Position: 09 degrees, 11 minutes South; 138 degrees, 20 minutes West (148 NM today)’

23 days at sea and counting (24 tomorrow). Wow, we’re just 38 miles out right now as of 2130 local boat time. We have had dinner, done roll call with the other 20 some boats stretched out behind us (for the last time) and watched the sun set. Now we’re settling in for the night watches. Ann’s is first and she should get us to within five or so miles after which we’ll sail around the South side of the island (Hiva Oa, in the Marquesas, French Polynesia) and if needed, heave-to until dawn. The waypoint I set is still 10 miles off the island and then there’s a good 15 mile sail around the South side to the anchorage so we may not have to heave-to depending on the wind.

This is something I’ve dreamed about for oh, about 40 some years. It’s so amazing to be doing this I can’t quite fathom it. Right now with no island in sight yet, it seems like just another sail along the coast, so I won’t get the perspective that this has been a great adventure until we’re anchored and looking at a lush, tropical island. Actually we’ll be entering at a bay called Atuona where we go through French immigration/customs. There’s a small town there. After we go through the immigration stuff, we’ll likely spend a couple days winding down and doing some boat clean up. Then we’re going to spend about a month sailing this island group and seeing the bays, inlets, villages and such. There are supposed to be some cool archeological sites with ancient Tikis and petroglyphs and of course, we’re looking forward to beautiful tropical anchorages in which to relax and enjoy the surroundings. Also, we just want to experience the area and meet the people who live here. Then we’ll move on to the next island group South of here; the Tuamotus for about a month, then on to the Society Islands where we’ll visit Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora and other islands of that group.

An exciting next three months on the agenda.

Position; 07 degrees, 52 minutes South; 136 degrees, 14 minutes West (149 NM)

Mahi!

Flip flop feet.

Our portrait at 21 days.

The GPS just ticked over to 199 nautical miles to go! That puts us in Hiva Oa around midnight tomorrow. Not wanting to go into a fairly primitive area at night, we’ll lay offshore for the night and make landfall after sunrise on Tuesday. Wow, what a trip. No doubt it will take a few days to gain perspective. We’re too close to the rocking and rolling and hanging on right now to think about it much.

Cliff, you’re “good luck fishing in the Southern Hemisphere” statement worked! The Mahi we caught yesterday broke a string of very mediocre fishing. I looked at the pictures today, and the fish was more like 4 feet long than the three feet I reported last night. Definitely a good size fish. I’ve got two big fillets marinating right now in soy, wasabi, ginger sauce. Can’t wait. Fresh fish!

Today’s been a nice windy day. Around 20 knots and 8-12 foot seas are moving us along pretty well. Last night was lots of beautiful stars for my watch. However, Ann got the squally early morning watch (0700-1100) and saw several where she had to reduce sail and close the hatches due to wind and rain. We’ve been working on her sail handling and she now can furl the jib without waking me. She really knows her way around the boat now. She does the Shortwave net call, and has her own net of friends for another social call around 1700 every day, knows the VHF, works the radar, works the GPS, can set the wind vane and adjust it as needed to change course and now can furl the jib and catch fish. Pretty soon if I’m not careful she won’t need me to run the boat and I’ll be demoted to swabbing the decks and gutting the fish. Hey….wait a minute. That’s what I did yesterday! It’s starting to happen!

Just wanted to add that the second squall included a full rainbow arching across the horizon – clearly showing us the way to Hiva Oa!!!

Position; 07 degrees, 52 minutes South; 136 degrees, 14 minutes West (149 NM)

The GPS just ticked over to 199 nautical miles to go! That puts us in Hiva Oa around midnight tomorrow. Not wanting to go into a fairly primitive area at night, we’ll lay offshore for the night and make landfall after sunrise on Tuesday. Wow, what a trip. No doubt it will take a few days to gain perspective. We’re too close to the rocking and rolling and hanging on right now to think about it much.

Cliff, you’re “good luck fishing in the Southern Hemisphere” statement worked! The Mahi we caught yesterday broke a string of very mediocre fishing. I looked at the pictures today, and the fish was more like 4 feet long than the three feet I reported last night. Definitely a good size fish. I’ve got two big fillets marinating right now in soy, wasabi, ginger sauce. Can’t wait. Fresh fish!

Today’s been a nice windy day. Around 20 knots and 8-12 foot seas are moving us along pretty well. Last night was lots of beautiful stars for my watch. However, Ann got the squally early morning watch (0700-1100) and saw several where she had to reduce sail and close the hatches due to wind and rain. We’ve been working on her sail handling and she now can furl the jib without waking me. She really knows her way around the boat now. She does the Shortwave net call, and has her own net of friends for another social call around 1700 every day, knows the VHF, works the radar, works the GPS, can set the wind vane and adjust it as needed to change course and now can furl the jib and catch fish. Pretty soon if I’m not careful she won’t need me to run the boat and I’ll be demoted to swabbing the decks and gutting the fish. Hey….wait a minute. That’s what I did yesterday! It’s starting to happen!

Just wanted to add that the second squall included a full rainbow arching across the horizon – clearly showing us the way to Hiva Oa!!!