Nov 26, 2014 Passage to NZ update

"Land ho" exclaimed Harrison.

15 miles to go to the entrance to the Bay of Islands, then 12 more into the harbor. Everyone is getting very excited. I am dreaming about a dinner out. Gigi is dreaming about clean clothes that fit her. Axel is dreaming of ice cream. Gary is dreaming about a good night sleep. And Harrison is dreaming about getting back to Vancouver to see Angela.

We expect to get there about 4 pm. We really hope that the customs people will be able to clear us in today. We are busy preparing the boat for inspection. I have already had the fun of cleaning the ice box while heeling 30 degrees. I definitely was standing on my head for that good. I have thrown out or used almost all the veggies and fruit on board. Next I get to go through the remaining meats. I plan to leave some to see if they are ok or not. You never know.

This is a monumental landfall, as it means we are half way through the territory we plan to visit during this trip. Fortunately it is not yet half way through the time we plan to spend travelling.

Cheers,
Julie

Nov 25, 2014 Passage to NZ update

We are less than 200 miles to NZ, and waiting for the wind to shift to the west as all the forecasts say it will. I sure hope it does soon or we will have to tack our way up to NZ and all our early westing may be for not. Wind is currently light, <10 knots, from the south. We are making decent speed as we are motoring with the main and jib.

Yesterday Gary spent most of the day fixing issues that arose due to being on starboard tack, such as one of the steering pulleys on the starboard side was seized. Although the actual fix was really easy, getting to the part to fix it was not. We had to take down all the sails, remove the mainsheet strop, pull out a cabinet in the kids' cabin, then he could access the pulley and lube it. He also realized he hadn't installed the lee clothe in Axel's bunk, since we hadn't needed it yet, and a few other items.

Everyone is in great spirits, but I think they will be raised more if the wind shifts west and picks up. Everyone is getting eager to get to NZ.

Cheers,
Julie

Nov 24, 2014 Passage to New Zealand

This morning we finally tacked onto starboard. We haven't been on starboard for 6 months, it feels so different. The only bummer of starboard tack is that the fridge is uphill, so you have to brace yourself for flying food whenever you open it.

Last night we motor sailed as the wind lighten. Now we are sailing with full main, staysail and genoa, and making great progress towards New Zealand. If all goes as planned we should be in NZ in 2 days.

On the food front, we are still eating like kings. We have to consume all fresh veggies and fruit and meat before NZ, as they will be confiscated, so we are trying to eat through everything. We have heard they will take all our dried beans also, but there is no way we will get through all of those, so I am not even trying. Currently Gigi is making beer cheese biscuits. Yum can't wait!

Fair sailing,
Julie

Nov 23, 2014 Passage to New Zealand

We have continued to make good progress towards NZ. We are about 350 miles out. Unfortunately the wind is starting to lighten, we can still sail, but if it gets too light we will turn on the motor.

Everyone is in good spirits, no one has been seasick. The kids only get grumpy when I try to get them to do a little schoolwork.

I think this may be the only passage where anyone has gained weight. We have so much food due to all the fish the guys caught. And we still have a few more meals worth of fish. So today we needed to use some of the ground beef we had, so we made meatballs, baked buns, and had meatball sandwiches for lunch. You get a new appreciation for such a simple meal when you have to make each part from scratch. Last night's dinner was extravagant! We had lobster pasta and a Tonga green (like a long broccoli) sauteed in garlic and olive oil. Delicious! We cooked the last 7 lobsters, but there was so much we still have 2 more tails just for snacking. Plus I made chicken noodle soup, since we had another chicken to use, and we had banana muffins for breakfast. I am happy to say that through all this cooking only a little bit of food has gone flying. I guess that is inevitable when the galley is uphill.

As we get closer to NZ everyone is getting more excited. We all had expressed our desires of what we want first. Gigi's may be the most pressing as she needs new clothes, especially pants, since she has grown out of everything.

Fair sailing,
Julie

Nov 22, 2014 Passage to New Zealand

After leaving North Minerva Reef, we stopped briefly at South Minerva Reef. It was near the end of the day so we anchored outside the reef and only Gary swam over to the reef to check it out. He tried spear fishing, but there wasn't as much sea life in the section that we anchored off compared to North Minerva Reef. We spent about 2 hours there then headed out to sail to New Zealand a mere 850 miles away.

We are currently exactly half way between Tonga and New Zealand, 530 miles from the closest inhabited land. We have been sailing for 2 days now and making great progress. We have maintained an average speed of 7 knots, unfortunately that is not supposed to last. In a day we are expected to encounter a high that will have very little wind, so we may have to motor. Nonetheless, we hope to arrive in New Zealand in 4 days.

We have been eating like royalty this passage, with all the fish and lobster we caught in Minerva, plus we have had fresh banana bread, wheat bread and homemade chicken soup.

Fair sailing,
Julie

Nov 20, 2014 Minerva Reef

We have just left North Minerva Reef and are sailing towards South Minerva Reef about 22 miles away. We plan to stop for a few hours this afternoon, then we will head for New Zealand. We have perfect wind for sailing right now, about 12-15 knots from the southeast and we are headed southwest. The weather outlook is for light to medium winds. Unfortunately there is a big void of wind in the high that is sitting over 30-32 degrees south, that we may have to motor through.

North Minerva reef is spectacular. It is a perfect circular atoll with the reef submerged at high tide and most of it exposed at low tide. The snorkeling and fishing is insane.

On my birthday I went snorkeling and diving and we had a huge party on Nirvana. We had 35 people, 13 of them were kids. The kids ran up and down and in and out of all the nooks in the boat, they added a crazy flair to the party. We had a bunch of appetizers and a lot of the lobster we caught the night before on the reef. Anders off the Swedish boat was also celebrating his birthday, so it was a great double celebration. We had happy birthday sung to us in many different languages, 3 versions in English, once in French, once in Spanish, once in German and a toast in Swedish. Definitely more than anyone could wish for. I got some great presents from the other yachties, lots of rainbow loom bracelets from the kids, a few pictures, some fresh baking, some wine, and a stick of butter (and we really needed that so it was a great present). Gigi made me a coconut cup to drink from. Gary and the kids gave me a painting of a lionfish that I had admired in Neiafu. And Harrison gave me a beautiful whale tail necklace. I couldn't ask for a nicer birthday in a nicer location, this may be impossible to top.

The next day was packed with activities, including snorkeling, diving, spear fishing, pole fishing, going up the mast for photos and repairs, …

I went diving with Hans off Nautilus, who is a commercial diver, so he is a super competent diver and Max off Fluenta. We started our dive by going down in the "blue hole". We knew it was deep, but didn't realize how deep until we got down there. When we were at about 110 feet we were looking down at the underwater cave that light was shining through, so we knew it was a passage to another area that went to the surface. We went down a little further as we prepared to go through it, but we realized when we were at 135 feet that the cave was still another 15-20 feet lower, and Max was having gear issues, so we decided that was too deep. That was the deepest dive I have ever done, although we didn't stay at that depth for very long. The water was so clear that it was deceptive how far away the cave was, and the surface looked so close and clear. We looked up at the surface and light shining through this hole in the coral reef was like the sun's rays shining through the clouds. We swam back up through the coral hole and as you got closer to the surface all the vibrant colors came alive. We continued the dive by descending the outer reef wall where there were giant fan corals.

We have snorkeled and dove on many reefs, but this reef was special as it was so alive and very few people ever go there so the reef is undamaged and the sea life is not afraid of people, some of them are actually curious. The reef is covered in a large variety of corals, mostly hard but many soft also, and a rainbow of colors. There were at least 15 different shades of blue that I saw, from brilliant turquoise, to deep royal blue, to pale baby blue, to indigo, to lavender. Plus colors you would never expect to see in the ocean like neon green and yellow brain corals, flame orange painted rocks, brilliant yellow lettuce coral, deep red soft corals, salmon colored fan corals and stag corals with sapphire tips. Amongst all of this coral swim equally colorful fish. One of our favorites is the abundant parrot fish, very majestic turquoise with the hump on their head and beaks for mouths. Tons of small reef fish in every color combination, Gigi's favorite was the royal blue, orange and white fish. And of course there were plenty of bigger, good eating fish that Gary focused on. Gary's favorite was a 150 pound dogmouth tuna, way too big to spear with his setup. There were also giant Napoleon wrasse and everyone's favorite the sea turtles.

Gary was in seventh heaven spear fishing here. He shot a spotted sweetlips, camouflage grouper, parrot fish, big eye trevally down at 70 feet, and a massive almako jack (about 30+ lbs). He also shot a big dog tooth tuna that dragged him down very deep and very fast, enough that even Gary was fearful of the outcome, fortunately in the fight Gary's spear came out of the fish and he didn't lose his gun, but he was dragged down to about 60 feet. The other guys that were spear fishing also caught tons of fish. Tim on Exodus speared a tuna at 71 feet after being down for 1 minute 55 seconds. These guys are so comfortable in the water, they are like fish.

Harrison went trolling and caught 2 blue fin trevallies. While fishing from the kayak, he hooked up with a tuna, and got dragged around, but unfortunately it got away. Everyone went on the reef after dark on my birthday to get more lobster, Gigi bagged about 5 and they came back with about 30 more both spiny and slipper lobster. We have been eating so well, obviously the lobsters are a favorite, and the almako jack is sooooo tasty, very much like tuna, but all the other fish are fantastic too. Since we caught so much fish, we have shared plenty with the other boats that weren't fishing.

We had perfect weather our entire stay, very light to no wind, very small to no seas and about 85F daytime temperature. The water is colder than other places we have been, but still totally fine with a wetsuit on (about 72F). The isolation of this place makes it so unique, only people with their own boat can visit. It also ensures that very few people will ever visit, keeping it so pristine. This is one of the most magical places on earth. If you ever get a chance to visit, you should, I know it is very to pass by and just want to keep on sailing. We are very happy we made the effort to see this place.


Julie


PS Just finished a snack of lobster tail. So yummy!

Nov 18, 2014 Minerva Reef

Yesterday afternoon we made it to Minerva Reef. Our passage was very light, so unfortunately we had to motor a lot. We are anchored just inside the pass and there is no wind or seas, so it is very pleasant and very tranquil.

As soon as we got anchored yesterday we went outside the reef to snorkel. The first thing I saw when I jumped in the water was a huge sea turtle swimming towards me. I called for Axel and he jumped in right away. We both swam for quite a while with the turtle about an arm length away. It wasn't scared of us at all. Such an incredible sight. When it finally swam away we realized how spectacular the reef was. It is covered in live coral, brilliant blues, deep oranges, bone white, and all different types. There are some soft corals and lots of hard corals. The reef is also alive with sea life, schools of colorful fish. Gary speared a grouper and a spotted sweet lips, so tasty.

After dinner Gigi went to another boat for a sleepover with 3 girls, and Gary, Harrison, Axel and some guys from the other boats went on the reef to get lobster. They came back with 75 lobsters, and they are all a good size. They are Pacific lobster and a few slipper lobsters, and their shells are many different colors.

Today it is my birthday. I have been sung to already about 5 times, once over the VHF radio. We are going to have a party tonight and have the other yachties over. We have plenty of lobster to feed everyone. And Gigi made me a chocolate cake, it looks a little lumpy, but it will taste fantastic.

This morning after lobster tacos for breakfast, we went scuba diving. What a spectacular dive. I went with the other adults, and Gary went with Axel. I saw a small lionfish, and an abundance of different corals. So far this has been a truly memorable birthday and I am looking forward to the party this night.

Julie

Nov 14, 2014 Nuku'alofa Tonga

So after about 1 week of waiting for a good weather window to leave and sail to New Zealand, it looks like tomorrow will be a good departure day. We have really enjoyed Big Mama's Yacht Club. There are about 30 boats waiting for the weather window together, so there has been great camaraderie.  There is a gang of about 40 kids that have run wild, and both Gigi and Axel have made some good friends.

So tomorrow we will leave and sail to Minerva reef, which is about 260 miles from here. It is a fringing reef in the middle of the ocean with no land. You go inside and anchor and are protected from any wind direction. Although if the seas get rough they can roll over the reef especially at high tide. It is a great resting spot, but you can get trapped inside if the seas and wind get too high as it would not be safe to leave the pass in those conditions. There is great diving, snorkeling and fishing and we can't wait to see it. We will have plenty of company since about half the boats intend to stop. I also expect to be celebrating my birthday there. Well at least I hope we will be stopped for my birthday, otherwise we may have to postpone any celebration until we get to NZ.

Below are a bunch of photos from our time here at Big Mama's. She did a cooking class that was interesting, and boy was the food good. Then the next night she had a pig roast for all of us. Gigi and some of the girls, with Harrison accompanying them, sang Mama Mia, slightly modified, for Big Mama. She loved it! We will all miss this place.

Julie

Cooking lessons with Big Mama.

Ingredients for cooking class.

Ingredients for cooking class (tuna and parrot fish).

 Harrison and the girls preparing for their song.

Performing their song.

Gary's plate at the pig roast. Can you identify these parts?

Harrison cooking one of the pigs.

Harrison playing guitar for the kava ceremony.

Axel on the rope swing with some of the kids.

Morning rush hour at the dinghy dock with the sunken wreck in the background.

Nov 9, 2014 Nuku'alofa, Tonga

We are still in Nuku'alofa, anchored off Big Mama's Yacht Club. We are waiting for a good weather window to leave Tonga and sail to NZ. There are about 30 other boats also waiting for this window. Right now there is a low passing over Minerva reef and deep low passing over the northern end of NZ with another one right on its heels. We are hoping that there will be a break after those 2 lows pass, but the forecasts don't go out that far yet, so we will wait a few more days for everything to clear up.

At least while we are waiting we have lots of company, and many of the boats have kids the same age. It took Gigi a while to warm up to the other 12 year old girls, but now they are all playing really well together. Axel of course just charges right into the crowd and makes himself known. We have been spending most of the morning and early afternoon doing schoolwork, as we need to get a lot done before the passage as it is hard to write or read at sea. I have also taken this opportunity to get to a few massages. My shoulder has been acting up, so I was really excited when I found a Chinese medicine massage guy. He has really worked the kinks out.

Big Mama had a huge party Friday night for her husband and son's birthdays. There was a traditional Tongan feast, and it was super yummy. Gary really liked the seaweed salad, raw fish salad and the beef wrapped in banana leaves (and you could eat the leaves). I really liked the beef also. The Nuku'alofa police band played. They were incredible. They started with traditional Tongan music, then moved into more lively traditional Tongan dance music, followed by modern dance music interspersed with modern Tongan dance songs. They really got the crowd up and dancing. And they played forever without a break. There was a good mix of Tongans and yachties, and the party went well into the wee hours, and a few even continued through the next day. Harrison fully enjoyed the party, he even played guitar with a few of members of the band. He didn't arrived back at the boat until around 3:30 am, and didn't get out of bed the entire next day except for dinner. Today he is talking, but still mostly sleeping. That must have been some party! Hopefully he recovers before the passage to NZ.

Today is a rainy day as a low passes over us, so we are trying to get some schoolwork and chores done.

Julie

Nov 4, 2014 Nuku'alofa, Tonga

We are in the main city in Tonga, Nuku'alofa. Anchored off Big Mama's Yacht Club. She has a beach sand bar/restaurant and offers all kinds of services for the yachties. I could get used to this setup.

We went into town today and enjoyed getting ice cream, and also fresh vegetables and fruit. The market is incredible here. There are lots of beautiful fruits and veggies and reasonably priced. They also had lots of local crafts and flower leis and crowns. Gigi got a crown and it smelled so fragrant, after a while it overwhelmed Gigi. The grocery stores are completely lacking of food, it is bizarre, I don't know what people live off here. One aisle consists of 100s of jars of mayonnaise and not much else, or bizarre cuts of pork in the freezer. As long as we keep catching fish we will be fine. When we were in the Haapi group Gary speared the biggest grouper I have ever seen. He had quite a fight and a long swim with it, and fortunately there were no sharks around. And it is great tasting fish. He also caught a red snapper and mackerel, and Axel caught a tuna, that Harrison made into a sushi feast for us.

Gary's huge grouper in his best Jacques Cousteau impression

Nirvana at anchor in a tropical paradise.

Uonuhahaki Island

Axel with the tuna he caught

 The sushi feast from Axel's tuna

In front of the Royal Palace

Gigi with her flower crown

Big Mama's Yacht Club

Axel & Gary scuba diving on the wreck off Big Mama's