Arrived in Tonga - will sit out cyclone season in New Zealand

Hi All.  Just a quick note.

We arrived safely in Tonga a few days ago.  We've been so very tired after this last passage that we have not had the energy to track down internet, or do much of anything else for that matter.  We are now somewhat recovered and are taking an interest in our surroundings.

We are in the northern group of island in Tonga; in Refuge Bay - the site of the only town.

Another bit of news is that we have decided to sit out cyclone season in New Zealand.

More later!

Owen

Strangers in the Night

So we are doing well, moving along with 350 miles to Tonga, 1,100 miles under our belt on this jump so far. We've had some very still days. Yesterday we rolled around in 3 meter swells with only 4 knots of wind - not enough for steerage. But we relaxed and played and schooled.

Last night the wind picked up around sunset and we sailed at 2 to 3 knots all evening. A couple of squalls came by, but to our southeast a huge electrical storm lit up the sky all night. Silent flashbulbs cast the clouds in stark relief, and darkness would collapse back on the night. Then moments later a staccato burst of flashes would erupt somewhere else.

On the 29th, near sunset I was on watch, and sighted a sail on the horizon. "A boat," I called out. It looked to be a slop some 4 miles away. I called n the VHF and talked to David, who along wit his wife Sonja, have sailed their Swiss registered 36 foot sailboat - S/V Moulimentum from Europe. They to were floundering in no wind. As darkness fell, David said that they were going to motor all night, and he lamented how much the decision was going to coast them in diesel. Soon their light pulled ahead of us. I guess we are purists - but we can't see using up diesel in a sailboat. The wind will come eventually.

Last week we met a giant yacht transport vessel (with 32 yachts aboard) sailing from the U.S. to Australia. I talked to the bridge crew - a fellow named York - and he was very happy to talk to someone else out in the big blue sea. He hadn't seen anther vessel in 3 days. On radar I clocked him at 17 knots.

So it is a big ocean, but it's full of storms and other vessels. Tonight as we sail lazily along at 3 1/2 knots westward storm clouds are again building on the horizon's rim. I hope we don't meet a big electrical storm tonight. Getting hit by lightening wouldn't hurt us more than likely, but it would probably kill our radios. we have two spare GPS units and batteries in a "Faraday cage" (our microwave)in the event we do suffer a strike, our navigation won't only be by sextant and reduction table.

So all is well - except that Carrie won't part with the Kindle, as she is devouring the Sookie Stackhouse novels. It's not fair. What am I to read? Kids are watching Harry Potter. More in a few days. Nite.

Owen

S 18 33.13
W 167 28.54
At 22:00 zulu

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Palmerston Island flyby and booming trade winds.

Just a update.

Yesterday at 4:30 pm local time we made our close approach to Palmerston Island. It's always kind of amazing when after seven hundred miles of sailing you hit the bullseye and land appears right in front of you. It's a big ocean, so it's always a nice pat on the back that you're doing something right.

The island, which is really a big atoll with many palm covered motus built upon a reef with a central lagoon, anyway - the island(s) were green and covered in pals, and no point of land probably exceeded 20 feet above sea level. Lots of sea birds wheeled in the sky above the atoll. One Booby kept coming about three feet from our boat - much to the kid's delight.

The wind was out of the north, so taking one of the moorings on the west side of Palmerston proper was out of the question, as the wind needs to be out of the east to keep the moored vessel off the reef. So we took pictures and sailed on by.

Another Green Flash at sunset. A very bright one.

Overnight the winds picked up and shifted direction and now we are booming along in 15 - 18 knots of steady trade winds. Yeah us. So all is well. Proceeding westward.

Owen

S 18 02.26
W 164 18.5422

21:00 Zulu time

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In the Cook Islands/thoughts on "jumping", - A leter to Uncle Pat from Tamsyn, and a Book Report

So after four days of sailing we are over 400 miles from Bora Bora and now in the Cook Islands - less than 100 miles from Atutaki a largish island with a tricky and narrow entrance. We probably won't stop there. We may stop in Palmerston (Cook Islands) a couple hundred miles further west.

The weather is fine, though much of yesterday we had light winds. The mornings start out fine and clear with 8 to 10 knots of winds. After sunrise the winds begin to build, and the air warms. By 9:00 am the air is muggy, and the temperature is above 80 degrees. Popcorn cumulus clouds appear to the north and begin building. By noon we've typically gone through at least one rain squall. By sunset the sky is filled with thunderheads, many with overshooting tops, producing the classic anvil shapes. Strangely enough, though they can produce high winds and torrential rainfall, there is no lightening. At night we reef sails, then put them back out again as squall after squall passes overhead. By 4:00 am their energy of the previous day has dissipated, and the sky is almost clear.

This is a long jump - this trip to Tonga, but very different from the big jump from North America. There is something about this idea of a "jump" that seems to figure large in the minds of many sailors. A jump is definitely over a few days in length, usually over a week. In port people say they are, "getting ready for the next jump." They provision, repair, talk to others about their intended route, and as the day comes closer they start watching the weather very closely. Anyone who says that they are not at all nervous about the upcoming jump, is either not being honest, or I wouldn't want to sail with them.

Talking with another sailor who has already made that particular "jump" or passage is very desirable. Boats make the jump in waves. One boat will go out, and the other boats are usually not ready yet. Not provisioned, not done playing, not repaired. Then a few more boats go out a day or two later. The remaining candidates for this "wave" of departures may have a few last minute things on their "to do list" or they might not like the weather. "What weather resources are you using"? is not an uncommon question down here where good weather info is not plentiful.

Then it is nearing your time to go; to make that jump you've gotten a wee bit keyed up about. You start getting radio emails from vessels who have left a week before. They are either having a great passage, or getting hammered in 30 knot winds. You check the weather again... and make a plan to go on a particular day. You may check the tides. You may download the weather twice a day. Now you have to actually stow all the gear and get the boat ready for sea, with two kids, that is a huge job. It takes at least a full days work - maybe two. Then there is the matter of catching up on sleep in anticipation of upcoming night watches.

Then it's your day. It's you pulling anchor, or dropping the mooring ball lines. You wave to friends on nearby boats - boats still getting ready for the jump. And then you are away. The first sunset comes, and the boat settles into it's "at sea" routine.

Our friends Joel and Christine on S/V Balena (a Westsail 33) are four days behind us. They just jumped.

We are well. Getting into the groove, and enjoying this passage so far. We'll be happy to make landfall when it comes, but for now this is very pleasant.

Here is a letter Tamsyn wrote back in Tahiti. It's to her uncle Patrick. She also wrote a book report.

* * * *
August 15th.

To Pat,
I am in Tahiti. We have a friend named Joel. we had him over for dinner yesterday. Joel is 30. He used to work on a NOAA ship! And we have another friend who is 5 1/2. Her name is Emma. I made her a gingerbread doll all by myself! I went swimming yesterday. Dad is going to get a fuel cylinder. Your sister is sitting at the table and not doing anything. Griffyn is still in the bathroom. How are things at home?

Tamsyn

* * * *

SPOOKY MOUNTAIN

"Rowan of Rin" is a book by Emily Rodda. The book is about a boy, Rowan, who lives in a village and is the keeper of the cows. The stream stopped flowing. So the village sent seven people up the mountain to fix the problem. Rowan was the ost scared of the seven.

I think it is a good story. It is a bit scary, but not a lot. It is fun and that is why I like it. And it is the best story ever!

By Tamsyn Caddy

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On the way to Tonga

So we got the boat under weigh, and we are now far out to sea, on the way to the Tonga. The last island in Polynesia along our route is falling behind on the horizon, and a glorious orange sunset welcomed us back to sea as we ate diner in the cockpit.

Winds are in the 10 - 12 knot range with big mixed sells. We expect some squalls during the night, so we are reefed down. It feels nice to be at sea again - more focused, with shore work done, the sailing ahead of us

We're all well; and hope our friends and family are the same. G'Nite.

Owen

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Updates are arriving - new posts for our crossing

Hi all,

I have begun to enter blog entries - written long ago - that I haven't been able to put on the blog due to lack of power, internet or computer time. Here are the first of many:

Our Champion Bucket Filler (May 12, 2011)
http://svmadrona.blogspot.com/2011/05/our-champion-bucket-filler.html

A Fouled Prop (May 13, 2011)
http://svmadrona.blogspot.com/2011/05/fouled-prop.html

I did a lot of writing during my night watches about our shake down cruise across the Pacific.  Owen referred to it as a short book. I will be publishing them as we have internet access (beyond sailmail) with reference notes like this one. Enjoy.

Carrie

Landfall Bora Bora

So we were sailing nearby, and decided we had to stop at Skull Island, I mean Bora Bora.

Bora Bora is the archetypal pacific island with a central volcanic peak, fringing reef, and an enormous lagoon with water in a myriad shades of blue and green.  So here we are.

We had a nice 20 hour sail in very light winds to get here; and from here we will take off into the big blue again for our next big jump of over 1000 miles.  Still working out the itinerary there.

Here are some pictures!

Approaching Bora Bora after a shower.

A wonderful anchorage on the previous island.

The kids after swimming, and before bed.

Laundry at Bora Bora... a beautiful place.

Sunset last night.

Life in Polynesia is not complete without a constant stream of paddlers in outrigger canoes.

I haven't seen the Green Flash for many many years, but last night we had a lovely treat.  And to make it even better I was able to photograph the flash.  Carrie and Griffyn were in deck watching too, and were duly impressed.  Anyway... enjoy. Note - the flash was really green, and appears so at full resolution, but when I compressed the photo for posting it lost some color saturation - sorry Paul ;-)

So we really like Bora Bora.  It's pretty commercialized compared to many places, but is so beautiful, and on such a modest scale, that the pluses far outweigh the negatives.  We will be here a few more days before we strike out towards the Kingdom of Tonga.

Carrie is going to add another entry soon !