Have got a bit behind with our blog and thought after receiving an email from some fellow yachties who are in Borneo and interested in following in our tracks through to New Zealand that I had better get cracking and finish it off.

The trip from Tarawa to Funafuti, Tuvalu was virtually uneventful with a mixture of sailing and motor sailing although predominantly the latter. It was a 735 mile trip taking us 6 days. We had predominantly E to SE winds generally in the 5-6 knot range and we finally dropped anchor in Funafuti just before 6pm on 1st November, 2011. En route Dave had another birthday, one of many he has had over the last few years while on a passage.

Tuvalu is a very narrow atoll and they were having a severe drought with serious water problems and both New Zealand and Australia had sent up desalinators to help relieve the situation.

We enjoyed Funafuti and met some really nice people, including some Kiwis who administer a Trust Fund in Tuvalu and come over twice a year - two of them had family that Fran & Dave knew well, with one having them in Te Kauwhata. Half of one day was taken up getting fuel and then doing our clearances. A NZ Hercules flew in two days before we left to pick up Army personal who were dismantling the desalinators the NZ Govt had provided. All their breadfruit, banana & coconut trees were dying with the lack of water. Air Pacific flies in on a Tuesday and Thursday from Fiji so saw all that happening.