Peggy & Pat's Sailing Adventures
It’s almost 2 am June 5 and we’re less than 18 miles from Makemo. We pulled anchor from Raroia around noon (with considerable difficulty, having misjudged our speed when dropping the anchor so that it ended up stuck in rocks) and exited the pass around 13:00. We would love to have stayed longer, enjoying the warm clear water. It also
We got to the pass into Raroia about 14:00, a bit later than we wanted but the entrance was well marked and plenty wide. Very little current when we went through. Once inside, it was a maze of baumies although the channel was well marked. The real problem was finding a place to anchor. We cruised around for about 45
We decided to head into Raroia. It’s about 10:30 am now and we should be able to get to the pass around slack low tide around 13:00 with enough light to see the coral heads. One concern is the stbd engine. Don’t want to go in on one engine so we will need to get it started as is or
It has been a good day (June 3). We flew the asym from 10:00 to 17:00, with the wind and seas behind us. Lots of sun (rare recently) topped up the batteries nicely. And we got lucky taking down the asym when we did. After it was socked and down on deck a squall hit us quickly. We hurried to
A few minutes ago (June 2, 1:30am) a bilge pump light came on and STAYED on. That is one of the scariest things that can happen out here! It means that water is coming into a bilge faster than the pump can remove it, a VERY serious problem. I had to wake everyone (at 1;30 am) and check the two
We left Hiva Oa about 36 hours ago (it’s now after 11pm June 1) and have had GREAT downwind sailing conditions. The first afternoon the wind was 14 to 20 knots, coming over our port quarter. During the evening and night it decreased a bit but was still in the mid to lower teens. We did 150 miles in the
Hiva Oa was a easy short sail, less than 10nm, and we were in before noon. The bay was crowded but we found a spot tucked all the way in, where it was quite shallow. Only about two feet under the keels at low tide. We put out bow and stern anchors, like everyone else in that area. Scott joined
We left Ua Pou mid-day May 24, heading to Tahuata, about 80nm southwest. As soon as we turned the corner around Ua Pou, the wind and waves were directly in our face. We spent about 8 hours sailing, bashing into the wind and swell, much of the time at reasonable speed (5 to 7 knots) but so far off our
On May 22 we left Nuka Hiva and sailed about 26nm to Ua Pou. It was a nice sail with a pleasant breeze on beam for most of the trip, getting a bit light at the end. The seas were calm and at one point we hit 10 knots! Mid afternoon we dropped the hook in Hakaheteu Bay. It is
Back in Taiohae, time to get some work done! I did a lot of walking to hardware stores looking for the special fitting needed to hook up to propane tanks here. The connector is different from what we have in the US and Mexico and we need this for cooking. After running all over town, I finally found a fitting