Tag: catamaran family

  • Aotearoa Arrival: Opua Marina, Northland

    Tied up to the Opua, Aotearoa (New Zealand) Q-dock at 4:20pm, just in time for the Customs and Biosecurity to inform us that we were the first on their list for the next day. In some ways this was a relief – nothing to do but celebrate our arrival as a family with fresh tuna…

  • Day 2: Passage Fiji to New Cal

    Calder reported that the screen of his window must have been ripped off by a wave overnight. Woke to decreased winds in the 20s, seas still a good 3 meters. We’re making good time to beat a system that is coming in on Wednesday afternoon to New Cal, hoping to arrive Wednesday morning. My seasickness…

  • Day 1: Passage Fiji to New Caledonia

    Coordinating a check-out over the holiday weekend (Fiji Day!) took a bit of extra coordination. Chris and Calder into the water to scrub the bottom for a faster passage, as we need to get into New Caledonia before a system comes in. The forecast looks a bit “sporty” (code in cruising for bigger winds and…

  • Yasawa Islands: Our 2 year Cruise-a-versary!

    Still sailing through the Yasawa Islands, we headed for the Blue Lagoon (Nanuya Island)—part shelter from the rising winds, part playground. Calder was in his element, wingfoiling with friends. When we arrived, George, the caretaker of a stretch of beach used by Blue Lagoon cruises, stopped by and kindly let us know that we’d need…

  • Savusavu to the Yasawas

    Back to the town of Savusavu, where we dock at the lovely Nawi Marina and wait for the tradewinds to chill a bit (below 20 would be nice!) so we can continue on to western Fiji. We need to go through Nasonisoni Pass and the waves stack up around it if the Trades are greater…

  • Back to Paradise: Taveuni Underwater Magic

    Almost not allowed out of the USA, as (in an amateur move) I didn’t procure a letter from Immigration stating we had a “one-way ticket” to Fiji back to our boat. I had notified Fiji Immigration of our travel and we had purchased a two-way ticket but, as it had originated from Fiji, it was…

  • Ogea: Snorkeling Delights, a Village on the Edge, and a Gift from the Sea

    Up earlier this morning to catch the high slack tide leaving the lagoon of Fulaga to head to the next island of Ogea, only a 10-mile trip today, motoring on mellow seas with little wind. The pass into Ogea is wide and straight forward and we meandered to an anchorage off the uninhabited Ogea Driki.…

  • Fulaga, Lau Group: Part 2

    We continue to find our time in remote Fulaga (in Fiji’s Lau Group) immensely enjoyable. The village organized a feast for the cruisers for a donation of $50 FJD per person (about $23 USD), including a kava ceremony, a pig, and numerous local foods from mud crabs to octopus. Our host family’s Lani made us…

  • Day 5: Passage from NZ to Fiji

    Cora did 2 hours of watch last night, still not feeling great, but pushing herself; I’m proud of her. Winds continued to make frequent shifts. Not great sleep for anyone with the movement and noise. Okay, this is a low point this morning…the seas and winds have now moved more forward of the beam and…

  • Day 4: Passage from NZ to Fiji

    Temperatures rising. 71 degrees F today, long underwear off and barefeet out. Each day increases just a bit. Needing to top up our batteries, but found that our generator stopped working, as cooling water wasn’t circulating correctly. We ran our boat engine, but this was a very slow and inefficient way to top up batteries.…