----- Original Message -----
Sent:
Subject: Estrela
Log Entry
2100 local time Friday, June
18, 2004 (0600 GMT 06/19/04); S 23 deg 07' / W 134 deg 58', Rikitea
Anchorage, Mangareva Island, Gambiers,
Polynesie Francaise.
We made it! Anchor down and engine off at 1337 local
time. Our South African friends (with
two boys, 9 and 7) from the catamaran Alii Nui arrived by dinghy moments later with two authentic
fresh French baguettes and a
steaming pot of coffee. It was a nearly surreal moment. We exchanged
tears and hugs when they
stepped aboard, this family whose last name we don't even know but with whom we
have shared so much, speaking daily by SSB radio during our parallel passages
from the Galapagos to the Gambiers, although they had
started about ten days behind us. We had
really kept each other going. Then a
British couple off another sailboat, Lionheart,
hailed us and also came aboard Estrela, offering us
thick filets of Mahi Mahi
they had caught yesterday while also inbound from the Galapagos, though having
left 20 days after us. Dinner tonight
here was, guess what? Fresh fish,
home-fried potato chips and mashed potatoes!
Mmmmmmmmm. Are we looking
forward to a long night of sleep or what?
The stormy weather has blown through and this is now the calmest
anchorage we have enjoyed since somewhere in the
----- Original Message -----
Sent:
Subject: All's well
Hi -- Propagation has been
very poor, but all's well here. We've
been trying to dry out, repair boat and recover from our long passage. We're more exhausted than we had realized,
but spirits are still up. Preparing to
depart for Tuamotus as soon as can re-provision, esp.
fuel and propane, also
some food basics like rice and
flour. Must wait for supply ship next
week
for propane. Chilly here, and
cloudy and windy -- little swimming. Girls having much fun with Alii Nui boys who are also anchored here. We all watched Finding Nemo
and ate home-made pizza aboard Estrela tonight. The boys are even sleeping over tonight. We've been befriended by a very generous
Polynesian family who even had us for an incredible traditional Polynesian
feast, including banana poe
(pronounced "poi"), pumpkin poe, taro,
manioc, poisson cru, and other traditional dishes all
served very simply in their kitchen. We
had the mom and her three young children to Estrela
for Brunswick stew dinner. Very sad news about
Love, me
PS -- Yes, we sent
letter-less envelopes to family members to send Pitcairn stamps. They're supposed to be coveted collectors
items.
PPS - Eliza lost a canine
tooth tonight -- very exciting. She's going to save it and investigate what
Polynesian kids do with their teeth that fall out.
----- Original Message -----
Sent:
Subject: boom box parade!
Happy 4th! Did you go to the boom box parade? Today its blowing
like stink--don't even want to go off Estrela--too
bumpy and wet in the dinghy! Gearing up for next passage. I'm in the middle of emptying food stowage
areas and washing down with vinegar to get rid of mildew and to assess the food
situation. I should have bought more
food--esp. toilet paper in
expensive day at the small
markets. We're the only American boat
here, so
it was an on board singing
patriotic songs festival just the
I love you. We are chilly but very happy!
Love, me
-----Original Message-----
Sent:
Subject: Estrela
Log Entry
2130 local
time
We are moving again and
apologize for the long hiatus in log entries.
What we did in Rikitea, Gambiers
was to slow down, rest up and prepare boat and crew for the next leg of our
voyage. We also spent time with friends,
including the family on Alii Nui
(that's the name of the catamaran they built in Durban, South Africa) --
Allison and Des and their boys Jared and Dylan, as well as new and incredibly
generous Mangarevan
friends, especially Rose Togakaputa and her children Stellio (9), Rose (8) and Dominique (2).
Now we are sailing northwest
(308 degrees True, to be exact) up the long chain of widely distributed atolls
that make up the Tuamotus archipelago in
Kauehi is still 700 to 800 miles
ahead, though, and we will likely stop at one or more atolls before then, maybe
Amanu, about 450 miles from here. Amanu and its
larger neighbor, Hao, were off limits to cruising
boats until very recently, because Hao was a major
military and supply center when
Right now the crew of Estrela are all looking
forward to some warm water and settled sunny weather. So we are very happy to be headed north
again, wherever we make landfall next.
The Gambiers in winter -- this winter at least
-- are downright wintery. We swam once in three weeks there and the
girls lasted about four minutes in the water before their lips turned
purple. It didn't help that we had high
winds and rain or the threat of rain almost every day. This made our visit to the Gambiers more about the people than the snorkeling. It was tough to say goodbye and we all hope
to return there someday. -- Doug
-----Original Message-----
Sent:
Subject: Estrela
Log Entry
2315 local
time
We have motorsailed
from the Gambiers smack into a big high pressure
system with very little wind. There was
not much we could have done to avoid the large area of little to no wind; it
seems to be covering much of
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, July 17,
2004 4:26 AM
Subject: Estrela
Log Entry
2230 local
time Friday, July 16, 2004 (0720 GMT 07/17/04); S 17 deg 59' / W 138 deg 48',
on passage from Gambiers to Tuamotus,
Polynesie Francaise.
This has truly been a
passage like no other we've had before.
Until about 11 this morning we'd enjoyed about 48 hours of glassy seas
and no wind. For a couple hours each day
we just stopped the engine and went swimming.
We dived off the bowsprit and even snorkeled around Estrela
to investigate the thriving goose barnacles.
These are remarkable invertebrates with what look like small clam shells
at the ends of their long necks. It has
been a wonderful family time. The drone
of the engine is escapable in the forepeak or on deck ahead of the
cockpit. Even near the engine, though,
the sound has been tolerable, especially since we've been running the engine at
relatively low RPM (about 1300) to conserve fuel. Today the wind has come up a little, allowing
us to sail intermittently, though not very fast. Right now Estrela
is doing 2.2 knots; but hey, these knots are free and VERY fuel efficient. I figure we've burned 37 to 42 of the 95
gallons of diesel on board when we left Rikitea. We have no fuel gauge and because the fuel
tanks have unusual shapes, dipping them with the small wooden dowel rod that we
have for this purpose doesn't yield very accurate measurements of remaining
fuel. The GPS chartplotter
says we have 125 NM to the pass into Hao Atoll. Our plan is to buy diesel in Hao, probably taking one 200 liter drum, if it's available
and is sold in drums as it was in Rikitea. Hao was the main
French navy base during the nuclear testing period here in the Southern Tuamotus. Supposedly
Hao is now keen to attract yacht traffic, now that
the French military base has been closed and the nuclear testing is over. After refueling in Hao
we hope to move to the neighboring atoll, Amanu,
which also has a large and beautiful lagoon and a good-sized, though tricky
pass allowing vessels to enter the lagoon.
The critical thing with all these Tumotu
atolls that have navigable lagoon passes is to time one's transit of the pass
carefully so as to catch a period of slack or nearly slack current. Friends on another boat who are now about two
weeks ahead of us reported to us by email that they had missed slack water and
the outgoing current during their exit from the Hao
lagoon was running at close to 10 knots.
Because Estrela can only motor about 6 knots,
max, we wouldn't be able to buck such a strong opposing current. More later on how we handle
the passes. First, we have to get
there. – Doug
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, July 21,
2004 2:07 PM
Subject: Estrela
Log Entry
0900 local
time Tuesday, July 20, 2004 (1800 GMT 07/20/04); S 17 deg 51.59' / W 140 deg
51.35', at anchor in Amanu atoll lagoon, Tuamotus, Polynesie Francaise.
We navigated the pass into
the Amanu atoll lagoon without incident at 1430 local
time the day before yesterday (Sunday).
Conditions were just about ideal, helped by an incoming tidal current of
2 or 3 knots. Had the tide been ebbing
fast through this narrow cut it might have been a very different story, as a
strong NW swell had kicked up the night before when a cold front passed
through, shifting the wind from NE to NW and increasing it to 15 to 20 kts. Turning
immediately to starboard (toward the SW) we glided slowly by the small village
as people waved and shouted, especially the numerous children. We anchored as close as we could SW of the
town, but not without a little excitement.
We found the lagoon to be deep right to the fringing coral reef along
the interior perimeter, ranging in depth from over 100' to about 60' until it
shoals sharply as one gets too close to the reef to be able to anchor and still
have sufficient swinging room. This
meant we would have to anchor in more depth than we would like. We carry about 250' of chain anchor rode
attached to our 45 lb CQR (plough-type) anchor.
A standard rule rule of thumb is to put out
scope, or a ratio of rode length to depth, of 5:1 to 7:1. This way you maximize the anchor's holding
power by having the pull on the anchor be much more horizontal than vertical. But with 60' -- about the deepest water in
which we would ever want to anchor -- we could have only 4.5:1 scope at
best. Moreover, anchoring so deep is
just a lot of work. The chain is heavy;
we have to put out a lot of it, and our windlass to
retrieve rode and anchor is powered by a manual lever. No sooner had we put the anchor down and
turned off the engine, though, but a family in a small outboard motor boat came
out from the village to warn us that this was a dangerous spot to anchor if a
strong wind came out of the NE or E. The
Amanu lagoon extends nearly 15 miles to the northeast
from this spot and the long "fetch" would allow large wind-driven
waves to build up, even though we were protected from the ocean swell. The villagers recommended that we move around
a nearby point where a bulge in the fringing reef would protect us from such
winds. By now our friends on Alii Nui had also entered the
pass and anchored near us. So both boats
now began to raise anchor and move as advised.
Their move went without incident.
We had a tough time raising our anchor.
The chain had caught on something hard on the bottom. We hope it was just rock and not a living
coral formation. By moving back and
forth repeatedly with the engine, letting out and hauling back chain and
putting some uncomfortable stresses on our bowsprit anchor roller system we
were finally able, after an hour of work, to raise the anchor and get ourselves
re-anchored around the point just at dark, and unfortunately again in over 60'
of depth. But what a spot we finally had
-- a stone's throw from a little tidal inlet through to the outside reef, along
a shore fringed by tall, laden coconut palm trees and a narrow sandy
beach. An enormous manta ray flew by Estrela just below the surface, its great wings slowly
pumping up and down and cavernous oval mouth open to inhale its minute
prey. Lovely, rose and
orangey hues in the sky, and a balmy breeze. Were we finally in paradise?? It sure felt so. We all gathered aboard Alii
Nui for a potluck dinner celebration after our 7+ day
passage from Rikitea, eager to get in the water and
go exploring in the morning. – Doug
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2004
6:30 AM
Subject: Estrela
Log Entry
2330 local
time Monday, July 26, 2004 (0930 GMT 07/27/04); S 16 deg 51.77' / W 142 deg
37.12', on passage from Hao to Kauehi
atolls, Tuamotus, Polynesie
Francaise.
We enjoyed six nights
anchored in Amanu lagoon before sailing to nearby Hao atoll for one night.
Then yesterday, Sunday, we began this 300 mile passage to Kauehi atoll. We
went to Hao, 17 miles from Amanu,
to refuel and were lucky enough to find someone late on Saturday who agreed to
deliver 200 liters of diesel to us early Sunday. It couldn't have been more convenient; we
spent the night tied to an empty concrete wharf in a protected inner harbor of
the former French naval base. The Mobil
truck drove right up to the boat and the fuel was clean and even a little less
expensive than in Rikitea. Until about 2000 this was the main supply
center and military base for the French nuclear testing activities in the
southern Tuamotus.
Several thousand military personnel and dependents lived here. The old base feels like a ghost town and this
atmosphere even pervades adjacent Otepa, the main
village of Hao.
Though the base closure has had predictable economic and social impacts
on the community the residents with whom we spoke were happy to have the
military gone and the nuclear testing ended.
Estrela was something of a novelty during our
short visit. We had a small crowd of
people, mostly kids, hanging around us and ambling around the boat most of the
day. We learned we were the third
cruising sailboat to visit Hao in the last few
months. Eliza and Abigail gave gimp (aka boondoggle) lanyards to several children. Just before we left two of the boys returned
with their dad and sister to give us a sack of freshly husked coconuts.
Our reception in Hao was much like that in Amanu,
where the children in town led us for a few hours on a slow, friendly tour of
their village, talking and collecting shells and flowers and looking at fruits,
trees, churches, homes and even the dump.
We returned a few days later with a gift for the village chief, a nice
nautical chart. Though he was off
harvesting copra (coconut meat) at one of the lagoon's motus,
or small fringing islets, his sister and oldest daughter received us and
generously reciprocated with lovely gifts of their own -- two shell sculptures,
a fish and a vase, and a shell necklace each for Eliza and Abigail. It was very tough to leave Amanu. With more
time to linger we could have stayed here a long time. We waived goodbye to our wonderful friends on
Alii Nui as they left Amanu the day before us.
They now need to make tracks to Tahiti and beyond since they are bound
for Brisbane, Australia before the beginning of the South Pacific cyclone
season in November. We hope to meet up
with them again in New Zealand in January or February. Eliza and Abigail have made two fast friends
in Jared and Dylan. The
four camped one night alone in the boys' two tents on a small island after we
had all gathered there for a late afternoon campfire cook-out. Eliza will relate the story of the parents'
weather miscalculation. Despite
downloading weather faxes once and sometimes twice a day and listening to
detailed weather reports on the SSB every morning, we had missed the prediction
of the passage of a fairly significant cold front the night of the camp-out. By the time the kids returned to the boats
the next day they had named their island "Camp Flud."
We are now sailing downwind,
enjoying steady tradewinds from the east. With the course we want to sail, the wind
direction is giving us a terrific roll -- not all that comfortable. We are wing and wing, flying just the
staysail and double-reefed main to try to minimize the rolling motion by
keeping sail area as low and as close to the mast as possible. This configuration means too that our speed
is slower, 3 to 4 knots, but we are making steady progress, almost 90 miles in
our first 24 hours since leaving Hao. After having motored for so many hours en
route from Rikitea to Amanu,
we are not complaining. And the weather
window (knock on wood) looks as though it will hold open long enough for us to
reach Kauehi before the wind dies or moves to the
west. -- Doug
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, July 29,
2004 7:34 AM
Subject: Estrela
Log Entry
0045 local time Thursday,
July 29, 2004 (1045 GMT 07/29/04); S 16 deg 02.22' / W 145 deg 10.73', hove-to
just outside the pass into Kauehi atoll lagoon, Tuamotus, Polynesie Francaise, awaiting daylight and slack low tide.
We made great speed last
night as the wind stayed favorable, bringing us very near to Kauehi atoll pass by just after dusk this evening. So now we are hove-to waiting for the morning
before going through the pass into the lagoon.
We have roughly calculated that slack low tide should occur sometime
between 6:30 and 9:30 AM tomorrow. My
tide tables provide times for high and low water for several more-or-less
nearby atolls, but not for Kauehi. And even though the nearest three or four
atolls for which tide times are given in my very comprehensive British
Admiralty Tide Tables are not very far from Kauehi, the
times for high and low water tomorrow vary from atoll to atoll by up to 1 1/2
hours. So we will have to hang-out just
outside the Kauehi pass entrance beginning at about
6:30 AM and watch for the the outgoing current to
diminish and stop. We have read that the
period of slack is very brief. Currents
in this pass can reach 10 knots, especially the outgoing! Also, outgoing or "ebb" flows may
increase dramatically and suddenly if a strong SE wind is pushing a lot of
water up and over the fringing coral and into the lagoon. I don't know if the current wind conditions
are strong enough to trigger this phenomenon.
In any case, we want to ride through the pass when the current is far
from a peak ebb flow. Slack low tide or
a small incoming ("flood") tidal flow would be ideal. A strong flood tide current would also be a
problem here though, likely causing "overfalls," large standing waves and powerful eddies
on the lagoon side of the pass. --
Doug
PS -- Eliza baked her first
loaf of bread today -- orange/blueberry.
It was delicious!
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, July 31,
2004 5:18 AM
Subject: Estrela
Log Entry
2130 local time Friday, July
30, 2004 (0730 GMT 07/31/04); S 15 deg 49.30' / W 145 deg 05.75', anchored in
30' on sand off Tearavero Village, Kauehi atoll lagoon, Tuamotus, Polynesie Francaise.
We are anchored in the very
spot off the spare white church in the Kauehi atoll
village, Tearavero, where I had anchored with Jim
Hopkins, Shelley and Isaiah aboard Valkyr in
1989. I've been inundated by memories
and feelings the last few days sailing back with my family to this place which
has been such a big part of my own motivation to return to the South
Pacific. Tomorrow we plan to go ashore
and look for the "ancien maire,"
Xavier, and his wife Tania, who had been the village's schoolteacher for 17
years when we were here. For three
nights I have read aloud to Kyle and the girls from the Kauehi
section of the detailed journal I had kept aboard Valkyr. During our time in Kauehi,
though less than two weeks I now realize, we had formed a warm bond with Xavier
and Tania, and their grandson, Bertrand (then 11), who lived with them, a Tuamotuan or Polynesian tradition, and a number of other
townspeople. Will we find this lovely
couple here still when we go ashore tomorrow?
Any of the others? In all honesty, I have been reluctant to
venture ashore right away. We anchored
yesterday morning at 1130 in water clear enough to see the bottom, and had a
swarm of black tangs curiously swimming around Estrela
before we'd even let out all our chain.
I've tried to slow time since then, to drink in the sights, smells and
feel of this place gradually. I know
that many things will have changed in 15 years.
None of my Kauehi friends may still be here;
or those who are may have no memory of Valkyr, Jim,
Shelley, Isaiah or me. I do have
pictures of our visit to Kauehi -- wonderful
pictures, including many of Kauehi friends, most of
which Jim shot as slides and just recently had scanned into high quality
digital format. Assuming we do find
someone interested in seeing them we can return with our laptop if a computer
isn't available in a home. My journal
reminded me that Jim, Shelley and I had promised Tania that we would mail her
copies of our pictures. Well, I never
did, and I don't think Jim and Shelley did either (my apologies, guys, if I'm
wrong on this). So here comes a belated
delivery attempt.
Our passage into the lagoon
was exciting but safe. We arrived just
outside as planned and made our first attempt at 0730 but the ebb current was
still much too strong and the waves and other turbulence very dramatic. An hour later the current had diminished to
below three knots and we could motorsail through
without further incident. The eight mile
reach across to the village gave us plenty of time for high-fiving,
whooping and general I-can't-believe-we-made-it-ing. – Doug
----- Original Message -----
To: "Kay and Pop"
Sent: Saturday, August 07,
2004 1:02 PM
Subject: Estrela
on vacation
Hi Mom and Dad,
Estrela is anchored outside the
village in Kauehi after a quick up anchor yesterday
from our little motu at the other end of the
lagoon. The wind changed rather quickly
and soon we were on a lee shore with lots of coral head all around. We had three or four days of real vacation at
this remote end of the big atoll. Lots
of incredible snorkeling--with rays, loads of fish and even a few black-tipped
reef sharks-- and lots of reading out
loud--now Watership
Down. Now we are back at the village,
gearing up for a
weekend of festivities sponsored by
the church. This is the wonderful atoll
to where Doug has been so excited to return with his family. His dream as come true. The old chief and his lovely wife have been
so excited to see Doug again and can't believe that he finally came back with
his belle femme and jeunes filles. They are wonderful, like old friends. No, more like seeing your grandparents after
a long time away. All
in French. With
a Polynesian accent. I'm doing
pretty well, can understand better that speaking. But Doug is incredible, talking like a
native. It is because of his French in
particular that we have made connections with islanders that most other
cruisers--especially English speaking ones--aren't making. I realize after talking with other cruisers
what an incredible experience we are truly having. Our French as well as going off the beaten
track. Most cruisers went from the
Galapagos to the Marquesas. Lots of boats. We heard that some islands had 30 boats in an
anchorage. And these islands cater to
cruisers. So there is a tourist
economy. Okay, so they had really great tradewinds and nice weather, but they weren't going into
people's homes and making friends. Okay,
so when we passed 20 degrees South around May 24, our anniversary, we had
intense southerly weather with lots of wind--too much wind or no wind. We had many many
lows and stormy weather. The weather,
when it was nice, you knew that it wouldn't last and you always braced yourself
for the worse. Even in Rikitea in the Gambiers. By the end of our very long stay, I was a
wreck from the constant hard wind in the anchorage. We finally escaped. We and
our friends on Alii Nui
called ourselves the
"crazy
idiots down south"! But it was
because we went down south to
islands that aren't used to yachties and because of our French speaking that Estrela is having a unique experience. So when we arrived at Amanu,
island children swarmed us because they don't see that many boats. The kids are so friendly and genuine. I had one 8 year old girl hold my hand for at
least an hour when all the kids took us for a tour around the island. And the gifts. Such generous people. Here we are in a poor poor
island. No store. Three
churches. One
school up to 4th grade. No cars,
just dirt roads and scooters or a tractor if they're lucky. And yet the chief's eldest of many daughters,
he was out gathering copra or fishing, lavished incredible shell necklaces and
two sculptures on us after we gave a beautiful chart of the atoll. Amazing. At Hao, kids hung
out on the wharf where we were tied up. We finally called them on board. Their first boat visit. So cute. And now Kauehi. This atoll has more traffic because it is
between the Marquesas and Tahiti. Luckily we are at the end of the season, so
we are the only ones here. And of
course, we have a wonderful history here.
So we are welcomed like family.
I'm just in awe all the
time. And so thankful for all the
experiences we are having, the intense and difficult ones to the livin' is easy ones.
I love you guys and think
about you all the time--and am glad that we have your picture in the head! I wish that we could share every minute of
this adventure, but that's not possible.
With daily activities taking forever--cooking, laundry in buckets,
(think Ma Ingalls) and usually radio propagation
pretty bad--sometimes it takes Doug an hour of trying to connect--really! There's just not enough time in a day to do
it all. So we do the best we can. We are truly living life by the minute.
Love, Me
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, August 22,
2004 5:08 AM
Subject: Sailing again
8/21/04 Hi all -- After a break to slow down
in two atolls in the Tuamotus, Kauehi
and Toau, we are moving again -- bound for
Tahiti. We have had an incredible few
weeks with wonderful people and brilliant underwater adventures. Eliza learned to spear fish and Abigail is
swimming like a fish. We are about 180 NM
from the anchorage in Tahiti, Fort Phaeton, where we plan to do some reprovisioning (fresh fruit and veg
and canned meat and a couple boat parts) and sightseeing (Gaugin
Museum). From there we will sail another
30 NM to Papeete to do our big check-in with the
authorities, see two grandchildren of our friends Taverio
and Tania of Kauehi, and do some final shopping. Then if the French let us, we hope to spend a
couple weeks more traveling through the Society Islands before turning west to
sail a long way to Tonga, our last island group before we sail to New Zealand
around November 1st. We'll email you
more info later .
. just wanted tyo let
you know we were still alive and happy.
Love, Doug
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, August 31,
2004 2:21 PM
Subject: All's well here in
Tahiti
Hi Kay and Tony --
We are all fine here in
Tahiti, working hard to refuel, reprovision and do
some maintenance and repairs. We haven't
taken any time yet to experience what most people come to Tahiti for. But that's ok. For us this is the most convenient place for
logistics we have found since Panama and we have a lot to get done. We're preparing for our next big push, which
should get us to NZ by early to mid November by way of the Society Islands
(part of Fr. Polynesia) and Tonga, with a possible interim stop in Niue. Kyle had a few
down days with a fever just after our arrival in Tahiti, slowing our progress
some. But now we all feel well and
charged up again. The girls and I have
been doing one or two grocery store runs a day for the
last several days by dinghy and foot.
Love, Doug
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Sunday, September 05,
2004 2:22 AM
Subject: hanging ten in
Tahiti
Hey George, Deb, and Colin,
Sorry about being out of
touch--we've just been mesmerized by the rainy, lush, mountains, and the
pounding surf--it's rattled our brains.
Actually my dear bro and fam
we're truly struggling with the tension between living life and writing about
it. We've been in Tahiti for a little
more than a week turning around the boat,getting
her ready with food provisions, boat projects and laundry and we have only seen
the supermarket and highway. We spent
August on "vacation" in the Tuomoto atolls Kauehi and Toau, where we fished,
snorkeled, and met old Tuomotuian friends. We have alot to
share about our incredible experiences, mostly in French, and are looking
forward to our next very long passage-leg, Bora-Bora
to Tonga--about 1200nm, to work on photo journals and more writing. I've been writing in a personal journal and
have to spend the time adapting things for the web.
We so appreciate all that your doing for us and all our family and friends. You've done an awesome job making the website
user-friendly and exciting so that people really want to go back to it! Sorry that the content has been a little
scarce. I thought that maybe you would
start making up entries, just guessing what we may be doing, since you never
hear from us, and adding these fake logs to the web, to spice things up. An example of this faux entry: "Kyle and the girls have made up their
own style of Tahitian dancing, and are trying to sell it to the local
resorts. Doug, always game, has become
the first non-Tahitian to join the competitive surf team after just a few hours
of surfing lessons! HANGING
TEN ON CORAL-DUDE!!"
I love you all--kiss Lucy
and Ferny for me, Kyle
PS--about that trip to meet
us--how about some sort of hiking, camping, trekking experience together in
NZ?--for two weeks or so in maybe February?
We're trying to loosely figure out when we want the boat hauled and when
we want to get ready to put her back in the water. We thought of buying (and later selling) a
caravan/camper "land yacht" for the few months that we'll be in
NZ--November to at least April. We
particularly think that the South Island would be a great place to explore--or
do our own "Lord of the Rings" hiking/camping tour. Let us know how that sounds to you. We'd love to have an adventure together, like
the old days of winter camping or skiing or walking in France. Speaking of France, the French baguettes are
incredible here!
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday, September 17,
2004 5:02 AM
Subject: Estrela
Log Entry
2230 local
time Thursday, September 16, 2004 (0830 GMT 09/16/04); S 16 deg 32.33' / W 152 deg
17.30', 5 NM SW of Maupiti Island, Society Islands,
French Polynesia. Heading: 270 deg T; Speed: 4.5 kts. Under sail on
port tack; wind ESE approx 12 kts.
At dusk tonight Eliza and
Abigail lowered the now-tattered French Polynesia (or "Tahiti Nui") courtesy flag we have flown at Estrela's
starboard spreader for three months. Bora Bora still glows faintly 30
miles aft of us, its energetic nightlife reflecting off the clouds encircling
its staggeringly dramatic mountains. We
didn't stop there, content to take pictures as we
passed a few miles south of the breakers marking the edge of its lagoon. A glimpse through binoculars of the storied Bora Bora Club Med satisfied our
yearning for pampered tropical luxury.
Ahead lies a 1300 to 1400 NM passage to reach
the Vav'au Islands of the Kingdom of Tonga. We would love to have had another three
months to explore French Polynesia, especially the Tuamotus,
where we found wild and unspoiled underwater worlds and made and renewed some
wonderful friendships.
The clock is ticking for us
now. We aim to sail to New Zealand
during the historically optimal weather window just before the South Pacific
cyclone season and after the winter gales, approximately the last week in October
and first two weeks in November. We plan
to depart from either Tonga or Fiji.
This passage from the Society Islands to Tonga should take anywhere from
12 to 18 days, depending on weather and on how much we are willing to run the
engine when winds are light or adverse.
We have decided not to stop in the Cook Islands or Samoa (Western or US)
en route to Tonga, opting to "bank" a few weeks in case we have an
unusually slow trip to Tonga, experience a breakdown that requires repairs
before we can sail to NZ, or decide to sail on from Tonga to Fiji before
turning left and heading for NZ. And
there is always the possibility we will have an uneventful and reasonably quick
passage to Tonga, giving us a chance to relax and slowly explore the intricate
waters, myriad anchorages and new (to us) culture of Tonga.
One extra challenge we now
face is the need for serious water conservation and collection. Our PUR 80 reverse osmosis watermaker had worked flawlessly, almost magically, until
our passage from the Tuamotus to Tahiti, when it
began to make salty tasting water.
Dismantling it revealed worn "O" rings and that one of the two
filter membranes is probably contaminated by some oily substance. We lack spares to correct either
problem. So we can
continue making water adequate for washing and certain galley uses, but not for
drinking. We began this passage
today with 70 gallons of fresh water in our two internal tanks and 20 more in
four five-gallon jerry jugs lashed on the deck.
We also have three four-gallon pails sitting on deck full of fresh water
-- it's amazing how much remains in the buckets, even when heeling. Eliza and Abigail have become conscientious
water conservers and continually come up with good new ideas for saving bits of
water throughout the day.
We apologize for having gone
so long without regular log entries for the naturofm.com/Estrela
website. Kyle and I have struggled
during our stay in French Polynesia with the tension between living and writing
about living. The last month and a half
has been intensely full for all four of us and we have not made much time for
reflection and to write about our experiences.
As we begin a two month period where we'll be on passage more than half
the time we anticipate writing more and communicating more regularly with
family and friends at home. We love
getting your emails and promise to write back.
Kyle and I really enjoy working at the computer during our night
watches, as long as it's not too bouncy.
-- Doug
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, September 21,
2004 3:04 PM
Subject: Estrela
Log Entry
0400 local
time Tuesday, September 21, 2004 (1400 GMT 09/21/04); S 14 deg 07' / W 157 deg
47'; approx 970 NM ENE of Neiafu, Vav'au
Group, Kingdom of Tonga. Heading: 265 deg T;
Speed: 3.6 kts.
Under sail (wing and wing) on port tack; wind E to ESE approx 12 to 16 kts.
Yesterday was a big day for
the homeschool Estrela. Time to take stock of this
past school year and prepare for the next one. So the boat's interior became one huge book
pile, as the girls and I pulled books out of every cabinet and hidden stowage
place, like the way way back of the hanging aka "shove" locker. Abigail has completed her kindergarten work
and Eliza is making a last huge push to finish a math book, "Math 4
Today", and a reading comprehension book, "Worldly Wise", and
prepare for a history final on the ancients--Egypt, Greece, and Rome. She's finishing 4th grade. We plan to have a big graduation bash in
Tonga--which basically means sing "Pomp and Circumstance" and eat
lots of cake. Marking transitions in
schooling is so important, and homeschoolers have to
make a big effort to do so. Otherwise,
school and home get so blurred together, one would never know what grade they
were in or when school stops and starts.
We school 6 days a week on Estrela, taking
Sunday as our "sabbath" from school. We take vacation days, "professional
development days" (that's when teacher/Mom needs a break!), and boat days
(that's when provisioning chores and work on the boat take precedence over
school, though usually Doug or I can turn that into "homeschool
moments", you know, home economics, applied mathematics and shop
classes). Of course, snorkeling on coral reefs, fishing and
cleaning fish, shell collecting, and studying weather faxes are all grist for
science class, and reading out loud is....reading out loud!
Our life is our schooling
and the world is our classroom. And I
think that Doug and I are learning just as much as, if not more than, the
girls.
-- Kyle (from the bridge, on
dawn watch)
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, September
23, 2004 1:46 AM
Subject: Estrela
Log Entry
0330 local
time Wednesday, September 22, 2004 (1330 GMT 09/22/04); S 14 deg 06' / W 159
deg 33'; approx 872 NM ENE of Neiafu, Vav'au Group, Kingdom of Tonga. Heading: 270 deg T; Speed: 4.6 kts. Under sail
(wing and wing) on port tack; wind E to ESE approx 13 to 21 kts.
We have been so thankful for
this settled weather and great sailing conditions. The wind is pushing us from behind and the
seas are not too "lumpy"--that's sailor speak for a bumpy,
uncomfortable ride. It's very pleasant
to not have books, ingredients, toys, etc. fly around the cabin. We can enjoy the passage, not just survive
it. Doug and I don't have to be at the
tiller constantly, tummies and nerves are calm, and we have more energy for homeschooling, talking, reading aloud and playing
cards--crazy eights and hearts, the favorites.
We are all the more grateful for this peace during this passage because
we are a grieving boat. My sharp-as-a-tack
grandmother Dorothy Holt (my Nana and the girls' Gigi),
age 95, died this past Friday, Sept. 17th, day 2 of our passage. When we left Tahaa,
we knew that she would probably die before we got to Tonga. And she did.
We were all ready to leave French
Polynesia except for a planned quick dinghy ride to shore to top off water and
diesel and get several baguettes. But
that night we received an email from my dad with our first news that Gigi was gravely ill and had chosen to enter the hospice
program at the local hospital.
Thankfully, we hadn't yet left land, we quickly found a pay phone by the
fuel dock and we still had time on our Fr. Polynesia phone card. Then Doug miraculously remembered the U.S.
country code (we hadn't phoned home since Panama) and both my parents were at
home. It was a tearful, comforting call,
giving all of us, and me especially, the strength to continue on. I learned that Gigi,
an adventurous world traveler herself, had asked my Dad (her only child) to
reassure us that she didn't wanted us to stop on her
account.
And so we departed the next
morning with heavy hearts, and plans for frequent email exchanges with my
parents. The calm sailing conditions
have allowed us to focus on each other, Gigi and
family back home. We have spent many
hours reminiscing about Gigi, stories of her
incredible life and our memories of her.
She's very much alive in our hearts.
We will miss the funeral,
which is set for Sept. 28th. It's hard,
very hard to be so far away. But this
was a possibility we and Gigi had talked frankly
about in the months before we left Connecticut.
We are just very thankful for our computer and email system which has
kept us as close as one could possibly be here in the middle of the ocean.
And lying in the cockpit
during my dawn watch, I'm surrounded by the most awe inspiring night sky. Stars really do twinkle. Heaven is just an arm's reach away. I feel closer than ever to my grandmother,
knowing that she's right there in her final place of rest.
--Kyle
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Monday, September 27,
2004 3:51 AM
Subject: Estrela
Log Entry
2100 local
time Sunday, September 26, 2004 (0700 GMT 09/27/04); S 15 deg 17' / W 167 deg
12'; approx 435 NM ENE of Neiafu, Vava'u
Group, Kingdom of Tonga. Heading: 244 deg T;
Speed: 4.1 kts.
Motorsailing @ 1400 RPM with just staysail;
wind NE approx 5 kts.
We've had some interesting
wildlife moments on this passage. Our
first was a close encounter of the wet, avian kind. It was a lovely evening on September 16th,
our first night at sea again. I was down
below in the galley preparing dinner.
The rest of the crew were in the cockpit
watching the sun set. All of a sudden I
heard shrieks of surprise. My first
reaction was that someone had fallen overboard, but when I popped my head up I
counted all three humans. "What
happened?", I said with relief. "Mom, a Booby landed in the cockpit
right next to Abigail. The bird was more
scared than Abby!" But before I
could even utter an "Oh my," the brown Booby circled us again and
this time hit his mark perfectly, Doug's cap-less head. It's pretty amazing to watch a big sea bird
splat on top of your husband's head!
Doug swatted. We shrieked. Mr. Booby escaped. Of course our first question to Doug was,
"So, what did it feel like?"
"Wet, and his feet made a slapping sound." And the bird kept circling. Was he tired?
It looked more exhausting trying to land on Estrela
than just soaring on the air currents.
"Booby alert. Booby
alert." We all ducked for
cover. This time he landed successfully
on the boom (we were motoring so the boom was resting on its
"gallows" down the center of the cockpit--this was before the trades
winds kicked in.) He sat perched above us for several minutes. We stared at each other, the bird and the
crew, sizing each other up. Silence. And then he
took off. That was it? Oh no.
"Booby alert. Booby
alert." We manned out stations,
this time I had a camera in hand. Mr.
Booby circled and circled and circled.
Finally the approach must have looked good. He lowered his landing gear and plopped,
another successful landing on Estrela's boom.
By now, Abigail, our junior vet, was already planning the care and
feeding of our new feathered crew. Doug,
head still wet and salty, was concerned with the fowl's impending fouling. Eliza, still stunned, sat under the cover of
the dodger, bracing herself for his next move.
And I just wanted a picture. The
flash went off and Mr. Booby didn't move.
Hmmm.
Maybe he's used to having his picture taken. The camera flashed again and again and
finally Mr. Booby got the picture, and flew away. This time for good. It was just another exciting night aboard Estrela. For more
info about boobies, check out "Eliza's Galapagos Journal" on this
website.
Our next wildlife adventure
occurred three days ago. Again, it was
approaching sunset and we were all in the cockpit looking at the huge rainbow
accompanying a very large squall cell chasing us from behind. Time to batten down the
hatches. As the girls and I were
going down below to close portholes we heard Doug cry, "Fish! There's a fish at the end of the
line!" We hopped up and saw that
there was a big fish struggling in the water right underneath the end of the rainbow,
our pot of gold. "All right crew,
there is a squall
coming. We don't have much sunlight left and we have to land a big fish. Time for teamwork. Eiza, get the gaff.
Kyle, get my gloves and the rubbing alcohol.
Abigail, close the portholes. I've
got the line. Let's go!" Like a well-trained military squad we jumped
to action. As the fish got closer to the
boat, its beautifully iridescent coloring of blues, yellows, and greens could
be seen. It was a mahi-mahi, otherwise
known as a dorado. These fish are just absolutely
gorgeous. In fact, the first time I saw
one, on passage from Galapagos to the Gambiers, I
wouldn't let Doug put out a line.
"There's no way you're going to kill one of these creatures. They belong in an aquarium, not on my plate." Of course this small school of doradoes had to tease Doug by swimming alongside the boat
for an hour. But times have
changed. I'm a real cruiser now, got all
those hunter juices flowing. Time to
catch a fish! Doug leaned over the boat
and with one quick stroke of the gaff, brought the huge beauty into the
cockpit. Before a brawl could break out,
we covered its face with a towel and poured rubbing alcohol down its
throat. The fight was over. Victorious, the girls helped Doug string it
up by the tail off the boom on the starboard side, (we were on port tack) and
watched like forensic scientists as Doug did an autopsy, I mean, cleaned the
fish. Eliza drew the fish to scale and
took down measurements, while Abigail inspected the contents of the stomach. "Mud!" she reported. Thankfully the squall never hit. And as the last rays of sun disappeared under
the horizon, Doug donned a headlamp to finish the filleting process. "We're having fish tonight! And the next night . . and the next . . .
and the next."
-- Kyle
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday, October 01,
2004 9:04 AM
Subject: Estrela
Log Entry
0000 local
time Friday, October 1, 2004 (1100 GMT 10/01/04); S 17 deg 35' / W 172 deg 23';
approx 115 NM ENE of Neiafu, Vava'u
Group, Kingdom of Tonga. Day 15
of Estrela's passage from French Polynesia to Tonga. Heading: 239 deg T; Speed: 3.3 kts. Under sail on
port tack with staysail, 2/3 reefed genoa and
double-reefed main. Wind SSE (on the
beam) at approx 14 to 19 kts and diminishing; seas
rough but diminishing.
Not to whine or anything . .
. but the last three days have brought us all the things we had managed to
avoid during the idyllic sailing conditions of the preceding 10 days, namely, .
. . a day of no wind with a lot of motoring, then torrential rain and too much
wind from the wrong direction -- on the nose for much of the time -- and an
awkward, often violent motion, especially below. These conditions have given us 24 hour runs
of only 75, 79, 84 and 76 nautical miles the last four days, compared with 96,
105, 114 and 108 NM for days five through eight. In just the last couple hours, however, it is
feeling as though the wind and seas are moderating to the point we will be able
to sail our course to Vava'u, raise more sail and pick
up speed to around 4+ knots. The sky
remains thickly overcast, though, and the motion will stay choppy until the
seas we are driving into diminish and/or the wind direction veers more to the
ESE or E and the wind waves have time to change direction too.
There are signs we are
nearing Tonga, though! Seabirds and
flying fish seem more abundant and every once in a while the air smells
earthy. We have rescued two hapless
flying fish who crash-landed aboard Estrela the last two nights. This morning on the SSB radio net (dubbed the
"Polly Needs Ya Net") Kyle heard an amusing
account from another sailboat who claimed to have found 30 dead flying fish on
deck at dawn. Having just heard the wild
racket even one startled flying fish generates trapped on deck outside a
porthole or in the well of the cockpit, however, it is hard to imagine the crew
of a boat keeping a prudent 24 hour watch being unaware until the next morning
that a school of 30 flying fish has decided to commit mass suicide on deck.
An historical note . . . central Tonga, just south of Vava'u where we're first headed, was the location of the actual mutiny on the Bounty. It was here that Fletcher Christian and his disgruntled compatriots forced Captain Bligh and his remaining loyal crew members into an open l