South Pacific

A RESCUE At Sea, A Sharky Paradise, and STEELY DAN

Bonjour From PARADISE!

Ahoy Delos Tribe! We’re comin’ at ya today with our monthly newsletter from the INSANELY gorgeous atoll of Raroia. We’re typing this in true comfort because for the first time since leaving the Sea of Cortez in April Delos is STILL! After 19 days at sea and super rolly anchorages in the Marquesas, then our passage here to the Tuamotu Islands, it feels like heaven to have found a flat anchorage. There’s a nice 15-20 knot breeze so it’s been nice and fresh on board which has been quite the treat too. The water is super clear and we’ve been getting in some great scuba diving, snorkeling, and swimming. Sierra can’t get enough of the being in the water here! One other cool thing we did here was checking out the monument for Kon-Tiki. Kon-Tiki was a rudimentary hand-made balsa wood raft that Thor Heyerdahl and a team of Norwegian Explorers sailed across the Pacific Ocean in 1947. We actually talked about Kon-Tiki in our last newsletter, so if you missed that one here’s the quick run down on the story there: Intrigued by Polynesian folklore, Heyerdahl believed that people from South America could have reached Polynesia during pre-Columbian times. His goal in completing this voyage was to show that it would have been possible using only the materials and technologies available to those people at the time. After spending 101 days at sea, they made it to French Polynesia and ran aground right here on the reef in Raroia. We’ve both read the book documenting their expedition called “Kon-Tiki” which is amazing (and available in our Amazon Storefront)but we also watched the movie after checking out the monument. We HIGHLY recommend both!

I (Brian) am in the process of getting my long stay visa which means we can stay for a year in French Polynesia (Kazza and Sierra both have Swedish passports so for them it’s no problem to stay here). That’s great news for us because now we can really take our time and move really slowly through this incredible part of the world. If you wanna follow our adventures through the Tuamotus you can follow our location HERE.

 


Some INCREDIBLE News!


This is Aaron Carotta. We met him last year when we were stuck in the marina in Chiapas, Mexico for about 3 weeks while we were waiting for a bunch of bad weather to pass. Aaron was attempting to make the first ever circumnaviation of earth by rowing. He was almost 2 months in to his Pacific Ocean crossing when he activated his EPIRB on May 31st (An EpPIRB is an emergency beacon that’s activated in extreme distress when a rescue is needed that transmits your location). Extensive rescue efforts began but all communication and pings from the beacon were lost, and eventually the search was called off on June 12th. His beacon went off again on Thursday, and they were able to spot him in his liferaft and he was eventually picked up by an oil tanker on June 16th, more than 2 weeks after his first distress signal. The oil tanker is en route to Hawaii and is expected to reach its destination with Aaron aboard on June 25th. We’ve been following Aaron’s story and the search efforts closely, and we are so incredibly happy and relieved to hear that he has been found safe, sound, and in good health. Very little is known yet about what actually happened, but I’m sure Aaron’s got one hell of a story. So let’s all cheers a cold one for Aaron today and celebrate being alive! You can follow Aaron on Instagram at @adventureaaron if you’d like to keep following along on his story.

 


What We’re Jamming To…

 

One of our go-to playlists for the last 5 years or so is THIS puppy right here. We’ve definitely mentioned it in a few videos before too. Every track is solid gold, and it’s a timeless collection of tunes to vibe out and sip a sundowner in the cockpit to. Think Doobie Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Tina Turner, Steely Dan, and much much more. Do yourself a favor and add this one to your rotation 🙂

 


 

Blast From The Past…

 

All the scuba diving we’ve been doing lately here in the Tuamotu’s has got us thinking about one of our favorite diving missions of all time. During our 1,400 mile sail from Madagascar to South Africa we decide to make a little pit stop at one of the most epic and remote dive spots on the planet: Bassas Da India. Because it’s so far from civilization and protected from any commercial diving or fishing operations, it is truly one of the most untouched places in the world. Check out the episode HERE to get the full experience!

 

 

🎉 We CROSSED THE PACIFIC OCEAN 🎉

WHERE IS DELOS NOW???

Ahoy from French Polynesia! After 3,000 nautical miles and 19 days, 14 hours at sea, we made it from La Paz, Mexico to Fatu Hiva French Polynesia.  It was such an incredible trip, and apart from a few rough days right at the beginning and at the very end, we had some pretty epic (and FAST!) conditions.  My last crossing of the pacific took 24 days, so we shaved off quite a bit of time.  We are beyond proud of the whole crew, but especially our tiny captain Sierra.  Crossing the world’s largest ocean is a physical and emotional challenge for anyone no matter how old you are, so we are so impressed and glowing with pride at what a hearty little sailor she has grown into!  Before we go on with our update, here are a few fun facts and stats from the trip:

 

Longest period without changing the sails – 2 1/2 days
Sail changes- 23 in total
Fuel used – 180 liters (47 gallons) which is about 64 NM/gallon!
Fish we kept – 3 (Jack, Bonito, and massive Wahoo)
Fish we threw back – 5 (Small Mahi, Sailfish, and more Bonito)
Apples we left with – 61
Apples we had left on arrival – 4
Fresh water we left with- 400 liters
Fresh water we arrived with- 900 liters
Things that broke on the boat – 5
(Radiator hose, fan in fridge, chafe on halyard, seized block, tack line on Genoa)
900GB of footage filmed = 33hours
Longest period of sleep – 5 1/2 hours

 

After the passage, the time here has absolutely FLOWN BY.  We can’t believe we’ve already been here for two whole weeks.  We made landfall in Fatu Hiva, spent a few days on Nuku Hiva, and now we’ve spent the last week or so at the beautiful island of Tahuata.  Besides the post card perfect beaches and landscapes literally everywhere you look, one of the other things that has really jumped out as since we’ve been here is how AMAZING the fruit is.  One of Kazza’s favourites has been the pamplemousse, which is basically like a bigger and sweeter grapefruit.  The bananas are so insanely good…you can get them right off the tree and let them ripen naturally (instead of the various techniques like refrigeration and using ethylene gas in ripening rooms commonly used for most bananas you buy in the supermarket) and the flavor is truly something from another dimension.  In other exciting news, I shaved my beard (Sierra was so confused 😆 ), we saved a turtle that was stuck in some line, we’ve been mastering our coconut opening skills, swimming lots, and just generally enjoying life in the slow lane.

 

 

Inspired Reading

 

It’s so incredible to be back in Polynesia, not only because of it’s stunning natural beauty, but also because of it’s rich seafaring culture which I find to be so incredibly fascinating.  One of my favorite books of all time is “Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific in a Raft” by Thor Heyerdahl.  It documents the story of the 1947 Kon-Tiki Expedition where Norwegian explorers sailed across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands aboard a rudimentary hand-made balsa wood raft.  Intrigued by Polynesian folklore, Heyerdahl believed that people from South America could have reached Polynesia during pre-Columbian times. His goal in completing this voyage was to show that it would have been possible using only the materials and technologies available to those people at the time.  It’s an absolute page turner, and was one of my early inspirations for embarking on my own big adventure.  You can find this book along with all our other favorites from the Delos library in our brand new Amazon Storefront.  Besides our recommended reading you will also find categories for all our must have cruising essentials, tools, stuff for the galley, safety gear, and more that we couldn’t live without on Delos.  Check out our storefront here!

 

 

 

What we’re listening to

 

We thought it would be fun to share a few of our favorite tunes and podcasts that we enjoyed during the passage:

 

Small Worlds by Mac Miller

It Could Be Nice by Chet Faker

PIMP by Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band

“My Dad Wrote A Porno” Podcast

“Science Vs…” from Gimlet Media Podcast

“Kinky History – Esme Louise James” Podcast

 

 

Delos In AI???

We recently had one of our Patrons share some really amazing Delos inspired AI generated art.  Some of them are SO freaking incredible, and some are just weird and hilarious, so we thought we would share a few of our faves here…if you happen to have any sweet Delos works of art, post them on instagram and tag us in it so we can check it out, our handle is @svdelos!  We will repost some of our faves to our stories 🙂  Follow us here if you’re not already (we post lots of cool real time stuff, contests, updates, and other cool stuff there!)

 

 

 

 

🎉 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US 🎉

 

13 years ago our YouTube channel was created. If you would have told me on that day that the click of the publish button would trigger a series of events leading me to the love of my life, starting a family, an endless list of unforgettable experiences and friendships on the shores of 46 different countries around the world, with millions of people following along on the journey with us…I would have told you that you’re out of your mind 🤣 But here we are in French Polynesia after completing Delos’ second crossing of the mighty Pacific Ocean, still exploring, still documenting and sharing it all, and still receiving love, support, and encouragement every day from our AMAZING Delos Tribe! None of this would have been possible without ALL OF YOU! So thank you from the bottom of our hearts, and here’s to 13 more years of love, laughter, and adventure!  To celebrate, we are giving you all a special coupon code for 13% off of EVERYTHING in the shopClick here to visit our online store, then enter “bday13” during checkout to receive your discount.

 

 

 

 

Tools of the Trade- By Brian

If I had $1 for every time I’ve been asked “So, do you carry guns?”, let’s just say I wouldn’t need to work when we arrive on Australian shores. Seriously, I’ve been asked this question a lot over the past years. And never, ever did the relevance sink in until recently. View More

Pirate Watch Quiz- By Paul

Hello Delos world. Today its time to find out what type of harbor night watchman you’d be. You’re in the Solomon Islands, a South Pacific country known for its unruly pirate behavior View More

Meet Mem0-By Brady

Doing great, pirate, stay the course! 🙂  Hello, my name is Mem0….I’m a Clown fish and I live in a sea anemone.  No, I am not related to Nemo who became famous over some stupid movie filmed on the Great Barrier Reef, about 700 miles away. View More

Is it really October?!?!? By Brian

I totally agree with you! We’ve been blog slackers for the past month as we traveled through Banks, Torres, and Santa Cruz islands. Sometimes you wake up and realize that a month has flown by. We did take lot’s of pics though….. View More

Into The Rabbit Hole- By Brian

He sits about 10 feet above you, perched on a steel beam.  His legs are crossed, each knee perfectly aligned with the other.  His arms cross his chest and he’s leaning slightly backward .  He’s the epitome of relaxation, comfort, and balance. View More

Vanuatu, Tenk yu tumas! by Josje

Nambawan! All of a sudden we are sailing away from Vanuatu and heading north towards the Solomons. Woah crazy! Pull up the anchor and it hits us all at the same time… We’re leaving Vanuatu. How did this moment creep up on us? View More

Meet Josje

Please be alarmed!!!! I have been kidnapped onto a boat named Delos. Who are these American sailors? I woke up one morning after a 2 week party binge, and I was sailing off into the direction of Vanuatu. View More

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