Day 3 distance traveled: 138 n/m
Total distance traveled: 413n/m
Distance to Palmerston: 247n/m
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Day 3 Bora Bora to Tonga (via Palmerston and Niue??)
A mixed day today. We spent the daytime with the main and cruising chute up doing about 4 knots in about 8 knots of wind. By the end of the day we had at least 25 knots of wind - 2 reefs in the main, half the genoa furled away and were still doing 7 knots!! The boat is coping well with the wind but big seas are making abit uncomfortable for the crew!!
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Day 2 Bora Bora to Tonga (via Palmerston and Niue??)
A good days sailing with the wind starting to drop towards the end of the day as predicted in the weather files. Calysta is still within VHF range but out of sight.
Day 2 distance traveled: 125 n/m
Total distance traveled: 275 n/m
Distance to Palmerston: 384n/m
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Day 1 Bora Bora to Tonga (via Palmerston and Niue??)
After finishing our jobs this morning we left Bora Bora about 11am. We had good winds but the seas were initially very rolly but this settled down once we were clear of the islands. Calysta also left today on the same route so we are in VHF contact with him. We are heading towards Palmerston but are unsure whether we will be able to stop - it depends on the weather and whether there are any mooring buoys available.
Distance travelled on Day 1: 150 n/m
11th July, Bora Bora Yacht Club, Bora Bora
We woke up this morning to an overcast sky which was a problem because we wanted o head back up to the yacht club but we couldnt get back through the coral pass without good sunlight to help our visibility. At about 7.30 there was a small patch of blue sky so we decided to make a run for it - getting out of the pass was alot less scary than getting in!
We headed up to the yacht club and anchored. Today we wanted to get ready to leave tomorrow so we did some hand washing, took a load of washing in for their machines, filled up with water and went to the supermarket to get some fresh veg.
On the way back from town we saw Ishka who invited us on board but we needed to put some of the shopping in the fridge and see if our laundry was ready to hang out.
After lunch with the washing hung out we headed over to see Ishka - White Hawk and Blaze were also there so we had a fun afternoon.
We headed back to the boat for dinner and to finish our jobs and had been invited over to Natural Mystic (Tina (Norwegian) and Kyber (American)) for cocktails. We had a quick cocktail before heading ashore to watch the dance festival which was great.
We headed up to the yacht club and anchored. Today we wanted to get ready to leave tomorrow so we did some hand washing, took a load of washing in for their machines, filled up with water and went to the supermarket to get some fresh veg.
On the way back from town we saw Ishka who invited us on board but we needed to put some of the shopping in the fridge and see if our laundry was ready to hang out.
After lunch with the washing hung out we headed over to see Ishka - White Hawk and Blaze were also there so we had a fun afternoon.
We headed back to the boat for dinner and to finish our jobs and had been invited over to Natural Mystic (Tina (Norwegian) and Kyber (American)) for cocktails. We had a quick cocktail before heading ashore to watch the dance festival which was great.
Friday, 10 July 2009
10th July, South West anchorage (between Point Raititi and Point Matira), Bora Bora
Yesterday afternoon we had asked the local dive shop about good snorkeling spots so we spent the morning snorkeling and exploring. The coral was mostly dead but the fish were amazing.
In the afternoon we were going to go to the beach but it became very over cast so we did boat jobs.
In the afternoon we were going to go to the beach but it became very over cast so we did boat jobs.
9th July, South West anchorage (between Point Raititi and Point Matira), Bora Bora
We headed ashore and went to a shop that Jonny had seen computers in the window of when we had been walking around town. They couldn't help us but sent us to another shop. The shop had one option in stock and another they could get from Tahiti the next day but we decided to go with the option they already had.
Back on the boat Jonny spent the rest of the morning fixing the laptop and re installing the systems.
We decided to carry on exploring the island and to head down to the southern end. We got to near the end of the island where some boats were anchored but decided the anchorage around the point looked nicer. The passage around the point was heart stopping with 0.1m under the keel at times as we worked our way through the coral heads … but it was worth the effort because the anchorage was stunning.
We had a lovely afternoon exploring and then had to fix the dinghy because the floor kept going down … while we had been tied up to the town quay the night before someone had thrown a cigarette in the dinghy and burnt a hole in the floor!!
Back on the boat Jonny spent the rest of the morning fixing the laptop and re installing the systems.
We decided to carry on exploring the island and to head down to the southern end. We got to near the end of the island where some boats were anchored but decided the anchorage around the point looked nicer. The passage around the point was heart stopping with 0.1m under the keel at times as we worked our way through the coral heads … but it was worth the effort because the anchorage was stunning.
We had a lovely afternoon exploring and then had to fix the dinghy because the floor kept going down … while we had been tied up to the town quay the night before someone had thrown a cigarette in the dinghy and burnt a hole in the floor!!
8th July, Motu Tapu, Bora Bora
After doing some internet jobs in the morning we decided to leave the yacht club and explore the rest of the island. We wanted to go ashore this evening to watch some of the local dance competition that was part of the festival so we wanted to anchor somewhere near to the town. We found a lovely spot next to a small island (motu) in crystal clear water.
I tried to send some SSB e mails from our navigation computer when lots of error messages appeared … the hard drive had died completely. This had started to happen in Tahiti so we had bought a spare external hard drive so that we could take the hard drive out of the one we already had and use it in the laptop. Unfortunately when Jonny tried to replace the hard drive the spare hard drive had stopped working??!! Jonny tried a couple of other options but they wouldn't work … we needed a new hard drive. We were going to go ashore in the morning and try and find a shop that sold them (although we weren't hopeful) or try and get one sent from Tahiti.
After dinner we headed ashore to watch the dancing. We met Coromandel Quest, Kathleen Love, Painted Skies, Calysta, Blaze and Equinox ashore as well. The dancing was amazing.
I tried to send some SSB e mails from our navigation computer when lots of error messages appeared … the hard drive had died completely. This had started to happen in Tahiti so we had bought a spare external hard drive so that we could take the hard drive out of the one we already had and use it in the laptop. Unfortunately when Jonny tried to replace the hard drive the spare hard drive had stopped working??!! Jonny tried a couple of other options but they wouldn't work … we needed a new hard drive. We were going to go ashore in the morning and try and find a shop that sold them (although we weren't hopeful) or try and get one sent from Tahiti.
After dinner we headed ashore to watch the dancing. We met Coromandel Quest, Kathleen Love, Painted Skies, Calysta, Blaze and Equinox ashore as well. The dancing was amazing.
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
7th July, Bora Bora Yacht Club, Bora Bora
After dropping our laundry off (the yacht club had had to replace 3 washing machines in a year due to cruisers overfilling them so now they fill the machine for you!!) we were met by the taxi to take us to the jewelers.
After much debate I ended up having one pearl set in a necklace and a braclet made of the misshapen pearls. The braclet was going to take a while so the Sarah arranged to bring our jewellery to the yacht club this evening.
Sarah, Zerkovian Pearls (pick up a postcard size flyer in the tourist info and ask them to ring to get you collected) was brilliant. I would highly recommend any cruisers coming through here with pearls to be set visiting her.
We bought baguettes at the shop near the yacht club and then headed to town in the dinghy to go to the post office.
On the way back to Newt we stopped at Calysta to arrange getting diesel and then stopped at an English boat Kathleen Love to say hello. Grahame and Gillian have taken 3 years to get here and are doing a circum navigation. Gillian is from Preston originally.
After lunch Jonny headed off in the dinghy to fill the diesel jugs and I did some cleaning and tidying.
On their way past the boat Bruce and Cheryle, Sea Dove, Australian came past to say hello.
At 4pm Equinox (Scottish, Gordan and Ann) came over for drinks. We had met them initially in Portugal and have bumped into in various places on the trip but never had a chance to chat properly. We had a good couple of hours getting to know them before we headed ashore for dinner at the yacht club.
At the yacht club Sarah was waiting with my pearls which were stunning and I enjoyed wearing all night. After a yummy dinner we headed to Equinox. In 2006 Gordon had circum navigated Spitsbergen and made a film which they had invited us to watch. It was amazing and both of us left the boat saying we wanted to visit although it looked slightly colder than here!!
After much debate I ended up having one pearl set in a necklace and a braclet made of the misshapen pearls. The braclet was going to take a while so the Sarah arranged to bring our jewellery to the yacht club this evening.
Sarah, Zerkovian Pearls (pick up a postcard size flyer in the tourist info and ask them to ring to get you collected) was brilliant. I would highly recommend any cruisers coming through here with pearls to be set visiting her.
We bought baguettes at the shop near the yacht club and then headed to town in the dinghy to go to the post office.
On the way back to Newt we stopped at Calysta to arrange getting diesel and then stopped at an English boat Kathleen Love to say hello. Grahame and Gillian have taken 3 years to get here and are doing a circum navigation. Gillian is from Preston originally.
After lunch Jonny headed off in the dinghy to fill the diesel jugs and I did some cleaning and tidying.
On their way past the boat Bruce and Cheryle, Sea Dove, Australian came past to say hello.
At 4pm Equinox (Scottish, Gordan and Ann) came over for drinks. We had met them initially in Portugal and have bumped into in various places on the trip but never had a chance to chat properly. We had a good couple of hours getting to know them before we headed ashore for dinner at the yacht club.
At the yacht club Sarah was waiting with my pearls which were stunning and I enjoyed wearing all night. After a yummy dinner we headed to Equinox. In 2006 Gordon had circum navigated Spitsbergen and made a film which they had invited us to watch. It was amazing and both of us left the boat saying we wanted to visit although it looked slightly colder than here!!
6th July, Bora Bora Yacht Club, Bora Bora
After sending a fax which will hopefully resolve the tax issue and get us some money back we left Tahaa to head to Bora Bora. As we approached the pass it didn't really look like there was a pass – there didn't seem to be a gap in the breaking waves but as we got closer it was clear.
We had a nice 25 mile sail across to the Bora Bora arriving just after lunch and where met by Andy waiting for us with a baguette!! We decided to stop at the yacht club for a couple of nights to do some washing before heading off to explore the island. Silk Sheets and Equinox were also at the yacht club.
We took the dinghy into the main town and had a fun afternoon walking round. We also went into some jewelers to look at getting some of the pearls I got given in Manihi set. We found a lovely jeweler south of the main town and are going back tomorrow with the pearls!
On the way back to Newt we stopped at an English OCC (Ocean Cruising Club, which we joined after crossing the Atlantic) boat based out of Blyth. They were a lovely couple (Andy and Linda) who have been cruising for 2 years and planning on circum navigating.
Andy (Calysta) had caught a big Mahi Mahi between Raiatea and Bora Bora so we were going ashore for tea to use the BBQ at the yacht club. Also joining in the bbq was Silk Sheets and a Danish boat called Amazing. We had a good night and the fish was yummy.
We had a nice 25 mile sail across to the Bora Bora arriving just after lunch and where met by Andy waiting for us with a baguette!! We decided to stop at the yacht club for a couple of nights to do some washing before heading off to explore the island. Silk Sheets and Equinox were also at the yacht club.
We took the dinghy into the main town and had a fun afternoon walking round. We also went into some jewelers to look at getting some of the pearls I got given in Manihi set. We found a lovely jeweler south of the main town and are going back tomorrow with the pearls!
On the way back to Newt we stopped at an English OCC (Ocean Cruising Club, which we joined after crossing the Atlantic) boat based out of Blyth. They were a lovely couple (Andy and Linda) who have been cruising for 2 years and planning on circum navigating.
Andy (Calysta) had caught a big Mahi Mahi between Raiatea and Bora Bora so we were going ashore for tea to use the BBQ at the yacht club. Also joining in the bbq was Silk Sheets and a Danish boat called Amazing. We had a good night and the fish was yummy.
5th July, Taravana Yacht Club, Tahaa
In the morning we emptied our jerry jugs of diesel into the tanks (my least favourite job on Newt) and the headed to the marina to see if we could refill the jugs – the marina manager said they don't sell diesel, petrol, gas or have a washing machine so that wasn't very helpful!! Apparently we can get fuel in Bora Bora so that will be ok.
We decided to head back across the Yacht Club at Tahaa because we wanted to go ashore at 11pm to use the internet so Jonny could call the tax office with a good internet connection and the yacht club was the best option.
After lunch Jonny re connected our nav lights that had a loose connection at the bottom of the mast.
At 5.30 we headed ashore to pay for our morning buoy and met Lauren Grace (American catamaran) who seem really nice.
We decided to head back across the Yacht Club at Tahaa because we wanted to go ashore at 11pm to use the internet so Jonny could call the tax office with a good internet connection and the yacht club was the best option.
After lunch Jonny re connected our nav lights that had a loose connection at the bottom of the mast.
At 5.30 we headed ashore to pay for our morning buoy and met Lauren Grace (American catamaran) who seem really nice.
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