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Exploring Fiji’s Southern Lau Group

The new starter motor for Aldabra’s diesel engine finally arrived from New Zealand on Wednesday afternoon, July 17. It was installed on Thursday morning. Jeff and I then went to town to do final provisioning. After we returned, Ray and Debbie from Thursday’s Child stopped by for a visit. After last-minute preparations, showers and checking out of the marina, we headed out of the marina and traveled about four miles to the anchorage in front of the Cousteau Resort. We anchored next to our friends Bjorn and Anneli on MaricX. They came over for a nice visit and some sundowners. After sunset, we said our farewells because we’re headed in different directions and may not see each other unless I visit Sweden or they visit the U.S. It was a windy night in that anchorage but all was well.

The next morning, we pulled up our anchor shortly after 6:00 a.m. and headed out of the bay, pointing the boat toward the island of Namuka in the southern Lau Group. For several hours, we were close hauled with more wind than predicted. The waves weren’t huge but they certainly weren’t helping us. Eventually, the wind shifted so that we were traveling on a reach, at first a close reach and later a slightly broad reach. The passage took a little more than 28 hours.

We had some issues on the passage. First, we realized early on that the autopilot wasn’t working properly. It engaged, but would not hold its course. Jeff eventually figured out that he could keep the autopilot on track for periods of time if he assisted the wheel by hand. I wasn’t very successful with that technique. I resorted to hand-steering a lot, but even that seemed off, as if there were too much play in the steering. I was quite frustrated during the passage because I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.

At another point, we started the motor but there was a vapor lock and no raw water was going into the motor. Because of that, the impeller broke up. Jeff replaced the impeller and got the impeller bits out of the hose. He did this in a half hour and it would have taken me much longer to accomplish the task.

At another point during the passage, the anchor broke free from a hook that was securing it and it bounced off the bow of the boat a few times. It bent a stainless steel pipe that was installed in New Zealand, but it didn’t break the pipe and it didn’t damage the hull. I secured the anchor with an additional line and we had no more issues with it. While I was on the bow, a wave crashed down on top of me and flooded the anchor locker. It wasn’t the only time on the passage that I would have to change into dry clothes.

We arrived at Namuka behind Womble, who had left Taveuni nine hours after we left the Cousteau anchorage. (They are a fast catamaran.) With waypoints provided by Ian on RaLa, we successfully navigated the pass and dropped anchor in a beautiful bay. RaLa was already there and the three boats had the place all to ourselves. That afternoon the six of us hiked an hour through the jungle to the village. There we presented packages of kava root to the chief. He made a traditional speech in Fijian, which welcomed us to their island and gave us permission to explore.

Katrina Ibbotson took this image of us walking to the village in Namuka

Dale Ibbotson took this photo of us in Namuka. Aldabra is the boat in the middle.

After hiking back to anchorage, we all went back to our respective boats. Jeff and I had lots of tidying up to do after the passage and we needed sleep after being awake most of the night before.

The next day, Dale and Katrina and Ian and Laura took their paddleboards, and Jeff and I took our kayaks to explore around the bay. We tried to go through a cut that led to some snorkeling but the current was so strong we couldn’t get out of the cut. We then found a spot inside the bay for some snorkeling. Later that day we all joined up on the beach for beers and a game that involved strategically knocking down wooden pins placed on the sand. Dale and Jeff did quite well. The others of us were more inconsistent.

Kayaking in Namuka, courtesy Katrina Ibbotson

Jeff kayaking, courtesy Katrina Ibbotson

On Monday, July 22, after consulting the weather predictions, we all pulled up anchor and sailed southeast about five hours to the island on Ogea. Once inside the pass, we sailed up to the entrance of a small bay that is rather shallow. Jeff and I anchored outside the bay while Womble and RaLa went in and got themselves situated. The anchorage was crowded with several catamarans and one monohull. RaLa touched bottom as they went in but got themselves anchored. We took the dinghy into the bay and did several soundings with the handheld depth sounder before having tea on RaLa. We left their boat around 5:30 with the intention of spending the night outside the bay. But as we approached Aldabra, the boat was rolling a lot, so we decided to pull up anchor and head in.

The tide had come up enough in the previous two hours that we didn’t hit bottom, although we probably only had inches below the keel at times. We dropped anchor with enough water under the keel and spent a reasonable night, although it was quite rolly. 

The next morning, several of the boats left and we moved deeper into the bay, closer to RaLa. By the end of the day, all the boats had left except for one, other than we three. We went to shore and hiked forty minutes through the jungle to the village. The walk was very nice and the people in the village were quite hospitable. The village has been subject to flooding from a rising sea for the last ten years, so they have installed cement culverts for drainage and elevated cement walkways to move around the village. We presented our kava roots to the son of the village chief for sevusevu. He and a few other villagers sat and talked with us for about a half hour. Then we followed Vuli, one of the villagers to a garden where he found a stalk of bananas that we could buy from him.

Getting ready for our walk to the village in Ogea

Jeff took this image of the village in Ogea

Dale Ibbotson took this shot of the boats in Ogea

Another shot from Dale Ibbotson in Ogea. Aldabra in the foreground. Very low tide.

After returning to the anchorage and having lunch, Jeff and I joined the others for paddling around the bay. Later we met up on the beach for sundowners, along with Terry and Brad from the one other boat, Ndebt. The night was calm and the anchorage wasn’t very rolly.

Today, Wednesday, July 24, we’ve enjoyed a quiet morning on the boat. Moderate winds are blowing so it’s not hot enough to drive me into the water. I’ve been studying my autopilot manual to figure out if there is anything I can do to fix it. So far I’m still mystified. On the bright side, I can see that Thomas on Saoirse has arrived in the Nawi Marina after a passage from New Zealand and Minerva Reef. He has onboard his boat some new autopilot parts for me. So there is a chance that the boats will rendezvous sometime in the near future and maybe Jeff and I can install those new parts, we’ll see.

July 23, 2024 by
Inland Travel, Passages

New Zealand to Fiji

As I’m sure I’ve mentioned, the passage to or from New Zealand is notorious, which is why we hired a professional weather router for the passage to New Zealand and now the passage away from New Zealand. Just as we were gearing up to leave after our first weather delay, our router convinced us to delay again. Hanging out on the boat in Opua was cold and we needed to keep ourselves entertained. On Saturday, May 11, Dale and Katrina on Womble took us on an outing over to the nearby town of Russell, where we followed a nice walk to a lookout and had a yummy pizza lunch in town. Later that afternoon, we had a rental car delivered to us at the marina.

Checking out the Bay of Islands from the lookout near Russell

From the lookout near Russell

Aldabra and Womble near Russell

One more Bay of Islands shot

On Sunday, May 12, Johno, Stephanie and I left early in the morning and drove north to Cape Reinga, the northernmost point in New Zealand. The drive there was entrancing as we motored through a giant pastoral setting of farmland, hills and forests. At the cape, we walked to the lighthouse and then took a track down to the beach and back.

The Lighthouse at Cape Reinga

At the lighthouse

We walked the track that led to this beach and then walked along the beach

We then drove south to the dunes on the west coast and slid down on a boogie board after hiking to the top of one of the dunes.

At The Dunes

Walking to the top of the dune

Johno at the top of a dune

Johno sliding down the dune

In the mid-afternoon we checked into an AirBnB in Pukenui and then walked a short distance to a restaurant for burgers. After lunch, we drove to 90-mile beach and took in the breathtaking sight of such a large expanse of wide, hard-packed sandy beach. We stayed almost to sunset before returning to the rental house.

90-Mile Beach

On Monday, we left Pukenui and found a breakfast place on the way. Then we drove to Kerikeri and went for a walk and had a late lunch at the Plough & Feather restaurant before returning to Opua.

On Tuesday, Alex and Yvette from Blue Beryl joined us and we took off in the car. Our goal was a glowworm cave, but it turned out to be a very expensive tour, so we ended up in Kerikeri, checking out hardware stores and second-hand shops and getting a bite to eat.

The next day, Johno and I stopped by Blue Beryl for a visit and met Finn and Talissa on Beluga. Then we set off to hike from Opua toward the town of Paihia.  The walk winds around the edge of the bay and it is quite nice. On the way back, we got stung by wasps. A woman and her dogs were right in front of us and must have disturbed a nest. Johno had what seemed like one sting on his ankle. I had what seemed like six or seven on my calves. The stings were pretty painful but we kept walking back to the boat and didn’t really treat them, although I think I took an antihistamine. (As the days progressed, it became clear that each wasp had stung us multiple times in each spot, so I probably had dozens of stings. Johno’s ankle ended up swelling so much it was hard to walk for a bit. And my stings just kept oozing and itching for many days.)

On Friday, May 17, Johno and Stephanie and I set off on another road trip. This time we drove west to the Kauri forest, where we saw two of the oldest, largest Kauri trees alive. The forest also had an abundance of smaller Kauri trees. A very nice ambassador, Henry, answered our questions about the trees and the other inhabitants of the forest. That night, we stayed in Hokianga, at the Sands Hotel, north of the Kauri forest. We had a lovely dinner and a nice breakfast the next day.

In front of the Kauri tree

Looking out from the hotel room in Hokianga

The next day, on a whim, we drove south again, much farther than expected, to the Kauri Museum, which provided a thorough collection of photographs and antiquities from the days of triumphantly logging Kauri and clearing the land for farming. We stayed for a few hours and then took the long drive back to Opua, arriving just before nightfall.

On Sunday, May 19, Johno and I drove to the farmer’s market in Paihia and then to Bunnings, where we broke down and bought a space heater for the boat. It was still just too cold.

On Monday and Tuesday, we bought a few groceries in Paihia before returning the rental car. Then we did final chores on the boat in preparation for departure.

On Wednesday, May 22, we checked out of the marina and then checked out of the country. Once checked out, you are instructed to leave immediately. So we returned to the boat, cast off the lines around 11:30 a.m. and set off for Minerva Reef. Blue Beryl and Beluga were right in front of us and Southern Star left a bit after us, as did Antinea. Womble and Yuva planned to depart the next day.

Leaving Opua with a double-reefed main and full jib, the winds were light and the seas pretty mild because we were still in the protection of the Bay of Islands. We were mindful that you can’t dilly dally on the passage north from New Zealand because weather systems change and you don’t want to be caught up in something unexpected. So we motor sailed several times in those light winds north from Opua. Once we were out of the protection of the bay, the sea state was very confused and the winds were out of the southwest at 12-18 knots, with squalls up to 25 knots.  Eventually the swells lined up more behind us and we made 145 nautical miles in the first 24 hours.

The sea state the next day was pretty similar to the first day. The winds were maybe a bit more consistent, but we were being pushed west from the rhumb line. We did our first three collections of water samples for our Citizens of the Sea project. Each time, we would drop the torpedo (which contained a filter) into the water and drag it for five minutes. Then we would retrieve the torpedo, put the filter in a vial, and repeat twice. We did that at 10:00 a.m. each day of the passage.

Johno doing our daily lab work for Citizens of the Sea

Waiting to retrieve the torpedo

Stephanie getting ready to remove the filter from the torpedo

Handing off the torpedo to the lab technician

On Friday, May 24, our 24-hour distance was 150 nautical miles. Winds were light and shifty in the morning and we mostly motored. Squalls brought the winds up to 29 knots a couple of times. Winds were more like 15-18 knots by late morning. The swells were big. We did get a wind shift that let us get back closer to the rhumb line. We played with the jib, furling it in a bit with high winds and letting it out in the calmer winds. By Friday night, the winds were a consistent 18-22 knots with 1-2 meter swells. We had lost AIS contact with the other boats. Antinea was ahead of us and Blue Beryl and Beluga were behind us. One tanker passed us going south. It was a clear night.

By early Saturday morning, the wind had dropped from the high teens to 13 knots with 2-3 meter swells. We often used the motor to compensate for our low speed in those swells. We logged 152 nautical miles for the previous 24 hours. By afternoon, the seas were building. In looking at the weather, we started doubting the stop in Minerva Reef. It was likely that we would be held up there for several days if we stopped. But if we turned toward Fiji, we would have a better sailing angle. So we altered course and headed directly to Fiji, against the advice of our weather router. That day we had a much better sail, on a broad reach with fresh winds of 15-24 knots. Womble had already made that decision and Southern Star would make the same call a few hours later. Later that night, the winds dropped to 5-7 knots and we motor sailed in light swells.

By Sunday morning, we were still motoring in light winds and light swells. During my 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. shift, we had to slow down to avoid a collision with Antinea, who crossed our bow on their way to Minerva. Also, the tiller pin for the autopilot sheared off, and I had to switch to the backup CPT autopilot. During the day, with light winds more from behind us and a continued swell, we shook out the second reef to have more sail area. Our distance for the previous 24 hours was 140 nautical miles. We put in a new tiller pin and began using the regular autopilot again. In the late afternoon, with really light winds, we put in the third reef and pulled the main in to motor downwind, with no jib. We pushed up the motor RPMs a bit, partly for variability and partly to reach a new waypoint (that John Martin had given us) by dawn on Tuesday. (Once we made the decision to head to Fiji, John began routing us so that we could lessen our exposure to high winds and convection closer to Fiji.)

In mid-afternoon, Johno got word from Dana on Thursday’s Child that they had gone up on a reef in the Southern Lau Group of Fiji, enroute from Minerva Reef. As their communication continued through the night, it was clear that they were in a very serious situation. Even though we were too far away to help them, I was really glad that we were headed to Fiji at that point instead of stuck in Minerva Reef. That night, we had light winds from every direction, a 1-meter swell, a clear night and a big moon.

Monday brought some cloudy weather. We continued to have light winds and slightly larger swells. The winds were coming from the west, which was good, but they weren’t strong enough for us to turn off the motor. We had sailed 139 miles in the previous 24 hours. The water was getting noticeably warmer.

On Tuesday morning, we reached our waypoint around dawn, then turned slightly to the right to head to our next waypoint. The tiller pin for the autopilot sheared off again, and this time we didn’t bother to replace it. We sailed with the CPT autopilot. During the early part of the morning, we were able to turn the engine off and sail with the main and jib. We had gone 157 nautical miles in the previous 24 hours. By evening, winds built to 18-22 knots. We sailed with the third reef in the main and the storm jib. We had 1-2 meter swells following with 1-meter wind waves on the beam. The night was partly cloudy, warm and humid.

Wednesday started out with 12-18 knot winds and 2-meter swells. The CPT was doing well but our speed was low due to the swells. By late morning, the winds and swells were building, with gusts to 28 knots. Johno started hand steering during his shifts. We had gone only 134 nautical miles in the previous 24 hours. During Wednesday night, the swells brought a lot of water into the cockpit. Johno continued to hand steer for each of his four-hour shifts and Stephanie and I would hand-steer two hours on/two hours off during the other eight hours. We would continue to hand steer for the last 33 hours of the passage.

Stephanie at the helm

By Thursday morning, we were getting close to Savusavu. We had gone 138 nautical miles during the previous 24 hours. Womble and Southern Star had arrived early in the morning. We continued motor sailing all day, slowly.  The weather was very rainy and cloudy and we had low visibility as we approached land and then made our way along a peninsula toward the marina. We approached the Nawi Marina at around 3:00 p.m.  A tender escorted us to the quarantine dock (as did Ian from RaLa in his tender). The officials checked us into the country between 4:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Then we were escorted to our berth. Johno hopped off the boat as soon as we were settled, to make his way to the AirBnB where Thursday’s Child had taken up residence. (They had been taken off the reef and brought to Savusavu by Second Set.) Stephanie and I went up to the restaurant and had dinner with Rhapsody and Pulsar and Second Set before getting a very good night’s sleep.

June 23, 2024 by
Passages

Passage to New Zealand

On Thursday, November 9, we (along with several boats) pulled up the anchor at 9:00 a.m. and headed to the pass to leave North Minerva Reef. Outside the pass, we put up our mainsail with two reefs and then unfurled the jib. On port tack, we aimed for a waypoint just west of South Minerva Reef. We were on a very close reach at first but later the wind came more from behind and we sailed on a beam reach. Once we passed South Minerva Reef, we aimed for a waypoint that our router, John Martin, had provided, which took us slightly west of the rhumb line to Opua, New Zealand.

This shows our track as we leave Minerva Reef

Day One was eventful from a boat-issues standpoint. First, the pin on the autopilot RAM sheared off and we lost the ability to steer with the autopilot. Johno hand-steered for an hour while Pat went down into the lazarette and replaced the pin. Next, a familiar groan associated with the rudder stock resumed. We had not had problems with it for some time. We opened the port and lubricated the area associsted with the groan. When we did that, we noticed that the four bolts that hold the stock were loose and there was a lot of play. We tightened those bolts.

The seas were big and the wind was in the high teens or low twenties, so the boat was heeled over and bouncing around. Dinner flew off the stove and ended up on the floor but I served it anyway. Later that night, the line that held the anchor in place snapped, and the anchor was riding about four feet below the bow, trying to crash into the boat with every wave. We ran forward to secure it.

For the first twenty-four hours of the passage, we logged 161 nautical miles, which is very good for Aldabra. That’s an average of 6.7 nautical miles per hour. On Friday, conditions stayed very much the same, big seas and ample wind. I had been sleeping on the port-side settee while we were heeled over and I must have put too much pressure on the table because the legs came out of their bases. Everything on the table went flying to the floor and everything under the table shifted from the port side to the center of the boat. While Pat was on watch, Johno helped me put the table right and reorganize everything, and then I tied things more securely. Rather than risk dislodging the table again, I started sleeping very comfortably on the starboard settee.

The bilge pump was going on regularly for seconds at a time. We were taking on water, most likely at the bow. It was not because of the anchor mishap, fortunately. We were taking on water through the anchor windlass opening and perhaps from underneath the bow roller. None of it was threatening the safety of the boat but it would need to be investigated in New Zealand. Coincidently, other boats around us were reporting water coming into their boats. This kind of passage is going to expose issues that might go undetected in more benign conditions.

Johno is rarely seen all bundled up but the passage was getting cold

Pat in his foulies

Bundled up

During the night on Friday, conditions intensified a bit. We had 25-30 knots of wind. It was wet and cold, with fish flying into the cockpit. Johno had to hand steer on his shift. Dinner ended up on the floor again but was still served. We also occasionally lost our GPS info for up to 20 minutes, which meant that we lost our position relative to the other boats on the water.

Johno’s shot of sunrise on Saturday morning

On Saturday morning, our mileage for the previous twenty-four hours was 159 nautical miles. It was a very windy day with very big waves. We continued sailing with a double-reefed main and a bit of jib pulled out. At one point, we were heeled over so much that the forward sink overflowed into the boat because water was being forced back into the boat from the thru hull.

Going into the evening, we were starting to sail more upwind. We slowed the boat down to manage for that wind angle and the big waves. At some point, we suspected that the anchor had come loose again. When we went to the bow to investigate, we noticed that the furling drum was bent forward because we had over-sheeted the jib. Afraid that we had damaged the forestay or the furling system, we furled the jib and sailed for the rest of the night with just the main. We also noticed that waves had broken two stanchions on the port side. We removed the full jerry cans of fuel from the stainless-steel rack on the port side, and secured them in the cockpit to take the stress off the broken railing.

On Sunday, November 12, the morning brought mellower conditions. We had sailed all night with no jib, but Johno had run the lines so that we could put up the storm jib. As soon as I woke up, we ran the spinnaker halyard up to the bow to back up the forestay. Then we hoisted the storm jib. The winds and the seas built during the day. We reached the intermediate waypoint that our router had provided, and started heading for a new waypoint that he thought would help us avoid an unfavorable current. It was slow going with the reefed main and the storm jib. During the previous twenty-four hours, our mileage was just 125 nautical miles.

On Monday, November 13, during my midnight to 4:00 a.m. shift, the winds were subsiding. I had to run the motor to keep us on our line to the waypoint and to keep us above 4 knots of boat speed. I would keep the motor in gear during light winds and put it into neutral when squalls would pass through and bring stronger winds. Our mileage for the previous twenty-four hours was 119 nautical miles. Later in the morning, we ran a new furling line for the regular jib and started using it instead of the storm jib. That helped our boat speed as we sailed all morning. In the afternoon, we motor sailed for several hours.

Sunset out on the water

Johno took this sunrise shot on Tuesday morning

Tuesday started out very mellow with lighter seas and winds. Then the winds and seas started to build. We started sailing on just the reefed main and no jib. It was another 119 mile day. The wind stayed strong all day and into the night. Eventually we tacked over to starboard. Slowly, as we got closer to New Zealand, the seas started to flatten a bit. We turned the motor on before midnight to stay on course.

On Wednesday, November 15, we got to the entrance of the bay at 3:30 a.m. After being in remote locations for so long, it was interesting to listen to all the radio traffic. There was one boat chiding a tanker because it failed to respond to a radio request when they were on a collision course. And then the maritime authorities of New Zealand managed a rescue, which kept me engaged for more than an hour. Johno took the helm at 4:00 a.m. and we continued through the harbor to Opua.

It took us about an hour and a half to get to the quarantine dock. We didn’t quite know where we were going so we ended up on the quarantine dock for superyachts. But the Customs and Biosecurity officials were fine with seeing us there. It took the better part of the day to check in, but we had a good experience with both sets of officials. Later that afternoon, after we were checked in, we took the boat into the marina, and Steve and Sharon from Szel helped us with our docklines. That night, we went to the Opua Cruising Club for drinks and dinner and met up with boat crews we had made the passage with as well as crews we hadn’t seen for some time. It was great fun.

The marina in Opua is very nice. On Thursday morning, Pat and I took advantage of their exceptional laundry facilities and did several loads of laundry, while Johno went for a hike. That evening, we returned to the Opua Cruising Club for another fun night of socializing with all the friends we had made over the last several weeks.

Johno took this on his hike in Opua

The next day, on Friday morning, we checked out of the marina and cast off our dock lines at 9:00 a.m. We motored out of the bay and then sailed downwind, with winds in the high teens, to the entrance of the bay that leads to Whangarei.

Sailing through the Bay of Islands

The scenery on the way south was gorgeous and we had a lovely sail, anchoring in Urquhart Bay just before dark, along with the sailboat Taku. We had a late dinner and slept well before pulling up anchor at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday to motor up the river to the marina in Whangarei. Midnight Breeze was right behind us and we went through the drawbridge together.

Aldabra going through the bridge opening on the way to the marina in Whangarei

After getting settled into our slip in Marina Whangarei, we took showers and then joined some other cruisers at The Judge restaurant in town. We had a very nice visit with Dale and Katrina on Womble, who we hadn’t seen since we were in the Tuamotus in August of 2022.

From Sunday until Wednesday morning, we worked on the boat during the day, getting ready to leave it for a few weeks. During the evenings we visited with cruiser friends, including Dale and Katrina on Womble, Richard and Caroline on Midnight Breeze and Jamie on Szel. Right before we left, we moved to another slip.

Our marina in New Zealand

Then, with our boat projects completed, we hopped on a bus for Auckland. Once there, we took a cab to a hotel at the airport, spent the night and caught our planes back to the States on Thursday afternoon. We arrived early on Thursday morning, just in time for Thanksgiving festivities.

November 28, 2023 by
Passages, Places

Passage to North Minerva Reef

On Wednesday, November 1, we sailed in nice conditions out of the pass on the western side of Tongatapu and then continued on course to North Minerva Reef in nice conditions until early afternoon. At about 2:00 p.m., the wind went light and shifted direction. We shook a reef out of the main and furled the jib so we could motor sail for a while and charge the batteries. About an hour later, the wind picked up and we shut off the motor and unfurled the jib. We put the second reef in the main. We sailed through most of the night with two reefs in the main and the jib partly furled. Johno unfurled the jib completely during his watch at 4:00 a.m. 

Night sailing on the way to Minerva Reef

On Thursday, Novembert 2, we continued sailing with good speed with a double-reefed main and a full jib. In the afternoon, we couldn’t hold our course, we were being pushed to the east. We jibed over and sailed for three hours before jibing back. At that point, we had a perfect angle for continuing on to Minerva Reef. After my shift ended at 4:00 p.m., Johno started hand steering and got the boat moving very fast. He clocked 10 knots of boat speed at one point and was having a great time sailing. At 8:00 p.m., Pat took over and we slowed the boat down for the night by furling the jib a bit. Later, we took the main down and just sailed with a reefed jib. When I came on watch at midnight, I calculated that we could go a bit faster and still get to Minerva after daybreak, so I unfurled the jib completely. My shift was uneventful except for hailing one boat that didn’t have AIS and was on a collision course with us. We sorted that out and sailed smoothly until arriving at the entrance to the reef. By that time, Johno was on watch and he furled the jib and took us in through the pass. We anchored on the northeast corner with Szel and Blue Beryl, Amae, Elixir, Blue Marine and Jollity. Midnight Breeze, Susimi and La Vida anchored on the southeast corner but joined us the next day. It was a windy day inside the reef.

Getting ready to enter the pass at Minerva Reef

Saturday, November 4 was a cold and gloomy and windy day. We went to lunch on Blue Beryl, enjoying Ota Iki and sashimi. That night we had lobster for dinner, which Alex had given to us.

On Sunday, many of us took our dinghies over to Pogeyan, and Richard escorted us outside the pass to snorkel what he calls the Blue Lagoon. Richard and Michelle have been coming to the Minerva Reefs for years and are very gracious hosts, showing all of us newcomers where to go. That night, we had a huge potluck on their boat. There were 38 people, having a great time visiting and eating.

Potluck on Pogeyan

We had thought that Monday, November 6 would be our day to head for New Zealand, but the weather routers postponed it. Instead, Johno and Max from Elixir and Isabela from Blue Beryl went lobster hunting and brought back ample lobster for dinner.

Successful lobster hunt

Johno and his lobster

They repeated the hunt the next day, taking lots of other cruisers with them. Again, we enjoyed a lobster dinner. Before their Tuesday hunt, most of the boats in the anchorage (we had now moved to the southeast corner because the wind had shifted) went in their dinghies with Richard to explore the reef while it was exposed by the low tide. We all stood around on the reef and visited, our first time walking in several days, and possibly our last time walking for a week.

Hanging out on the reef

Boats anchored at Minerva Reef

Boats anchored at Minerva Reef, taken from the top of the mast on Aldabra

We all had lots of conversations about when to leave, and even thought we would leave for New Zealand on Wednesday. But on Wednesday, the weather routers agreed that Thursday would be a better day. So Wednesday was spent on the boat, a very gloomy, windy, rainy day.

November 8, 2023 by
Passages, Places

Tongatapu

On Sunday, October 15, Johno and I arrived at daybreak at the entrance to the Phia Passage on the eastern side of Tongatapu. We took our sails down and motored quite a long way through the passage until we arrived at Pangaimotu island. Many cruising boats were anchored there and we joined the crowd.

Pangaimotu near Big Mama’s

The anchorage is in front of what was once Big Mama’s restaurant, before the Tsunami. Now Earl and Mama offer services to cruisers who anchor there. They will shuttle people a mile into town. They offer their BBQ, tables and chairs for cruisers to picnic. And they help out in many other ways.

That night, after we had afternoon naps, we joined many cruisers, included Blue Beryl, Szel and Second Set in a potluck BBQ at Big Mama’s. We met new people, including Kristel and Philipe on Amae, and remet people such as JB, Ana and baby Olivia. We had previously met JB and Ana in the Marquesas, before Olivia was born.

On Monday, October 16, Johno and I went to shore and joined up with Alex and Yvette from Blue Beryl on a walk to find the offices where we could check into the island group. We first went to the Port Authority office to pay the port fee. Then, we went to the Customs office across the street. There we got the paperwork that we would need for when we cleared out of the country. From there, we walked just over a mile to town. We checked out the public market and then had lunch at Friends Café, in the oldest building in the city.

Friends Cafe in NukuAlofa

After walking back to the dinghy, we motored the mile back to the anchorage. On Aldabra, we baked brownies that we took that night for a pizza dinner on Blue Beryl with Amae and Szel.

On Tuesday, October 17, we took 10 jerry cans and boarded Second Set for a ride to the wharf. Chip had permission to pull up to the wharf and, with the help of local “fixer” Olini, shuttle jerry cans of fuel from the gas station to the boat. We then syphoned fuel into Second Set and refilled the jerry cans to take back to Aldabra. Amae was there with us to do the same thing, and Jamie on Szel was there for moral support. We then all returned to the anchorage on Second Set and took our filled jerry cans back to our boats. Later that afternoon we had beers on Second Set with Chip and Kristina. It was really windy.

On Wednesday, it was still really windy so we stayed on the boat all day. That night, we had drinks and dinner on Szel with Jamie and Fiona, a delightful evening. Blue Beryl was on their own that night because Yvette was flying out early the next morning and the new crew, Fred and Isabela, were joining the boat.

On Thursday morning, we took our dinghy over to Szel and tied it on, joining Jamie and Fiona for a trip to the harbor. With much help from Johhno, we got Szel secure inside the harbor, anchored with a couple of lines to shore. Johno and I then took the dinghy to the dinghy dock and walked into town and had lunch at Friends Café. Jamie and Fiona joined us a bit later. From there, Fiona took a taxi to the airport to fly to Australia to see her son. And shortly after that, Jamie’s new crew, Steve and Sharon, arrived from the airport. While we were in Friends, we started meeting people. Karenza, whom we had met in Neiafu showed up on her way to the airport to go to Fiji to join a boat. We also met Uili Louisi, who runs a climate change NGO. Our trip back to the anchorage was very wet because the winds and seas continued to be whipped up.

On Friday, we stayed on the boat and did some projects. Johno cleaned a large portion of the boat bottom, which would need to be very clean before arriving in New Zealand. We then had drinks and appetizers on Yuva with Jim and Perry to celebrate Jim’s birthday. We had a lovely evening with them.

On Saturday, October 21, Johno and I took the dinghy back into town. We shopped and had lunch at Friends. We saw the folks from Traveller, Saorise, Amae and others. Jamie and Steve and Sharon from Szel joined us later. We walked the mile back to the dinghy with our provisions and stayed on the boat for a bit before returning to shore to pick up Pat, who was coming from the airport by taxi in the late afternoon. After Pat showed up, we helped Szel tie there lines at the wharf and then headed back to the boat so Pat could get settled in.

On Sunday, the day to be discreet if you are going to work on the boat, Johno and I worked on cleaning the boat bottom. I used one scuba tank to clean the keel and rudder and another to clean the prop and shaft. Johnno and Pat replaced a diode on the windass motor. That night, we joined other cruisers for a BBQ at Big Mama’s, which included, Amae, Sea Wind, Yuva, Taku, Midnight Breeze, Susimi, Pangea, Traveller Saorise and Tin Lizzy.

Looking out at the anchorage from Big Mama’s

Cruisers at the potluck

With Pat on the boat, we were ready to head to New Zealand, but the professional weather routers were telling us it wasn’t time yet. So along with the other boats, we waited. On Monday, we sewed new telltails on the mainsail and finished cleaning the boat bottom. On Tuesday, we stayed on the boat all day and made preparations for a passage. On Wednesday, we went to shore with two dive tanks to get filled and one propane tank. We were successful with the dive tanks but had to wait to get the propane tank filled. Next, we walked the mile to town so Pat could see it. We stopped at the post office so Johno could send a postcard and Pat could buy a stamp. We then had lunch at Friends before stopping by the market.

Shopping at the market

Walking with our grocerie along the waterfront

That evening, we had drinks on Szel with the Blue Beryl crew. Pat and I were home by 10:00 p.m. but the party itself went well into the night.

Party on Szel

From Thursday through Sunday, we just waited for the illusive weather window. We all found ways to amuse ourselves, some projects, some exploration, some reading.

On Monday morning, October 30, we got up early and went to shore to check out of the country. We started by walking to the fuel station to get a couple of jerry cans filled. And we went to a bakery we had just found out about. We bought all kinds of yummy things. Then we went back to the dinghy to drop off the jerry cans and got the propane tank to refill at Tonga Gas. Once that was taken care of, we went to Customs to check out of the country. That completed, we walked back to the bakery to buy more goodies and then went to Friends for one last smoothie. We bought a few last-minute provisions and then took a taxi to the dinghy. Once again, the ride back to the boat was choppy and windy and we got drenched.

Final lunch at Friends

On Tuesday, October 31, our weather window still had not materialized so we went back to town again to shop at the bakery and the market and the butchery. We had lunch at Friends and then returned to the boat. That night was very windy and one of the boats in the anchorage was dragging and about to hit another boat. Paul on Susimi alerted us by radio, and Johno and I got in the dinghy and woke up the dragging boat by pounding on their hull. They managed to get their boat moving forward just in time. We were never able to wake up the boat that was about to be hit.

On Wednesday, November 1, we were all set to leave the anchorage at the recommendation of our weather router. But it was super windy and we weren’t sure it was a wise decision. Szel left at 6:00 a.m. and reported adverse conditions outside of the pass. But by 10:00 a.m., the winds had abated and we pulled up anchor. Several other boats left around that time, Amae, Taku, Blue Beryl, Susimi and Midnight Breeze. Following a bit later were Elixir, La Vida, Blue Marine and Kaia.

Leaving Tongatapu

November 8, 2023 by
Passages, Places

Tonga’s Ha’apai Island Group

On Wednesday, October 11, Johno and I arrived at the Ha’apai group of the Tongan islands and were anchored in the Haano anchorage at about 4:00 p.m., after a couple of attempts to anchor. We saw whales on the way as well as once we were anchored. Sea Wind, with Lars and Suzane aboard, came in a short while later.

Looking from the boat to shore in the Haano anchorage

Looking from shore out to Aldabra and Sea Wind in the Haano anchorage

We had a quiet night in the anchorage. The next morning, we explored the beach and snorkeled on the nearby reef. On our way back to the boat, we stopped by Sea Wind to meet them. We had seen them in Neiafu but had not become acquainted. Later that day, Rowan and Jenny on Pole Pole joined us in the anchorage and we stopped by to meet them as well.

Johno’s shell find on the beach, two of the shells are homes to deadly creatures

On Friday morning, October 13, we pulled up anchor and motored to Pangai, the main village of this island group, to check in with Customs and Immigration. We anchored outside the harbor and took the dinghy in. We walked to the office and took care of the formalities. On the way back, we stopped at a couple of small stores before heading to the dinghy and back out to Aldabra. We pulled up anchor and motored to the anchorage near Tofanga Island. Johno explored on land while I hung out at the boat.

On Saturday morning, we both went to shore and walked around the larger of the islands in front of the boat. After returning to the boat, I went in the cold water for a bit and Johnno snorkeled around for a much longer time.

At noon, we pulled up the anchor to head to Nuku Alofa in the southern island group of Tongatapu. We had wanted to spend more time in the Ha’apai group, but when we looked at the weather coming up in the next several days, we realized that we would be late to pick up Pat in NukuAlofa if we didn’t start that day. We chose the midday timeframe because we wanted to clear the island group in the daylight. The winds were strong and favorable and we were out of the hazard zone by 5:30 p.m.  Because the winds were so strong, and we were going so fast, we realized that we would get to Tongatapu several hours too early. So, during the night, we  slowed the boat down to a snail’s pace so we would arrive at the pass after daylight.

November 7, 2023 by
Passages, Places

Passage to Tonga

On Tuesday, September 12, Blue Beryl and Aldabra motored out of the Suwarrow pass and around to the west side of the island before we turned and put up our sails. From that point on, we went 118 miles in 24 hours. Conditions slowed us down and we motorsailed.

On Wednesday, September 13, the seas were big and on the beam, with considerable wind. We had two reefs in the main and and the jib was furled partway in. The night was fairly mellow and comfortable. Thursday was an uncomfortable day but the night wasn’t too bad.

On Friday, we logged 135 miles for the previous 24 hours. At 4:00 p.m., we had 336 miles to go to the northen tip of the Vavau group, where we would turn a corner and head around in protected waters toward the pass into the island group. We sailed in big seas that day but we were pretty comfortable, 5-6 knots of boat speed in 14-17 knots of wind. We had a reasonable night and were able to stay on course.

Saturday wasn’t a bad day. We logged 126 miles in the previous 24 hours. The seas had abated a bit and the winds were in the low teens during the day.

On Sunday, we had logged 128 miles in the previous 24 hours. The winds and the seas started picking up. By midday, conditions were intensifying. We had an intense night, sailing with no main and a tiny bit of jib out. It was one of those uncomfortable sails that you just want to be over. We rounded the tip of Vavau at 5:00 a.m. on Monday morning. The seas were still big but within about 5 miles, the island started protecting us and the seas flattened out, evening with strong winds brought on by a cape effect.

Because we had just crossed the international dateline, Monday was now Tuesday for us. So it was on Tuesday, September 19, that we entered the pass, just behind Blue Beryl, who had slowed down and waited for us to go in with them. Both boats wound our way to Neiafu, the main town in the Vavau group. Several other boats were at the wharf waiting to check in because it had been a three-day weekend, so we each found a mooring ball, expecting to wait until the next day to check in. Kristina from the sailboat Second Set came over on her dinghy and helped us find a mooring ball. We were moored by 9:00 a.m.

Although we hadn’t checked in, we went ashore that afternoon to get money from the ATM and drop off our laundry at Bubbles. We looked inside a couple of the grocery stores, then stopped by the Basque Tavern for a beer, along with Alex from Blue Beryl.

That night we had a very nice dinner at Kraken with Blue Beryl and Szel to celebrate our arrival. The next day, we got up early and took Aldabra over to the wharf to check in. We stayed there for a few hours while we took care of the check-in formalities, picked up our laundry and got some fruit at the nearby outdoor market. Then we returned to the mooring ball, ready to begin our visit to Tonga.

October 31, 2023 by
Passages, Places

Passage to Suwarrow, Cook Islands

On Monday, September 4 at 10:00 a.m., we pulled up anchor at Penhryn Island and headed across the lagoon to the pass, exiting closely behind Szel and Blue Beryl. We all put up our sails and headed to the island of Suwarrow, also part of the Cook Islands. Although we were officially checked out of the Cook Islands, we had permission to stop over in Suwarrow, which is a national park, with just two rangers living there.

As we started out, the seas were bumpy and the winds were in the mid-teens, sometimes higher. We were making good time but the winds were moving from our beam to aft of the beam, putting us on a broad reach. At around 4:00 p.m., we put a second reef in the main and furled the jib in a bit. Blue Beryl sailed passed us right then. It was a bump night and none of us slept much.

On Tuesday, September 5, the seas were still bumpy, with 2-2.5 meter waves, and the winds were getting lighter. By noon, we had made a 138-mile day. We took the second reef out and wind started letting us point more directly to Suwarrow. We could still see both of the other boats on AIS.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the winds stayed light all day, aft of the beam. I took the reef out during my watch on Wednesday morning, but we ended up motoring the rest of the way to Suwarrow.

We got to the anchorage a little after noon on Thursday. John Blair from Ballyhoo stopped by to say hello. We then put the dinghy in the water and went ashore to check in with the rangers. Harry and Tana (my spelling). The process was easy because of our check-out in Penrhyn. We gave them a six-pack of Sprite and a six-pack of Coca Cola. We had heard that they were craving it so we bought some when we were still in Tahiti. To thank me, she gave me a grass broom she had made.

We had dinner that night on Aldabra with Blue Beryl. It was nice to be anchored in flat water.

There were quite a few boats in the Suwarrow anchorage, and the rangers told us that they had been so busy checking boats in and out that they had not had time to do their ranger work. So on Friday, we went ashore with some of the other cruisers and helped clean up an area between the beach and the rangers’ house. Later that evening, the rangers hosted us for a potluck with all the other cruisers. We had fish that Alex had caught and coconut crab that the ranger had caught. Other people brought tasty food and it was a nice evening.

Grilling coconut crab

The rangers, Harry and Tana (my spelling)

Tom enjoying the beach party

Alex grilling fish

The group of cruisers at the beach party

The next day, Saturday, September 9, we mostly stayed on the boat. I helped Tom patch a hole in the dinghy. Linda and Alex worked on sorting through and upgrading our fishing gear.

On Sunday, we transferred some fuel from jerry cans to the diesel tank. I tried to clean the boat bottom, but it was so bad I only got the waterline. I baked a cake and later we went and swam with manta rays on a nearby reef. That night we celebrated Yvette’s birthday on Blue Beryl, with Szel and Aldabra.

Alex and Jamie posing with the pizza Alex made for Yvette’s birthday

On Monday, Alex brought over 30 gallons of diesel fuel, to get us to Tonga if we  had to motor much. Tom fixed the location of the boom bales to improve our reefing system. Several boats left the anchorage, heading to either Fiji or Tonga.

Aldabra and Blue Beryl were the last two boats to leave the Suwarrow anchorage

Even though we had not been in Suwarrow long enough to explore this paradise, the winds were threatening to keep us there for more than a week unless we left right away. So on Tuesday, we went ashore to say goodbye to the rangers.

Saying farewell to the rangers

After we said goodbye. Linda and I walked to the other side of their motu, which faced the pass. We watched as Szel went through and took a few pictures of the island.

Szel heading toward the exit of the pass

I then baked some bread and cooked some sausages and we pulled up anchor around 2:00 p.m. Szel had already left in the morning and Blue Beryl left right before we did.

October 31, 2023 by
Passages, Places

Passage to Penryhn, Cook Islands

On Saturday, August 26, Blue Beryl left Bora Bora on a very windy morning, and Aldabra and Szel left about 1:30 p.m. We were headed to Penryhn Island, part of the northern Cook Islands group. Szel is a very fast SunDeer 64 and she left us in the dust immediately. Blue Beryl and Aldabra were pretty even at times, although Blue Beryl headed to the left of the rhumb line and Aldabra attempted a more direct course to the island. We passed them during the first night and then lost AIS signals for both Szel and Blue Beryl by morning. We kept up with the two boats on a What’sApp group chat.

At the beginning of the passage, the seas were lumpy and the winds were in the high teens. In our first 24 hours, we averaged about 5.5 knots.

On Sunday, the winds were down in the low teens and the seas were flattening out a bit. We were having a comfortable sail with speeds around 6 knots and sunny skies. We continued to have no sign of the other boats and we were starting to be pushed to the west.

By Monday, we were in a slow slog with light and shifty winds. We ran the motor several times when the winds got too light. That night, we had some good wind but it was coming from directly behind us, which is not favorable for Aldabra. With swept-back spreaders, we can’t let the main go far enough forward to optimize for downwind sailing. Thus, we carried on by sailing a little bit to the left of our course or a little bit to the right of our course.

On Tuesday, we had wind but still from behind. We decided to try to put up two jibs, one on each side, with the main down. Linda drove while Tom and I spent a couple of hours working on getting the spinnaker pole up and the boom out and each jib in place. Right as we completed the setup, the wind shifted and nearly died and we had to take everything down. We motored for a while with no sails. In the evening, we put the main back up but we were motoring with the sail slapping around.

Yvette sent us a picture as she celebrated her birthday underway

Wednesday was a frustrating day with lots of motoring. Finally on Thursday, August 31, we arrived at Penryhn and went through the pass in the late morning. There was a lot of current but we managed to navigate into the pass and then take the long way around, in the lane for larger boats, to arrive in the anchorage in front of the town. Szel was already there.

Almost immediately, a boat showed up with the local authorities for Customs and Health. After we filled out the paperwork and paid some fees, they left and the Biosecurity guy came onboard. We filled out something for him and paid his fee.

The anchorage was very windy and choppy and we stayed on the boat that night. Blue Beryl showed up later in the afternoon and came for a visit in the evening. The next day, we went ashore to continue the check-in process, but we also ended up checking out as well. Andrew, the Customs officer, checked us out of the Cook Islands, even though we would be staying in Penryhn for a few days and then going to Suwarrow. It simplified everything for us and would make our entrance into Tonga less complicated.

After we checked out, all three boats went over to the village on the far side of the atoll. Anchoring in the late afternoon. Aldabra and Szel stayed on our boats but Blue Beryl went to shore to a warm welcome by the villagers.

Aldabra in Penrhyn

Rainbow in Penrhyn, with Aldabra and Blue Beryl

The next morning, Alex, Yvette and Tom went to shore. Alex and Tom worked on a couple of motorcycles that hadn’t been running for ten years. They got them running. Yvette went with the wife of the pastor to her house so Yvette could do her laundry and have lunch.

Alex and Yvette riding a newly repaired motorcycle

Linda and I went to shore a bit later than the others. We first stopped by Szel and invited Fiona to join us, which she did. We got to shore and started walking around, not really seeing anyone. Fiona and I got separated from Linda and found the guys working on the motorcycles. Meanwhile Linda met a family and went to their house for a visit.

Once we all found each other again, we visited Yvette and the pastor’s wife, giving the pastor’s wife a bag full of gifts, mostly for the children. After returning to Aldabra, we found things on the boat that were needed by the family that Linda had befriended so we went back to shore to give them to them.

Dinner that night was on Szel. Jamie had caught a sailfish and he seared steaks for us. We also had rice, tuna sashimi, tomatoes with feta cheese, and brownies and ice cream for dessert. It was a very fun evening.

Fiona sent us this pictue after Jamie caught the sailfish

Dinner on Szel. Not everyone in the picture

On Sunday, September 3, we all put on whatever we had that was white. (Tom decided that he didn’t have anything suitable, so he opted to stay on the boat.) The rest of us went to shore in our all-white garb, stopping first at a house that had lots of hats. Some of the hats the women were wearing were not white enough, so they loaned them white hats. Then we proceeded to the church.

Tom took this picture of us getting ready to go to church in our whites

We went inside the church, which was very beautiful inside and sat down in the back. The women were practicing their singing from their seats in the pews. After a bit, Alex went outside and figured out that the children, in another building, were practicing their singing, and it was beautiful. So we all went over and listened until right before church was to start. We then went back to the church and sat in for the sermon. The pastor was very welcoming, said that we were now family, and blessed our journey.

Because of the strict rules about behavior on Sundays, we went back to our boats for the rest of the day. Alex and Yvette did go back to shore in the evening, after the restrictions were lifted, and had a very warm goodbye from the islanders. They also returned the visitor’s book that we all wrote in.

Photo we left in the Penrhyn village visitor’s book

On Monday, we didn’t end up going to shore to say goodbye. Instead, we prepared for the passage to Suwarrow. At 10:00 a.m., we started across the lagoon to exit the pass, shortly after Szel and Blue Beryl. We all put up sails and headed to Suwarrow.

October 31, 2023 by
Inland Travel, Passages, People, Places

Huahine/Raiatea/Tahaa/Bora Bora

As we sailed away from Tahiti on Friday, August 11, we weren’t sure where we were headed. We could sail over to Moorea and spend the night. Or we could do an overnight to Huahine. (Yes, we had checked out of French Polynesia, but we planned short visits under the radar to some of the other Society Islands. By checking out in Tahiti, we could have Tahiti Crew take care of the process.)

As we sailed in the vicinity of Moorea, we decided to just keep going to Huahine. The first hours of the passage were in 18-20 knot of wind and big seas. Conditions mellowed out during the second half of the trip.

On Saturday, August 12, we arrived in Huahine around 10:00 a.m.  We were lucky to find a free mooring ball in the anchorage near the pass and close to the town of Fare. Naps were the first order of business. Before that, Sarah and Bob from Rhapsody stopped by and we made plans for dinner. We went ashore around 4:00 p.m. and walked around before meeting Sarah and Bob for dinner at the Huahine Yacht Club. The cocktails and the food were good and it was a fun night. Rhapsody left the next day.

Linda and Trevor enjoying their welcome drinks

Tom took this picture from the Huahine Yacht Club

Huahine Anchorage

On Sunday, we had a lazy day on the boat. Trevor and Linda swam out to the entrance to the pass to see a whale. Blue Beryl came in and anchored near us. We barbequed steak on the boat and played cards that night.

On Monday, we went to shore and made arrangements to rent scooters on Wednesday. Dinner that night was on Blue Beryl. Tuesday was a holiday in French Polynesia and nothing was open. We stayed on the boat all day.

Dinner on Blue Beryl, Linda took the picture

On Wednesday, the crews of Blue Beryl and Aldabra rode scooters around the island. We rode for only three hours but it was a great way to see the whole island.

Sharing a coconut on the scooter ride

Trevor and Linda

Tom

Yvette and Alex

Stopping at a lookout

A view of another bay. That’s the cruise ship Wind Spirit

After lunch at the Huahine Yacht Club, we took the boats (Aldabra and Blue Beryl) halfway down the island to a different anchorage. It was a windy, rainy night and we did only a little bit of exploring the next day before picking up the anchor and going down to the anchorage at the end of the island. There were a lot of boats there. It was really windy. But Trevor and Alex got to kiteboard, and it made them very happy. After they were finished, we pulled up anchor again and went back to an anchorage near town.

Trevor enjoying a dinghy ride

We liked Huahine. The town of Fare had a nice vibe and it would have been easy to stay longer, but we had a lot of ground to cover and none of the crew had unlimited schedules. So, on Saturday, August 19, we left the anchorage at 7:00 a.m. and sailed to Raiatea. The winds were in the mid-teens and we sailed on a broad reach with just the jib. We arrived around noon and picked up a mooring ball across from town, got in the dinghy and headed across the channel to shore.

We got ice cream bars at the grocery store and started a bit of a search for motor oil for my next oil change. I should have bought it in Tahiti, but I forgot. The gas station was closed so we walked down to the operating base for Dream Yacht Charters to see if we could use the mooring ball we were already attached to. At the base, we were told we needed to provide a 6-pack of beer. So we walked back to the grocery store, bought the beer and then took the dinghy to the base. Once we presented the 6-pack to the base manager, we were told that they could no longer allow us to use the mooring ball. He told us that it was prohibited by local authorities. He got on the computer and showed me where we could anchor. I gave him the 6-pack anyway and headed back to the dinghy. We returned to the boat and headed north through the east channel and up to the east side of Tahaa to an anchorage on the reef. Blue Beryl joined us there, as did a few other boats.

On Sunday, we continued north on the east side Tahaa and rounded the island from east to west. Then we headed south down the west side of Tahaa to the Coral Gardens. It was quite windy but we found a decent place to anchor next to the reef. Blue Beryl arrived a bit later and we snorkeled the Coral Gardens in the afternoon.

The Coral Gardens are a small pass between two motus on the outside of Tahaa. You can walk up one motu and then slip into the water and follow the current through the coral. It is quite picturesque. I went down, then swam back against the current to go down again.

On Monday, August 21, Aldabra and Blue Beryl left Tahaa and sailed over to Bora Bora. We left at 7:00 a.m. and arrived in the early afternoon. It was a nice sail, with the spinnaker, until our spinnaker halyard broke and the spinnaker dropped into the water. We gathered it onto the boat and continued on in through the pass. After wandering around a bit, we attached ourselves to mooring balls in front of the Bora Bora Yacht Club.

Aldabra in Bora Bora

The sailboat Szel with Jamie and Fiona was also on a mooring near us. Linda and I took the dinghy over to see them for a visit. Later that evening Aldabra and Blue Beryl had drinks and dinner at the Yacht Club and Jamie and Fiona came later and sat at the table next to us. We chatted a bit before we left and they had their dinner.

Dinner at Bora Bora Yacht Clug: Alex, Tom. Trevor, me, Linda and Yvette

On Tuesday, August 22, Trevor went up the mast to retrieve the halyard that had frayed and broken.

Trevor up the mast

Then we followed Blue Beryl as we motored around to the back side of Bora Bora, through very narrow, shallow channels. Trevor drove and we picked our way through, sometimes within an inch of touching the bottom. In a catamaran, the trip would have been a breeze, but with a deep keel, it was quite nerve wracking. In the end, we arrived at a beautiful anchorage. We explored the motu on foot and in the water, and had a dinner party that night with Blue Beryl on Aldabra.

Crusing around the island

The next day, we had a swimming race between the two boats. Alex represented Blue Beryl and Trevor represented Aldabra. Trevor was handicapped in two ways. He was wearing his snorkeling mask instead of swim goggles. And he was wearing his swim trunks. Alex, with no swim trunks and with swim goggles beat Trevor by a small margin. But they were both completely spent.

After the race, Aldabra headed back around the island, following our track from the day before. After picking up a mooring ball in front of the Yacht Club, we took the dinghy to town to find out about a ferry for Trevor to get to the airport. After sorting that all out, we found a restaurant for lunch and a gas station to buy motor oil. Then we went back to the boat so Trevor could pack. Linda took him back to town later that afternoon so he could take the ferry to catch his flight back to Tahiti. He then spent the night in the Tahiti airport and caught a flight the next morning to San Francisco. (Once home, Trevor began his job search and rather quickly landed a job in his field.)

We had a quiet night on the boat. Then on Thursday, Tom and I went to shore early to hand over our laundry to Julie, a very nice woman who picked it up in her car. Back at the boat, we did some cleaning and reorganizing, along with paperwork to enter the Cook Islands. We had dinner that night at the Bora Bora Yacht Club and retrieved our laundry from Julie while we were there. We also took showers there and dropped off our trash.

On Friday, August 25, Linda and I took the dinghy into town to fill up a jerry can with gasoline and buy 2-stroke oil and some groceries. It was a windy day and we spent the rest of it on the boat, stowing things and otherwise getting ready for a passage. Alex came over and inspected the rigging and gave me a report on areas of concern.

At his suggestion, we connected the inner forestay and the starboard running backstay. We pulled the port running backstay back to a car on the rail because it was getting chafed on the spreader. It was a very windy and rainy night and we stayed on the boat.

On Saturday, August 26, Jamie of Szel and Alex and Yvette of Blue Beryl came over for a weather meeting. We all decided to leave that day for Penryhn Island in the Cook Islands. We were now saying goodbye to French Polynesia.

October 29, 2023 by