Posted on

Tonga to NZ – Update 2

October 13 – Hello and welcome to our daily passage update email!

After a successful day of fueling and provisioning in Nuku’Alofa, Tonga on Thursday we were ready to depart on Friday with the weather forecasts looking favorable. After breakfast, we finished the final stowing of items and lashing the dinghy on the foredeck and departed shortly after 11 am. We motor-sailed NW through the reefs of Tongatapu before settling on our SW track towards North Minerva Reef, some 260 nm away.

The crew for our voyage is Captain Dave, Dinghy Captain Kevin Kahl (both from Redmond, WA), Nick Meyer (from Portland, OR), John Howe, and Mike Frampton (both from Christchurch, NZ). Satin, Camille, and Kyra Brennan are not joining for this passage and flew ahead to Auckland on Wednesday.

Our winds were around 10 kts from the NE (directly behind). With the headsail flapping a bit from the swells we decided to deploy the whisker pole to help keep the sail full and help with our forward progress. We continued to motor in order to maintain an average forward speed of 6-6.5 kts since we need to arrive in New Zealand during our weather window. (We want to arrive ahead of the next low system in order to avoid the much stronger winds and sea state that would accompany it.)

Next, we reefed the main sail to take advantage of the headsail, but later when the wind shifted back toward the east we encountered our first serious challenge: we found part of the luff (trailing edge of the sail) had folded over on itself and trapped part of the sail in the vertical track slot of our in-mast furling system. Given the swells and rolling sea conditions, we did not want to send anyone up the mast. While regrouping and pondering a fix, we stowed the pole and reset the headsail. Returning to the main, we decided to remove the vertical fiberglass batten to reduce the width of the sail at the jam point. As hoped, this worked! We were subsequently able to deploy the main and return the batten to its pocket.

We also set out our fishing line, hoping for a free meal from the sea. We didn’t catch anything, then at dusk, while reeling the empty fishing line in, Capt. Dave accidentally let it slip out of his hand and get away, dashing our hopes of fish for this voyage. Oh well, we’ve got plenty of tasty food aboard.

Nick whipped up a delicious “left-overs” stir-fry for lunch, and we ate one of our 2 pre-made lasagnas for dinner. Thanks to contributions from John and Mike, we also have a nice cache of New Zealand chocolates, snacks, and the ever-popular Marmite. Kevin and Dave have been busy briefing everyone on the many boat systems and safety protocols.

Seas calmed in the evening and the wind stayed mostly East, making for easy watches overnight and good rest for all.

This morning we passed through a brief squall, giving us a good rinse off. Fortunately the skies are now clear and we are 105 nautical miles away from North Minerva Reef. We’d like to pop in to take a look, but may not stay long since we’re expecting building East winds and the prospect of turning off the engine for some pure sailing finally.

North Minerva Reef is about 1/4 of the way to Opua, NZ. We’ll have another 750 – 870 nm left depending on the route we take. At current speeds we should arrive by next Saturday, Oct 20th. If we get good winds starting on Sunday we might be able to make it by Friday. As always, the forecasts in this part of the sea aren’t very reliable more than 3 days out so we’ll be keeping a watchful eye on conditions.

You can find our track and current location here:  https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/Anila

You can look at the weather on:  https://www.predictwind.com/  or https://www.ghradio.co.nz/weather.html

Feel free to write back with any questions or messages for the crew.

Dave, Kevin, Nick, John & Mike

Posted on

Tonga to NZ – Update 1

October 13 – Despite not being there, I’m watching closely Dave’s progress to New Zealand.  This can be a challenging passage, but I’m confident Dave and his trusty crew will do just fine.  Weather is looking good and like it will cooperate.

Here’s their first update:

We left Nuku’Alofa at 11 am and are headed towards N Minerva. Wind was light 8-13 and varying from N to E. Currently we are seeing 11 kts from 75 degrees.

Position 22 01.970. 176 42.982
155 nm from N Minerva
Making 6.5 with motor to reach reef Sunday morning

With latest forecast we may make a lunch stop at Minerva and keep going.

Sea state has settled down and crew is sleeping well. We had the pole out, fixed a bent furler spool the anchor had bent, unjammed the main vertical batten withough going aloft, and sadly lost our fish line due to my butter fingers.

Water & batteries are topped up which is also nice.

Dave

Posted on

Tonga to NZ – Pre-Departure

October 11 – The girls and I are in New Zealand while Dave stayed in Tonga to crew Anila to New Zealand with a bunch of guys.

They provisioned, fueled up and headed out for Minerva Reef and then they will go onward to NZ.

Here are a few pre-departure shots Dave sent me.

Posted on

Driving around Niue

Day One
Today we went driving around the island with our friends from the boat Blue Zulu. We woke up packed some stuff including snorkeling gear, snacks and changes of clothes, then we went to shore. It wasn’t a very beautiful day, because I was rain and overcast. Then we hauled our stuff up to place where we rented the van. Our friends from Blue Zulu got some coffee then we loaded our stuff in the van and took off. Patrick (from Blue Zulu) drove because they are from the U.K. and are used to driving on the left side. Our first stop was hiking to a chasm. We hiked through the woods for about 20-30 minutes then we emerged from the woods and saw the ocean. The rock formations were incredible! We kept waking on the path among the rocks for 8 more minutes then got to a long, steep ladder that lead to the chasm. After everybody was safely down the ladder we walked over some big rocks and saw the chasm. I don’t think it would have been nice for swimming because it was murky, muddy, and disgusting. After walking back up the ladder we took in the beautiful view from the point. We even saw some humpback whales (a mamma and a baby). When their tail flicked up, I saw it was black on one side but white on the other. After whale watching for a while we trekked back to the van. When we all got back into the van we all shared a bag of balsamic, vinegar potato chips. We then stopped at this area that had sculptures made from trash found on the island. We were about to go back but stopped to look at a little hut that was a memorial for an art teacher that that died. It was full of pictures made from painted can tops and bottle tops, sink faucets ad some poems too. We kept driving and driving and driving and driving down the road until we got to the place we were going to eat lunch called Hio Café. The food was scrumptious. I got a burger (it was a super yummy burger), but the salads and the chicken wrap also looked good too. After lunch we drove off to the next hiking area. There were two trails one to a swimming chasm and another to the arch with water flowing in and out of it and we decided to hike to the arches first and then go swimming so we didn’t have to go hiking all wet. We hiked for 30 minutes through the woods like the last hike and them we scooted through this very slippery and wet cave. When we popped out of the end I could see the arches. We walked around and hopped on the rock to see other arches. When everyone was ready we hiked back to the van to change into our swim suits and go swimming. After changing into our swim suits we walked about five minutes to the chasm. We swam around for a good 25 minutes. There were quite a few fish and a ledge on the side of the cliff where all sat and the kids jumped off of. Finally, we walked back and changed. Our last stop was the grocery store. We got quite a bit of food and headed back to the dingy and then to the boat. I was tired from the long day and slept well that night. It was a really exciting day.

Day Two
The second day wasn’t as exciting as the first but it was still fun all the same. We lounged around in the morning went to town for the coral/ocean festival and then in the afternoon we decided to go to this other chasm with Blue Zulu in the van. We loaded our snorkeling stuff and other things into the van because it was a good swimming and snorkeling chasm. We then hopped in the van and drove to this new chasm. When we arrived, we lugged our stuff down the steps to the chasm. Since I knew we would be going swimming I already had my swim suit on. I lathered on the sunscreen and jumped into the water. We snorkeled around for a while looking at all the cool fish and beautiful coral. We also discovered an underwater tunnel to swim through. We got out of the water and discovered a path to another chasm. At this one there was a place to jump off into the water. We jumped into the water and snorkeled around once Anna (from Blue Zulu) saw a sea snake, I swam back and hung around near the steps where you can get in and out. After swimming we went to this place called the Sails Bar and had a drink there for happy hour. I got a ginger ale. With Stella and Fin (the kids from Blue Zulu) we found a path and walked down to the shore. Then we walked back up and finished our drinks. There was also some free books and we took a few. Then we drove back to the boat, ate dinner and went to sleep.

Day Three
I think this was my favorite day out of all of them. We woke up early so we could visit some chasms you could only visit at low tide. We got everything ready and went to Blue Zulu to see if they wanted to come too because we were sharing the van. They wanted to go but they had just woken up and it took about another 45 minutes for them to get ready. Finally, we all got to the van and zoomed off the first chasm. This swimming area was inside a cave and it was very beautiful. We found and underwater tunnel in this chasm too. There weren’t many fish but the coral was pretty. When the kids got bored of swimming we went to this cave that didn’t have water in it and explored it. We named it bunk bed cave because there was a second level you could climb up to. When it was time to go, we all clambered up the steps back to the parking lot. While people changed/dried off we opened a pack of rice crackers. The chasm we were going to go to before lunch was called Anapala Chasm. We walked through the trees about 20 minutes and came to this narrow cave with steep steps. This was a fresh water chasm. When I was almost there, Fin zoomed ahead and splash! He plunged into the water. He hadn’t seen the water because it was so clear and still also it was pretty dark and you could hardly see. Only a sliver of light came through at the top. Once every one was down the kids swam through the cold narrow water to the other side. We climbed all the way up the other side and saw some coconut crabs at the top. Then we climbed back down and swam back. Back at the van we all changed into clothes because we were heading for lunch at the Washaway café. We parked the car then walked down the hill to the café. We ordered our food and then sat down at a table in the shade. I had ordered a pizza. When the food came it looked delicious. We had so many fries because we had ordered three to share among all eight of us and Blue Zulu ordered two so he had five baskets of fries! After eating all the kids wanted to play hide-and-go-seek. Camille was the seeker and she counted to 50 and we all hid. She looked around for 10-15 minutes then gave up and we didn’t even know that she had quit. The last thing that was on our list to do was go to do the mini golf. We got to the course that was owned by the café next to it. We got the ball and club then started. There were eighteen runs in all and we only got through ten because there was seven of us. For the last ones we had to do them quicker and not record points. When mini golf was over, we drove back to the dock and dinghied back to the boat.

Posted on

Niue

 The island of Niue is mostly coral and caves that make the fifteen-meter cliffs full of deep holes and chasms. You can walk through the lush tropical forest, to the cliff edges and around unique rock formations to arrive to deep arroyos and stunning views. Togo Chasm is nestled in the midst of the islands tall rock face just off the water’s edge. You can then climb down a slippery wooden ladder from the crag above. Below, is sand, palm trees and towering walls to each side that leave you with a view of the cloud dotted sky. The air is salty and filled with the scent of rotting coconuts and soggy lichen clinging to the rocks. We walked right into a secluded little paradise away from the rest of the world. On the other side of the island, a short hike through a low cave puts you on a sprawling rock outcrop just above an expansive coral platform full of little pools and an exquisite view of the famous Talava arch on the other side of the coral. The water is crystal clear and you can see colorful algae, reef fish, and huge sea slugs moving their flower like antennae in front of them as they slowly slide forwards. Waves are crashing at edge of the arch making for fantastic picture opportunities and if you pick your way through the sharp rocks you can reach the side of the arch. Climbing down onto the coral platform allows you to move around atop the wet rocks. There are many other places you could visit that are all spectacular in their own special way, but these are definitely two of the most dramatic destinations on the gorgeous islands of Niue.

Posted on

Dinghy Dunk Getting Eggs

September 22 – Today we figured we’d get up early, get our chores done and then eat breakfast at Mangos restaurant in town while we called Phil to go over house remodel items. All went according to plan and then we shuffled back to the boat to prepare for heading out to another anchorage, #7 our favorite. Then I realized we had bought eggs but not enough for 9 eggs to go into making cupcakes for Kyra’s birthday party treats.
I figured we could dash back into town and get another dozen. We went in the dinghy. Dave driving. Just after we started to go on plane, he hit a rope just slightly submerged beneath the surface of the water with no marking buoy on it. I went flying out of the dinghy and into the water. My purse was around me, but I managed to keep it up out of the water, thank goodness! My hand was stuck in the handle, so I was dangling over the edge hanging on. I was totally surprised. Dave was aghast and trying to turn off the revving engine. He did and then turned to help me. I clamored back in half chuckling, half wondering what the heck happened. He kept asking if I was ok. Nothing hurt, just surprised. I flopped back into the dinghy. Another dinghy saw it and came over to ask if we were ok. We confirmed we’re ok just surprised. Onward we went in search of eggs.
I sloshed up to the market to inquire about eggs with no luck. All were sold already or spoken for. I returned to the dinghy and Dave trudged into town for me while I waited in the dinghy trying to dry off a bit. The lady at the market looked upon me strangely when I asked for eggs. I told her what happened. Her young daughter, maybe 10-11 years old chuckled. Her mother gave her a look. I said it was ok because it was a bit comical after all.
Fortunately, Dave returned with eggs and off we went back to the boat. He wanted to find the rope again and tie something to it, but we didn’t have anything and I was soaked. We headed for our boat. I was insistent that we needed to go so we threw off the mooring ball and headed out. He was anguished about that rope in the water, and for good reason. Later we discovered another boat, Ultimo, also hit it.
The good news is, the locals went out and tried to find it to mark it or get rid of it.
Once we arrived in anchorage # 7, Port Maurelle, the one we’ve been to already 3 times but it is quite lovely and protected, we began baking cupcakes for Kyra’s party the next day. Blue Zulu agreed to motor over for the day and of course Counting Stars and Shawnigan were here for the festivities. The kids were all hanging out on our boat so they helped me make them. Nina started first, then Isla helped. It was fun but hot! Dave escaped the madness and went to Counting Stars’ boat to convince them not to depart for Hapai so the kids could attend the party. Kyra would’ve been devastated had they left early. She wanted so badly for Marin and Isla to come to her party!

We ate a chickpea Indian flavored with coconut milk for dinner. The girls ate leftover spaghetti.

Posted on

Birthday Fun (Seattle Style)

Sep 15 – It’s Dave’s birthday! We walked into town from here (anchorage #10), about 5 km with a bunch of friends. We purchased a few provisions and then had lunch at Mangos and walked back.

The rain didn’t stop us. It poured down drenching us thoroughly on the way in.

The way back the skies were forgiving and allowed us to walk without our heads being pelted. The only trouble was my feet were still soaked, like prunes, the skin so moist that every step was rubbing it raw. It didn’t help I trudged on by the last turn off, and went an extra 25 minutes out of our way. The turn off consists of an overgrown “road” or path with taro growing on one side, scraggly trees on the other and tall grass all around. The path is barely visible but according to my phone map app, it’s a road. Hah!

By the time we reached the overgrown steps winding down the cliff side to the abandoned fish house on the shore, my feet were on fire screaming at me. Brian came to fetch us in the dinghy. Our shoes were covered in red mud. It had caked on so thick we were probably carrying an extra 2.5 kilos on each foot.

Once at the boat I kicked into high gear to make Dave’s birthday dinner. At his request, calzones, which meant rising the dough and rolling it out and then stuffing them and baking. Kyra made his chocolate cake. Julie and Curtis made the sauce and others brought toppings. I couldn’t have pulled it off without Kendall and Julie’s help in the kitchen. We whipped together 16 personalized calzones that were all so delicious we scarfed them down. Then we had cake too. I was a stuffed pig, just like all the ones freely roaming around rooting in yards on our walk. It was a good time! I think we set a record for how many people we’ve had over at one time for dinner, not to mention the all baking, making and prepping in our little galley.

Fortunately, the rain relented and we adults were able to all sit in the cockpit and enjoy ourselves.   Fun night had by all – island style with a pinch of rain and a dash of tropical humidity!

Posted on

Neiafu Chores and Running

August 30 – Woke up early despite being out late the night before. Today I rubbed Camille awake too for a run with Laurie. I saw dark clouds and rain, plus it was cold, so I worried Camille would poop out on me and not be motivated to get out of bed but surprisingly she did and off we went. We dinghied over to Muskoka to pick her up. She popped up only minutes before we arrived saying she had slept in since she was out late dancing too.
We first schlepped off to purchase eggs and bread along with Manna, then we walked back and started our regiment. We had a good workout doing hills and stairs. Laurie timed Camille doing some sprints and measured her jumps. She assessed Camille as doing pretty good. Not sure how that compares to other kids she’s trained but perhaps Camille would be good at track in high school.
Once back at the boat, Camille’s stomach ached. She didn’t want to eat. I insisted and gave her a bite of banana. In 10 minutes she rebounded and was able to eat.


We did our chores today of dropping off the laundry, ordering custom T-shirts (finally) and picking up some more provisions. In the evening we had dinner with Kendall and Brian from Counting Stars while our kids all returned to the boat to hang out. We ate at the cutest little Basque Spanish Tapas restaurant on the hill facing the water. Sunset was beautiful and relaxing. Dave even had good WIFI and made some calls and bought us girls our airplane tickets from Tonga to New Zealand. Yeah! It’s official now: we are not crewing with him from Tonga to New Zealand. This passage is almost 1100 miles and can be a tricky (difficult if weather sneaks up on you). It’s better that we don’t make it.

Posted on

One-year anniversary today!

September 1 – Our little sailing adventure started one year ago officially when we pulled out of Elliott Bay headed for warm water, fair winds and a change of lifestyle.  The Puget Sound carefully deposited us from its gentle and safe embrace into the big, blue ocean on a picture-perfect day.  In all the years we crossed the Straits of San Juan de Fuca could we remember but one day like the one we had as we exited the Straits: smooth, calm and warmer than usual.  Out we went along with another sailing vessel named Manna who we made fast friends with and is anchored less than 100 yards from us now, a cruise ship lit up like a Christmas tree with disco music blaring and a stealthy aircraft carrier so dark I could hardly make out the bow and stern.

In this year we’ve traveled many a nautical mile, visited more places than we ever imagined, shared memories between each other like no other, scrutinized every little thing we each do given our close quarters, made friends we hope will last a lifetime even as tides take us to different places, marveled in the immense sea life beneath our floating home, bathed in the beauty of the warm tropical waters of the South Pacific, met local people who still live simple, ate unique foods we’d never heard or tried before, gained historical knowledge of countries outside the U.S., discovered alternative methods of communication as we didn’t speak the local language perfectly, confirmed that mother nature is strong and must be obeyed, not tamed or competed with, and learned that our planet is one, big connected home that we all must play a role in preserving.

We are ever thankful and grateful to so many friends and family members who have helped us make this trip possible.  We appreciate your love and support.  You are the primary reason we cannot stay so long – we miss you all and cannot wait to reconnect soon.

We are anchored in a serene anchorage in Tonga.  We snorkeled out at Swallows cave, along with a trek up into the dark part of the cave with enough bats and their guano for a while.  On the way back, we snorkeled a little reef nearby.  The sun was bright, so we could see really well.  Later as the sun set, I went beach combing with Julie from Manna on shore.  We found a ton of good shells.  I keep telling myself to stop gathering so many but each time there are new ones that I fall in love with that I must keep them for my collection.

For dinner I whipped up a delicious lentil and carrot soup that the kids loved, Dave not so much because it made him too hot.  Oh well, his cell phone got a taste of it when I accidentally grabbed something nearby and it plopped into the bowl.  Oops!  Thank goodness it still works.

We will be here for about another six weeks, before Anila must turn south bound towards New Zealand to avoid cyclone season.  While all us girls will hop a plane, Dave will stay in Tonga along with a crew to help him make the passage.

Tonight, I sign off with a huge virtual hug from us to you!

Posted on

The Elusive Coconut Crabs of Suwarrow Atoll

We were fortunate to be able to spend a week at Suwarrow Atoll, a Cook Islands National Park, in the northern Cooks. We had originally planned to sail south to Rarotonga, but the weather had other plans for us. Instead, we sailed west with most of other boats leaving French Polynesia in July. After checking out in Bora Bora, the last official port where you can do so, we made stops at Maupiti and Maupihaa to break up the over 600 nm trip. Our buddy boat Manna with Curtis and Julie had left a week earlier and were still there when we arrived, and other buddy boat Muskoka with Scott and Laurie followed a day behind us. As a National Park, Suwarrow has only a resident staff of two rangers from June to October. A boat drops them off with all the supplies they need for their entire stay and picks them back up at the end of the season. They get to choose their provisions, “except beer and wine,” laments John, assistant ranger. Along with head ranger Harry, they check in and out visiting boats, give tours of the tiny Anchorange Island, tell stories about Suwarrow, and enjoy the inevitable cruiser pot lucks on the beach for some different foods and their only source of beer and wine during their stay. The atoll has a long history. Discovered by Russians in 1814 and named after general Alexander Suvorov, it now bears his Anglocized name. Apparently, Robert Louis Stevenson visited in 1890, but as far as we can tell, the only treasure here is as many free coconuts as you can carry. Camille wowed the rangers with her quick and expert shucking shortly after we arrived. It takes a special touch to spear the husk on the strong shucking stick followed by just the right twist to pul it apart. The most famous resident of Suwarrow was New Zealander Tom Neal who lived on Anchorage Island on and off for 16 years from 1952 to 1977. There is a small statue/memorial to him on the island near the ranger’s quarters. He wrote a book about his experiences which we’ll have to track down and read. Despite the strange weather ofconstantly shifting winds accompanied by seemingly random periods of sun and rain, we had a great week in the atoll. Three more boats showed up the day after we arrived, bringing to total to 16, which is not uncommon in the summer. We had to hunt around a little to find a good anchorage spot due to coral reefs that drop off quickly, but our patience paid off. As in the Tuamotus, we had to attach floats to our anchor chain to prevent getting wrapped around multiple heads of coral, as did other boats who didn’t take this prudent precaution. Several boats had to reanchor after wrapping around multiple coral and one boat even broke a bow sprit. During our “busy” week, we had a potluck on the shore, a movie night with Muskoka, pizza and game night on shore, several snorkeling excursions, and hosted the three crew from boat Sea Casa for dinner the night before their departure for Pago Pago. Kyra, Camille, and kids from other boats enjoyed rounding up hermit crabs from the beach for crab races. They draw a large circle in the sand, everyone picks their crap and gingerly deposits them in the center. Then the excitement begins as we watch to see whose crab with be the first to leave the ring. Several always stay put in the center, much to the chagrin of their “handlers.” We had also heard of the coconut crabs who inhabit the islands. Once prized for their tasty meat, the are now protected on most South Pacific Islands, and Suwarrow is no exception. Ranger Harry explained that they can live to over 60 years old and grow very slowly. They are the largest land-based crabs and eat primarily coconuts and from time to time even climb the trees to claim their feast. Having not seen any in French Polynesia, we were naturally eager to see them. Harry explained that they like to hide out in the heat of the day and only usually come out at night or during rain storms. He invited the cruisers back after dark to show us. It was the same night as our pizza/gaming get-together on the beach. There’s a very nice setup with hammocks, a few tables, benches which the rangers and helpful cruisers nicely maintain. Just after dark, Harry and John came padding over with the largest coconut crab we’ll probably ever see. They’ve named him “George” and see him frequently around the ranger house. Visiting biologists estimated his age at 40 years old, not surprisingly dating him to just after Tom Neal left the island. I’ll bet ‘ole Tom ate a lot of coconut crab. Many others came scuttling out of the underbrush looking for food. They look a little menacing with the large front claws and long second set of legs, with which they’ll swipe at you with if you get too close, but like most crabs they’re shy and generally retreat when people approach. It’s great to see how these giant crabs have thrived with the National Park protection. With the weather window to Niue opening, it was nearly time for us to leave. One group of boats planned to head off to Pago Pago on American Samoa for either repairs or a stop on the way to Tonga. We’ve heard good things about Niue (pronounced “new way”) and have been eager to make it there. Manna and Muskoka also decided to head there. Based on the forecasts, we decided to leave on Friday, August 10th (after stocking up on 10 more coconuts for the voyage). The prevailing winds were forecast to be NE to NW, which makes for a good reach (wind on the side) straight to Niue. Since then we’ve seen several shifts, but as of Sunday afternoon we’re sailing along at 8 kts with 17 kts of wind. It’s supposed to die down in the evening, so we’ll see if we can keep sailing or will have to motor a bit. Niue is one of the smallest self-governing countries in the world, although New Zealand provides significant support for them. There are no harbors or even anchorages, so we’ll be staying on mooring floats generously provided by the Niue Yacht Club. With tourism one of the few small income generators on the island (the others being fishing and farming), they had to do something to make it possible for passing cruisers to visit. We’ll share more about this interesting island in an upcoming post.