We are currently 260 miles out of Opua, still making 8+ knots. Should make landfall sometime Friday morning! We have all got our sea legs back and are moving around more. Erin even cooked an amazing chicken-french-onion soup tonight.
Nope Nothing To See Here
Still making good speed to New Zealand. Erin was pretty seasick for the first few days but is feeling better. She left with bronchitis and thinks it might have screwed up her equilibrium. We’re all getting plenty of sleep on this passage, so we’re well rested.
Things finally calmed down a little bit this morning. We awoke to sunny skies, calmer seas, and breeze under 20 knots. We un-furled our sails to keep the boat speed up and made 8 knots most of the day.
With a good weather window we spent our last Paanga on cheeseburgers and cokes at Big Mamma’s yacht club and set off from Nuka’Alofa. The skies were sunny with 20 knots of breeze. As we got out of the lee of Tonga’Tapu the breeze built through the day until we were seeing 25-30 knots with gusts into the low 30’s.
Our last night in Vava’u, Tonga was spent at Fonua’one’one, a small island on the southern edge of the group. The island has everything you’d expect of a slice of South Pacific paradise.
A modern cruising boat is much like a house. On Delos we have many of the same conveniences that make life a little more civilized including electricity, flushing toilets, running water, refrigeration, air conditioning, and a washerdryer.
Oh, it feels good to arrive. We sailed into the Bay of Islands this morning, around 9 a.m., and got to the customs dock shortly after. The check-in process was hassle free and we only had to part with our fresh veggies and non-New Zealand meat – we got to keep all of our dairy and noodles and spices.
While sailing through Tahiti, Moorea, Huahine, Raitea, and Bora Bora we met up with friends new and old. We had dock parties, lounged in floaties, and swam with sharks.
I dreamed last night about deodorant. In my dream I walked into one of the tiny, poorly stocked stores that we’ve been frequenting throughout the South Pacific.
Back in Tahiti where things were expensive we ran across these little gems for 1200 francs ($14.00 US) at the duty free store.
Niue is unlike any other South Pacific island we’ve visited. 60 foot limestone cliffs replace beaches, underground caverns replace a mountainous interior, and the dinghy dock is a huge electric crane you get to operate yourself (very cool).
On our third day in Beveridge reef the weather keeping us pinned inside finally broke, dropping from a blustery 30 knots to a tranquil 15. With a good outlook for the next few days we decided to launch the dinghy and do some exploring.
The sun warmed our backs as we sailed around the north side of Palmerston atoll. It had been 36 hours since we began the 200-mile passage from Aitutaki to Palmerston, the easternmost of the Southern Cook Islands.
Yesterday we arrived in Neiafu, the main city in the Vava’u (vah-vow) island group in the northern part of Tonga.
After a few wonderful weeks at Palmerston Island, Beveridge Reef and Niue, we’re sailing 250 miles to the Vava’u island group in Tonga.
Seriously, I think they put something in the water here. After a week in Auitaki our faces ache from smiling, our voices are weak from saying hello to everyone passing by on a scooter.
We left Auitaki last week and made an easy two day passage to Palmerston Atoll, where we enjoyed the hospitality of the Marsters family for a few days. They are a very interesting bunch- more on that soon.
Bora Bora is world famous for its reputation as a honeymoon retreat. There are beautiful resorts everywhere, most of which have bungalows propped right over the crystal clear lagoon water. It is much different seeing this island from a sailboat though.