We quite often criticise how little untouched wilderness remains here in French Polynesia and the lack of efforts by the government and other organisations to protect the environment. We complain about locals who still hunt turtles and collect sea bird eggs and blame a lack of education and awareness. Yesterday we read on the Austrian News that the fishermen and fisherwomen there have finally managed… Continue reading »
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2021
24
Mar
2021
18
Mar
Arriving at night
We always tell newby cruisers that it’s not a good idea to arrive at night, much wiser to time pass entries with good light. But quite often (like yesterday) it becomes clear over the course of the day that we won’t make landfall in daylight–an arrival-bubbly and the thought of a whole night spent in a calm, comfy bed are hard to resist though… If… Continue reading »
2021
17
Mar
Wrong wind forecasts
The day before yesterday we were supposed to have whopping 20 knots for great sailing–and got thunderstorms and fluky winds. Yesterday we were supposed to have about 15 knots and got several hours of 30+ knots instead. Today the grib threatened with no wind and we had 15 knots all morning and still 10-12 now in the afternoon… We can already see the silhouette of… Continue reading »
2021
16
Mar
Annoying weather
We got a mixed bag of thunderstorm, no wind and lots of wind. 194 to go
2021
15
Mar
Fast sailing
The wind set in with a squall last afternoon and we got the gennaker down just in time. Now we’re steadily sailing along in 15 to 20 knots from the SE and a few squalls around. 320 to go!
2021
15
Mar
Goodbye Raivavae
The weather forecast suggested that we should wait another day, but a fresh breeze from the SSE tempted us to leave Raivavae last evening. We set out doing 6 knots in 16-18 knots, yippieh! Two hours later the wind died down to less than 10 knots and we slowed down to 3 knots. Now the gennaker is flying and we’re waiting for the wind to… Continue reading »
2021
13
Mar
Translation FAQ
Somehow I assumed that everybody has better internet than we and would have no prob just letting a google translator do the translation of our info sheet for them As people have been asking, I’ll simply put the translation of the link below into this blog here: Don’t you like sailboats? You’re not alone, many people would like to chase them out of their lagoons.… Continue reading »
2021
11
Mar
Anti-cruiser campaign and our reaction to it
We decided to spend the cyclone season on an quiet, friendly little island to get away from the anti-cruiser hostilities in Tahiti and the Society Islands. Unfortunately it turns out that even here in Raivavae a campaign against cruisers is going on… Ironically enough it’s the environmental organisation (who should be our friends as fellow protectors of nature) and the protestant priest (who would be… Continue reading »
2021
06
Mar
Leeloo 2000–2021
Our little ship’s cat died last week. I still hear her everywhere and see her everywhere. Our day was so full of cat rituals: sunbathing and petting session in the morning, making sure she ate a few bites every few hours, waking her during the day so she’d be tired at night, sitting out in the cockpit during the evenings to ‘air’ the cat, then… Continue reading »
2021
06
Mar
Book recommendation ‘Plunge’
Our good friend Liesbet has published a book about her life as a cruiser, nomad and citizen of the earth. Check out her adventures on https://www.roamingabout.com/about-plunge/