Category: Uncategorized

  • Papua New Guinea’s Grand Finale: Ninigo Islands

    We set off on a 57-mile downwind passage to the Ninigo Islands, a group of about 31 islands and islets inhabited by roughly 1,000 people. The Seimat, a distinctive maritime people whose lives are centered around the sea and who survive largely through fish, garden food, and coconuts. Outside supplies arrive irregularly and only a…

  • Papua New Guinea: Hermit Island Blues

    On our 370-mile three-night passage from Kavieng to the Hermit Islands, the winds were less than predicted and had to use some of our precious diesel. We had hoped for at least 8-10 knots of wind but were only getting 4-6 knots. I tried sailing for a bit on my watch but, after going only…

  • Papua New Guinea: Kavieng

    We headed overnight toward Kavieng, skipping Lahir because of the nearby mining activity. As darkness fell, we turned off our boat lights and kept a careful watch on the water for “raskols.” Thankfully, no issues. Chris and I have each celebrated a birthday underway, and now it was Cora’s turn—her 15th birthday passage, a true…

  • PNG: Sungkin Bay Hospitality

    We left Buka and soon fell into the island’s extensive wind shadow, motoring for a while before the wind gradually built as we made our way toward Sungkin Bay on Boang Island, part of the Tanga Islands. The Tanga Islands are a four-island group in New Ireland Province formed from the remnants of an ancient…

  • Papua New Guinea: Bougainville, A Country in the Making

    On our way to the country of Papua New Guinea (PNG) where we would be going northwest, up and over the outer remote island chains. On our way, filling out all the PNG paperwork, I had to laugh at the form where we had to report our ship’s stores, which went beyond just declaring alcohol…

  • Marovo Lagoon & Noro: Goodbye Solomon Islands

    Overnight we had an excellent 130 miles passage, landing a large mahi just before we arrived to Mbili anchorage in Marovo Lagoon. Marovo Lagoon, covering about 700 km² and stretching roughly 150 km, is the world’s largest and best-defined double-barrier reef lagoon, famous for its extraordinary marine biodiversity (including saltwater crocs) and the intricate wood…

  • Solomons: Florida Islands – We are Family

    We’ve decided to spend more time in fewer places in the Solomons, going on longer overnight passages to get to safe places to spend 3-5 nights. We left Ugi Island on a 136-mile overnight passage, initially flying our large asymmetric spinnaker, which Calder and I had to get down when winds became squirrely with squalls.…

  • Solomons: A Rough Passage & Wonderful Ugi Island

    Squall line passed through us in the morning and, as the skies lightened, we departed for what ended up being a very sporty 283-mile passage. We knew the seas were going to be large initially, but were forecast to be decreasing throughout our passage, along with decreasing winds, and low thunderstorms. We weren’t alone in…

  • Still Sitting in the Solomons

    Woke up to a bell from shore at 5:30am and decided to embrace the non-rainy morning, as I sat on deck outside watching the sunrise, as the sound of musical pipes played from the beach. It is taking us a bit to acclimate to the heat and humidity, as we sit and sweat while doing…

  • The Solomon Islands: Passage & Arrival

    The passage from Vanuatu to Lata, Solomons, where we check-in is about 300 miles and should take us from 40-48 hours depending on conditions. We are racing a storm, which is not our favorite thing to do. Our first night out we flew our main and Code Zero. We usually don’t fly this large sail…