August 20, 2024
Arriving yesterday, it was time to check in with the chief and ask permission to stay in his anchorage and visit his village. But first I baked some bread, one of loaf went to the nice couple who gave us the fish yesterday and one yummy fresh loaf for us. Then it was time to get to shore into the…
August 18, 2024
It was a short hop across the bay to our next anchorage. We attempted to anchor at the location in the RocketGuide but it was quite deep (15 meters versus 6 meters in the guide) and there did not appear to be any sand, just coral. SV Beluga, SV Blue Beryl, and SV Cleo were nearby and we went over…
August 17, 2024
Most important thing for the day was visiting the chief and asking permission to anchor and visit their village. Unlike in Fiji there is not need to make an offering. The villagers were friendly and when asking to meet the chief we learned he was not feeling well. We asked for the head man, were told they would find someone.…
August 15, 2024
The last couple of days were mostly work days. Prepping the boat and provisioning. The grocery store was really well stocked, and other than not finding any pork products, we were able to get everything we wanted. In the local market we had beautiful produce and vegetables to choose from and jumped from stall to stall finding the freshest items…
August 9, 2024
The coconut grapevine told us about a local villager who offered a hike up to the volcano on Tanna island here in Vanuatu. In our case, SV Beluga had heard from Alex on SV Blue Beryl who heard it from????. The normal experience is to hop in a pick-up truck for a sketchy drive up to watch the sunset at…
August 2, 2024
Friday was the Yasawa group rugby playoffs, with our local village (Yasawairara) playing at 8am – it was much too early for us, but Carl and I made the paddleboard/two mile hike into a nearby village. The tournament was a fun format with 10 minute halves for the teams of 7. Being close to the action it was unexpected how…
July 30, 2024
A great, restful night’s sleep felt so good, sunrising at 6:30am felt strange however since it was 4:15am in Alaska the past three weeks. No complaints, the scenery and temperatures are perfect. Carl put me to grinding the coffee beans and soon enough it was a “To the day!” cheer. After some breakfast, Roxy and I piled into the dinghy…
July 2, 2024
With not much time before leaving for Alaska and Fiji, I really wanted to get in a backpacking trip. I wish there had been more time but alas only a single night could be squeezed into my schedule. A massive bonus was that I was the first one on the trail for the year. Well maybe not a massive bonus…
May 8, 2024
A tradition created by Ralph and Helen on SV MoonDrifter has been continued with the new owners (jaja since 2020) Bill, Ally, and Corey, which is to host French Toast the last day of the rally. And wow did they hit it out of the park this year. Tons of bacon, every possible topping for your French toast, and a…
May 7, 2024
Typically on Isla Monserrate I enjoy a morning hike up into the hills of the island but we woke to an absolute swarm of bobos. Unbelievably worse that Refugio even. It was quickly decided that we were leaving now. Lowell called on the radio to inform the fleet and the reply was that plans had been updated to head for…
May 4, 2024
My San Juanico tradition was continued with an early paddle into shore before climbing the hill overlooking the bay. I was pushing it a bit because it was a longer walk than normal but I ended up with five minutes to spare. A pretty sunrise with some clouds over the Sea was my payoff. I enjoyed the meditative view awhile…
May 3, 2024
No reason to stick around Mulege, come sunrise we upped the anchor and got underway for our 50-odd mile passage to San Juanico. It was a mellow morning, just smooth seas and light winds. Eddie had the fishing lines out and as we crossed structure over the bottom, nada. Oh well. Around the point and headed southwest the breeze gave…