Gung-ho Guests

At 72, my mother and stepdad are going strong.  There are not many at any age that would choose to live on a boat in small quarters with our boisterous family, put up with our toilets, take showers with minimal water, suffer through seasickness and practically live outside with plenty of shmutz, but Freda and Allan did – and with the greatest attitude to boot.  By the end of the trip, they were pretty much hopping from the dock to the dinghy and the dinghy onto the boat.  They impressed us all.

They tagged on a trip to see us after a whirlwind of a tour in New Zealand for 17 days (carrying pounds of supplies for us along the way, including my new computer and many of the kids’ school books), and yet arrived in Savusavu, on the island of Vanua Levu in Fiji fully refreshed. This, after a flight in a tiny plane which would have had me white knuckled.  Yet they got off the plane at Savusavu’s airport far more awake than we were after our long and weary passage from Tonga – we arrived only a day ahead of them. 

Our sightseeing plans with Freda and Allan at first seemed not to be going according to plan.  We had hoped to be able to sail them back to the international airport in Nadi, but the weather was not cooperating and we were unable to leave the anchorage in Savusavu for the first five of their 10 day visit – which meant that there would not be enough time to get them back to Nadi.  Once again, they approached the change in plans without missing a beat, booked a flight back to Nadi from Savusavu, and we continued with alternative plans.

In the meantime, we made numerous visits to the local market, which we loved.  My mother and I chatted up so many of the Indo-Fijian and Indigenous Fijian women who sell their produce, that these women willingly shared recipes for curries and other dishes.  We purchased bizarre foods like bitter melon and jackfruit, and learned how to make delicious dishes out of them.  

During those first few days, we also hired a car and driver and made our way across the island to the city of Lambasa, a major sugar cane producing center and resembling little India.  Along the way, we experienced first hand the lush jungle of the southern side of Vanua Levu in sharp contrast to the dry yellowed flatter grounds of the north side perfect for growing the sugar cane.The day tour found us caught up in rows of hundreds of trucks carrying sugar cane to the factory, a visit to a Hindu temple with a rock that supposedly grows and heals infertility (we were witness to a fascinating ceremony of thus far infertile women making offerings to the rock of fruits and coconut milk amidst an incense filled room covered in colorful garlands), a stroll through the town market, and a wonderful lunch at an ecolodge where all the food is grown on site. 

After the weather lifted somewhat, we raised anchor with our guests on board and headed 50 miles east to Fawn Harbor.  We have found that navigating the waters of Fiji have been our most challenging yet, given the numerous and sometimes uncharted reefs.  In the meantime, and with only slight bouts of seasickness, Freda and Allan marveled at the scenery and, if they had any clue that the repercussions of hitting one of these reefs would be treacherous, they never flinched. 

While anchored in Fawn Harbor, we went to shore at low tide which required us to wade through muddy mangroves – and as usual my mother and Allan found the humor in it and waded along with us laughing the entire way at how disgusting the whole thing was.  On shore we visited two villages, met plenty of locals including some adorable kids, and peeked into a women’s weaving circle.  My mother and Allan got to experience the giving of sevusevu as well (see Danielle’s last post).  They found this part of the visit as interesting as we did – making them such compatible travel mates.

For me, it’s always a treat to spend time with my mother, as her laughter is contagious and her way of viewing the world is always so positive. And of course you always know that your mother loves you no matter what.  Allan always brings fascinating stories of their travels, brilliant observations on every subject and loving welcome fatherly advice.    And we love that he likes being with us, even in such close quarters.  We feel blessed to have such wonderful grandparents for my kids, who love being with them so much – the kids were both a little melancholy after Bubbie and Zaida left.

And when we said goodbye, it was not only sad that they were leaving, but it was also bittersweet as these may be our last guests aboard WGD.  We now enter our final leg of the trip toward Australia. As for my mother and Allan, they arrived home safe and sound – and we are hoping to see them again in a couple of months – but on a different continent.

-Barb

Currently in Port Denarau, Viti Levu, Fiji 

Sevu Sevu

When you anchor in the waters of a small Fijian village, it is customary to do “Sevu Sevu”-the giving of Kava in return for permission to visit the town and use the waters.

Kava is a root that looks like twigs wrapped around each other.  It is ground into powder, seeped, and strained to make a brown, muddy, dirty tasting water-like drink that numbs and tingles your tongue.  The men drink it traditionally to socialize until about three in the morning.   It tastes really horrible so they guzzle each cup down in one gulp.

When you enter the village to do “Sevu Sevu”, someone will ask you if you are looking for the chief.  They will show you the way.  When you get there, you sit on the ground in a circle with him (sometimes accompanied by his wife and/or children).  You are not permitted to wear hats or sunglasses, are supposed to clap once when  the Kava is given and three times at the end of the ceremony.  The rules make it sound really strict, long, and sort of scary.  We’ve done two Sevu Sevus by now and they are about two to five minutes long.  The chief says a couple of words in Fijian, welcomes you to his village, and then you all go home.  One of the chiefs was wearing a hat and his two-year-old son was wearing one that said “Go Vodka” and we ended up talking about the rugby cup.

It really isn’t that bad.  It’s a great cultural experience and you generally get tours around the village and meet lots of locals.  But remember: DO follow the rules.  Even if the chief doesn’t follow them, try to make the best impression you can.

-Danielle

Viti Levu, Fiji

Where the Savusavu Market Leads

Who would think such a busy market would have peaceful laughing and chattering that leads you to surprising places? In Savusavu, Fiji, the market is full with excited Fijians and Indians wishing to sell produce to you at decent prices. The fresh smell of fruits and vegetables mixed with the dirt smell of kava make your mouth water. I’ve been to many markets but this one has the most interesting vibe and had the best outcome.

At the Savusavu market there is a very generous Indian woman named Suruj. My mum, dad, sister and I came back to her every time we went to the market, chatted and bought produce. She gave us recipes for curries and after the fourth day she invited us to her house for dinner. Thus the next day at around six o’clock we were picked up by her husband named Kishore and their youngest daughter named Akansa, four years of age.

Ten minutes later we were warmly welcomed into their home. To show our appreciation, we gave all of the girls, including Akansa, Poonam, nine years of age, and Pooja, ten years of age, art supplies. The boys, Kishore and Shivam, twelve years of age, got ‘WhatCha Gonna Do’ shirts along with a bottle of wine, and Suruj got lotion.

After about fifteen minutes had passed, the headmaster or principal of the local school came by as well as some of Suruj’s and Kishore’s relatives. They had heard we were coming for dinner and they wanted to meet us. It made us feel very special.

We all went outside to pound kava shortly after everyone arrived. Kava is a root you gnaw (or guzzle after it is pounded and mixed with water) which numbs your tongue. Kishore’s younger brother put the kava root into a hollow stump. Then he took a five foot metal pole and pulverized the kava. Once the kava was somewhat fine, we took it to the kitchen and ran it under water through a t-shirt and into a bowl to filter out the pieces. Voilà! You have developed kava, or as they call it, ‘grog’.

All the men had grog. They drank and drank even while my mum, sister and I ate dinner. We ate with our right hand because the custom in India is to wipe after you go to the bathroom with your left hand. I’m not sure why, but only my family ate along with the kids, but no one else ate while we did.

At about ten o’clock we said thank you and we headed back to the boat. We went to bed thinking happy, exciting and amazing thoughts as we all dozed off. I never thought a market could bring such a great experience.

 

-Harrison in Fiji

Highlights of Tonga

Tonga prides itself on many things, including being the only South Pacific country never to have been colonized by a foreign entity.  It is also the first place on this planet to reach tomorrow.  It certainly has a different feel to it than all the other Polynesian spots we've been to so far, but I'm not quite sure if it's because of those factoids, the mix of ex-pats in the Vava'u islands, or because it is run by absentee royals and nobles (many of who live in the Bay Area). 

Unfortunately, we had only a short 10 days in Tonga (Kingdom of) and therefore only had enough time to cruise the Vava'u group of islands in the north, completely skipping both the Ha'apai group and the Tongatapu group with the capital Nuku'alofa.  We loved the fact that Vava'u's numerous anchorages were numbered rather than named - who can pronounce those places, anyhow?? Unlike anywhere we've been in Polynesia so far, this is a true cruising ground, where you can hang out in one spot for most of the day and still have time to make it to the next anchorage in just a couple of hours.  The area is beautiful and the cruising is fabulous. 

On the main island of Vava'u, the town of Neiafu seems to be a similar to what Cabo may have been 20 years ago - quiet, a few bars that can get quite lively at night, a few restaurants, but mostly locals.  It's still considered an out of the way destination for Kiwis and Aussies who are the most common tourists here.  We loved it.

If ever in Vava'u, here are the not-to-be-missed activities:

1. Swimming with Humpback Whales.  While this activity was pricier than we what we've stuck to as a rule (remember that we are not on a one week vacation - this is our life so must keep to a budget) and at first felt more touristy than we like to experience, our friends John and Hinano in Rarotonga convinced us that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  We were not disappointed, and in fact this will likely go down in our never to be forgotten memories. You don't actually 'swim' with the whales, but rather snorkel around them (or them around you). 

2. Jason's Cultural Bike Tour.  We headed out for 4 hours on bikes through the backroads of Vava'u, visiting a women's weaving circle, a local farm, an archeological site (that needed much love), lunch at a local family's home, and a school.  We got a great sense of the local flavor by heading through villages that we otherwise wouldn't have gotten to, especially because Jason as our guide speaks Tongan (which not many expats do). And because Jason speaks Tongan, he was able to teach us a lot about the flavor of Tongan society.  We learned so much about life in Tonga and the Tongan people along the way from little tidbits that Jason shared with us.  It was thrilling to learn that Jason, who is originally from the Bay Area, is an alumni of Camp Tawonga, which Danielle and Harrison went to. We enjoyed his company so much that he joined us for Friday night dinner too.

3. Wednesday night at Tongan Bob's.  Throughout Polynesia there is an age-old practice in which a family without enough girls chooses one of its sons to help with the women's work.  These boys grow up dressing like women, and at some point around puberty can choose to continue living like women. If they do so, they conitnue as a normal part of everyday life, at the grocery store, or serving you at a restaurant.  As you can imagine, the missionaries tried and tried to do away with this practice, but clearly were not successful.  On Wednesday night in Vava'u, some of these men, donned in the sexiest of outfits, put on a show at Tongan Bob's.  It's quite a site.

4.  Snorkeling the coral gardens near Anchorage 16.  We had to swim over a reef (sometimes in only 2 feet of water) and over the breaking waves to get to it, but the coral was spectacular, not to mention the fish.

5. Mariner's Cave.  Thankfully we were able to visit this cave with our whale watching guide, as the entrance is under water (although it is now marked with bright pink paint on the rock wall just above the entrance).  It was a little nerve racking swimming the 15 feet under about 3 feet of water to get inside, but once there, it was beautiful.  It's a large cave with light coming in from under the water.  Mist forms for a few seconds inside, dissipates, and then forms all over again.

6.  Surprise visits with friends.  When we arrived, we found our friends aboard s/v Imagine were still here and had some great times with them - David took the kids skurfing through the anchorage, we had a fun night of karaoking and wii'ing (rock band no less), and a bonfire dinner on the beach.  Then, Piko and Britannia pulled into Neiafu when we hadn't expected to see them again after departing Rarotonga.  I wrote about that in my last blog.

I'll have to post photos another time as I'm running out of time.

-Barb

Written about 100 miles form Savusavu, Vitia Levu, Fiji - but must keep out here for another day and a half as checking in on a weekend costs more than triple overtime...

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At 9/3/2011 13:32 (utc) our position was 17°29.84'S 179°45.72'W

Why so silent?

You may wonder why, at times, we blog daily and then at other times you don't hear from us for what seems like weeks.  The answer is simple. Internet. Technology.  Frustration.  Aaargh. I promise never to complain about internet in Mexico ever again.  We never knew how good we had it.

Don't get me wrong.  A large goal for this trip was to get unplugged.  But I'm not sure we really wanted to be that disconnected.  Internet in the South Pacific has been challenging to put it mildly, even with a booster.  Uploading photos for us is a chore because it's been so slow - and that's when we've had it. Or our computer batteries die and it's not time to charge our machines.  And let's face it, Michael's 'jobs' aboard Whatcha Gonna Do have him taking over the internet whenever I might have a moment to get online.  When I don't have internet, I don't have email addresses either.

And then my computer died.  The good news is that my computer died just in time to have my mother and stepdad bring me a new one, and they all arrived two days ago.  We are now loading up the computer with all the software and files we need.  In the meantime, Michael started having problems with his computer.  That means no computer available for use at all.  Imagine that.  I had a blog ready to go on his computer setting out the highlights of Tonga but now it's gone, so you'll have to bear with me as I catch up.

I am now sitting in an internet cafe in Savusavu Fiji, paying for internet at a strange terminal in which the Shift key gets stuck.  But I'm connecting and feeling great about it.  I am silent no more.

-Barb

Coffee Time on WGD

Who would have thought that Coffee Time aboard Whatcha Gonna Do would be so much fun?

At one time, Michael and I were trying to avoid coffee, trying to stay away from acquiring a physical addiction. Our friends aboard Britannia, Amanda and Krister, convinced us we've been looking at it all wrong. Coffee is a great pick-me-up in the morning, they said, and there's nothing wrong with having a cup or two in the a.m. Besides, coffee contains anti-oxidants.

And so we partake.

Two of my most memorable days of this trip involve Coffee Time with Piko and Britannia aboard WGD. The first was back in Taha'a in French Polynesia, when, on a rainy day (our biggest non-stop downpour to date), the Laurens and Krister/Amanda came over at 10 a.m. for what was supposed to be a cup of hot coffee. We added baguettes and French cheeses, and as time went on, we made a large pot of lentil soup. The party ended at 5 p.m. We watched back-to-back movies about global warming (An Inconvenient Truth together with The Great Global Warming Swindle) and followed that with a heated debate about whether in fact our oceans are melting and the the world as we know it is coming to an end. We're still not sure.

Two days ago, being the day we left Tonga, was the second such get-together. Piko and Britannia came over for a hot cuppa and crepes (with carmelized onions and cheese, or bananas and chocolate, no less!). This time the conversation centered around what we are all going to 'do' once we get back to real life. It was quite personal, emotional, intense and amazing all at the same time as we focused on each one of us individually to talk about our dreams and our fears. The party ended at 3:30 - only because we had to finish up the provisioning before heading out on our passage. This may in fact be our last get-together for quite some time as Piko and Britannia are heading to New Zealand from Tonga in a few weeks, while we continue heading west for Australia. We've vowed to rendez-vous again when we are all on the same continent for some more extended 'chillaxing' together. The Pikos and the Britannias are like family.

Friendships are grown fast and intensely when you buddy boat, reminiscent of my childhood camp days. There's lots of love and laughter, sharing of ideas, dreams, boat parts, skills and food, to name just a few. And of course coffee.

Coffee is a beautiful thing.

-Barb
En route Tonga to Fiji
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At 9/2/2011 13:39 (utc) our position was 17°53.33'S 177°45.96'W

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So long Tonga...

We just left Tonga late this afternoon en route for Savusavu Fiji by way of the Lekamba Passage. We hope to be in Fiji by Monday morning (Sunday in North America) in time for Barb's mom and step dad to arrive and spend about 10 days with us. We were originally going to leave tomorrow but due to light winds over the next few days and then strong winds building we decided to leave a day early to be sure we get to Fiji in time for our guests. Plus, not that we are superstitious, there is a big superstition about departing on a sailing voyage on a Friday. So it all made sense to leave a day earlier. We said final farewells to our great friends on Piko and Britannia who we have buddy boated with since leaving Mexico. They will be spending about three weeks in Tonga before heading to Fiji and then on to New Zealand while we head to Australia.

We had a great time in Tonga. The highlight had to be swimming with humpback whales. Yes, we went on an outing with had us get into the water with these giant animals. We had the spectacular fortune of swimming with both a mom and her calf. The calf was very inquisitive and would swim up to and around us. At times these whales were no more then 10 feet away. This was truly a "bucket list" activity. There are only, I believe, three places in the world where you are able to swim with these animals and Tonga is one of them. People fly in from all over the world to spend a week out experiencing swimming with these giant animals. Pictures to follow.

That's it for now.

Michael
enroute to Fiji
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At 9/1/2011 08:14 (utc) our position was 18°33.38'S 174°26.23'W

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Ha’akoka

A couple of days ago, the four of us went on a cultural bike tour the took us, among other places, to a school called Ha’akoka.  It was a public primary school that served three villages.  We had bought supplies for Tonga when we were in Mexico and presented them to the fourth grade students.  We’d heard that Tonga didn’t have  enough money to supply for the schools, so we’d decided to help.

The school contained three well-kept two-room buildings on well-manicured grounds.  We went into the fourth grade classroom, a room with a couple tables surrounded by benches with a backboard up front.  The kids were sitting at the tables.  We walked in introduced ourselves, and emptied our bags.  We unloaded about 30 notebooks, 75 pencils, 50 pencil sharpeners,and a ton of colored gel pens.  We also had a full math curriculum and some reading books. You could see the kids’ faces light up with excitement as they saw al the supplies.  It made us feel like we were changing their lives.

Since the kids were just stating to learn English, we helped them with their letters and talked to them.  In math they were learning number sequences, so we taught them the Fibonacci Sequence.  We also helped them practice multiplication and subtraction.

I really enjoyed going to the school.  I liked helping the kids and making their schooling easier.     It was a really nice experience and I’m glad we got the chance to help the Tongans out.

-Danielle in Neiafu, Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga

The Dangerous Middle and the International Date Line

We recently finished the passage between Rarotonga in the Cook Islands and Vava’u in Tonga.  They call this stretch The Dangerous Middle.  The weather is unpredictable and you could go to sleep in flat calm seas and wake up to a wave that rolls you to the other side of the bed and tilts the boat onto a 45 degree angle.  Seven days of this.  The Pacific crossing was bliss compared to this one.  Horrible, with a capital ‘H’.

Along with the sea state came the complete restlessness.  I don’t know why, but unlike the other passages, we were all going out of our minds.  We played all the card games we knew, countless games of Mexican Train, and read so much that the words got blurry (literally).  We even cracked open our card game book for the first time and learned that the English is completely unreadable.

The one interesting part of the journey was crossing the International Date Line.  Our weekend got condensed down to one day because Sunday started at 6:00.  Because Harrison and I split our dish-washing chores between breakfast/lunch and dinner, Harrison was on dishes all day!

Now that we’ve arrived safely in Tonga, the passage was all worth it.  The dark waters and cloudy skies may sound depressing, but against the bright green landscape, it all looks gorgeous.

We've Arrived in Tonga!

We got to Tonga Monday morning (which is actually most peoples' Sunday). We are safely and comfortably anchored in Vava'u. More on this country later.

Michael
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At 8/23/2011 09:03 (utc) our position was 18°39.53'S 173°58.87'W

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The Beginning of Time

We crossed the international dateline this afternoon at 172.5 degrees West and in an instant, today became tomorrow, from Saturday August 20 to Sunday August 21. Quite an interesting concept. And notwithstanding our loving threats, Danielle is relieved that it didn't occur on her birthday which is now only a day away.

We are expecting to make landfall on Vava'u in Tonga in the morning. It will be just over 7 days (or 8 if you count the day we left behind today) and except for an 18 hour period early in the passage of rough seas and high winds, it's been a relatively nice sail - and nothing has broken (unless you count my computer which completely died beyond Michael's patient saving on the first day). Several other boats have not been so lucky: a lost rudder, an engine that won't start, a lost shroud. Things breaking on a boat are inevitable, and we've been quite lucky with only needing minor repairs. This boat has been taking care of us for nearly two years now and I am grateful. She's been more than our home. Whatcha Gonna Do protects us as we go. It will be bittersweet when she's sold.

I've always loved passages, but for the first time I have been feeling a bit bored. Okay, really I've been feeling stir crazy. I finished 3 and a half books and can't read another thing. We've played all the games we have (I'm still the reigning champion of Mexican Train). I've done so many sudokus and logic games that my mind is mush. Our art projects have been depleted. We don't have enough battery power to watch movies or work on the photo albums (electronic photos) which are on Michael's computer, and now that we've lost my computer to computer heaven, we don't want to overwork Michael's as it contains all the electronic charts that we need for navigation. In the meantime, my watch schedule has me sleeping for most of the morning daylight, so I have only from about 11 a.m. until after dinner with M and the kids. I'm still taking the midnight to 5 or 6 a.m. shift.

-Barb in tomorrow
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At 8/21/2011 13:24 (utc) our position was 18°24.20'S 173°11.81'W

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Raro Friends

They say that people and not places make good memories, and our time in Rarotonga, Cook Islands is no exception.

First we met Ron McKenzie, who did some mechanical work on our engine and generously opened his home to us and introduced us to his family. Ron is from Australia but has lived in Rarotonga for nearly 25 years now. Michael spent a day at his home catching up on the internet and they generously gifted us dozens of passion fruit and paw-paw.

We rented scooters one day to tour the island, the highlight of which was stopping into the Maire Nui Gardens, an oasis of 7 acres of spectacular tropical gardens in Titikaveka on the south east corner of the island. There we met Hinano and John, who run the gardens and the cafe (where we had dinner one night - incredible food with the world's greatest cheesecake - lemon meringue - and not to be missed!). Hinano and John became our hosts for the remainder of our stay, loaning us their truck, and allowing us use of their home for beachfront access for a day of relaxing by the sea (the most spectacular beach on the island with amazing coral to snorkel - they rent out a home/haven right next door: check out heliconiahideaway.com).

The two of them are fascinating people. John breeds race horses and owns a winery back in his native Australia. He met Hinano 30 years ago on a visit to the island, and then came back 8 years ago when he married her (I'm always a sucker for great love stories!). Hinano is the 16th generation descendant of the original Cook Islands natives, the coming together of Samoan and Marquesan royal families who decided to rule the island together to maintain peace. Today, the 'ariki' or chiefs of the ruling families still maintain power and act as advisors to the elected government. The chiefdoms continue to be handed down to the first-born, whether male or female. Hinano's grandmother was the Big Chief, so to speak, and lived in the palace, which Hinano allowed us to tour. The palace is an unpretentious large two story home with a wraparound porch surrounded by acres of gorgeous land, a marae (ancient ceremonial grounds) in the back, and a cemetery where we visited her grandparents' graves. The palace is private property but while the house is locked up now, we visited the grounds, got to peak in the windows and see all the furniture as well which looks like it was closed up many years ago. There is currently a dispute as to who will take over from Hinano's grandmother: The grandmother's eldest daughter has been living in NZ since she was 12 when she went there for high school, while the people prefer the next daughter (Hinano's mother) since she has lived in Rarotonga her whole life and is more in touch with the people. If Hinano's mother does indeed legally get the authority, then Hinano could become Big Chief after her mom (Hinano's older sister has been in NZ since she was 12 as well). We were fascinated to learn first hand about the culture and politics of the Cook Islands from Hinano and John - and marvelled at the fact that we have become friends with real live royalty! Besides, they are great people and we spent some great times with them. And they surprised Michael and me for our birthdays when they brought their famous cheesecake as the birthday cake for our potluck dinner to share with Britannia, Piko,and Ron/Gina.

Two additional interesting facts about Raro: Landholding is handed down by families, which may account for the fact that there is no real poverty on the island. And families bury their loved ones right on their property - a comforting thought to have your loved ones, even dead loved ones, close by.

-Barb
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At 8/19/2011 13:22 (utc) our position was 19°34.75'S 168°09.05'W

Cook Islands to Tonga - Random News on Day 4

Our paw-paws are going mushy. Paw-paws, otherwise known as papayas in the Cook Islands, were gifted to us back in Rarotonga, 400 miles ago, by our local friends Ron and Gina who grow them in their yard. So far, I've made two large pickle-sized jars of paw-paw chutney, and I'll make some paw-paw jam. I've cut up nearly 8 of them to freeze for smoothies, and yet I still have more. The back of the boat is covering with paw-paw slop as they went soft - we've had them hanging in a fruit hammock but have had to bring them all in. We are open to suggestions for paw-paw recipes.

These 400 miles started out relatively pleasantly until about 18 hours ago. The winds picked up a great deal, clocking around from SW to NW with 25-28 knots of sustained winds right on our nose with confused seas and waves up to about 15 feet. A squall came through about 6 a.m., 18 miles wide, when we saw sustained winds of 35 knots for a period, and gusts up to 45 knots. Needless to say, it's been quite uncomfortable and the kids and I are feeling the effects of seasickness (Michael never gets seasick, but given that he hasn't slept much, he's not feeling too energetic either). We have been sailing with a triple reefed main sail and our jib was nearly completely furled in, and still it's been a bumpy ride. We just pulled out our jib and shaken out a reef now that the winds are down again to 12-15 knots and the seas have calmed down somewhat, but it looks like we may have lost our window to stop at Beveridge Reef. Beveridge Reef, officially part of Niue (pronounced New-ee) but really in the middle of nowhere, is completely submerged and surrounded by depths of about 13,000 feet. However, with our smaller sails we slowed right down and now may not have the time to experience it. Such is the itinerary of a sailor. We are doing our best to have made landfall in Tonga by August 23, Danielle's birthday, as she is very averse to being underway for her birthday. Plus we loose a day by crossing the international date line.

We received news yesterday from our daily Single Sideband radio net check-in that s/v Riri was lost in the Cook Islands at Palmerston Atoll the day before when the mooring ball they were tied to broke loose and landed the boat on a reef with four large gaping holes in its hull. The crew are all fine and they have managed to salvage much of their equipment but the boat itself is lost. This type of incident sends shock waves through the South Pacific cruising community, as one can imagine. It reminds us that anything can happen at any time, and that we must always be vigilant - even when relying on mechanisms like a mooring ball that are supposed to be permanent fixtures. Who knows if Riri had backed down on the mooring ball once tied to it as one is supposed to do to ensure it will hold in high winds; and who knows if they kept an anchor alarm on at all times to detect abnormal boat movement. These two actions are always recommended for moorings as well as anchorages, but even if Riri had checked them off, it's possible the episode occurred while they were off the boat and wouldn't have heard the alarm. We're waiting to get more information.

Be sure to download the August 2011 edition of Latitude 38 magazine (the monthly magazine and not the weekly electronic version 'Lectronic Latitude). It contains pictures of the Tahiti-Moorea Rendez-Vous, Danielle on our boat, Michael and his outrigger canoe team, and details of the canoe race upset. In addition there is a beautiful shot of s/v Piko (our good friends) and a great article about our friends Amanda and Krister on s/v Britannia. We'd love it if someone in the Bay Area could pick up a hard copy or two from West Marine for us too.

Finally, it's official. Our boat is up for sale. We had For Sale signs printed up in Rarotonga and affixed them to our boat just as we pulled out of the harbor. Too bad there's not much traffic out here in the middle of the ocean! Our plan is to sell the boat, hopefully before even reaching Australia, do some land touring of Oz and fly home at the end of December to have the kids begin school after the holidays.

Next blog post: Our Raro friends.

-Barb
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At 8/18/2011 11:47 (utc) our position was 20°24.48'S 166°25.34'W

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On Our Way to Tonga

Well, we left Rarotonga in the Cook Islands early yesterday (Monday) morning, just after the sun rose and are enroute to Tonga with a possible stop at Beverage Reef. We waived farewell to our great friends on Brittania and Piko (who we have buddy boated with since Mexico) and motored out of the harbor. Because of light winds, we ended up motoring for the first 24 hours, something that we have not had to do since leaving Mexico...in fact, lunch was rice and beans so with the motor running we felt (briefly) like we were back in Mexico!

We had an awesome time in Rarotonga. We met some great locals ... Ron (a mechanic), his wife Gina and their daughter Rongina. They shared a ton of fresh fruit with us including some of the most delicious passion fruit we have ever eaten. They also went with us on the awesome cross island hike which takes one across the island and to the "needle", a peak with spectacular views of the island. We also met John and Hinano who own the Hidden Spirit Cafe & Grill located in Maire Nui Tropical Gardens (which Hinano has grown for the last 15 or so years). They too were awesome people who lent us their pickup truck for about 4-5 days so that we could get around the island. Barb will write more about both in a later blog. Needless to say, if you need a great mechanic Ron is your guy. If you are looking for an awesome meal, Hidden Spirit is the place to go.

Barb and I also celebrated our birthdays in Raro. We had a great potluck party on the wharf Sunday night with Brittania and Piko and our new local friends. They brought some great local dishes as well as the best meringue cheese cake we've ever had! It was a fun night and was great sharing it with these friends.

And also, thank you for all the facebook and email best wishes from everyone. Unfortunatley, with no internet access and limited email it is very difficult to respond to those wishes directly, but know we loved getting them!

Best,

Michael
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At 8/17/2011 05:07 (utc) our position was 20°24.20'S 163°50.57'W

Cook Islands stopover

We arrived safe and sound in Rarotonga (or 'Raro' as the locals call it - something like Scooby Doo saying hullo) yesterday morning to a crowd of on-lookers observing our first attempt at med-mooring (when you back into a wall, dropping your anchor 3 boat lengths from where you want to end up, and then using two stern lines tied to the wall to keep you from moving). Danielle and Harrison were in the dinghy working the stern lines, a couple of people were on the wall tying them on, I was working the anchor and Michael was maneuvering the boat. Quite a production.

The current cruisers' information has been encouraging cruisers to skip Raro altogether given the steep exit fees ($50 per person) and mooring costs (about $3 per meter per night for a multihull) plus the fact that produce and meat is confiscated and they fumigate your boat. While the exit and tie-up fees still hold true, the rest does not. We were boarded only by the immigration official who likely would have preferred to conduct his business on land (but he had no choice as Harrison picked him up in the dinghy). The health inspector only asked if we had bugs on board and if anyone had been sick, while the customs guy simply asked us not to bring any fruits or veggies off the boat. I've carried an aloe plant and a basil plant all the way from Mexico and so far both are doing fine. Because there are so many cruisers avoiding the place, we are only one of 3 boats here on the island of 15,000 people.

On the other hand, there is a major harbor construction project going on, so it does get noisy during the day, and there is a lot of dust. While we haven't done any grocery shopping yet, we did stroll through a grocery store and found the prices to be slightly less than French Polynesia. I was pleased to find, however, that the restaurants are much more reasonable - we had a great Thai meal yesterday evening at Bamboo Jack's and I was grateful not to have to cook another meal after the 5 day passage.

So far, it's been well worth the stop. The beauty is similar to that of the Society Islands with gorgeous steep volcanic mountains covered in lush green vegetation. The culture is similar - laid back Polynesian hospitality and roots in the Marquesas Islands. It is interesting that Cook Islanders are the ancestors of New Zealand Maori, and their native language is similar to Maori. On the other hand, everything here seems that much more familiar as all is conducted in English - the Cook Islands are loosely associated with New Zealand although have an independent government for their internal affairs. That's not to say we understand it all: some of the heavy New Zealand accents seem like they have a Cockney edge to them.

We haven't found internet yet, so photos will have to wait - and we're not sure we'll find internet before we leave. We plan to be here about 4 days before our 8 day passage to Tonga.

-Barb
Avatiu Harbor in Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
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At 8/9/2011 06:36 (utc) our position was 21°12.28'S 159°47.10'W

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