We dropped anchor at 1500 local time today in Baie Tahauka on the island of Hiva Oa, Marquesas. We are so happy to be here. Not only are we barely moving at anchor, this place is beautiful. There are about 15 boats sharing the anchorage with us, including our friends on Cinderella (we last saw them in Costa Rica back in April). We did a quick reconnaissance of the immediate area ashore… Read More

We’re about 125 miles from the island of Hiva Oa. We should arrive sometime tomorrow, depending on the wind. Right now, it is light and from a less than ideal direction so we’re having to head more north than we’d like, which mean more miles. But the seas are calm and we’re having a nice downwind sail on a beautiful afternoon. We’re in a wing-on-wing configuration with the mainsail out on the… Read More

It’s Bastille Day in French Polynesia. There are parties, traditional dances, lots of food and fun. Unfortunately we aren’t there to help celebrate. We’re still a couple of days out. The wind and seas are not cooperating; in fact, they seem to have something against us (and each other). The wind is light and the seas are big and lumpy, making for a very uncomfortable motion. We’re hanging in there, though, with… Read More

Trying to stand, and walk, on a sailboat constantly rolling from side to side in a big swell… the struggle is real. We’re getting better at it but today has been testing us mightily. Simply standing still is even a challenge. We’ve both developed a touch of tendinitis in our dominant legs (Wags’ left and my right) from constantly bracing ourselves in order to perform such simple tasks as, say, making a… Read More

Strong winds (20+ kts) and confused, lumpy seas have returned over the past twelve hours. With a reefed headsail and a triple-reefed mainsail we’re still managing a speed of 7 kts. Unfortunately the winds are insidiously pushing us more south than we need to be so we’re anticipating a necessary jibe sometime over the next couple of days to regain our northerly ground. Other than that, all is well. Breakfast: Farewell to… Read More

The days tick by with a predictable routine… eat, nap, read, eat, evening entertainment, sleep, stand watch, repeat. We aren’t bored, as the weather and seas continually throw challenges at us – a sudden squall, a rolly motion preventing all manner of rest, a line in the prop (okay, that last one was us). During the day, there’s not a lot to see. The sky is blue, the ocean is a deeper… Read More

Last night was a frustratingly mixed bag of weather. We started our watch schedule in 12-15 knots of wind with smooth seas (perfect). At midnight it was raining and gusting to 27 knots (not ideal but we were moving). By 2:00a the wind had shifted 180 degrees and was pushing us in the wrong direction. An hour later, it died and left us becalmed and rolling wildly abeam to the swell. We… Read More

Posting two updates today as yesterday’s failed to make it from the composed to the sent file. For the first time in three days we’ve managed to sail generally in the right direction for an entire day without having to jibe. And, we have less than 1000 miles to landfall. So we’re making brownies to celebrate! That is all. Breakfast: Toasted Galapagos panaderia bread w/nut butter, honey and blueberry jam Lunch: Organic… Read More

Progress was a little slower the past 24 hours as we (figuratively) powered through a couple of periods of light winds. We’ve been practicing our French and reading voraciously. The improved sea state is helping us to catch up on some much needed sleep – it’s much easier to do so when you don’t have to tense your entire body every five seconds to avoid rolling out of bed. We’ve been keeping… Read More

The seas have calmed considerably, the sun is out, and a white tropic bird just cruised past for a closer look at us, all the way out here, 1700 miles from land. Unfortunately, like yesterday, the wind has shifted to the E/NE so we had to again jibe to gain some northerly direction. The swell is more on our tail, though, which makes for a somewhat comfortable ride. No other news to… Read More