Tag: Terikah

  • Hauraki Horizons: Exploring Hauraki Gulf (Tikapa Moana)

    Looking at the big weather coming up, we decided to anchor in well-protected Bon Accord Harbour of Kawau Island, arriving late and anchoring (and re-anchoring) for the upcoming storm. We took a day to explore the trails out of Schoolhouse Bay to the Mansion House and Old Coppermine.  Sir George Grey developed the Mansion House…

  • 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 6: Passage New Cal to New Zealand

    Overnight, a battery alarm on our starboard engine kept going off. Chris tried a few things but was exhausted and a bit seasick to dig in. We decided to run just the port engine overnight and, with current against us, moved along at a slow 4 knots. Once Chris got up for his 4am watch,…

  • Day 4: Passage New Cal to New Zealand

    Woke up to a continued current ride, seas forward of the beam, but moving fast – great sailing angle and still with the magical current. We’ve done a great job getting east away from the squall line and now we can correct a bit to south. Ahhhh, what a difference 15 degrees makes – our…

  • Day 4: Arrival New Caledonia!

    Calder awoke to the announcement, “Fish On!” He jumped out of bed and started reeling. A morning gift from the sea of a large wahoo that will feed us many meals. So thankful! Just after Calder finished processing the first one, the line whirred again – another wahoo! This one spit out a squid beak,…

  • Day 3: Passage from Fiji to New Cal

    Continued rain squalls on and off this morning. Winds have decreased to 17-23 and we’re cruising along at 7-8 knots. We have to maintain an average of 6.7 knots to get to Havannah Channel at slack tide, a narrow coral-strewn channel that can have standing waves and fast currents if timed incorrectly. Seas currently down…

  • 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…

  • Heading North

    It was time to head back toward Savusavu, where we would be catching our flight for a visit home to Petersburg, Alaska. Calder and I had gone forward to change from our Code Zero to our asymmetrical spinnaker when he saw a screw rolling around in the middle of our bowsprit. He reached forward to…

  • Vanua Balavu: Susui, Little Harbour, & Mbavatu Harbour

    Off to the island of Venua Balavu! The winds weren’t consistent and we made many sail changes between our asymmetrical spinnaker, Code Zero, and main sail with a touch of motoring until we entered the southern pass of Venua Balavu. We arrived to Susui village just after sunset, so glad for satellite imagery showing the…

  • Yagasa & Namuka-i-Lau

    Yagasa is a small group of four uninhabited islets in Fiji’s remote Lau Group that share a common lagoon. The main islet, Yangasa Levu, rises to about 86 meters and houses a colony of various sea birds, namely boobies. Though there are no permanent settlements, the islands are occasionally visited by local fishermen. We wanted…