We made it safely into the atoll despite rough conditions in the pass and are anchored down for the nasty weather that is predicted. Just now a big black cloud approaches and announces the storm to come.
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2019
28
Apr
2019
26
Apr
Fish jars
Last night we were still slowly bouncing along, with flogging sails, but at least sailing. Just before sunrise this morning the long awaited wind finally set in, the skies cleared up and we were sailing briskly with 6 knots when a 1.5 m mahi-mahi bit the lure… We hardly managed to get the big guy up on our high aft deck. We always use small… Continue reading »
2019
26
Apr
Becalmed
People usually ask us if we’re scared of storms, but our main worry when setting out on a passage is usually that there won’t be enough wind. ‘Being becalmed’ sounds serene and in the Med we had indeed such days when the boat was just sitting on a perfectly flat sea. That’s like being at anchor, you can do whatever jobs are on the list,… Continue reading »
2019
25
Apr
Fish’n dips
Yesterday we had a fresh breeze and good sailing, caught a wahoo (our first fish since October…) and during the night we went more slowly, but still steadily ahead. Today we’re crossing a convergence zone, the N wind died down and we hope that the promised SE will soon set in. This afternoon we were drifting along under sails so slowly that we could have… Continue reading »
2019
23
Apr
Huffs and puffs
The wind’s been a bit unstable, so we motored for a few hours last night, but now we’re rushing along nicely again doing 6 knots with 15 knots on the beam. 370 nm to go!
2019
22
Apr
heading out
We checked weather this morning and decided spontaneously to try a new, but a bit fickle window… We’ll leave soon, keep your fingers crossed for some wind for us
2019
21
Apr
Autumn weather
The festival ended last week with a torrential downpour that lasted a whole day–even locals claim they’ve never seen rain coming down with such intensity over such a long period. After that followed a week of perfectly calm and finally sunny and warm weather again… Yesterday a tempting weather window to sail to the Tuamotus came up–light northeasterly winds would allow a smooth sail with… Continue reading »
2019
20
Apr
2019
15
Apr
Penrhyn article in Cruising World April 2019
We have a few articles accepted for publication in the renowned Cruising World magazine, and the first one has now actually made it into the April issue. This one is about our stay in Penrhyn. Birgit Hackl, Christian Feldbauer: A Cook Islands Highlight, Cruising World, April 2019.
2019
13
Apr
Matapukurega Festival
There’s a 3 day long cultural festival going on in Rikitea at the moment. Groups from Hao (Tuamotus), Hiva Oa (Marquesas), Tubuai (Australes), Faaa (Tahiti) and even Rapa Nui (Easter Island) have arrived, events take place every evening and it’s great to see and hear the differences in their dances and choirs. The anchorage has filled up with boats, almost 30 are anchored here at… Continue reading »
2019
02
Apr
Summer’s coming to an end
This year the summer weather in the Gambier hasn’t been great and now it seems that it’s coming to an early end. The second mara’amu (strong southeasterly wind) is bringing chilly airmasses to us and a sniff of winter’s in the wind. We’ve been really busy between boat projects (e.g. we got new foam from Tahiti and redid our sofa including new upholstery), writing and… Continue reading »