This morning we thought we’d have a lazy day, just a bit of snorkeling, kayaking and relaxing between the incredibly vibrant shades of azure, turquoise and mint here on the southern side of the lagoon. But when breakfast bread had been on the stove for about twenty minutes, the flame suddenly started shrinking and soon after went out. A clogged up line? Out of kerosene?… Continue reading »
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2016
21
Oct
2016
20
Oct
Gorgeous Tahanea
Tahanea was the first atoll we ever visited two years ago. Back then we loved the serenity of this uninhabited atoll, the bird colonies, the colourful underwater life and the motus with their white beaches so much that we stayed 8 weeks. You may think that we were only so impressed because it was our first experience of an atoll, but in the meantime we… Continue reading »
2016
18
Oct
Sailing to Tahanea
We only stayed for 2 days in Fakarava and did some fabulous snorkeling in the pass amidst dozens of Grey Reef Sharks. But then a weather window with NE winds came up (the only one within the next week it seems), we couldn’t resist and now we’er approaching Tahanea after a very slow night sail.
2016
17
Oct
A gluten-free boat
When the doctors in Tonga couldn’t find a reason for Christian’s weight loss we started reading all kinds of medical articles online. Gluten intolerance was among the topics we found, so we decided to give a gluten-free diet a try. Before that we had laughed about the media induced hype for gluten-, dairy-, and everything-free overpriced special diet food, but we were desperate to try… Continue reading »
2016
16
Oct
English Weather…
Yesterday at 2:00 in the afternoon we entered the South pass of Fakarava at high tide in super-calm conditions. Today it’s grey and drizzling so we have postponed our excursions.
2016
16
Oct
Article on Communication at Sea in new Ocean7 Magazine
Birgit Hackl, Christian Feldbauer: Kommunikation auf Langfahrt, OCEAN7 06 (Nov./Dez.) 2016, p. 40–43.
2016
15
Oct
Fakarava
In the end we have decided to head for Fakarava (South Pass), as we can reach the pass around high tide early afternoon. We haven’t visited this atoll yet, so we’re curious, especially as it’s famous for the masses of grey reef sharks in the pass.
2016
14
Oct
Like at anchor
We’re wobbling along with only 3 knots, the wind shifts around cloudy areas so that on top of that we’re going zigzag. We still don’t know to which of the Tuamotus we’ll make it this way–we’ll see. At least it’s very comfy sailing, with the boat hardly moving at all you barely notice that we’re on passage and even Leeloo is out and about.
2016
13
Oct
Sailing towards the Tuamotus
We couldn’t resist the weather window (first southwesterly, than southerly and later southeasterly winds are predicted), so we quickly finished all business in Tahiti, got the boat into sailing mode (always a major event that includes obvious tasks like storing away gear, but also baking bread, renewing the kitty litter, etc. etc.) and set out yesterday afternoon towards the Tuamotus. Stomping out into 25 knots… Continue reading »
2016
12
Oct
Sailing with Cats–a Summary after 5 years of Cruising
When we set out from Europe 5 years ago we were slightly worried how our cat, Leeloo, would cope with long passages, whether we’d have problems when clearing into countries with her, if we’d be able to find cat food in remote places, etc. Despite the fact that Leeloo was already 11 years old when we moved to the boat she adapted quite quickly to… Continue reading »
2016
06
Oct
Pitufa.at is more mobile-friendly now!
Pitufa.at wasn’t very usable on tiny screens such as smart phones. But now, after introducing some screen-width-responsive changes in the style, you should be able to browse our blog wherever you are. Finally, Pitufa.at has gone mobile-friendly!
2016
27
Sep
2016
27
Sep
Sailing eastward from Tonga to Tahiti: summary
Whenever other cruisers heard/read of our journey from Tonga to Tahiti eastwards, the reaction ranged from horror to awe. ‘You’re going in the wrong direction!’ In times when sailing ships were the only means to transport people and goods across the oceans they went all directions during all seasons, but it seems that during the past few decades a consensus has been laid down that… Continue reading »
2016
26
Sep
So much to do
At the moment our days are just not long enough for everything we have to do. After the long trip Pitufa needs quite some attention, the boiler was leaking and Christian removed the electric heater element that was rusted through (followed by happy bilge cleaning as 25 litres of freshwater had drained onto the engine twice). Yesterday was a 9 hour Pfaff-day (that’s the name… Continue reading »
2016
25
Sep