The Breath of Passagemaking

So many sailors cringe at the thought of overnight passages. Anxiety takes over them days before in anticipation of boredom, monotony, loss of freedom, imprisonment. Not me. I look forward to passages - and the longer the better. Sure, lack of sleep (we take turns being on watch 24/7) is a form of torture, but after a few days, one gets used to the routine.

And it's the routine that I embrace. Call me crazy. Back on land, living the 'normal' life, I would often plan for stepping out of routine, knowing that without the effort I'll be way too complacent in my life. Cruising on a boat, however, has me living out of my comfort zone, on the edge, so much so that it overshadows any routine we create. In fact, cruising feels much more like a life of constant challenge than I ever imagined.

Several years ago, I completed an exercise listing my top 'values' (states of being that I must have in my life in order to feel at the top of my game, fulfilled, living my best self) and one of those was "Order/routine with spurts of adventure and newness". Hmmmm. Without the passages, my life looks a lot more like "adventure and newness with spurts of order/routine". With a full house (or shall I say boat), I have little time while cruising to sit back and just breathe. Breathing is necessary to regroup, take stock, recharge. Without it, I'm just plain hyperventilating.

I often liken passagemaking to being stuck at home during a snow storm. It places your life on pause. All appointments are canceled. You eat what you've got in the house. You hang out with your family. You can clean out your closet. You can nap during the day. The whole world slows down. It's peaceful. It gives you time to think. What's next? What's been working and what hasn't?

Plus passagemaking allows me to do what I do well: organize. Sounds rather order-like, no? Are you getting it? (or as our friends Krister and Amanda say: Are you smelling what I'm stepping in?) You see, there's a lot out here that I don't do well: sailing still hasn't become second nature to me (although I'm getting better!), homeschooling is less than stellar (we have only a couple more months to go!), housekeeping is, well, a chore, and I don't have my work that I love and that keeps me fulfilled. But passages, if they are to go smoothly, require lists. And lists I'm good at. I create lists of watch schedules, lists of what the kids need to accomplish in homeschooling before we make the next landfall, and lists of what food we need to get rid of before quarantine at the next country takes it all away. And my meal plans are so beautiful - meaning we eat well and we eat healthy - and I spend a lot of my time checking produce to avoid spoilage, pulling out food that requires prep for the following day's meals, or baking bread to greet the kids when they awaken. Who knew that this would be what keeps me grounded while living on a boat? On land, the monotony of it would make me cringe.

And then I step outside at 2 a.m. on my watch to check that all is running smoothly, and right in front of me as the wind hits my face and I smell the sea air, I see a sliver of an orange moon rising into a clear starry-filled night. And I take a deep recharging peaceful breath.

-Barb, en route Tanna Island to Port Vila, Vanuatu
-----
At 12/30/1899 00:00 (utc) our position was ??°??.??'N ???°??.??'E

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Anchored in Port Resolution

We just completed the approximately 500 mile passage from Fiji to Vanuatu. We had an awesome sail, averaging over 200 miles per day -- our fastest consistent speeds yet -- and as a result, made it to Vanuatu in 2.5 days. Because of that however, we arrived after dark into an unfamiliar anchorage. We were about to enter the anchorage in a very dark night with the way points we were given in a cruising guide we had, as well as using radar -- but the actual charts for this area are often off by 0.5 miles so they can't be relied on.

As we were on final approach to the anchorage, 0.5 miles out, we got an alarm on our navigation system which said "GPS Jump" which basically means the system had a problem with the satellite information it received. Not a good time for bad GPS information!!! Basically, it causes us to wonder if we are really where we think we are on our chart plotter -- or, are we in a different place, say just 0.25 mile off? Since the opening, with reefs on either side (what else is new?), is only about 0.5 mile wide, that's a big error! So, at the last minute, we bailed, and heaved to offshore waiting for daylight to make the entry.

Now, safely anchored we plan to head to shore, check out the village and later this afternoon visit an active volcano. Should be amazing. We saw it glowing hot read when we were offshore last night. There is even steam coming out of the water at shore and in the nearby hills.

All for now,

Michael
Port Resolution, Vanuatu
-----
At 10/24/2011 22:35 (utc) our position was 19°31.56'S 169°29.76'E

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

So long Fiji. Enroute to Vanuatu

Well, we just left Fiji this morning and are now making our way to Tanna Island in Vanuatu. Its a roughly 475 mile trip and so we hope to be there sometime (on our) Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. Tanna is home to Mt Yasur, an active volcano, the crater of which is accessible by 4WD vehicles. From other cruisers who have been to the crater, they say it is amazing. We are looking forward to that outing. After spending a couple of days on Tanna we will head up to Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu where we will spend a few days before making our final passage to Australia!

We had an awesome time in Fiji. Barb's mom and step-dad joined us for a week where we toured by land and sea the northern Fijian island of Vanua Levu and where we were invited to the home of an Indian family for a traditional dinner (including Kava drinking), we flew to New Zealand for two weeks (I know that is not Fiji, but is was while our boat was in Fiji) where we toured the north Island and had a great time in the Yasawas with our friends on Imagine. Our time in the Yasawas was a last minute change of plans, because, while we wanted to get going to Vanuatu, we also wanted to spend a few more days with Imagine. We had also heard such amazing things about the Yasawa group of islands. and we were not disappointed! The coral reef there was amazing -- on par with any we have seen in the Tuamotus.

In the Yasawas Barb and I even managed to spend an afternoon kayaking around one of the islands. That was an adventure in itself because the leak that we thought had been repaired on the kayak did not hold. While we were two thirds around the island (and fortunately close to shore) we toppled out due to all the water that had gotten into the hull. We swam the kayak to shore, drained all the water and continued on. It made for an exciting and memorable trip! Now, I just have to try to repair the hole one more time!

Fiji was definitely an island group that has risen to one of the top our our list of favorite places. Now, 25 knots of wind coming from aft of our beam, we are cruising along at roughly 9 knots. Though a little too rolly, its some awesome sailing.

More later,

Michael, enroute to Vanuatu
-----
At 10/22/2011 00:36 (utc) our position was 18°00.52'S 176°48.61'E

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Black Water Rafting

  During our trip to New Zealand for the high holidays, we traveled around the north island.  One of our stops was at Waitomo, where we went black water rafting.  Most people expect black water rafting to be like white water rafting but underground (hence the black water), but really, you just float through the water on an inner tube though the caves of Waitomo.

Some companies do repelling, rock climbing, zip lining, and caving, (all inside the caves) but the one that we did was just the tubing, along with a waterfall jump and built in waterslide.   We all got into wetsuits and went into the cave.  As we floated down the river in our tubes, we saw the sparkling cave top above us.  Covered in glowworms, it looked like the starriest sky that you’d ever seen.  In the distance we could hear the rush of a waterfall, the water falling over it colder than ice.

We went right to the source of the sound and got to jump over the fall.  It wasn’t high- only six feet- but the water below was only about two or three feet deep, so we fell backwards while sitting in our tubes and no one hit the bottom. 

We continued on our way and saw more glowworms.  To all stay together so that our guide could easily direct us as one, each person had to hold the feet of the person behind them. Then we were pulled in the right direction.  It felt like you were one piece of a caterpillar because you’d be pushed and condensed and then pulled and lengthened.

The next waterfall was a twenty foot drop and again shallow at the bottom, so this one couldn’t be jumped.  The company actually built a waterslide and used the water from the fall to make you slide.  It was really steep and fast so you did lightly hit the bottom, but you barely felt it. 

Apparently there was also a waterfall climb that you could do at the beginning, but there wasn’t enough time.

It was a really awesome experience.  You can only see glowworms in Australia and New Zealand, but New Zealand has the bigger population of the insect.

-Danielle, back in Fiji

In the Rain: Kiwis, kiwi-fruits and kiwi-birds

 

It’s cold and raining in New Zealand.  We were in the Bay of Plenty, supposedly an area that receives the most sunlight of anywhere in the country.  If it’s any sign, we wonder if the sun ever shines anywhere.

Nonetheless, we haven’t let the weather stop us.  We visited an aviation  museum (indoors) and managed a short hike between torrential downpours.  We tried visiting a kiwifruit farm to learn about the famous fruit but all tours were cancelled due to being flooded out.  We visited a honey farm, where the famous New Zealand manuka honey is made but were only able to visit the indoor showroom due, of course, to the rain.  In Rotorua , we witnessed sheep shearing (indoors, where Harrison got to feed a baby lamb) and the kids snuck in a gondola and luge ride when the rain had died to a drizzle at one point.  We toured Te Puia, a Maori village and geothermal park where we stood waiting for the geyser to spout, you guessed it, in the rain. We visited a kiwi bird house, and were thrilled that it was indoors, but alas, kiwi birds are nocturnal and stayed burrowed in a very dark makeshift habitat, so we never saw any.  Is this all a scam?

Now we are in the Bay of Islands, and it’s still raining. We spent a day yesterday on a bus tour to 90-mile Beach, which is officially a New Zealand highway but drivable only at low tide.  And drive we did - at 100 kph – but still in the rain.  We couldn’t see out the windows due to the inside fogging up and the sand sticking to the wet windows outside, plus the fog made for even worse visibility.  Still, it was a fabulous day.  We sandboarded down massive sand dunes – in the rain – and walked out to the Cape Reinga lighthouse at the tip of NZ that will be greeting all our boating friends who will be heading here this month – where the wind was so strong that we were literally blown over several times, and the rain so strong that it felt painful as it pelted our faces.  

 

The only touring days so far that haven’t seen rain were a driving day north (the scenery definitely did look beautiful in the sunshine) and when we went underground for black water rafting in the gloworm-filled Waitomo Caves (Danielle’s blog post to follow).

Still, NZ has been a wonderful change from cruising, and it is no doubt a beautiful country (we couldn’t help but feel at times that we were in our own backyard of northern California) with incredible people (with a bit of a Canadian vibe). The kiwis (not to be confused with kiwifruit and kiwi birds) are a happy friendly proud people.  Life here is impressively and simply very civilized. Even in the rain. 

-Barb in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Blokarts

As we drove into the blokart distributer in New Zealand near Mount Maunganui, I was thinking, “This is going to be awesome.” We went inside and met a worker named Ash. He rented us a blokart. A blokart is a three wheeled go-kart that is wind powered so it has a sail in the front. Basically you turn a bar and the blokart turns. You pull in the rope and the blokart goes faster. Driving one is really quite simple.

 

It was my turn first. I hopped in, Ash gave me push and I was off.The world next to me was in a blur and the wind blew my hair back. I felt like I was flying. As I bolted around the cones in a figure eight, I was excited to go around again.  I whizzed past Ash, my mom, dad and sister. After about five times going back and forth, I came over to where every one was standing and released the rope to stop myself. I stepped out.

It was my sister’s turn. Then my mom’s and finally my dad’s. Each time they got off they said it was totally awesome. After I had my second turn that was even cooler than the first, it was time to go. We said good-bye to Ash and left with wide smiles on our faces.

 

    - Harrison in New Zealand

Rugby Fever

It was hard not to get caught up in the Rugby Fever hitting New Zealand, which is hosting the World Cup this month. This past Sunday, Canada was playing New Zealand and we just had to participate with our host Canadian family, Nick, Michelle, Maia and Jonah.  I don’t even know how the game is played, and certainly had no clue that Canada even had a rugby team (made up of men with day jobs).  Nonetheless, we donned as much red as we could find and headed into downtown Auckland.

Auckland’s downtown has been set up for the crowds of people that don’t pay the hundreds of dollars it costs to see a World Cup game live.  Like us, these people descend upon the waterfront to watch the games on several strategically located giant screens.  The ‘Cloud’ was designed for indoor viewing, necessary given this cold and rainy and stormy weather we’ve been experiencing. 

Canada took the lead early in the game and maintained it for all of 5 minutes.  We lost by far too much to even record here (although if you looked it up you’d find the final score at 79-15).  But it was well worth the outlay of spirit and support.

-Barb in New Zealand

Shofar blowing at the game?

A Sweet Start

For months we’ve planned to spend the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and Yom Kippur in Suva, the capital of Fiji, where, according to our Jewish Travel Book, the Israeli consulate organizes community events around the holidays. For months we’ve been emailing to get more info, and finally, once in Fiji, we’ve been trying to call the phone numbers provided.  As the time got closer, we were having little luck until we got through to the Israeli embassy in Canberra, Australia.  The bad news was that the Fijian consulate was recently closed.  The good news was that the embassy had a contact in Suva who headed the Jewish Association.

We promptly called and emailed.  The good news was that we got a reply to both.  The bad news was that our contact was in Australia, not to return until Erev Rosh Hashanah (the eve of the holiday).  And more bad news:  there was nothing planned for the High Holidays.  More than any other Jewish holiday, these are synagogue-centric; we spend the two days of Rosh Hashanah and the one eve and full day of Yom Kippur in synagogue with prayer, discussions, learning, contemplation and yes, socializing.  Over the last two years of our trip, we’ve been home for the holidays, and with our Fijian plans thwarted, I was feeling a bit melancholy.  Perhaps more than any other year with our re-entry into life on land looming on the horizon, I was most in need of some guided contemplation.

Quick decisions and some long-distance internet help from my stepdad (we were on a passage and could not do flight searches) lead us to Auckland once we knew we could leave the boat in Fiji with confidence.  My sister’s close friend Michelle and her family had just moved here last year and they generously and lovingly opened their home to us.  Their friends welcomed us to their tables.  Their community warmly opened its doors to us for its services.  How lucky we are to be the recipients of the famous Kiwi hospitality, although our luck is also a testament to who Michelle and Nick are (they’ve loaned us a car, their friend loaned us a cell phone, and another friend loaned us an apartment along our travel route).  I also marvel at the fact that wherever in the world find a Jewish community, we are welcomed and fit right in.

Perhaps it’s the sweet New Zealand apples or the magical Manuka honey, but so far it’s been a super start to 5772.

More to come on the trip itself.

-Barb in New Zealand

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...

-----

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
-----
At 9/2/2011 13:39 (utc) our position was 17°53.33'S 177°45.96'W

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

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

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com