tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-309889472024-03-07T01:10:48.607-08:00Sailing Vessel ArchiteuthisWe have a Mariner 31 sailboat, and we sailed it from California to New Zealand in 2011. Jared got his PhD and Christine did a Master's at the University of Auckland's Leigh Marine Laboratory while living on the boat. Then we had a baby, and now we're selling the boat. We're not updating the blog much these days.jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-50139869144561940382018-04-02T16:49:00.003-07:002018-04-02T16:51:56.927-07:00We really need to sell her<img class="SzDcob" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruKwHhhULGKzCe8xPF5511dCax7BBtlJDxcSv14kTNM0zSry6FeEbfCGMidrv74Clv4K1p_h0oIjtCLabXDqkPmkRvTckl1sUJrBtVxdNaQlnCFMLP6NhcEOPikFRmtHSebfb/w314-h220-no/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px) rotate(0deg);" width="320" /> <br />
<br />
We thought we had a buyer. That buyer really wanted the engine fixed. So we bought a replacement cylinder head and got the engine fixed. It took a long time. Once the engine was fixed, that buyer found some soft spots in the deck and backed out of the deal. We've since had an estimate of $7000 for a boat builder to repair the decks. However, we're not willing to try to manage that sort of project from the other side of the world so we're slashing the price. It sucks for us, but we just need her to sell. This is a chance to get a great boat (that needs a bit of work now that she's been just sitting for so long) for a really low price. Here's the link to the auction: <a href="https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/yachts/keeler/auction-1590002705.htm?rsqid=b1c697c867974f4aad355c222eebfa8b">https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/yachts/keeler/auction-1590002705.htm?rsqid=b1c697c867974f4aad355c222eebfa8b</a>jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-59371404971746351002017-04-05T16:43:00.002-07:002017-04-05T16:43:59.978-07:00Architeuthis has been discounted and listed with a broker<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2>
We've Moved</h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img class="SzDcob" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgViIVD0X1EMWGzvhNq86p3nBQVeHdsBdg5syYG4MuXrAG4-ok-9LWH6XCv5CCKlV6MsyQUibanr5uFtuPZ6cH1hW356ocjs3cH_-G8iB72l0ZqZHrCng3NB6DVcNpZGOFmkwaJ/w1416-h1888-no/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px) rotate(0deg);" width="150" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unpacking in California.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I've taken a job in Santa Barbara, California at <a href="http://nceas.ucsb.edu/" target="_blank">NCEAS</a> so we've packed up and moved back to California. That's meant some changes in our plans for selling the boat.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Before leaving, I moved Architeuthis up to Marsden Cove Marina near Whangarei and left her in the care of a yacht broker called Sam Cannell. In the lead up to that move, I discovered (much to my chagrin) that the head gasket needs replacing. I intend to have that fixed before she sells, but we've significantly lowered the price anyway in the hope that she'll sell sooner rather than later. Please have a look at <a href="http://www.vinings.co.nz/index.php?mact=V8,cntnt01,viewstock,1&cntnt01stocktype=Marine&cntnt01stocksubtype=Yacht&cntnt01price_low=10&cntnt01price_high=50000&cntnt01order_by=price&cntnt01view_type=&cntnt01offset=36&cntnt01returnid=78&page=78" target="_blank">the official listing</a>, and feel free to contact Sam with any questions or to arrange a viewing. If you have questions that Sam can't answer, I'm happy to answer as well.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img class="SzDcob" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruKwHhhULGKzCe8xPF5511dCax7BBtlJDxcSv14kTNM0zSry6FeEbfCGMidrv74Clv4K1p_h0oIjtCLabXDqkPmkRvTckl1sUJrBtVxdNaQlnCFMLP6NhcEOPikFRmtHSebfb/w314-h220-no/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px) rotate(0deg);" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Architeuthis on the way up to Marsden Cove.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-56137979223848368442017-02-25T17:15:00.004-08:002017-02-25T17:20:07.358-08:00Equipment List and Description of Architeuthis<h3>
General Description</h3>
Architeuthis is a 31ft full keel (with a
cutaway forefoot) cruising ketch (<a href="http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1245021495" target="_blank">here's the listing</a>). Her hull is thick solid (no wood or
foam core to take on water and delaminate) fiberglass and she has fully
encapsulated ballast. She has beautiful sitka spruce spars, and an
interior built largely of African mahogany with a teak and holy sole.
She was built by a US company at a Japanese shipyard in 1968, largely by
hand, by skilled craftsmen using exotic hardwoods that aren't available
these days. More information on the original specifications and history
of Mariner Yachts can be found on the owner association's website:
http://www.marineryachts.com/.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWguVulx2PWdanKm-kmgI7o0akDQ2mQHfsElGrRpYsWsg0DMySfy9Td6ymAAlSbW9XBLhSmbwT6RA8cR73ipC6rAp-dfpxX4oHhJ7-1gkgORj8qvFKFz6GH-reNEQnshNeV0E2mg/s1600/IMG_3226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWguVulx2PWdanKm-kmgI7o0akDQ2mQHfsElGrRpYsWsg0DMySfy9Td6ymAAlSbW9XBLhSmbwT6RA8cR73ipC6rAp-dfpxX4oHhJ7-1gkgORj8qvFKFz6GH-reNEQnshNeV0E2mg/s320/IMG_3226.jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fully loaded for cruising in Mexico and sitting a bit low in the water.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="irc_mil i3597 i_HSdmyuOOm0-zixyDjKkw5M" data-noload="" data-ved="0ahUKEwi2t96Qm6XSAhUIHpQKHaXRCewQjRwIBw" href="https://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwi2t96Qm6XSAhUIHpQKHaXRCewQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsailboatdata.com%2Fviewrecord.asp%3Fclass_id%3D837&psig=AFQjCNGfhLMltMP6D-3intZa9nQaiFEuZw&ust=1487904710797776" rel="noopener" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" tabindex="0" target="_blank"><img alt="Image result for mariner 31" class="irc_mi" src="http://sailboatdata.com/imagehelper.asp?file_id=8160" height="320" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Manufacturer's line drawings.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="irc_mimg irc_hic i_HSdmyuOOm0-lvVgf-rIiHk">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rjxlM3nsTAU/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rjxlM3nsTAU?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<h3>
Equipment</h3>
<h4>
Electrical</h4>
The 12 volt system works really well. The two solar panels are able to keep the house battery topped while living aboard (with the fridge on all the time) even in the cloudiest weather. While making passages with the fridge and the below deck autopilot on 24 hours per day (those are the two largest electrical draws on the boat by far) we had to run the engine once a week or so to keep up with demand, but I've replaced the fridge compressor with a more modern and efficient unit since then. The solar panels may be able to keep up all on their own now.<br />
<ol>
<li>2 x 140 watt Kyocera solar panels. Mounted port and starboard on the cockpit railings.</li>
<li>Very large (I think it's <a href="https://www.batterystuff.com/batteries/rv-marine/agm/111-and-up-amp-hour/gpl-8da.html" target="_blank">this one</a>) Lifeline brand AGM house battery in very good shape. New in 2010. Always kept topped up by solar panels.</li>
<li>Smaller AGM battery for the engine. This one's a bit tired and not holding it's charge very well. But...</li>
<li>Dual battery switches allow you to combine the engine and house systems and/or swap which battery runs which system.</li>
<li>Xantrex <a href="http://www.xantrex.com/power-products/power-accessories/linkpro-battery-monitor.aspx" target="_blank">LinkPRO battery monitor</a> </li>
<li>High output alternator (120w I think) and digital smart regulator. Original alternator provided as a spare.</li>
<li>Almost all of the lighting on the boat is low-draw LED with just a few left over halogens in the fixtures that are rarely used.</li>
<li>There's also quite a nice AC charger, several wall outlets, and a small inverter, but they're for US 110v shore power. We do have a large heavy-duty transformer that I believe will work to power the system from 240v AC that we can include with the boat. We've only used it for US power tools so far, but I think it would work. We've never needed to worry about it because the solar panels provide plenty of power for living aboard.</li>
</ol>
<h4>
Navigation</h4>
All electronics were purchased and installed between 2008 and 2010. The sounder and radar are fully integrated with the chartplotter. The autopilot can communicate with the plotter as well (go to waypoint, etc.). <br />
<ol>
<li> <a href="https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/8113" target="_blank">Garmin GPSMap 4208</a> with electronic charts for NZ, Tonga, Cooks, French Polynesia, Mexico, and USA. Mounted just inside companionway on an adjustable arm so it can be viewed from cockpit or cabin.</li>
<li><a href="https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/288" target="_blank">Garmin GSD Digital Remote Sounder</a> with Airmar P79 transducer.</li>
<li>Garmin Radar (I need to look up the exact model, but I think it might be GMR 24). Great for watching for approaching squalls at night.</li>
<li>Raymarine below deck auto pilot. Type 1 rotary drive (RAYM81135), S1 corepack (RAYE12114: course computer, compass, and rudder position indicator), and a ST6002 plus controller (RAYE12098P). <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHsj2waMEU" target="_blank">Installation photos</a>. The installation was a pretty major project, but it's hard to overstate how great this thing is for cruising. The autopilot can be seen steering the boat through some pretty sloppy conditions in the video at the top of the page. It never let us down and, honestly, I think it steers better than I do in nasty conditions.</li>
<li>There's also a nice Ritchie bulkhead compass in the cockpit, but it's balanced for the northern hemisphere. It still works down here but the card is tilted.</li>
<li>There's an old Garmin plotter provided as backup, with wiring and a mount in the cockpit, but it hasn't been used since 2008.</li>
</ol>
<br />
<h4>
Communications</h4>
<ol>
<li>ICOM <a href="http://icomamerica.com/en/products/amateur/hf/706/default.aspx" target="_blank"> IC-706MKIIG</a> radio. Uses ham and SSB frequencies. Has an ICOM antenna tuner as well. We were able to check in with sailing nets everywhere we went and receive weather faxes. No problem talking to people on the other side of the Pacific.</li>
<li>West Marine (made by Uniden, I think) VHF 500 dsc.</li>
<li>EPIRB / 406 distress beacon. Probably needs the battery checked and/or replaced.</li>
</ol>
<h4>
Ground Tackle</h4>
We spent close to a year living on the anchor. We dragged a little bit a few times, but we had less trouble than most. The windlass could use a rebuild and bit of reconfiguration, but it's quite adequate as is.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nX4rf6-nZBs/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nX4rf6-nZBs?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>15 kg Claw (a.k.a. Bruce) anchor on the bow with about 30 meters of 10mm chain and around 40 meters of nylon line. Chain was bought in NZ in 2012 and has seen very little use. </li>
<li>Lighter (around 10kg) danforth anchor on the stern with around 10 m of chain and a lot of nylon line. Maybe 50 or 60 m? I can't remember.</li>
<li>Massively oversized 20 kg Claw anchor stored on stern rail for use as storm anchor. Approx 12 m of heavy chain stowed separately. Never had to use the storm anchor but it was nice knowing it was there.</li>
<li>Manual Hyspeed Windlass. It's currently frozen up from lack of use. While cruising, I generally just pulled the anchor up by hand. It was faster, it was a nice bit of daily exercise, and the anchor is light enough that it's not too big a chore. The windlass is supposed to be pretty easy to rebuild and spares are still <a href="http://slspares.co.uk/parts.php?product=Hyspeed+510+Windlass" target="_blank">available online</a>.</li>
</ol>
<h4>
Sails </h4>
<img class="SzDcob" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQBZIkzH-paCLK26aa2tUQSkZOK5h6AWLUkG5a2ypevjGee_ancMq6mDRer8xbuvijpn_FPCNC6N5c0PbSy1kW5D5L8P5DY7XtRq2OT1k9Dc5bASJxnoXUopWvRWm889m0oi5/w1280-h850-no/" style="transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px) rotate(0deg);" width="320" /><br />
<ol>
<li>Genoa (around 130) on a harken mkIII roller ferler. Tan, made by UK sailmakers.</li>
<li>Main with two reef points. Made by UK sailmakers</li>
<li>Mizzen. Two reefs. UK sailmakers</li>
<li>Mizzen stay sail. Hardly used.</li>
<li>Asymmetrical spinnaker with sock. New in 2011. Nearly new condition.</li>
<li>Oversized telescoping whisker pole. </li>
</ol>
<h4>
Rigging </h4>
I'm not sure how old the
rigging is, but most of it predates my ownership. My impression is that
the boat was fully refitted (decks, rigging, sails, everything) around
2001 or so, and then it just sat in the marina until I bought it. We
replaced some hardware (spreader tangs, bobstay and bobstay chainplate)
in 2010. The rigger we talked to in California before we left said that,
according to industry guidelines, we should've replaced it then due to
it's (assumed) age, but that based on it's condition he'd personally
keep it. It's been a while since I've been up the masts, but everything I
can see still looks good. <a href="https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOJ2qaOYYpXZ77scGyoJ8sqMVCHLnZgUnPmqHDf6bJjCBcW2o5GaYVE_jZVqkPMHw?key=STZJX0dSTm14cjE5M1dpOUY2cVpfYzNIYXdfNmFB" target="_blank">Here's a photo album</a> of the work we did on the rigging back in late 2010.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Engine </h4>
The engine is the original 40hp Perkins
4-108. If I remember correctly, it's got around 2500 hours on the clock
(I need to look to be sure). It always starts and it's never smoked. I
replaced the water pump, strainer, and hoses in 2014. I also pressure
tested the heat exchanger and transmission oil cooler and painted it.
It's big, low-tech, and sounds like a tractor but it keeps on going and
I've never had a problem getting parts for it. We typically burn about
half a gallon per hour while motoring.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Decks</h4>
The ply-wood decks on these boats can be a source of trouble. The decks were
completely replaced by a previous owner around 2001 or so. We've been
quite vigilant about tracking down and fixing any little leaks (with epoxy), and we
pulled all the stanchions, re painted the decks and non-skid, and
resealed everything in 2014. So the decks are in good shape for a boat this old. <br />
<br />
<h4>
General Good Stuff</h4>
<br />
We love this boat. So, when we've been able to, we've gone to extreme lengths to do things right. For instance, see <a href="https://goo.gl/photos/qHjXsdbnJ2vKX6Lm6" target="_blank">this rebuild of the main hatch</a> or <a href="https://goo.gl/photos/YigQC8XGorrF5siAA" target="_blank">this build-out of additional storage</a>. These projects are representative of the care we've taken with this boat.<br />
<br />
<h4>
The Not So Good Stuff</h4>
<br />
The past year and a half or so has been a very busy time for us so we haven't been able to take care of Architeuthis the way we'd like to. Specifically, we've let some of the exterior varnish go. The toerails and drip rails are pretty well bare wood now, but they're teak so the wood itself is fine. You could revarnish it or leave it bare. The bottom paint has needs to be redone. It's lost its anti-foul abilities. <br />
<ol>
</ol>
jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-74634548914814517392017-01-19T15:56:00.001-08:002017-01-19T15:56:22.213-08:00Architeuthis For Sale Q & AI haven't had time to post more details about the boat yet, but a potential buyer asked some questions on TradeMe. I think my answers will eventually show up on the listing, but in case they don't, I'll post them here. The potential buyer asked:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Congratulations on your PhD. Interesting yacht, rare to see proper
mooring bitts/post nowadays - couplea questions: 1) How does such
shallow draft affect AVS and sailing ability? 2) How are spruce masts,
ply decks, wooden rudder holding up against water penetration/rot? 3)
Condition of engine? 4) Age of rigging? 5) Lead or iron ballast?</i></blockquote>
Here are my responses:<br />
<ol>
<li>I don't know the exact AVS, but I
looked up the capsize screening ratio (1.71) when I was buying the boat.
Subjectively, I found the Mariner to be a little more initially tender
than boats of similar size and displacement, but quite good with even a
small heel. So, basically, just a bit wobbly when motoring with no sail.
We just make sure to put up the mizzen and sheet it in tight when
motoring on lumpy water. There were a few knock-downs of other boats
that were crossing from Mexico to the Marquesas at the same time we
were, but we hardly even dipped our rails (but that might have just been
because we shortened sail early and often). The blue-water cruising
potential and stability of these boats is well documented. See <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://books.google.co.nz/books?id%3DYpNq0dV_PJsC%26lpg%3DPP1%26dq%3Dpacific%2520lady%26pg%3DPP1%23v%3Donepage%26q%3Dpacific%2520lady%26f%3Dfalse&source=gmail&ust=1484955912547000&usg=AFQjCNFkMbfr4YOAtOGZi-i2XlXyyT1CXw" href="https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=YpNq0dV_PJsC&lpg=PP1&dq=pacific%20lady&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=pacific%20lady&f=false" target="_blank">this book</a> about the first single-handed female pacific crossing in a Mariner 31, or the forum on the Mariner owners webpage.</li>
<li>The spars and deck are in really good shape. We took the whole rig down in 2010. We stripped and refinished the masts with <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.awlgrip.com/products/varnishes/awlbrite.aspx&source=gmail&ust=1484955912547000&usg=AFQjCNG6IlAlv4eDbVdonhvRk76yRPJZ3A" href="http://www.awlgrip.com/products/varnishes/awlbrite.aspx" target="_blank">AwlBrite</a>,
upgraded the spreader and spreaders on the main-mast, replaced the
bobstay and bobstay chainplate, and inspected all the standing rigging
and consulted with a professional rigger (<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://goo.gl/photos/uS74wqGJCdvpjM9E7&source=gmail&ust=1484955912547000&usg=AFQjCNGAq8h55wYNiTlkJsCUbb9OKAWdPw" href="https://goo.gl/photos/uS74wqGJCdvpjM9E7" target="_blank">photos</a>).
The AwlBrite is probably about due for a few new coats as preventative
maintenance, but (impressively) it's not showing any signs of
blistering, cracking, or water penetration of any kind. The decks were
completely replaced by a previous owner around 2001 or so. We've been
quite vigilant about tracking down and fixing any little leaks, and we
pulled all the stanchions, re painted the decks and non-skid, and
resealed everything in 2014. So the decks are in good shape too. The
rudder has never shown any sign of water penetration. I'm not even sure
it's got a wooden core. If it does, it's got a whole lot of glass and
gel coat over it. </li>
<li>The engine is the original 40hp Perkins
4-108. If I remember correctly, it's got around 2500 hours on the clock
(I need to look to be sure). It always starts and it's never smoked. I
replaced the water pump, strainer, and hoses in 2014. I also pressure
tested the heat exchanger and transmission oil cooler and painted it.
It's big, low-tech, and sounds like a tractor but it keeps on going and
I've never had a problem getting parts for it. We typically burn about
half a gallon per hour while motoring.</li>
<li>I'm not sure how old the
rigging is, but most of it predates my ownership. My impression is that
the boat was fully refitted (decks, rigging, sails, everything) around
2001 or so, and then it just sat in the marina until I bought it. We
replaced some hardware (spreader tangs, bobstay and bobstay chainplate)
in 2010. The rigger we talked to in California before we left said that,
according to industry guidelines, we should've replaced it then due to
it's (assumed) age, but that based on it's condition he'd personally
keep it. It's been a while since I've been up the masts, but everything I
can see still looks good.</li>
<li>I've never been able to find any
definitive information on what the ballast material is. There's
definitely a steel lifting eye (presumably used to lower the ballast
into the hull when it was built) that sticks up out of the ballast below
the cabin sole but, aside from that part, I can't get a magnet to stick
to anything at all so I'm pretty sure it's lead. And I've never heard
of these boats suffering from the water intrusion, rusting, swelling,
and cracking thing that seems to afflict some of the Chinese boats from
the same era.</li>
</ol>
I hope this answers your questions, and I hope trademe lets me include this much text in an answer.<br />
<br />
P.S. Thanks for the congratulations on my PhD. It was pretty painful, but I'm glad I did it. ...mostly.<br />
jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-63949363307685144002017-01-18T16:45:00.002-08:002017-01-19T16:02:30.225-08:00Architeuthis is for Sale!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ehkuYgSxJB59cTTCEKx1m4NDYsNNEIZCgtrO5CZMscOzWwI9CsWlAv1jTG15xqJSLZO3AzctQhv-RwzKqLmNn4UXZe6vJHSFukkLuzQOwnd_Zm_vZeuSjt82qquWAhm9T73_/s1600/ArchiteuthisSailing_Big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ehkuYgSxJB59cTTCEKx1m4NDYsNNEIZCgtrO5CZMscOzWwI9CsWlAv1jTG15xqJSLZO3AzctQhv-RwzKqLmNn4UXZe6vJHSFukkLuzQOwnd_Zm_vZeuSjt82qquWAhm9T73_/s320/ArchiteuthisSailing_Big.jpg" width="296" /></a></div>
<br />
Christine has finished her master's degree. I'm wrapping up the final final revisions to my PhD. And, most importantly, we welcomed this guy to the family (and to, you know, life) last June:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAR6gZeTBWcElCGWQ3F_zIHc-ayuiLgGJoXVCMizp8vQ_bxfw_lsR0C4uxtKOKLKR4ptysn5htLEJr30WkbJ_qvnqjLG21N8EaKR-l-hitUkf4K46YKGKgdqeb29KcWMnZxX5C/s1600/IMG_0293.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAR6gZeTBWcElCGWQ3F_zIHc-ayuiLgGJoXVCMizp8vQ_bxfw_lsR0C4uxtKOKLKR4ptysn5htLEJr30WkbJ_qvnqjLG21N8EaKR-l-hitUkf4K46YKGKgdqeb29KcWMnZxX5C/s320/IMG_0293.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
So all of that adds up to this: Architeuthis is for sale. We love her dearly, but it's time to let her go. If the next owner gets even a tenth of the enjoyment we've gotten out of her, she'll be well worth what we're asking. Please have look at the <a href="http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1245021495&ed=true" target="_blank">advertisement</a> and contact us through trademe if you're interested. I ran out of room for details on the boat in that ad, so I'm hoping to follow up with a post here in the next day or two.jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-52209973174565015062014-09-19T16:23:00.002-07:002015-11-19T18:11:03.225-08:00Not really updating the blogThis blog is unlikely to get updated. We're still living in NZ. Christine has finished her master's at Leigh Marine Lab and I'm still working on my PhD (almost done). Anyway, feel free to look back through the blog. ...just don't expect much in the way of updates until we get around to selling Architeuthis.<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/views/profile/103120755438399923172?utm_source=google_bar&utm_medium=google_notifications&utm_campaign=gphotos_on_maps_notification&gl=nz&po=2&pv=1&tab=2" target="_blank"></a>jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-77144584574922447582012-06-15T03:13:00.001-07:002012-06-15T03:15:16.094-07:00Road Trip with the Donahues<p>In this long overdue blog post I will be covering the highlights of the visit and road trip with my parents, Peter and Marilyn, way back in February.</p><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in">After a couple months of exploring the east coast of the North Island by boat it was time to do some exploring by land. My parents rented an SUV and we met up with them in what was soon to be our new home base north of Auckland in the Rodney District.</p><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="400" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F103120755438399923172%2Falbumid%2F5713580185573610513%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in">After a couple of days exploring the area and getting over jet leg we headed south for Rotorua, also know by Kiwi’s as Rotovegas. My dad took to calling it Rotorooter, and this comical interpretation of the Maori language soon became a common theme on our trip. I must admit that New Zealand place names do take a while to get used to. Rotorua is famous for its geothermal activity and the tourism industry has really gone all out to capitalize on it, hence the Rotovegas nickname. The city literally smells like rotten eggs because there’s so much sulfurous bubbling going on. We quickly realized that once you’ve seen a couple bubbling smelly mud pools you’ve seen them all. While it was quite fascinating at first, but we soon lost interest. There were many brochures advertising colorful pools and giant geysers to go see but they were all contained in fancy parks that wanted around $50+ per person to get in. We settled on a short soak at a geothermally fed bathhouse type spa and a night time show and feast at one of the several Maori Cultural parks. The soak in the hot mineral pools at the spa was nice with a variety of pools and temperatures all over-looking a café latte colored section of Lake Rotorua. All the other tourists there seemed to be speaking a different language. After trying out a few different pools we settled on the one that was the right temperature for us and there were at least 4 different languages being spoken in that one pool. Later that evening we saw a great Maori show that began with all the Maori men arriving in a big waka (war canoe) on a crystal clear spring fed creek lined with ferns, fern trees and other native bush. After the show we were treated with a huge buffet of food including pork that was cooked using a geothermally heated ground oven. After dinner we got to visit the neighboring kiwi park and see some real live Kiwis and Tuataras, a couple of creatures unique to New Zealand but almost impossible to encounter in the wild anymore. Both have been greatly reduced in numbers since the arrival of rodents. Kiwis are large, flightless, nocturnal birds reminiscent of a character from a Dr. Suess book. The Tuataras are a threatened species of reptile that can live more than 60 years and are the only remaining species in the group called Sphenodontia which has been around since the age of the dinosaurs. After writing this all down I feel confident that we achieved the complete tourist repertoire during our short stay in Rotorua. Jared and I even went mountain biking in some pine forests while we were there. It was a real treat to mountain bike on trails made by mountain bikers for mountain bikers for a change.</p><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in">On our way to the wine region of Napier, we had a chance to stop at some scenic spots along the way including Huka Falls, Craters of the Moon park, and Lake Taupo. This country really caters to tourism and as a result everywhere we stopped we saw well signed, well maintained parks and trails complete with souvenir shops, toilets, and tourists. This in no way detracts to the beauty abounding all over this country and I love learning about every spot we stop by reading the detailed signs and being able to go pee in a toilet instead of the bushes or a stinky outhouse.</p><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in">Napier is famous for its wine and its art deco. Back in the 1930s a big earthquake leveled most of the city so they had to rebuild. Art Deco was big back then so the whole city became a relic of that bygone architectural era. It was cool to see but I guess I’m just not that in to art deco because I lost interest pretty fast. The wine tasting on the other hand was a ton of fun! There are enough wineries in the surrounding area to keep a wino busy for at least a month. We only took one day and only hit up 3 winery/vineyards but that was more than enough for us non-wine experts. I really loved picking a bottle or two to buy at each place and then getting to drink it later on during our trip.</p><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in">Next we zipped down to Wellington and caught the tail end of the rugby sevens madness (drunk people in costumes wandering around the streets) as well as the Super Bowl (go Giants!). We went to all the great museums and gardens and had some very nice meals out. Wellington has a lot more to offer than eating, and museums but that’s all we could squeeze in while we were there. It seems like a really cool city and we definitely need to spend some more time there in the future. There's something about it that reminds us of San Francisco, our favorite US city.</p><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in">On the way back north now, our day in Whanganui was spent on the famous Wanganui River on a jet boat tour and a short hike to the Bridge to Nowhere. We went back and forth for a while on whether or not to do this trip and boy are we glad we did. It was beautiful and a really great way to see a lot of the river in a short time. Our jet boat driver was really knowledgeable and we learned a ton of cool stuff about the history of the region, both human and natural. Even though we were on “scenic” tour, the jet boat was quite exhilarating and we even got a 360 at the end. Of course I was the only one who got wet! Did you know that the guy who invented the jet boat is a Kiwi?</p><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in">Tired of always being on the move, we decided to book a house in Raglan for the next 4 nights but the weather was so nice while we were driving up there that we stopped in New Plymouth on the way up for a quick look at the surf, I mean beach. It was our first black sand beach of the trip and boy was it hot! New Plymouth is in the shadow of the picture perfect cone volcano of Mt. Taranaki which has been used in movies as Mt. Fuji since they look so alike. It was yet another very beautiful corner of the country yet distinctly different than anywhere else. I really look forward to going back to “the naki”, as New Zealanders call it. I would love to hike up the mountain and surf all the surf breaks!</p><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in">Raglan was epic. We stayed in a sweet house called the “Lava Lounge” complete with ocean views, hot tub, and surfboards. We surfed every morning and explored or chilled every night. I only regret not being able to convince my dad to rent a board and surf with us, but he had a ton of fun body surfing of course. Another place I can’t wait to go back to!</p><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in">Since we skipped it on the way down, we zipped over and up to the Cormandel Peninsula for a couple of nights and had an awesome sea-cave tour aboard a mid-sized RIB. The owner/operator was a local guy with a ton of great knowledge to share about the region. We thought we might get rained out, but instead we had beautiful weather. We even got a quick snorkel in at a reserve and saw some of the biggest snapper we’ve seen yet! We hope to do some cruising in the area on Architeuthis next summer (your winter).</p><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in">For the last two nights it was back up to our boat and out to Kawau Island which is only a short distance off-shore. We tied up to a mooring right outside the bed and breakfast type lodge my parents had booked and had a rainy but relaxing last days there. The owners of the lodge cooked us some great meals, including the fish Jared speared, and we became fast friends. They even helped us find the place we are now living! We had a lovely sail back to the mainland and a final goodbye under sunny skies overlooking the bay. It was a full and wonderful adventure and it was so so great to spend time with my parents. I can’t thank them enough for spending all that money to come out here and to treat us to so many wonderful things along the way. Can’t wait till next time! There’s still so much left to see and do!</p><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in"><br /><br /><br /></p><br /><br /><br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02586779742350960054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-54481467346957178922012-01-18T16:21:00.000-08:002012-01-25T17:44:52.813-08:00I'm Sorry I Brought My Sharks to Your Beach Outing<p>There are big sharks in New Zealand. I'd heard about the bronze whaler sharks and how they're attracted to spear fishing but now I'm a firm believer. We headed out to Great Barrier Island on January 15 to check it out while we still have time to do that sort of thing. I shot a couple of smallish fish (a butterfish and a blue cod for those of you keeping track) at one anchorage on the east coast with no shark sightings. A couple of days later at Rakitu island (a small island off the east coast of Great Barrier), a 7 foot bronze whaler startled me a bit by surfacing about three feet behind our dinghy while I was leaning over its transom to clean the blue moki I'd shot earlier.</p><br /><p>A couple of days later we were anchored in Miner's cove on the west coast of Great Barrier. There was a nice little pinnacle right outside the cove so we rowed the dinghy over and got in the water. Christine had her camera and I had my speargun. I eventually found an 80 cm kingfish to shoot. He was a little reluctant to die so there was a good deal of stabbing going on and that resulted in a good deal of blood in the water. We didn't want to put the bloody fish in our little dinghy with the two of us already in there so we decided to tow the (mostly) dead fish back to boat. Given the proximity of the large group of people playing on the beach just inshore of Architeuthis, that may not have been the most thoughtful decision.</p><br /><p>We started to think about sharks about halfway back to Architeuthis. My plan was just to stop briefly at the boat to pick up my knives and whatnot and then head in to the beach (with the kingfish still in tow) and clean it there. That would minimize the mess in the dinghy and on the boat. As I was on deck getting my stuff together Christine said, "Hurry! Get the fish. Shark's coming!" I had to drop what I was doing and jump back into the dinghy. The shark - probably 8 feet or so - was only a foot or two from the fish when I yanked it out of the water. At that point I just had to accept that the dinghy was going to get a little bloody because storing the fish in the water was no longer a viable option.</p><br /><p>I looked over at the group on the beach (around 10 to 15 people). They were at least 500 feet from us but some of them were in the water. One guy was looking over at us so I gave him the international hand signal for shark (a hand sticking off the top of the head like a dorsal fin). He seemed to understand because the kids all got out of the water in fairly short order. In retrospect, I should have just put the fish in the dinghy to begin with. There probably wasn't any real danger in the whole situation but I think it was kind of rude of me to unnecessarily chum the water near someone's beach outing.</p><br /><p>Bronze whalers are big but they're not particularly dangerous as sharks go. There are somewhere around 30 recorded cases of these sharks biting people and I don't think any of the bites were fatal. From what I understand, these sharks have only bitten people who actually had a dead fish attached to them. People used to (and I guess some people still do) clip the fish they've speared onto their weight belt and then continue to swim around. In that situation it's not too surprising that a hungry bronze whaler might try to eat the fish and accidentally get a chunk of human along with it. When I spear a fish, I put it on a float line as quickly as possible and make sure that it's trailing out a long way behind me. If a large shark wants to take the fish before I have a chance to get it out of the water, I won't argue.</p><br /><p>I eventually took my fish to shore and cleaned it. I went ashore as far from the other people as I could get and I didn't throw any of the fish parts in the water until they'd already left. Christine said that there were two sharks that circled Architeuthis for a while after I'd gone to shore. I'm sure they were quite disappointed.</p><br /><p>We weren't quick enough on the draw to get pictures of the sharks but here are some other photos of Great Barrier:</p><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="400" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5701743819236021041%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><br />jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-78627935828996814182011-12-03T21:29:00.000-08:002011-12-16T22:35:34.175-08:00Hanging out in the Bay of Islands<p>When thanksgiving time rolls around in New Zealand nobody gives a crap. Well, nobody except for the Americans who are over here. ...and of course that makes perfect sense because it's an American holiday. We had enough Americans around us here in Opua to necessitate some sort of thanksgiving dinner so the crews of Piko and Britannia went nuts and decided to organize dinner for around 13 people on a 36 foot boat. Aside from Amanda, Krister, Lauren (girl), and Lauren (boy) from Britannia and Piko, we had Alex and Ryan from Shalimar, Ivan and Josefin from Kuheli (they're Swedish but we explained that thanksgiving was all about eating too much food and they seemed game), and several members of Krister's family that were visiting from the US. Anyway, we all enjoyed the traditional thanksgiving chicken (turkey is really expensive here) and had a good time. People were distributed throughout the boat so the pictures don't really do justice to how many people there were in a such a small space.</p><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="400" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5686955403674419297%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><p>After thanksgiving, Christine and I took Architeuthis out to the islands to check things out. We spent several days on our own. I spent as much time in the water with my new speargun as the water temperature and my insufficient wetsuit would allow. So far, the fish here in NZ seem to be a lot larger and easier to shoot than the fish in the tropics. In fact there are several species around (like the Red Moki) that are large and fairly tasty but they are just too damned easy to shoot with a speargun. After taking one of those "execution style" (basically setting the spear tip on the back of its head before shooting), I have decided that I'm going to leave them alone (unless I'm really hungry and feeling really lazy and really shameless). Aside from that, Christine and I just did some hiking and general relaxing.</p><br /><p>After a few days on our own, we ran into Kuheli in an anchorage on the south side of Urupukapuka island and, after being there for a day or two, decided to follow them over to another island called Moturua. Motorua had a really nice hiking track all the way around it that we went and checked out with Ivan and Josefin from Kuheli. After that we went back into Opua to buy some groceries and get ready for some friends that were coming to visit.</p><br /><p>On the weekend of December 3rd, my friends and former coworkers Will and Chad came to visit and brought their new friend and coworker, Evan. They had all come to New Zealand for some meetings down in Auckland and I talked them into come up to have a weekend out on the boat. Chad is really into the whole spear fishing thing so that became the main goal of the outing. Chad really wanted to get a kingfish so we chose to head out to a place called deep water cove (or Maunganui Bay depending on who you ask). Maunganui Bay is actually <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/conservation/marine-and-coastal/fishing/rahui-maunganui-bay-brochure.pdf">closed to fishing right now</a> so we anchored Architeuthis in there and took Squib (our dinghy) out around the corner so that we were to the north of the closed area. While Chad, Evan, and I went out fish killing, Christine and Will hiked out a little way on the trail that goes out to Cape Brett. Sadly, we didn't see any kingfish but we got a bunch of other fish including Chad's delicious John Dory.</p><br /><p>When we got back to the boat the New Zealand police had anchored right near us and came right over to see what we were up to. They had a guy filming the whole thing too and we forgot to ask why. They wanted to make sure we knew about the fishing closure and luckily we did. They were pretty darn nice about the whole thing, just like all the Kiwi's we've met so far, and it was pretty funny that a boat full of people who work on marine reserves were out killing a bunch of fish only to then get lectured about marine reserves. It would have looked pretty bad if we had been fishing in the closed area and I am really glad that I went through all the trouble it took to find out exactly where it was (since it's a new closure, the information on it was not readily available on the interweb yet).</p><br /><p>As forecast, the weather got a little bit unpleasant on our trip back to Opua the next day. The first part of the trip was open to the ocean swell and managed to make our guests feel pretty uncomfortable. Fortunately, we were able to alter course and get in the swell shadow of some of the islands and make everyone feel better. Then, also as forecast, it started raining. It rained a lot. The guests all hid out in the cabin while Christine and I got test out our foul weather clothes (again). We spent the night tied to the guest dock at the Opua Cruising Club trying to dry ourselves out and get ready to take a ride down to Auckland the next day.</p><br /><br />jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-34330851484208665092011-11-22T20:31:00.000-08:002011-12-16T22:37:33.468-08:00Walking to town<p>Since arriving in New Zealand we've been staying in the little harbor town of Opua. There's a slightly bigger town called Paihia just north of here and there's a nice little walking trail that goes up there. We were in need of exercise so we decided to check it out. It's not very far but by the end of it we were painfully aware of just how in need of exercise we really were. At any rate, the photos will give you some idea of what it looks like around here.</p><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="400" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5679494920062946481%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><br />jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-67694569014431372782011-11-18T21:25:00.000-08:002011-12-16T22:38:17.092-08:00Passage to New Zealand<p>Now that it's over with we can admit it. This is the passage that we were most afraid of. Lots of people sail from Tonga to New Zealand every year and, while they may encounter some unpleasant weather, it usually turns out fine. However there are some notorious exceptions. There was <a href="http://wingssail.blogspot.com/1998/11/november-15-1998-nightmare-off-new.html">storm off of New Zealand</a> in November of 1998 that hit the people who were making this same passage and it was nasty. Boats sank and people died. In preparation for this trip we read a great book called "Surviving the Storm" about how to read the weather condition and hopefully avoid that sort of thing and how to give yourself the best chance of survival if you do find yourself in really deep sauce. A large portion of the beginning of the book is a detailed description of how that storm developed and what happened aboard the boats that got into trouble. It was quite informative and useful to read but, despite the foreword by the authors that tries to reassure you that this sort of thing is exceedingly rare, it does tend to scare the crap out of you when you're planning to do that same passage yourself during the same month. There, I said it. Aren't all of you friends and family glad I didn't tell you about that before the passage?</p><br /><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="400" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5679486957777063217%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><br /><p>So there we were in Tongatapu with Shalimar waiting for a weather window. Shalimar had decided to shell out the money for professional weather routing on this passage so, rather than just pouring over the weather faxes ourselves and hoping we were interpreting them correctly, we just had to wait for Shalimar to get an email from a professional and hope that he was interpreting the data correctly. Okay, actually we looked at the weather faxes and grib files too but it definitely was nice to share Shalimar's weather routing info. Since Shalimar was sailing with a few jury rigged repairs and a broken finger, we were looking for a good weather window rather than just a possible weather window.</p><br /><p>We ended up waiting quite a while. November 7th rolled around and by then our standards had slid a little bit. There was a window on offer and we took it. The forecast called for a few days of light wind halfway through and a little more upwind sailing than we wanted but it still looked pretty good. We left on the 7th and started heading SW in winds that were just a little E of S. Those of you that sail will know that going upwind isn't too comfortable. For those of you that don't, I'll tell you. It's not too comfortable. The boat heels way over so that you just about have to walk on the walls when you're below, it seems colder and windier than it really is, the rig is under a lot of stress (which stresses me out as I worry about things breaking), and the boat lurches and jerks as it rams into oncoming waves.</p><br /><p>That description of sailing upwind is also a fairly accurate description of the whole 11 day passage except for the 40 or 50 hours we spent motoring because there was either no wind or there was wind blowing directly from where we wanted to go. We also got to experience the joy of only covering about 60 miles over a 24 hour period. All in all it was a mildly annoying and uncomfortable passage but, given the spectrum of things that can happen out there, I will gladly accept it. We made it in a reasonable amount of time, didn't get rained on very much, and nothing broke. I had a bit of a scare when we got to Opua, New Zealand and I found a bunch of oil in the bilge. For a short while I thought we'd blown the main seal on the engine or something but it turned out to be nothing. The engine just doesn't seem to like to run while we're heeled way over. We ended up motoring with the sails up quite a bit to keep our speed up and I guess the crank case breather is low enough that it'll blow oil out when it's leaned way over. So anyway, nothing broke and Architeuthis did good. We got into Opua on the 18th and Shalimar made it in one day later.</p><br /><p>We didn't really realize how good we had it until we'd been in Opua for a few days. We saw some old friends in the boat yard here that we hadn't seen since California. They'd also just sailed across be we missed them all the way across because we were on different schedules. Anyway, it turns out they'd made the passage a couple of weeks before us and broke their boom and one of their spreaders and almost lost their mast. They had to turn back to Tonga, tie everything down, buy a ton of diesel cans and motor the whole way to New Zealand. Then some good friends of ours came in about 4 days after us and it turns out they had <a href="http://sailingbritannia.blogspot.com/2011/11/passage-of-cascading-failures-and-wrong.html">all sorts of problems you can read about here</a>.</p><br /><p>At any rate, we're damned glad to be here and glad that Architeuthis has been such a sturdy (and lucky) little boat.</p><br /><br /><br />jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-60962954452340542792011-11-04T18:26:00.000-07:002011-12-16T22:38:40.402-08:00Tongatapu<p style="text-align: left;">We hadn't originally planned to go to Tongatapu. We were hoping to just leave for New Zealand from somewhere in Ha'api but we weren't seeing the weather window we wanted and Shalimar had some problems so we decided to go into Nuku'alofa (the largest town in all of Tonga) to repair, resupply, and wait for a good weather window. While typing this, I realized that people might not know where this stuff is so here's a map that I borrowed from the lonelyplanet website (hopefully they don't mind):</p><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6513805069_77db6a3a2d_o.jpg" width="466" height="350" alt="map_of_tonga.jpg" class="center" /></p><br /><p style="text-align: left;">We had heard some not so favorable things about Nuku'alofa. It was kind of crowded and a bit on the dirty side and some of the locals looked a bit scary (in a gangsta kind of way) but we had a good time and found that people were really friendly - even the scary looking ones. Apparently California has the largest population of Tongans outside of Tonga and we met a lot of people who'd lived in California and spoke english very well. (English and Tongan are both official languages in Tonga but, English seems to be running a distant second in many areas). We met one guy who told us he'd lived in Oakland, California for several decades but had been thrown out of the US for drug dealing. He definitely had that Oakland drug dealer look about him but was super friendly and we had a long talk about Oakland (I lived there for a couple of years) while we were waiting for the bus. On a different day, two rather large, somewhat drunk, and heavily (and not very skillfully) tattooed guys were blocking the sidewalk with a bicycle as we approached. Once they noticed that the bike was in our way, they immediately moved it and apologized profusely. My favorite example of the disconnect between the tough-guy look and the friendly demeanor were the guys that I photographed in their car (see the picture in the slide show). I was in the harbor parking lot trying to get a photo of Architeuthis tied up on the other side when those guys saw me with the camera. The driver got out of his car, ran over to me, and in broken english asked me to take his picture. He then ran back to his car, got in, and assumed the most 'gangsta' pose he could manage. I showed him the picture and he seemed a bit dissatisfied and asked me to take another. When I showed him the second picture, I told him he looked totally gangster and he broke out in a huge smile. Right after that, I had two other groups of locals come over and ask me to take their pictures (the guys on the sinking boat and the three little kids - also in the slide show).</p><br /><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="400" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5679484828292223921%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><br /><p style="text-align: left;">We spent a lot of time tied up in the harbor fixing things on our boats and going into town to buy supplies for the crossing. We took one bus trip out to the western side of the island to see the blow holes but for the most part we stayed near the harbor. I'm sure I could think of more stuff to write if I tried but I'm trying to get caught up so the pictures will pretty much have to do. Once we had done the necessary repairs and shopping and were reasonably confident that a weather window was on the way, we went out to anchor at Atata island near the pass that we'd take to get on our way to New Zealand.</p><br /><br /><br />jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-41582657070184446972011-10-26T17:01:00.000-07:002011-12-16T22:38:58.785-08:00The rest of Ha'apai<p>Ha'apai was great. Definitely our favorite part of Tonga. The locals seemed kind of shy and didn't seem super inclined to interact with us but the underwater scenery was fantastic and we had a lot of that "out in the middle of nowhere" feeling that I kind of missed in Vavau. We saw enough of our boat friends to be entertained but not so much that we felt crowded.</p><br /><p>Shalimar had planned to leave for New Zealand sometime around the middle of October but the anchoring incident that I wrote about in our last post hosed that plan up pretty good. It turned out that Ryan's finger was pretty badly broken. His wedding ring had apparently got snagged by the anchor chain. With the broken finger and the lack of available parts, it took several days to repair / jury rig the damage to the boat and get Shalimar ready to sail again. I helped out a little bit because I had two fully functional hands but Ryan did most of it single handed - literally. He managed to get everything functional again except the windlass (the mechanical doo-hicky that helps to raise the anchor). Shalimar has a much heavier anchor chain and anchor than Architeuthis does (which stands to reason because Shalimar weighs about twice as much) so raising the anchor without a windlass was quite a chore. Raising the anchor one handed without the windlass is nearly (but not quite) impossible so we stuck with Shalimar through most of the rest of Tonga. When it was time to leave an anchorage, I'd dinghy over to Shalimar, pull up their anchor, dinghy back to Architeuthis, pull up our anchor, and then we'd set off. It gave me some extra exercise and a new found appreciation of our much lighter chain and anchor.</p><br /><p>Christine and I did abandon Shalimar for a couple of days to sneak off to Tungua island all by ourselves. There was a surf break near the anchorage there that we wanted to check out. We dinghied over and had look at it. It looked rideable but ti was another fast, shallow reef break. Given our isolation and the level of inconvenience that would be caused by even a minor injury we reluctantly decided to forego the surfing. The fact that we were so out of practice played into it too. We wanted to surf but it just didn't seem worth the risk with the passage to New Zealand so close. We still had a great time at Tungua. The anchorage was a little bit rolly but the beach was beautiful and completely deserted. There was a village on the island but it was on the opposite side and we didn't see any people the whole time we were there.</p><br /><p>Ryan's finger injury did have an upside. ...for me. As we travelled across the pacific, I'd gotten more and more into spear fishing but instead of a proper spear gun, I only had a second had pole spear that didn't even have the correct band on it. Ryan, on the other hand, has a big fancy speargun. After Ryan's injury we came up with a deal where we'd swim around together and take turns with the speargun. It only takes one hand to fire it but it takes two hands to load it so I'd do the loading and we'd take turns with the shooting. Then, when Christine and I went off to Tungua island, Ryan let me take the speargun with me. My crap-tastic pole spear only has a range of about 2 or 3 feet so I was pretty limited in the types of fish I had any chance of spearing. I had a lot of fun with Ryan's speargun and managed to get some tasty fish that I hadn't been able to get anywhere near hitting with my pole spear.</p><br /><p>I'm sure there's more I could write about Ha'apai but I'm way behind on the blog updating so I'll just suggest that you look at the pictures and read the captions.</p><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="400" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5677580259192422913%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><br />jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-49113094952870122662011-10-14T22:06:00.000-07:002011-12-01T22:04:08.848-08:00Well that wasn't very fun<center><br /><iframe width="500" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nX4rf6-nZBs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /></center><br /><br /><p>We just sat out a near gale at anchor. It blew a sustained 30 knots with gusts upward of 35 knots. The really exciting part was that we weren't expecting it. We downloaded weather forecasts yesterday and the forecast for today was for some rain showers and around 15 knots of wind. We were going to sail off with Shalimar and head to another anchorage but we woke to some decent rain and overcast skies and decided to wait until it cleared up before we left. We were watching a movie when it really started raining and blowing. It was blowing out of the east and where we're anchored off of Lifuka island is fairly protected from that direction. The proximity of land to windward kept the waves from getting too big but it was unnerving to look outside of the boat and see driving sheets of rain and wind streaks on the water. We had to move some stuff around on deck to make sure it didn't blow away and had to reconfigure our dinghy situation a bit to make sure we didn't lose any gear but we didn't have to do anything too drastic. We were anchored on a sandy bottom in about 18 feet of water and I had let out around 125 feet of chain so I wasn't too worried about dragging.</p><br /><p>After a movie and a half, things got a bit worse. The wind shifted around to the northeast and that meant that the wind had more of a chance to blow over the water and build up some choppy waves. This makes the boat bounce around and makes it harder for the anchor to do its job. Architeuthis ended up doing fine but Shalimar had some problems. Their anchor snubber (stretchy thing that you use to keep the anchor chain from jerking on the boat too much) broke. When it broke, their anchor chain had an altercation with the rigging on the underside of their bowsprit. The anchor chain won the altercation and the rigging lost. Their dolphin striker (yes, it's really called a dolphin striker - google it, I'm too lazy to explain exactly what it is) got bent and, in the ensuing battle to get their snubber situation sorted out, Ryan's finger got hurt. Certainly a bummer but the dolphin striker shouldn't be too hard to repair (and it has to be repaired before Shalimar can sail again) and it doesn't sound like Ryan's figure dislocation deal will be too debilitating.</p><br /><p>Meanwhile, aboard Architeuthis, we hustled to set up a back up anchor snubber to avoid similar problems. By the time I finished setting it up, the wind was starting to die down. Oh well, I guess not everyday can be perfect and given the fact that we're surrounded by reef here I suppose things could have been a lot worse.</p><br /><br /><br />jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-74644251181968681722011-10-06T18:00:00.000-07:002011-12-16T22:40:30.874-08:00Zebra Shark and Squids Doin' It (with other squids, not with the shark.
that would be weird.)<p>We're anchored off of Ha'ano island in the Ha'apai group of Tonga and we love it here. The island looks pretty nice but it's the underwater scenery that we're really excited about. In fact, we haven't actually gone ashore yet but we've been snorkeling a lot. There are really cool coral pinnacles everywhere that shoot up from 30 to 50 feet deep in vertical walls and there are little caves and swim-throughs all over the place. It's definitely the most dramatic live coral formations we've seen so far. The range and quantity of critters is quite good as well. It's not quite as pristine as what we saw in the Tuamotus but it's probably the runner up for what we've seen since we left California. There are snappers, groupers, and unicorn-fish in the 2 plus foot range. Basically there are all sorts of tasty fish that were much more rare in the Vava'u group. We've even seen a couple of sharks and that's twice as many shark sightings as we had in all of Vava'u.</p><br /><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="400" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5679165732311642337%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><br /><p>One of the sharks we saw here was one we hadn't seen before and was especially cool. It was a zebra shark (<i>Stegostoma fasciatum)</i>. The shark had spots all over it (apparently the juveniles have stripes and that's where the name comes from) and a ridiculously long tail fin. Ryan (from Shalimar) saw the shark first while we were out spearfishing and pointed it out to me to see if I knew whether or not it was dangerous. I immediately recognized it as a zebra shark because Christine had found it in our fish ID book a long time ago and said, "That's cool, I want to see one of those." I knew I'd be in trouble if we scared off the shark before Christine had a chance to see it so Ryan and I backed away and left it sitting on the sandy bottom between coral outcrops in about 50 feet of water. I popped my head out of the water and yelled at Christine and got her to swim over to us. Our shark friend was still parked in the same place so Christine dove down to take a picture but her ears weren't clearing well and she couldn't make it all the way down. I borrowed the camera from her and was able to get to the bottom and get a couple of shots. The shark apparently didn't know we were friends so the second shot is of the shark swimming away from me. I'm not sure how rare these critters are but it was the first one we'd seen and it was pretty cool looking so we were excited.</p><br /><p>Today we went snorkeling again to see if we could bother the zebra shark some more. We didn't find him but we found something that I think is even better. We found a group of about 20 bigfin reef squid (<i>Sepioteuthis lessoniana</i>). These squid are close relatives of the caribbean reef squid that I spent three months studying (and harassing) in Bermuda. We've seen the bigfin reef squid in Vava'u but those were individuals of fairly small groups (like 3 or 4). The group we found here was made up of fairly large individuals ranging from about 8 to 12 inches long and they let us swim up within a few feet of them. They didn't actually pay too much attention to us because they had something else on their minds. They were doing their whole mating thing. There were large males battling it out by flashing different colors and bumping into each other and there were males passing sperm packets off to females with their special modified arm. I floated around with them for around an hour. Basically, until I was to cold to stay in one spot any longer. Then, while swimming along with Christine, she pointed out another pair of squid to me in a different place. There was one really large one (over a foot long) and a smaller one. They were near the bottom in about 40 feet of water near the edge of the reef. As I watched, they sank down to the bottom and the big one waited while the smaller one scooted under a ledge of coral and popped back out again after 30 seconds or so. I'm pretty sure the smaller one was a female and that she was laying her eggs under the coral while her mate was guarding her. I've spent all sorts of time reading about squid reproductive behavior (what, doesn't everybody?) so it was really cool to see it in action. The only bummer about the whole thing is that we hadn't brought a camera. Christine's camera housing has been fogging up a lot lately and our little video camera is only good down to about 10 feet so I didn't want to bring it and be stuck at the surface the whole time.</p><br /><br /><br /><br />jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-57491084214100647992011-09-30T21:59:00.000-07:002011-11-26T17:14:25.876-08:00Vava'u in a nutshell<p>We arrived in Vava'u, Tonga just in time to partake in some of the Vava'u Festival events this year. We also finally caught up with many old friends who we have not seen since Mexico. Unfortunately, we also had to say goodbye to many friends heading on to Fiji and beyond.</p><br /><p>The festival started off with a parade and events down in the main town of Neiafu followed by an evening pub crawl with optional "fancy" dress which means costumes in British. I of course insisted that we dress up and we were happy to see most other people in costumes as well. We covered a lot of ground and visited nearly every bar in Neiafu. At the last bar we were treated to the weekly Faka lady show which is basically a drag show. Quite the cultural experience to say the least. Wish I had some pictures to share but my camera has stopped working properly in low light. Jared's camera is a little too nice to bring along on a pub crawl. I did borrow a couple of pictures from my friend Cory from Rutea so you can see our costumes at least. Speaking of Rutea, we were finally reunited after many months at sea! We had not seen them since we left La Cruz, Mexico back in March. We were also reunited with Mark and Yuka on Merkava. Yuka is the one dressed up like a gangster which was absolutely hilarious because she is pretty much the exact opposite in real life.</p><br /><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5657596736680843169%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><br /><p>We skipped the next couple of days of events to go check out some of the many nice anchorages around Vava'u. We headed out to a place called Kenutu Island with our buds on Brittania because we heard that there might be surf there. The swell direction wasn't quite right and the reef was a bit too shallow for us, so we decided to go snorkeling instead. Now that we had come so far west on our journey across the Pacific, the species richness (diversity) of coral and fish was noticeably much greater than at any of the reefs back in French Polynesia. I saw species of fish and coral that I had never seen before and I even found a nudibranch to take a picture of. Unfortunately, there were not many sharks or very big fish as a result of years of unregulated fishing in the area. Shalimar, La Cueca, and Takalani all made it out the the anchorage the next day and Stoph from Takalani found a dead tree on the beach that he decided he needed to burn so we all got together for a beach bonfire. Much to Stoph's dismay, the tree did not want to burn because it had gotten too wet, but after an hour at it he did manage to get a small finicky fire going. We took turns fanning the fire to keep it going for as long as possible while the ants attacked La Cueca's pasta dinner. Luckily, Shalimar had some leftovers to feed the exhausted and slightly tipsy fire makers. All in all, it was a fun night on a beautiful deserted island surrounded by old and new friends. Can't ask for much more!</p><br /><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5679173668280340833%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><p>A front came through the next day and it brought lots of rain and wind from almost every direction. Our anchor decided to pick up a tiny piece of stray coral on the mostly sand bottom and we started dragging through the anchorage a pretty decent clip. We decided to leave instead of re-anchoring there only to be faced with an opposing current and 30 knots of wind on the nose. As soon as we rounded the southern tip of the island we were trying to get around, we headed downwind and had a much better time of it. Unfortunately, even though we found several well protected coves to anchor in, we could not find shallow water or good holding. As we were attempting to re-anchor for what felt like the 10th try in an hour, Ben and Lisa, the festival organizers, were passing by in their motor boat and they told us we could use their old mooring. They sailed to Tonga a few years ago and never really left and they had installed a mooring for their sailboat in the bay where we were trying to anchor. Since they weren't using it anymore because they had acquired an island to live on, they generously offered it to us. Boy were we relieved! The front brought a ton of rain with it and we filled up our water tanks and our laundry buckets within hours. This kind of became the trend in Tonga, with a weak or strong trough (valley of low pressure) and it's associated front moving through the area every other week or so. In between these periodic storms was nothing but sunshine!</p><br /><p>The next big festival event we were signed up for was the full moon party. We made our way to the anchorage by the beach where the party was and I prepared my futuristic costume out of some metallic glittery wrapping paper I found, some tin foil, and some glow sticks. The costume themes were past or future, pretty vague. I ended up with a sort of futuristic queen costume so I went around telling people that I was their future queen. Jared threw on a garbage bad and a tin foil cap and was aiming for a sort of post-apocalyptic hobo type thing. His costume took 5 minutes to make and mine took about an hour. The rain finally let up for long enough to make it to shore where we were greeted by about 100 partygoers. I had a great time dancing all night long while Jared stood around with Ryan drinking rum and cokes and complaining about the noise. We skipped out on the rest of the festival events mostly because we don't care for racing and because Jared had reached his socializing limit for the week.</p><br /><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5677576150156769409%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><br /><p>We spent another three weeks just cruising around Vava'u checking out the many beautiful anchorages and hanging out with friends. We rented some scuba tanks and did some diving with Ryan. We went to a traditional Tongan feast. I ran into a guy I used to work with on the dive boats in Santa Barbara which was such a trip! He was out visiting a friend of his who is currently cruising on his Westsail 32, Evangeline, with his wife. We had a great time catching up and also getting to know his friend Daniel. We said goodbye to Takalani, Libis, and La Cueca who went onto Fiji, then Vanuatu and Australia. Hope we keep in touch! We explored some of the tiny outer villages. We checked out some caves. We briefly met a couple of the crew from Aldebaran who first contacted us ages ago when they came across our blog while they were prepping for their trip. We've been pen-pals/radio buddies ever since and we've been dying to meet them for real. Unfortunately, our schedules were a bit out of sink so we will have to wait till New Zealand to really meet them I guess. Tuatara showed up one day and we got to catch up with them for first time since Tahiti. We stocked up on food and then we headed down to the Ha'apai group for our second month in Tonga.</p><br /><br /><br /><br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02586779742350960054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-12475274892793692892011-09-28T18:53:00.000-07:002011-09-28T18:56:25.239-07:00Tonga is not the internet capital of the world<p>Hopefully this post will work. We've been trying to update the blog for a while but the Tongan internet doesn't want to cooperate. It looks like uploading photos is out of the question for now. We are going to head down to the Haapai island group soon (we've been in the Vava'u group since September 1st). From what we've heard, Haapai is even less developed and, therefore, less likely to have decent internet connectivity than where we are now. It's likely that we won't be able to post anything or even email until we get to Tongatapu sometime around the end of October. Once we get to Tongatapu, we'll just make final preparations for the trip to New Zealand, watch for a good weather window, and head to Opua in New Zealand. We'll make sure that we get at least some emails out before making the crossing to NZ and we'll be doing the Pacific Seafarer's net again at that point as well. Sorry to all of our family and friends that we can't get more communication going but that's just the way things work around here.</p><br /><br />jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-91515050414934936852011-09-27T21:26:00.000-07:002011-11-23T02:01:20.118-08:00Niue aka "The Rock"<center>
<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5654266070053714737%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>
</center>
<p>Much to our dismay, we decided to pass Beveridge Reef by due to the extremely windy and rolly conditions. Since it is a submerged coral atoll, it does not offer much protection in those kind of conditions and even though the holding inside the atoll would have been good, we probably wouldn't have felt comfortable leaving Architeuthis to go snorkeling or anything. Instead, we pushed on to Niue (new-ay) which was only a day away. As soon as we made the course change things were much more comfortable on Architeuthis since we were now sailing almost dead downwind and we felt better about our decision to push on.</p><br /><p>Being that Niue is a raised coral atoll, the anchoring is quite deep and mostly coral. Luckily, the Niue Yacht Club has installed about 18 moorings for the yachties to use during their stay on the island and lucky for us there were still a couple available when we arrived. We had heard about the humpback whales that often hang out in the mooring field singing and spouting all around the boats and sure enough as we came around the corner a small group of whales was there to greet us. Niue is a breeding and calving ground for the humpbacks and it just so happens to be their mating season down here right now.</p><br /><p>Niue is unlike any other island we've been to so far and it is literally just a big hunk of limestone rock that is made entirely of uplifted coral. A long long time ago it was a coral atoll and then due to some plate tectonics it was raised about 100 feet. There are few beaches and no rivers so the surrounding water is amazingly clear with up to 50 meters of visibility. There are also tons of caves, chasms, and ravines all around the island to explore. Niue is also proud to be the world's smallest independent nation with a population of around 2000 and only 259 square miles of land area. They are in free association with New Zealand and all Niueans have NZ citizenship as well. As a result, we met a lot of Kiwi ex-pats living there and we might be running into a lot of Niueans when we get to New Zealand.</p><br /><p>Our friends on Libis, Takalani, La Cueca, Balquidder, and Shalimar were all in Niue at the same time as us so we had tons of fun exploring the rock and partying afterwards with all of them. We also made some new friends on Mare Liberum, Maggie, and Kuheli who came all the way from Norway and Sweden and took the less traveled southern route across the pacific stopping in Easter Island, Pitcarin, and the Gambiers. They sure had some stories to tell! We also became fast friends with the yacht club commodore, Keith, and the woman who runs the backpackers building where the yacht club headquarters was, Ira.</p><br /><p>Libis, Shalimar, and Architeuthis all teamed up one day and rented a big van to take to go explore some caves and chasms. First we went to Togo Chasm which starts off with a short hike through a tropical forest with the occasional protruding limestone rock. As soon as the ocean comes into view, so does the dramatic coastline studded with dark colored jagged coral pinnacles. and a heavy surf throwing up tons of spray. A well maintained trail and ladder leads down through the treacherous looking rocks to a narrow slot canyon with a white sandy floor and palm trees. One little cave we checked out leads out to the open to the ocean and was full of foam like a foam party or something. Ryan and Alex lugged their climbing gear down with them so they tried to find a way up out of the chasm to set up a top rope on a wall they found to climb but had no luck. Jelle climbed up a coconut tree and knocked down some coconuts for us to snack on and then we headed back to the van to go to the next cave.</p><br /><p>The trail to the Vaikona Chasm was considerably longer and more dramatic with the occasional red trail marker to let us know we were going the right way. The forest had really cool dead coral pinnacles that we had to walk around and through, and the way the light was being filtered through the canopy made it really feel like being underwater at times. Finding the opening to the chasm that leads to the cave was a little difficult and then scaling the wall down into it was even more difficult. Luckily there was a rope set up to hold on to. Once down into the fern covered and sunlit chasm we donned our snorkel gear and jumped into a long clear pool which we were told had a passage to swim under at the opposite end. Holger check it out first and came back shortly saying that it was a short easy dive to get under the passage and into the cave. Inside the cave it was almost completely dark and our flashlights illuminated a magnificent under water cathedral of stalactites in the crystal clear water. We went what we thought was the right way only to discover a dead end and turn around to find another short underwater passage-way to the next cave. At this point we could either go on and find our way out a different opening and hike all the way back around to get our stuff, or just turn around and go back the way we came. We were all getting a little cold due to the dark cave environment and the cold spring water so we chose to swim back the way we came. Swimming under the last passage and back into the sunlit chasm where we left our stuff was probably the coolest part because of the way the hole was glowing light blue as you swam from the darkness into the light. The hike back was much faster now that we knew the way and it was kind of funny to see a bunch of people with swim suits and snorkel gear hiking through a forest. We zipped around the rest of the island to check out a few more spots but we were too tired to really enjoy them so we decided to go back another day. We headed back to the yacht club to have a couple of beers and relax.</p><br /><p>The rest of our time on Niue was spent snorkeling with whales and sea snakes, exploring caves and tide pools, bbqing at the yacht club, and hanging out with old and new friends. We also helped the commodore Keith out with some mooring surveys due to some untimely mooring failures he had been having. Brand new mooring lines were magically unsplicing themselves. After much deliberation, we decided that the reason was that they had been installed without being pre-loaded and since the end of the splice had not been seized and no boats had tied up to them for some time previous, the splices had worked themselves free. The line was a particularly slippery line when new as well, but it was the line that the professional New Zealander mooring makers claimed was the best and what they used. Jared and myself along with Cory, Gaz, and Sarah from La Cueca dove all the moorings just to make sure none of the ones still out had the same problem. None of them had that problem, but the one Kuheli was tied up to was about to chafe through for an entirely different reason. The sub-surface float had slipped up the line to the surface allowing the line to have slack on it when no boat was tied up to it. The drooping line rubbed on the coral and chafed pretty heavily before Kuheli tied up to it. A very good reason to always inspect your own mooring! Poor Keith tried very hard to keep all the moorings in perfect condition, but without his own boat and dive partner he has no way to inspect them himself. Instead, he hires the folks who run Niue dive to inspect the moorings. They usually do this in a timely fashion but due to a stint of bad weather they got very backed up with dive charters and could not get to the inspection. To help Keith sleep at night, we volunteered to check the moorings in the mean time. Keith and all the other people at the yacht club were most helpful to us and all the yachties and it was the least we could do in return. It wasn't a bad place to dive either! Almost every time you get in the water you can hear the whales singing and making all their other weird noises. We could even hear them through the hull of our boat at night when they were very close and shallow. Fleur even got sprayed by the spout of one whale while she was sleeping in her v-berth because the hatch above her was open and they were that close!</p><br /><p>So, now we're in Tonga with more humpback whales, and the internet is very slow so we can't post any pictures yet. We will post them as soon as we can. Promise!</p><br /><br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02586779742350960054noreply@blogger.com1Niue-19.054445 -169.867233-19.174515 -170.0251615 -18.934375000000003 -169.7093045tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-89512116232346565792011-08-16T16:15:00.000-07:002011-08-28T18:04:53.959-07:00Aitutaki<p>After a really nice four day sail from Bora Bora, we arrived in Aitutaki in the Cook Islands. We managed to navigate the extremely shallow and narrow man made pass no problem thanks to our shallow draft and narrow beam. The entrance was the most challenging part since the outgoing current was running at about 4-5 knots and the swell was opposing it. That combined with the fact that the entrance itself is only about 15 meters wide made surfing the standing waves a little scary since we tend to get our stern pushed around and the boat turned sideways. Jared was able to keep us from getting completely sideways but he had to push the old perkins pretty hard to get us through the outflow. The anchorage itself is also pretty tight and there was already a small flotilla of about 10 boats there. Luckily our friends on Libis, who we met only briefly in Hiva Oa, invited us to anchor next to them. It was great to finally catch up with Fleur and Jelle and meet their new crew member Holger. Fleur and Jelle are from Holland and Holger is from Germany.</p><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5646047049873763953%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><p>Our first few days in Aitutaki were a bit stressful due to a nasty front that passed through followed by some major boat shuffling. As the wind shifted around with the front it also picked up quite a bit and our boat became the windward boat of the flotilla. Our stern anchor picked up some weeds and started dragging so we had to fend off of Libis while we re-anchored and added more anchors and lines to shore. Jared was really wishing we had another anchor and some extra chain. After the storm most of the boats we ready to leave and most of the boats had deeper drafts that required a high tide to leave. Even still, many of them got stuck or hit bottom (sandy thankfully) so Jared was out there with a few others in dingies helping people get un-stuck. After we were done moving our boat around and finally had a nice secure spot tied to two sturdy palm trees we had a much better time.</p><br /><br /><p>The people on Aitutaki are super friendly and, best of all, they speak English! We drank lots of Steinlager and ate lots of fish and chips at the local bars and food stands. We had the good fortune to get to see the awesome Aitutaki choir, drumming, and dance troupes perform upon their return from the inter-island competitions at Rarotonga for a mere $2 per person. The singing was so amazing that it made us feel like going to church and the drumming and dancing was outstanding! The best we've seen so far. We rented scooters with Shalimar and rode around the whole island. We dove outside the pass with Krispin, Vincent, and Ryan and Krispin found us a new storm anchor. A 45lb Bruce was on the bottom with about 50 ft of chain and a bucket to use as a lift. Score! We snorkeled with giant clams and saw some of the healthiest looking reefs we've seen since the Tuamotus. We picnicked on a beautiful deserted motu surrounded by shallow white sand and clear turquoise water. Life is pretty darn good out here to say the least.</p><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5646064560015554305%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><p>Our friends Stoph and Sara on Takalani showed up a few days later and we had a good time catching up with them a some new friends on Catacoas and Karinya. We made friends with a nice old Scottish Kiwi named Richard and he invited us to his place to do laundry and hang out. He had some crazy stories and knew a ton about the history of the Cook Islands and elsewhere. He worked for most of his life as an agricultural engineer of sorts and has lived in all sorts of crazy places. He married a Cook islander which is why he gets to live in Aitutaki now. In the Cook Islands all property is passed down from generation to generation and outsiders cannot become citizens or buy land unless they marry a native islander. I believe it is the same kind of system in some of the other islands as well. He also showed us a cool documentary about Suwarrow Island in the northern Cook group. A lot of people we know went there from Bora Bora instead of to Aitutaki or Rarotonga. It sounds like an amazing place but we chose to do the southern route through the Cooks this time. Maybe next time! Suwarrow is a protected atoll inhabited only by the two park rangers who look after things. People passing through on their boats are really the only visitors. The rangers take people fishing and cook them traditional meals and show them how to live on an isolated atoll. Sounds kind of like Toau in the Tuamotus. LIke many of the atolls in the south pacific, it is also a very important nesting ground for ocean-going birds. As a matter of fact, the motu we had our picnic lunch on in Aitutaki was a nesting ground for the Red-tailed Tropic Birds.</p><br /><br /><p>After ten days it was time to move on. Once we were done dealing with storing our new anchor with all its chain we were ready to rumble. Headed for Beveridge Reef if the weather cooperates and then Nuie, the smallest self-governed nation in the world!</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02586779742350960054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-73069841828826089182011-08-01T13:08:00.001-07:002011-08-01T13:08:48.174-07:00Leaving Bora Bora<p>We're going to leave Bora Bora today. We've had some fun here but I don't think it'll go down as our favorite island. It's beautiful but it's a bit overrun with tourists (you know, people like us). To be fair, we haven't fully explored the island. We've been too busy working on stuff to get ready for the slightly longer passages ahead of us. We added some running back stays to stabilize the main mast (probably not necessary but gives us peace of mind), changed the oil and filters, made some improvements to our wind vane set up, and those sorts of things.</p><br /><p>Our plan from here to Tonga is as follows: we'll go from Bora Bora to Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, then to Beveridge Reef, then to Nuie, and from Nuie we'll head on to Vava'u in Tonga. Then we'll stay in the various island groups of Tonga until sometime around early November. We were planning to have Rarotonga be our first stop after Bora Bora but it looks like there may be a mild front coming through about the time we plan to get there. The front will bring winds out of the north and from what we've heard, the harbor at Rarotonga (marginal in good conditions) is unsafe with winds from the north. That's why we've changed our plan to Aitutaki. At any rate, the plans are all shown on the <a href="http://www.svarchiteuthis.com/p/map.html">map tab</a>. Speaking of maps, I've added a small map on the right side of this page. In theory, that map will display our position reports to the Pacific Seafarer's Net. On multi day passages (like the ones coming up), we'll report our position via ham radio and the operators of the net will update the data set that feeds that little map. It only shows position reports from the last 30 days, so it's not showing anything as of the writing of this post but, if all goes according to plan, it should start to show our position sometime tomorrow.</p><br /><p>I'm not sure when we'll have internet access again so we may not be able to update the blog again until Tonga. We may have access sooner but there's no need to worry if you don't see any updates 'til then. We've got to run now. We still need to top off our water tanks, roll up our dinghy, and pay our bill at the Bora Bora yacht club before we can get underway.</p><br /><br />jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-68635951744094777812011-07-27T23:37:00.000-07:002011-07-27T23:38:22.281-07:00Bora Bora<p>We left Raiatea on Monday the 25th and had a nice day sail to Bora Bora. It was a downwind sail and we went through the hassle of setting up our whisker pole to run wing on wing downwind and it ended up paying off. Two larger sailboats had left Raiatea about 15 minutes before us and we ended up getting to the pass in Bora Bora about 15 minutes before them. We're not racers but we do like it when we can beat boats that are supposed to be faster than us.</p><br /><center><br /><div style="width:400px;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5634271654731836849%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></div><span style="float:left;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/jkibele/BoraBora?authuser=0&feat=flashalbum" style="color:#3964c2">View all</a></span><div style="text-align:right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/getEmbed?feat=flashalbum" style="color:#3964c2">Get your own</a></div></div><br /></center><br /><p>We picked up a mooring ball at the Bora Bora Yacht Club. Don't worry, it's not as ritzy as it sounds. It's basically just a restaurant / bar with moorings and a dinghy dock. All the anchorages here are pretty deep. We could anchor but I generally pull our anchor up by hand (we have a manual windlass but it's awkward to use) and pulling up the anchor and chain from 60 feet is not fun and given the fairly low price of a mooring here, it seems totally worth it. So far, we've just been working on boat projects and hanging out with friends while we wait for good weather for the crossing to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. There are some pretty big seas forecast through the weekend. It wouldn't be anything we couldn't handle but, after our very uncomfortable trip to Tahiti, we'd rather just wait a few extra days for smooth sailing rather than charge out into big puke inducing seas with 25 knot winds.</p><br /><p><br /></p><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /> <img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6127/5983411539_76f19c174f.jpg" width="480" height="270" alt="Architeuthis moored at the Bora Bora yacht club." /><br /><br /></div><br /><p>For those of you who've been confused about where we are, I've updated the map. It now shows our trip as far as Raiatea. I may also try to add our projected path out to Tonga. I also updated the Calendar tab. The calendar now shows when we were in various places along the trip. Of course it'd probably be more useful to show where we're going to be in the future but that would require a level of clairvoyance that I've yet to attain.</p><br /><br />jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-22685737456550203532011-07-24T15:54:00.000-07:002011-07-24T15:55:09.067-07:00Huahine to Raiatea<p>Our remaining days in Huahine were spent surfing, snorkeling, and hanging out with friends from Takalani, Blue Moon, and Reality. On one evening, we had a little BBQ on the beach and played petanque (the french version of bocci ball). The wind finally backed off a bit by the 20th so we were able to go surfing. It was a fairly long dinghy ride to the surf spot but it was worth it. It was by no means a world class wave that we were surfing but, then again, we are not world class surfers. There are much more powerful, steeper waves elsewhere around Huahine, so we had this one to ourselves. The waves break over sharp coral that's fairly shallow and looks even shallower because the water is so clear but we surfed there for three days in a row and the only injuries sustained were some very small cuts on Christine's hand. On our third day of surfing we took Stoph from Takalani surfing with us. It was his first time surfing but he did great. Later on, Stoph volunteered his dinghy (it's a bit faster than our dinghy) for some tow surfing. We basically just dragged each other around the anchorage for a while. It was a bit silly but quite fun and we got Rob and Jo from Blue Moon to give it a go as well.</p><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5633054195199454257%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><p>Yesterday (the 23rd), we packed up and left Huahine. There wasn't much wind so we ended up motoring most of the way. Ordinarily, we would have just waited a couple of days to leave until the wind picked up again but, unfortunately, we're in a bit of a hurry now. Our visas from French Polynesia will expire on the 26th so we're supposed to check out from Bora Bora on the 25th. We could make the short crossing from Raiatea to Bora Bora today and make it on time except for one thing. We had Rob from Blue Moon take a look at our rigging on our main mast. Rob is a third generation boat builder and he designed and built his own boat. He said that, while our rigging was adjusted about as well as it could be, we could stabilize the main mast by adding some running backstays from the spreader tangs. Rob is a fairly quiet and unassuming guy but he was pretty definite about saying that he would add the running backstays before making the crossing to New Zealand so I'm inclined to take his suggestion seriously. In order to add the running backstays, I need a few more parts from a chandlery and that puts us in a bit of a dilemma. There are a several chandleries here on Raiatea but, as far as we know, none on Bora Bora. However, it's Sunday and everything is closed here. So basically, we either get our parts and check out a day late or we check out on time and don't get our parts. We may be able to get the parts we need in the Cooks or Tonga but we can't really count on it. So, at the moment, I think we're inclined to stay an extra day, get the parts, check out one day late, and hope that the french will forgive us.</p><br /><br />jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-13113658403283738942011-07-18T03:37:00.000-07:002011-07-18T03:38:06.361-07:00Huahine Bike Ride<p>It's really nice having good internet access right on the boat. It means that I can upload pictures and actually make a blog post about stuff we did today (and the last couple of days). Yay. So, first off we have some pictures from the trip over here.</p><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5630539605142279169%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><p>It was a fairly easy passage. The seas were a bit lumpier than we'd like but nothing too horrible. Once we got into the lee of Huahine, the seas were nice and calm. The trip to the south end of the island once we got into the lagoon was no problem.</p><br /><p>Yesterday (the 16th), we went to shore and walked around for a while. We walked down to the very south end of the island to take a look at the pass we want to surf. Unfortunately, the wind has been blowing a bit too hard and the surf was all choppy and ugly looking. The wind is forecast to drop in a few days so we'll probably stick around and hope things smooth out. This wave is a right (most of the wave around these parts seem to be lefts - and we don't like those) and is supposed to be pretty mellow. After our experience in Tahiti we're looking forward to a mellow wave. We know our limits.<br /></p><br /><p>Today, we rented a couple of poorly maintained and too small for us mountain bikes and rode them around Huahine Iti (iti means small). Huahine is actually two islands separated by a very narrow, river sized bit of lagoon. Actually, I guess it's not really separated because there's a bridge that connects the two. At any rate, we just rode around the slightly smaller southern island. Given how out of shape we are from sitting around on a boat all the time, that was plenty. We also ran into our friends Stephen and Heidi from S/V Narama. They had also rented bikes and were riding around the island but they were more ambitious. They were riding around both islands. It was the first we'd seen of them since Tahanea in the Tuamotus so it was good to catch up.</p><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5630636876395258145%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><p>The island is beautiful. It reminds me of a more laid back, more friendly, and less touristy version of Moorea. The people don't seem quite as amazingly friendly as the Marquesians but, then again, almost nobody on earth is that friendly. We haven't really checked out the snorkeling and diving here yet but if that turns out to be as good as it is in Moorea, I can't see any reason to spend a vacation in Moorea rather than here.</p><br /><p>On a totally unrelated note, I found a picture of me free diving on a sunken airplane on our friends blog. I tagged along with the folks from Ceilydh (and several other boats) and they took a picture of me and I didn't even know it until I checked their blog this evening.</p><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /> <img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6149/5949646817_52e9ab6953.jpg" width="394" height="479" alt="IMG_8004" /><br /><br /></div><br /><br />jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-82919127846613980552011-07-16T22:53:00.000-07:002011-07-16T22:53:00.986-07:00We're in Huahine<p>Just a brief post to let everyone know we made it to Huahine. We're anchored down in the southeast corner and there's internet access from one of the nearby hotels that we're able to get on the boat. It's too windy down here to surf but, other than that, everything is fine. We'll post more later.</p><br /><br />jkibelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339537714884722376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30988947.post-27223233047700817632011-07-14T15:57:00.000-07:002011-07-16T22:14:11.088-07:00Back to the real world, sort of<p>After an uncomfortable two day passage complete with puking, we arrived in Papeete, Tahiti. Papeete is the biggest city in French Polynesia and as a result is the best place to re-provision and buy miscellaneous boat stuff. The anchorage near Marina Taina was completely packed with at least 150 boats. Many boats were on mooring balls making anchoring nearby even more tricky. We motored around for what felt like forever before settling on the shallow sand shelf out near the inner edge of the reef that forms the lagoon. To make a long story short, we ended up too close to a boat on a mooring ball, had to re-anchor with two anchors so we didn't swing into the shallow coral just offshore or the moored boats just inshore, and then dragged our bow anchor a couple days later when the wind picked up out of the south. That made for a sleepless night involving one failed attempt at re-anchoring in the same spot with help from our friends on Piko, more dragging, apparent resetting, followed by even more wind the next day and more dragging. Since we were getting dangerously close to yet another moored boat, we made an emergency attempt at re-anchoring during the windiest part of the day with the help of 3 dinghies and a bunch of friends. We finally got both anchors up and re-anchored in a new spot with plenty of scope this time and held just fine. Jared blames the lack of bow anchor scope for all the dragging, and the shallow layer of sand covering the reef.</p><br /><center><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjkibele%2Falbumid%2F5630181590345627489%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /></center><br /><p>Aside from the anchoring drama and the sort of culture shock of a bustling metropolis complete with traffic and filth, we had a lot of fun catching up with our friends Krister and Amanda on Britannia, Lauren(guy) and Lauren(girl) on Piko, Vincent and Crispin now crewing for Balquideer, and Dino on Hadar. We attempted to surf at a nearby reef pass break with Krister and pretty much failed (Krister caught some waves though). We are not quite good enough yet to surf world class surf in the company of world class surfers. Jared and Krister played guitar a lot and I attempted to sing at times. We had to say goodbye to Ryan and Alex on Shalimar unfortunately. They have family visiting and they are off to Moorea with them. Ryan's mom was kind enough to deliver a few things we ordered and we look forward to thanking her in person in Bora Bora in a couple of weeks. Jared went snorkeling on some plane wrecks off in the lagoon with the folks from Watchyagonnado, Ceilyhd, Britannia, and Piko, while I put away all of the new food. We did our downtown errands in one day and we were ready to move on a week after arriving. We were sad to be leaving our friends again, but we have very little time left on our visas and we want to explore the leeward Society Islands. We are technically supposed to leave French Polynesia on July 25th. I'm sure we'll cross paths with them again somewhere. I hear there's a really cool full moon party in Vavau, Tonga in September. Maybe we'll all end up there! If anyone has the funds and the time, come visit us in Tonga. It sounds awesome. We'll be there for the months of September and October.</p><br /><br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02586779742350960054noreply@blogger.com1