11/15/2009, Paihia, New Zealand
Well, Scott and his dad are inching toward us, and though they had a couple of really slow and uncomfortable days with a variety of gear failures, it seems like the wind is finally cooperating. This is what he sent this morning:
"The westerly finally filled and we have 15 -25 from the beam and are moving along nicely. Yesterday the sailing was unbelievable as the wind gradually filled and we had 12 hours of screaming sailing in almost flat water. About 2 in the morning the waves started building, but we have fallen off a bit and it's a bit behind the beam, so livable but not particularly nice.
We have 159 miles to go as of 10:00 this morning, so if the wind were to hold we could potentially make it on Tuesday evening, it not we will slow down and come in on Wednesday morning. "
So while the three of us have enjoyed land life we are all ready to be home with Scott, and ready to start exploring the Bay of Islands.
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11/09/2009, Paihia, New Zealand
Well, it's been a while since I've written and after receiving a few requests for "my voice", here you go. Actually, if Scott weren't seasick in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, he'd probably be writing this, but as he is, and I am not (being on land) you get me.
Scott and his father left last Friday on their way to New Zealand and his email to me Sunday read: "We are doing great, the conditions are pretty awesome. We sailed in 10-12 knots from behind the beam all day yesterday and today are sailing in 8-10 from ahead but in smooth water with about a one meter sea. I am expecting it to stay very light and we are working our way west to pickup the forecast SW'ly." My first reaction was relief that conditions were so good. My second was that he must be lying to make me regret flying to NZ, and this impression stayed with me until I read his email today: "Most of the day, we skirted the edge of a frontal system with gigantic clouds so it was really rough, beating into 15 -20 knots with steep choppy 2 meter waves all day. We had three reefs in the main and the jib mostly furled and were just plowing into everything. Even dad thought that the boat was noisy and too rough to sleep on the settee. I felt gross and just lay in the cockpit and ate crackers for dinner. I was really happy that you were in NZ." Ok, I guess he wasn't lying in that first email after all. Anyhow, the good ship Whisper and crew are making their way toward us and will hopefully be here by early next week. As of Sunday they had about 750 miles to go, so they might have around 550 miles left.
The boys and I arrived in Auckland last Monday, leaving behind sunny Tongan skies and temperatures in the low 80s to arrive in clouds, rain and temperatures in the high 50s. We felt like we had arrived home, and were happy to put on our sweatshirts. We had one night in an airport hotel and we took full advantage of all the amenities. In the 20 hours that we had our room I took two baths and two showers, Finn had two baths and one shower and Timothy had one bath and two showers. I figure we used more water in those twenty hours than we've used on the boat all year, and it was glorious.
After a six hour bus ride, we are now in Paihia, a small tourist town in the Bay of Islands, staying in a rental apartment and still reveling in those things that we never thought twice about -- unlimited hot/cold water (icy cold, too), refrigerator, a big (though empty) bed, a tv, and a local grocery store that has everything we would want. We have really been enjoying the local food -- milk, wine, apples, cheese, ice cream, pears, kiwis, lettuce, wheat bread, broccoli, carrots, beer, tea, nuts, jam - and eating all of the things that we couldn't get for the last 6 months, or at least not consistently and inexpensively. The boys have been drinking almost one gallon of milk everyday (so much better than powdered milk mixed with warm water), and have finished four tubs of cream cheese in six days. I expect see some fat rolls on Timothy soon as he has been out-eating Finn, which is pretty impressive as Finn out-eats me.
We are enjoying New Zealand but have really only seen Paihia. Unfortunately there is no public transportation in NZ outside of the big cities, so that means that residents have to have a car and visitors either rent a car or hire taxis, neither of which my "birthday gift" budget can afford. I was disappointed, thinking that NZ was a little more progressive than the US in such ecological matters, though I suppose there just isn't the population here to support a bus system. Thus, we're hoofin' it all over town, and while it's very beautiful, I have a feeling it'll be much more beautiful from a boat's view. Yesterday we took a really nice hike and covered almost nine miles, after which we were completely exhausted. Tomorrow we hope to walk to the marina in Opua where Scott will check in next week and where some of our boating buddies are now. It's six miles to the marina, so we'll have to get a car back. I keep meaning to ask if it's safe to hitch-hike. That may be our saving grace.
So, we're well and sane(ish) and looking forward to being all together soon and we look forward to hearing from all of you. Cheers!
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11/03/2009, Tonga
Just a year ago, we were leaving San Diego headed for Mexico and the excitement and preparation feels familiar.
After a longer than anticipated, but uneventful upwind slog to Nuku'alofa we arrived and spent our last carefree tropical night for the foreseeable future anchored off a peaceful outer island. Once we moved the boat into the inner harbor, it has been non stop boat chores to get ready for the 1200 mile sail to New Zealand. The long list of miscellaneous but necessary tasks included topping off water, diesel, propane, laundry, swapping the headsail for a smaller sail, and all of the normal boat prep for a long trip.
Mary cashed in her best birthday present ever and flew to New Zealand with the boys two days ago. We had a bit of a fright this week when both the boys woke up covered with angry red bumps and the initial diagnosis was possible chicken pox. With all the screening for swine flue and infectious diseases, Mary was terrified that New Zealand heath officials would not allow them into the country when they arrived on the plane. Fortunately, Mary and both bumpy kids were successfully checked in and are now enjoying themselves in New Zealand.
I am done schlepping diesel and water jugs, cleaning up the boat, and am looking forward to Dad arriving tomorrow morning. All that is left is a half day of navigating Tongan Immigration and Customs, a market trip for fresh food, and then we can move the boat to a clean anchorage for a final scrub of the bottom. Despite heavy overcast and rain presently, there is a good weather window for the passage, and I am hoping to leave on Friday morning.
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10/25/2009, Tonga
Yesterday we had a very nice day-sail through the islands. Our goal was to find a nice overnight anchorage to prepare for jumping off to the next island group and the capital city of Nuku'alofa. We wove through the coral to a sandy spot on the windward side of a beautiful little island where the guide book described "lagoon like protection in all weather". I do not know where the author stayed, but this was the roughest anchorage since La Cruz with wind waves sweeping over the reefs in anything but the lowest tide. It was getting late in the afternoon and the next option was dead upwind, so we stayed for a bumpy but uneventful evening.
Mary has spent the morning baking and making lentil salad for dinner tonight. After lunch we will leave for the 100 mile trip to Nuku'alofa and hopefully will arrive around this time tomorrow.
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10/24/2009, Tonga
Another kid boat, Imagine, joined us off our private island and we had a fun filled day snorkeling and playing on the beach. Imagine has two boys and a girl all around the same ages as Timothy and Finn, and the kids had a blast together. While the kids played, we enjoyed a quiet couple of hours sitting on the sand and chatting in the shade of palm fronds. By late afternoon, the families migrated to Whisper where the kids created a Lego extravaganza, the women made cocktails, and the dads escaped to hunt and gather with the spear guns. Marc speared his first fish, an enormous brown and black cod, and after spending considerable time and effort to get it out of the hole in the coral it had retreated to, we returned victoriously to the boat just in time for a sunset and the tail end of happy hour.
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10/21/2009, Tonga
After a very enjoyable month in the Vava'u island group, we have moved southward into the Ha'apai islands. Leaving Vava'u at dusk we had a very easy overnight passage, arriving off Haano Island at first light. We were escorted in by two enormous humpbacks and a calf who surfaced within 25' of our stern and all breathed together. Though we had been watching them approach, it still gave us a fright to have them so close and so loud.
Visibility was poor with the low sun reflecting off the water and we ran smack into a huge coral head as we entered the anchorage. Ooops! We now have a big scuff on the leading edge of the keel with coral stuck to it and plenty of shaken nerves aboard, but fortunately no real damage. Everyone in the anchorage was up with their first cup of coffee so we were the morning entertainment. As soon as the light was better it was apparent where all the coral heads are, so I am sure that the anchored boats could see the impact coming long before we did. Depth went from 75' of water to less than 6' in a vertical cliff that is pretty obvious in good light, but we did not see it until it went under the bow. At least we were going very slowly.
We moved on to a picture perfect anchorage off one of the Tongan King's private islands. The island is pretty as a postcard with broad white beaches almost all the way around and the softest sand we have seen. Beach combing is amazing and we have collected a bucket of beautiful shells and several pet hermit crabs. Snorkeling and spear fishing continue to be great, though the water is quite cold at this point. The fish are getting smarter and more wary as we move south and I am scaring far more fish than I catch.
Last night I went on my first night dive with another cruiser, on a quest for "slipper lobsters". These are strange little prehistoric creatures that resemble a cross between an armored crab and a small lobster. First impression of night diving: very creepy, very cold and very dark! For several hours we swept the reefs with the underwater light until we spotted a green armored alien creeping along below us. Rene would hold the light on it and I would dive down and try and pin it to the reef with my hand before it blasted away with powerful flips of its tail. Once immobilized, I could get my hands around it, surface, and we would stuff it into the dive bag. The excitement and action kept me warm, and the comic sight of me swimming after the ones that tried to get away kept us laughing. We returned to the boat with an entire bag and they are happily living in a bucket in the cockpit awaiting lunch.
Today is overcast and windy and we are hunkered down doing school, catching up on chores, and looking forward to lunch.
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