08/19/2009, 18 42.0'S:172 15.9'W, 140 miles WNW of Niue
Nope. How about:
The night was black, the wind tense and the seas annoyed. Our night ride to Vava'u was fast, in short following seas that snuck up on us in the darkness and sucker punched the boat, like getting unexpectedly bumped from behind on a crowded New York street. Winds were steady at 28-32 knots, so the boat in general and the rigging in particular were taut, making for a loud, stiff ride. No moon and a deeply overcast sky ensured we would see nothing around us other than the white froth of breaking waves behind us reflected in our white stern light. Sleep came only when we were so tired that the conditions no longer mattered and we fell into our sea berth without a care.
We arrived at daybreak and navigated the 10 mile passage inside the fjord-like confines of Neifu Island, listening to the morning VHF net, (including commercials!) to arrive at the customs dock, where, upon seeing our yellow quarantine flag, four officers from customs, immigration, health, and quarantine descended on the boat. It was just before lunch and we were aware of stories of cruisers being exploited by officials for extra fees. We were advised to have soft drinks ready, so upon introductions I offered a Coke to each, but upon searching the fridge, found none. Unfortunately Rina's late night tactics for staying awake included plenty of Coke, so we were at risk, especially as Mr. Health started talking about how it's lunch time and extra fees may apply. Uh-oh. we quickly rummaged through a cabinet to find some old Pepsi Max from Tahiti that Rina didn't like. Pepsi Max and ice distributed to each officer helped avert extra charges for checking in during Mr. Health' s lunch break and a little light bantering with officialdom helped move the process along. A couple of questions about fruits and vegetables, firearms and the meager contents of the liquor cabinet satisfied their urges, and after 45 minutes they all departed.
After a lunch of buffalo burgers and locally brewed Ikale beers at the Aquarium Cafι we secured a mooring ball and moved the boat to a ball near a grove of trees infested with birds and frogs, who's chorus awakened suddenly at dusk. Rina and I sat on the port coaming of the cockpit listening, and stared at the developing sunset for an hour, watching the clouds traverse the color spectrum from red through burgundy, bright copper, bronze and finally a deep brown before disappearing. The frogs joined a frenetic mating song punctuated by lilting bird calls we have not heard in the South Pacific until now.
The waters are now pond-calm, with bright reflections from the shoreside lights, the sounds of a local rugby team practicing, and dinghies slowly motoring to the many bayside restaurants. Over 75 mooring balls are populated by many of our cruising friends, whose company we will enjoy over the next 3 months in this sailing mecca. Meanwhile, a good night's sleep will be had, contemplating it all.
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08/18/2009, 18 42.0'S:172 15.9'W, 140 miles WNW of Niue
We skipped forward a day today, crossing the International Date Line between Niue and Tonga. A minute ago it was 15:08 on Tuesday, 18-August, now it is 15:09 on Wednesday, 19-August, going from GMT -11 to GMT +13. We're still 4 hours ahead of the west coast, just on a different day.
Otherwise, a pretty uneventful crossing so far. The seas are calmer out here than in the Niue anchorage our last night, so we slept well, sailing all night. Prevailing winds took us a little South overnight, so we motorsailed in light winds this morning to charge the batteries and get us further North. This will set us up for a nice beam reach as the winds move to an expected ENE later tonight. Rina and I are brushing up on Tonga and Vava'u, re-reading the cruising guides and etching the locations of previously uncharted reefs into our minds and chartplotters.
Day 1 Overview: - 140 miles covered in last 24 hours, 116 miles remaining to the anchorage in Neiafu Bay - 4-8 foot seas, much less than expected - 15 knot sustained winds, gusts to 23 - 5.8 knot average speed
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08/17/2009, Niue
Gallery has been updated with our pics from Niue...
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08/17/2009, Niue
Rina and I have enjoyed our week on the *very* relaxed island of Niue. We knew we were not in French Polynesia anymore when the customs office was in the same building as the duty free liquor, which they provide an allocation to cruisers upon arrival (one case of beer, 4 bottles of wine, or 2 liters of liquor per person, per week) and then allow unlimited purchase upon departure. The prices are refreshing after French Polynesia, at the grocery store, as well as duty free. There were exceptions of course... a quart jar of best food mayonnaise was $22.50 NZD.
We have been in good company, with Kalalau, Victory Cat, Brick House, Bagheera, Tender Spirit, Wayward Wind and Quiver from our travels in Bora Bora. We also met cruisers from Dosia, Crazy Diamond, Amikuk and others in this small community.
We day-tripped the island in a rental car with Dosia and Honeymoon, seeing the windward side of the island and climbed many a trail into limestone and coral caverns, got swamped with waves in caves, and had lunch 100 feet down a chasm near the shore.
Later in the week Rina and I decided to head to the only hotel on the island (24 rooms) for a rare night off the boat. It has been 8 months since we slept off the boat, and it's a good thing we did as the swell shifted to the South, keeping all the boats rocking back and forth all night. Nobody slept in the anchorage. Our remaining time on the island was filled with local sightseeing, reading, potlucks with Honeymoon and Dosia and just having fun.
Oh... the whales... did I mention the whales? Try sleeping with the whales talking to each other every night, or lazily making their way through the anchorage. We're talking huge humpback whales too. We'll be sitting in the cockpit or down below and hear a huge breath outside, look over the side and see whales not 10 feet from your bow. "They mostly come at night...mostly" (movie reference time) which is why we didn't get a ton of pictures of them, but by the end of the week we were all getting a chuckle about how blasΓ© we had become about the whales around us all the time. We need Donna to slap us back to our senses again!
Weather has been so-so lately, with overcast or significant cloud cover most days. Sunday was non-stop rain. While the air temp was still low 80's, the water temperature has plummeted from 80 to 72, so there's not much swimming or diving going with this fair weather crowd. Those that did dive took quite a while to get their temperatures back up, given the 3-mill suits they have been using.
We're off today to Vava'u, in the Tonga group to find some sun and a non-rolly anchorage. Short 250 mile, 40 hour passage in pretty benign conditions. We'll be hosting brother Phil and his wife Josie in late August. It'll be nice to have visitors again.
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08/11/2009, 19 03'S:169 55'W, Niue
Our last 18 hours into Niue was a fast ride, with 30 knot winds and big following seas. We must have learned something from our encounter with big weather on Day 2, as our ride was faster and less stressful on boat and crew. The only difference in the sailplan was more jib and less main, but it made a big difference.
We arrived at 7am, grabbed a mooring ball, enjoyed the calm seas in the lee of Niue, and promptly fell asleep for 4 hours. We awoke to a new sound which at first we could not identify. After ruling out new boat noises, we figured out that it was whales singing beneath our boat. Entering the cockpit we could see whales breaching in the near distance. Cool.
In the afternoon we checked in with customs and immigration, which was very relaxed and unofficial about the whole thing, then hung out at the Niue Yacht club with the crew of about 6 boats, most of which had just arrived, enjoying a steinlager or two.
This ends our daily updates for awhile. We're off to explore Niue with Honeymoon and Dosia and get some hiking in.
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08/09/2009, 19 26.9'S:168 13.6'W, 954 Miles WSW of Bora Bora
As the wind clocked around through the west to the southeast last night, squalls with gusts to 30 knots were frequent. Gene, our California-based weather router, called it. After a lull during the early morning, daylight brought very confused seas. a classic potato patch, which slapped us around, making sleeping difficult. Winds, squalls and seas have continued to build today and should peak tonight.
We were able to overhear boats conversing on VHF 16 from Beveridge Reef this morning, and they also had an uncomfortable night. They are all departing for Niue today to get out of the uncomfortable conditions.
We expect to make landfall at Niue around 07:00 and the mooring field by 9am. We are looking forward to a comfortable nights sleep.
Day 7 Overview: -140 miles covered in last 24 hours, 954 miles from Bora Bora, 93 to Niue -8/10 foot confused seas, 20-28 knot winds, gusts to 32 -5.8 knot average speed
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08/08/2009, 19 45.2'S:166 01.5'W, 827 Miles WSW of Bora Bora
We have had fun-filled 24 hours after Rina proclaimed "smooth following seas" yesterday. Late in the day the wind stiffened, creating "bumpy following seas", but no real problems. Overnight winds increased further, steady at 18-20 from the ENE, with gusts to 22, which allowed us to move west at 6-7 knots on a starboard tack with reefed main and jib. Winds moderated early in the morning, such that we gradually unfurled both main and jib. Then, this morning as the sun peaked over the eastern horizon, winds spiked quickly to 26 knots, overpowered the autopilot and spun us around broadside. Rina came up from below with cobbwebs still in her eyes and took the helm as I tried to tame the unruly sheets and sails. We turned the engine on, pointed ourselves into the wind, furled the jib and reefed the main to 50%, then fell back off on a broad reach. After gauging the conditions, we slowly let the jib out to 30% and were doing 5 knots in building seas.
We decided to keep her slow for awhile until we understood the changing conditions. As seas continued to build, we would get punched on the beam now and then, showering the coachtop with water. Rina went back down for a nap and about 30 minutes later, we fell off one of the big wind waves, healing the boat 25-30 degrees to port with a shuddering thud. Normally secure books and my jungle drummer wood carving dude went flying. Why? My theory is that by going too slow in these conditions, we open ourselves up to more rocking and action from waves. Instead, I want to increase boat speed to give us more lift, thus negating some of the effects of the wind waves. This counters Rina's "go slow" intuition. We agree to disagree, but "he or she who owns the watch owns the boat"; so as it was my watch, we slowly unfurled sail until moving smartly. Rocking was reduced measurably while Rina good-naturedly smirked at me. I decided to keep my celebration to myself.
Winds are going to clock backwards over the next 24 hours, shifting from their current north, to northwest, then southwest, before returning to normal southeast trades in a couple of days. They never get above 25 knots according to NOAA, but it will make for lots of sail trimming.
Day 6 Overview: -158 miles covered in last 24 hours, 827 miles from Bora Bora, 232 to Niue -6-8 foot seas, 10-22 knot winds, gusts to 26 -6.6 knot average speed -Currently on starboard tack heading south of Beveridge Reef, but will likely tack over as winds continue their transition west -Still might stop at Beveridge Reef on the way to Niue, but winds to 30 knots from the SE are predicted for later next week, in which case we may want to be safely moored at Niue rather than at exposed reef on the hook.
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08/07/2009, 19 21.2'S:163 31.2'W, 690 Miles WSW of Bora Bora
After having such exciting days & nights at sea again, I'm finally able to enjoy a smoother sleep and cook in a somewhat upright/straight position. This morning, we enjoyed a great home-style breakfast of fried potatoes and eggs. Also, making some pre-meals for the overnights has been the smart thing to do.SO, as some of you know me.I overcook (easy to do with only the two of us), so there's always something to eat on your watch! We mostly enjoy watching stars when the night skies are clear. Funny thing, I've been listening to old music that I found on my Ipod that wasn't in one of my playlists.fun stuff while at sea and in the quiet of the night. I've finished another book: "The Memory Keeper's Daughter", by Kim Edwards. It's a wonderful, heartbreaking, heart-revealing novel. I loved it. Starting a new book, with the recommendations of both Pep & Alyssa - "The Prodigal Summer", by Barbara Kingsolver.so far, it's GREAT! I totally understand why Pep reads this book every s ummer! Thanks for everyone's posts on our blog, it's really nice to hear from everyone. Enjoy your weekend. -Rina
Day 5 Overview: -151 miles covered in last 24 hours, 690 miles from Bora Bora, 366 to Niue -2-4 foot seas, 8-10 knot winds, gusts to 12 -6.3 knot average speed -Now tracking about 30 miles South of preferred course, winds died, so we are motoring to bring us back closer to the rhumb line. -Might stop at Beveredge Reef on the way to Niue, since it is now on the way. Reportedly lots of sea life and great snorkeling in this reef out in the middle of nowhere.
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08/06/2009, 18 29.2'S:161 10.2'W, 550 Miles WSW of Bora Bora
The old adage is true, after 3-4 days, your sea legs return, your broken sleep patterns become tolerable, and you find some semblance of equilibrium out here. Since the big blow a couple of days ago, we have been sailing along our predicted course +/- 10 degrees and making good speed. The weather looks steady for the next couple days, then calms down, hopefully bringing some flatter seas. We are riding 6-10 foot seas on our port stern quarter, sometimes making for a rocky ride. The best seat in the house is the converted settee (dining table) that is right at the center of the boat, and therefore has the least motion. Rigged with a proper lee cloth, it holds you tight even when you get punched by a wave on the side of the boat, which happens now and then. Rina and I hot bunk there, and it's a great feeling jumping into a warm bed at the end of your watch at 2am.especially as the weather has cooled a bit, 82 during the day and mid 70's at night, which is freezing, given our recent experience.
Rina and I celebrated our ships log hitting 10,000 miles last night with a bottle of wine, on an otherwise dry passage. Hard to believe we have put 6000 miles on the log in the last 9 months. Otherwise we spend our time reading, sleeping and looking out for 2 other boats (Kalalau and Wayward Wind) who are within 30 miles of us.
Day 4 Overview: -140 miles covered in last 24 hours, 550 miles from Bora Bora, 504 to Niue -6-10 foot seas, 15 knot sustained winds, gusts to 20 -5.8 knot average speed -Now tracking about 20 miles South of the rhumbline course on a beam reach, apparent winds 100-120 degrees to port
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08/05/2009, 17 38.4'S:158 26.9'W, 415 Miles WSW of Bora Bora
Sunrise broke today over clear skies and decreasing wind and seas. After 12 solid hours of high seas and winds yesterday, both decreased to fairly standard trade wind conditions. We are catching up on our sleep and making a nice dinner after nothing but tuna sandwiches and miso soup over the past 36 hours. It's even calm enough to read a book.
The boat held up very well in the extreme conditions. With lots of rain and big water on the decks, we found no new leaks, but reopened an old one at the mast compression post. Our watch schedule is 3 on, 3 off, unless one of us needs more or less sleep, in which add or subtract an hour to a shift.
Day 3 Overview: -154 miles covered in last 24 hours, 415 miles from Bora Bora, 635 to Niue -Sailing in 6-10 foot seas, 15 knot sustained winds, gusts to 20 -6.4 knot average speed -Now tracking about 11 miles North of the rhumbline course on a beam reach, apparent winds 90-120 degrees to port
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