We pulled into Taiohae Bay after dark and dropped anchor out beyond the boats in fifty-five feet of water. Way deeper than I’d normally like, but it’s a muddy bottom and there wasn’t much wind, so we’d worry about getting into a better spot the next day. In the morning … Read More
Tahuata to Nuku-Hiva
We spent a couple of days in Tahuata, and would have hung out longer, but boat issues continue to plague us. Another water pump failed, and I spent way too many hours shoved underneath the kitchen table trying to fix it. After tearing pumps apart multiple times I eventually figured … Read More
Tahuata
First step upon arriving in a new country is getting cleared in. Atuona is a pretty two-mile walk around the bay and down the hill into the next. There isn’t much there—two small restaurants, a couple of magasins (stores), a post office, a bank, and a gendarmerie. We arrived just … Read More
The Dark Clouds
We’re getting close now. Close enough to list the things that have gone wrong on this passage. Blown our Code Zero sail. Would have been nice to have, but really wasn’t a big deal. Will look at getting it repaired, but realistically I think we may be due for a … Read More
Pollywogs to Shellbacks
Throughout the doldrums (ITCZ), winds became light, but the angle became less conducive to being able to fly the Parasailor. Progress was steady, but slow, which frankly, is just fine with us. We’ll all take a 110 mile flat seas day over a 170 mile roller coaster day every time. … Read More
In the Doldrums
About twenty years ago I likened sailing across the Pacific to driving from LA to NY by getting in your car, putting it in drive, and then coasting at idle speed for three or four weeks without opening the door. That still seems about right. We reached the northern edge … Read More
Easy Sailing
Couple of quiet days without any major mishaps—just more typical minor ones. My business partner was joking with me the other day about the fact that we never even did a shakedown cruise with this boat. I reminded him that, A) we never do shakedown cruises with our boats, and … Read More
Flying the Kite
Weather continues to cooperate nicely. For another day or two we plugged along at about 5 knots in light winds on the beam. Comfortable, safe, and stress-free. Can’t ask for much more than that out at sea. One afternoon the wind piped up a bit and we were flying along … Read More
Still Learning How To Sail
We’ve never flown one of these giant Parasailor sails before, but with light winds forecast to continue it seemed like a good time to figure it out. I watched a video on how to rig the thing up, took my time laying out lines, double and triple checked everything, then … Read More
Crunch Time
Ali reminded me today that not everyone is a sailor, and most people probably don’t even understand what we’re doing right now, or why we are so busy preparing to go sailing. When we sail away from Puerto Vallarta, we’ll be heading southwest about 3,000 miles to the island of … Read More