Pitufa.at

Watching reefs bleach and die makes me ashamed to be human. All those fishies looking up at me, the little clown fish trying to seek shelter in his bleached and dying anemone, the chromis in the algae-overgrown skeleton of a staghorn coral–they don’t know why the reefs are dying. But I know. Because of overfishing, erosion, pollution and of course global warming. All caused by… Continue reading »

Exactly one year ago we had to swim for our lives in the ripping current of the southern pass of Matuku after our accident with a local boat. We somehow made it through the surf, somehow managed to hold on to the sunken boat for an hour while waiting for rescue. Poor Maikeli didn’t and today we think of him and his widow and daughter…… Continue reading »

A cruising boat wants constant love and attention–our Pitufa’s no exception. One of the zippers on the sprayhood ripped out yesterday, so we went through our spare material, couldn’t find a new zipper, but at least a sturdy one we had cut out of an old backpack and got out our sewing machine. The problem was as usually not doing the seam, but getting the… Continue reading »

We have only found a handful of islands with seabird colonies in Fiji, so when we heard that little Yabu here in the island cluster just north of Kadavu is a bird sanctuary we were thrilled and wanted to check it out. Locals told us nobody’s allowed ashore (they only go there to pick up the natural fertilizer the birds produce, very clever!) and there’s… Continue reading »

Worried that you might get bored cruising? Just bring your hobbies along! Birgit Hackl, Christian Feldbauer: Never bored aboard!, All At Sea Caribbean, January 2024, p. 44–48. Download the whole magazine for free. Our friend Sue doing the cover art for my chilren’s book aboard SY Spruce

10 years ago we arrived in the Gambier Islands (French Polynesia), where the shiniest black pearls are grown. Soon after I started playing with those pretty ball bearings and I’m still making creative jewellery aboard SY Pitufa

2023 was a tough year for us with lots of pain and worries since our severe accident in February. Now it looks like we’re finally over that stretch and we’re looking forward to some fun and adventures in 2024! We wish you all a happy holidays and a healthy, joyful and exciting year 2024!!

Check out our books on amazon.com! “Sailing towards the Horizon” about our first 5 years as newbie cruisers as paperback and ebook “On Velvet Paws towards the Horizon”: an homage to ship’s cat Leeloo “Cruising Know-How“: a compilation of the best articles we’ve published in 12 years available as ebook, paperback and hardcover in inexpensive black-and-white or in a shiny colour version!

The German version of our travelbook is now available on amazon with 177 colour photos “Richtung Horizont” sparkling in all colours between the dark indigo of the ocean, via the sparkling turquoise of lagoons to the dazzling greens of the islands…

Fortunately cyclone Mal is remaining only cat 2 and passing without directly hitting islands. Even though it’s a small and rather weak system, the wave forecast on windy looks scary enough (see below). The western side of Viti Levu will get some wind and there’s already flooding from the heavy rain ashore… Here in Suva no strong winds are predicted and the rain has passed,… Continue reading »

The European forecast model (ECMWF) quite often forecasts the opposite of the American model (GFS) for a week or so ahead, but sometimes even until the last day. Comparing we have found that the European model is often more accurate (at least for our area here). Today they agree for a change that something will hit Fiji on Tuesday–just where exactly and how strong remains… Continue reading »