30, 31 August

30/8/2012

Position 14:00 UTC 14:00 +11  23 40.654S 161 55.181E

31/8/2012

Position 14:00 UTC +11  24°37.0094S  159°48.7168E

Wind died during the night and became very variable. Forecast is not too good for a fast passage for the next couple of days. However, we should still make Monday, but quite a bit later than I would have liked. We will probably resort to both iron spinnakers, if things get too slow. Will keep you posted. At 13:45 I gave up and put both motors on – now we have a chance of getting there early Monday morning, that is to NW Fairway bouy. No sure how long up the river

28'29 Aug

 

Hi All,

28/8/2012

Position 14:00 UTC +11  22°29.9103S  166°23.4044E

A good walk to the Customs and Harbour Master's Offices, but then the exercise will do me some good. I find I have lost quite a lot of walking ability. After 4 months at sea I have slowed down on land - will have to do something about that when I get home. Last shower, paid the bills and off to fill up with diesel. We dropped our lines in Port Moselle Marina at 09:36 and left the fueling dock at 10:30. By 13:15 we passed Amdee Light – it claims to be the tallest all metal lighthouse – will have to check that against Slangkop – and headed into the open sea with no more islands/reefs between us and Brisbane.

29/8/2012

Position 14:00 UTC +11  22°56.0301S  164°13.8184E   ETA NW Fairway 3/8/2012

The wind remains from the SSW. We are beating with a full main and genny, but are about 12 degrees above out course. Which is fine as we should be aiming north of Brisbane to alow for the south flowing current. Weather is nice and sunny but the wind is very cool. The sea state not too bad, but we are still slamming and bumping. Lets hope the forecasted backing of the wind happens and we are in a following sea, which is much more comfortable.

Ian, please send me the GPS co-ords of your home mooring

Cheers

Chris

Fwd: Discovery

>
> Hi All,
> 23/8/2012
> Position 14:00 UTC +12 21°14.9650S 174°21.4700E
> I had ideas of diverting straight to Brisbane, but fuel calculations and
> weather forecasts don't give much margin. So discretion is the better part
> of valour and we are going on to Noumea to get fuel and weather forecast. We
> don't want to run into a 'Southerly Buster'. It sounds like the east coast
> of SA when the wind is against the current.
> 24/8/2012
> Position 14:00 UTC +12 21°37.1090S 172°02.2247E
> Wind gusting up 23knots with a very uncomfortable sea. I thought we were in
> the tropics and therefore it would be nice and warm – we go on watch with
> all the warm clothes we have plus foulies – but then it is winter!!!
> 25/8/2012
> Position 14:00 UTC +12 21°55.9225S 170°03.3942E
> Nice sunny day, the wind has dropped and the sea is relatively flat, but
> still a chill in the air.
> 26/8/2012
> Position 14:00 UTC +12 22°10.6971S 168°18.7306E
> Woke to rain squalls and an overcast sky and not much wind, which has now
> backed so we are a starboard gybe. Only the genny up and the motor going to
> keep our speed down so that we arrive tomorrow morning at 06:00 at the
> entrance to Hananvah Chanel. Don't fancy dodging the reefs in the dark.
> 27/8/2012
> Position Port Moselle Marina, Noumea, New Caledonia
> We made it – hit the entrance to Havannah Channel at 06:00 in the company of
> a cargo ship – Polarstream. I was not sure what to expect of the channel,
> but after seeing a 500ft ship in front all doubts disappeared. We motored
> the channel through a rain storm and not much wind and arrived at Port
> Moselle at 12:25 local time (UTC +11). A very pleasant young lady booked us
> in, so now we can shower and use a fantastic WiFi.
> Tomorrow early I will book out – immigration, customs, port captain – then
> take diesel and set off for Brisbane.
>
> What a pleasure to have a good hot shower!!!!
> Cheers
>
> Chris
>

21,22 August

21/8/2012

Position 14:00 UTC +12  20 18.748S 178 35.800E

The little wind there was didn't lat that long. Soon after sun rise all sails are down and we are motoring and that is slow too, as there seems to be current against us. The charts all show the current going the other way.

Put the clocks back another hour.

22/8/2012

Position 14:00 UTC +12  20°44.7957S  176°32.3698E

Still motor-sailing. The wind and current are not being kind to us. Hope to get to Noumea in 4-5 days for quick refueling stop and then on to Brisbane.

Cheers

 

Chris

17-20 Aug, leaving Tonga

17/8/2012

Position Neiafu, Vavau, Tonga

Cleared out – Immigration, Harbour Master, Customs. What a palaver. Fueled up and got the provisions we need. All set to leave first thing tomorrow morning.

Rob and I had dinner at the Vava restaurant. It is run by an Englishman,  Lawrence. We had calculated the last of our Tonga money, then I screwed up by ordering a steak when I misread the menu – fish steak vs beef steak. It was a good steak, but it meant that Rob’s beer consumption had to be significantly reduced. As it was we didn’t have enough and had to persuade Lawrence to take some US dollars too.

18/8/2012

Position 14:00 UTC +13  18 46.137S 174 41.155W

Up at 06:30 – engines on at 06:45 – cast off 06:50 and on our way. Cleared the outer islands at 08:05. Put main and genny up and set course for the Havanah Channel. Had to change course to avoid Late Island. Rob and Joyce saw some whales breaching – probably Humpbacks.

The wind, once we had cleared the islands, was a comfortable 13. Set full main and genny, sailing very nicely thank you. However the wind built  so that by 18:30 we had the main down to No.3 reef and within the hour the genny was reefed to No. 2. The sea state got lumpier and more uncomfortable, but we were going great guns. I imagined the Pacific to be tropical, certainly where we are, but it has turned very cold. Having to wear foulies and warm clothes.

19/8/2012

Position 14:UTC +13  19 18.653S 176 59.337W

A hectic night with the wind gusting up to 25knots. Cloudy, cold and uncomfortable.

20/8/2012

By 03:00 the wind had dropped so that we could shake out one reef to No.2. By 09:45 it had dropped and veered enough for the asym to go up and the skies have cleared leaving some cloud but at least there is some sun too

Cheers

Chris

---

No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2012.0.2197 / Virus Database: 2437/5209 - Release Date: 08/19/12

16, 17 Aug

> 16/8/2012
> Position Neiafu, Vavau, Tonga
> Spent the morning exploring the town - not that there is much to explore.
> There is a big difference between Tonga and the French Polynesian islands -
> French Polynesia has strong French ties and all the social benefits of
> France, the roads are maintained and the people look more prosperous - Tonga
> is definitely third world the roads are in dis-repair and the people not so
> prosperous looking, but are very friendly.
> In the afternoon, Rob and I had arranged for a local fisherman, Joan - a
> bloke - to take us to Mariner's and Swallow caves. We were picked up from
> the quay where we are tied up - nice and convenient - in one of the small
> local fishing boats. Rob had to sit up front with his head sticking out of
> the hatch in the cabin top. Joan steered more by feel than by sight - the
> cabin top obscured the view forward. To check where he was going he would
> duck his head around the side of the cabin top either side. With 25horses on
> the back we made good time. As we left the quay the clouds were trying to
> hide the sun, but fortunately by the time we got to Mariner's Cave the sun
> had won. Finding the cave needed local knowledge. There is no obvious cave
> above the surface only a dark pack under the water. Well in for a penny in
> for a pound - over the side with snorkel and goggles and into the dark patch
> we swam. We were lucky that the tide was out so the underwater swim was not
> too deep and not too long. The trick is to swim upside down so that you can
> see the roof of the tunnel and tell when you can surface again. I found I
> got a little disorientated and imagined I was heading deeper and deeper so I
> turned over and swam on until I felt clear. Going in was I was fine coming
> out again I came up a little too soon and banged my leg on the top ledge as
> I surfaced. Inside the cave was relatively small with a high roof - small
> stalactites hanging from the roof - no stalagmites though. The sun shining
> through the clear blue water created a glow in the cave - what a magnificent
> sight. Not too many fish or coral inside. The story goes that Will Mariner
> found the cave after he had speared a turtle that dived down and swam into
> the cave. He followed and found that there was air and a refuge in side. He
> apparently lived there for some time without telling anybody about it.
> Then on to Swallow Cave. A much larger cave that can be entered by boat. Its
> name comes from the Swallow bats that live there. The roof is covered with
> these bats. They have a way out through a hole in the roof. Unfortunately
> the graffiti artists have been to work and the walls are covered with
> scrawling - each trying to prove a point by going higher. There certainly
> have been some real gymnastics for some.
> After Swallow cave we were taken to Clam reef. The coral was disappointing
> in that a lot was dead and the colours very muted. The fish, however, were
> coloureful and though small plenty of them. I found the water a bit cool so
> didn't stay in as long as I would have liked.
> Back to the boat with sore calves - it has been a long time since I have
> used flippers.
> 17/8/2012
> Position Neiafu, Vavau, Tonga
> Cleared out - Immigration, Harbour Master, Customs. What a palaver. Fueled
> up and got the provisions we need. All set to leave first thing tomorrow
> morning.
>
> Cheers
>
> Chris
>
>

From Rob: arrived Tonga

Subject: Arrived Tonga

Arrived today in Neiafu (19 degrees South 174 degrees West) in the
Vava'u group of islands which is in the northern part of Tonga. It has
been quite a hard sail from Taiohae Bay (9 degrees South 140 degrees
West) on Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas and has taken a long 19 days to
get here including an unexpected detour. This leg did contain some
interesting bits – we passed through the spot in the Pacific ocean on
the other side of the world from Cape Town at 162 degrees west, in
fact it looked just like any other bit of ocean, but it was something
to celebrate, crossed the International Date Line going east to west
and so lost a day. For a while I thought it was going to be the day of
my birthday, the 15 Aug, we were going to loose, but fortunately it
was not. Don't know how that would have effected my age if we had done
so. The mind boggles at the possibilities. Also a bit more west and I
will have covered the bit between Hawaii and New Zealand so I can say
I have been right around the world. On 12 August it was also 4 months
since we left Hout Bay. And I remember telling everyone that this trip
will take 100 days sailing and 20 days of stop offs along the way.
Well the 120 days are up and we still have 2000 of the 14500 nautical
miles to go. We are all optimistic that the last 2000 miles will go
quickly and expect to be in Brisbane on 3 September God Willing!!

Our time in the Marquesas seemed a bit rushed as tried to do too much
as usual and everything there was very laid back with all the shops
including the small internet café closing at about 3pm. There is a
very much French stamp on the place especially in the prices as most
things are imported. Even the immigration and customs procedures are
very laid back with the local police handling it all.  We tried
keeping them sweet with the odd French word and being very curtious
and it seemed to pay off as Chris and George on there SA passports
were allowed in after each buying a US$28 visa stamp. Taiohae Bay
filled all my expectations of what a Pacific Island should be. The
island is volcanic in origin and so rises steeply out of the ocean.
The bay was horseshoe shaped with high mountains on all three sides
covered by lush tropical forests and a narrow flat strip of land with
a black beach at the end along which all the buildings are situated.
At the one end is the main commercial quay and fuel jetty, and around
a headland the small boat wharf and some shops and a café from which
you walked the 100 or so yards into the town proper. All the yachts
and there were about 30 all anchored in the bay. We used our
inflatable for the first time. The patch Chris has put over the hole
we discovered in it still leaked slowly so paddling to shore and back
was quite precarious and the pump had to be used to blow it up before
each voyage. The rest of the town was very south pacific with lots of
ramshackle buildings, including a cultural hall where Chris and I
enjoyed our first Tahiti beer (R50 for a half litre) and later a steak
frites (R150) good but not up to SA standards. Good enough though that
we went back for another one the next night when the local dance
troupe put on a show of south pacific dancing. Unfortunately it was an
all male troupe but they did some very good imitation of the Hakka
with lots of banging on big big drums. The next day I took a walk into
the hills above the town to an archeologically site with lots of
carved heads and other cultural things.  Walking through the
residential areas the fruit trees in the people's gardens were
amazing. Bananas, oranges, grapefruit and lots of others I had no idea
what they were/. No wonder there was no fruit for sale in any of the
stores. Chris and I met up for lunch and then walked along the bay to
the smart hotel at the end for a beer after which I enjoyed a snorkel
in the sea off the beach to cool down as it had been a very hot day
and we were not use to the exercise after having been on the cat for
20 days. George and Joyce returned to the boat that evening with two
stalks of bananas and a sack of grapefruit they had been given by
people from Joyce's church they had met.

After having filled up with diesel the next morning we left with heavy
hearts. Chris had convinced us that the winds to the Cook Islands were
not favourable and we should head straight to Tonga 2000 nautical
miles away and with good winds which he expected a 15 day sail away.
After the cold but excellent winds we had had from the Galapagos to
Marquesas where we had done the trip in 4 days less than was planned
we had no reason to doubt we could do it again. We had just left the
island of Nuku Hiva behind and got into the open seas when the wind
died. After about 2 days of messing about Chris put on one of the
engines full time and everyone started to do calculations as to how
long it would be before we ran out of fuel. Two days later at 149
degrees west the writing was on the wall or rather in the sea and we
made a sharp left and headed for Papeete on Tahiti where we arrived 4
days later. While this was just a quick refuelling stop it gave us the
opportunity to stretch our legs and walk around Papeete for three
hours see some of the sights and have a meal and a beer. While we were
waiting for Chris to sort out the right bits of paper to be able to
buy duty free diesel a ceremony was going on outside to christen a new
inter island ferry which included a local dance troupe and this time
both men and women and there was all the hip swaying that we wanted.
What a stroke of luck. Once we had taken the diesel on board, had a
shower and got out of the reef circling Tahiti the wind started up
again and we had a few great days sailing. Then it was back to motor
sailing with the Asymmetric up to catch any wind that was going. Apart
from the fun bits like when we swim off the back of the boat in mid
ocean to see if there are any sharks about or it rains and we all get
the soap out and get a good wash from head to toe or Joyce surprises
us with another original supper the daily routine goes on and on.
Getting up in the morning, doing ablutions, eating breakfast, doing a
four hour watch, if we are lucky changing sails, eating lunch, reading
a book, transferring diesel from the containers on the back to the
tanks, 5:30 beer time – one beer that is, the highlight of the day,
supper, sleep and a 3 hour watch and the next day is the same. But
then like now, we arrive at an island and there is the possibility of
a proper shower, a pub with cold beers, lots of them, and a good meal!
And things to do and see, like Chris and I hope to go on a tour
tomorrow to swim into some submerged caves, and it all seems
worthwhile and we are rejuvinated and ready for the next leg. Not long
to go now!!