Tag: fishing

  • 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 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.…

  • Weather & Wanderings in Tonga

    Anchored off Ofolanga Island in the Ha’apai Group in Tonga, we spent a few nights enjoying this remote calm-weather-only anchorage.  A sandy walk around the island, watching a turtle streak through the water on a drift snorkel, and enjoying a beach fire with friends and family.  The Hyer family got to experience the “thrills” of…

  • Nuka Hiva: Muddy Buddy Adventures

    Chris off to the bakery today to bring home fresh croissants for our 26nm journey to the island north of us, Nuka Hiva.  We made excellent time on the journey motor-sailing.  Nuka Hiva (population 3,151) is the second largest island in French Polynesia (after Tahiti). We pulled into Taioa Bay with its two coves of…

  • Snorkeling, Tropical Homestead, & Night Passage

    Moving to our new anchorage, a gust of 47 knots hit us; one of the top gusts we have ever experienced!  Tucked happily into Hanatefau anchorage on Tahuata island, anchor buried in sand, steep green-covered cliff walls blocking much of the wind.                Into the water we went, clearly seeing our anchor dug and hidden…

  • Day 15: Pacific Ocean Crossing from Mexico to French Polynesia

    All of us woke a bit late, except for Chris still at the wheel, from our 2am Equator ceremony; he is now thankfully napping in Southern Hemisphere bliss.  Seas a bit on our beam, winds light, we slowly sail along at 4 knots.  We are trying to head more south than west at this point…

  • Day 7 of Crossing from MX to FP

    We will have another 36 hours or so of these bigger seas and continue our way SW, trying to keep the seas behind us, though they are coming from three different directions.  Seas still about 6-9 feet and steep.  I was a bit green last night, but doing better this morning.  We are paralleling the…

  • Some Serious Vacationing

    The Whitacre family of four (Heath, Marina, Elijah, and Gabriele) arrived from our hometown of Petersburg, Alaska and we commenced some serious vacationing!  Prior to their arrival, we did piles of laundry, loads of provisioning for four teens (who never got full), and cleaned the boat inside and out.  I managed to beat Chris (again)…

  • Reunion in Bahia Concepcion

    After a long motor north in rolly seas, all of us a bit green except for Gma Hyer and Calder, we had a lovely final 1-hour sail into our anchorage, Bahia Santa Domingo in Bahia Concepcion.  Even my loaf of bread felt too ill to rise properly!  Bahia Concepcion is a large, narrow bay 25…

  • Bahia Asuncion & Bahia Santa Maria

    Bahia Asuncion is 50 nm south of Turtle Bay.  After a wonderful downwind sail with our asymmetric spinnaker flying, we anchored off this active fishing village for a few nights.  The beach made for excellent walking, shell collecting, and surf swimming.  The town is rustic, but had one main paved road with “handicap accessible” sidewalks…