Bora Bora to Suwarrow: Day 7: 27th July 2023
Miles to Suwarrow: 52 miles
The final full day.
We have just tried to remember whether we sailed or motored last night. We can't remember!! Suffice to say we have spent much of today flying the parasailor.
Two more Chinese fishing craft last night reminds us that we were in fact sailing through the night.
Ah yes, the parasailor. We are getting more confident but it's still hard to use the four ropes we need to use in unison as we bring the sail across in front of us (gybe). But in just 6 knots of apparent wind we were making 5 knots in the correct direction. We are developing into a good team and this evening's furling of the parasailor and launch of the foresail was extremely slick.
We have now just put away the parasailor as it got dark, gybed again and are making the last 52 miles under yankee alone. The aim is to arrive in Suwarrow as first light. Glen (Cloudy Bay) is going to guide us through the reef to our anchorage.
Suwarrow has no services. No food, no diesel, no wifi. We have over a week before we get to Tonga or American Samoa. Provisions are running low. We have two apples, 1.25 manky green cabbages, two good and one semi decaying courgettes, 20 onions and 8 suspect potatoes. The fridge is a scary place!
No fish today (boo) despite intense competition. Sally has the starboard rod, I have the port one. [I caught the mahi mahi!]. We fished hard today including lure changes but not a nibble.
Tomorrow night we should be safe at anchor and checked into The Cook Islands. No more three hour watches for a few nights.
You can follow us at: www.noforeignland.com/boat/mehalah/journey
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Friday, 28 July 2023
Thursday, 27 July 2023
Bora Bora to Suwarrow: 25th and 26th July
TWO DAYS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE
Yesterday I failed to get the blog sent either by radio or sat phone. Let's hope today is better. So first up yesterday's offering.....
Bora Bora to Suwarrow: Day 5: 25th July 2023
Miles to Suwarrow: 289 miles
Yesterday's mahi mahi was delicious but there was some left over for coconut milk and raw fish cerviche for lunch today and the rest for dinner tonight.
We moved along nicely last night but of course the dreaded 1200-0300 watch copped it again. Sally was just coming up at 1200 when the wind instantly changed direction and we did an uncontrolled tack. With all three sails backed it was "John, we need you now". Half an hour later, lines were rerun and the sails reset. The promised wind shift from NW to SW had happened instantaneously. Once re-established we were able to head directly for Suwarrow.
Today has been pleasant again. We avoided the early morning squalls and had blue skies and sunshine much of the day. Plenty of banter - mostly aimed at me (two women on the boat - not a good idea!)
With the batteries more depleted than usual as we move south in cloudy conditions we took the opportunity to run the generator to 1) make water, 2) top up the batteries and 3) use the sewing machine to mend the protective cover (chaps) for the dinghy.
We now have less than 300 miles to go, hopefully arriving Suwarrow on Friday. So far we have managed to sail it all despite quite tricky conditions. We will then need to decide where to go next. My routine PSA and discussion with Dr Duncan must be completed on 11th August. I may not be able to attend if we decide to go all the way to Tonga next without a stop. If that is the case I will get Emma to change the appointment (again).
As well as weather forecasts from Jenny we are getting up to date forecasts from Glen (Cloudy Bay) who has already arrived in Suwarrow. His Starlink allows him to run revised PredictWind forecast models whenever he wants. It really is impressive. I think a Starlink box will be on my next Christmas list.
Tomorrow is another day.
AND SO TO TODAY.....
Bora Bora to Suwarrow: Day 6: 26th July 2023
Miles to Suwarrow: 159 miles
Last night we saw our first ships. A Chinese mother ship and two fishing boats. Directly ahead of us on a collision course. Amazing. We changed course and passed half a mile away from them. Then at four o'clock Paul stopped working properly (I had set him up 180° from what it should have been). Then the wind stopped and we were forced to motor for the first time.
And we've motored nearly all day with a brief interlude to fly the parasailor, but not enough wind. Batteries are charged, we have got water and finally we gobble up some miles.
Less than 160 miles to go now. We should arrive Friday morning our time. It's another atoll with fringing reef. Inhabited by only two wildlife wardens it's one of the remotest of the Cook Islands, themselves a pretty remote group of islands. We are looking forward to arriving and exploring.
Oh yes, I forgot to say something I saw the other night. I was looking out at the sky at about 45° to the horizon. Suddenly I saw the brightest light come on, brighter than all the stars. It only stayed on for maybe two seconds and then it went out again. I have no idea what it was.
Sally saw a white fin, twice.
Gilly washed her hair and washed some knickers.
I did a bit of maintenance.
You can follow us at: www.noforeignland.com/boat/Mehalah/journey
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Yesterday I failed to get the blog sent either by radio or sat phone. Let's hope today is better. So first up yesterday's offering.....
Bora Bora to Suwarrow: Day 5: 25th July 2023
Miles to Suwarrow: 289 miles
Yesterday's mahi mahi was delicious but there was some left over for coconut milk and raw fish cerviche for lunch today and the rest for dinner tonight.
We moved along nicely last night but of course the dreaded 1200-0300 watch copped it again. Sally was just coming up at 1200 when the wind instantly changed direction and we did an uncontrolled tack. With all three sails backed it was "John, we need you now". Half an hour later, lines were rerun and the sails reset. The promised wind shift from NW to SW had happened instantaneously. Once re-established we were able to head directly for Suwarrow.
Today has been pleasant again. We avoided the early morning squalls and had blue skies and sunshine much of the day. Plenty of banter - mostly aimed at me (two women on the boat - not a good idea!)
With the batteries more depleted than usual as we move south in cloudy conditions we took the opportunity to run the generator to 1) make water, 2) top up the batteries and 3) use the sewing machine to mend the protective cover (chaps) for the dinghy.
We now have less than 300 miles to go, hopefully arriving Suwarrow on Friday. So far we have managed to sail it all despite quite tricky conditions. We will then need to decide where to go next. My routine PSA and discussion with Dr Duncan must be completed on 11th August. I may not be able to attend if we decide to go all the way to Tonga next without a stop. If that is the case I will get Emma to change the appointment (again).
As well as weather forecasts from Jenny we are getting up to date forecasts from Glen (Cloudy Bay) who has already arrived in Suwarrow. His Starlink allows him to run revised PredictWind forecast models whenever he wants. It really is impressive. I think a Starlink box will be on my next Christmas list.
Tomorrow is another day.
AND SO TO TODAY.....
Bora Bora to Suwarrow: Day 6: 26th July 2023
Miles to Suwarrow: 159 miles
Last night we saw our first ships. A Chinese mother ship and two fishing boats. Directly ahead of us on a collision course. Amazing. We changed course and passed half a mile away from them. Then at four o'clock Paul stopped working properly (I had set him up 180° from what it should have been). Then the wind stopped and we were forced to motor for the first time.
And we've motored nearly all day with a brief interlude to fly the parasailor, but not enough wind. Batteries are charged, we have got water and finally we gobble up some miles.
Less than 160 miles to go now. We should arrive Friday morning our time. It's another atoll with fringing reef. Inhabited by only two wildlife wardens it's one of the remotest of the Cook Islands, themselves a pretty remote group of islands. We are looking forward to arriving and exploring.
Oh yes, I forgot to say something I saw the other night. I was looking out at the sky at about 45° to the horizon. Suddenly I saw the brightest light come on, brighter than all the stars. It only stayed on for maybe two seconds and then it went out again. I have no idea what it was.
Sally saw a white fin, twice.
Gilly washed her hair and washed some knickers.
I did a bit of maintenance.
You can follow us at: www.noforeignland.com/boat/Mehalah/journey
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Tuesday, 25 July 2023
Bora Bora to Suwarrow: 24th July
Bora Bora to Suwarrow: Day 4: 24th July 2023
Miles to Suwarrow: 378 miles
As Sally would say "What's green, blue and silver and very beautiful?" Yes, that's right. Dinner tonight is scrummy mahi mahi. Just as I lay down to close my eyes Sally told me a fish would scream the reel. And it did. 30 minutes later he was landed, dispatched and filleted and the bloodbath that had been the aft deck was scrubbed clean. A great team effort. Tonight Gill will cook crispy mahi cubes with cheeky (fried) potatoes.
And it's been a beautiful sailing day today. The night was tricky with 7-8 knots on the nose. We dared not touch the wind steering for fear he would not be able to manage any change. As it was he steered us right through the night and by morning we were hard on the wind making 5 knots direct to Suwarrow. Classic blue water sailing. Sunny, blue sea, a gentle swell and good company. It's continued pretty much that way all day with the crew lazing around, reading and idly chatting.
As the day has gone on though the wind has backed forcing us further and further off the direction of Suwarrow. We are all looking forward to the next weather forecasts later this evening. We are expecting for the wind to go southerly sometime and the sooner the better as although we managed 100 miles in the last 24 hours only 77 of those miles were towards our destination. What's happened to those consistent SE trade winds?
We tried the repaired fridge today. It looks as though it's not. Boo.
Sally thought she spotted a whale but it never reappeared so probably not. We did see the second of two buoys floating past though.
A booby spent the night on the front of the boat.
Sally spent some time on the aft deck soaking up the rays.
We think that Glen on Cloudy Bay arrived Suwarrow today.
Food stocks are holding up well.
No further termites discovered.
The repaired yankee top swivel is behaving famously.
We are still not quite halfway. Come on wind, swing round to anywhere not on the nose.
You can follow us at: www.noforeignland.com/boat/Mehalah/journey
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Miles to Suwarrow: 378 miles
As Sally would say "What's green, blue and silver and very beautiful?" Yes, that's right. Dinner tonight is scrummy mahi mahi. Just as I lay down to close my eyes Sally told me a fish would scream the reel. And it did. 30 minutes later he was landed, dispatched and filleted and the bloodbath that had been the aft deck was scrubbed clean. A great team effort. Tonight Gill will cook crispy mahi cubes with cheeky (fried) potatoes.
And it's been a beautiful sailing day today. The night was tricky with 7-8 knots on the nose. We dared not touch the wind steering for fear he would not be able to manage any change. As it was he steered us right through the night and by morning we were hard on the wind making 5 knots direct to Suwarrow. Classic blue water sailing. Sunny, blue sea, a gentle swell and good company. It's continued pretty much that way all day with the crew lazing around, reading and idly chatting.
As the day has gone on though the wind has backed forcing us further and further off the direction of Suwarrow. We are all looking forward to the next weather forecasts later this evening. We are expecting for the wind to go southerly sometime and the sooner the better as although we managed 100 miles in the last 24 hours only 77 of those miles were towards our destination. What's happened to those consistent SE trade winds?
We tried the repaired fridge today. It looks as though it's not. Boo.
Sally thought she spotted a whale but it never reappeared so probably not. We did see the second of two buoys floating past though.
A booby spent the night on the front of the boat.
Sally spent some time on the aft deck soaking up the rays.
We think that Glen on Cloudy Bay arrived Suwarrow today.
Food stocks are holding up well.
No further termites discovered.
The repaired yankee top swivel is behaving famously.
We are still not quite halfway. Come on wind, swing round to anywhere not on the nose.
You can follow us at: www.noforeignland.com/boat/Mehalah/journey
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Monday, 24 July 2023
Bora Bora to Suwarrow: 23rd July
Bora Bora to Suwarrow: Day 3: 23rd July 2023
Miles to Suwarrow: 455 miles
Another largely incident free night saw us continue until midnight on the same downwind starboard reach. We took in the yankee leaving its pole in place for rerunning it this morning. As I came on watch it started to drizzle and the wind veered so much we were travelling east of north. Not ideal when our destination is 500 miles away in a WNW direction. A couple of other things worth mentioning on that watch. Firstly I am really enjoying my Audible book The Martian about an astronaut who gets stranded on Mars (Sally tells me it's been made into a film too). And secondly I have to own up to falling asleep at the end of the watch at 3 am. Gill had to wake me up - very embarrassing and rather worrying for her as she thought I had fallen overboard.
Otherwise the weather has grown increasingly grim through the day. Very little sun, lots of rain - squalls and more persistent rain and it's getting chilly too as we are at 15°S now.
I hardly need tell you we lost another fish today. Just as Sally was deploying her own angling equipment my rod screamed. This one stopped more quickly than yesterday's but he managed to shake the two single hooks and escape again. At least today we didn't lose the lure too.
During the rain this afternoon I've had another look at the fridge which hasn't worked since Panama. The engineer in the Galapagos said I need a new compressor but I've heard these rarely break. I thought I would trace the 12 volt supply from batteries to fridge and I found a loose connection just where the wire entered the compressor. I think I may have fixed it but it is so noisy on board I can't hear it running so will wait until it is lighter and drier tomorrow to test it properly.
Tomorrow we should be halfway to Suwarrow giving a late Thursday arrival. As we are going so far north to avoid the depressions further south we are going to consider not going south down to Tonga but instead going on west to American Samoa and then direct to Fiji. We shall see.
Omelettes tonight- my speciality.
So it's goodbye from a happy crew aboard a very wet and miserable Mehalah.
GUESS WHAT? We can now see blue sky ahead of us and our course is now directly towards Suwarrow.
You can follow us at: www.noforeignland.com/boat/Mehalah/journey
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Miles to Suwarrow: 455 miles
Another largely incident free night saw us continue until midnight on the same downwind starboard reach. We took in the yankee leaving its pole in place for rerunning it this morning. As I came on watch it started to drizzle and the wind veered so much we were travelling east of north. Not ideal when our destination is 500 miles away in a WNW direction. A couple of other things worth mentioning on that watch. Firstly I am really enjoying my Audible book The Martian about an astronaut who gets stranded on Mars (Sally tells me it's been made into a film too). And secondly I have to own up to falling asleep at the end of the watch at 3 am. Gill had to wake me up - very embarrassing and rather worrying for her as she thought I had fallen overboard.
Otherwise the weather has grown increasingly grim through the day. Very little sun, lots of rain - squalls and more persistent rain and it's getting chilly too as we are at 15°S now.
I hardly need tell you we lost another fish today. Just as Sally was deploying her own angling equipment my rod screamed. This one stopped more quickly than yesterday's but he managed to shake the two single hooks and escape again. At least today we didn't lose the lure too.
During the rain this afternoon I've had another look at the fridge which hasn't worked since Panama. The engineer in the Galapagos said I need a new compressor but I've heard these rarely break. I thought I would trace the 12 volt supply from batteries to fridge and I found a loose connection just where the wire entered the compressor. I think I may have fixed it but it is so noisy on board I can't hear it running so will wait until it is lighter and drier tomorrow to test it properly.
Tomorrow we should be halfway to Suwarrow giving a late Thursday arrival. As we are going so far north to avoid the depressions further south we are going to consider not going south down to Tonga but instead going on west to American Samoa and then direct to Fiji. We shall see.
Omelettes tonight- my speciality.
So it's goodbye from a happy crew aboard a very wet and miserable Mehalah.
GUESS WHAT? We can now see blue sky ahead of us and our course is now directly towards Suwarrow.
You can follow us at: www.noforeignland.com/boat/Mehalah/journey
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Sunday, 23 July 2023
Bora Bora to Suwarrow: 22nd July
Bora Bora to Suwarrow: Day 2: 22nd July 2023
Miles to Suwarrow: 568 miles
Such a quiet night. Paul the wind steering did not need adjusting once all night! Sally saw a shooting star. Small moon, a bit of phosphorecence. Sally's first night watches with us. Tonight she's on her own!
This morning we were down to 3.5 knots so we braved the notorious whisker pole (remember that Irish John?). It took a while to set it up but we've been bowling along at 5 knots ever since.
No fish caught, no whales, one flying fish, two boobies, one floating buoy, no ships. We are a long way from anywhere here.
Cloudy today with a few squalls around but so far we've missed them.
Stubborn Cryptic Crossword 201 completed and all correct. Yeah!
This is a tricky passage, well known for unpredictability. We are getting weather GRIB files via the SSB radio and daughter Jenny is sending daily forecasts. In addition our friend Glen on Cloudy Bay has Starlink communications so he, two days ahead of us, is also sending us predictions.
We are headed for the tiny atoll of Suwarrow gaining northing to try and get ahead of a big patch of no wind on our direct line. So far so good but it's early days. Tomorrow should be OK. After that we hope to have enough wind to turn westwards.
We've chilled and slept today. Gill has sewed the dinghy cover where it had worn and I fixed one of the winches.
We've made a great choice in crew. Sally is an excellent cook and we've already had Shepherd's Pie, egg sandwiches, much coleslaw, fresh fruit and baguettes. Tonight it's quinoa with lentil and kidney bean sauce. Mmm. Thanks Sally.
All in all a good though still rather slow day.
You can follow us at: www.noforeignland.com/boat/mehalah/journey
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Miles to Suwarrow: 568 miles
Such a quiet night. Paul the wind steering did not need adjusting once all night! Sally saw a shooting star. Small moon, a bit of phosphorecence. Sally's first night watches with us. Tonight she's on her own!
This morning we were down to 3.5 knots so we braved the notorious whisker pole (remember that Irish John?). It took a while to set it up but we've been bowling along at 5 knots ever since.
No fish caught, no whales, one flying fish, two boobies, one floating buoy, no ships. We are a long way from anywhere here.
Cloudy today with a few squalls around but so far we've missed them.
Stubborn Cryptic Crossword 201 completed and all correct. Yeah!
This is a tricky passage, well known for unpredictability. We are getting weather GRIB files via the SSB radio and daughter Jenny is sending daily forecasts. In addition our friend Glen on Cloudy Bay has Starlink communications so he, two days ahead of us, is also sending us predictions.
We are headed for the tiny atoll of Suwarrow gaining northing to try and get ahead of a big patch of no wind on our direct line. So far so good but it's early days. Tomorrow should be OK. After that we hope to have enough wind to turn westwards.
We've chilled and slept today. Gill has sewed the dinghy cover where it had worn and I fixed one of the winches.
We've made a great choice in crew. Sally is an excellent cook and we've already had Shepherd's Pie, egg sandwiches, much coleslaw, fresh fruit and baguettes. Tonight it's quinoa with lentil and kidney bean sauce. Mmm. Thanks Sally.
All in all a good though still rather slow day.
You can follow us at: www.noforeignland.com/boat/mehalah/journey
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Saturday, 22 July 2023
Bora Bora to Suwarrow: 21st July
Bora Bora to Suwarrow: Day 1: 21st July 2023
After a quick check of the weather using our new PredictWind software we set off at 8.30am from the Yacht Club. The mooring lines were a bit tangled again but Sally and I quickly got them sorted and we motored out through the reef. Met by a big swell we sailed under reefed main and yankee for a bit.
One rod was out and soon it screamed loudly. The clutch was set hard on and the fish still took hundreds of metres of line before it stopped. Sally started to wind in and although heavy it came in steadily. This continued until the lure was maybe 50m away. Then all went slack and the line came in sans lure. So, another big fish lost and another $20 lure down the pan. We didn't fish again as the swell was large.
As usual the angle wanted was dead downwind. Not Mehalah's best point of sail. So we have gybed our way west north west at between 4 and 5 knots so even less in the right direction. Lumpy and tricky sailing.
At one stage we thought of trying the parasailor so we got it out the bag and all the lines set up. By then of course the wind had risen a bit and we have spent the rest of the day coaxing our way forward with a combination of main and yankee.
It's Sally's first proper sail on Mehalah so there's much to learn. Every boat is different and we all have our own little ways of doing things It seems to be going fine though.
Our software reckoned 7 days to Suwarrow but I think it will take longer. It's only 700 miles though so 7 days should be easily doable. We shall see.
Dinner tonight was delicious. Pre cooked Shepherd's Pie. I had two big helpings. Yumsters! Thank you Sally
So that's about it for today. A day of establishment and getting back into the swing of passage making.
Goodnight.
You can follow us at: www.noforeignland.com/boat/mehalah/journey
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After a quick check of the weather using our new PredictWind software we set off at 8.30am from the Yacht Club. The mooring lines were a bit tangled again but Sally and I quickly got them sorted and we motored out through the reef. Met by a big swell we sailed under reefed main and yankee for a bit.
One rod was out and soon it screamed loudly. The clutch was set hard on and the fish still took hundreds of metres of line before it stopped. Sally started to wind in and although heavy it came in steadily. This continued until the lure was maybe 50m away. Then all went slack and the line came in sans lure. So, another big fish lost and another $20 lure down the pan. We didn't fish again as the swell was large.
As usual the angle wanted was dead downwind. Not Mehalah's best point of sail. So we have gybed our way west north west at between 4 and 5 knots so even less in the right direction. Lumpy and tricky sailing.
At one stage we thought of trying the parasailor so we got it out the bag and all the lines set up. By then of course the wind had risen a bit and we have spent the rest of the day coaxing our way forward with a combination of main and yankee.
It's Sally's first proper sail on Mehalah so there's much to learn. Every boat is different and we all have our own little ways of doing things It seems to be going fine though.
Our software reckoned 7 days to Suwarrow but I think it will take longer. It's only 700 miles though so 7 days should be easily doable. We shall see.
Dinner tonight was delicious. Pre cooked Shepherd's Pie. I had two big helpings. Yumsters! Thank you Sally
So that's about it for today. A day of establishment and getting back into the swing of passage making.
Goodnight.
You can follow us at: www.noforeignland.com/boat/mehalah/journey
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Friday, 21 July 2023
Goodbye French Polynesia
Date: 20th July 2023
Location: Bora Bora Yacht Club
Bora Bora. Another of Gilly's must visit locations. We arrived here from Taha'a island in a downpour with zero visibility as we came through the pass. It quickly cleared and there it was ahead of us, the famous Bora Bora Yacht Club.
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| Bora Bora Yacht Club |
We've been here a week now. It's another social whirl here. All the boats we arrived in French Polynesia with have now reached their 90 day limit and must prepare to leave. Viridian, Cloudy Bay, Cerulean, Athena, Change Up, the list goes on.
Three highlights here plus the two day check out process.
First we were off to the last night of the Bora Bora Heiva (festival). It was the drumming contest. As in every event the six villages of the island entered a team. Most of the village took part with some "orchestras" comprised of more than 50 drummers. There were rules.
1. The team must include children (some only looked about five) and women.
2. The orchestra members must rotate several times so they all play different drums.
3. There must be a hint of modern in each performance.
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| Grand entrance to Bora Bora Heiva |
A great evening out with the audience being almost entirely Polynesian. No roudy teenagers, no alcohol just a load of happy smiling faces. A delightful evening.
Then the boys decided to climb one of the three iconic Bora Bora peaks. Glen (Cloudy Bay), Greg (Viridian) and I set off early one bright clear morning. Three hours up and three hours down. 600m+ climbing involving a lot of hacking through undergrowth and numerous fixed ropes. We had an amazing day. At the top there was no wind and the clearest sky you could imagine. Down below us we could see right around the island, the reefs, the passes, the lagoons and the sea every colour of blue. What a day!
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| The final pull. |
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| What a view! |
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| Looking across to the two higher tops. |
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| Back home. Looking back to the top. |
Then a couple of days ago it was girls' day out (sorry Jane!). They went dress shopping. After all it is French here. They found a little shop selling surplus stock to his main shop run by a cool gay guy called Laurent. They spent a lovely hour with him ending up buying one frock each. Apparently when adjusting Gill's bra he said "you need not worry, I am safe". Glen came over too for our sunset photoshoot and took some drone footage of them on the bow playing at being famous models. I have to say they do look pretty stunning (am I still allowed to say that?).
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| New frocks. |
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| Bow angels. |
The last blog had us on Huahine. This turned out to be my favourite Polynesian island so far. It was where we met our new crew member Sally, from New Zealand. She arrived on the ferry from Pape'ete and was welcomed (along with one of Pape'ete's best dancing troupes) by the Huahine drumming team.
After Huahine it was across the water to Raiatea island. We anchored in a windy anchorage on the east coast and paddled the dinghy up the river at the end to see Andre a local farmer. Over the last 30 years he has turned 2 hectares of riverside land into a fruit and veg farm. He cleared the jungle and slowly planted it up using only a machete. Coconuts, mangoes, ginger, breadfruit, turmeric, nonis, vanilla, pamplemouse, apple, lime, pineapple, pumpkin, lychee, he had it all. A fascinating guy and a credit to all his hard work. We took some vegetables in return for some rum and a screwdriver and adjustable spanner that Sally donated.
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| Up the river to Andre's place. |
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| Turmeric. Great anti cancer veg. |
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| Just a few coconut rees. 11 years to maturity. |
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| And very tasty too. |
Then it was the short hop to Taha'a island. Another windy east coast anchorage and here we had bad news. Not only were both dinghy engines out of action but when I was checking the steering chains in the aft lazerete we found termites. Now that's not good. Luckily it seems we have caught them early and by repeated smoke bombs and poisons we hope we have got rid of them. We will need to let the Australian biosecurity team know about them though when we arrive there.
Our final stop in Taha'a was on the west coast. Much more sheltered. We had hoped to take a mooring ball but they were all taken so we had to anchor in 25m of water using most of our nice new shiny chain. We had the Yamaha mechanic look at our dinghy engine there but he just checked the same things I had and it's no better. So we moved out of the bay and out onto the exposed reef. Somehow the dinghy engine kept going enough to get us to the Coral Garden a shallow area of water with corals and fish. Sally, Gill and I snorkelled around for an hour or so. I thought it was quite good but the other two thought it "overpromised and underdelivered". We did see loads of fish species including a big stingray though no sharks this time.
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Taha'a anchorage with the Coral Garden out on the edge of the reef. |
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| Bora Bora in the distance. |
And so here we are in Bora Bora gearing up for departure towards Tonga tomorrow. This is a 1,300 mile trip but we will likely stop off in Suwarrow a tiny atoll belonging to the Cook Islands and manned only by a couple of wildlife rangers. Finally it looks as though we may be able to avoid the nasty depressions that have been sweeping east out of New Zealand. This year, an El Niño year the lows are further north than usual. Of course that means there will probably be too little wind instead now. We've waited till tomorrow to let the big southerly swell from one of these depressions die down a bit. We shall see.
Sally our crew seems to be fitting in fine. She is experienced in these waters and knows the weather patterns better than we do. So we've spent many happy hours looking at the PredictWind forecasts trying to work out our best strategy.
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| Rough weather (reds)down south. Black line is our rough passage path. |
During our engineless time here we've relied heavily on Viridian and Cloudy Bay to ferry us around. In return we've made meals on board Mehalah and hosted some famous games of Shithead a new card game.
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| Polynesian girl. |
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| Great friends at the Yacht Club. |
Yesterday was our 43rd Wedding Anniversary. We were going to go ashore but with the dinghy out of action and a big depression passing over we opted to stay on the boat. Thank you Sally for cooking us dinner on the boat!
We will be blogging on passage again though maybe not every night. You can still follow our progress at www.noforeignland.com/boat/mehalah/journey