Blue Heron
| Vessel Name: | Blue Heron |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Hallberg Rassy 43 |
| Hailing Port: | Delaware City, DE |
| Crew: | Bob & Eric Frantz |
| About: | Bob retired in January, 2011 from a career as an environmental attorney and manager, and Eric earned his Bachelor's Degree from The George Washington University in Washington, DC in December, 2010. They began their circumnavigation February 6, 2011. |
| Extra: | In the words of that great American author, Mark Twain, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” |
19 June 2012
The Blue Heron did it!
Today is the 500th day since we began our adventure around the world. We did it! We've completed our circumnavigation! We have not only crossed our wake but have passed the point from which we originally set sail on February 6, 2011. All that remains is to get us and the Blue Heron home. She has [...]
13 June 2012 | Fishing Bay Harbor Marina, Deltaville, VA
Waiting to get back on our way
We passed Little Creek Marina in Norfolk, VA during the middle of the night last night -- that's where our dream voyage began 16 months ago. We then made our way to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay where we were greeted with a howling hello in the form of 30+ knot winds on the nose. Making any headway was almost impossible so, we have diverted for safe harbor once more to wait for this weather system to pass. If anything, the North Atlantic lives up to it's reputation as being predictably unpredictable. Now, we wait (impatiently) for another weather window so that we can make our way home.
12 June 2012
Big Fish - take a look
Our steady progress and, generally, uneventful passage thusfar was punctuated with excitement yesterday afternoon when Eric called out, "I've got one!" He caught a White Marlin in the late afternoon. The fish fought hard and we had quite a time getting the fish on board. The fish measured 6'4" and [...]
09 June 2012
on our way north
This morning we left West Palm Beach at 8:15AM and are making our way north. We're hopeful that weather will be in our favor the entire final passage home -- we'll see. We've started with the benefit of both the gulf stream and favorable winds and are moving along at about 9 knots.
05 June 2012 | Cannonsport Marina, Palm Beach Shores, Florida
weather detour
We're stopping in Palm Beach for a day or so to wait out some weather due to come offshore from the Carolinas. Then we'll continue our northbound journey for home.
Tahiti
Papeete is a busy city and feels more like France than it does Polynesia. Checking in was a challenge, but we met some Australians on the city docks that gave us the name of an agent who took care of everything. We had to spend more than a few days on the boat doing work and managing contractors for minor repairs. Fortunately, we still managed to see much of the island.
We ran into some people we met in the Galapagos Islands and ended up joining them on a tour in a 4x4 into the interior of Tahiti. It is steep, wet, and loaded with waterfalls. Our lunch break consisted of swimming in a natural pool, which was awesome, but also freezing cold. The guide knew endless facts about the flora and fauna, but was probably a little too determined to make sure that we knew those same facts by the end of the tour.
There is a highway that circles the entire island, providing a great route for seeing what it has to offer. We rented a car one day and stopped at various sights, including a fair that was celebrating an around the island outrigger race. There was great music and food. I'm pretty sure we were the only English speakers there, so communication was difficult.
Our last night we went into Papeete and had dinner along the waterfront. Food trucks line up at a park there, and provide an amazing array of choices of food. The trucks, called roulottes, are often affiliated with the local restaurants and provide outstanding food at reasonable prices. We were with the same group that we joined for the 4-wheel drive tour, and met some other Australians cruisers as well.
We plan to head through the rest of the Society Islands, including Bora Bora, and then on to Niue.
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