We have been in Apataki now for a few days, but we haven’t seen much of the atoll. We visited Sonja, Tom and Keanu (SY Pakia Tea) who have their catamaran here out on the hard, in the only (but somewhat improvised) out-haul facility in the Tuamotus. Apart from that we’ve stayed on board and did sewing-machine jobs. First came a sail repair, as the… Continue reading »
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2017
17
Oct
2017
12
Oct
Apataki
When the stream of water from the tap no longer hits the sink, but swerves beyond the rim, you know you’re heeling too much… This passage was only 220 nm as the frigate bird flies, but we tacked up and down and the mixture of too much wind (30+ knots) and not enough wind (less than 10 knots) was rather tiring. Initially we had planned… Continue reading »
2017
10
Oct
Tacking
After a bouncy and splashy day (things that have never before moved, managed to jump headfirst into the cabin–we’ll see if the printer survived…) we’re now sailing along nicely in about 15 knots from the east. The Tuamotus are spreadout east of Tahiti, so we’re tacking and trying to figure out which atoll we can reach this way.
2017
09
Oct
Towards the Tuamotus
Yesterday we set out from Moorea towards the Tuamotus, first too much wind, then not enough, now too much again–sailing’s not always easy…
2017
05
Oct
New Tattoo
Wherever you go in French Polynesia, almost everybody has tattoos. Their traditional symbols are deeply embedded in the Polynesian culture. I got a small manta tattooed two years ago and this year I could not resist and got him a bigger brother.
2017
03
Oct
Hiker’s paradise Moorea
At the moment there’s a strong Maraamu (southeasterly wind) blowing that brings cool air to French Polynesia, but we’re nicely protected from the wind here in Cook’s Bay on the northern side of Moorea. Moorea is a spectacular little island with steep mountains, calderas and lush valleys and the breezy weather’s perfect to explore the numerous hiking tracks that crisscross the island. During our last… Continue reading »
2017
29
Sep
From Tahiti to Moorea
I’ve just checked our emails and realised that we haven’t posted a blog in two weeks. The reason isn’t that there was nothing going on, but just on the contary there was indeed too much to do on Pitufa to keep up with the blog. We had a rental car for 24 hours (afternoon to afternoon, very convenient for shopping), bought 2 car loads (4… Continue reading »
2017
14
Sep
A new watermaker!
It’s been a sunny, hot week here in Taina (despite the fact that it’s still supposed to be winter), but we didn’t see much of the weather as we spent most of our time in the bilge. We removed the floorboards and the companionway ladder in the mornings and worked on the watermaker parts all day. The cat thought that was very strange behaviour and… Continue reading »
2017
03
Sep
Still snotty
The virus Christian brought back from the plane turned out to be quite persistent and annoying. Of course I got it two days after Christian and we’ve been snotty, sneezing and coughing a duet for over a week now. In the meantime we’ve managed to install the main pump of the watermaker. It’s too big to fit into the bilge like the old one, so… Continue reading »
2017
25
Aug
Smurf crew complete again
Christian got back on Wednesday morning, so the smurf crew’s complete again! Unfortunately he caught a cold on the plane, so the planned projects (watermaker installation, replacing hoses on the yanmar, etc) will be a bit postponed. We’re not on a tight schedule, so we’re just taking it slowly for the moment.
2017
19
Aug
A house without a cat is not a home…
…according to the proverb and a boat without a cat isn’t one either–at least in my humble opinion I’ve now been alone with Leeloo on the boat for two and half weeks, but it’s impossible to feel lonely with a furry companion who’s always around and always talks back I love the way… …she climbs up the steep companion way stairs looking like a little… Continue reading »
2017
16
Aug
Article on Improvisation in All-at-Sea magazine
Living on a small boat on a small budget in remote places requires a great deal of improvisation skills. This article shows some of our improvised repairs. Those were usually just temporary fixes, although some became permanent ones… Birgit Hackl, Christian Feldbauer: Mad Max Makeshift Magic, All At Sea Caribbean, August 2017, p. 36–40. Free download from allatsea.net.
2017
14
Aug
Sunday in Tahiti
As I’m alone at the moment I spend most days below deck, working on my sofa-upholstery-renewal project, writing articles or making jewellery. After such a productive day I try to stretch my legs doing long walks around the yacht club area and up in the surrounding hills in the evenings. Arue is a suburb of Papeete (the city has long overgrown its borders and incorporated… Continue reading »
2017
08
Aug
Smurfettes alone at home
Christian left for Austria last Wednesday morning, so Leeloo and I have been alone on Pitufa for almost a week. We have been good girls, produced about 20 pearl necklaces during the first days and today we sewed two new covers for the sofa upholstery. Well, to be honest, I did most of the work, but Leeloo supervised and sat on everything that was work… Continue reading »
2017
03
Aug
Sweet dreams
Since we set out we’ve bought new mattresses twice–each a little bit more expensive than the last one, but still not comfortable. Last week we decided to go for high quality and bought two latex matresses. Our bed in the aft cabin is very oddly shaped so we have to buy 2 queen size mattresses, cut them into shape and resew the cover. What sounds… Continue reading »