Click here to see photos of the Guatemala trip. The boys are John, Noel and Chris from work. We went down there for the weekend for a little fun...
-
Herşey Dahil Sadece 350 Tl'ye Web Site Sahibi Ol
Hızlı ve kolay bir şekilde sende web site sahibi olmak istiyorsan tek yapman gereken sitenin aşağısında bulunan iletişim formu üzerinden gerekli bilgileri girmen. Hepsi bu kadar.
-
Web Siteye Reklam Ver
Sende web sitemize reklam vermek veya ilan vermek istiyorsan. Tek yapman gereken sitenin en altında bulunan yere iletişim bilgilerini girmen yeterli olacaktır. Ekip arkadaşlarımız siziznle iletişime gececektir.
-
Web Sitemizin Yazarı Editörü OL
Sende kalemine güveniyorsan web sitemizde bir şeyler paylaşmak yazmak istiyorsan siteinin en aşağısında bulunan iletişim formunu kullanarak bizimle iletişime gecebilirisni
Guatemala!
Click here to see photos of the Guatemala trip. The boys are John, Noel and Chris from work. We went down there for the weekend for a little fun...
Passage Journal: Marshall Islands to Fiji
May 14 - May 30 2006
Current Location: Arrived Savusavu, Fiji
(from Majuro, Marshall Islands)
Current Position: 16°46.6' S 179°19.9' E
Next Destination: Undecided (somewhere in Fiji)
Miles Traveled: 1787.3
Miles to Go: 0
Yipeee! We’ve done it, finally arrived in Savusavu, and oh what a blessing it is. We officially pulled into the anchorage on Wednesday, May 31 around 7a.m. It’s our first time returning to a location already visited, and it feels a bit like returning home. After nine months visiting flat atolls, the surrounding luscious green mountains of Fiji are breathtaking. And we feel we’ve earned the peaceful waters of the anchorage, as less than twelve hours after writing our previous BLOG (posted 5/25) all hell broke loose.
As the sun was setting on the evening of the 25th, we could see we were surrounded by a number of thunderheads, but nothing so dense to be concerned about. The first squall hit around 7:30pm, marking the beginning of our most exhausting night in our passage-making history. Squall after squall hit, pounding us with enough rain to solve most of the world’s drought problems and with winds between 30-38 knots. They continued the entire night. Twelve hours straight. Hitting so close together that we never got more than 20-30 minutes rest. Our definition of a “squall” was redefined. Once the word “squall” would conjure up images of a large thunderhead throwing down some rain and wind for about 5-15 minutes before passing by … a bit inconvenient, but short-lived. Not this night. These squalls lasted from 30-90 minutes. They didn’t just throw down some rain; they pelted us with water bullets. The wind howled down at us and the waves tossed us around like rag-dolls. It was truly ugly.
Neither of us slept much, if at all, and when dawn finally broke we anxiously looked around hoping to see some break in the system. Depression hit fast when all that surrounded us was a thick layer of clouds and thunderheads. During one of the “calm” periods Chris did a quick deck check and found our main sheet block shackle had worked itself completely out of the threads, the only thing holding it was the pressure of the sail on the line. If it had come loose during a big squall we would have had some serious damage. That morning I talked to a single-hander, Russ (on Hygeleg) on the SSB Radio. He along with Indra and Navire, were a few hundred miles ahead of us. They were all hove-to waiting for a system even further South to break up before continuing on. Russ confirmed that he and Indra had also gone through the system we were currently in, and it had lasted about two days. Not what I was hoping to hear. As the SSB radio net was a twice a day event, Chris later asked me (as I was the one who had been listening in everyday), “How the hell could you have missed them talking about this kind of weather for two days straight?”. In my defense, I didn’t have a copy on Indra or Navire. Hygeleg complained of squalls in addition to a bunch of stuff on his boat breaking; so when he talked about how exhausted he was I attributed it to everything, including him being a single-hander, not just bad weather. I figured, okay so we might hit a few squalls … never had I imagined this! Had I picked up on it, we could’ve pulled into Funafuti, Tuvalu and waited for better weather, but now it was too late, we were going to have to ride it out. What’s even worse is the system had further developed by the time we had arrived. Needless to say, from then on I was much more attentive when I listened to the net.
That day we experienced less squalls, but the winds had picked up to a constant 20-25 knots and the seas were building and extremely lumpy. It was like being in a washing machine. The worst part was that we still had to run close-hauled in order to keep our Easting and not loose our rhumbline heading. The day was dark, dreary, and wet; never did any blue sky seem to poke through. The squalls that did hit were just as intense as the night before, but now we seemed to have a system down and so they didn’t seem quite as bad. Around 4pm I was getting hopefully that perhaps the night wouldn’t be so awful. It wasn’t the most comfortable ride, but with fewer squalls we could at least get a bit of rest. After two meals of granola bars I was thinking something warm and soupy would be comforting and a bit more nutritious. It was still too rough to cook anything ‘real’, so cup-o-soup was on my mind when the next squall hit. The squall packed a punch, making it too rough even for cup-o-soup. I kept waiting for it to end, but alas it was there for the long-haul and I conceded once again to another granola bar meal.
When things are bad, it’s good to remember they could always get worse. And unfortunately in this case they did. Now we weren’t just surrounded by squalls with painful rain and high winds. Now we had lightning. The worst thunder and lightning either of us has ever seen in our lives. LIVES – not just since cruising. Bolts of lightning cracked so bright and so long we had to shut our eyes against them. Thunder that rumbled then roared then growled, all in one continuous long song. There was so much electricity in the air that half the time our instruments didn’t work, reading crazy wind strengths (such as 200 knots). Chris was sure we’d be hit; how could we not? We crammed our oven full with electrical instruments and computers, and threw over our grounding strip. And waited.
Around 10pm, I was down below trying to get in a nap, when Chris called me up. The wind had died and we were stuck in, as Chris called it, the belly of the beast. It was as if we were inside a thunderhead. We couldn’t see more then our boat length away – in any direction. Rain poured down. And everywhere lightning flashed, you could see the bolts darting through the clouds. 360 degrees of surrounding lightning; and here we were sitting there with this huge metal pole standing 60 feet tall. Not a place to just kick it, so we turned on the motor and went full throttle. And went. And went. It felt as though we were doing circles, we had no reference points and it didn’t seem like we’d ever make it out. For two hours we motored and sailed as the winds died and increased. The entire time the thunder roared so loud it shook us to the core and the lightning continued, each flash circling 360 and briefly lighting the surrounding dark masses of clouds.
About an hour into it, I was standing in the center of the cockpit facing starboard, with Chris behind the wheel, when WHACK. “What the hell was that?” Chris, ever so calmly, as if it is a normal occurrence, says “A bird”. “See”, as he shines his flash light on a small bird spread flat on the port side. He was tangled under one of our lines, so I moved the line to free him. Whether dazed, injured, or just plain tired he didn’t make a move to leave. At this point Chris and I were so exhausted and fed-up with the weather that we had nothing but empathy for the poor fellow. He didn’t seem to take well to the motion of the boat (who would), and was having trouble standing. Chris bundled up his sweatshirt and placed the bird into it, providing some assistance against the rocking. Meanwhile the bird’s family seemed to be following us, SQWACK … SQWACK. Our new friend sqwacked back occasionally but made no move to leave. Chris, in his delirious state, actually called out to the birds, inviting them aboard, shining his flashlight onto the decks in a runway fashion. No one else joined us, but they did follow us for a good bit. At one point Chris moved the bird slightly forward of the cockpit, near the railing, to give him a better chance to fly off with his mates, but the bird stayed. So we left the guy, desperately trying to maintain his balance and looking at Chris and I as though we were fools to be on such a moving beast, in the cockpit to rest.
Around midnight, we finally we broke out. Seven hours of nasty lightning finally coming to an end. It was blowing 16-20 and still raining, with occasional lightning flashes here and there, but the clouds no longer blended with the seas and the lightning no longer circled us. Chris finally attempted to rest while I took watch. Eventually our bird friend moved, practically flew into my head, scaring the you-know-what out of me. I thought he wanted to leave, so I lifted the cockpit wind-curtain, but at the same time a wave hit and the bird lost his balance and fell on the floor. I scooped him up and held him to the hole in the wind-curtain. Just about then another huge wave hit and the bird half fell and half jumped from my hands, landing on our swim step. He didn’t look happy at all, but there was no way I could reach him, so I left him, hoping he’d fly away before another wave washed him off the step. The next time I looked out he was gone. I had to convince myself that he surely flew off to safety before a wave came and washed him out to sea.
We went an entire five hours without a squall hitting. We were overjoyed. The next morning was still overcast, but a bit calmer. Maybe, just maybe it was almost over. BAM. Another squall. A white out of rain. We couldn’t see past our bow. But no wind this time, so we were motoring. Unfortunately the seas weren’t dying and they seemed to be coming from three different directions. The three boats up ahead had started sailing again and were reporting the same conditions. By now we were both beyond exhaustion. We’d hardly been able to sleep, and what sleep we did manage was uncomfortable and broken. It is amazing how your body handles such exhaustion. While there are times that the waves and winds can sound a bit like voices, it is usually easy to tell your mind is just playing tricks on you … unless, that is, you are sleep deprived. On more than one occasion Chris reported hearing voices and music. He was especially thrown off when one day we were within VHF range with Indra. Chris hadn’t realized I was talking to them on the VHF down below, and with the high winds he could barely make out Rob’s voice on the cockpit mike. He thought his mind was playing tricks again until he finally realized he actually recognized the voice this time. We had to be extra careful the more sleep deprived we became. There were times when I was so tired I couldn’t get the instruments to focus; they were just blurry numbers before my eyes. Onetime Chris was checking and couldn’t manage to clear his brain enough to compute what he was looking at on the instruments and what it all meant. He had to just stare at the numbers trying to remember what he was supposed to be accomplishing. Staying awake during watches and alert during squalls became more and more difficult; our watch timer was barely doing the trick of waking us if/when we fell asleep. Thank god is was just about over.
The 28th was our first day without rain since the whole mess had begun. The winds were still up (around 20 kts) and the seas still confused, but what a difference a little sun can make in your outlook. We hadn’t fished since the first squally night, but as we passed over a few shallow banks, Chris threw over one line just for fun. We instantly caught a very funky looking reef fish with big ‘ol teeth and a huge wide-open mouth. Not knowing what he was and being still a bit rough to attempt fish cleaning, we threw him back. Another time the “fish on” snubber was pulled bar tight until the 400 lb test line snapped like it was a thin piece of thread, I would have like to have gotten a look at THAT fish!
The 29th was still lumpy and windy, but now we could see the light at the end of the tunnel, as the next day we’d be in Fijian waters and we knew it would be calmer once we got into the Somosomo straight. After all the crappy bad-weather meals I was looking forward to something real and was excited that Chris would once again be able to fish. The next morning was utter bliss. Clam and near flat. Mostly sunny. No black ugly clouds on the horizon. Fijian mountains in the distance. And Chris fishing. With six lines running, we looked more like a fishing vessel than sailboat, but it paid off. By 8am we had already pulled in a good size Mahi Mahi. We also had caught a Barracuda, but opted to not keep it. We spent the day enjoying the calm seas and light winds. Chris played with his magnitudes of fishing gear in between boat chores, such as draining 25 gallons of water from our forward bulk-head. I straightened up down below and kept the boat on course. It is amazing how many things can get jarred free and end up flying across the cabin. With all the commotion we had also managed to burst a few of our home-brew bottles … Billabong smelled like a brewery. We enjoyed extremely fresh fish tacos for lunch and looked forward to another fish meal for dinner. The winds continued to lighten, so we eventually had to motor. Life aboard Billabong was slowly returning to normal.
Since we had our track and waypoints from last year, we were able to get into the Savusavu bay at night. It was around 11pm and we didn’t want to go all the way into the harbor at night without knowing if and what mooring balls were available, but we knew the approximate location of a mooring ball out at the point (about 3 miles from the harbor). We had never attempted picking up a mooring at night, but the thought of a restful night of sleep tempted us into trying. Surprisingly, it went really well, and we soon found ourselves enjoying a calm, cool, quiet evening. You don’t realize just how loud the wind and rain are until you are still. I found myself enjoying the stillness of everything; the air, the wind, the boat, and myself. We both let out huge “Ahhhhhhhhs”, and then hit the sack. It is technically against check-in regulations to moor or anchor prior to clearing into the country, so we got up at the crack of dawn and headed into the anchorage.
It’s hot and muggy due to lack of breeze, but it’s calm. We’ve seen a few familiar faces and have enjoyed being recognized by some of the locals. Navire, Hygeleg, and Indra all made it in on Wednesday as well, so that evening we went out to share ‘war stories’ over cold beers. Navire, having sailed for 10 years and having been around the world nth amount of times commented that this was some of the roughest seas/weather ever encountered. It didn’t help that early on they tore their main sail and had to use their tri-sail, which makes it difficult to point. Hygeleg has been out sailing for over 20 years and he said this was his worst passage yet. While not the worst weather he’s seen, the confused rough seas and endless squalls combined with a torn main sail and broken auto-pilot made the passage nearly intolerable. Indra had to battle a broken wind-vane, leaks, and a severe burn caused from a pot of boiling water falling onto Margie’s hand when a squall came up unexpectedly. All in all, it made Billabong’s passage seem not-so-bad considering we didn’t break anything or hurt ourselves.
After more than 1600 nautical miles of the 1787.3 mile trip to weather (an approximate 45 degree apparent wind angle) and 373 hours, 19 minutes of continuous moving, we are quite thrilled that we have only day-trips to look forward to for the next month or two!
(from Majuro, Marshall Islands)
Current Position: 16°46.6' S 179°19.9' E
Next Destination: Undecided (somewhere in Fiji)
Miles Traveled: 1787.3
Miles to Go: 0
Yipeee! We’ve done it, finally arrived in Savusavu, and oh what a blessing it is. We officially pulled into the anchorage on Wednesday, May 31 around 7a.m. It’s our first time returning to a location already visited, and it feels a bit like returning home. After nine months visiting flat atolls, the surrounding luscious green mountains of Fiji are breathtaking. And we feel we’ve earned the peaceful waters of the anchorage, as less than twelve hours after writing our previous BLOG (posted 5/25) all hell broke loose.
As the sun was setting on the evening of the 25th, we could see we were surrounded by a number of thunderheads, but nothing so dense to be concerned about. The first squall hit around 7:30pm, marking the beginning of our most exhausting night in our passage-making history. Squall after squall hit, pounding us with enough rain to solve most of the world’s drought problems and with winds between 30-38 knots. They continued the entire night. Twelve hours straight. Hitting so close together that we never got more than 20-30 minutes rest. Our definition of a “squall” was redefined. Once the word “squall” would conjure up images of a large thunderhead throwing down some rain and wind for about 5-15 minutes before passing by … a bit inconvenient, but short-lived. Not this night. These squalls lasted from 30-90 minutes. They didn’t just throw down some rain; they pelted us with water bullets. The wind howled down at us and the waves tossed us around like rag-dolls. It was truly ugly.
Neither of us slept much, if at all, and when dawn finally broke we anxiously looked around hoping to see some break in the system. Depression hit fast when all that surrounded us was a thick layer of clouds and thunderheads. During one of the “calm” periods Chris did a quick deck check and found our main sheet block shackle had worked itself completely out of the threads, the only thing holding it was the pressure of the sail on the line. If it had come loose during a big squall we would have had some serious damage. That morning I talked to a single-hander, Russ (on Hygeleg) on the SSB Radio. He along with Indra and Navire, were a few hundred miles ahead of us. They were all hove-to waiting for a system even further South to break up before continuing on. Russ confirmed that he and Indra had also gone through the system we were currently in, and it had lasted about two days. Not what I was hoping to hear. As the SSB radio net was a twice a day event, Chris later asked me (as I was the one who had been listening in everyday), “How the hell could you have missed them talking about this kind of weather for two days straight?”. In my defense, I didn’t have a copy on Indra or Navire. Hygeleg complained of squalls in addition to a bunch of stuff on his boat breaking; so when he talked about how exhausted he was I attributed it to everything, including him being a single-hander, not just bad weather. I figured, okay so we might hit a few squalls … never had I imagined this! Had I picked up on it, we could’ve pulled into Funafuti, Tuvalu and waited for better weather, but now it was too late, we were going to have to ride it out. What’s even worse is the system had further developed by the time we had arrived. Needless to say, from then on I was much more attentive when I listened to the net.
That day we experienced less squalls, but the winds had picked up to a constant 20-25 knots and the seas were building and extremely lumpy. It was like being in a washing machine. The worst part was that we still had to run close-hauled in order to keep our Easting and not loose our rhumbline heading. The day was dark, dreary, and wet; never did any blue sky seem to poke through. The squalls that did hit were just as intense as the night before, but now we seemed to have a system down and so they didn’t seem quite as bad. Around 4pm I was getting hopefully that perhaps the night wouldn’t be so awful. It wasn’t the most comfortable ride, but with fewer squalls we could at least get a bit of rest. After two meals of granola bars I was thinking something warm and soupy would be comforting and a bit more nutritious. It was still too rough to cook anything ‘real’, so cup-o-soup was on my mind when the next squall hit. The squall packed a punch, making it too rough even for cup-o-soup. I kept waiting for it to end, but alas it was there for the long-haul and I conceded once again to another granola bar meal.
When things are bad, it’s good to remember they could always get worse. And unfortunately in this case they did. Now we weren’t just surrounded by squalls with painful rain and high winds. Now we had lightning. The worst thunder and lightning either of us has ever seen in our lives. LIVES – not just since cruising. Bolts of lightning cracked so bright and so long we had to shut our eyes against them. Thunder that rumbled then roared then growled, all in one continuous long song. There was so much electricity in the air that half the time our instruments didn’t work, reading crazy wind strengths (such as 200 knots). Chris was sure we’d be hit; how could we not? We crammed our oven full with electrical instruments and computers, and threw over our grounding strip. And waited.
Around 10pm, I was down below trying to get in a nap, when Chris called me up. The wind had died and we were stuck in, as Chris called it, the belly of the beast. It was as if we were inside a thunderhead. We couldn’t see more then our boat length away – in any direction. Rain poured down. And everywhere lightning flashed, you could see the bolts darting through the clouds. 360 degrees of surrounding lightning; and here we were sitting there with this huge metal pole standing 60 feet tall. Not a place to just kick it, so we turned on the motor and went full throttle. And went. And went. It felt as though we were doing circles, we had no reference points and it didn’t seem like we’d ever make it out. For two hours we motored and sailed as the winds died and increased. The entire time the thunder roared so loud it shook us to the core and the lightning continued, each flash circling 360 and briefly lighting the surrounding dark masses of clouds.
About an hour into it, I was standing in the center of the cockpit facing starboard, with Chris behind the wheel, when WHACK. “What the hell was that?” Chris, ever so calmly, as if it is a normal occurrence, says “A bird”. “See”, as he shines his flash light on a small bird spread flat on the port side. He was tangled under one of our lines, so I moved the line to free him. Whether dazed, injured, or just plain tired he didn’t make a move to leave. At this point Chris and I were so exhausted and fed-up with the weather that we had nothing but empathy for the poor fellow. He didn’t seem to take well to the motion of the boat (who would), and was having trouble standing. Chris bundled up his sweatshirt and placed the bird into it, providing some assistance against the rocking. Meanwhile the bird’s family seemed to be following us, SQWACK … SQWACK. Our new friend sqwacked back occasionally but made no move to leave. Chris, in his delirious state, actually called out to the birds, inviting them aboard, shining his flashlight onto the decks in a runway fashion. No one else joined us, but they did follow us for a good bit. At one point Chris moved the bird slightly forward of the cockpit, near the railing, to give him a better chance to fly off with his mates, but the bird stayed. So we left the guy, desperately trying to maintain his balance and looking at Chris and I as though we were fools to be on such a moving beast, in the cockpit to rest.
Around midnight, we finally we broke out. Seven hours of nasty lightning finally coming to an end. It was blowing 16-20 and still raining, with occasional lightning flashes here and there, but the clouds no longer blended with the seas and the lightning no longer circled us. Chris finally attempted to rest while I took watch. Eventually our bird friend moved, practically flew into my head, scaring the you-know-what out of me. I thought he wanted to leave, so I lifted the cockpit wind-curtain, but at the same time a wave hit and the bird lost his balance and fell on the floor. I scooped him up and held him to the hole in the wind-curtain. Just about then another huge wave hit and the bird half fell and half jumped from my hands, landing on our swim step. He didn’t look happy at all, but there was no way I could reach him, so I left him, hoping he’d fly away before another wave washed him off the step. The next time I looked out he was gone. I had to convince myself that he surely flew off to safety before a wave came and washed him out to sea.
We went an entire five hours without a squall hitting. We were overjoyed. The next morning was still overcast, but a bit calmer. Maybe, just maybe it was almost over. BAM. Another squall. A white out of rain. We couldn’t see past our bow. But no wind this time, so we were motoring. Unfortunately the seas weren’t dying and they seemed to be coming from three different directions. The three boats up ahead had started sailing again and were reporting the same conditions. By now we were both beyond exhaustion. We’d hardly been able to sleep, and what sleep we did manage was uncomfortable and broken. It is amazing how your body handles such exhaustion. While there are times that the waves and winds can sound a bit like voices, it is usually easy to tell your mind is just playing tricks on you … unless, that is, you are sleep deprived. On more than one occasion Chris reported hearing voices and music. He was especially thrown off when one day we were within VHF range with Indra. Chris hadn’t realized I was talking to them on the VHF down below, and with the high winds he could barely make out Rob’s voice on the cockpit mike. He thought his mind was playing tricks again until he finally realized he actually recognized the voice this time. We had to be extra careful the more sleep deprived we became. There were times when I was so tired I couldn’t get the instruments to focus; they were just blurry numbers before my eyes. Onetime Chris was checking and couldn’t manage to clear his brain enough to compute what he was looking at on the instruments and what it all meant. He had to just stare at the numbers trying to remember what he was supposed to be accomplishing. Staying awake during watches and alert during squalls became more and more difficult; our watch timer was barely doing the trick of waking us if/when we fell asleep. Thank god is was just about over.
The 28th was our first day without rain since the whole mess had begun. The winds were still up (around 20 kts) and the seas still confused, but what a difference a little sun can make in your outlook. We hadn’t fished since the first squally night, but as we passed over a few shallow banks, Chris threw over one line just for fun. We instantly caught a very funky looking reef fish with big ‘ol teeth and a huge wide-open mouth. Not knowing what he was and being still a bit rough to attempt fish cleaning, we threw him back. Another time the “fish on” snubber was pulled bar tight until the 400 lb test line snapped like it was a thin piece of thread, I would have like to have gotten a look at THAT fish!
The 29th was still lumpy and windy, but now we could see the light at the end of the tunnel, as the next day we’d be in Fijian waters and we knew it would be calmer once we got into the Somosomo straight. After all the crappy bad-weather meals I was looking forward to something real and was excited that Chris would once again be able to fish. The next morning was utter bliss. Clam and near flat. Mostly sunny. No black ugly clouds on the horizon. Fijian mountains in the distance. And Chris fishing. With six lines running, we looked more like a fishing vessel than sailboat, but it paid off. By 8am we had already pulled in a good size Mahi Mahi. We also had caught a Barracuda, but opted to not keep it. We spent the day enjoying the calm seas and light winds. Chris played with his magnitudes of fishing gear in between boat chores, such as draining 25 gallons of water from our forward bulk-head. I straightened up down below and kept the boat on course. It is amazing how many things can get jarred free and end up flying across the cabin. With all the commotion we had also managed to burst a few of our home-brew bottles … Billabong smelled like a brewery. We enjoyed extremely fresh fish tacos for lunch and looked forward to another fish meal for dinner. The winds continued to lighten, so we eventually had to motor. Life aboard Billabong was slowly returning to normal.
Since we had our track and waypoints from last year, we were able to get into the Savusavu bay at night. It was around 11pm and we didn’t want to go all the way into the harbor at night without knowing if and what mooring balls were available, but we knew the approximate location of a mooring ball out at the point (about 3 miles from the harbor). We had never attempted picking up a mooring at night, but the thought of a restful night of sleep tempted us into trying. Surprisingly, it went really well, and we soon found ourselves enjoying a calm, cool, quiet evening. You don’t realize just how loud the wind and rain are until you are still. I found myself enjoying the stillness of everything; the air, the wind, the boat, and myself. We both let out huge “Ahhhhhhhhs”, and then hit the sack. It is technically against check-in regulations to moor or anchor prior to clearing into the country, so we got up at the crack of dawn and headed into the anchorage.
After more than 1600 nautical miles of the 1787.3 mile trip to weather (an approximate 45 degree apparent wind angle) and 373 hours, 19 minutes of continuous moving, we are quite thrilled that we have only day-trips to look forward to for the next month or two!
Gentlemen don't go to weather
Current Location: Underway from Majuro, Marshall Islands
Current Position: 07 18.20 S 179 54.66 E
Next Destination: Savusavu, Fiji
Miles Traveled: 1121
Miles to Go: 590
Current Position: 07 18.20 S 179 54.66 E
Next Destination: Savusavu, Fiji
Miles Traveled: 1121
Miles to Go: 590
"Gentlemen don't go to weather" is an old sailor's saying, not sure where it
comes from, but either it's not true or there are no gentlemen aboard
Billabong, as we have been "going to weather" for 10 days now … 1121 n.
miles of running close to the wind. When it's calm it's not so bad, but
when the wind picks up or a squall hits how I long to be heading downwind.
Some mornings I wake as though beaten with a baseball bat; sore, stiff and
aching. I do believe Billabong might think she's some type of sea animal as
she leaps into the air belly flopping from crest to crest. Not only can it
be uncomfortable, but it seems this passage has required more of our
attention than others. Typically we can set the autopilot and more or less
forget about it, but in this case we have to constantly monitor our wind
angle, always trying to keep the angle tight, without pinching. Honestly,
it is a pain in the booty and I'm just about ready to be done! Chris
continues to keep the carrot out in front of me, assuring me that once we
are far enough east we can start to bear off. The question is, when is far
enough???
It's slowly paying off though, as last night we finally crossed over the 180
degree line. We are now just about due north of our entrance point
into Savusavu, however we must continue making some easting in case the
winds clock around, and so yes, we are still going to weather. But it is
one of those calm mornings and so life, even close-hauled, doesn't feel so
bad.
degree line. We are now just about due north of our entrance point
into Savusavu, however we must continue making some easting in case the
winds clock around, and so yes, we are still going to weather. But it is
one of those calm mornings and so life, even close-hauled, doesn't feel so
bad.
On the bright side, we seem to not have hit as many squalls, knock on wood,
as the boats ahead of us. In addition, I seem to have finally found a
sea-sickness remedy that works for me, and for our first passage ever I
finally feel like a normal human being at least 75% of the time!
as the boats ahead of us. In addition, I seem to have finally found a
sea-sickness remedy that works for me, and for our first passage ever I
finally feel like a normal human being at least 75% of the time!
On the fishing front; we caught two small skip-jacks the other day. We
don't know what these guys must have been thinking … they must be near
starving, as the lure(s) they hit was nearly the same size as them!!! We
threw them both back -- a little too small and we are being fish-snobs;
holding out for a mahi-mahi, wahoo, tuna or something related.
don't know what these guys must have been thinking … they must be near
starving, as the lure(s) they hit was nearly the same size as them!!! We
threw them both back -- a little too small and we are being fish-snobs;
holding out for a mahi-mahi, wahoo, tuna or something related.
Fish ON!!!
Current Location: Underway from Majuro, Marshall Islands
Current Position: 02 35.22 S 178 32.29 E
Next Destination: Savusavu, Fiji
Miles Traveled: 811
Miles to Go: 900
Current Position: 02 35.22 S 178 32.29 E
Next Destination: Savusavu, Fiji
Miles Traveled: 811
Miles to Go: 900
Big news aboard Billabong - two HUGE fish caught!!! The first was on the afternoon of the 20th. Chris had just set out a new lure and was going on about how good it looked in the water; talking about how it dove up "for air" and then sunk down again trailing bubbles. Further describing to me the noise makers that were attached to the lure as well. He was so into it, that I finally had to look for myself. You can tell how exciting passage life is when we both stared out at the lure for a good ten minutes! Within the hour, BAM - our "Fish On" snubber pops out, tightly stretched. "We got a big one!", Chris says. Just as we both look back some type of Bill Fish / Marlin surfaces, and boy howdy is he big. Already we're pretty sure he's too big to keep. I quickly grab a camera and start filming while Chris hand reels the big guy in. Just as he's nearing the boat - BAM - our other "Fish On" snubber goes "Oh no we got another one", Chris shouts as I start laughing at the excitement of it all. But in less then a minute the second line goes slack, thankfully he got off himself. Meanwhile Chris
has pulled in our big guy close enough to realize just how big he is (about 5.5-6 feet), and to confirm he's too big to keep (not to mention that big 'ol bill is a little frightful, as I picture Chris losing a few
fingers). We had to let the line partially back out while we got the proper tools, and so Chris had to hand reel him in again. The hook was not easy to get at, and the fish just didn't understand that we were trying to let him go, so he kept flopping around … so we had to cut the line just above the hook; leaving the Marlin with a fancy new nose ring.
The second fish hooked the following afternoon. We couldn't tell what we had, and from a distance (underwater) we thought it might be a Wahoo - which are quite tasty. So this time when Chris [hand] reeled him in, we were ready, but alas it was a Shortbill Spearfish … about 4.5 feet. There was that daunting bill again, and a beautiful sail. Still a little big, and not the best eating (compared to Tuna and Wahoo), so Chris once again wrestled with the fish in order to get the hook out (which he was able to do) and then released him. No fish for dinner either night, but at least a little afternoon
entertainment to break up our day!
As for the passage we are now making better time with the increased winds. We crossed the equator in the middle of the night on the 20th; thanking King Neptune for our safe journeys and throwing in a wine bottle message (only one this time - we weren't quite as prepared as in our first two crossings). We had a uncomfortable patch the other day, when current counteracted the wind, but by nightfall it was once again smooth going. One squall caught us a bit off-guard and we had to scramble to reef (in the pouring rain of course), but otherwise the skies have been mostly clear and dry. And we've finally decided where we're heading …Fiji (Savusavu). We just haven't been getting in enough Easting, and the forecast doesn't look like much is going to change (in wind direction). (Fiji is at about 180 - just two degrees east of our current location, whereas Samoa is at about 170 W - a good 12 degrees east).
Another 200 miles down
Current Location: Underway from Majuro, Marshall Islands
Current Position: 00°55.54' N 176°40.71' E
Next Destination: Samoa, Wallis & Futuna, or Fiji
Approx Miles Traveled: 568
Approx Miles to Go: 1232
Current Position: 00°55.54' N 176°40.71' E
Next Destination: Samoa, Wallis & Futuna, or Fiji
Approx Miles Traveled: 568
Approx Miles to Go: 1232
Today begins our sixth day at sea, and another clear blue day. It has been
slow going, averaging just over 100 miles per day, but it's been smooth and
mostly relaxing. We've been under sail since about 4pm on the 18th; it is
so delightful to turn that monster off and enjoy the peaceful sounds of the
ocean. I'm quite sure that my 10-hour headache the other day was due to
the diesel fumes.
slow going, averaging just over 100 miles per day, but it's been smooth and
mostly relaxing. We've been under sail since about 4pm on the 18th; it is
so delightful to turn that monster off and enjoy the peaceful sounds of the
ocean. I'm quite sure that my 10-hour headache the other day was due to
the diesel fumes.
The other night we were barely making way (going about 2 knots) under a
magnificent sky of stars and with nearly flat seas. It was better than
some anchorages we've been in! While our speed lacked, I couldn't help but
enjoy the evening and serenity of the night. The next morning I was
debating what I would prefer; going slow and taking twice as long to get
somewhere but having flat seas, or having more speed with bigger seas. I
still haven't decided. But I was quite grumpy that morning, since the wind
had picked up and the seas were more confused - jostling Billabong back and
forth. On top of that we are still running close-hauled, so we were heeled
over quite a bit. I have decided that I wasn't meant to live at an angle;
besides being uncomfortable (all kinds of joints start to hurt), it is damn
inconvenient … even the most minute tasks become difficult.
magnificent sky of stars and with nearly flat seas. It was better than
some anchorages we've been in! While our speed lacked, I couldn't help but
enjoy the evening and serenity of the night. The next morning I was
debating what I would prefer; going slow and taking twice as long to get
somewhere but having flat seas, or having more speed with bigger seas. I
still haven't decided. But I was quite grumpy that morning, since the wind
had picked up and the seas were more confused - jostling Billabong back and
forth. On top of that we are still running close-hauled, so we were heeled
over quite a bit. I have decided that I wasn't meant to live at an angle;
besides being uncomfortable (all kinds of joints start to hurt), it is damn
inconvenient … even the most minute tasks become difficult.
It has since calmed a bit and life aboard is once again somewhat relaxing.
The seas are still confused, so every once in awhile Billabong does a head
dive into the chop causing quite the racket and shudder, but otherwise we
are just cruising along enjoy the blue skies and starry nights, and looking
forward to our third equator crossing!
The seas are still confused, so every once in awhile Billabong does a head
dive into the chop causing quite the racket and shudder, but otherwise we
are just cruising along enjoy the blue skies and starry nights, and looking
forward to our third equator crossing!
Of course we can't post an update without fishing news: there is none!
We've had a few hits on our teaser line, but nothing on the lures. The
other day Chris had four lines going! Tonight will be our last meat dish,
so we are definitely ready to catch something.
We've had a few hits on our teaser line, but nothing on the lures. The
other day Chris had four lines going! Tonight will be our last meat dish,
so we are definitely ready to catch something.
Billabong begins cruising season 3
Current Location: Underway from Majuro, Marshall Islands
Current Position: 03°37.00' N 174°58.47' E
Next Destination: Samoa, Wallis & Futuna, or Fiji
Approx Miles Traveled: 370
Approx Miles to Go: 1430
Current Position: 03°37.00' N 174°58.47' E
Next Destination: Samoa, Wallis & Futuna, or Fiji
Approx Miles Traveled: 370
Approx Miles to Go: 1430
You know it's time to leave when a cockroach the size of a small kitten
flies from shore, through your open hatch and lands on your bare back in
the middle of the night. I am thankful for two things; that Chris is
the one who sleeps directly under the hatches, and that he has very
quick reflexes (which he used to capture and destroy the unwanted
guest).
flies from shore, through your open hatch and lands on your bare back in
the middle of the night. I am thankful for two things; that Chris is
the one who sleeps directly under the hatches, and that he has very
quick reflexes (which he used to capture and destroy the unwanted
guest).
With light winds and flat seas predicted we departed Majuro on Monday,
May 15th. Even I, the non-sailor, thought the conditions were pretty
comfortable. In order to make it to Western Samoa or Wallis & Futuna,
we need to get pretty far east, and have therefore been pinching every
degree possible - slowly inching our way over. We haven't been
completely successful - as we didn't make the Eastern side of Milli, but
have since been able to make up a few degrees.
May 15th. Even I, the non-sailor, thought the conditions were pretty
comfortable. In order to make it to Western Samoa or Wallis & Futuna,
we need to get pretty far east, and have therefore been pinching every
degree possible - slowly inching our way over. We haven't been
completely successful - as we didn't make the Eastern side of Milli, but
have since been able to make up a few degrees.
Our first two days at sea were beautiful, winds were light, but enough
to keep us moving around 5 knots … and the seas were some of the best
we've had (in my opinion) since leaving Ventura. Chris dove right into
his reading, already finishing over five books. I held off, testing out
some new sea-sickness remedies (which include not reading in the first
few days, and so far seem to be working). We've had a few bites on the
fishing lines, but nothing hooked - we aren't trying to hard yet as I
precooked five days worth of food that we have to first get through
before we have room for fish. We also spotted a large pod of small
dolphins, who didn't hesitate to show off with some amazing jumps.
to keep us moving around 5 knots … and the seas were some of the best
we've had (in my opinion) since leaving Ventura. Chris dove right into
his reading, already finishing over five books. I held off, testing out
some new sea-sickness remedies (which include not reading in the first
few days, and so far seem to be working). We've had a few bites on the
fishing lines, but nothing hooked - we aren't trying to hard yet as I
precooked five days worth of food that we have to first get through
before we have room for fish. We also spotted a large pod of small
dolphins, who didn't hesitate to show off with some amazing jumps.
Over the last day and half the wind has been on and off, and we've had
to motor over fifteen hours. So far it looks like we might have to
continue motoring for a bit longer. The positive side of motoring is
that we are able to get further east. As of now we still haven't
determined whether our landfall will be Samoa, Wallis and Futuna, or Fiji.
to motor over fifteen hours. So far it looks like we might have to
continue motoring for a bit longer. The positive side of motoring is
that we are able to get further east. As of now we still haven't
determined whether our landfall will be Samoa, Wallis and Futuna, or Fiji.
We've been lucky to not hit too many squalls and so far the passage has
been relatively dry. We are slowly getting back into the groove of
passage making; rediscovering our sea rhythms after four months at
anchor. The trip up to the Marshall Islands was deceiving with all the
stops we made; most of our "passages" were easy one or two nighter's.
We hadn't realized, until preparing for our passage back south, that we
had covered over 1800 n.miles! With a potential two weeks left at sea,
we'll have plenty of time to get our sea legs!
been relatively dry. We are slowly getting back into the groove of
passage making; rediscovering our sea rhythms after four months at
anchor. The trip up to the Marshall Islands was deceiving with all the
stops we made; most of our "passages" were easy one or two nighter's.
We hadn't realized, until preparing for our passage back south, that we
had covered over 1800 n.miles! With a potential two weeks left at sea,
we'll have plenty of time to get our sea legs!
The most ironic thing-the DAY AFTER leaving our last package finally
arrived in Majuro!!! Unbelievable! Luckily a few boats are still in
Majuro and will be heading in our direction, so with any luck we'll hook
up with the package in Fiji.
arrived in Majuro!!! Unbelievable! Luckily a few boats are still in
Majuro and will be heading in our direction, so with any luck we'll hook
up with the package in Fiji.
Majuro Journal
Majuro, Marshall Islands (w/ a side trip to the States)
December 20, 2005 - May 15, 2006
by KT
Since spending cyclone season in the Marshall Islands, a number of people have asked us "how were the Marshall's?" In all honestly we can't really provide a good answer. Even though we spent five months there, we never got out of Majuro, so we don't have an accurate, whole view of the island chain. We absolutely loved going up the Tuvalu and Kiribati chains, but once we arrived in Majuro, between the holidays, flying home, and a number of boat projects, we never got out to explore. True, we probably missed out on some cool places, but we quite enjoyed staying put for a bit, and managed to keep quite busy in Majuro.
December
It was exciting to arrive in in Majuro for the Christmas holiday. Since Majuro uses the American
dollar, gets NFL football & ESPN, and utilizes English, it felt like a piece of home. Trees were decorated with twinkle lights and stores played English Christmas music. After the Kiribati chain, Majuro felt like a thriving metropolitan city!
Christmas came quickly. We had John & MJ (Island Sonata) over for Christmas Eve dinner, and joined a group of cruisers at the local resort for Christmas brunch. We spent the rest of our time checking out the various small stores that covered the 35 miles of Majuro's main road, meeting new cruisers (and locals), and enjoying cold beer while watching NFL football.
January
Majuro puts on a terrific New Year's block party. There were game vendors, food, and at least five bands. After an excellent dinner out, we joined other cruisers at a local's party and then wondered the street, enjoying the various bands. We danced until the new year arrived and then called it a night.
Since Majuro utilizes the United States Postal Service, upon arriving we went on a huge internet shopping binge. One of the "must have" items we ordered was a home-brew kit. So with the new year, we also brewed our first batch of beer. We had to wait two weeks before testing, but it was worth the wait, as it's some of the best beer we've been able to get since cruising! We also went on a huge cleaning spree, anxious to ship home the numerous souvenirs we'd accumulated over the last year. Chris discovered that Majuro is the perfect spot to load up on fishing gear, and may have gotten just a bit carried away when he, along with five others, ended up buying an ENTIRE fishing store!
We volunteered to help out the local Vet Clinic who was putting on a three day massive dog and cat spading. It was an unique learning experience, with some 'sites' that I had never guessed I'd see! Chris helped the 'capture' team, wondering through Majuro collecting the stray dogs, and later carrying back the groggy animal. It was a bit sad for both of us as ill cared for animals were brought in, dogs covered with tics and fleas, and cats nearly starved. Hopefully with more clinics such as these the animal population can be brought into control, and proper care given.
Originally we had planned on flying home for a visit when we returned to Fiji in May of 2006,
however after scoping out the mooring field of Majuro, we decided it was safe enough to leave Billabong, and by traveling home from Majuro we could spend more time in the States. We celebrated Chris' birthday early, before I departed on the 18th for California. Chris would come later, on the 27th.
The States were a whirlwind of noises, cars, and people for Chris and I. We had both forgotten just how 'fast' things move back home, but the real shocker was the noise ... cars, planes, people, everywhere we went it felt like sensory overload. I felt a bit out of place with my casual (out of style) clothes, un-styled hair, and makeup-less face. The stores were amazing, so clean, so big, so full of STUFF! I loved going to the grocery store, and more than once made my dad walk all the aisles while I gawked. Waist line be damned, I was thrilled to eat out ... I frequented In-and-Out at least three times in my 2 1/2 weeks in California.
Unfortunately when Chris arrived, he was quite sick, so spent his first week just trying to get better. It was lucky he made it at all, apparently he was almost booted from his Continental flight from Majuro to Hawaii. The Marshallese travel to Hawaii carrying hundreds of pounds of fresh fish .... by the time Chris had checked in, the plane was full -- not of people but of fish! Thankfully he was able to sweet talk his way aboard as the next available flight was five weeks away!
February
Our next stop was Scottsdale, Arizona to visit my sister and her family, and my mom. I arrived on the 8th, with Chris spending an extra weekend in California and arriving on the 12th. This time I was sick ... not sure what I got, but I arrived at my sister's with some type of stomach flu (too many germs in the States!). It made it hard to try and get to know my niece and nephew (who last time I'd seen them were barely 2 months old). Luckily it passed fast, and soon I was running around with them as if I'd never left. This time Chris departed first, leaving for Massachusetts on the 17th, with me following on the 20th. Time was moving fast, and none of our visits felt long enough.
We stayed in MA until the 28th, visiting with Chris' family. In both AZ and MA it was extremely hard to say goodbye to our nieces and nephews ... they are the ones who are changing the most, and our visit home only stressed on what we were missing.
March
After three airline carrier changes, over 12 hours of layovers, and losing one day crossing the dateline we arrived back in Majuro on the 2nd. The first thing that hit us was the humidity and heat, especially after the cold snowy temperatures of MA. After the intensity of the States, Majuro felt unnaturally quite, small and even a bit barren ... which is exactly what we needed! During our entire visit home we had both been on and off sick, at varying degrees, and upon returning Chris seemed to take a downward dive. We believe that most likely he returned with Strep Throat, which we were able to treat, and finally a week later he was back to his 'ol healthy self.
The rest of the month was quite mellow. Chris spent huge portions of his time developing and creating his own fishing lures and organizing all the new fishing goods he had purchased. With the endless amount of sunshine, I spent a lot of time on the computer, creating our Year 2 DVD. In between there were numerous happy hours with other cruisers, and bowling (yes bowling) every Thursday night.
On the 25th, the local yacht club put on the Coconut Regatta [boat race]. Chris crewed on our friend's boat (Navire), while I helped MJ as part of the race committee. The local's raced their outrigger canoes while a good percentage of the cruisers raced their own boats. As I'm not that big of a fan of sailing just to sail (I like to change destinations), and being within 2 miles of any other boats makes me nervous, we had opted to not race Billabong.
April
It seems we did a lot of eating in April. We had dinner on Island Sonata with two young World Teach volunteers that we had befriended over the last few months. We attended the yacht club BBQ, where we also participated in a soda pop boat race fundraiser.
The local children make mini sail boats out of cans, which are sold at the BBQ and then raced across the resort's pool. The proceeds go to the local canoe sailing 'school'. We dined out for Kim's (Navire) birthday as well as mine. We had to experience Prime Rib night at the resort after all the rave reviews! And couldn't help going back after discovering their awesome Tuesday night pizza & salad bar night. We also had a couple of drink and appetizer nights on Billabong, and a few potlucks. I don't know how we didn't end up fifty pounds heavier!
An extremely fun 'eating event' was the "sushi fest". Windswept had won a huge tuna at the Coconut Regatta, and donated to a cruiser potluck/sushi party. Three boats (Suka, Billabong, and ) competed in sushi making, while other's competed with their desserts and side-dishes. Chris and I loved getting sushi tips from other cruisers, and enjoyed sharing our own 'secrets'!
Besides eating, there was more bowling, a swap meet, and a backwards dinghy race. The race was an absolute riot. Five boats participated, in a three heat race on a short route near the wharf. Chris and I took on three local children as "crew" and had a blast. Anything goes, and the more the water you can throw at the competition the better! We won all three heats, but in doing so managed to "break" our engine!
Chris spent the next few days "re-building" it!
May
It was crunch time ... lots of small projects to finish up in order to get Billabong ship-shape and ready to move. Fun stuff like cleaning the bottom and re-provisioning. We had a few issues with the postal service, waiting for a package to arrive that we had shipped over six weeks early (from our visit home). Finally, with a good weather window appearing, we the Marshall Islands, on the 15th.
December 20, 2005 - May 15, 2006
by KT
Since spending cyclone season in the Marshall Islands, a number of people have asked us "how were the Marshall's?" In all honestly we can't really provide a good answer. Even though we spent five months there, we never got out of Majuro, so we don't have an accurate, whole view of the island chain. We absolutely loved going up the Tuvalu and Kiribati chains, but once we arrived in Majuro, between the holidays, flying home, and a number of boat projects, we never got out to explore. True, we probably missed out on some cool places, but we quite enjoyed staying put for a bit, and managed to keep quite busy in Majuro.
December
It was exciting to arrive in in Majuro for the Christmas holiday. Since Majuro uses the American dollar, gets NFL football & ESPN, and utilizes English, it felt like a piece of home. Trees were decorated with twinkle lights and stores played English Christmas music. After the Kiribati chain, Majuro felt like a thriving metropolitan city!
Christmas came quickly. We had John & MJ (Island Sonata) over for Christmas Eve dinner, and joined a group of cruisers at the local resort for Christmas brunch. We spent the rest of our time checking out the various small stores that covered the 35 miles of Majuro's main road, meeting new cruisers (and locals), and enjoying cold beer while watching NFL football.
January
Majuro puts on a terrific New Year's block party. There were game vendors, food, and at least five bands. After an excellent dinner out, we joined other cruisers at a local's party and then wondered the street, enjoying the various bands. We danced until the new year arrived and then called it a night.Since Majuro utilizes the United States Postal Service, upon arriving we went on a huge internet shopping binge. One of the "must have" items we ordered was a home-brew kit. So with the new year, we also brewed our first batch of beer. We had to wait two weeks before testing, but it was worth the wait, as it's some of the best beer we've been able to get since cruising! We also went on a huge cleaning spree, anxious to ship home the numerous souvenirs we'd accumulated over the last year. Chris discovered that Majuro is the perfect spot to load up on fishing gear, and may have gotten just a bit carried away when he, along with five others, ended up buying an ENTIRE fishing store!
Originally we had planned on flying home for a visit when we returned to Fiji in May of 2006, however after scoping out the mooring field of Majuro, we decided it was safe enough to leave Billabong, and by traveling home from Majuro we could spend more time in the States. We celebrated Chris' birthday early, before I departed on the 18th for California. Chris would come later, on the 27th.
The States were a whirlwind of noises, cars, and people for Chris and I. We had both forgotten just how 'fast' things move back home, but the real shocker was the noise ... cars, planes, people, everywhere we went it felt like sensory overload. I felt a bit out of place with my casual (out of style) clothes, un-styled hair, and makeup-less face. The stores were amazing, so clean, so big, so full of STUFF! I loved going to the grocery store, and more than once made my dad walk all the aisles while I gawked. Waist line be damned, I was thrilled to eat out ... I frequented In-and-Out at least three times in my 2 1/2 weeks in California.
Unfortunately when Chris arrived, he was quite sick, so spent his first week just trying to get better. It was lucky he made it at all, apparently he was almost booted from his Continental flight from Majuro to Hawaii. The Marshallese travel to Hawaii carrying hundreds of pounds of fresh fish .... by the time Chris had checked in, the plane was full -- not of people but of fish! Thankfully he was able to sweet talk his way aboard as the next available flight was five weeks away!
February
We stayed in MA until the 28th, visiting with Chris' family. In both AZ and MA it was extremely hard to say goodbye to our nieces and nephews ... they are the ones who are changing the most, and our visit home only stressed on what we were missing.
March
The rest of the month was quite mellow. Chris spent huge portions of his time developing and creating his own fishing lures and organizing all the new fishing goods he had purchased. With the endless amount of sunshine, I spent a lot of time on the computer, creating our Year 2 DVD. In between there were numerous happy hours with other cruisers, and bowling (yes bowling) every Thursday night.
On the 25th, the local yacht club put on the Coconut Regatta [boat race]. Chris crewed on our friend's boat (Navire), while I helped MJ as part of the race committee. The local's raced their outrigger canoes while a good percentage of the cruisers raced their own boats. As I'm not that big of a fan of sailing just to sail (I like to change destinations), and being within 2 miles of any other boats makes me nervous, we had opted to not race Billabong.April
It seems we did a lot of eating in April. We had dinner on Island Sonata with two young World Teach volunteers that we had befriended over the last few months. We attended the yacht club BBQ, where we also participated in a soda pop boat race fundraiser.The local children make mini sail boats out of cans, which are sold at the BBQ and then raced across the resort's pool. The proceeds go to the local canoe sailing 'school'. We dined out for Kim's (Navire) birthday as well as mine. We had to experience Prime Rib night at the resort after all the rave reviews! And couldn't help going back after discovering their awesome Tuesday night pizza & salad bar night. We also had a couple of drink and appetizer nights on Billabong, and a few potlucks. I don't know how we didn't end up fifty pounds heavier!
Chris spent the next few days "re-building" it!
May
It was crunch time ... lots of small projects to finish up in order to get Billabong ship-shape and ready to move. Fun stuff like cleaning the bottom and re-provisioning. We had a few issues with the postal service, waiting for a package to arrive that we had shipped over six weeks early (from our visit home). Finally, with a good weather window appearing, we the Marshall Islands, on the 15th.
Oh weather window where art thou?
Location: Majuro, Marshall Islands
Position: 07°06.30' N 171°22.39' E
Next Dest: Fiji (with potential stops in Kiribati, Wallis, or Samoa)
Apparently Mother Nature doesn't realize that we are ready to depart ... and have been for many days now. The wind has all but died; a nearby large system sucking up all the wind and spitting down rain. We've thought about leaving anyway-- motoring to the winds, but with the system nearby we don't want to chance beating into squall after squall ... especially not on our first nights of passage.
So we wait.
And since we are ready to go with not much else to do but wait, we just seem to aimlessly wander, typically ending up in the stores getting in more look at all the Yummy American foods. Billabong is busting at the seams with more treats and snacks then we've ever departed with. Of course that means that Chris and I are also busting, as we seem to both have developed an enormous sweet tooth that Majuro is all too happy to satisfy.
At least we aren’t yet bored; we still have friends here, Tuesday night salad bars, Thursday night bowling, and lots of internet time!
Position: 07°06.30' N 171°22.39' E
Next Dest: Fiji (with potential stops in Kiribati, Wallis, or Samoa)
Apparently Mother Nature doesn't realize that we are ready to depart ... and have been for many days now. The wind has all but died; a nearby large system sucking up all the wind and spitting down rain. We've thought about leaving anyway-- motoring to the winds, but with the system nearby we don't want to chance beating into squall after squall ... especially not on our first nights of passage.
So we wait.
And since we are ready to go with not much else to do but wait, we just seem to aimlessly wander, typically ending up in the stores getting in more look at all the Yummy American foods. Billabong is busting at the seams with more treats and snacks then we've ever departed with. Of course that means that Chris and I are also busting, as we seem to both have developed an enormous sweet tooth that Majuro is all too happy to satisfy.
At least we aren’t yet bored; we still have friends here, Tuesday night salad bars, Thursday night bowling, and lots of internet time!
Waiting for weather
Seems to be the story of passages ... waiting for good weather. We are now quite ready to leave (even if we didn't yet get our last package in the mail), but now the weather for the next 180 hours does not look so good ... unless we want to spend lots of money on diesel and motor! At this point we are just taking it a day at a time and seeing what happens. We are still hopeful that we might get out of here on Wednesday or Thursday. In the meantime we continue to eat our way through the stores, getting our last "fills" before heading back into deprivation!!!
On Saturday our good friends on Island Sonata returned, so we are thrilled to get a few extra days with them before parting ways.
On Monday we finally left the mooring ball after 4 months of not moving! We took Billabong out for a test sail ... making sure that both Billabong and her crew are ship-shape!
Hopefully our next BLOG will be sent while underway ...
On Saturday our good friends on Island Sonata returned, so we are thrilled to get a few extra days with them before parting ways.
On Monday we finally left the mooring ball after 4 months of not moving! We took Billabong out for a test sail ... making sure that both Billabong and her crew are ship-shape!
Hopefully our next BLOG will be sent while underway ...
Kayıtlar
