Update

Coordinates: Aituaki
Bearing:
Boat Speed:
Wind Direction:
Wind Strength:
Sea state:

Crew health:

Fish caught:

Other points of interest: All goes well . Thanks peter E - the fellow who works at your business - his sister Tina and her husband came down to see us and generously gave us lots of fruit and lent us their truck for the evening - really nice people

last monday was Shay's birthday - we celebrated by dismantling the anchor winch which was seizing up - a bit tricky with no service manual but we ended up pouring engine oil in and it seems better for it!
Had a great meal out that evening locally as a birthday treat

Kite surfing competition has been cancelled for a couple of days as little wind at the moment

We all sailed on the Hobie cat today down the lagoon to anchor, swim and snorkel in the beautifully clear water

Popped in to see the port officer today - everyone is very friendly and relaxed here. Port fees are $5 a day which is very good a seventh the cost in Rarotonga and a much more pleasant place to anchor

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Update

Coordinates: In Aitutaki, Arutanga Harbour
Bearing: -
Boat Speed: -
Wind Direction: ENE
Wind Strength: 20kn
Sea state: -

Crew health: slightly sun burnt

Fish caught: -

Other points of interest:

We have been in Aitutaki for 5 days, and are all quite relaxed. The boat has been wife(ised) and is much more homely now.

We understood that the bananas would ripen over 5 days, however 5 days after buying them they were all ripe, all 100 of them! It has become a competition to devise creative ways to eat them, so far we have had:
- fried banana
- banana salsa sandwiches
- banana daiquiri(s...)
- banana-colada(s)
- banana cake
- banana on muesli
- banana by themselves....
-...etc

Shay and Jo have hired a hobbie cat to get them to the sandbar and have been kitesurfing most days so far, even spotting a turtle on the way one day. An International Kitesurfing comp starts tomorrow.

Expecting a quiet night tonight (without the tropical disco on shore) being Sunday when everything stops.

Sun is about to set, another day in tropical paradise is about to end with a banana cocktail I think!

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Update

Coordinates: Aitutaki Harbour
Bearing:
Boat Speed:
Wind Direction:
Wind Strength:
Sea state:

Crew health: great

Fish caught:nil but saw a few flying fish

Other points of interest:

We left Rarotonga with reasonable but not ideal winds and non coming up on the weather map for the next week or so
A SE would have been good and we are in the SE Trade wind belt but we had to make do with a ENE wind on the trip almost directly north - so lumpy sailing !
we were too late to get through the reef before dark yesterday so sailed on past Aitutaki with minimal sail just jogging along slowly then tacked back
Timing went well and we were at the pass an hour before high water . The current is always flowing out here due to the constant east nd SE winds driving water over the reef
With Shay about 15 feet up the mast pointing the way we motored at top speed against the current up the passage 40 feet wide - Katipo is 22 feet wide !
But all went well and we are in a real tropical paradise, anchored in a quiet little harbour with one other yacht which looks like it has been here ages

Shay and Jo have gone off to investigate the kite board surfing here and by luck some world competitions are to be held here in the next week - the huge lagoon is perfect for the sport

I will try and up date the blog but not every day while in Aitutaki

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Update

Coordinates: 19 05 S 159 30 W
Bearing: 359 M
Boat Speed: 7
Wind Direction:ENE
Wind Strength: 13
Sea state: moderate swell

Crew health: great

Fish caught: nil

Other points of interest:

we are about 20 miles of Aitutaki but will no get through reef today so will hove to until tide right tomorrow
I forgot to mention yesterday that in Rarotonga Shay and I dived under Katipo and found an indentation about 100 mm lomg in port keel and a smaller one under Starboard one from the whale collision

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Update

Coordinates: 21 05 S 159 45 W
Bearing: 347 M
Boat Speed: 6
Wind Direction: ENE
Wind Strength: 12
Sea state: lumpy NE swell

Crew health: great

Fish caught:

Other points of interest: set off bound for Aitutaki at 3 pm after a busy morning stocking up on water, diesel , petrol for outboard
and gas for stove then trudging from port captains office to immigration to customs shelling out dollars at each stop!

Rarotonga was greaty but it it is a small harbor noisy construction work going on and a french naval boat for the last two days with its generators going loudly day and night so it is good to be on our way

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Update

Coordinates: Rarotonga
Bearing:
Boat Speed:
Wind Direction:
Wind Strength:
Sea state:

Crew health:all well

Fish caught:

Other points of interest:

another warm sunny day
Denise flew in last night about 1.15 am arriving five minutes after Shay and Jo on another flight

Denise with her new Urchin hair style - even shorter than mine !! Great to catch up with all the news
A taxi dropped us off at the boat along with all Shay and Jo's kite surfing gear ( they had little allowance left for clothes !
Apparently by chance a world wide kite surfing competition is due to start in Aitutaki soon - it has a marvelous lagoon so we may be there in time

Up early to go to the Saturday market this morning. We bought lots of fruit and veg including pawpaw and a huge stem of green bananas which took two of us to carry - hope they do not all ripen at once !

We will put the reports on hold now until we start sailing again - hopefully in 3 to 4 days

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Update

Coordinates: Avatiu Rarotonga
Bearing:
Boat Speed:
Wind Direction:
Wind Strength:
Sea state:

Crew health: excellent

Fish caught:

Other points of interest:
what a marvelous sleep last night - first time all night for weeks
coffee and a lazy breakfast then busy cleaning and tidying up and stowing those things not needed when not sailing
Ted took the bus round the island ( 32 km ) and visited the place here the double canoes of old left for NZ
There has been a constant stream of visitors
Some Cook Island voyaging society members including Te Tini Pekepo who sailed recently from NZ to Rarotonga on one of the recently built double canoes built by Salthouse Brothers in Auckland

Also an amazing fellow Fai Mau who last year sailed on a 50 foot Tahitian outrigger boat to China - not something reported in NZ boating magazines

Many people recognize Katipo as a Wharram design and some met James here in 1994 when he was on his circumnavigation

Bill Caruthers called by - he had sailed a 46 foot Wharram to the UK from the USA and passed trough the infamous Fastnet storm but since had no radio did not realize was happening in the race ( many boats were lost or abandoned and several people drowned )

So lots of interesting folk to talk to but not so much work done!

I collected all the washing today - dried and neatly folded - what a great service at a reasonable cost

When we leave here we hope to sail to Aitutaki
Denise , Shay and Jo fly in tonight
Ted who has been a great crewman flies back to the Auckland winter tomorrow
It is time for a beer and to watch the sun go down

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Update

Coordinates: Avatiu Harbour Rarotonga !!!!!
Bearing:
Boat Speed:
Wind Direction:
Wind Strength:
Sea state:

Crew health: delighted

Fish caught:

Other points of interest:
here we are - arrived and anchor down at 11 am. oddly exactly 28 days since we left
but a total of 8 days were spent at sea anchor to save the boat a lot of stress and us the hassle of beating into the Bogi Walu easterlies.
2080 total nautical miles so when sailing not to bad a daily average for a heavily loaded cruising cat
At dawn today we saw the dark craggy peaks of Rarotonga looming out of the early morning haze - quite a dramatic moment
28 degrees here in the late afternoon
Every one is friendly and helpful
A new laundry has opened about 200 metres away so we took in a heap of salty clothes etc
fantastic
more tomorrow

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Update

Coordinates: 21 32 S 160 07 W
Bearing:10 M
Boat Speed:6
Wind Direction:SW
Wind Strength: 10
Sea state: light swell

Crew health:great

Fish caught: one huge dorado

Other points of interest:

an excellent day with windin the right direction for a change
magic on watch last night , bright moon you could almost read a book by
caught a good sized Mahi Mahi at 6 am today - they are spectacular
looking fish and excellent to eat
good to have the freezer available

we are about 21 miles SW of Rarotonga and thought we could just spot a shadow on the horizon before dark came
if all goes well hope to arrive tomorrow am after being hove to overnight near the island
exciting times !

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Update

Coordinates: 23 20 S 161 01 W
Bearing:7 Mag
Boat Speed: 5.8
Wind Direction: NW
Wind Strength:11
Sea state: short chop

Crew health: great

Fish caught: still trying - none live here

Other points of interest:
we are pleased to have reasonable breeze even if it does mean working to windward
sunny day
spent part of the morning dismantling the marine toilet to sort out a problem - never a nice job especially before lunch ! however all is now fixed

certainly getting warmer and more humid by the day . Salty clothes are not so good though as they never dry out well,
slowly creeping up on Rarotonga now and we will be extra vigilant keeping an eye open for shipping

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Update

Coordinates: 24 20 S 161 46 W
Bearing:70 M
Boat Speed: 6 knots
Wind Direction: NNW
Wind Strength: 9 knots
Sea state: slight swell

Crew health: great

Fish caught:nil still trying 24 hours a day

Other points of interest:
great sunset just finished going well , all sail set
we have been listening to the Temptations, Celine Dion, and British old timers CD including George Formby ( you would love it Steve L )
We were discussing the Bermuda Triangle today and reckon we have been going through the Rarotonga Triangle
First hitting the large whale, then winds and high seas of the long lasting Bogi Walu now an area devoid of fish or birds and certainly ships -actually have seen none since just off the NZ coast
nice and warm now - shorts and sitting in the shade weather !

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Update

Coordinates: 24 34 S 162 07 W
Bearing: was E or ESE
Boat Speed: 0.5 to 1 knot
Wind Direction: 62T
Wind Strength: 2 to 3 knots
Sea state:calm

Crew health: excellent - sea water shower on deck today - warm day 27 degrees in cabin

Fish caught: trying hard today but nil

Other points of interest:

after about 11 days of E and NE strong winds but even stronger bigger seas than normally go with them we have had a mild 7 knots all day until last hour and sun out . You could leave hatches open and air below without spray from crashing bows going down below if you were not quick enough closing a hatch.
Sometimes a nasty cross sea would have come rolling in striking the side of Katipo with a great jarring noise and throwing up heaps of spray too.

Today peace , ticking along , wind vane as ever coping fine , clothes etc hung out to dry and making ground to East
tomorrow still light winds but should go SE and we may be able to use reacher sail .

We had read that the voyage to Rarotonga could be a challenge and at times it has, but all is well

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Update

Coordinates: 25 01 038 S 162 33 574 W
Bearing:11 M
Boat Speed: 4 reefed down in rain squall
Wind Direction: mainly East T
Wind Strength: 20 knots
Sea state: lumpy

Crew health: great

Fish caught:

Other points of interest:

not a bad day sailing , working to NE basically ,
just having a rain squall go through with strong winds
still eating last of kumara and onions -excellent but heaps of tins and packets of food
under 300 miles to go now - just need less east wind - the last of the Bogi Walu likely

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Sailing again!

Coordinates:25 50 928 S 163 04 957 W
Bearing: 6 m
Boat Speed: 4
Wind Direction:77
Wind Strength: 12 knots and falling
Sea state: lumpy and confused
Crew health: great
Fish caught:no fishing but flying fish about
Other points of interest:
after two hours work winching in parachute and making sail we got under way again this morning
still big seas which slowed any progress but seas seem to be settling now better
wind direction still not ideal but should improve according to yesterdays forecast
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Update

Coordinates: at sea anchor 26 04 S 163 10W
Bearing:
Boat Speed:
Wind Direction:
Wind Strength:
Sea state:

Crew health:great

Fish caught:

Other points of interest:
All is well
the situation - a retired teacher and a retired vet ( no pressing dates to get back to work ! ) sit under the sun ( 26 degrees today) eating a delicious home prepared freezer meal ( thanks Denise ) , discussing keenly important matters like the meaning of life whilst listening to Edith Piaf songs wafting from the new waterproof cockpit speakers
It can't be bad !

With regard to the weather - Ted has sailed about 13,000 offshore ocean miles over the years and I have sailed about 5,000 now.
Neither of us can remember such short , high, steep, constant seas for a such a wind of not too extreme speed. It has to be the intense Bogi Walu keeping the seas up and probably a counter current. Off course the seas have to be coming from the wrong direction - otherwise we would be romping over the ocean

However yesterdays forecast was much more encouraging - we may even have to get back to sailing soon

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Update

Coordinates: 26 01 163 03
Bearing:
Boat Speed:
Wind Direction:
Wind Strength:
Sea state:

Crew health: great

Fish caught: nil

getting to know this part of the ocean quite well as still on parachute

another day in this marine paradise - seas seem to be moderating a bit today but wind in NE

If the Bogi Walu ( see yesterday) sounds too sinister we can also use the French Polynesian name of Mara Umu. The main characteristic is the enhanced winds round the slow moving high tend to take a few days longer to settle than usual

All is well -n basking in the sun , reading books , and having a good cleaning session round the boat

Fresh veg nearly all gone - kumara and onions having lasted really well
plenty of cans and packets of food however

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Update

Coordinates: 25 55 S 162 52W
Bearing:
Boat Speed:
Wind Direction:
Wind Strength:
Sea state:

Crew health:

Fish caught:

Other points of interest:
still lying to the sea anchor , all is well , sunny pleasant day , did a few minor jobs around the boat
We have been reading Bob McDavits ( NZ Weather expert) book on marine weather and find we are in the grips of a BOGI WALU - which is the Fijian name for the situation. We realized that the strong high pressure system we have been in was getting an extra 'spin ' from the south east trades.
But reading more it certainly accounts for the strong easterlies and at times NE wind and much much bigger seas than we would have anticipated. It normally takes some days to clear and settle which is what we are finding.
However we are in great spirits and should be under way again fairly soon. Certainly no point thrashing to windward in these seas and stress the gear and boat when you have the opportunity to sit it out. It just requires a bit of patience.

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Update

Coordinates: 25 52 S 162 39 W
Bearing:
Boat Speed:
Wind Direction:
Wind Strength:
Sea state:

Crew health:

Fish caught:

Other points of interest: still at parachute , brilliant blue sky and basked in sun all day. Had a bit of luck last night , started to haul in parachute last night in dark at 5.30 pm as wind dropping and sea was less steep . Hauled in 250 feet of line when when noticed slight wind increase and that winded had backed rapidly ( not in our favour!) - so let it out again as wind reached 28 knots and rising
As a result had a good nights sleep instead of a rough night sailing and likely losing ground.
Only 310 miles to go and we are well situated once the seas and wind moderate

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Update

Coordinates: 25 53 301S 162 27 088W
Bearing:
Boat Speed:
Wind Direction:
Wind Strength: dropping
Sea state: starting to reduce

Crew health:great

Fish caught:

Other points of interest:
a useful day at sea anchor doing more checking and minor repair jobs - wind dropping in last hour , about to check weather grib files and make next move - all is well and a sea anchor changes things hugely - gives you more options

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Update

Coordinates: same place on sea anchor - well virtually but for currents and some drift
Bearing:
Boat Speed:
Wind Direction:
Wind Strength:
Sea state:

Crew health: great

Fish caught:

Other points of interest:

sunny but high wind and fairly big seas from east so decided on a lazy day catching up on jobs like checking each beam lashing , improving lashings on rudders with some old bike inner tubes so rudder stays about central but with a bit of give at anchor
dropped long handled deck brush over the side today and immediately rushed to get the boat hook but to my surprise it was still bobbing there when I got back - usually at sea anything over board is a one way trip but not so on the sea anchor

Yesterday we were hit by a particularly nasty steep cross sea when sailing and it was one of those situations where one thing leads to another.
The huge jolt and the angle of the boat on the wave face and the fact that the safety catch was not on allowed the hatch to slide open and half a buckets worth of sea water poised in the air above the open hatch to seize its chance and dive down the hatch opening.
The bilge which has been dry since the Tonga trip in 17 years ago needed drying out today ( fine job Ted ) as some bottles of wine being stored in the bilge for later would have lost there labels and become pot luck!
We never drink anything alcoholic at sea however it is too dangerous - you needs be on top form all the time!

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Update

Coordinates:26 13 100 S 161 56 022 W
Bearing: nil
Boat Speed: nil
Wind Direction: SE
Wind Strength: 25 to 35 at present
Sea state: big seas

Crew health: happy

Fish caught: nil

Other points of interest: the good run of wind could not go on for ever
today increasing southerly backing to SE , strength up to high 30 knots today - it became more difficult and uncomfortable to maintain a good course and with night coming on we decided to put out the sea anchor again this is supposed to be fun - no point thrashing along all night in huge seas!!
looks like not the best wind for a day or so but we will see

message bit late today due to work on deck

PS no whales today

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Whale Collision!

Coordinates: 27 49S 163 04 W
Bearing: 40M
Boat Speed: 5.8
Wind Direction: 155
Wind Strength: 12
Sea state: some moderate southern swell
Crew state : grateful
Fish caught: nil
Other points of interest:
we had been talking this morning about the exact position of the Haymet rocks first seen in 1863 and only once possibly since. We should be some long distance away.
I was in my bunk below about half an hour ago thinking about getting up. Ted was on watch when there was an almighty noise like a giant bang and the whole boat seemed to lift. I immediately scrambled up on deck thinking HAYMET to see Ted with a look of awe on his face pointing to a large slick on the surface of the water behind the boat. At the bang and lurch of the boat which was doing about 6 knots at the time he had seen to his right a great whale tail in the air near the starboard stern of the boat.
We checked down below immediately but there appears to be no serious damage just a glancing blow as we rode up over the whale . There are nicely curved and extremely thick timbers along the keel of each hull so we should be fine. But to lift 6 ton of boat sailing along it would have been one hell of a wack.
On the bright side we have seen no sign of Haymet Rocks - good job it was not them!!!
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Update

Coordinates: 29 11 S 164 11 W
Bearing: 10 mag
Boat Speed: 6.5
Wind Direction:ssw
Wind Strength: 15 and increasing
Sea state: big swell from south

Crew health:great

Fish caught: nil

Other points of interest:

no rolling , yawing or pitching for us , just hissing along as if on rail way tracks
dropped genoa as a nasty cloudy and gusts likely very soon - still very lucky with steady southerly wind

water consumption - we keep water in 15 litre containers which is pumped up to the galley sink and we can easily track what is use
interestingly only about 2.5 litres each a day plus the occasional drink of fruit juice - we loaded 390 litres in Howick so no worries there

heaps of great food still - thanks to the great victualling job by Denise

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Update

Coordinates: 30 41 479 S 165 00 335 W
Bearing: 10 mag
Boat Speed: 5
Wind Direction: 165 T
Wind Strength: 12
Sea state: big swell from south

Crew health: fine

Fish caught: no fishing

Other points of interest:
What a stroke of luck - the wind since the gale has been overall pretty good and now
stronger southerlies are forecast for next few days

We have now started a more northerly course having made adequate Easting as recommended by all the experts and as has been proved over the years to be best

sunny day and really pleasant sailing so we decided to jog along and have a relaxing day as we are in no hurry

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