mainsail down and use the main halyard to a loop of line we had gotten around the tail to winch him onto the deck. What a production. And all on a hand line! Happy Mother's Day, Sue!!

May 7 - Day 18 More squalls

2011-05-07T21:58:00.002-04:00

Position: S05deg48min/W142deg44min
Day 17's run: 111 nm
Avg speed: 4.6 kn
Course: 175
Wind: 15
Seas: 6-8'
Sails: 2nd reef main; jib
Fish: two lines are out; no fish so far
Ship's log: 2038 nm
Conditions are challenging. We had calms where we had to motor during the early evening, but at least we ran the watermaker. Then the winds picked up, and the lightning and thunderstorm activity kept us all awake. We used the radar to dance around the squalls, at one point doing a kind of semi-circle around a large cell that was on a direct intersecting course. We had gray skies and more squalls this morning, with sustained winds of 30 for about a half hour, gusting to 38. Nothing like variable conditions, lots of sail handling, a bit of sleep deprivation and longing for a good cheeseburger and fries to keep us all a bit crazy. Are we there yet?

May 6 - Day 17 Then we heaved to...

2011-05-06T20:22:00.002-04:00

Position: S04deg08min/W142deg28min
Day 16's run: 109 nm
Avg speed: 4.5 kn
Course: 200 T
Wind: well, we'll have to discuss that....
Seas: as I said above...
Sails: 2nd reef main; jib
Fish: lol!
Ship's log: 1927 nm
The entire night was spent under 100% cloudy skies watching sheet lightning play out, and an occasional bolt from one of the larger cells in the distance. The morning was no different; 100% overcast and heavy rain. I figured we were either in a weak LP (low pressure) system (barometer 1007), part of the SPCZ (South Pacific Convergence Zone) or just a regular convergence zone our friendly forecasters couldn't see, as these unstable weather areas pop up and dissipate so quickly, often right before your eyes. Well, the winds picked up from the low 20's to high, but the seas started looking a bit different to me; spray driven foam tops from multiple directions, and I said "Enough, let's heave to." Infini had no trouble heaving to on port tack; the main was off to starboard a bit, and the helm turned to windward about 10-15 degrees and tied down. She settled about 60 degrees off the wind, just like the books say it's supposed to happen, and our speed dropped to avg 1.5 knots. I didn't see that "slick" that Lin and Larry Pardey talk about, but the winds were less than 30 and the seas about 6-8', so maybe conditions weren't that severe enough for that. Nearby was thunder and lightning, and it was pucker time. We couldn't determine the direction of anything - was this cell going parallel to us, on an intersecting course, or away from us? Sheets of rain fell as we strained to hear the thunder and try to figure out if the cell had moved. About an hour later the winds dropped to about 16 knots and the rain had tapered just a bit. The radar wasn't much help, as all it showed was a large blob that looked like something ready to eat Chicago, so we figured it was time to boogie on down the road. We put the jib back up and were making good time, just not in the direction we wanted, but at least it appeared to be "away" from the blob. Well, this has been one way to spend an interesting night and morning....

May 5 - Day 15 Dancing with the squalls

2011-05-05T23:47:00.001-04:00

Position: S02deg26min/W142deg07min
Day 14's run: 112 nm
Avg speed: 4.7 kn
Course: 175 T
Wind: ESE 15 kn; port beam reach
Seas: ESE-E 6'
Sails: 2nd reef main, jib
Fish: 0
Ship's log: 1818 nm
We had a pretty good night with a few squalls, but daybreak brought gray skies and squall line after squall line. The winds weren't too bad; mostly low 20's in the gusts. I've shortened sail to the second reef in the main sail as Max has an easier time of it in the short, choppy seas we've got, and we furl in or let out the 105% Yankee jib (on a Profurl unit) depending on the wind strength. About 775 nm to Tairapa Pass into Manihi.

May 5 - Day 15 It's good to be south!

2011-05-05T00:01:00.001-04:00

Position: S00deg37min/W142deg02min
Day 14's run: 102 nm
Avg speed: 4.3 kn
Course: 180 T
Wind: ENE-ESE 13 kn
Seas: NNE-ESE 4'
Present speed: 5.7 kn
Sails: single reef main, jib
Ship's log: 1706 nm
Well, it's been a long haul to the Equator, and we sure are glad to be back in the southern hemisphere. It seems we've had to motor for 4-5 hours each day in no wind (we're talking like 3 knots!), so our 24 hour runs and average speeds are way down. (We motor @ 1400-1500 RPM's, averaging 4.5 k.) This morning we've found a light ENE wind, but with the flat seas, Infini is moving along smartly. We've been out now two weeks, and it's still another week or so (about 900 nm) to our destination; like I said, this has been a long haul. We're all a bit sleep deprived, down below is hot (86 degrees F), smells a bit "lived in"....and have about five tons of dirty laundry to take care of, but the sun's out, the motor's off and we're sailing....Btw, our Vesper Marine AIS Watchmate went off again last night; this is the third ship we've encountered enroute.

May 4 - Equator Crossing!

2011-05-04T11:54:00.001-04:00

Ship's log - 1666 nm
Time - 0125
Position - 0000/W142deg02min
Speed - 3.5 kn
Course - 160 T
Wind - ESE 10
Seas - ESE 2
Wx - partly cloudy; barometer 1009
We've crossed the Equator and had a proper, although subdued due to the early time of the morning, celebration. This is Sue and myself's third crossing, and Matt's second. It's good to be back in the southern hemisphere. We could easily see the Southern Cross constellation right off our port bow earlier in the evening; it was like seeing an old friend we hadn't seen in a long time.

May 3 - Day 14 - More motoring

2011-05-04T00:06:00.001-04:00

Position: N00deg53min
Day 13's run: 102 nm
Avg speed: 4.3 kn
Course: 145 T
Wind: ENE 7 kn
Seas: ENE 4'
Ship's log: 1604 nm
We've been in daily radio contact on SSB radio with four other sail boats: Sea Flyer, Reflections, Soggy Paws and Windy City. Like us, they all departed Hawaii for somewhere in "Marquiti" - the Marquesas-Tuamotus-Tahiti area. We've been motor sailing since 4 pm yesterday afternoon, as the less than 10 knots of breeze we've had is not optimal to move our 21 ton boat. That's why we carry lots of diesel! We put up the Code Zero sail today, but in the 6 knots of wind and 1 knot current, even IT couldn't get us moving but, at least the seas are relatively flat!

May 2 - Day 13 More motorting, but good easting

2011-05-03T00:23:00.001-04:00

Position: N01deg42min/W143deg40min
Day 12's run: 104 nm
Avg speed: 4.3 kn
Course: 110 T
Wind: ENE 12 kn
Seas: ENE 6'
Ship's log: 1503 nm
We had to motor 5 1/2 hours last night; midnight to 0530, about the same as the evening before, and again, with a strong current trying to push us west and south, exactly opposite of where we'd like to be heading. The early morning was a wall of gray skies. Squall followed squall, but the rain and wind weren't strong. In a NE wind of the early day, we made good progress in our easting, often tracking even a bit north of east; now the wind is ENE, and our track has fallen off a bit. We've applied sail repair tape to the last of the leech tears, the one between the 1st and 2nd reef cringles, so we can at least use the full main again when the wind moderates. We've traveled over 1500 nm - are we having fun yet, or what?!

May 1 - Day 12; there's always some excitement

2011-05-01T21:49:00.001-04:00

Position: N02deg41min/W144deg43min
Day 11's run: 99 nm
Avg speed: 4.1 kn
Course: 145 T
Wind: ENE 16 kn
Seas: ENE 4'
Ship's log: 1399 nm
We had a strong equatorial current wrecking havoc with us most of our evening. First, the wind shifted so we tacked but were unable to make effective steerage as the wind rapidly fell below 10 knots. We ended up motor sailing for 5 1/2 hours, something we had discussed and planned in our strategy sessions at the dock; when the wind died, motor to make easting. However, we didn't take into account the strong current against us, and ended up making 2-3 knots for most of the evening until a nice 15 knot ENE wind finally appeared. Unfortunately, it was followed by numerous squalls and our old mainsail just wasn't up to the stress. We had considered having a new mainsail made when we reached Honolulu, and had quotes from various sources made. We also had a local professional sail maker from a reputable loft out to the boat to inspect the sail, and it was his opinion and recommendation that a new main wasn't needed at that time and that we were good to go. Well, we decided to take his advice and...it looks like he was wrong. The sailcloth along the leech has parted, and one of the batten pockets gave way, so we're double reefed with a torn leech fluttering, but the sail is too wet to apply sail repair tape as a temporary repair. This affects our windward ability tremendously, so we're not sure yet where we'll make landfall; it will depend on wind and sea conditions as to what course we can make good with the damage sustained. All's well aboard; no worries. Newsflash - we've completed sail tape repair of about 10' of the leech from the 2nd reef upwards. We'll sail with the 2nd reef in the main to landfall, and plan more intensive sail inspection/repair there and in Papeete.

April 30 - Day 11; we're thru the ITCZ

2011-05-01T00:48:00.001-04:00

Position: N03deg49min/W145deg41min
Day 10's run: 121 nm
Avg speed: 5 kn
Course: 140 T
Wind: ENE 16 kn
Seas: ENE 4'
Ship's log: 1300 nm
I think we passed thru the outer most western band of the ITCZ at around 2300 last night. We had a few squalls, one with winds of 40 knots, but otherwise no thunder or lightening. This morning brought partly sunny skies with a few scattered storm cells. We went thru one and recorded 30 knots; it's becoming an exercise in endurance....let the sail out, reef the sail in...no, wait until we pass that next cloud bank that looks threatening...Our goal is to keep the boat moving, ideally in the direction we want to go, but that's not always the case!

April 29 - Day 10; We're in the ITCZ

2011-04-30T03:14:00.003-04:00

Position: N05deg30min/W146deg41min
Day 9's run: 141 nm
Avg speed: 5.9 kn
Course: 135 T
Wind: 20-22 kn
Seas: 6-8'
Ship's log: 1179 nm
Briefly, the ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone) is a band of unstable weather in the Pacific north of the equator, generally stretching across latitudes 5-10 degrees, where the equatorial easterly winds converge with the northeast trade winds. Squalls and thunderstorms are common, and the idea is to safely navigate your vessel as fast as you can across the area. We're between overcast clouds, and have just been thru a brief 30 knot squall, and are expecting others. It's worse at night when it's difficult to see the stars being blocked out by the clouds; you hope you don't have to depend on the lightening to see everything; if so, you're too close to those cells! It will probably take us about two days to get thru the width of the ITCZ; it's constantly changing its lat/long so it's challenging for any 5-6 knot boat to get thru it without at least some disturbed weather. Otherwise, our overall speed picked up a bit and we're making good easterly progress. I expect we'll cross the equator somewhere around W143 degrees. We probably could go a bit more easterly, but present weather forecasts show the heavier bad convection stuff is that way, so we'd like to stick on the lighter side of it.

April 29 - Day 10; We're in the ITCZ

2011-04-30T03:14:00.002-04:00

April 28 - Day 9

2011-04-29T00:49:00.001-04:00

Position: N07deg10min/W148deg17min
Day 8's run: 137 nm
Avg speed: 5.7 kn
Course: 135 T
Wind: 20 kn
Seas: 6 '
Ship's log: 1037 nm (from Maui)
Yesterday's run was pretty good into the evening, when conditions got a bit sqirrelly. Waves seemed to be coming from two directions, and Max wasn't happy either. We kept luffing the headsail, and tried all kinds of responses to that to no avail. That is until I took a good look at the wind vane...Max's rocker arm had come loose and accurate steering was impossible. I hooked my harness securely and then took the vane steering control lines off. Sue steered, Matt held the flashlight, and I tightened up the machine screw going into the casting as well as the allen screw that holds it all together. It didn't take all that long, but by the time Sue went back to attempt getting some sleep, I called her deckside to assist me during a brief 30 knot squall. Conditions seemed to settle down just a bit from there, winds had moderated to a steady 20-22 knots, steering had improved, and I continued my watch.

April 27 - Day 8; we're out one week today!

2011-04-28T00:09:00.001-04:00

Position: N09deg01min/W149deg33min
Day 7 run: 124 nm
avg speed: 5.2 kn
course: 130 T
wind: ENE 20
seas: ENE 8
sails: small jib, staysail, 2nd reef main
We're 901 nm out from Lahaina, and arbitrarily aiming at a waypoint of N00deg00min(the equator)/W140deg00min; we're 788 nm from that wpt. Once we get there, we head south towards either the western Tuamotus or Tahiti; we'll make up our minds by next week. We'll have a 90 day visa to visit French Polynesia this time around (we had a special six month visa last year we applied for and obtained), and since there's lots of beautiful places to visit it makes all this pounding to windward well worth it. You've got to have a strong ship and strong crew for this particular passage. Those sharp eyed followers of this blog will note a remarkable consistency in these last 4 days runs; a reflection of us close hauled in these sea and wind conditions in this patch of ocean.

4-26-11 Day 7; Tracking Infini's position

2011-04-26T19:46:00.001-04:00

position: N10deg24min/W151deg03
day 6 run: 125 nm
avg speed: 5.2 kn
wind: ENE 20
seas: ENE 6-8'
sails: small jib, staysail, 2nd reef main
I've forgotten to send in daily YotReps Position Reports to our blog, and have started doing so today. If you click on "Where we are" a red dot should show up with our lat/long/date. A series of these red dots would represent our track, at this time from Hawaii to "Marquiti." You can then use Google Earth to see first hand our location. Would someone be kind enough to email us in a few days confirming that the YotReps dots are working for us? When underway, we also report in daily to the Pacific Seafarer's Net, and all our info can be found at their site, www.pacsea.org. My Ham call sign is KJ4IHF. Another way to follow our progress across this vast ocean!
We've found a NE breeze and are making the best of it, working our way east, still close hauled and slamming a bit, but the wind has moderated a few knots, and it really makes a difference. We're almost getting used to walking, cooking and sleeping at a 10-15 degree angle, but comfort sure is a relative thing, isn't it?! Btw, a common cruiser lament - all our bananas are getting ripe at the same time; I'll be making pressure cooker banana bread soon.

April 25 - Day 6; it's settling down just a bit

2011-04-25T18:12:00.001-04:00

position: N11deg49min/W152deg32min
day 5 run - 123 nm
avg speed - 5.1 kn
wind - E 18-20 T
seas - E 8'
course - 155 T
The wind finally fell below 20 this morning; what a welcome relief. Some, but not all, of the pounding has moderated, but we're still hard on the wind, beating/close hauled. We've put a bit more jib out, and are heeled 10-15 degrees on a port tack. The staysail and 2nd reef in the main remain. We tried to tack earlier in the morning, but the strong Equatorial Current laughed at us, and our final course was like 10-20 degrees, so we tacked back to port and wonder when we'll be able to make better easting, probably in the doldrums when we motor! So, on it goes. We're eating well, getting plenty of rest, the fishing line went back out today (couldn't imagine fishing in the conditions we've been thru this last week, yet alone catching anything and trying to land it to deck...)and all's well.

April 24 - Day 5; Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T18:05:00.001-04:00

Position: N13deg28min/W153deg39min
Day 4 run: 124 nm
avg speed: 5.2 kn
wind: ENE 22-25, higher in gusts
seas: ENE-NE 8'
course: 140 T
We're still close hauled and it's been a bumpy ride that no one enjoys. Necessary to get our easting, but that doesn't mean we have to like it! Max has been exemplary. Example: in the middle of the night the port steering line attached to the shoulder of the vane chafed thru. Many boats would have rounded up or worse. Max just settled down, the boat was trimmed perfectly, and it took me a while to figure out we were actually pointing higher than before, still doing 5-6 knots, with no control lines to the steering vane! We keep lots of spare line aboard in case of situations like this, so we were re-rigged and Max was back steering in just a few minutes. Nice! We send best wishes to everyone and hope you enjoy a Happy Easter with family and friends!