Pursuit

"He was a wise man who invented beer"-Plato

Vessel Name: Pursuit
Vessel Make/Model: Liberty 49
Hailing Port: Toronto, Canada
Crew: Gary and Tara
17 October 2012 | South China Sea
14 October 2012 | Kumai, Borneo
27 September 2012 | Bali, Indonesia
27 September 2012 | Bali Marina, Indonesia
03 August 2012 | Marlin Marina, Cairns, Australia
25 July 2012 | Cairns, Australia
26 May 2012 | Scarborough Marina, Queensland, Australia
22 October 2011 | Port Bundaberg Marina, Queensland, Australia
25 September 2011 | Port Vila, Efate, Vanuatu
21 August 2011 | Noumea, New Caledonia
07 August 2011 | Soso Village, Yasawas, Fiji
26 July 2011 | Yasawas, Fiji
25 June 2011 | Viani Bay, Fiji
06 June 2011 | Sixty miles south east of Fiji
28 May 2011 | South Pacific
12 May 2011 | Slip F27, Opua Marina, New Zealand
06 May 2011 | Slip F27, Opua Marina, New Zealand
26 April 2011 | Slip F27, Opua Marina, New Zealand
25 April 2011 | Slip F27, Opua Marina, New Zealand
12 April 2011 | Slip F27, Opua Marina, New Zealand
Recent Blog Posts
17 October 2012 | South China Sea

Back in the Northern Hemisphere!

Just a quick blog, because it's been a long time since we have been sailing in the northern hemisphere. We crossed the equator today en route to the island of Batam, Indonesia. It has been almost 3 years since we left the northern hemisphere (in the boat) and it felt great to cross back into it. I feel [...]

14 October 2012 | Kumai, Borneo

Person Of The Forest

The island of Bali was our introduction to the "other" side of Indonesia; the side with tourism, action, noise and [TRL: more] pollution. It was also the side of age-old culture. We rented a car and spent a few days driving around the island. We stopped in Ubud and watched the ceremonial Legong dance [...]

27 September 2012 | Bali, Indonesia

Incredible Indonesia!

We had a long sail up the coast of Australia to Thursday Island, where we finally cut the strings with Australia and jumped into another world. The winds were high and coming directly from astern but fortunately the seas were relatively calm due to the protection from the 2600 km long Great Barrier Reef, [...]

27 September 2012 | Bali Marina, Indonesia

Stowaway

We have spent the last two months sailing about 2,500 miles from Cairns, Australia to Bali, Indonesia at a pace far faster than we are generally used to [Gary will blog a bit more about our travels up until now so stay tuned]. We are now happily parked at the Bali International Marina (which sounds [...]

03 August 2012 | Marlin Marina, Cairns, Australia

Cairns…or Cans. Whatever.

Cairns (pronounced "cans") is certainly a great little city. It definitely is the launching point for the Great Barrier Reef and all the biggest, best and busiest reef tours anywhere on the coast. The city is built around tourists. They arrive to the marina early every morning (waking us up [...]

25 July 2012 | Cairns, Australia

Nothing Nice to Say

We have been moving up the northern Australia (Queensland) Coast from Brisbane. We've had terrible weather with mostly rain and lots of wind. Our moms taught us if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. So, there you go.

Beveridge Time!

22 September 2010 | Beveridge Reef, Pacific Ocean
Gary
After about 1000 nautical miles, and eight days at sea, we have arrived in Beveridge Reef. It is on the way to Tonga after all, so we decided to take a rest and have some beverages. After all, with a name like Beveridge Reef, it was totally made for us. I know the spelling isn't quite the same, but we're not picky. Any reason to drop the anchor and have a sundowner. The sail here was fantastic. Although at times I wasn't sure if I had a sailboat or a trawler. The winds were pretty light and the "Iron Jib" was called on quite a bit. I don't like using the engine, but I like bobbing in the middle of the ocean even less, so I decided to burn some diesel instead. Pursuit does hold 225 gallons, so there is a bit to spare. There was a fantastic moon out for the whole passage, with clear skies the whole time, other than the first night out when we got kicked in the ass a bit from a nasty little squall that blew through. Last night the moon was full and I sure could tell from the current and following seas. We were heading almost due west and the gravitational pull from the moon built great swells and had us surfing along down them. With the following seas and winds, we were hitting great speeds. It was awesome! Like riding a 50 foot surfboard. Sailing at night can sometimes feel a little eerie, especially when the weather is bad, the skies are black and the winds are howling, but sometimes, when the moon is full and the ocean is still, it is like totally tranquility. I sit in the cockpit on my watch and get almost mesmerized by the night sky. Especially when the moon is not quite up and the stars are all out. Talk about feeling so small in the universe. Ok, ok, I know, enough of the deep stuff, but it can be pretty cool.

We got to the pass at Beveridge Reef midday, so it was perfect to see the pass and coral reefs on each side easily with the sun overhead. These passes always make me stand up and pay attention. They are sometimes just a little cut with big trouble on either side, and in order to get into the lagoon you have to get it right. Miss the middle and you might have a bad day in a big hurry. The pass at this lagoon is fairly wide and there wasn't a big outgoing current, so it was fine. There is an eighty foot trawler that wrecked on the inside of the reef and is still here. It has been here for quite a while. The lagoon is about 5 miles across, so if tomorrow is fairly calm, we might check it out. Beveridge Reef is an interesting place. It is a submerged reef in the middle of the ocean and even at low tide, it is still just barely below the water all around. What a surprise to any seafarers not paying attention. It's crazy how these things are just in the middle of nowhere sometimes. After we set the anchor today, we dropped the dinghy in the water and did some snorkeling on the reef. The corals are still in rough shape from the typhoon back in '04, but they are starting to come back. It is incredible the damage that gets done from Mother Nature. We saw similar damage in Bora Bora also, but that was from a different typhoon.

Now that we are anchored, the winds have finally started to pick up, of course. I figure we will stay here for a couple of days before heading off to Niue, but for tonight, it will be good just to relax, barbeque a couple of thick steaks and enjoy a nice bottle of red wine from French Polynesia.

Gotta'go, it's time for a beveridge refill. (pun intended)
Comments
Pursuit's Photos - Main
Preparing Pursuit for storage and the trip home.
16 Photos
Created 24 March 2013
Cruising into Singapore and Malaysia
11 Photos
Created 24 March 2013
Cruising some of the 17,000 islands of Indonesia
116 Photos
Created 27 September 2012
Photos from Down Under
53 Photos
Created 3 August 2012
Some pics from our drive across the US on route to LA for the flight back to Australia
73 Photos
Created 27 April 2012
Various photos from our wedding in Niagara Falls, Canada
41 Photos
Created 27 April 2012
Where The Adventure Began!
118 Photos
Created 4 November 2011
New Caledonia cruising and road trip
47 Photos
Created 23 October 2011
Sailing through the islands of Vanuatu
103 Photos
Created 25 September 2011
Pictures from around the islands of Fiji
103 Photos
Created 16 July 2011
Things that have been done in New Zealand.
64 Photos
Created 12 April 2011
Cruising down the Pacific coast of Central America
50 Photos
Created 22 February 2011
Road trip west across Canada on the Trans-Canada Highway.
52 Photos
Created 22 February 2011
Road trip east to NFLD on the Trans-Canada Highway.
88 Photos
Created 22 February 2011
Road trip through the New Zealand South Island
107 Photos
Created 26 January 2011
Road trip through the New Zealand North Island
49 Photos
Created 19 January 2011
19 Photos
Created 20 October 2010
39 Photos
Created 5 October 2010
80 Photos | 2 Sub-Albums
Created 10 August 2010
29 Photos
Created 5 June 2010
20 Photos
Created 5 June 2010
34 Photos
Created 8 May 2010
40 Photos
Created 8 May 2010
32 Photos
Created 8 May 2010
45 Photos
Created 13 April 2010
41 Photos
Created 13 April 2010
106 Photos
Created 8 February 2010
22 Photos
Created 27 January 2010
22 Photos
Created 10 November 2009
22 Photos
Created 4 November 2009
Various pictures of Pursuit
29 Photos
Created 12 October 2009
Lots of work!
38 Photos
Created 4 October 2009
17 Photos
Created 4 October 2009
23 Photos
Created 12 September 2009
Cruising around the San Blas Islands
27 Photos
Created 12 September 2009
May 11th, 2009. Panama Canal transit
32 Photos
Created 12 September 2009