SERENITY NOW

  Bula Bula!! We’re still in Fiji… and it’s pretty lovely. The sailing is good, the islands and anchorages so far have been beautiful, spacious and close to empty. We’re both quite enjoying boat life for the moment. Our only concern is what the hell we’re going to do next… but read on and we’ll all find out together! On the way to our current anchorage we passed an island. Treasure Island; palm trees, sandy shore.. like any other round here really. This one however was special for us, as it was the place where we’d holidayed with my mum, dad and Charlie some 15 or so years ago… blimey is that right??!! Time really is flying. Anyway - bypassed that little patch of memories and came here - to another notable island in our lives.. Mana Island. We’ve never been here before, but have sat glued to a TV every time it has appeared. It’s the set of our favourite TV show ‘Survivor’. Arriving here, we came through the dogleg pass winding our way through an initially confusing line of marker b...

  I’m writing this one as we leave the location I’m about to describe: Nawi Island Marina. Having arrived there on the 23rd August, planning to stay just a few days, we are now tearing ourselves away some 10 days later. I’ve taken a break from the diary - this coinciding with me getting a cheap sim for the phone with 250G of data and gorging myself on all the delights the internet has to offer! Let’s rewind a bit though. One of the reasons we’d chosen this marina was that the ‘Pacific Posse’ rally were having a party here. That turned out to be a great evening: the free rum cocktails helped! Nice to catch up with a few of the boats we’d missed along the way over a couple of excellent mojitos. The Salty Gingers arrived, always good to see those two, and we enjoyed a couple of sundowner sessions with them. A notable one being atop the hill that overlooks the bay here. We were joined by (among others) Ellie and Omar from a Cinnamon and Zoe and Angus from Mowzer - both couples I wish w...

  Day 1. 12 Aug ‘23 Started the day the right way: with a rainbow and a short dolphin visit as we exited the pass at Suwarrow. It’s been pretty special here.. the usual melancholy feeling at leaving an anchorage is magnified for this particular departure. Suwarrow is a truly wonderful place which we’re leaving with very fond memories and we count ourselves very lucky to have been able to visit. …but move on we must. Once through the pass, we turned Westish (260 degrees) set up a wing on wing config, and as I write this we’re heading along nicely just shy of 5 knots. Chez’s back (coccyx) isn’t too good today - we went from: “This is actually alright” as we exited the pass, to: “I can’t f**king stand this! It’s physical and mental torture!” within the space of a few short hours. The side on swell, plus the usual whip crack of the sails in light wind is, I have to agree, somewhat torturous.. and my back doesn’t even hurt! Hopefully she can get some relief over the next few days. The w...

  As the title suggests; we are indeed in Paradise... However, on arrival, what should have been an easy drop and flop end to a longish passage, felt more like being in hell! Both very tired, we unsuccessfully tried to anchor six times before we eventually set. Shallow coral heads, chain wrapped around rocks and an anchor that just could not get a grip in the thin layer of occasional sand. This didn’t make for a good first impression. Both of us swam to check below during this long process - lots of good sized fish and a number of sharks (black tipped reef sharks, and a plumper green one as big as me that I couldn’t identify). They minded their own business, and so did I. I was strangely unfazed by their presence: being more awed by their graceful sleek bodies than the slim possibly of an attack. With a well received anchoring suggestion on the VHF from Graham (Salty Gingers) we eventually found our spot. As Chez filled in the log, we cracked a couple of beers, these were rapidly d...

Day 1. - 28 Jul ‘23 I started the Pacific crossing clearly stating that I’m not one for superstitions, portents and the like. That passage started with me being eyed by five feasting vultures….. and the crossing seemingly reflected that ominous beginning. This morning, I’m happy to report, has a slightly different beginning. Today started with a beautiful vibrant rainbow. It’s pot of gold end dipping down exactly at the point where the pass goes through the reef. We’re leaving Raiatea, off on our way to Suwarrow, hopefully a week away. A day ahead of us are the Salty Gingers and Cerulean - both of whom we’ve developed quite an affection for over the last few months. The morning has a light (barely a breeze) of wind, so for now we’re motoring in a low frequency side on swell. Midday we passed Bora Bora to Starboard, then spent a large chunk of the afternoon sorting through rubbish which we hadn’t been able to offload in Raiatea.. not a pleasant task. Afternoon nap was followed by a dinn...

  I’m writing this as the rugged peaks of Moorea slowly shrink behind us. In front the sun is setting on an almost cloudless sky. We’re headed for Huahine. We set off from Cook’s Bay around 2pm this afternoon, motored out through the pass in the reef and motor sailed until the wind rose sufficiently to have us gliding along under wind power alone. 6ish knots as I type. We’re in for a starry night: no moon and no clouds - could also be a little colder than we’re used to. Not that I’m complaining - we quite enjoy the close to permanent summer we seem to be be having…. Despite it actually being Winter here! Just after dinner we got buzzed by a Learjet - an exhilarating break of the monotony - albeit a very fast one! He dipped down to what seemed like one or two hundred meters above us, then whizzed on rapidly rising as we waved at his disappearing tail. Other than a very minor squall around dawn, we both had a good night and snatched a little sleep. Breaching whales in the distance gr...

  26 June 2023 (Tahiti) Having left Rangiroa yesterday morning, this morning finds us over half way towards Tahiti. We’ve sailed throughout at 5knots + in a large beamy swell that has made life interesting, and walking around hard. It’s been a good sail, despite us both having moments of partially rounding up overnight. Usual tale of fishing: tangled line, stolen lures and swearing, further details of which I will not bore you with. The next day that turned around, after an uneventful rolly day on the water, at sunset I hooked a small yellowfin tuna. Just dished up dinner, so that can wait til tomorrow in Tahiti to feed us. At time of writing (7pm) the island of Tahiti is visible as a glow in front, but still some 30 odd miles away. We’ll be arriving after dark, and probably after the moon has set into Venus Bay (of Captain Cook fame… and subsequently learned also of Robert Louis Stephenson and William Bligh fame! - all apparently fond of topless Tahitian woman… what’s not to like?...