Ohana Kai

On to Fiji

2007-05-19T14:40:00.000+12:00

May 11, 2007
Suva Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands
coordinates 18.07.369S, 178.25.782E

After an 8 day crossing we had the islands in our sights. What started as a delightful sail turned into quite a busy experience for us. After a couple of glorious and sunny days of sailing we were aware that big winds and weather were on the way. Prepared as we were, the 35-45 knot winds and 3-4 meter seas for the next few days were not necessarily comfortable but not a big problem. As they passed though things started to unravel. As the saying goes, if it could go wrong it did.

Right off the bat the fridge and freezer decided to act up soaring to new temperature highs. Next the water maker stopped desalinating up to our standards. The engine began to lug down to a near dead stop and not have the power it usually does. An issue we had thought we addressed in the marina but were not sure now. We ended up changing the alternator 4 times including rebuilding one with our two combined backups before the heavy weather hit. The engine never did have it's usual pep but it
hung in there questionably when we needed to use it for charging the batteries.

As the heavy weather hit we took many a breaking wave over the stern knocking out the autopilot and shorting out lights in the cockpit. Truly one of the toughest parts is the sleep deprivation, the root of all evil. The noise created by the large breakers hitting the boat night and day disrupts any sort of decent sleep. After 48 hours of howling winds and the weather began to die down. Aside from electrical issues we seemed no worse for the wear. Now with a nominal 10 knots of wind we had to
motor sail. Some how in only the lightest of winds with a reefed main a 10 - 12 ft. seam in the main sail let loose. There was no big blow out, no flogging of sails, so we figure there must have been some worn stitching that just decided to let loose. We took that sail off and put up just the jib to help motor sail as well. Not long after that a strange sound arose and we found by some fluke of nature we back winded the jib to find the spreader spearing right through it. Two sails down.

Five days out and lots of motoring ahead and again the engine didn't sound well, running itself down to nearly a complete stop at times. We nursed it along, changing filters, changing fuel tanks and deciding that we had best get at least one sail repaired if possible. We knuckled down and we hand stitched around the clock, we figure 3000 stitches. We weren't sure at this point if we would have enough fuel to make it to Fiji. We could definitely feel the changes in latitudes as the temperature
in the cabin was soaring into the 90's. Running the engine only exacerbates that inside the cabin. Each time we turned around though small things continued to plague us, the fridge and freezer continuing their rising temperatures, GPS would randomly go on the blink, computers would stop working when we least expected it, the clock stopped, new batches of batteries right out of the pack wouldn't work. We were beginning to think we were in some new Bermuda type triangle. We limped into Suva with
a beautiful sunrise on Friday, dropped anchor in 8 feet of muddy water in front of the Royal Suva Yacht Club and looked in awe at the busy port working around us. One sail repaired, the engine stuck in there with us the whole way, the fridge and freezer decided to come back to life and some friendly Fijian custom agents boarded our boat and checked us into the country. Listening to the various nets we realized we still had much to be thankful for as other boats lost their autopilot all together
and had to hand steer nearly the whole passage.

Our first journey onto shore brought much fun and surprises. Enjoying the differences between the mix of Fijian and Indian culture here, you can get a taste of both worlds. The open air market is full of familiar and still new foods for us. We found new sea weeds treats, Indian jack fruit, and of course the coveted Kava root that we will be delivering as gifts to the chiefs of the various islands we meet. We almost had the boys married off to an adorable little Indian gal in the first few hours.
It may be a long journey. We will continue to repair a few of our projects here in Suva for a couple of days and then head to the outer islands in search of more fun and adventure.
until then, Bula!
your crew on Ohana Kai

Traveled the South Island

2007-03-30T18:40:00.000+12:00

March 31, 2006
Kia Ora from New Zealand,
We are finally back on the boat after our visits with family and road trips around the South Island and back. It was amazing fun to see our families and share a bit of the country with them. There were so many things to see and do, here are just a few of the highlights.
Rotorua - The largest tourist draw for the north island, famous for their mud pools and hot water springs, along with which comes the constant odoriferous sulfur smell. We had the great joy of staying on the Lakes Ranch Christian Camp facilities where our family friends the Clifford family reside. The boys had trampolines, swimming pools, swings, horses, goats, kayaks, and abseiling at their finger tips to share with our hosts children Caleb, Owen and Terah. I am surprised we got them back on the boat.
Auckland - the Auckland Museum has to be one if not the best museum we have seen. Three floors take you through New Zealand's land, cultural and war histories like none other. We even went twice and I wouldn't hesitate to go again.
Sheep World and the Agrodome - of course no trip to NZ is complete without one of these shows and yes we saw both. We now know how to tell the difference between 19 different sheep, feed, sheer, separate and hunt them up. One facility is larger with much more to see and the smaller is much more personal, take your pick.
The Bay of Islands themselves - a special treat to be able to take both sets of parents out for a few days and enjoy the blue sky to sail under, green islands to hike over and clear water to snorkle in.
The South Island - As we arrived they were having their first big cold snap of the year so there was no camping for us this time around. You could spend months and a whole lot of money traveling here. We spent nearly 3 weeks and as little money as we could possibly do and still they find a way to part you from it. Our favorite parts were:
Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers - where you can nearly walk right up and touch them.
Wanaka - this cute little town boasts it all. Every sport, hobby and adventure at their fingertips. Our boys were thrilled to spend the day at Base Camp Indoor Rock climbing gym where they could clip and climb all by themselves. We also put ourselves through Puzzle Worlds outdoor maze in just over a half hour.
Queenstown - chilly, we saw snow down on the foothills. We toured the Kiwi bird reserve and got our first peek at the cute little creatures.
Milford Sound - We met up with the curious Kea birds. Large looking parrots that love to pick rubber pieces off of cars.
Invercargill - we could safely say we were the closest to Antarctica that we had ever been.
Dunedin - we celebrated church in the first church of New Zealand and then we indulged ourselves, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate - we visited the Cadbury Factory!!!
Christchurch - Bruce got a bit of kite boarding done.
Waipara Valley - We had the great chance to help out on a farm in the absolutely picturesque valley with our friend Su Kay. The boys and I had our first taste of tending to the vineyards, herding the lambs, feeding the deer and mending the fences. We slept really well after all that work.
One more ride on the Bluebridge Ferry across Cook straight and we high tailed it back to the boat. Usually excited to a stay in the hotel we were more than excited to be back on our home with our own beds to curl up in.
Since our return to the boat, the northland is feeling the effects of some tail ends of cyclones stretching down here and have experienced 3 months worth of rain in 36 hours. Our little town of Opua was temporarily cut off from civilization as the roads have eroded away, rivers flooded and homes and gardens potentially sliding away. Good thing we are on a boat. Temporarily without power and water, this is still the best place to be. Hope all is well with you as your spring approaches and we enjoy autumn in NZ.
the crew of Ohana Kai

Traveling Northland NZ

2007-02-25T13:42:00.000+13:00

2/15/07
Greetings from Ohana Kai. We have certainly been busy in this New Year. The second week of January we got used to life as fishy out of the water. We hauled the boat out and "put her on the hard" as they say to get some work done. We were really pleased to see how well the bottom paint had held up all this time. A quick sanding, a couple new coats and she's nearly ready to go. A few more projects involving the rigging and the prop completed and she was back in the water by Monday. whew. As fun as the new location was for the boys with a spectacular hill for exploration behind us, this climbing the ladder business to use the restroom is for the birds.

Christmas celebrations and Santa were good to us this year. We enjoyed a quieter than usual but none less special celebration of all gifts we have been given in our lives. Surrounded by our boating family we had a spectacular dinner with our favorite fleet complete with Diana from White Swan, and Bob in spirit as he tended to his brothers health at home on Port Townsend. Sarabi hosted and the Kelly's and Capaz crew were all present. A white elephant gift exchange still has people wondering who got the snazzy boxers and who wants the rat. New Years was complete with a fire works display from the nearby town of Pahia. We celebrated in style on the end of the wharf with our pals from Diva complete with a toast of champagne. The boys saw their first midnight though Dad nearly missed it.

We spent the next few weeks wrapping up our projects in the great anticipation of spending the majority of our time left in NZ with visits from both sets of grandparents. I can safely say this event is bigger than Christmas around here. The countdown started long ago! We have managed to slip in a few more short and sweet camping trips. Best of all has to be our journey to Shipwrecks Bay or Ahipara Beach on the north west side of the north island. You have to see it to believe it as mini-vans to quads traverse beach and tide pools at low tide to reach around the sand spits. All this in order to find the right stretch of land that won't go under as the tide comes in. We only had to push the Kelly's car out of soft sand a couple of times. We all had a bit of fun surfing there and Kelly boy, Tristan and Matthew braved sand tobogganing. As it's name suggests, riding your boogie board down 100+ foot high sand dunes. Hot and Sandy!

Bruce has completed his kite boarding lessons from some new pals Su and Dave Kay of Ruakaka Kite Sports. They are champion kite boarders here in NZ and champion people to boot. Congratulations Su on her 3rd straight National Title down in Nelson NZ.

Now that we are finally getting our computers back in working action (salty air, pitching seas and electronics don't like each other), we will be getting the web site back on track in the next few months and up to date. When the internet is running it is usually strong enough to call people and chat. So... your goal is to download the free web program SKYPE at www.skype.com, and we will be able to talk to you and you can see us for free. Did I mention FREE. If you get any microphone that can plug into your computer it will work to chat with us. If you brave the little camera that goes with it we can see you.

That's all for now. Hope your winter is slowing down and your spring just around the corner. We'll be exploring the north island with family for the next 5 -6 weeks and let you know all that we find. Sheep shearing and mud pools here we come!
until next time,
Lisa and the boys

Merry Christmas from New Zealand

2006-12-18T12:40:00.000+13:00

This is a whole new Christmas routine for us as we streamline our camping routine and hit the back roads. No snow here. We took a few days with our pals the Kelly's from s/v Moorea and car camped on the beach in Tutukaka. A splendid long soft beach, perfect for the boys to skim board to their hearts content. A local surf school gives lessons and rented us some boards for a fun day of surfing. A great intro to New Zealand waters for us.

It doesn't necessarily look like Christmas is coming anytime soon around here as Kiwi's don't really decorate the outside of their houses like we might at home. Never fear, Christmas paper crafts have exploded inside the boat and ornaments abound. Due to the fact that it is summer vacation here in New Zealand right now and the sun doesn't set until fairly late at night, there isn't a lot of time to view pretty twinkling lights outside. They are also getting ready to go camping and tramping (that would be trekking or hiking to you and me). They set out for their summer vacations the day after Christmas. They are having an unseasonably cool spring/summer start so you don't want to waste a minute of that great weather when it comes.

No matter where you are this season and how you are celebrating it we truly hope you are sharing all the gifts that we have received in this life with all those around you.
all our love,
the crew of Ohana Kai

New Zealand!!!

2006-12-07T09:00:00.000+13:00

Land Ho or Lanaho in Hawaiian. We will have to find out the translation now in Maori.
We made landfall in Opua, on November 13 and hit the ground running. We couldn't have asked for a better introduction to this new world. Gliding along toward a spectacular setting sun with 30 knots of wind at our back and calm seas was the perfect way to end our 7 day crossing from the Tongan islands. Apparently we got out of there just in time as riots and trouble occurred the following month in Nuku Alofa. Our crossing though rather uneventful dished out a little bit of every type of weather. 15 foot seas and 25 knot winds on the nose. Complete flat calm with steep seas or flat seas. Continuous days of water over the bow. We sailed East, we sailed due West, and eventually we made it South. We have to say though that there was something amazing about reaching this destination over any other.
First impressions are it looks and feels a lot like home. Rhododendrons, azaleas, jasmine mixed in with kiwi's and palm trees. We could be cruising anywhere up in the San Juan Islands in early spring for all we know minus the funny accents and people still driving on the wrong side of the road. Though they say summer is on it's way here we are often found running around in long sleeves, pants and fleece vests. Big babies we've become. It has all the flare of the pacific islands and all the comforts of home. There are more varieties and choices in the stores than we could have ever dreamed of. A bit overwhelming at first.
In our first week we cleared customs, bought a mini-van, placed the boys in a local school for a couple of days and then sat down to catch our breath. Whew. We have quickly assimilated to life on the docks and are thoroughly enjoying out 6 min. $1.oo HOT showers any time we like, connected to endless power, free water, and lots of room with friends for the boys to roam and run. Bruce has mastered the internet when it is running and we can even listen to our favorite radio station KMTT The Mountain at home, skype our friends and family, and yes, he found a download to watch television. We can catch Comedy Central or watch the latest football game when the airwaves are just right. We even watched the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade! Week two and three were spent helping our friends on Lawur as they emptied out their baby and put her on the hard and up for sale, while they returned home to Austria for some family time with the grandparents. In between there somewhere we celebrated Thanksgiving at the local yacht club, explored some other marinas father down south, took a yoga class, learned how to make glass beads, the boys got in a Saturday morning of dinghy sailing with the local kids club, Bruce has joined a gym, we go trail running, we took a road trip to explore the north tip of the island discovering the ancient Kauri forests and the gum diggers, of course while scoping out the best surf spots. As with this whole journey, one of the best parts are the wonderful people we get to meet. We had the opportunity to swing around on a true circus trapeze at a fantastic Adventure World Park run by some dear new friends, Carol and Freddy Osler-Weppenaar. Once the greatest trapeze acts in the world, they have set up a park that allows you to experience the fun of their world by doing just that "flying from the trapeze" among other things like a high tight rope walk. See mom, all those years of driving me to gymnastics practice paid off.
We have managed to get moving on some of our boat projects and begin to lay out a game plan for the duration of our stay here. We look forward to some visits from family while we are here and continue to explore the north and south islands of New Zealand. The land of the extreme tourist sports we already have our eye on quite a few adventures like kite boarding, black water rafting, kayaking, camping and climbing. The good old everyday rituals still apply like school each morning, cleaning, and shopping. We are making sure though that we try to enjoy each minute here until we decide what to do with ourselves come next April.
until next time,
Lisa and the boys

Leaving Tonga behind

2006-11-11T01:46:00.000+13:00

Monday November 6,2006
current coordinates 21 18.180S,175 41.418W

Thankfully Cyclone Xavier fizzled out before he made it our way, did any damage or caused troubles for anyone we know. We waited out the remainder of our time in Tonga waters anchored out in front of the island of Pangaimotu in the Tongatapu island group. In the town of Nuku' alofa we were able to clear out of customs, provision well, do some much needed projects, cleaning and organizing for the anticipated crossing to New Zealand. Just so you know that it is not always (if ever) drinks on the beach with umbrellas in this cruising life, we were joyfully repairing the head in the back of the boat. That means hours of tearing up beds and cabinets in order to remove and replace stinky, clogged hoses, the day before departure. aahhhhhh.

On the fun side, we were able to celebrate Halloween, Tristan's birthday and enjoy our time with friends in "Big Mama's". As close to a yacht club as any, it is a friendly establishment that provides yummy fish n' chips and great games of darts. Rather than cut a rug, we decided to kick up some sand one night and ease the emotions as we were all beginning to realize the end of our season here. Run by a local Tongan gal Anna and her husband, the boys spent their afternoons playing with their son Andrew on the beach and swinging from ropes in coconut trees. As we left out of the anchorage this morning we were sent off by sirens and big waves from them. They are a friendly bunch.

Here's a quick recap of the other islands we visited and some of the adventures we had.
Ovala Island 18 45.034S,174 04.329W Between here and the cove of Port Mourelle were our best opportunities to see whales. Finishing out their breeding and calving season you could be assured to see at least their spouts somewhere during the day. Bruce took one opportunity to learn how to kite board from some new Dutch friends about their boat Pelikaan. We did have a spectacular day as well while aboard our pals boat Sarabi. A group of us were making another run at our favorite Mariner's cave when we came upon a few whales just relaxing in the sun. We shut off the engine and drifted upon them. Bruce and a few others were able to jump in the water with snorkel gear and watch a mother and her calf below the water while the rest of us were treated to a few singing playfully above. It was an amazing scene that although it only lasts a few minutes will be with us for a lifetime. That evening a few more whales, possibly the same ones entered our anchorage while feeding and came remarkably close to the boats anchored until unfortunately they were frightened off by a whale watching boat.

A few more stops in our favorite anchorages filled with potluck's and swimming and we took a quick trip back to the town of Neiafu for checking out of customs, provisioning and the special occasion of meeting the prince of Tonga and witnessing a special church service with the new King. In honor of the new King they held the first annual Royal Regatta. Any boats in the anchorage were invited to race in a fun loving challenge in the bay. They included the children in a sailing dinghy race which if you can imagine, took place at the same time as the big boat race and even had to cross each others course twice. Kelly girl and I(Lisa) raced in their dinghy and let me just say how big and ominous those big boats looks from the water line when they are trying to dodge innocent children. We crossed the Prince's path a few times and they took our picture as we were sailing by. We got the opportunity to shake hands with him later and thank him for the great day. That following Sunday in the Wellesley Church they held a service for the King. Nothing short of tears and chills when they sang the most beautiful rendition of Hallelluia.

We did get the opportunity to take out a Moorings 47' Catamaran for the day before we departed. With 20+ of our closest friends we put that girl to the test and tried to squelch any cat fever that the big boys had. No luck. They have it worse than ever. Maybe next time we decide to cross some oceans it will be on 2 hulls instead of 1. I have to admit the extra space is awfully nice.

On to the Ha'apai Island group of Tonga. 19 40.270S,174 17.395W
We had the chance to stop at 5 of the dozens of islands here. Each one a quick trip but very relaxing as there are no large towns. Definitely off the beaten path, just the way we like it. Ha'ano, one of the first islands you come to in Ha'api. It was a quick stop over to get a nights sleep before checking into the customs here. Lifiku, a roadstead of an anchorage. Apparently they are watching you closely with binoculars and we gladly obliged with our check in there. Uoleva, we spent a few nights and days there. A wonderful mile long stretch of beach we enjoyed lots of shell hunting, bon fires and yep, another potluck. See the pattern here, sailors love potlucks! You make one dish and feast like Kings!

Ha'afeva 19 56.409S,174 42.912W
One of our most special stops in Tonga. Our pals on Sarabi had already made a connection with some locals on shore. We got to tag along for the next day or two. An island of approximately 100 people and 5 churches. whew. Our hosts Afa, her husband Calebi and their baby boy Nefi were gracious enough to give us a tour of the island, invite us to a special children's service at the local Mormon Church and cook a traditional style Tongan feast in the umu. We gathered our other boating pals in the anchorage and each of us prepared a dessert for the feast. Our new friends gobbled up our chocolate chip cookies while we dined on various meats, fish and kasava wrapped in taro leaves, seasoned with coconut milk and cooked over stones in the ground. We were all fat and happy so we rounded the day off with some great games of bacci ball, swimming and diving off the pier. We each gave a few new friends some quick tours of our boats and all were satisfied. One thing that impressed us was their amazing pride for their homeland and tradition. After having traveled to the US for a few years on mission. Calebi was even more resolute on returning to Tonga to continue to nourish his home and town with his knowledge. If you ever stop by though they would love to have some pizza.

Tomuku Iki 20 16.718S,174 48 073W
Our last stop in the Ha'apai group. We stayed another couple of days trying to wait out the 25 knots winds that had been following us everywhere. We did enjoy a wonder snorkel there and the boys spent all afternoon exploring and climbing on a ship that had wrecked on the shore years ago. It was one of the rare places where we could anchor in only 12 feet of water, amazing.

One more overnight sail and we arrived at our first island in the Tongatapu Island group named Malinoa 21 02.139S,175 07.953W. Our very own private Gilligan's Island. We stayed only one night but had a great day there collecting the most shells we had ever seen and practicing our coconut husking skills. Pristine white beaches with pure turquoise waters. The Kelly's and we had a marvelous time. Only miles away from the main town and capital of Tonga but we felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. Next stop was Nuku'alofa and it was time to leave Tonga behind.

Since I started this letter to you we have already had a change of plans. Under way to Minerva reef we have received some weather information stating that a low pressure system is heading our way. We can easily get out of it's way and the challenging weather it brings but it will prevent us from stopping to experience this sunken reef in the middle of nowhere. Better to have a safe passage and good winds so we are on our way. We should make landfall in Opua, NZ in approximately 5 days. It is an unbelievable thought that we are leaving the islands behind and heading to firmer ground for a while. It's all about the journey!
until next time,
Lisa and the boys

Keeping an eye on Xavier

2006-10-25T12:05:00.000+13:00

Just wanted to write a quick not to everyone to let you know we are doing well. We are currently in the Haapai group of islands in Tonga. We are slowly working our way down to Nukalofa which will be our final stop in the Tongan islands. We will go through customs and check out of the islands there before heading on down to New Zealand. We are hoping to hide out there while the weather calms down.

A tropical cyclone named Xavier has formed north of the islands of Vanuatu. Here is the info on it as we received it from NADI the Fiji weather service.
Tropical Cyclone Xavier 01F [930hPa] centre was located near 14.4 South 170.1 East at 241200 UTC. Cyclone moving southeast at about 8 knots but expected to gradually curve south. Maximum 10-minute average winds near the centre estimated at about 95 knots.
FORECAST:
12hrs valid at 250000 UTC near 16.0S 170.5E mov SE 08kt with 95kt
close to centre. 24hrs valid at 251200 UTC near 17.2S 169.9E mov S
07kt with 90kt close to centre.

OUTLOOK:
36hrs valid at 260000 UTC near 17.9S 169.4E mov S 06kt with 90kt
close to centre.
48hrs valid at 261200 UTC near 18.7S 168.2E mov SSW 06kt with 80kt
close to centre.

It is a little early in the season for such a weather system but some people predicted this possibility with it being an el nino year. The warmer waters help create such weather systems. The good news is that it is still 900 miles from us at the moment. It is currently traveling in a south east direction and if it keeps it course it would take 5 days to reach us. It is likely that it will run out of steam before it gets to us. It's force can be felt within 300 miles from it's eye. We will keep providing updates for it's location and ours through emails and you can track us online at our web page via google earth or http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=KE7DQV. You can also find this link on our website homepage www.ohanakai.net and click on "Track Our Boat" at the top right corner. For those of you tracking us with Google Earth Cruising Tracker we will keep that up to date as well.

Though we aren't feeling it's direct effects yet, it is causing quite a bit of active weather in the surrounding waters so we are keeping a close eye on our own weather window for our departure to New Zealand. We do have some dear friends that are sitting right in Vanuatu now, so we are watching it closely and keeping them in our thoughts and prayers. You can follow them at www.thevoyageofbluesky.com. We have a lot of company out here as all these other sailors are heading in the same direction. We have some wonderful nets on the radio that are providing oodles of weather information and we are able to gather our own as well through email. Together we all have a great network that will help us all determine the best time to go.
It has been a wonderful few weeks in Tonga and we have had some amazing experiences including exploring the caves again, watching whales, potlucks galore and even had the opportunity to see the new King and meet one of the Prince's. The boys are well into their school year now and love every chance we get to go to shore and explore. We will write again soon to provide lots more detail about our adventures.
until next time,
Lisa and the boys

Eastern Vava'u Anchorages

2006-10-06T16:32:00.000+13:00

September 17th through 30th
We have been continuing to take in the sights and sounds of Vava'u. The open air markets where women sit and work on their weaving has to be one of my favorites. The weaving's become everything from baskets and small bracelets to mats that cover entire floors or their traditional skirts called valas. Taovala's worn by men and kiekie worn by women are tied around the waist as a sign of respect for one's elders and the royal family. The weather has been pleasant with occasional substantial days of rainfall but again we can tell we are getting farther from the equator as is dips down low enough in the evening to occasionally need a jacket and the water is only 72 degrees F.
Below are the next set of anchorages we visited from most easterly back in toward the main town of Neiafu.

Kenutu 18 41.886S,173 55.728W
One of our favorite anchorages, the furthest east of the Vava'u group. Sitting inside an anchorage completely surrounded by coral you view striking cliffs that bear the brunt of dramatic waves from outside on the Pacific. It greatly resembles the northern west coast beaches of California. The shallow waters don't show much for snorkeling but are so warm it is fun to just roll around. There is also a spectacular little cave that again makes you feel like Indiana Jones right hand man as you traverse rocky structures, climb around great vines and roots to make your destination. The destination that day was a dark cold pool of water surrounded by red muddy dirt and the occasional click of disturbed swiftlet birds. We did have one crazy night in this anchorage as 35 knot winds and lots of rain shifted out of the south a bit more and cause our pals on Capaz to slip their anchor hold and back down dangerously close to a fellow cruiser on Scot-Free II. With coral right behind them there wasn't much room to play with so Bruce and Kelly boy from Moorea hopped into our dinghy with flashlights and helped set a second anchor for Capaz to hold them through the night.

Tapala 18 42.518S,173 59.339W
A quiet little anchorage that hosts "the Arc". A floating house boat of sorts, maybe 10' x 15', is home and studio to talented artist Shari and her husband Larry and their charter service. We also found a way to bring cocktail parties to a new high. Due to the fact that boats are rather small and can only hold so many people you move the party to the dinghies. Everyone rafts their dinghies up together with drinks and snackies in tow. Jovial conversation and treats get passed around for everyone to share. Much fun.

Nuku/Kapa 18 42.035S,174 02.225W
Nestled between some smaller islands and coral is this little gem of an anchorage. It is host to the picturesque beach on Nuku. Beautiful white sand, small island of palm trees surrounded by crystal shades of blue. We snorkeled there and found all sorts of creatures new to us. We are on the hunt to find a brand new species of nudibranchs (small colorful looking slugs of sorts) they have discovered here in Tonga. We took a hike over the island which consists of a small dirt path through the few inhabitants homes on the island and their 2 churches. Early Sunday morning one could hear the competed voices and church bells of both. We were also able to search out and explore another cave mistakenly named Swallows Cave as the birds are swiftlettes. Visited in the afternoon the sunlight streaming in offers a beautiful view of the under water part. Bring along a good flashlight and hike back into the land based cave for more exploring.

All in all life is moving along swimmingly in Tonga. We spend most of our day getting the hang of a school routine again. When in the Neiafu anchorage, the afternoons are often filled with a swim at the local pool at the Paradise Hotel with all the kid boats. A very worldly group of children, we celebrated a couple birthdays yesterday and realized just what an amazing experience this is for them. The crowd of kids each took turns singing Happy Birthday in their natives tongues, English, Dutch, German, Portuguese, Cantonese, and Norwegian. Most of the children come from families with two different nationalities thereby speaking 3 languages right of the bat. Feeling inadequate? Luckily for us the smile is universal.
until next time,
Lisa and the boys

The Kingdom of Tonga

2006-10-03T15:58:00.000+13:00

Neiafu, Tonga coordinates 18 35.179S,173 59.098W

October 2, 2006

The saying is that "The day starts in Tonga". Though elsewhere in the world the international date line sits at 180 degrees longitude, it cuts back in somewhere around 173W and includes Tonga among other islands as the start of the clock on each new day as we know it. When we crossed it we jumped ahead in time which now puts all of our west coast friends 20 hours behind us. It takes a while to wrap your brain around it, don't worry. Matthew thought this was the greatest invention ever as it brought his birthday one step closer with no effort at all.

We have already spent a month in the Vavau Island group of Tonga and had to renew our visas. Clearing customs in itself could be an entire journal entry but suffice it to say that 4 large Tongan men, though friendly enough, can board your boat, eat a lot of cookies, drink a lot of coke and say almost nothing at all for one hour while you fill out 6 pages of redundant information.
It has been a fun filled month and full of interesting discoveries. Tonga is one of the final destinations that cruisers make before heading to New Zealand to hide for cyclone season. There are a total of 170+ islands (they keep growing new ones) divided up between 8 major groups. Many of which are uninhabited. Each island is very close and the water between them very calm with great wind which makes for some of the most beautiful flat water sailing we have seen since we left the Pacific Northwest. It also makes for a great place for reunions with other cruisers as we all explore the islands while waiting for the right "weather window" to make the dash to New Zealand in November. Our pals on Lawur have caught up to us and at the present date we have seen 30 kid boats come through the anchorage with at least 5 more on the way. The kids and the parents both love that.

Tonga is also largely a vacation destination for Kiwi's and a big chartering community meaning there are a lot of people renting boats and sailing around. A lot of boats period as we counted approximately 70 in the anchorage of Neiafu alone. Luckily with just a couple of hours sailing you can reach even the outer most islands and find some peace and quiet. In the Vavau group the main town of Neiafu has been transformed into cruiser mecca with plenty of little restaurants, a wonderful outdoor market and small shops for trinkets or provisioning. It is very convenient, maybe too much so as we keep finding ourselves here a day longer than we expect and spending more money than we certainly need.

The most interesting bit of information from Tonga, the last remaining true "Kingdom" experienced the death of their current King on September 11th. He had been ill for quite some time and receiving medical care and life support in New Zealand. Upon his death the Kingdom of Tonga went into mourning and respectfully are restricted to wearing black for one month and no loud music or celebrations are aloud. We haven't felt the impact of it much beyond that. One of his brothers will take over the throne next.

Outside of the main town is the real fun and best discoveries. We have covered a lot of ground and done quite a bit so I will try to break it down simply. This week I will write about the Western anchorage and events first and cover the Eastern ones next time.

Vakaeitu 18 43,251S,174 06.016W
As soon as we got settled into the town of Neiafu we quickly heard that there was a Full Moon Party to be hosted by the local Aquarium Cafe run by Native Californians Ben and Lisa. Great for internet service, yummy snacks, go-cart rides about the island and always great company. They are amazingly efficient and friendly. In honor of the full moon they hosted a great big party/BBQ complete with DJ music for dancing and a bouncy room for the kids. In the well protected anchorage we found a great stretch of beach for hosting potluck parties each night with all our friends and of course celebrated Matthew's 8th birthday survivor style. With a couple dozen of our closest and or newest friends adults and children alike we divided up the tribes and competed with tug-of-wars, 3 legged crew races, and a coconut-stacle course. The kids even created their own fort out of palm leaves. Survivor Aitutake has nothing on us, which we hear is starting up just about now. Many cruisers tried to catch a glimpse of this Cook Island as they passed through this year. A delicious and amazing tug boat cake was provided by Diana on White Swan complete with dried mango cut into the shapes of sea creatures and a blue white frosting ocean. Spectacular!

Blue Lagoon 18 42.696S,174 59.339W
A beautiful anchorage on the west side of the Vavau Islands. A day of snorkeling and a great trip to Mariner's Cave. Mariner's Cave is special in that you have to dive about 5 feet under water and travel about 12 - 15 feet forward to arrive into a cave hidden inside. A little daunting at first but not too difficult, everyone made it in to enjoy the view. The pressure of the swell creates a bit of pressure on the ears and a misty fog cloud appears with each surge.
until next time,
Lisa and the boys

Niue - August 24th to September 1

2006-09-08T10:09:00.000+12:00

coordinates 19 03.250S,165 55.549W Alofi, Niue
The island of Niue was full of surprises for us. A country all it's own with a free association to New Zealand, has a population of less than 2000 people. Though we have noted that each island seems to be more friendly than the last, Niue is in a class all it's own. They have this amazing ability to make you feel welcome, a part of their family and take care of you at the same time. We never felt like tourists, just a part of their community. Exactly what we had been looking for. Niue is a raised coral atoll with mixed in limestone which lends itself to the creation of fantastic caves and chasms. It has striking tall cliffs around the town and has a feel very similar to the northern California coast including the weather. We spent many a day wearing jackets enjoying the cool misty air or dodging the rain while hiding in our favorite Crazy Uga (crab) Cafe. The island is just large enough that a transportation such as a rental car is necessary to really get to explore all of it's corners, so explore we did.
We pulled into the anchorage early on Thursday morning and had the luck to tie right up to a mooring ball and found ourselves surrounded by our familiar favorite fleet. The discoveries began right away. You hail the Niue Yacht Club and come in contact with Ernie, the man to know. Cyclone Heta wiped out much of their wharf/town/island a couple years back but certainly didn't damage their resolve or spirit in the least. A virtual yacht club at the present time until they rebuild, are right there to guide and help at a moments notice.

The dock is an adventure in itself as it is a gigantic concrete wharf that must stand at least 15 ft high depending on the tide. There are stairs cut into the concrete that lead down to where you step out of your dinghy and then hook it up to a LARGE hook/crane. From there a lever helps to raise and lower your dinghy in and out of the water each time you go ashore. Towards the end of the week the town lost power for a couple of days and cranking that thing up by hand is a whole different story. Most of us took to shuttling each other to shore if needed so we didn't have work our weenie arms to much.

A few cruisers rented cars and we all took turns seeing just how many cruisers you can squeeze into a Mazda Marvie. Each day we explored another cave or chasm and were surprised to find each one unique and amazingly different from the last. Tavala Caves on the north west side of the island were found at the end of a 20 minute hike, cavernous and smooth edges filled with warm brown, green and red colors. Through the other side you have a view of their large arches that frame the ocean scene. Down the left side of the hike you come to Matapa Chasm that is a fairly narrow canyon with cool fresh spring water running into it from the land side and warm ocean water coming in from the outside. The two provide an wonderful swimming hole cool on top, warm on the bottom, with a mix of fish and coral for viewing.
Togo chasms on the south east side are like 3 worlds in one. You hike through lovely tropical forest and then step into a scene from someone else's moon. Pinnacles of sharp jagged black stones reach up all around you and over look the ocean. A small turn to the right and you descend a sturdy wooden ladder into a miniature sandy oasis tucked in between it all. A small cave to explore there allows you to watch the swells surge and spray into it's open window to the world.
Anapala is a narrow path that leads you down an even more narrow stair case which ends at an extremely narrow chasm. Wide enough in places for only one or two people to swim pass each other there lies a very cool fresh water swimming hole nearly entirely in the dark. Bits of day light break through the top or the end of the chasm allowing your eyes to adjust and see clear shrimp and the rare fish. Very exhilarating swim.
Limu pools sits just off the road on the west coast and almost has the appearance of a naturally placed oriental garden in between two shallow pools. Both crystal clear and inviting for some snorkeling under a small arch or amongst shallow caves. Climbing the towering rocks that surround have become as much fun for the boys as swimming itself. One of the amazing aspects to all these hikes is that they are extremely accessible. The locals have by hand carried and placed miles of simple rough concrete paths at all difficult junctions to make it possible to enjoy their world. These were just a few of the ones we had a chance to see out of dozens that line the entire coast line of the island.

Other highlights of the week had to be a local fair held in the town of Lakepa. Much like a miniature state fair they had contests for the largest and best produce including some very large taro roots and such. There was a raffle for some beautiful crafts such as quilts, woven baskets and wood work. A few dances from the locals including aerobics Niue style. Jenny from Sea Kardinal, Judy from Desire and Alyson from Zafarse gave them a run for their money.
You do have to watch your step around the grounds because every so often you would come across a large blue coconut crab tied by a string from one leg to the nearest pole like a leash. He'll let you know when you are too close. They cook and eat them much like any other lobster. There were food booths dotting the perimeter and each cruiser bought something a little different to taste. We are still not sure what Kelly girl bought, it came wrapped beautifully in palm leaves, tasted mildly sweet but was nearly yellow translucent with the consistency of, of... well we are just not sure. A cross between rubber and spackling.

Tristan and Bruce had the opportunity to scuba dive with a few friends and went through "snake gully". Yep, there are sea snakes that do not harm you. They explored a couple of under water caves which hid clawless lobsters that just stare at you Tristan says. At the end of their dive they followed around a pod of spinner dolphins. Much more fun to dive outside of a class so says Tristan.

A couple of days before we departed Niue, Sensei and Moorea made their way to Tonga. About 100 miles out, Sensei developed problems when their forestay broke below their roller furling. In 25 knot winds that equals an anvil being whipped around on the end of a 50 ft steel wire. They managed to stabilize their mast and with moral support from Moorea both decided to beat against the wind and head back to Niue for repairs. It is one of those unfortunate moments that help you to see just how amazing a group these cruisers are. With everyone at the ready and by the radios for whatever support might be needed, Sensei and Moorea made it back to the anchorage and on to moorings in the dark. The next two days was a collaboration of great proportions as everyone rallied ideas, spare pieces and parts, and lots of man power to help them get their rig ready to roll for Tonga again. It makes us proud to have bonds with such an amazing group.

With everyone back in running order it was time to leave. It is amazing just how attached you can become and how quickly you can get the lay of the land in just one week. Learning the in's and out's of life in a village such as which stores you need to hit for what, Senu the laundry lady, how to work the banks, customs and immigration, the favorite hang outs, new languages. The morning markets on Tuesday and Fridays that if you aren't there at 5 am you'll miss the best produce. We missed twice. We can now tell you that the butcher has the best produce and the best breads are found in the pool hall. The word Kai as in our name in Hawaiian means water or sea, but in Niuen it means eat. Ohana Kai, family water or family eat, works well for us.
We are on our way to Tonga, about to cross the international date line and off to spend a couple of months exploring a few of their 170 islands before migrating to New Zealand for the cyclone season.
New Photos and updated pages on the Web site, check out the new Crazy Cruisers page. It might help to put some faces to the names of the fun people we've met along the way.
until next time,
lisa and the boys

The other side of Palmerston

2006-09-01T13:26:00.000+12:00

Thursday August 24 coordinates 19 02.429S,169 12.683W
We are currently under way to the island of Niue and had some time write about the friendlier and fun side of Palmerston Island.
We were greeted by them on the radio before we even reached the anchorage. They knew we were coming as we were carrying some supplies for them but always nice to get an early morning greeting from shore. Edward Marsters, our host greeted us in his boat and helped point out the mooring we were to use. By that afternoon we were all ashore and after quick introductions we were off on the most interesting of island tours provided by the local children. 72 people live on Palmerston island within the atoll chain, 24 of which are children. Each a descendant of William Marsters and one of his 3 Penrhyn wives. They can, with blinding speed, recite their lineage back. We were lost after "my mothers father...". We quickly covered the town and saw the school, met the principal/teacher Yvonne, whose husband Tere we had met back in Rarotonga. We saw all the grave sites from William Marsters on down, the local Palmerston Yacht Club built for us "yachties" complete with laundry facilities and showers. We toured their freezers section compliments of Bill. They joke that there are more freezers per capita here than any where else in the world. Fishing is their source of income. The supply ship reliably makes it rounds to the island maybe, possibly every month or so, depending on the weather as well as many other factors we are sure. So you can see where having great freezers can come in handy keeping the fish ready for them until then. The island generator only runs 12 hours a day in two 6 hour cycles so keeping things frozen is challenging at best, even with their flash/burst freezer. Bill proudly open the doors to show us the amazing display of their catches. Some of the largest parrot fish we have ever seen for starters and the numbers abound. The children showed us the administration building, a very professional sight in the middle of a remote paradise isle. They were quickly climbing trees and dropping coconuts and even more quickly demonstrating their abilities to whack them open on re bar or machetes as early as age 5. We learned more about coconuts in 4 minutes with them than 4 months in the south pacific all together. We finally had the opportunity to taste the innards of a coconut after it has moved into it's "pod" stage in which the inside of the coconut gets a spongy type material that is edible. Not something we would partake of on a regular basis but edible. A few moments more with them and we had learned the art of their style of marbles and spear throwing. {hint: stay out of the way}

The island itself is not very large and well covered with palm trees. Though the wind was blowing like stink, as we like to say, on the outside there was no hint of it within the confines of this well protected little village. The walk ways between each home or building are sandy and tree lined and interestingly enough lit with 6 street lights. It is tough to weigh that at times with the fact that they could use more water cisterns and a new school building as well. Or more basic medical supplies such as a blood pressure cuff large enough to fit everyone. They have no way at the moment to get larger boats into the lagoon making it difficult to get supplies. The supply ships have to anchor out like the rest of us and then off load onto the local dinghy's. Progress is a double edged sword though and any improvements to allow more traffic would surely do damage to their amazing environment and remove much of their isolated charm.

Abby from Sea Kardinal and our boys had a great time one day visiting the school for their PE class. Participating in great relay games the comraderie built quickly. Swapping games of marbles or rides on their one swing strung from the highest tree branch. A one room classroom at the moment and also home to Principal/teacher Yvonne and her family, looks much like any bright and budding place of learning at home. The walls are adorned with fun creativity including a beautiful quilt depicting their island and town. The desks are all aligned neatly and the children smiling and giggling. Though they do not yet have internet access on the island they do have a web site at www.palmerstonisland.com. Check it out and let us know what you find. They are always looking for feedback and support and we would love to see them get it.

We did have the opportunity to share a couple of meals Edwards family and relatives. A special day as they had just killed their largest pig. We also spent some more time with another couple visiting from Canada that had come over from Rarotonga with our pals the Kelly's on s/v Moorea. An extra special event was the birth of the newest island member baby boy Marsters. No name yet. Mom was doing great and graciously let us in to congratulate her and welcome her newest little one to the world, thus bringing the island population to a rousing 73. Our final hours there were spent making chocolate chip cookies with Jenny from s/v Sea Kardinal and Shirley Marsters, the kids got to take turns riding bikes, watching the littlest pigs get their "stones" cut off so that they would grow bigger and fatter rather than have more offspring, taking one last walk around the beach chasing hermit crabs, and picking our handfuls of wild basil that grows there. They just shake their heads at us as we walk off with their "weeds".

As with any other "family" there are certainly the usual squabbles and communication issues but we never felt their impact and we found everyone in Palmerston to be so amazingly warm and genuine. They were filled with a great sense of humor and generosity. It wasn't the stay we were anticipating certainly due to the weather but an adventure none the less and left us wanting for more. We hope to return someday and share in their world a bit more.
until next time,
Lisa and the boys

Rarotonga from top to bottom

2006-08-16T15:09:00.000+12:00

Monday August 14th currently en route to Palmerston Island of the Cook Islands
coordinates 19 57.847S,161 03.858W

We just finished up a fantastic two weeks in Rarotonga.
coordinates 21 12.270S,159 47.084W
A surprising little place we never intended to stay that long. When looking at the anchorage in Avatiu Harbour, one wouldn't say that it is particularly pleasant looking due to the fairly murky waters and the large container ships/fishing vessels that you share the space with. One wouldn't say that the location is terribly convenient due to the unique med mooring style of tying up to the docks there. (a whole story in itself) Hands down though, it was one of the friendliest, happiest places we have come across yet. The people are genuine and fun, the town is close and convenient, the island has enough to do to keep you busy and well entertained and the price was right as we were now back into the land of New Zealand/Cook Island money.

Let's begin with tying up to the dock. Med mooring involves dropping an anchor and then backing your boat into the space you want and tying to the concrete wharf. In Rarotonga Harbor, there isn't that much space so the boats are parked in there 3-4 deep. So picture 12-15 boats have dropped anchors, backed in, are alternately spaced nicely and now are all tied to each other and the wharf spider web style with no less than 4 to 6 lines. This assures that we won't all bump into each other. It works well when the weather is calm but our first night we had very high winds and big swells that kept us all moving. One of our lines came untied from a neighboring boat in the middle of the night so we launched a stealth recovery mission at midnight to tie us back up. Since we are so closely packed in there, taking the dinghy to shore involves simply pulling yourself around but one of many lines strung between someone and the wharf. Climb a few steps up a ladder and you're there. The down side is when one boat wants to move out, you all move. Especially when that boat is sitting in the back row. We spent 7 hours jockeying and resettling everyone our first day there.

We were lucky enough to have visited Rarotonga during the week long "Te Maeva Nui", celebration of their Constitution. Dance troops from all the neighboring islands come for a great competition where we were able to witness their stunning costumes, amazingly choreographed routines, and joyous sounds and rhythms. Quite a treat. We found some great restaurants with a favorite having to be Ravitz Indian Cuisine. Each Saturday a farmers market, Punanga Nui, takes place right there next to the wharf where you can find your fill of locally grown vegetables and all sorts of gifts and trinkets. The Cook islands were also having a trade show of sorts where they were trying to promote small businesses from each of the islands, smoked fish from Palmerston, hand made quilts from Mangaia, etc.

Our favorite fleet was present here; Sarabi, White Swan, Moorea, Capaz and ourselves. So together 5 boats worth, 14 people, we rented 7 scooters one day and took over the island. Exactly half way around the island is a little restaurant called the Saltwater cafe run by Carey and his wife. A delightful couple who had just what this rag tag group of riders was looking for. Friendly atmosphere and fun food. Friday night we took in movie at the local theater. We hadn't seen one of those since last year in Mexico. Sunday Moorea, Sarabi and ourselves took on the cross island hike. Named the Ta Rua Manga, aka "the Needle", it climbs to 413 meters and then if you are so inclined there is a technical rock climb at the top. Amazingly fun and tiring we scrambled up to the peak often with just tree roots as our hand and footholds, enjoyed scaping views of the islands north and south shores. The trek down the south side takes you through some of the largest ferns we've ever seen and then the always fun multitude of Papua river crossings. The boys favorite parts. At the end of the hike you are rewarded with one more delight, the Wigmore's Waterfall. As always we enjoyed a night of pot luck, cruising style. This time the boats gathered on Sarabi for wine tasting while everyone brought snacks. Kelly girl and I tried out our sushi making abilities on everyone with great success.

A highlight of the stay had to be Tristan and my opportunity to become certified Scuba Divers! Along with the crews of Capaz and Moorea we all took classes at Dive Rarotonga. Aside from the obvious fact that we are now certified, better yet was that we had absolutely the best time ever with Ed, Simon, Mushy, Rob and Karen, the great crew there. There were amazingly fun and full of fantastic personalities and resoundingly professional. Our 4 open water dives opened up an even deeper view and appreciation of just what there is to see down there, turtles, ghost coral that turns white when you touch it, "Tommy" the large blue trigger fish that follows you around like an adoring puppy, the largest moray eel we've ever seen to name a few. From the dive boat we were able to watch the mirgrating Humback whales sounding near shore. It was a spectacular time and we are so thankful to have had the opportunity to share it with them.

A quick bit of provisioning and we were on our way. Matthew gave us a quick scare as he ran his head into the corner of a telephone booth. What might take a stitch or two in the states works fine with a band-aide here. Not so much as a head ache out of it too. Yeah for hard heads. Always with one last hurrah, as we tried to untie the lines from everyone and pull anchor, we found an old rusty enormous anchor from an old supply ship riding along with ours. It takes a fleet to raise an anchor and with 4 fellow cruisers helping out from below in dinghies and some fancy rope work we were on our way.

Currently off to Palmerston. Famous for being populated by only 60 people, though 2000+ live between Rarotonga and NZ, they are all descendants from an original Englishman named William Marsters who moved there in 1863 with his 3 Maori wives, divided the island up between the three families and set rules for resources, land and inter family marriage. Fairly isolated we are bringing supplies from Rarotonga and their families to them. More on this next journal entry as we should be there in a couple of days.

until next time,
Lisa and the boys

Wrapping up in French Polynesia

2006-07-29T15:02:00.000+12:00

Friday July 18th, 2006
coordinates 18 00.807S,154 01.842W en route to Raratonga

We ended up spending a great 10 days in Bora Bora before moving on. Known as being very touristy, the island itself has little to offer above some trinket stores, pearl stores, a few restaurants and many, many over the water bungalows. In the recent past, hurricanes had done severe damage to the coral reefs but we can happily report that they are coming back well.

There are a few passes and coral patches that the dive shops take snorkelers out to on a regular basis. The plentitude of fish are trained now to come and eat food right out of your hand. It was hysterically fun to listen to the squeals of adults and children alike streaming up through their snorkels. New colors of parrot fish, every type of butterfly and angel fish we could imagine. Soldier fish, blue spotted groupers to name just a few. In the deeper passes you can watch the spotted eagle rays drift slowly around. Where we had anchored initially was so far removed from the hustle of the town we were able to relax and enjoy every moment of it.

We eventually made our way closer to the mainland and picked up a mooring ball out in front of the infamous bar/restaurant "Bloody Mary's. Though we were more blocked from southerly winds we at the mercy of the winds that decided to race down the front of the peaks of the remaining old volcanos. The wind continued to blow 15 - 25 knots through out the day and night with mighty size gusts while we tried to sleep. It was a whole new feeling again to be on a mooring and not on your own anchor. When you set your own anchor you have the confidence of knowing just how well it is set and that you won't go anywhere. The same is not so with mooring balls as they are tied on to something "heavy" at the bottom and hopefully the lines connecting you to it is substantial with no weak spots. This time the mooring ball held tight but with all the spinning we had done around the line, in just 24 hours time, we had chafed and cut right through our own brand new line. This was brought to our attention when we were all down below and heard a loud crunch. We had drifted right onto the coral reef. It is an amazingly sickening feeling when the reality strikes that potentially we could have been in serious trouble. Luckily the boat sustained absolutely no damage and we returned ourselves to the ball before most of our neighbors even noticed. And yes, you bet we had triple lines of protection running to the mooring ball this time. It is amazing just how fast it all took place as we were on the ball closest to shore with less than another boat length of room between us and this sheer wall of coral. All's well that ends well. If you eat Bloody Mary's restaurant you are allowed to stay on the mooring ball for free. So with all our buddy's together, White Swan, Capaz and Moorea, we enjoyed a wonderful night out before we all prepared to leave French Polynesia.

Bora Bora Yacht Club (it's not what you would picture-they don't even own a boat) coordinates 16 29.440S,151 45.716W
The next day we moved up closer to the pass of the island and picked up another mooring out in front of Bora Bora Yacht Club. A quaint little palapa style building with great food we hear, happy hour, laundry, shower and garbage facilities for a nice price. The kids all had a great time being towed around the anchorage on an inner tube by Chris and his daughter Clair from s/v Sensei We all shared a sunset or two there, provisioned and refueled everyone, and completed our paperwork to check out of the country. One more stamp for the passports. We were able to reunite with our pals Greg and Penny on Long Tall Sally. They made the crossing with us and we hadn't seen them for awhile. Wednesday night we enjoyed a great pot luck dinner on their boat with the usual gang and Thursday we were on our way. We are keeping a close eye on the weather as we hear there are some potential low pressure systems near Raratonga where we are heading and some other weather south of New Zealand that always has potential to cause us some trouble. Presently we are enjoying a wonderful sail with some slow long rolling swells. Very relaxing. It feels amazingly good to get some wind moving through the sails again. French Polynesia was fantastic and there was so much left to see and do. Still we are ready to move on and get back to English speaking countries, a bit more removed from the tourism and hopefully full of adventures.
until next time,
lisa and the boys

Been a while

2006-07-19T00:59:00.000+12:00

Monday July 17, 2006
Whew, so much to do, so little time. We have found that the same holds true on land or water. My latest observation also true, the closer you get to civilization the busier and crazier it gets. Island time or not, things still become more hectic the closer you come to a city. I'll give you the quick run down on our last few stops and adventures over the last month.

Fakarava Atoll coordinates 16 03.533S,145 37.332W 6/11/06 - 6/14/06
Last time we wrote we were working our way through Fakarava Atoll. We found a quite little pension (bed & breakfasts of sorts) at the southern pass. We stayed a night and had a great dive there where we swam with a green sea turtle before heading on our way up to the northern pass. The caravan of Capaz, Moorea and ourselves anchored off the village of Rotoava near the northern Garue Pass. A fairly big town considering the size of towns we had seen recently. Highlights were a bit of provisioning, meeting the town mayor, making our way to dinner at a restaurant by dinghy and flashlights to miss the coral heads, another visit to a pearl farm, and a great bike ride on the Kelly's bikes. A bit more murky water there so no snorkeling. Unfortunately that made it a bit more challenging to leave the anchorage when nearly everyone had to don scuba gear and dive their anchors, all of which were stuck on coral heads. Anchors up and we were on our way for an overnight to get us to Tahiti.

Tahiti Nui coordinates
We had great wind sailing to Tahiti which then in turn put us at our destination a little early around 1 am. Along with Capaz we found this relatively easy pass to enter in the dark and anchor for a peaceful night sleep before we moved to our true destination of Marina Taina the next day. We were not expecting what we saw next. So many boats anchored and tied to the docks. So much of everything. People had warned us about the large hustling and bustling city that is Papeete, Tahiti but I guess after not seeing civilization like that in a while we were still surprised. You could smell the island before you could see it. So many cars, buses, and airplanes. The city itself is not well kept as far as garbage goes except the gas station, pristine. Right down to the displays of pineapples that you could buy right there between the gas tanks. Of course we hit McDonalds first day. For shame we know, but they have a beach right there. Most of all we prepared for our company the Elstes, were coming to visit. We had our sail repaired, checked into and out of French Polynesia officially, gathered our friends from the states, enjoyed a marvelous day at their hotel pool and introduced them to the roulettes. The best thing we found in Papeete. Roulettes are trucks that arrive promptly at 5:30 in a square at the middle of town. A circus like show follows as they flip up the truck doors, set out tables and begin preparing the best, and cheapest food around. You have your choice of pizza, hamburgers, etc. By far the most popular is chinese food, topped of with a delicious dessert crepe. Utilizing "Le Truck", a bus system that though efficient enough makes Mexico's buses look snazzy, we were able to negotiate around town rather easily. It is a straight shot up and back. An amazing outdoor market for fresh fish and produce and a great big store similar to a Super Walmart provided some great provisioning and with guests in tow we were off to Mo'orea.

Mo'orea (aka Golden Lizard) coordinates 17 34.348S,129 52.110W 6/27/06
We were able to give the Elste's a great day sail over to Mo'orea and made our way in through the Matauvau Pass to the quiet anchorage of Haapiti on west side. Ed and Bruce got a bit of surfing in there while Amy, the boys and I snorkeled around before moving the boat north the Cook's Bay. That is a misnomer we are told as Captain Cook never actually anchored there but it works for us. We entered Avaroa Pass and anchored down near the town of PaoPao. A Bali Hai resort there lets cruisers utilize the dinghy dock to get to shore. From there it was a lot of walking as there is no form of Le Truck that is reliable. That wouldn't do, so we rented 4 scooters and took the island by storm. One adult and kid per scooter, we must have been quite a site ripping through towns with big fat helmets a blazing by. We spent a few days there getting the feel of the island, playing on the beach or visiting the local Sheraton resort. The weather is still a constant 80 degrees with the occasional afternoon rain storm or wind gusts.

Huahine coordinates 16 43.746S,151 26.602 7/5/06
We spent our 4th of July and did an overnight to the next island of Huahine. We gave the poor Elste gang maybe more of an introduction so offshore sailing than they had bargained for as Ed and Amy felt the effects of the wind and wave all night. Once anchored there we had the unfortunate luck of being one of four boats in a two week period that was robbed. The offenders brazenly climb aboard boats on windy and rainy nights when they know all hatches are shut and stole our three surf boards off the deck. Others boats met a similar fate with dinghy fuel tanks taken out of dinghies hoisted in the air. It certainly put a damper on the feeling towards the island but we enjoyed our time with the Elstes non the less. One more scooter ride around a new island and some more snorkeling to round out the stay. We spent a bit of time on the south end of the island and made haste off to Raiatea and Tahaa.

Raiatea and Tahaa coordinates 1643.746S,151 26 602W 7/12/06
Two small islands nestles close together. We had our first opportunity to be on a DOCK since Mexico. What a change to be tied up to land again for a while in the town of Uturoa. The boys took out the scooters instantly and we all enjoyed a bit of a reunion as Capaz, Moorea, Sarabi, White Swan, Po'oina Roa and some new friends on Sea Kardinal, with 7 year old Abbey on board, were all present and accounted for. We met new travelers Secor, and Windsong. We had a great potluck, enjoyed some chinese food on shore and then realized the winds had come up so strong from the East that we were all pinned to the dock for a day before we could get off. It took a village to move us all as we each lined up to push each other off the dock. We found a great hide away on the south end of Tahaa, Taravana Yacht Club in Apu Bay, an old resort under great new management. Expensive food, but delicious and a quiet safe haven. Not much for the kids to do though so off to Bora Bora.

Bora Bora coordinates 16 32.014S,151 45.984W 7/18/06
We had heard mixed reviews about the island but personally, we have found a beautiful place to play out the last of our days in the French Polynesia. The south end of the island of Toopua is a small paradise. Clear blue waters and nice and shallow sandy bottoms perfect for anchoring!

The biggest news of all is that as of July 11th we have officially been out on the boat for a year! It hardly seems like it is possible with the trip and time flying by. The hardest part of all is still being so far from family and friends. Keep the emails coming and know that we miss and love you all.
lisa and the boys

Our email address

2006-06-15T14:36:00.000+12:00

Just a quick reminder to everyone on the best way to reach us by email.
Starting June 20th our sailmail email account - wdb7091@sailmail.com - will no longer be active.
The best way to reach us is email us at ke7dqv at winlink. org.
Again please feel free to write us anytime. We love the mail. If replying to our emails, please do not include the original document in the letter. As amazing as this technology is, it can still be tempermental and the less info we have to download through the Ham radio the better chances we have of getting it all. If you don't hear back from us within a week, please try us again if you need a reply.
thanks for being there,

The Martins on Ohana Kai
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Fakarava Atoll

2006-06-15T13:50:00.000+12:00

6/9/06 Fakarava Atoll, Passe Tumakohua (Southern Pass)
coordinates 16 30.280S,145 27.340W

We got an early start to head out the pass departing from Tahanea to journey toward Fakarava. A 45 - 50 mile leg would take us the majority of the day and again we needed to time it just right in order to enter the pass at the next atoll according to the tides, currents and sunset time. We departed early enough and were excited to have enough wind to have a great sail there. Exiting the pass was as exciting as entering it with tall and confused seas at the entrance due to the currents, but once past that we were on our way. 25 knot easterly winds, we should be there in no time.
The majority of the trip was uneventful but as all good stories go, things change quickly. Bruce had been dragging a fishing line all day and we noted a big flock of birds up ahead. Along with the fairly high seas we were having that means a good chance for fish. One strike got away but we held on to our lure, the second strike was a doozie. We can officially say we are not skunked anymore. It took a lot of effort but Bruce managed to reel what we later measured to be a 51" Dorado or Mahi Mahi. Yeah great hunterer and gatherer, we will all eat well tonight. It did end up coming at a price though.

Right before we landed the big boy, the winds had started to pick up so having been running wing on wing we rolled up the head sail but left up the whisker pole since the fish struck at that moment. To make a long and unhappy story short, by the time the dust settled the jib had taken a funny wrap and wouldn't roll up easily. Somewhere in our attempts to unwrap it we
blew out the top of our head sail and could at that point see at least one entire tear in a seam from side to side. Later inspection showed tears in the fabric itself and damage to the shanks that hold it to the mast. So much for a stitch in time as I had just done some repair work by hand not a few days before. The jib itself was showing a little wear on the binding of its edge as well so we eventually got all the canvas put away and limped on toward the anchorage.

Feeling a bit beat up and disappointed in ourselves for not being quite prepared for that moment as we should have been, we readied ourselves for the entrance to the next pass. The rain stopped long enough for us to have a clear shot at the entrance but the currents stay swift around here. This entrance nearly gave us ulcers at first. The charts don't always correspond
with the way things look in front of you and we found ourselves not knowing which way to go. Once inside the pass, though wide enough we found nothing but shallow reefs and rocks to the left, markers dead ahead, and what looked like a river running towards us to the right with fish pens in the middle of it. None of these looked like acceptable choices. We opted for deep and
congested over shallow and rocky and it panned out. Once inside it was a straight shot and easy anchoring even considering the 25-35 knot winds that would not let up. Capaz and Moorea came in right behind us and though not a very protected anchorage we were snug for the night. Capaz graciously let us come aboard their boat to carve up our mighty beast on their back deck. They soothed our frayed nerves and wounded prides with a few beverages. There was so much meat on that fish that all three boats will be chewing on it for a while.

As far as the sails and repairs go we do have the supplies on board to fix them, but I am not sure if I could repair it well enough to last us all the way to New Zealand. Rather than do the job twice we think we will end up cutting our time a little bit short in the Tuamotus and head for Tahiti and the Society Islands sooner as we know there are a few sail shops there.
Until next time,
Lisa and the boys

Tahanea Atoll

2006-06-12T13:40:00.000+12:00

6/4 Tahanea Atoll Coordinates 16 50.970S,144 41.660W
We should know better buy now, a squall shall usher us in where ever we go. Luckily it clears just in time and Capaz and we glide on in to this lovely atoll to find a large motor yacht anchored to our left. We choose to join the other sailboats anchored to the right and find some old familiars like s/v Top to Top. Check out their web site. www.toptotop.org A crew that is attempting to circumnavigate with sailing to each continent and climb the highest peak on each, while being environmentally friendly. Whew. Because sailing down here wasn't enough. Don't we feel like a slouches. Truly very nice people though and today they are rushing off to Papeete to catch the schools to give the children a slideshow before the school year ends.

We are instantly greeted by local black tips. As Bruce so colorfully described, they are plentiful and though we have read that they are very tame and completely uninterested in us it has significantly cut down on our free swim time off the side of the boat. They are nearly non-existent when we snorkel the reefs though as we only sight one or two occasionally.
The dives here rival Makemo for fish variety but there are 3 nearby passes to choose from and so much to see. The passes are the channels cut in between the islands that the boats use to enter and exit the lagoons of the atolls. The current that rips through there can be quite swift, so we came up with our own way to drift dive as they say. We let the dinghy's drift and we hold on as the watery world below slides by. One can cover some serious ground that way and not have to concentrate on kicking or staying out of the corals way. It is amazingly fun. A slow dive through the shallows is equally exciting and each area has its own beauty to offer.
Personally, I had no idea that snorkeling was going to be one of my favorite past times on this trip and again, I cannot get enough. I feel like I could stay down there forever. You quickly learn which fish are a bit more bold or a bit more shy. Which one's will hold their ground and check you out and which ones will turn tail. Then again, there is nothing like listening to a
parrot fish crunch coral. Fascinating!!!

6/5 Keeping with tradition, the only way we can get fish on board our boat is if it is given to us. A local boat s/v Cheers has some extra Dorado and again, yummy potluck on Capaz. More diving and the fun goes on.

6/6 s/v Moorea arrives with the Kelly's on board and we host them all to dinner. We still had a big slab of beef from Mexico to share. Provisions are beginning to wear thin for many since we left Mexico and the stores here are few, far between and expensive. Everyone is holding out for Tahiti to provision and until then, wonderful masterpieces can be created from deep in the bilge. Between a few boats someone always has what you need and creative cooking goes a long way. Again, we certainly are never doing without.

6/7 New Dawn and Nereid arrive and we get one more great dive in. We have figured a way to get one of the boys digital camera's into our dive bag and take some photos. Can't wait to update the website for you all when we reach Tahiti in a couple of weeks. We are looking to head on to a few more atolls before we head to the Society Islands. We only have 90 day Visa's, so much to see so little time. Unfortunately, you can't see them all. This time. Hehe :)

Until next time,
Lisa and the boys

TheMartins on Ohana Kai
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Family ties and Tahitian pearls

2006-06-11T12:59:00.000+12:00

More time in Makemo
Friday 5/27 One afternoon, the Kelly's were aboard their vessel Moorea when a local fisherman named Victor happened by. This was just the beginning of our wonderful encounters with him. On his boat was his daily catch of 16 or so large Dorado's. He graciously gave the smallest one to the Kelly's, which was so small that after they divided it up between three boats there were still leftovers. Potluck dinner for everyone. Yum. That evening was also our first meeting with Beco and Jaqueline Kamake, a generous and gracious local family. Ryan from Capaz had somehow come across the only man in the islands who carves pearls. We watched in awe that night on his front porch as he, no small man himself, whittled away at his craft with such ease on these tiny creations and amongst any distractions.

Saturday 5/27 New Dawn and Nereid arrive. After a morning of school for us, we took the crews to meet Beco and Jaqueline and began our haggling and trading for the much desired treasures. It is hard to describe their beauty except to say that he can take fairly ordinary black pearls and carve in with great fine detail any motif be it a border of Marquesan crosses, lizards, sharks, dorados, dolphins, mantas, you name it. In addition he makes tikis out of bone, bone fishhooks necklaces, mother of pearl everything; it is endless and all breathtaking. The men all went fishing with Victor that day as well in hopes of spearing some more dorado. They end up line fish for bonito and learn that flat water and no waves is no good to for spear fishing dorado. It is also then that we learn that Victor is one of Beco's 7 older brothers. Small world and even smaller island.

Sunday 5/28 Mother's Day in Tuamotu. The church's itself was one of the first tall buildings we had seen in months. On islands that don't stand any taller than the largest palm tree a site like this is surprising. Inside the ceiling was like one elongated cupola which you could tell instantly
would bring out some resounding voices. The chandeliers and decorations were all strings upon strings of sea shells. It is something that the Poumotu people do well, utilize their resources. The service itself was a treat and true to form, the singing magnificent. They separated out the teen age boys and placed them high up in the choir seats. There were 3-4 choir directors who each stood for their songs. When the time came to harmonize men from women, the base of their sounds resonated. There is an amazing amount of joy and pride that is carried in those notes. It brought tears to my to eyes to share in their morning and to feel almost a member of community as we all held hands and greeted with kisses instead of handshakes.

Monday 5/29 Dad is getting some surfing in and meeting the locals. We now have the hang of the local handshake and are pretty well known around town. After being one of only a few boats in the anchorage originally it is starting to fill. There are more boats in than most locals have seen before and they are coming to the shore to look at us. I believe 12 was the final count. Today is Julie's birthday on Capaz so we divided up the adults. They boys had poker night and per her request, scrabble for the girls with lemon squares and pineapple upside-down cake.

Tuesday 5/30 One of a few rainy days that roll around. We enjoyed the down time after school and settled in for movies and popcorn.

Wednesday 5/31 We finally take Bruce to meet Beco, his beautiful family and see his marvelous work. Matthew and Tristan get in close with the kids and have a great time. Jaqueline, who speaks English very well, helps us to make our deals and trades for our goods. We offer goodies like head lamps and binoculars but the real winner is a bottle of tequila. The carved pearls we understand cost $50 here but much, much more in Papeete. It is not uncommon for the islands to call and place orders for 50 or so to be sent on the next ship. Beco is a busy man. It is here that she explains to us much of the family history as the island is dotted with each of their
families. The largest house on the island is owned by his brother who is the pearl farmer. Pearl farming looks like good business. They graciously deck us out in shell necklaces and hats for the crew of Nereid. We feel so honored.

Thursday 6/1 We make our final visit to Beco to pick up our tikis and pearls. Jaqueline sits us down while we wait and shares more family history with us. One of 7 children herself there is a lot of family history. Where each sibling lives, what they do for a living, their childhood photo albums, how they met, etc. etc. It was such a treat. She brought out many family photos including one of Beco's mother and father Mr. & Mrs. William Harris, an amazingly handsome couple. Though I believe his mother was from the islands I believe his fathers ancestors were partly from the United States. We got to share in viewing their wedding photos and dress. All of a sudden she disappeared and when she reappeared we realized she had run to the store to buy soda and chips. We felt terrible to impose like this because to us this was no small expense. It is a great deliberation before we ever purchase the $6 bottle of soda and $8 bag of chips. I think the prices are all relative to them. Kindness of strangers. Lastly they shared photos of their vacations and travel plans with us. Each year they go to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and I think a trade show of sorts New Zealand. Maybe we will see them there next February or March. I am still unsure what she was describing when she lifted up my shirt to point at my belly button and
motioned that Rapa Nui is the naval of Polynesia. The lifeline, the origins? We hope to visit there some day too.

Finally we make it back to our boats and with the Kelly's and decide to leave the anchorage late or not. It has been a wonderful time here but it is time to cut the ties and move on. It is important to move through in and through the islands when the sun is high or behind you so as to see the coral heads more easily. Due to our late departure we make it 4 miles before sun is to far set and consider it unsafe. It was far enough for us and we feel a million miles away. We set anchor, invited the Kelly's over for an evening of pasta dinner and card games all night. Bright stars, perfect weather, who could ask for more.

Friday 6/2 we are up early with sun at our backs, Tristan is back up the mast, mom at the bow sighting submerged buoys and reefs. We find Capaz in a little paradise of lush green palms and white sand beach. Tucked behind a long thin reef and occasionally baby black tip sharks. We headed to shore for a round of Bacci ball and hermit crab races. Matthew's blazer wins hands down first round. Tod's wins the second round. Kelly boy's takes second both times despite handicap of missing one leg. Kelly girls and mine never wake up at the starting line but as the race ends, pick up shells and head for home. Matthew finds Colonel blue, giant one and gently gets it out of its shell. We witnessed it's reattachment of its much too small and decrepit shell back on his hind quarters. Check off science lesson or zoology for the day.

We had one more anchorage to stop at before we exited Makemo Atoll. It took us a few days to cross it and one to get out before heading to our next destination of the uninhabited atoll of Tahanea.

Until next time,
Lisa and the boys

TheMartins on Ohana Kai
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What's a Motu and why do I need Tua them?

2006-06-09T15:01:00.000+12:00

Well we are still in the Tuamotu's and I can say that Motu means island but Tua is anyone's guess. Not sure why they call them that, seems they should be called TuaAtolls since that is truly what they are. Anyhow The Boys and I (Bruce) thought it about time we sent out an update of our own and this seemed the place to do it.

First off we thought we would describe the Islands. I mean Atolls. Well that seems like a lot of work so instead turn on an episode of Gilligan's Island,,, or Atoll and that pretty much describes it. If that seams like too much work switch your Screen Saver on your computer to the AZUL background and that is pretty much what it is like. Lotsa beautiful sandy beaches (without bitey bugs) covered with palm trees and surrounded by crystal clear turquoise water. The beaches are crushed coral and great for all of us kids to run and play on. Another occupant of the Atolls that love to run or kinda crawl or walk sorta sideways are the Hermit Crabs. Okay that may not be entirely accurate. These little land based crabs are about the size of a softball (or their shell is) and crawl all over the beaches and in the palm fronds. They actually get their names from eating coconuts not looking like a coconut :) The crews of Capaz, Moorea and Ohana Kai all picked our favorite crab drew a big circle in the sand, placed our contenders in the center, and the race was on. Well the race was on for some of the racers for others it was nap time (I'm thinking these guys are nocturnal). Lets just say that My spindly legged little critter didn't cross the finish line ......EVER. Good thing we weren't betting.

The other big draw to these Islands, aside from the huge underground crab racing syndicate is diving or snorkeling. Lisa and the Boys have become quite aquatic and very adept at snorkeling and can even free dive 10 feet or better (future abaloneers, Ed we are almost off the hook). The multitude of coral and tropical fish is endless and every dive brings something new to examine. The one constant to every dive we have made here in the Tuomotus is sharks....I'm sorry, I mean !!!!!!!!SHARKS!!!!!! That's right Sharks Sharks and more sharks. In fact Matthew just checked and at the present time there are no less than 14 black tip reef sharks circling the boat. Now that may seem like a lot, but the record is 22. Of course we were throwing out some old ham at the time but a record is a record. Remember the water is crystal clear and you can see these little critters perfectly. I think we may have made a mistake feeding them, they are kinda like puppies that you feed and then won't go home. Of course those are 5 foot long swimming
puppies with dorsal fins and large gnashing teeth. Below is a partial email I received from our good friend Jim when he heard the boys were swimming with sharks it seems appropriate.

"When dealing with a significant SHARK population one should exercise extreme caution. Although experts will state that you have a better chance of being attacked and bitten by the neighbors poodle, it has been my contention that the poodle "viscus "(yes that's what I meant) as he may be, has been responsible for far fewer injuries and eating's as your run of the mill black tip. In closing you must wonder if swimming with the SHARKS is indeed worth the risk of life and limb. Ask yourself next time you go into the water "when was the last time Hollywood made a movie about a poodle that was rampaging through a neighborhood Gnawing on the unsuspecting mail or garbage man."

Well in actuality the boys have gotten very use to there presence and don't get overly excited when seeing them anymore. That is except when Matthew's Light Saber fell overboard last night and before he really thought it through he jumped in after it. At that point there were only about 7 sharks around the boat and he got barely a sniff from any of them, but in hind
sight I don't think even Princess Lea could coax him to make that plunge again. When I asked him if he thought about the sharks before he jumped he said "No, but as soon as I jumped in the middle of the air I saw them, but it was to late then. I did save my light saber though" Anyway Grandparents and Loved ones don't fret too much, we will make sure that your name sakes return with all of their appendages. Besides it's the white tips you need to watch out for not the black tips. I mean the black tips out number the white tips at least 2 to 1 in our sightings. I LIKE my odds!!!!!

Bruce

TheMartins on Ohana Kai
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Makemo Atoll

2006-06-05T11:57:00.000+12:00

Wednesday 5/24 Makemo Atoll in the Tuomotu Archipelago.
As soon as we had dropped anchor we realized we were someplace special. The sight of clear aqua blue waters all around the shore were quite a welcomed sight. Instantly we saw new species of fish swimming off the back of the boat that we have never seen before and can't find in any books. We will call them Pokenose for now as they have a fanciful straw shaped nose that
sits right above their mouths.
The first item of town you notice is an enormous concrete wharf that reaches out into the lagoon. Surrounded by light blue waters and always dotted with a few Paumotu children fishing with simple lines and hooks. At the head of the dock is a white snack shack we later learned is run by Fanny. Weren't we excited to find French fries for $2 and ice cream cones for $1. Best deal of our lives. We walked the entire end of this island from front to back, and side to side in about a half hour at least up to the first bridge. Of course as always with our luck, we hit it when the magasins are closed. You can safely say the town is about 3 large blocks deep and may 5 blocks wide. Beautifully paved roads, large white church with a steeple in the middle and with the arrival of the ship that day, everyone looked busy. The paumotu people are amazingly friendly and each one waving at us as they passed.
Each house is equipped with large black cisterns which connect to the house via the gutters for collecting water. Water and soil are a scarcity on the islands therefore you don't see quite the prolific gardens and fruit trees that we had seen in Marquesas. Very few breadfruit trees, many coconuts but no citrus, lime nor pamplemousse, no mangos or papayas, etc. Many cars and
lots of happy kids.

Thursday 5/25 Moorea and Capaz arrive. We helped guide them in at slack tide and let them get settled. We did get to working on projects that day as well. The depth sounder issue somehow resolved itself but then the regulator went out. That one is a biggie. If that doesn't work then there is no way to charge the batteries no matter how much gas, wind or solar we
have. Blessed we are with great help from Kelly boy and Tod/Noah on the s/v Capaz/Ark as they have amazing amounts of storage space aboard and carry two of EVERYTHING, including a Balmer regulator, exactly what we needed.
Without it, we would have had to cut our time short and head straight to Tahiti. Back in action.
That night on shore all week there had been a bit of a festival going on. We joined in the fun and stuffed ourselves with hamburgers and fries and watched the locals play bacci ball all night. In attempt to improve my Tahitian I started to chat with some local kids and the fun was on. We
quickly got past names and on to playing tag. Kelly girl joined in and had the kids teaching us the Haka. Makemo is known for its ancient history of fierce warriors and this is the dance displaying that. Some more handgames and lot of giggles are always great fun. It seemed only fair that we teach them something in return. Makemo may never be the same after Kelly girl and I introduced them to the electric slide. We also met the islands chief. He came to greet us and let us know that we were welcomed there any time.

Friday 5/26 The adults of each boat decided to take a morning snorkel and check out the scene before we introduced the kids to these waters. What an amazing sight. There is no way of telling what is down there until you dive in. Beautiful coral reefs dotted with all types of species of clams, corals, fish and the occasional black or white tipped shark. Yep, we swam with the sharks. They were amazingly serene and peaceful. You feel just like one of those little fish as you glide or dart along depending on your mood. And it is never ending, you couldn't possible get tired of seeing it. We took the kids back in the afternoon. Watching their joy of discovery and the comfortable nature with which they are embracing this new world is all the reassurance one needs that this lifestyle and adventure was the right idea.
Until next time,
Lisa and the boys

TheMartins on Ohana Kai
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Arrival to the Tuomotus Archipelago

2006-06-05T11:54:00.000+12:00

5/24 coordinates 16 38.278S,143 34.854W
We completed the 3 day passage from the Marquesas Islands to the Tuomotus with great time. We had great wind the entire time and towards the end met up with a few squalls to wrap it up. Have to say that we felt a bit like we lost our sea legs after those weeks in the islands and were grateful for this small three day passage to be over. Mother nature made sure it went out with a big bang for us.

Bruce was on watch and we were within site of the Makemo atoll approximately 7 am after our third night out. You need to time your arrival just right so can enter the narrow passes through the coral reefs at slack tide and we were a bit early. Having encountered a few squalls along the way and needing to slow our time down we had reefed in the main and rolled up the majority of the jib for our travels.

It had been a very comfortable sail downwind considering the 25 - 35 knot ENE winds that had consistently swept us along. Bruce woke me a bit early to let me know that he had broke my record for sighting the highest wind speeds of the trip and I might want to be on deck to help as this next squall was coming through. It apparently packed up to 50+ knot winds and when we went back to check the recorded highs had apparently reached gusts up to 70 knots. Whew. By the time I had my lifejacket on the down pour was in full swing so we got a nice shower while we rolled in the remainder of the sails. I do remember thinking how sweet the rain water tasted as it pelted us for the next 15 mins. or so.

We rounded up into the weather and rode it out as we were heading towards our destination with a bit greater speed and intensity than we had envisioned. It was tough to say if the entrance to the channel was tumultuous due to the weather or due to the normal currents that flow out of the atoll pass. Even with all the rapids we had encountered in British Columbia and Alaska, we had never seen anything quite like this. The only way to describe it was like riding the boat through an angry washing machine. The directions given in our chart books left us wanting a little more, line up the white beacons and aim for them. When the lighthouse is at
270 degrees to you take a heading of 147 degrees. Hmmmm. Considering we could see the reefs on either side we had to trust it. Of course when it rains it pours right. So now would be the only conceivable time that our depth sounder should go out. I am not sure if it was a curse or a blessing to not know how shallow we were. We avoided the coral heads we could see and once we entered the atoll, all was calm.

A local ship the Kura Ora was docked at the towns wharf for deliveries of town supplies, fuel and small boats to the island. Very fun to watch. The locals shuttle their boats back and forth with loads from the ship to shore to help speed the process up. They kindly came out to greet us and show us where to anchor. We were the only sailboat in the entire lagoon. We hadn't experienced that feeling since Alaska.

Thus began our introduction and adventures to the Tuomotus. They are amazingly genuine, happy and friendly people. There is much more to come. Island life is good.
Lisa and the boys

TheMartins on Ohana Kai
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Nuku Hiva, Taiohoe Bay, Anaho Bay

2006-05-24T15:57:00.000+12:00

Kaoha from Nuku Hiva,
Last week we quickly zipped through the town of Taiohoe as we thought we would. Nice enough town itself including customs, decent magasins (stores) with bread, pastries and any other sundry you might desire but the anchorage was a wee bit rolly for our tastes. There were some fascinating tiki structures in a garden in the middle of town. So much history there with all the explorers that thought they found the islands first over the years. It is extra fun exploring the islands as well with the knowledge and ideas gained from our reading. In addition to our guide books, Bruce has just finished reading the Bounty, I am currently trying to read Ahab's Wife and Tristan has read his share of books on Captain Cook this trip.

The island of Nuku Hiva is famous for a visit from Herman Melville back in 1842, age 20 or so, when he and a buddy Tobias Greene abandoned their whaling ship the Acushnet here. His first and second novels Typee and Omoo (meaning wanderer) were about their misadventures on this and the island of Tahiti.

Wed. 5/10 we walked the length of the town and bay to find the lovely Keikehanui Inn which is run by a French fellow who used to cruise and charter boats. He recognizes boaters as they enter and tells you straight out, "I have what you need". In our case it meant a lovely tall glass of ice cubes ready for our choice of beverage. Simple pleasures, I tell you. A beautiful view overlooking the entire bay, great food and sweet bed & breakfast style bungalows for rent at $130/day if you are in the mood for some sleep on land. He said we could even run the showers for an hour if we wanted. He does know what we need. Maybe next time we are in the area.

Thursday 5/11 09 49.367N,140 03.870S Baie d'Anaho
One of the most completely protected anchorages and we've seen. On our journey there we enjoyed the display of a new species of dolphin to us. Known as Electra dolphins, officially melon-head dolphins, they played off our bow for a good portion of the drive. Always a great distraction. They seem to choose to hold their breath longer than other dolphins and though they jump a lot, are more playful just zigzagging around in front of us as though they were playing tag. Their eyes were more wrinkled looking like you would expect on a whale and didn't hesitate to roll over and peek at us. They are not to be confused with a very similar looking creature called the False Killer Whale.
In the anchorage itself we found another cruiser driving boat to boat to hand out bags full of freshly caught tuna. They had more than they could handle with this beast and we gladly took it off their hands. Capaz and we each took a bag full to marinate and cook up for a potluck dinner the next night. Lucky for us since we still continue to scare all the fish on to our neighbors hooks for them.

Friday 5/12 We dinghied, with the Capaz crew, over to a nearby beach in the anchorage that enjoyed the play of huge swell waves rolling up its banks. We had to anchor out and swim to shore they were so big. Due to the steepness of the beach the same waves would refract and roll back out again, often meeting in the middle with the incoming ones making for some fun play
in the peaks. You had your choice to roll over them, dive through them or Bruce's favorite style, sit in the shallows and let them throw you where they will. He still has the road rash tattoo on his side as proof. We spent hours floating there. When we thought we were wrinkled and pickled enough we set out on the beach to the delight of those pesky no-no bugs again. We made a quick departure back to our respective boats.

Saturday 5/13 Arrival of a few more boats, Lawur, New Dawn, Nereid and Serenity to this beautiful anchorage and we all enjoyed a down day of relaxing. With the swim set up on the side of the boat again, the 6 boys all enjoyed the water.

Sunday 5/14 Happy Mother's Day. Traditionally for us we would have our annual camping kick off weekend for Mother's day. But seeing as how we were already camping, sort of, we opted for a Mother's Day hike, now affectionately referred to as the Mother's Day Death March. Anaho bay itself is inaccessible by car, there are no roads that lead to here. There is only a trail to hike in from the neighboring anchorage of Hatiheu Bay approximately 1 1/2 hours to the East. After my own delightful breakfast in bed and home made cards gifted to me, we took off with the crews from Capaz, Laura from New Dawn and Lawur.

The dinghy landing is a narrow channel marked by buoys as the anchorage is host to the only coral reef in the Marquesas. You find the church on the beach and follow the muddy path up behind. It was a good hike over the peak of the mountains and it provided us an amazing panoramic view of the anchorage, neighboring bays and all our boats below. Laura kept us entertained with word games the entire way and
though it was hot and long, these boys stamina wins out every time.

Once in the next town of Hakatea we enjoyed a quick snack and water break while Niki found us a jeep ride up to the ancient ruins. The ruins were surrounded with ceremonial tikis, platforms and pits. A mystically large banyan tree claims to be the location where they placed their dead king in the base because they believed it bad luck to cover the head with anything after you die. Our money was well spent at $5 dollars an adult for the jeep ride as he shuttled us from site to site, back down to the market that they graciously opened on a Sunday for us and fed us pampelmousse and bananas, and then gave us a ride up the end of the paved road and the beginning of our trek back home. Though a relatively narrow path, we were passed more than once by locals and even an occasional one on horseback. We were impressed because this was no easy trail due to its steepness and rocky undertows.

Monday 5/15 Time to head back to the busy anchorage of Taiohoe for a night while we regrouped before heading around to Daniels Bay. We provisioned a bit, gathered some money and more fuel. We greatly looked forward to the next stop the next day. With out the ability to swim here, murky waters and we hear the sharks are prevalent due to the dumping of fishermen's left over fish parts, there is not much desire to linger here long. And we are not
ones to tempt that fate.

Until next time,
Lisa and the boys

The Martins on Ohana Kai
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Daniel's Bay

2006-05-24T15:47:00.000+12:00

Wednesday 5/17 coordinates 08 56.663S,140 09.863W Baie Taioa - Hakaui and
Hakatea Coves

We took the few mile jaunt around the corner from Taiohae to Taioa, aka Daniels Bay named after a local gentleman named Kremont Teiketohe de Daniel. He lives in the Hakaui cove to the west and the original survivor show he will tell you was filmed in the Hakatea cove to the east. We anchored a ways off shore in hopes to escape the bugs known to inhabit the area, covered ourselves in long sleeve shirts and pants for the first time in who knows how long, dipped each other in vats of bug juice and set to shore to find the 3rd tallest waterfall in the world. We had heard many people talking on the radio regarding the difficult time they had landing their dinghy's on the beach, some even overturned. Not our masterful captain. He slid that baby right up onto that black sand where we hastily did the dinghy shuffle since the beach is where the dreaded no-no's live. Do you see a pattern here? AVOID THE BUGS!

We started up the trail following the river as instructed to do and what a treasure to find. First it follows through yet again, beautifully manicured properties, each dotted with all the breadfruit, mangos, coconuts, papayas, bananas, limes, and our favorite pamplemousse. As though the gorgeous backdrop of these steep peaks and green canyon walls wasn't beautiful enough, they each take the time to landscape with more colorful plants around their yards. Our new favorite sight is the jalapeno plants nearly as tall as me and completely covered with red, yellow and orange peppers. They all own weed whackers and let me tell you it looks like a never ending job
keeping things manicured the way they want. Their houses themselves are meager, almost always open air with four walls and a cement slab floor. Most people sleep on mats or futons of sorts, will little more than a few pictures taped to the wall, and bare bones necessities.

From here you follow the river which then looks like any trail right out of the Pacific Northwest. We were surprised to find the enormous excavator there actually moving the location and direction of the river. They have done a marvelous job of building and shoring up the edges. We got to know the river well as you have to cross it quite a few times in the duration of the hike. It never came higher than just above my knees that day but I imagine if there had been rain recently that would have been another story.

It was peacefully refreshing on this hot day with us in full gear. We continued to travel through a variety of scenes, some looking like jungle trails surrounded by ferns and coconuts trees, other times it looked like muddy, rocky river beds underneath groves of banyan trees. Then when you least expect it you are surrounded by high sheer rock canyon walls dripping with moisture and your feet are padded by a field of a special spring green ground cover that was actually almost hip high in spots. At the end of the meadow is a pool that is the base of the water fall. Though the fall itself sits much higher and around a corner so you only see the small base, the
canyon itself was breathtaking. We didn't swim in the pond as it was a bit murky and we heard is host to some rather large eels, no fish.

We snapped a few photos, added our trailblazers to the mix and headed back down the trail Martin style. We are becoming known as quite the fast walkers and trail blazers. Back in town we met up with Daniel and he invited us to sit with him awhile. Speaking very good English he is host to many a cruiser who passes by and has them all sign his book. He offered us some bananas and we gathered a few more pieces to his story. Though he never had children of his own, he did adopt a few boys. Most of them are have relocated to other islands or anchorages but some family still lives there. We signed his book, took a few photos and he declared himself two more grandsons with Tristan and Matthew. We watched a few coconut crabs run across the ground and hid in their holes, made our way back to the beach, quickly slipped Bob the dinghy back into the river ended a perfectly wonderful adventure.
Until next time
Lisa and the boys

The Martins on Ohana Kai
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Reaching our stride

2006-05-24T15:46:00.000+12:00

5/18 Thursday We pulled up anchor and headed back to one of our favorite anchorages in Hakatea on the island of Ua Pou. It is prized because of it's very settled waters, no rolling for us, it has amazingly easy dinghy access to get to town, very well provisioned magasins, the water is perfect for swimming and best of all, you guessed it - NO BUGS. It is not that we are so against bugs, just their bites. And these no-no bugs leave a bite that initially you don't feel, though the next day they welt up into terrible itching mounds and then move onto the slightly dormant phase that head up like a chicken pox mark, choosing to flair up and itch when they please.
The scars themselves can last up to two weeks we have found. Some people are much more susceptible than others. Bruce and Matthew apparently are much tastier than Tristan and I.

Capaz and Sarabi joined back in this anchorage as well and we were please to connect again with our pals on Moorea and Sensei. We had not seen Sensei, a kid boat carrying 11 year old Clair, since Marina del Rey. We spent Friday and Saturday enjoying the water and everyone's company. We baked a lot of banana bread, made some pizza to eat with the Kelly's and had a pancake breakfast with much of the gang on Sarabi Saturday morning. We finished our last bits of provisioning and Sunday morning after we greeted one last kid boat Blue Sky into the anchorage we made our departure and began our crossing for the Tuomotus. It is a bit strange to be leaving the Marquesas Islands behind but it is time and we are ready for a new set of islands to explore.

5/22 Monday coordinates 14 01.703S,142 00.406W wind 25-30 knots ENE. We are on our second over night of possibly 3 that it will take to reach landfall in the Tuomotus. These islands are known for being very low lying atolls, which are sunken islands of sorts, hollowed out with shallow lagoons in the middle, surrounded by coral reefs. We will be proceeding very carefully. Many of the passes run so shallow into the lagoons that they are not possible to navigate so we will pick and choose our island choices wisely. In order to navigate around many of these coral reefs you need to stand someone at the bow and watch for color changes in the water to see
where the reefs are and direct accordingly. The darker the water the deeper it is. We are starting in the southern set, choosing a road less traveled in hopes of some fun adventures. The islands are also known for their crystal clear aqua blue waters, amazing dive sites, and black pearl farms. We hope to enjoy them all.

We have to say that having been in the South Pacific for almost a month now, we feel like we are really beginning to hit our stride. Daily routines work a little more smoothly whether it is a daily load of laundry by hand or the trek to the store with the back pack. You only buy a few items at a time as it is all you can carry and the sticker shock won't kill you with these high French prices. A box of cereal at almost $7, you choose wisely. We are relaxing a bit more finally, enjoying the tasks that need to be done to keep us going, and enjoying the company of the little community that develops around us. It is a life to be shared.
Until next time,
Lisa and the boys

TheMartins on Ohana Kai
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watery playground

2006-05-12T15:36:00.000+12:00

We have covered a bit of ground and seen some beautiful locations since we last wrote. We enjoyed a couple more anchorages on Tahuata Island before heading north to some new spots.

Friday 4/28 09 56.251S,139 06.630W
As we entered Vaitahu, aka Resolution Bay named after one of Captain Cooks ships, we were escorted by magnificent spinner dolphins. We had been keeping our eye out for them but hadn't thought we would see them this soon. A comfortable anchorage, a friendly convenient town and we stayed a day or two longer than we had planned. There is a distinctive Catholic Church set
in the front of town with beautiful stained glass windows, built up with the rocks used as ballast from old ships combined with the wood from the island. Again, a similar service to any found at home only this time it was in Marquesan not French. The other main attraction was the well known tattoo shop visited by Ryan from Capaz who adorned himself with a new piece of artwork.

Monday 5/1 We headed just a few miles north to Ivaiva Bay where the boys enjoyed a bit of playtime on the beach.

Tuesday 5/2, coordinates 09 45.900S,139 08.422W
Back to the island of Hiva Oa. This time we entered a bay on the north side named Hanamenu. It was said to be the childhood home town of a gentleman we met by the name of Ozanne. From the water it looks like a serene black sand beach. We gathered ourselves into the dinghy and made a rush for the shore. In the back of the property was an oasis of a pool surrounded by lush hibiscus plants and trees of all varieties. We found a mini grove of citrus trees and lots of coconuts. The machete Bruce had been carrying around came into good use here. Unfortunately, that machete was of no help against the fierce nono's. Miniscule bugs with a fierce bite. We took a quick dip into the pool and made haste back to the dinghy. We made it out alive but poor
Matthew didn't put his shirt on and had the looks of a spotted leopard for quite a while. Bug spray and lotions had no effect on them. Tristan spotted a black tipped shark swimming in the shallows as we left as well.

Wednesday 5/3 09 21.516S, 140 02.834W
Ua Pou Island - We did one easy overnight passage from Hiva Oa to the island of Ua Pou (pronounced wa poe). We dropped anchor next to our pals on Capaz and met up again with Arctic Fox, another boat that carries a boy on board. That brings our total to 7 boys between 4 boats. Whew. The easy morning quickly got a little more exciting as we got word of an
earthquake that had occurs near the island of Tonga. A tsunami warning was sent out. Unfortunately the warning came in French and there is always a little bit lost in the translation. We were pretty sure that the info stated that we would only see a 10 cm rise in water, so we decided to wait it out. We pulled up a little bit of anchor chain to place us in a bit deeper water. Within 15 mins. There was an all clear and life settled back into regular rhythm. We went ashore at just the wrong time and found out again how to run on island time, even more relaxed than Mexico if that is possible. We were too late for lunch, to early for the check in at the Gendarmerie. They were to be back at 2:00 and by 3:00 they appeared. With a quick smile and jotting down our names we were checked in. As far as the island towns go this one again was impeccably clean, quiet and content. It seemed a bit more laid out grid style like a town you would see at home and much more developed than previous ones. Surrounded by green mountains and striking spires almost continuously hidden in clouds. We spent the next 4
days using the anchorage as our own personal pool. Each boat decked out with it's version of a swing, the kids swung like monkeys from boat to boat to boat. Thursday we celebrated Zack's birthday on Capaz, Friday night the Kelly's on Moorea took on all 7 boys for another movie night.

Saturday the town held an Outrigger Competition. Those are some amazingly strong arms and shoulders. Young and old boys took to the water in their colorful outriggers for some grueling races in one and 4 man competitions. In the afternoon over loud speaker they called all "American Boaters" to come to the shore for volleyball. We eagerly appeared and gleefully shelled out $10 per person to enter 2 teams of three into their competition. Luckily we realized what we were getting into and we were more than happy to lose our money this way. One could be rather begrudged when handing over $60 for 6 t-shirts and a few very hot, sweaty games of volleyball that of course we lost. The announcer did feel obligated to let us know that there
was no prize for 3rd and 4th place. Ya think. We were proud of our efforts and had a great time getting some fun exercise. I am not sure what they think of our skills though. Sunday we rested and provisioned in anticipation of departing for the next island in the chain. The one
provision you can be assured of getting in the French Polynesian Islands are baguettes of bread and the only item that is reasonably priced. The bread is price controlled and very cheap at 40 cents a loaf. You do have to be the early bird though. We have seen their shelves emptied by 7am on busy days.

5/8 Monday 08 54.907S,140 05.976W
Tahiahoe Bay, Nuku Hiva Island.
A short day sail, perfect 12-15 knot winds out the East as we made our way to the next island of Nuku Hiva. One of the larger and more populated destinations in the chain. As we entered the bay we noticed 4 or 5 enormous manta rays feeding in circles. From the surface they looked to be at least 5 to 6 feet wide. Bruce quickly grabbed his goggles and dove in to swim with them while we circled him. He said their mouths looked like they could swallow him whole. We set anchor and head to shore just before dark with the crews of Capaz and Lawur. A bit of walking in the dark and we found a great pizza place. We will get checked into to customs here quickly and get out to the other anchorages to sneak a peak. The island is a bit more famous as it was the island where the "Survivor Marquesas" shows were taped. We will check out the bay and let you know what we think. We have heard that they bay, also known as Daniel's bay, named after the local gentleman who lives there, has never quite been the same since the show took over that year. Such is the price of technology and entertainment.

Until next time,
Lisa and the boys

The Martins on Ohana Kai
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Email not working

2006-05-12T15:31:00.000+12:00

Hello Everyone, First of all I would like to let everyone know we are okay
and the Tsunami in Tonga barely made a ripple where we were in the Ua Po
Marqueses. Thank you everyone for your concern. As with regards to our
email..... well lets just say technology is great when it works and when it
doesn't work well ... it doesn't work. We unfortunately have not been
getting or sending any email for the last couple of weeks soooooooo, If you
have sent us an email within the last 2 weeks or so and have not received a
reply that is why... Sooooo RESEND those babies!!!! We have made a temporary
fix so the email system is up and running again and hopefully will continue
to work. If you don't receive a reply feel free to resend the email
directly to the boat at ke7dqv@winlink.org instead of the website
themartins@ohanakai.net Both SHOULD be working now but again if you don't
get a reply resend to the Ke7dqv@winlink.org address.. Sorry for any
concerns we may have caused you all and please feel free to email us and
tell us all about it. Till then... Fair winds

TheMartins on Ohana Kai
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Island Hopping

2006-04-30T18:51:00.000+12:00

Friday 4/28/06
Tahuata Island, Hana Tefua Bay
Coordinates 09 48.536S, 138 57.839W

Island Number 3 already. We had a quick trip from Fatu Hiva up to Hiva Oa (09 46.144S, 139 01.871W). We rounded the corner into Taahuku Bay to find at least 15 boats anchored in there. Anchored is a very loose term we soon learned. It is more like being parallel parked on a slip and slide as we all constantly had to set and reset both bow and stern anchors nearly everyday. It is not that large of a bay either and at its greatest, we counted 25 sailboats, 2 power boats. You learn to get comfortable with close neighbors quickly, or get claustrophobic and get out.

We were excited to reunite with a lot of friends that we hadn't seen for as much as 4 months. Friday night the local outrigger canoe club was having a fundraiser dinner and we all went ashore to partake of curry goat, and pork stew with breadfruit. I don't think they we quite ready for the turnout. Offer new food to cruisers that haven't really seen land for 3 weeks and watch out for the stampede.

4/22 Saturday morning we hit the pavement early as we had hoped to clear customs that day. The good news is that although town is over 4 miles away, the standard form of transportation is hitchhiking. Nearly every local owns a flatbed truck of some sorts and you rarely have to walk for long. The boys were tickled to get to ride in the back of a truck at least 2 times a day. We didn't clear customs that day but did have a nice walkabout town and got some new provisions. We tried out a very expensive hamburger and longed for our cheap and tasty Mexico days.

4/23 Sunday we joined a few other crew members and headed to church. A beautiful Catholic Church set in the middle of town. It was fun to see that not many things are different even half way around the world. Babies and toddlers getting all the attention, teens struggling to pay attention and not goof off. The beauty in the singing and flower headdress was a sight so see, smell and hear. The service though in another language was dead on to any service at home and you felt like you knew just where you were, including the long drawn out gospel and messages at the end that left even the locals fidgeting and shushing each other as the noise level started to rise. The rest of the day was a day for relaxing and deep cleaning. Instead of the usual spring cleaning you all may be thinking about starting, we have our own form of "crossing cleaning". Time to dig deep and attend to all the items you joyfully neglect while bouncing under way. We did have a nice pot luck on our buddies boat Capaz that night and swapped some more stories.

4/24 Monday we were able to clear customs with record speed. We engaged the service of an agent who helped us to fax paper work back and forth quickly and get a discount on the fuel there. We were lucky to get an agent there who was willing to spend the extra five minutes and grant us our 90 day extension. Without it, you only have 30 days to see all the French Polynesian Islands. A bit fast for our speed. We grabbed a few more provisions and headed out Tuesday for a neighboring island Tahuata.

4/25 We opted to settle our first night in the most southern anchorage called Hana Tefua. A nice big bay with a great sandy bottom. We entered in a pretty strong rain storm that lasted more on than off for the next 24 hours. It was refreshingly beautiful and left us talking a lot about home. The boys spent the entire day playing, dancing and singing in the rain. They filled every bucket and bowl we own. I was able to fill all the sinks and did all our laundry, dishes, showers and still was able to fill our water tanks. It was glorious. 4/26 Wednesday we visited the tiny little town and hiked up to the top of a hill that offers a great view of the bay and holds a wonderfully large cross and shrine. We enjoyed the giggles of some more local children and got to taste a fruit that was new to us. Still haven't found out what it is. On the outside it looks like a lime with an very thin skin. On the inside it is like a very large peeled grape with a mild sweet taste and the strangest looking seed I have ever seen. Something to investigate further. Capaz, Lawur and New Dawn have joined us here today, Thursday 4/27, and everyone is enjoying the sunshine and some nice swimming. Still trying to dodge the jelly fish stings but we are getting tougher, or at least more brave.

It is amazing to think that we are checking off one island at a time with such speed already. It challenges us to really try to live in the moment and appreciate each day. Although each island looks so similar they each have their own unique personality and traits. It is most fun to turn each corner and look to see if Max and his Wild Things could swing out from the palm trees at any moment.

until next time,
Lisa and the boys

The Marquesas Islands

2006-04-23T15:46:00.000+12:00

Wow, in a strange way the crossing seemed to fly by. It certainly had it's challenges but overall we had an amazing run and luckily a very quick crossing. We surprised even ourselves with an official time of 18 days 16 hours if we went by local time, but whose counting. We rounded the point to come into the island of Fatu Hiva on Monday and were surprised with how strong the winds kept up. 25 knots never let up as we entered Hanavave Bay (Bay of Virgins). It was fun to enter the anchor and recognize one out of 7 boats in the anchorage, Sarabi was there to greet us. A couple of attempts and we had the anchor down in 100 ft of water. Had to dust off all those technical skills again.

The island and anchorage itself were absolutely breathtaking, especially at sunset as we got settled. It took a while to all sink in. As Capaz aptly put it though, a deserted desert island would have looked good at that point. Luckily, we were blessed with lush green, tropical jungles, rock spires with imaginary faces in each turn. We enjoyed a most wonderful full night of sleep despite the winds and rain that continue to pick up and whip though on a whim. The temperature is comfortable, not to hot or humid, and though the rain can come down in heaps and loads, you dry quickly and a bit more refreshed.

Capaz and Lawur sailed in the next day Tuesday and we visited the town. From here, there were so many fun stories and events that it got difficult to keep up. We went ashore with Capaz while Lawur worked on anchoring. Immediately we were met by locals who want to trade or sell, good such as tiki's and tapas and food. A quick walk through the village and you are instantly on the other end of town in someone's kitchen eating papaya or filling your backpacks with pamplemousse (gigantic yummy grapefruit). The language is a fun mix of Marquesan, not to be confused with Tahitian, French and English. We felt like we knew very little of any and yet communication rarely a problem. Many of them have gone to school in Hiva Oa and speak very good English and are happy to teach you whatever you need to know.

A gal named Florida, (there are two in town she informed us), gave us our first taste of bartering for goods and food. We viewed her tapas, the bark of banyan trees that are pounded and drawn on in special polynesian motifs. We admired her brood of pigs and she offered us lemons and pamplemousse. We promised to return with goodies as she greatly admired Ryan's (Capaz) soccer ball and our clothing. Despite the fun goods that they like to trade for that may be a bit harder to come by, it appears that they are a thriving community that want for nothing. It is an interesting mix from bare feet to weed whackers, entire families under one roof but pressure treated wood stacked nearby for new construction, women wrapped in beautiful sarongs with flowers in their hair creating decorations for the church out of palm fronds and satellite dishes in the front yards.

Next we met Serge (goodwill ambassador or Fatu Hiva), his daughter Lorena and his large extended family from his parents all the way down to grandchildren and neighbors. Everyone in the family makes something from tikis to ukuleles and while we were viewing them all we found ourselves quickly commissioned for a sewing project in exchange for a special tiki. Serge had a nice new 30HP Yamaha outboard that he would like to have a cover made for but he had no material or machine. Bruce knew someone who could get the job done. hmmmm. We found out that Serge's brother Jean-Pierre needed one as well and got Niki in on the action. It was lucky for us they offered the trade as we certainly didn't have the $200-300 it was going to cost to buy one of those lovely tikis. We wrapped up the day watching the locals enjoy a rambunctious game of soccer with Tod and Ryan from Capaz while the sunset over the bay. The crew from Sarabi, Capaz and ourselves boarded Lawur for a quick toast to our successful crossing and exciting adventures in the future. Careful what you wish for.

The next morning, Wednesday, we awoke to see Lawur drifting within 20 feet of us, that's peculiar, they were anchored way up in front of us. Again, as so many blessings line up just right, even this challenge came out ok. The line that held them to their anchor disconnected leaving the anchor on the bay floor and them adrift. Luckily it occurred just as their son Sebastian awoke and happened to go up and check the line. They quickly tossed a line to Sarabi and rafted up for the day. Bruce and Robert were able to retrieve the line, repair and reattach Lawur to their anchor. We made a quick trip to shore to show Lawur around and were invited to dinner by Lorena and her family for the next day.

Thursday we got our acts together and went to shore to make a nice hike to the waterfall. We were met nearly right off the dock by the local policia municipal, oh oh. He stopped all 3 boats worth of people and informed us that we had one hour to leave. Since we had made the choice to come to Fatu Hiva before going to Hiva Oa for official check in with the Gendarme, we knew that this was a possibility. A bit of quick talking and some help from Lorena and her family, he gave us 24 hours before departing. It is a tiny community, and I hardly doubt Serge was going to let his not yet finished outboard motor cover slip away that easily, but it certainly was putting a crimp in our time schedules. We hiked for a good hour through the lovely countryside, lots of mud, over rocky hill and dale and were rewarded with a refreshing waterfall and freshwater pool. Cool but certainly worth the swim. We ate some quick snacks, hiked our way back down to finish our sewing projects before dinner at the Koheueinui household. Though my machine broke as the last stitches were being placed, Serge was very pleased, and I was able to put the finishing details on using Niki's machine later. We were treated to some local foods such as chicken cooked in coconut milk with mangos, breadfruit fried and baked to name just a few. Chilled mandarins for dessert, topped off with ice cold red Kool-Aide I think. Serges and his family took turns playing the ukuleles and singing for us. It was a special time. We did a bit more trading for goods and were on our way.

Friday morning, today, I took a quick walk back into town to deliver the finished motor cover and say good-byes. It was fun to see that a sleepy town looks and sounds the same nearly everywhere. Children playing, breakfast cooking, neighbors meeting at property lines to discuss something important. The smell of fresh gardenia everywhere certainly added a romantic flair to everything. I handed out my last few bits of "bon-bons" (candy) to the children that follow you everywhere, took their picture to show them as they giggled one last time and we pulled anchor to head for Hiva Oa. We shall start our official check in and see what adventure lies next.

Nana, (good bye in Marquesan)
until next time,
Lisa and the boys

Day 18 Happy Easter!!!

2006-04-18T04:20:00.000+12:00

Day 18 4/16/06 4:30 am
Coordinates............ 02 39.656S, 131 22.818W
Heading................ 210
Boat speed..............7 knots
24 hr total nm .........170 nautical miles (NM)
miles total since MX....approx. 2679 nm
Wind direct. & speed....E 20-25 knots
Swell direct. & ht .....E 3-5 ft.
Cloud cover.............80%
Barometer...............996

Frist and foremost, Happy Easter to everyone.
Second, we have only 100 more miles to go!
After our crazy night we each tried to let the other sleep as long as possible. Still feeling a bit battered, sleep is the best cure right now. The boys of course popped up like daisies this morning in anticipation of Easter. We had discussed this and decided ahead of time that the Easter bunny probably wouldn't make it offshore. Secondly, much like Santa, he is not going to appear if there is anyone awake. As Tristan pointed out, there is always someone awake so that makes it nearly impossible. To which Matthew chimes in, who needs the Easter Bunny when we have the Easter Mommy. Bless his heart.

Easter mommy said that she had been taking notes the last few years from the Easter Bunny and came through in full force for them. Awaiting their bright eyes this morning were easter bags instead of baskets filled with a few bits of candy, games and books. We had died eggs the night before but unfortunately they tried to take flight in the middle of the night and many had already left their shells. It is rather difficult to find hiding places on a moving boat I must say. It was a wonderful day all in all. I have lost track of how many rain clouds we have passed though but of course they always come up as Bruce is heading down for his nap. We wrapped it up with some nice pork chops instead of our usual Easter ham and a few chocolate eggs.

Last bit of news is that we have changed our course a bit. We were heading for the island of Hiva Oa and the Atuona anchorage where one clears customs. We learned this morning that they are going to be dredging there for the next few days. We had also heard it rumored that they don't mind if you visit another island for a few days before checking in. That island for most people would be Fatu Hiva, the southern most and perhaps one of the most beautiful islands. It is one of the few without an airstrip therefore most preserved. The way the winds blow, it is most beneficial for navigation of you can start there and work your way back to the other islands, so that's what we'll do. Our pals on Lawur and Capaz are only a day behind us so we will all convene there. Depending on how the winds go tomorrow, we should be there by tomorrow evening. We can hardly believe this passage is almost complete. It sort of all runs together but I can hardly believe it has been nearly 3 weeks. We were hoping to arrive before sunset but that looks a little difficult so now we are hoping for closer to 10:00 pm after the moon rises. Any light we can have to help us in would be great. Hopefully next time I will be writing you from an anchored boat. Could you imagine!

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

Day 17 - On our toes

2006-04-18T04:19:00.000+12:00

Day 17 4/15/06 4:30 am
Coordinates............ 02 39.656S, 131 22.818W
Heading................ 210
Boat speed..............7 knots
24 hr total nm .........180 nautical miles (NM)
miles total since MX....approx. 2245 nm
Wind direct. & speed....E/SE 15-20 knots
Swell direct. & ht .....E 1-3 ft.
Cloud cover.............100%
Barometer...............993

We awoke to a beautiful sunny day. The winds had been steady, doing some wonderful sailing and we had made a record day over the past 24 hours of 180 miles sailed. Bruce and I even got showers in before we completed our radio nets and he was ready for his nap. Right after he went down, I noted that a few rain clouds starting to form around the area, very common these days for this latitude. We knew boats ahead of us as well had experienced quite a lot of showers. Matthew just happened to ask if he could turn on the radar, typically used only at night for us. We are often able to see the rain on the radar, but not always. We could see a few up ahead which we would never catch. But not on the radar was a large one behind us. I could see it coming but not to concerned with it, as up to now they had only brought a bit of water and not much else. No sooner had I given it that thought then the wind indicator caught my eye. We had been cruising along at 15 knots or so and it read 45 knots. Rubbed my eyes, could that be. It bounced between the 30's and 40's for a moment as I ran this through my brain. It didn't feel like 45 knots yet but we had full sails up and if this was true we were soon going to be overpowered. 30 to 40 knots of wind is very doable when you are prepared, we had better ready quick. In the time it took me to think this, wake Bruce and get up top, it was upon us. We quickly reefed in the main and rolled up the head sail a bit and we were dumped upon. It took a moment to gain control. This squall passed nearly as fast as it hit and after 15 minutes or so we were all fine but it certainly got our attention. From then on each storm has packed a bit more winds though nothing quite to that degree.

Adding insult to our injured prides that day, proof that the learning curve can be a little slow on Ohana Kai sometimes. This is the funny thing with guards, the moment you let them down is obviously the time to strike. The sun had been back out for hours and we were running dead down wind. This means typically, very smooth sailing with little water coming over the bow. We opened up the hatches for a while to air it out. Poor Bruce, the powers that be have conspired against him and decided that he does not need or deserve sleep at this point. As he began to try for a second nap, we hit a swell square on our port side that dumped buckets and buckets of water into every open hatch. Even though the hatches over our bed are covered by the dinghy and were only open a 1/2" or less, that was enough space to dump a bucket of water on his head. The remainder came in on our main salon. Luckily, there were no computers out at the time. The only casualty was a game boy, most every cushion and our pride. We are drying out nicely and doing many loads of laundry to try to remove the salt water from items, very tough job.

I'd like to say the day eased up but we continued to run through one rapid squall after another with the swells at our side for a rolly ride. The night brought about 3 hours of lightning, none which ever got to close to the boat thankfully. But it still is a very unnerving thing to have occur around a boat, filled with electrical equipment, sitting on the water. I can officially say my nerves were shot. The saving grace is that we know we are with a couple of days of the island. What fun would the story be if we didn't wrap the passage up with a bang.

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

Day 16 - Better late than never

2006-04-16T03:05:00.000+12:00

Day 16 4/14/06 3:00 am
Coordinates............ 04 52.700S, 133 11.421W
Heading................ 200
Boat speed..............7 knots
24 hr total nm .........170 nautical miles (NM)
miles total since MX....approx. 2317 nm
Wind direct. & speed....NE 15-20 knots
Swell direct. & ht .....E 1-3 ft.
Cloud cover.............95%
Barometer...............994

Those E/SE winds finally arrived today for a solid amount of time allowing everyone to start making the easy point of sail they had been hoping for. Of course as I am writing this to you, little rain clouds have popped up all around us and the wind has decided to go squirrely from NE to E. Can't be choosy though. We have been having an amazing run at it and with less than 500 miles to go we'll take whatever we get.

In anticipation of arriving on land, the boys and I got to work finishing some more flags of the countries we will be visiting. It is proper etiquette to fly the national flag of the country you are visiting on your right spreader, higher than your own out of respect. As a good learning tool, we opted to make our own flags rather than buy them. (Notice Bruce shaking his head in the background like we are crazy). Some of them are a bit intricate shall we say. Hopefully these perspective countries will be honored by our effort not necessarily on our talent.

Of the 25 or so boats that we know that are making the crossing, many are beginning to make landfall and the reports are coming back in on the daily nets. Land sweet land. It sounds wonderful and we can't wait to see it for ourselves. Hiva Oa is the island of choice for most people as the place to enter customs and do more paper work cha cha. It looks as though you can hire an agent to represent you and assist you through the customs process for a fee, which can greatly reduce the amount of time and energy spent to complete this process, perhaps even by a day or so. There are trade off's we hear to doing it each way and have yet to decide for ourselves which will be the best course of action.

The idea of touching land soon is sounding very appealing to everyone. Though the art of living on a moving boat does require much physical effort, all these little legs are so excited at the idea of really running. We are not sure if the anticipation of it at this point makes the wait easier or more difficult.
Always a double edge sword.

Please remember not to hit the reply button when writing back to us. Simply reply to themartins@ohanakai.net, or please cut out the old document so that it cuts down on our download time. We have limited amounts of time that we can get proper connections and download our emails each day. Thank you.

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

Day 15

2006-04-15T03:46:00.000+12:00

Day 15 4/13/06 2:00 am
Coordinates............ 02 39.656S, 131 22.818W
Heading................ 215
Boat speed..............5 knots
24 hr total nm .........150 nautical miles (NM)
miles total since MX....approx. 2170 nm
Wind direct. & speed....NE 5-10 knots
Swell direct. & ht .....E 1-3 ft.
Cloud cover.............55%
Barometer...............994

Have to admit the the day after crossing the equator was very peaceful but rather anticlimactic. We are unfortunately still a bit plagued by wind that is a bit light and still slightly from the wrong direction and swells that are nearly perpendicular to us. That is continuing to make for some difficult sleep and restless days. Just after I signed off at 5am yesterday the winds picked up to 15 knots or so and we were able to sail for the majority of the day but continued to make only southern progression. We do need to start heading a bit more westerly, so when the winds die down and the motor starts up we resume our 210 to 215 course heading.

The great news is that our cruising pals out here, Lawur, Capaz and Long Tall Sally all made their crossing of the equator as well last night. We have so many things to celebrate when we reunite in the islands. We continue to change time zones and gained another hour today. That allowed school to be done a bit early and we found ourselves with some extra time. We took the opportunity to finally begin reading up on the places we will be visiting first in the Marquesas Islands. We are readying ourselves to maneuver customs in another new country. Time to learn some french I guess. It is going to be hard to drop the spanish. The reality of being only about 5 days away has hit us fast and hard. It seemed so far away when we began this crossing 15 days ago. That "to do" list we had created for the passage seems rather large and untouched at this point.

Quick reminder. These daily journal entries have all been sent directly to the blog/journal sight to be read on our web site at www.ohanakai.net. It has been brought to my attention that everyone may not have known that or may not have access to the web to see the journal entries. If that is the case, please let me know and I will resend them to you and add you to the growing list of people who need to be emailed directly. If you have access, don't forget to check out the goggle earth and yotreps cruising trackers. Both are great ways to see where we are. Occasionally, the data we send doesn't get through right away so if we look as though we haven't checked in each day, don't worry.

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

Day 14 - Shellbacks!

2006-04-14T04:56:00.000+12:00

Day 14 4/12/06 3:52 am
Coordinates............ 00 37.247S, 130 42.103W
Heading................ 210
Boat speed..............5 knots
24 hr total nm .........115 nautical miles (NM)
miles total since MX....approx. 2006 nm
Wind direct. & speed....NE 5-10 knots
Swell direct. & ht .....E 1-3 ft.
Cloud cover.............55%
Barometer...............994

Four new shellbacks have joined the force. It's official, if you notice up in the coordinates it now proudly displays S instead of N in latitude. We have entered the Southern Hemisphere and we are excited. At 5pm we logged onto our final check in of the day with our cruising pals and exchanged daily stories. With much well wishing from them we signed off and quickly ran up top to watch the final clicks of degrees/minutes/seconds to see the proud display of 00 000.000 on the monitor shortly before 6pm. We had pulled down the mainsail, placed the boat in neutral a while before, so we were gently coasting as we crossed the equator. Moments before we crossed, Bruce jumped in and ceremoniously, and nakedly I might add, swam across the equator. He hopped aboard and we each took our turns, also nakedly, dipping in the warm waters at the equatorial turning point. Once dry, we donned our crowns, gathered our offerings and gave a toast to King Neptune. We asked of him that he grant us continued safe passage on our journeys, that he shower us with more fun adventures, that he continues to grace us with new friends along the way and that he bless the friends and family that we share this journey with. In return, we offered to continue our journey with open minds, compassionate hearts and willing spirits. With the purest and most precious beverage we had aboard, water, we each toasted His Royal King Neptune, and in offering the youngest members of the crew gave overboard our written scroll of requests/offerings and a dash of our most expensive beverage on board, tequila. (What can we say, we just left Mexico) Hopefully we have pleased King Neptune and our offerings will be accepted in the depths of his sea.

We opted out on the shrimp menu as we just couldn't justify eating a creature of his kingdom on this day. Our favorite pasta filled the bill and chocolate cake for dessert. We chose yet another fun and appropriate movie for the night, Shark Tales. Yes, it may have crossed our minds as we looked deep into ocean blue beneath our toes at that moment.

Aside from our wonderful diversion of celebration, the day was very routine. The winds continue to be extremely light and shifting all around. We continue to motor and hope they will fill in soon. A quick side note, the newest edition of the magazine Latitude 38 is out and contains a story covering all the boats crossing with us. It can be found at any West Marine store or often other boating stores. Included are photos and information on each boat including us.

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

Day 13 - Drying Out

2006-04-13T02:43:00.000+12:00

Day 13 4/11/06 3:25 am
Coordinates............ 01 06.616N, 129 50.846W
Heading................ approx. 180 when motoring, 210 when sailing
Boat speed..............5 knots
24 hr total nm .........123 nautical miles (NM)
miles total since MX....approx. 1890 nm
Wind direct. & speed....E/SE 8 knots
Swell direct. & ht .....E 3 - 6 ft.
Cloud cover.............55%
Barometer...............994

Drying out! We awoke to the most beautiful sunshine, blue skies and fluffy happy cumulus clouds we have seen in a while. We have laid everything out to hang and drip dry in the sun as we everything is soaked to the core after those squalls. It looks at this point as though we have made a quick passage through the ITCZ. There is the possibility that it can actually balloon up in size and swallow you back in if it wants but we are hoping for the best. The winds and swell slowly crept their way around over the last 24 hours and as of 5pm today had officially made it around to the E/SE. We again are hoping that this is the SE trades for keeps and not just a little pocket of wind we have happened upon. If they were to keep up in this direction, it places us on nearly a direct line to sail to the Marquesas.

While it was so calm, we took the time to work on a few maintenance and minor repairs that we had accrued during the storms. There are little plastic lines called Dutchmen that weave intermittently up through the main sail. They help to stabilize it as you raise and lower the sail, helping to fold it up neatly when you are putting it away. One had broken in the storm and though it is a relatively easy fix, all projects on a bobbing boat take time. That solved we had time left to chat on the radio with our neighbor boats. We can report that all 3 boats are doing great and making great time with us. We have all begun to discuss just what each one has planned to celebrate their crossing of the equator.

Matthew has been fast at work making crowns for us to wear as we cross and hail the mighty King Neptune. Tomorrow we shall work on a trident. We have yet to decide on the libation to serve him and we still haven't decided on the special meal. Matthew requested shrimp but Tristan thought it may be in poor form to eat a creature from King Neptune's Sea. We are not sure if he would be honored or offended. Hmmmm something to ponder.

The sea is finally beginning to look more like Bruce and I envisioned it at this point. As the winds die out tonight, the sea is so flat, calm and peaceful. Bruce may get his wish of jumping in and swimming across the equator at this point. Tonight as I am writing the winds have died down to 5-8 kn. and we are gliding along at a simple 2 - 3 knots. We have noticed as well that we must be working against some pretty serious currents at this time since our measured speed in the water versus our speed over ground are always at least a knot different if not more. That is pretty significant. With a nearly full moon out and only the most brilliant stars showing in its presence, it is breathtaking. I am torn between starting the engine to keep us on our schedule and assure that we don't get stuck in the dulldrums or keeping the peace and enjoying this time.
It can be a fine balance sometimes between destination and journey.

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

A REAL fish story!!!!

2006-04-12T23:39:00.000+12:00

Okay, Okay, everyone keeps asking me (Bruce), when are you going to write an update? My response is always the same "When I have something important to say". Besides Lisa does a wonderful job painting beautiful images of far away places, and quite frankly I'm more the.... "Stupid Comment Guy". I've always felt you should stick to what you are good at and leave the writing to writers. Well, since I still haven't figured out what it is I am good at (aside from breaking things, fixing them only to inevitably break them again), Today is the day or Night rather I get in on the Act. I Finally have a story worth telling. Okay, so here goes.

My story is maybe more a Theory than anything else since some of the facts where not witnessed by me and the only one who could contradict or corroborate these facts is 8 inches long, has wings, gills and is now swimming somewhere near 07 degrees north and 124 degrees west. Well, enough already, let me tell you my Fish Story. It was about 11:30 last night while I was on my watch. I was down below doing very official and highly technical sailing navigational .... stuff. I would try to explain it but I'm sure it would go right over most of your heads as you all do not have the proper training or superior analytical thinking skills I posses. For simplicity sake, let's just say I was sitting down below watching old episodes of Seinfeld and eating Oreos. The boat was flying along, dead downwind, running Wing and Wing, with giant 12 foot walls of waves propelling us to speeds of over 10 knots. (Okay a knot is just over 1 MPH) Now to your non-sailing mind this may not seem very fast but in your world this would equate to lets say, driving in your grandfathers Winnebago, in the fast lane, at night, on a winding, icy road with your nephew (who just got his learners permit) driving. Oh yah, and he's going really, really fast. Suddenly the boat careens sideways, heels over 45 degrees and points dead into the wind. My bag of Oreos goes rocketing..... I mean my Sextant (Jim, this is not something dirty, its a sailing, navigational Thingy) goes shooting across the salon. I quickly throw on my harness and clip into the safety lines as I lunge out of the companionway and into the cockpit. Like the savvy well trained sailor I am, I quickly assess the situation and realize I don't know what the hell is going on. And then it hits me...the boat is doing a doughnut as if no one is steering the boat.....THAT'S IT!!!!! NO ONE IS STEERING THE BOAT!!! Auto the trusty ship's auto pilot is in "Standby" mode. Now, I'm fairly certain it was turned to on when I left it since it has been steering the boat for approximately 36 hours straight now and we seem to still be on course. I do a couple of fancy calculations involving stars, celestial bodies, the position of Orion's belt and the fact that I am a Leo and ascertain that we are indeed still on course. I reset Auto with the proper compass heading and logarithmic calculations taking into account currents, fetch, cross track errors and some other fancy words I can't remember right now and head back to my command center. Now here is where it starts to get interesting. As I reach the bottom of the stairs to the companionway and step into the galley to get some milk to go with my ........to drink while I carefully plot our course, I feel something wet and slimy under my toes. Ahhhh You guessed it,,, this is where the Fish comes in. Yep, there he is INSIDE the boat in the Galley. A big old flying or in this case flopping fish. Oh my gosh!!! This is awesome!!! This fish must have been having the flight of his LIFE. I mean these guys don't usually get more than about 2 feet off the surface of the water. To make it all the way into the boat.... This guy must of been just plain old Showing off!!! Well of course no one was going to believe me if I just Told them a flying fish flew into my boat in the middle of the night, I needed corroboration. So I did what any of you would have done...Yes, Yes, I could have taken a picture but I couldn't just enjoy this all by myself, so I woke Lisa up. Sure she had only slept maybe 8 hours in the last 3 days but I knew she wouldn't want to miss THIS. Well, let's just say she wasn't quite as excited to see the flying/flopping, oh yea and did I mention smelly fish was in her Galley. Well at this point I thought it would be best if I just put the little guy back in the water but as I bent down to pick him up I noticed something remarkable about him. Even more than his cute little fishy open mouth smile there was something I had never seen before. It was incredible.... Wake Lisa back up again, you gotta see this, you're not going to believe it .....His PO PO glows!! Yes his butt, His unmentionable .. IT GLOWS. Again, my amazement was greeted with less enthusiasm than I had hoped, so at this point I decided I better cut my losses and just put the little guy back. I tried to muster a little bit more interest from Lisa before her head hit the pillow again, on whether or not she thought the Fish would fly or plop as I tossed him back over the side but she was already asleep. For those of you who are interested, I know at least the guys are, he plopped.

Okay, so at this point I'm sure you are all thinking this seems to be your ordinary, run of the mill, everyday fish flies into a boat down a companionway hatch and into the kitchen where he gets stepped on story. Where does the theory come in? Where is the amazing part? Well, it didn't come to me right away either. It wasn't until I was lying in bed later that night rocking and rolling on the rough seas that it came to me. How this fish could have made this remarkable flight just didn't add up.....No way could this fish with its tiny wings, no ailerons and barely a fin for a rudder have made the hair-pin, barn stormer, Blue Angel maneuver to make it into our kitchen... It just wasn't possible. And then it hit me. My dad always told me while watching murder mystery movies together trying to figure out who the Killer was "There are no coincidences"................. THE AUTOPILOT!! Was it a coincidence that the Autopilot mysteriously turned off at the Same moment this flying fish made his miracle flight. I DON'T THINK SO!!!

I propose that said fish flew out of the water glanced off the Stand-By button (turning the auto pilot off of course) skipped over the companionway hatch and flopped onto the galley floor. This explains everything. It is the only logical explanation. This morning I checked for residual fishy smell on the Stand-by button but to further complicate the issue Lisa had hung some Laundry over the control face. So every time the boat rocked, the towel hanging there wiped the face of the Autopilot clean and thus taking any proof with it. So that's it. That's my story. You can believe what you want to believe but I know the truth. I know it, and Fishy knows it.

Day 11 - Change is Good

2006-04-12T23:22:00.001+12:00

Day 11 4/9/06 4:31 am
Coordinates............ 05 01.978N, 127 48.272W
Heading................ approx. 209
Boat speed..............6 knots
24 hr total nm .........150 nautical miles (NM)
miles total since MX....approx. 1600 nm
Wind direct. & speed....N/NE 12 - 15 knots
Swell direct. & ht .....N 3 - 6 ft.
Cloud cover.............85%
Barometer...............994

What a different a day makes! Judging by all the rain and small squalls we have be through today, we have decided we must have entered the that ITCZ. Rain, Rain, Rain, glorious rain. Bet all you Washington folks didn't want to hear that word again. These are the first drops of significant precipitation we have seen in over 6 - 7 months. We were tickled pink. It was such a nice change to see that even the boys were excited and put out bowls to collect it. The boat looks a little cleaner and we were all happy for the distraction. Dare I say it made us a bit homesick. The squalls were never very big and did not carry much wind so it was always enjoyable to watch them form and move on the radar. The swells as well seemed to be a little less busy today giving us all a break. Though I was informed that after I went to sleep tonight for Bruce's first shift, we clocked 35 knots sustained and up to 40+ gusts. Apparently I can sleep through anything.

We have nearly come to our mark to begin our turn, thus the new compass heading tonight. We have been reviewing our weather faxes called grib files. They are a picture of the wind, where it is and where it is projected to be over the next 48 hours. From those, we try to anticipate where and when is the best place to cross the equator. We have chosen now to begin that process. At present we have a fairly straight shot to the Marquesas but we shall see what happens in the middle. The big issue for most people becomes, how much fuel do you have left?, how many hours of motoring/charging remain? In discussion with all the boats out here, the big surprise has been just how much more we run our batteries down than expected. Everyone is having a hard time maintaining very full batteries. Personally, we have never had them run so low. Between the refrigerator, freezer, computers and the auto pilot, the they are all working extremely hard and take a lot of juice. Thus we are trying to keep our consumption down to a minimum.

To add to poor Bruce's sleepy head issues, we are doing this funny time change shuffle, which has us confused at any given moment. As we travel west, we are changing back a few time zones in a matter of days. We add to that day light saving time, and a few other boats that are never in the same zone at the same time. Lastly, all the radio nets that we listen to are in UTC time, which was hard enough to keep track of when we did know what time it was. Again, add in our sleepy heads and we nearly have smoke coming out our ears each time we try to figure out where we are. At this point we are lucky to remember each others names. Hopefully in a few days we will all be on the other side, more rested and wiser for the efforts.

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

Day 10 HALF WAY THERE!

2006-04-12T23:22:00.000+12:00

Day 10 4/8/06 3:21 am
Coordinates............ 06 38.109N, 125 36.100W
Heading................ approx. 230
Boat speed..............6 knots
24 hr total nm .........166 nautical miles (NM)
miles total since MX....approx. 1400 nm
Wind direct. & speed....N/NE 12 - 15 knots
Swell direct. & ht .....N 3 - 6 ft.
Cloud cover.............85%
Barometer...............997

We have officially reached the half way point between Mexico and the Marquesas. Each boat had their own way to celebrate, we made chocolate chip cookies. Aside from that there is no big change. Bruce and I were joking that somehow, in our minds when we pictured the "middle" of the ocean, it would somehow look a bit different than the "rest" of the ocean. I am not sure why we thought that, the grandeur and splendor, the hoopla and celebration that we were expecting, anticipating when we cross the equator in a couple of days is taking on more of a reality. I am beginning to realize that the big dotted line with a sign like the North Pole marker are not going to be there. It is not going to look any different, blue, wet and rolly like the rest of the ocean. We will just have to accent it with our style, flair and festivities.

An observation for the gals on cruising the Pacific. Late on our 3 am watch the powers that be, the female first mates on Lawur, Capaz and Ohana Kai came to the reality that we have cooked more meals in the last 10 days than maybe in the prior 3 months combined. Keeping in mind that when we are on shore, especially in those comfortable marina's, we tend to eat out A LOT. I am not sure if that prepared us or blinded us to the reality of cooking out here. I like to believe it gave us the repreve from our usual routine so we would feel refreshed and ready to go. Kudos to us, I believe we all provisioned amazingly well and have eaten like kings out here. Go Girls!

On the tough side, I would have to say the the effects of lack of quality sleep combined with this incessant rolling are catching up with us. Big swells continue to plague us all and seem to be the topic of discussion each day between the four of us vessels out here. It continues to come out of the due North making it all the more challenging for us to make much more western progress as we nearer the equator. The swells hit us on our stern starboard quarter which tends to make us roll side to side as well as front to back. More accurately, we feel like we are constantly fish tailing, never allowing us to really feel stable. Time a big swell with a big gust of wind and we are always on guard for the boat trying to round up into the wind. I have a little saying of mine from back packing days, "Mountains don't go up hill forever", meaning, "This too shall pass". We will soon be getting close to our time to turn and cross the equator and into what we hope to be a short passage through the dulldrums, hmmmm. Out of the frying pan and into the fire?

Truly, we can't complain. We have had an amazing first half run of this crossing and are doing just what we set out to do. Take each day and it's challenges as they come. We are working on setting up a bit new watch schedule and going to start dropping some of our radio nets so that we can get some more quality sleep, especially for Bruce. I promise I will make sure he is just waking up from a nap, rather than just going down for one before I let him have another crack at writing a journal entry, though it was an amusing tale wasn't it.

Nap? Nap? (Bruce here...again) I take offense with the term, Nap. A nap is something you take on a lazy Sunday afternoon possibly between football games or while watching an old movie. Children and old people take naps. A nap is not trying to eek out 5 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period (if Im lucky) while fish and all other matters of sea life try to board your boat because they prefer a less aquatic lifestyle. Im not complaining Im just saying you can tell who has gotten 10 hours of sleep in the last 24 hours and who has gotten,, lets just say less.... a whole lot less. Im sure my writing would be much more eloquant if I had gotten that much sleep. Okay maybe not. Who am I kidding no it wouldnt.....I need a nap...

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

A REAL fish story!!!!

2006-04-12T11:17:00.000+12:00

Day 10 HALF WAY THERE!

2006-04-12T11:14:00.001+12:00

Day 11 - Change is Good

2006-04-12T11:14:00.000+12:00

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

Day 12

2006-04-12T02:32:00.000+12:00

Day 12 4/10/06 3:31 am
Coordinates............ 02 53.680N, 129 00.767W
Heading................ approx. 180 when motoring, 210 when sailing
Boat speed..............6 knots
24 hr total nm .........165 nautical miles (NM)
miles total since MX....approx. 1770 nm
Wind direct. & speed....W/SW 8 knots
Swell direct. & ht .....NE 3 - 6 ft.
Cloud cover.............85%
Barometer...............992

Wow, we are knocking down those latitudes now. It was pretty exciting when we crossed into that 5N parallel. Each one closer towards the equator brings excitement. We all circle around the radio, which happens to list our latitude/longitude, and watch it click down to the next whole latitude,
(i.e. 03 00.000N), much like you would watch your car click over to 100,000 miles. The things you do for enjoyment on a boat. We have begun to plan our party for crossing the equator. It is customary to throw a special celebration by paying homage to King Neptune, offering him up some of your most expensive libation over board, saying the few appropriate words of thanks for letting us cross and we will ceremoniously turn from polywogs into shell backs. The title bestowed on those who have crossed the equator on water. We will let you know how the party goes in a couple of days.

All three boats traveling near us have begun their descent as well, turning left as we say. It was rather anticlimactic for us. You envision sailing west, west, west, for days and then there was to be this big change of the sails, change of course and just like Peter Pan, turn and follow the star straight on till morning. The way the winds were hitting us, all we had to do was angle a little farther south. It is as though we are continuing to slide down a never ending hill. We did have glorious wind for the last 24 hours. No less than 20 knots charging us along. The rain showers continued on more than off as well for the last 24 hours. Luckily never packing more punch than we were ready for. Just as of 8pm tonight I believe that would be 1400 utc/zulu time or 10 pm Pacific time (I'm getting the hang of this I think), the winds died down sufficiently that we had to begin our motoring phase of getting through the dulldrums. Maybe we will finally get to recharge all the poor electronics on the boat.

The first few boats that starting the crossing early are beginning to make landfall in Hiva Oa, the first port of entry. Each day at noon we listen to the west bound or Puddle Jump Net and I can usually count up to 25 boats or so that are crossing. A few are traveling to Hawaii but most are heading our direction. It is rather exciting to hear their whoops of joy and exclamations as they describe seeing land. Let's us know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I just checked our course and there are less than 200 miles to the equator and less than 1,000 miles to the Islands, but whose counting.
It's all downhill from here. :)

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

Day 9

2006-04-09T03:00:00.000+12:00

Day 9 4/7/06 2:40 am
Coordinates............ 08 08.402N, 123 09.635W
Heading................ approx. 235
Boat speed..............6-7 knots
24 hr total nm .........162 nautical miles (NM)
miles total since MX....approx. 1200 nm
Wind direct. & speed....N/NE 15 - 20 knots
Swell direct. & ht .....N 3 - 6 ft.
Cloud cover.............5%
Barometer...............999

Ships Ahoy! Exciting morning when we made our rounds of radio calls this morning to get each others coordinates and realized we were within 3-5 miles of s/v Capaz and s/v Long Tall Sally. I went up top and low and behold, I could see each of them in the distance with us sandwiched between. Lawur was a few more miles to the west but still within radio range. Amazing to travel so many miles and begin to converge now. We are all keeping nearly the same track now as we all prepare together to get into position and wait for the right moment to cross the equator. There is an invisible band of sorts, called the ITCZ, inter tropical convergence zone, that lies roughly between 05N and 05S latitudes, straddling the equator. It is comprised of the area where the northern and southern trade winds die out and creates an area of little to no wind and unsettled weather. It tends to widen and narrow, move north and south as it pleases, so our goal is to find the most narrow point of it and shoot across as fast as we can. Together each day, we listen to our radio weather guy, "Don", read our weather faxes and discuss amongst ourselves when and where this should happen. Looks like we are in a pretty good spot at the moment so we will keep our fingers crossed.
Keeping things moving right along. We have kept up the same sail configuration for a while now. As long as the winds stay within this nice 12-22 knot range we are fairly comfortable. Much less than that and we really start to feel the effect of the swell as we flail around, much more than that and we might rethink how much canvas we would like out, especially at night when there is only one person up. We are set nearly perfectly on what they call the "Rum Line", or a perfect straight shot for the islands at our 235 heading. As the winds die down and change nearer to the equator that will change so we shall just see what the future holds.
Today was laundry day. Our first load for the crossing. You don't change clothes that often out here, thank goodness, therefore there isn't much to wash. Mom will be tickled to know we used our travel clothes line back in the cockpit. Worked out great. Doesn't require any clothespins, and I don't have to gear up in my harness to go forward to hang laundry on the lifelines. The added bonus is that they aren't then sprayed by salt water thus negating the entire washing anyhow.
The art project today was clay creatures. Snakes, germ creatures and beads Oh My. Unfortunately, mom let them go a little long in the oven and they are a wee burnt. We will have to try that one again.
The gang on Capaz has been the big fishermen of the trip and caught a 3 ft.+ Wahoo today. Monster fish with big teeth we hear. They have inspired us to drop the line in again tomorrow. I think up to now we have been afraid we might actually catch something. You may remember what happened last time we brought one on board. Our luck with timing, all heck with the wind or sails would break out right when the fish got on. We'll keep you posted.

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

Day 8

2006-04-08T07:51:00.000+12:00

Day 8 4/6/06 3:52 am
Coordinates............ 09 32.286N, 121 04.656W
Heading................ approx. 235
Boat speed..............7 knots
24 hr total nm .........158 nautical miles (NM)
miles total since MX....approx. 1200 nm
Wind direct. & speed....N/NE 15 - 20 knots
Swell direct. & ht .....N 6 - 8 ft.
Cloud cover.............5%
Barometer...............996

Happy to say it was a very quiet and uneventful day. Completed a nice day of school, had home made pizza for dinner and sailed on. ahhhhhh. We are working on setting our course a bit further south. We have had some good luck today sailing with what they call a wing on wing sail configuration. It means putting the sail out on either direction much like wings to maximize the ability to catch the wind when it is directly behind you. Despite the swell coming from the side and continuing to make this a rolly affair we are making good time and getting a lot of miles in. 1,000 miles down, 2,000 more to go. whew!
Today in school Matthew was practicing looking up words in the dictionary. To make it more fun we had him hunt in the fish book to see if he could find this flying fish we have been telling you about. Here is what he found. We had a few to choose from and the best we can tell, these are Sharpchin flyingfish (pez velador) fodiator acutus, up to 9.5" long, not as common as the California Flyingfish. It says the pectoral fins, which act as wings are not as big as the California variety there do not fly as well. I'd like to see the California one then because these guys are amazing. They go for amazing distances and truly have the ability to rise and dive, bank and curve though the air as well as any small sparrow or bat we've ever seen. Well done Matthew.

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

1 WEEK

2006-04-07T03:09:00.000+12:00

Day 7 4/5/06 4:18 am
Coordinates............ 10 36.219N, 118 25.351W
Heading................ approx. 255
Boat speed..............7 knots
24 hr total nm .........145 nautical miles (NM)
miles total since MX....948 nm
Wind direct. & speed....N/NE 10 - 15 knots
Swell direct. & ht .....N 6 - 8 ft.
Cloud cover.............5%
Barometer...............996 hPa

WOW, one week has passed, Blink. It doesn't seem to matter where you are land or water, those days can still slip right past you. We are still chasing the wind around waiting for what we hope to be true North Easterlies that might send us across the equator. Until then we followed it course and stayed nearly true west today. The seas are even a bit lumpier today. Nobody around here seems to mind although, I do think it disrupts our sleep more than we realize.

Today's story is about the beauty and the beasts of cruising life. We had the spinnaker flying and were making great time. This brought out a large pod of dolphins riding on our bow and all around us. As we watched joyfully, the wind took a quick shift wrapping the sail around one of the forestays and by the time we had it unwrapped there was unfortunately a tear in it. We quickly got it down on the deck, dug out our sail repair kit and went to work. We repaired it and had it right back up when we realized we had missed one, maybe two. Back down it came and a couple more quick repairs. Back up it went. Rather proud of our job we flew it a while longer and decided not to tempt fate anymore that day. The winds were just to fluky and continued to shift constantly and as they picked up we realized we could make just as good if not better time with our jib. We have come to realize that there is a very narrow window of ideal wind for this poor sail. Down it came one more time. I think we could do this in our sleep now. I have to say there is nothing practice and experience to provide you knowledge. Obviously, I know. But I have learned more in this one week about this boat, electrical, sail trimming, radio frequencies, compass headings and angles of every sort, shape and size. It is fun to feel a bit more proficient if I do say so myself.

Today was one of those surreal moments when you look up and survey the scene around you. You see ocean all around you, lobbing over swell and wave, harnessed up, surrounded in colorful sails and realize you certainly never envisioned yourself here, but couldn't imagine being anywhere else, doing anything else, with anyone else. This is one reason why we took this trip. To challenge ourselves, take on whatever comes our way and needs our attention.
Challenge yourself.

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

Day 6

2006-04-06T08:51:00.000+12:00

Day 6 4/4/06 4:39 am
Coordinates............ 10 45.505N, 116 04.598W
Heading................ approx. 213
Boat speed..............6 knots
24 hr total nm .........145 nautical miles (NM)
miles total since MX....948 nm
Wind direct. & speed....N 8 - 9 knots
Swell direct. & ht .....N 3-5 ft.
Cloud cover.............5%
Barometer...............1000 hPa

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'...moving right along here. We are starting to turn our course a little more southerly now which puts the wind directly at our back at the moment. If it was a bit stronger wind we could sail a little more comfortably, as it would stabilize us and take the roll out of the swell. We are not complaining, any movement forward is good movement for us. Actually you get quite accustomed to the motion and when in fact we do have a super smooth sail even the boys pop their heads us a little more and question if we are moving or not. At one point Matthew said he couldn't sleep without it and feared if it went away.
We did have our first potential serious mechanical scare today. I mentioned that spectacular device yesterday, the autopilot. Well, the one we consider to be the primary and most important one decided to give up the ghost today. The last time that happened we had to ship it to the east coast for repair. Not an option here. It upped the stress level greatly as we considered the true possibility that we may have to hand steer the boat for the next 2000 miles or so until landfall. Harness me up and strap me to the steering column, I'm ready! You don't realize just how heavily you rely on it until you consider it in that light. The back up was still functional but really only does well in minimal wind. Luckily Bruce was able to isolate what we think may be the issue, get it back up and running for the night and tomorrow we will investigate a bit farther. It seems as though the way the control panels are set up, many instruments run off the same set, including the wind instruments, depth and speed meters. When one goes, they all tend to be disturbed. At the moment we are functional and as far as I am concerned, all's well that ends well.
On the happy side, we did see our first pod of dolphins today. Hadn't seen them in a really long time. We have also grown rather fond of our bird buddy and his pals. Tristan likes to keep watch and make sure he is never to far away. Those poor birds really do need a to work on their flying, or at least landing. Maybe they should take a lesson from their watery pals the flying fish. Remind me to tell you more about them later as they are truly amazing!

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

Day 5

2006-04-05T03:55:00.000+12:00

Day 5 4/3/06 3:30 am
Coordinates............ 12 09.241N, 114 03.692W
Heading................ approx. 240
Boat speed..............6 knots
24 hr total nm .........145 nautical miles (NM)
Wind direct. & speed....N 8 - 9 knots
Swell direct. & ht .....N 3-5 ft.
Cloud cover.............5%
Barometer...............1000 hPa

Another fine day of sailing. The winds seemed to be a bit lighter, so once again we brought out the spinnaker for part of the day. That also helps a lot to keep the boat more stable and less rolly with the swells. That makes for a very good school day for us. The boys took up their books today like pros as we started looking for new projects to do during the passage. An even better distraction is our newly adopted bird pal, we shall call him "poopy", much to the joy of 7 and 10 year old boys and much to the dismay of mom and dad who will have to clean up after him. He is a brown boobie baby and very comfortable with us. He will not hesitate to land on top of the biminy within inches of us. We can even reach up and touch his flat webbed feet. If we want him off we actually have to physically remove him. Unfortunately for him, he is not a very coordinated little fellow. We have witnessed quite a few missed attempts at landing on the boat, which have resulted in him flipping right of the back. Just before dark, we discovered he even has some friends he invited over for the night, imagine that.
Second item for the day, our auto pilot. We actually have two, one for backup. Our primary one tends to cause an electrical disturbance with the radios when we are communicating with other boats so we usually switch over to the back up for that short amount of time. The downside there is that it is not as effective or strong as our primary and tends to have a mind of it's own. Without warning, it may let loose of it's coordinate and begin to drive the boat in a circle. The amusing part of this story is that we have actually managed to go in 3 full circles before we noticed once. Without any land in sight as a reference it is difficult to tell which direction you are going. Thank goodness for GPS. I guess since we are already rocking and rolling, and our sensory perceptions are already a bit off whack, it takes us a moment to notice. We keep a close watch on it now when we use it. At that rate we may end up back in WA before we know it.

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

Day 4

2006-04-04T07:45:00.000+12:00

Day 4 4/2/06 2:30 am
Coordinates............ 13 17.129N, 111 38.147W
Heading................ approx. 240
Boat speed..............7 knots
24 hr total nm .........147 nautical miles (NM)
Wind direct. & speed....N 15 - 20 knots
Swell direct. & ht .....N 3-6 ft.
Cloud cover.............5%
Barometer...............1000 hPa

A little less sailing this morning and a little more motoring as it took the winds a while to decide when and where to show up. By afternoon though we were able to put the spinnaker back up which lasted until nearly midnight. The winds are choosing to stay directly out of the North still. We are hoping they will turn soon to a little more NE and then we will have our ride.

The boys enjoyed their last day of freedom as we will tackle our first full day of school tomorrow. Today in science we read about fossils which of course led to the only appropriate movie of choice after a day of mastodon bones, ICE AGE. They also got their first showers off the back of the boat. Slightly tentative but they are clean none the less. Now that we are within better radio range with the other kid boats, the boys take full advantage of this new line of communication. I am not sure though if the inventor of the Ham radio would be proud or roll over in his grave as the discussion inevitably turns to the latest gains in Pokemon. I do keep in mind that these are the young hammies and sailors of the future so whatever gets them interested in utilizing the technologies is good for me. I must say that they are very savvy at this and handle themselves better than many adults I know.

We have now witnessed those crazy little flying fish that occasionally land themselves on the deck. They are pretty amazing to watch as they flap the heck out of their little fins. We have had a few squid make their way up here too. We heard that our buddies aboard Capaz dissected one for school. That could be a fun days lesson. If only we could find them before they are all dried out.

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

Day 3 4/1/06

2006-04-03T07:44:00.000+12:00

Coordinates............ 14 20.197N, 109 16.281W
Heading................ 250
Boat speed..............7 knots
24 hr total nm .........167 nautical miles (NM)
Wind direct. & speed....N 20 knots
Swell direct. & ht .....N 3-6 ft.
Cloud cover.............5%
Barometer...............1000 hPa

Cruising right along. We have been able to sail nearly entirely for the last day, starting up the motor only briefly to have a bit more juice to run the water maker. We have kept basically the same sail configuration with both sails full. The winds did die down enough this afternoon that we brought out the spinnaker and flew our beautiful colors for a few hours. All in all it has been very relaxing and comfortable. We have started to find evidence of poor sea life like flying fish scales stuck to the dodger and such but not seen any actual fish yet.

Everyone is back to full speed and we are eating like kings trying to make sure we use up all our produce before it goes bad on us. The refrigerator is only so big so a lot of produce gets left sitting out. It stays pretty warm here in the cabin which makes it all challenging. It is currently 84 degrees in here at 3am and quite sticky too. You can also judge the sea worthiness of a crew mates tummy when they can handle sitting and staring at a game boy for hours. The true indicator that they have their sea legs and are ready to start back to a full day of school. It is amazing how quickly they can look green though when that "s" word gets mentioned.

Today we played some board games and reading time. We did attempt to take showers off the back of the boat on the swim out step. Quite a feat when you think about the fact that the boat is whipping right along and will wait for no one. One soaping hand holding on at all times was fun. It felt great but that humid hot sticky feeling comes back pretty fast.

We have been able to make regular VHF and SSB radio contact with the other boats out here such as Lawur and Capaz. I believe some of them are within sight of each other. So far water, water everywhere for us. Dinner tonight was pork chops and tomato bisque soup. Movie de jour was Lion King 1 1/2.

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

2006-04-02T03:19:00.000+12:00

Coordinates............ 16 01.368N, 105 39.812W
Heading................ 20
Boat speed..............12 knots
24 hr total nm .........200 nautical miles (NM)
Wind direct. & speed....N/NW 30-45 knts
Swell direct. & ht .....N 5-8 ft.
Cloud cover.............25%
Barometer...............1013 hPa

We are heading back folks.

Ok, ok, ok.. I know in my last update I said it was kind of cool having the boat list to one side all the time. In reality, it is getting old quick! I think by the end of this trip, our legs would be 6" shorter on one side. Bruce here, yeah, I will second that notion. I must admit that all these years being on the swim team, water polo team and sailing I actually have hydrophobia. Also, it is REALLY dark out here at night. The further we get away from shore, the darker it gets. It is downright scary. It has gotten so bad, I have been carrying around a small flashlight with me wherever I go. Even during the daytime. I also miss ice cream already. That being said, we forgot to pack some things like well, food and dental floss. I thought Lisa packed the food and she thought I packed it and the kids only brought a couple of candy bars and that isn't going to last. We also finally have come to our senses. What were we thinking? This is a pretty small boat and that is A LOT of water to cross. I mean we could just hop on a jet and be in Auckland in about 18 hours or so. Anyhoo, we have had lots of fun on the trip so far and would do it all over again. Before I forget happy birthday to Mike tomorrow! April Fools everyone! This post by guest blogger Brady. Bruce, Lisa, and the boys I am sure are having a blast.

Day 2 - 3/31/06

2006-04-01T10:22:00.000+12:00

Coordinates............ 16 01.368N, 105 39.812W
Heading................ 250
Boat speed..............7 knots
24 hr total nm .........145 nautical miles (NM)
Wind direct. & speed....N/NW 10-15 knts
Swell direct. & ht .....N 3-6 ft.
Cloud cover.............45%
Barometer...............995 hPa

So what does one do whilst floating around on the Pacific Ocean all day. Apparently a lot because it was hard to find the time to sit and write this note.
Actually the major job these first two days is simply adjusting, which I have to say this crew is doing very well. It took only about 12-24 hours for the smallest crew members to get over their sour tummies. They bounced right back and were ready for full meals, school and of course video games. The two larger crew members are quickly getting the hang of their 4 hour shifts. Taking power naps in the day time is kind of nice once you get the hang of them. School on the passage will go through some adjustments I'm sure. Fridays we reserve for fun so in addition to writing in journals and reading, today's agenda is making the reverse of a Christmas chain. Instead of removing a ring for the countdown we will be adding one with a memory of each day of the crossing.

Since we are only heading in one general direction, the boat is eternally healed over to the port side. Learning to function that way is a chore. I liken it to holding a pilates position for ever. You are never really at rest even when you are sitting or lying down. You constantly fight the pull. To get to the head you must climb up hill, to reach the galley you roll down hill. Add in the swells for some fun lumps and bumps and Disneyland rides have nothing on us. It can be fun if you just roll with it. (ha ha) Keeping this in mind everything just takes a lot longer to accomplish. Cooking meals is not any more difficult than I expected, just more tiring. Hopefully our endurance will continue to improve as well and I will need less recovery time between each task.

Next one must adjust to all the new smells, sights and sounds of being aboard and under way for so long. Some of these are pleasant and some are not so nice. The warm fresh air is so nice but even that is barely enough to cover the smells of produce that goes bad faster than you can eat it. The water out here is the deepest most beautiful royal blue. It makes even the most ominous swells look not so bad. A lot of people had asked us what would it be like to not be able to see land and personally I love it. It is an amazingly peaceful feeling not fearful at all. We have a constant brown boobie bird flying around with us though no hitchhikers yet. And this morning I did see a turtle go floating by. It takes a little time again to get used to all the creaks and bumps the boat makes as it charges through the water. Which one is worth your attention which one is not. Listening to the water run by can be very soothing. Hearing the boat slap down hard past the steep side of a swell will startle me out of the deepest sleep. We do spend quite a chunk of our day listening to the radio as well. With check-ins to various nets on the Ham Radio we know the location of approximately 20 other boats crossing the ocean right now. Though we can't see anyone it is nice to know that they are there. What still is the most amazing to me the sheer power of the wind. By no choice of it's own is being harnessed by us to propel all 15 tons of us through the water and in a specific direction none the less. It is awesome to feel the force that wants to turn the boat up into the wind and the keel and rudder fighting back to maintain a course. Impressive.

Time to go prepare the crew's grub. Today's menu's included French Toast for breakfast, ham sandwiches for lunch and chicken tacos for dinner. It will be a challenge to top last nights hamburgers though.
until next time,
love lisa and the boys

How many days does it take to cross the Pacific Ocean?

2006-04-01T05:09:00.001+12:00

Friday March 31, 2006 LOCATION: Pacific Ocean
GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 16 32.069N,104 10.352W

OK here's the spot for a little fun. We have a running pool amongst ourselves in the boat as to how long we thing it will take us to do the crossing. We have heard some boats made it as short as 19 some as long as 30 days. Here's our guesses:
Bruce 21 days,
Lisa 23 days,
Matthew 25 days,
Tristan 24 days,
reply on this blog and tell us what you think.
until next time,
lisa and the boys

Begin the puddle jump

2006-04-01T05:09:00.000+12:00

Friday March 31, 2006 LOCATION: Pacific Ocean
GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 16 32.069N,104 10.352W

Two and a half weeks whizzed by in Zihuatanejo as we enjoyed all our company and finalized our preparations and provisioning for the big leap. We had a wonderful time getting to know the lay of the land with Tim Mason and my parents, sister Krista and nephew Indiana. We had the opportunity to make some more great friendships with fellow cruisers and a special local named Delphino. Delphino had befriended the crew on Capaz and we were all so blessed to benefit from knowing this amazing 16 year old young man. Three extra side trips were fit in including a couple of days anchored up in Isla Grande for some swimming and surfing. We rented a car and took everyone up to a nice beach called Salidita for more fun in the sun and surf as well. One completely unexpected nor scheduled trip was to Guadalajara, where Bruce and our buddy Robert drove in a 24 hour period to retrieve new batteries for our boat. Long story short if you want it done in Mexico you need to do it yourself, so we did.

We believe Zihuatanejo has to be one of our favorite places of all in Mexico. Made up of 3 beaches, Municipal/Madera, La Ropa, and Los Gatos it has the complete package. A beautiful protected bay to anchor in though they do have some work to do on their sewer systems which makes the water questionable at times for swimming. It has a friendly authentic feel outside of the occasional cruise ship that anchored here twice a week. Great food and entertainment. One of our favorite activities is the fiesta that occurs every Sunday night in the square where you will find booths set up with every item of food you can imagine. There is always an activity going on as well such as a local dance troops demonstration. Any night of the week you will find activity there from basketball, volleyball, or local kids playing soccer. A large fishing community you can wait on the dock to see large sailfish retrieved from boats and carted away on bicycles any day of the week. From the row of pangas that line up each day to repair their nets for the next days catch and the pen set up to assist the baby turtles hatch to the rows and rows of cobble lined streets many without cars all filled with varieties of shops, food and characters we will miss it all.

Having said that it was time to move on and take the next step in our journey. Filled up with love and encouragement from family and friends we departed from Zihuatanejo and are on our way across the Pacific Ocean. We all feel ready. You can't feel better about it than the moment your 7 year old comes to you and says, "Mom, I feel confident about this, and thank you for getting my protection cloak ready for me". Upon further inquiry I realized he meant his lee cloth, the piece of material that holds him and keeps him from rolling out of bed as we heel over at night. Aside from a couple hours of motoring we have been sailing along with great winds 12-15 knots and busy seas, making great time. The waves and swell are not too confused (meaning they are going roughly the same direction) but they are big enough waves to keep you busy and tired when trying to stand up and function. I actually managed to cook hamburgers on the stove for everyone for our first meal out. The wind is coming a little more out of the west than we would like but that should come around in a few days as we work our way over to find the trade winds which should deliver us the rest of the way.

A couple of housekeeping items. We have updated the mailing list so if you find that you have received this message and would not like to receive any more please let us know and we will remove you. Likewise, if you know of anyone who would like to be added let us know as well. Though we have changed our email delivery system a bit it is still best to send all email to theMartins@ohanakai.net. Though the system occasionally acts up, that is the best way to be assured that we will receive it. I will be writing a daily journal entry to the blog site only and continue to send a weekly summary to everyone directly. You can check the website for the daily journal entry on the blog site or if you would like to receive it directly, daily, let me know and I will add you to that one as well. Check out the new google earth cruising tracker update at the web site. Let us know how it is working.

With our protection cloak wrapped around us from all you we are excited to start this next phase of our journey and can't wait to share it with you.
until next time,
lisa and the boys

Zihuatanejo

2006-03-17T10:30:00.000+13:00

Monday March 13, 2006 LOCATION: Zihuatanejo, Mexico
GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 17 37.731N,101 33.009W

A couple more stops along the way and we have made it to Zihuatanejo. Our much anticipated destination as the last stop on the Mexico itinerary before we make our exciting cross of the Pacific Ocean, affectionately known as the "Puddle Jump". Someone had a sense of humor didn't they.

After Tenicatita we made a quick one night stop in Barre de Navidad. Barre refers to the fact that the area is largely a sand bar. The channel leading into the harbor and large lagoon are known to be very shallow and continually dredged in order to maintain depths for vessels to enter. We glided in with no problem and were immediately impressed. To the left is a small lagoon and the town of Barre. It sits on the ocean side and backs right up to the beach. The boys and I had quite a nice time playing on the beach, climbing on rocks and Bruce got in his own day of surfing. On the right hand side, the lagoon opens up into this amazing oasis of a resort and marina. The Grand Bay Hotel rivals even Paradise Village Marina, dare I say even a bit more classy. It was very expensive and out of our league but impressive. The grounds were absolutely beautiful and the boys thought the pool was even better than the ones at Paradise Village. I didn't think that was possible. We will definitely have to try that spot again someday. We enjoyed a nice dinner and a walk though the town. We stumbled upon an aviary of sorts in someone's yard where they raised every bird imaginable from the smallest of parakeets and chickens to the largest ostriches we've seen.

Next stop on the list was Manzanillo. A town originally named for trees that used to grow there producing a fruit that looked like apples. The fruit it provided turned out to be poisonous and making the explorers sick. The trees were eventually eradicated from the land and the name stuck. We spent one night there to rest up and prepare for our overnight sail to Zihuatanejo. We never even touched land and had a most relaxing swim and reading time.
We departed from Manzanillo early in the morning around 7 am and had a perfectly uneventful sail/motor to Zihuatanejo. We were able to pull into the bay and drop anchor just after lunch. The bay as you enter has the look of a mini Cabo San Lucas. The bay offers a few different anchoring areas though we were really surprised to see the enormous Princess Line cruise ship smack in the middle. We had no idea that this was such a popular tourist destination. We heard it was growing but didn't realize that much. The town itself is quite comfortable and homey. You feel the effects of the cruise ship when it is in town but aside from that it is quiet and peaceful. Very relaxed. There is not quite the omnipresent pushy peddlers we have tried so hard to avoid in other towns. Quite a few of our cruising buddies were here and preparing for their crossing as well.
Tomorrow Tim Mason comes to visit again for one more wild week of surf and sun. After he departs, my parents (Lisa's) will arrive with my sister and one of two nephews. They will be here to fill us up with our last bits of hugs and lovin' and see us off as we jump that puddle.
until next time,
lisa and the boys

Float on

2006-03-17T10:29:00.000+13:00

Wednesday March 8, 2006 LOCATION: Tenacatita
GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 19 17.368N,104 50.293W

First and foremost, thank you again to everyone for their loving support and prayers for our whole family during this last month. Papa is back in action and starting his exercise programs. He is working up his endurance so he can come and visit us somewhere exotic. We are so blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing people. Papa is expected to make a full recovery and be even better than before. He already is back to most of his activities and should be back on the Harley in another month.

Ohana Kai is back in action. We returned to the boat on Monday February 27th. It took a bit of adjustment to get back in our groove but our buddies on s/v Lawur, s/v Bold Spirit and s/v Our Country Home welcomed us back with open arms and let us know just how much we were missed. They took wonderful care of Ohana Kai while we were gone and she was pretty much ready to go. We gathered up a few more provisions, got her cleaned up inside and out, finished out the last remaining projects and by Saturday we were OUT OF THE MARINA. I cannot begin to tell you how good that felt. To see a seal, pelican or dolphin out in the water again, feel the wind fly by and the waves roll under were so freeing. We enjoy and are thankful for the luxuries that the marina has to offer with unlimited water and electricity, access to everything but it by no means defines what "cruising" is for us. We much prefer to be the country mouse than the city mouse.

Once out of the gate we made our way down to Ipala for our first anchorage. Coordinates: 20 14.134N, 105 34.363W Tucked in a little bay we ran into a few familiar boats and enjoyed a nice night. Next day we had a wonderful sail and made our way down to Chamela. Coordinates: 19 34.315N, 105 06.905W We had heard it was a great destination for some fun. A few islands dot the entrance to the bay and offer a nice beach for a few games of frisbee, bacci ball and a refreshing swim. While anchored, it is fun to watch the fish that use us a protective barricade. There were hundred of decent sized baby tunas liked with a few large yellow fin tuna hiding under our boat. We should be so lucky to catch one of those again. Bruce actually did hook himself a really large Crevalle as we sailed down there. It gave him a run for his money but we still got the photo for the proof. Once at anchorage at Chamela we ran into more familiar boats that we had met as long ago as Monterey, CA. It is fun to catch up with each other and see what everyone has been up to.

Next stop on the list was Tenacatita. On the way there is a little bay called Careyes that we actually drove right by the first time. We snuck back in to see what it held and weren't we surprised. The walls of the bay are fairly steep and just covered with brilliantly colored homes and hotels. It looked like finding a bright necklace in the grass. We had heard that one of the resorts had been recently abandoned though and some vandalism was occurring. When we rounded the corner we could witness the looting taking place. Decided not to stay there but so pleased to see it's beauty. On to Tenacatita.

Once anchored in the more calm of the 3 anchorages in Tenacatita we opted for some great swimming in 80 degree water. The boys enjoyed a little surfing for the first time in a long while. We played some more frisbee and rolled in the waves while we tried to avoid stepping on baby sting rays or skates. Today we took quick ride up another jungle tour here much like the one in San Blas. Beautiful mangroves and with great tree tunnels but no crocodiles. At the end of the ride you actually cross back over to the beach where we had a bit to eat and bought some more produce.

So all is good and we are doing well. We are back into the routine and working our way down the coast to Zihuatanejo. There are new photos on the website and a new version of Google Earth to download. There is a link from our website on the front page or the whereabouts page. Our buddy Robert on Lawur has adapted this program to track ours and a few fellow travelers as we continue our trips. With the new cruising tracker download there is no more need for cutting and pasting our coordinates to see where we are. Just take a peek and see where we are as well as where we have been. Give it a try, let us know if it is working well. Feedback is great. You only have to download Google earth once and the tiny Tracker program at Lawur.com once and from then on it automatically updates our position every time you open google earth and click on our Name....Its VERY EASY?
until next time,
lisa and the boys

Stateside

2006-02-18T17:17:00.000+13:00

We have deviated a bit from our usual travel plans and write to you from Washington State, USA. We got the very unfortunate phone call last Tuesday February 7, that Bruce's father had experienced a very bad heart attack. With many blessings from above, so many things went our way and we were able to be home with everyone within 24 hours. First and foremost, Papa is doing fantastic! After 4 days in a medically induced coma, ventilator and heart pump assist, they woke him up and as he opened his eyes and focused on Bruce, his first words were "What are you doing home!" We knew he would be alright. With the strength and determination that we know our Papa to possess he was up and walking laps around us in no time. He returned home yesterday Thursday February 16th. It is taking a village to keep him down we joke. He seems fine but we are all exhausted, with joy. We are beginning to plan our return to Ohana Kai who waits patiently for us in Puerto Vallarta under the watchful eyes and caring hands of friends.

Leaving home this time may be even harder than before as we consider life and the precious hold we have on it. When we left the first time, for us it was with the intent to hold our family close to us, challenge ourselves and to see what was on the other side of the mountain. Home as we know it is not a house and yard but community, love, moments and memories of so many people we cherish. We wanted to go, but we didn't want to leave. Our motivation to go was not because we believed the grass was greener over there, but we knew we could go because we love this home, all we have here and we know the creatures that inhabit it love us. This time, as always, the Lord provides us with just what we need when we need it. Struggling with the thought of leaving all that we hold dear behind again for awhile, we came across an article written to gently nudge and guide us back out the door, onto our boat and across the water. The article written by Mark Jenkins from Outside magazine says this, "Home is where we return to, where we stop and rest, where we try to make sense of our planet. Without home we are unmoored." Gretel Ehrlich stated that "...home requires developing an intimacy with a place...", ..."It doesn't separate you or isolate you from the world. Rather, it's a platform from which to launch".

Again, with the help, support and encouragement of our family and friends we will venture out. We will keep you posted when we return to Ohana Kai.
Home is always in our heart so here we go.
love lisa and the boys

...Thank you to everyone for all the thoughts and prayers that helped us through this hard time.

It's official!!!

2006-02-06T09:17:00.000+13:00

Sunday January 22, 2006 LOCATION: Puerto Vallarta, Vallarta Marina
GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 20 39.817N,105 15.029W

It's official! We all have known for some time just what a ham Bruce can be but now it is official and documented. As of last Sunday, Bruce passed his ham radio exam and is a licensed general technician. It was a bit of a stressful week as he was talked into taking it last minute. He showed the boys his very best studying technique of cramming and it paid off. We will now be able to talk on the airwaves and participate in a few more radio nets while out on the water. We will also be able to get our email in the same form but free and unlimited time. Both are a plus.
Just like life at home, it gets going so fast around here, especially when you are in a marina, and it is hard to find the time to sit down and write. Poor excuse, I know. So let's see now, I left off when we arrived into Paradise Village Marina. Monday January 9th, our excitement there started as we entered the channel. We called ahead on the radio and phone as is customary to find out what our designated slip was before entering. Upon receiving no answer for a good half hour we decided to head in anyway and settle in once we arrived. As we entered the channel the depth quickly shallowed from 15 ft at the entrance to 7.5 feet only a couple of boat lengths in. Up ahead of us we could see a dredger in the middle of the channel. hmmmm. We draw 6.5 feet, so technically, in another foot shallow water we could be hitting ground. Not a good thing. Bruce quickly decided to turn around and as we got about a quarter of the way around, we realized we were being followed by significant 4-5 foot breaking waves. Normally that is a welcome sight to Bruce when he is paddling his board but not when we are navigating Ohana Kai in new waters. No choice now but to ride the waves in. Luckily we had passed the most shallow part of the channel and found an open spot on the general dock to keep us until they could find us our slip a few days later. We took to preparing for our guests right away and getting to know the lay of the land.
January 11th was a very significant day. Though I don't have the exact numbers in nautical miles, that day marks 6 months since we left the dock in Port Orchard and have traveled about 3,500 miles we figure. A fun feat in itself when we look back on it. It has gone amazingly fast and aside from the stories we share, the largest marker of change is the boys height that we occasionally chart. They have been enjoying life out at sea on their boat a ton but we have to admit that staying at the Paradise Village Marina, attached to the 5 star resort complete with 2 different pools,both boasting enormous alligator water slides, a small zoo complete with tigers, jaguars and birds, oh my, was a fun change. Not a lot of Mexican flavor but the boys enjoyed the diversion.
Tied up next to us was a great dock mate named Bruce Balan, who of course in small world cruising style, once lived in my home town of Los Altos. Even better was the fact that he is a writer of some wonderful children's books and offered to provide a writing class for all the kids in the docks that wanted to attend. There was a great turnout of 11 kids from around the different marina's. We all had the privilege of learning some fun poetry, writing techniques and read a few of his books. Keep your eyes open for them in the stores or at www.brucebalan.com. Matthew will personally attest to how fun they are, especially his two favorites "Pie In The Sky" and "Buoy". Though Bruce doesn't plan to cross the Pacific until next year, we hope our paths cross his again.
Tim & Janel Mason, Jake & Julie Jefferson, and the gang from KMTT the Mountain radio station safely arrived in Puerto Vallarta on the 11th as well. I cannot tell you how excited we were to see them all. A little bit of home brought to us from so far away. I should say a lot of home was brought to us if you count all the goodies stashed in the three extra suitcases they bravely carried on the plane full of treats and treasures from the grandparents. The week that followed was really a blur as we tried to fit as much as possible and squeeze every minute we could out of them. In case you didn't know. Our favorite radio station from home, KMTT 103.7, (yes, I will shamelessly plug them a million times more), puts on occasional contests and this one was a trip and concert in Puerto Vallarta. Janel's only job for a week was to make the phone call to win the trip and it worked. The night they all arrived, the Mountain put on a wonderful party complete with surprise concert from John Hiatt. The Mountain graciously included all of us in every event that followed for duration of the trip. We couldn't be more thankful. Hi to Mike West, Jennifer Orr and the rest of the gang.
Thursday we all took a trip to the Canopy Jungle tours which were amazing! It is a series of 14 zip lines that take you over and through the jungles nestled in the Sierra Madre Mountains. From the ground looking up it appeared as tiny spiderman impersonators would occasionally sling their way high over your heads to disappear into the brush and trees. From up above strapped into your harness, it was a beautiful and exhilarating ride from platform to platform. Sometimes as long as 1/4 of a mile, the zip line ride would afford you an amazing view of the jungle above and river below if you dared to look down. We spent the remainder of our days with them just hanging out and soaking them up, pool side, out on the town, or under a palapa.
We were able to get them out for a day on the boat and get Tim surfing. That lasted a couple of hours out at Punta de Mita until they could no longer deny the fact that they had seen a shark fin swimming around them. We figure it was a fairly tiny shark but shark none the less. The other great part of that excursion was our new friends Natalie & Rafael. Natalie, a home town girl from Madera, CA (near Bruce's home town) is living here in PV for fun and immersion in the language for a while. Personally, she sounds perfectly fluent to me but then again I know so little. Her friend Rafael is a local PV guy who like Natalie had never really been on a boat nor seen a whale. We were able to deliver both. The chance to watch the excitement on someone's face when they get to experience and enjoy this for the first time is priceless. Although we got back to the marina too late, hit low tide, couldn't make it into the channel again, had to dinghy them to shore, and made them late for work - it was a spectacular day!
We were sad to see our company go. And truly since then, it has been almost all business. We left Paradise Village Marina and spent a couple of days anchored back out at Punta de Mita. We enjoyed the company of our buddies on Lawur and their guest Bonnie. We fit in another day of surfing before we said our good byes to her as well and headed back into a new location at Marina Vallarta. We played parking lot jockey there for the first day as they found us a slip to last us a couple of weeks. Lawur had more fun company as Robert's father and brother visit from Austria. There are also quite a few of our friends from this cruising world here as this is the destination to use for the jump off mark to cross the Pacific. We have changed our itinerary a bit and will be departing from Zihuatenejo instead of PV. Therefore we continue to complete all our projects, plan and provision for our crossing later in April. We should leave here soon and continue our adventures down the coast.
One last unfortunate note. A very dear friend of ours, Nancy Larson, passed away this last week and it has left our hearts heavy. <http://www.legacy.com/Idahostatesman>
We are strengthened with the knowledge that as an amazing, vivacious, and loving wife, mother and friend, her relationship with the Lord was one of strength and passion. Ironically, I was trying desperately hard that same week to contact her at her new address and catch her up to speed on our travels as she loved sailing. We are blessed with endless memories of her energy, laughter and playfulness and our journeys will be guided by her spirit. Our thoughts, prayers and love are with her husband Dave, her two sons Andrew and Christopher and her family during this time. We will continue to live each day with meaning and purpose until we see her again.
until next time,
love lisa and the boys

A Busy New Year

2006-01-22T05:48:00.000+13:00

Friday January 20, 2006 LOCATION: Puerto Vallarta, Paradise Village Marina
GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 20 41.889N,105 17.658W

This new year is busier than ever. Three weeks in and we are trying to catch our breath. Currently we are in Puerto Vallarta, but for the sake of your eyesight I will break these journal logs down to two week intervals and help everyone catch up. We finished the crossing of the Sea of Cortez with style. In honor of Sebastian's birthday on Lawur we swam in the middle of the Sea of Cortez. (coordinates: 22 53.725N,107 37.721W )We stopped both boats in the middle of the sea, tied a line between the two boats and with no wind and very little swell, we all jumped in. It was great fun, a nice diversion after a lot of motoring and a memorable way to celebrate his special day.
(Coordinates: 21 05.561N,105 52.906) Our destination Isla Isabella is a bird sanctuary known for it's mating and nesting grounds for the frigate birds, blue footed and brown boobies, and much to our surprise lots of iguanas. The dad's had a spectacular snorkeling trip and found huge schools of large tuna. Together we all took a marvelous hike over the island to see it's wonders. Initially you land the dinghy in a small fishing village. The pelicans and frigate birds anxiously await the few scraps that the fishermen toss them after their catches. The island itself is fairly dramatic to view with steep colorful cliffs (if they are not covered by rather stinky bird guano, an odor that you never quite become accustomed to) There are also some amazing large spires of rocks that make this island unique. The other noticeable feature about the island is the sheer amazing numbers of birds that cover every inch of the island and blanket the sky. It looks right out of the movies. We began our hike and were so excited to come across an iguana in the wild. We traversed through groves and groves of trees, each filled with dozens of birds nesting, calling, bellowing out their large red throats in attempts to attract their mates. Another iguana here and there would make his way, rather rapidly I would say, through the tall grass to avoid us. We then hiked up to an abandoned building of some kind only to find it completely inhabited by a good 50 iguanas that we could see. It was amazing. They were completely unaffected and unimpressed with us. We could hardly disturb them if we tried. We left them basking in the sun and set off to find the boobie nests.
We hiked to the tops of the cliffs and found the boobies nests complete with mommies sitting on eggs, guarding newborn chicks, fuzzy awkward yearlings and defensive daddy's nipping at our heals. It was quite a treat to see these creatures in their world. We hunted to find a lake that we heard we could swim in but the dark stagnant water gave us second thoughts.
Next stop on the itinerary was San Blas. (coordinates: 21 30.614N,105 52.906W )We anchored around the corner in the Matachen Bay. The boys and I were able to sneak in a bit of school and Bruce found a bit of surf with some locals. We had definitely arrived on the mainland, with green luscious mangrove jungles and palm trees galore on the outer edges of town. The humidity isn't too bad yet but certainly is a change. We took advantage of the new landscape and gave ourselves a self guided tour up the Tovara River Jungle. Lawur in their dinghy and we in ours headed up the river which claims to showcase wonderful flora and fauna. You are supposed to stop part way and pay the locals to take you in their high sided, fast driving pangas. After a few warnings from them "Peligroso! Peligroso! (that would be them yelling "danger, danger" and trying to stop us) we sojourned on, self guided. The most dangerous part of the trip was their crazy driving skills in those fast boats in that somewhat narrow river. We were not disappointed as we weaved our way through massive mangrove tendrils that reach their way down to the water for nourishment. Bromelia plants that seed themselves far up in the bows of trees, orchids, ferns and countless other plants. Much more exciting were the crabs, towering turtles and crocodiles! We found them tucked up on banks, swimming in the water and perched on logs. The boys would all agree the best part was at the end of the trail. At the head of the river there is a natural spring swimming hole complete with rope swing. There was a nice restaurant there in which we shared some coconut milk and a nice lunch. You did have to share the water with catfish and crocodiles but it was so refreshing and fun no one seemed to mind. Truly, only 25 yards away we spotted a crocodile enjoying his own freshwater bath. Yikes!
The next day we anchored the boat with Lawur off the beach of San Blas and everyone paddled though some pretty good surf to enjoy a quick afternoon beach trip. A bit of boogie boarding, skim boarding and in the evening a quick tour of the town with Niki and our family. Norm, a local cruiser who landed here 40 years ago and never left guided us in and gave us all the information we could handle whether we wanted it or not. While in town we stopped for dinner and found 3 Norte Americanos walking through town carrying surf boards. Bobby, Ryan and Collin aboard Baraveigh (sp?)(from San Diego, CA and Bellinham, WA) are on their way south as well and stopped in to share a drink with us. As always in this small world we found fun things in common and hope to see them again along the way.
We had been listening to our favorite weather guy "Don" on the radio and awaiting some forecasted winds that seemed to be delayed in getting to us. When we headed out the next day for Chacala under motor, I think it is safe to say we were not prepared when those winds finally and suddenly arrived. One of these days we will start acting like sailors and have things stowed and ready. We go for so long sometimes without any wind we get lulled into submission and forget that wind happens. Needless to say, we had another exuberant ride to Chacala with 25-30 kn winds gusts up to 38 kn. whew. Our efforts were rewarded by what we consider the most beautiful setting we have seen yet. (coordinates: 21 09.710N,105 13.687W )Chacala is a small bay nestled in the cliffs of palm trees, mangroves and mango plantations. A nice beach spreads from one edge to the other and backs up to palapas and a very nice RV campground. Past some wonderful rock structures and trailblazers we found this delightful restaurant/bed & breakfast/spa center called Majahua run by Jose. From the patio of the restaurant we sat in a setting that left us feeling like we were in the pages of some wonderful travel brochure. It was amazingly peaceful and beautiful as we peered through palm leaves at the sun setting out over the ocean while perched on the hillside of these jungles. Behind his house we were able to hike up to see scaping views of our boats tucked in the bay and an old volcano crater overgrown with vegetation. We enjoyed a pleasant dinner there and were on our way the next morning.
Jaltemba was the next stop in hopes of finding some good snorkeling. (Coordinates: 21 02.643N,105 16.258W )The water was a little murky but we always have fun when we grab our gear and go exploring. Lawur got to try their gear out and we found some more trumpet fish, puffer fish, angle fish and more. Bruce rigged a nice rope swing off the boat and Sebastian and Benjamin had a great time.
Our next destination was Puerto Vallarta, Paradise Village Marina. We arrived on the 9th and though we had a bit of a harrowing experience when we entered, we have been thoroughly enjoying the resort style amenities. We had an amazing week with Tim & Janel Mason, Jake & Julie Jefferson, the gang from our favorite radio station at home The Mountain KMTT 103.7 and of course have made some wonderful new friends during our stay. There were concerts, canopy jungle tours, sailing, surfing, a shark and a lot of late nights. But these great stories will have to wait a day or two. We will catch up on our sleep and regroup after all this crazy activity and I will fill in the details soon.
until next time,
love lisa and the boys

Season Greetings and Happy New Year

2006-01-02T13:07:00.000+13:00

Sunday January 1, 2006 LOCATION: en route to Isla Isabella
GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 24 00.908N,109 39.092W

First and foremost, we hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas season filled with love, family, friends, great times and of course good food! As with any Christmas season, even far from home, ours was busy! It was a bit different with the warm weather but many traditions were able to be kept and shared with lots of cruisers. Now to catch you up. Where to begin. I joked with friends that the last two weeks could be broken up into before and after Christmas or before and after Lawur arrived, since the two are now synonymous. I may even have to break these updates into a few days and give each persons perspective, because if I wrote it all at once you may never want to hear from me again.
As planned we made the trip easily up the Sea of Cortez and were able to get a slip in Marina de La Paz. (coordinates 24 09.342N, 110 19.594W) You have a few marinas to choose from, but we had heard that this was a great location for accommodations and centrally located to town so we could walk to see and do all that we needed. Did we ever. Our location on the dock turned out to be a lot of fun as were on the end of a finger and anyone anchored out had to drive their dingy right past us to come to shore. We felt like the merry welcoming committee. Especially once we got our Christmas lights up. As promised, we tied up and we gave our baby the bath of a lifetime. 7 weeks off the dock brings a lot of grime, salt and rust. The unlimited water and electricity was quite a luxury. Next we hit the ground running over a few days time and explored the town.
La Paz is a great town with all its old world authenticity intact while still providing amenities to fill every vacationing gringo's need. Each night we walked up into the town and enjoyed the pre-Christmas festivities. We were able to catch a couple nativities plays put on by children in the local plazas. A great way to practice our Spanish. All the streets surrounding the local Cathedral (church) were blocked off and filled with booths selling anything you could think of. Each night we topped off our walks with ice cream (of course) or our new favorite, fresh churros. There is almost no limit to how long we would walk for those. We finished a little bit of Christmas shopping and provisioning. A local taxi is always waiting by the marina to take you where you want to go. Our favorite driver was Rafael. Able to speak amazing English and the patience of Job to work with me on my Spanish, I would find him every time I could. Much to our surprise we found a local mall complete with mini sushi food court, multitudes of stores similar to home including a real blockbuster and a movie theater complete with the Chronicles of Narnia playing in English with Spanish subtitles. We loaded up 14 of us cruisers into various taxis filled up on popcorn.
As for Christmas itself, we decorated the inside of the boat with every type of paper decoration we could. Dozens of snowflakes of all types, our origami tree, reindeer, Santa and sleigh. Stockings were a bit tougher to find so we made due with Santa hats turned upside down. We also adorned the boat with lights inside and out. Bruce gave me my present early as it was a new ceramic nativity scene made here is La Paz. Santa was very good to us surprised the boys with scooters that they have already put to great use up and down the docks. Bruce also gave the family a great treat with a microphone and camera for the computer which we all put to use immediately with the Skype program (A free download from www.skype.com). It allows you to call from computer to phone, or computer to computer for nearly free as long as we have internet access at the docks.
Best of all for Christmas, the Schmid family from Lawur delivered themselves safely from San Diego and on Dec. 23rd just like they said. They awoke us all on the docks as they called into the cruisers net and alerted us that they were coasting in with no engine again. This problem has plagued them for a while and delayed their departure. After much frustration they left anyway to catch up with us. We lined the docks and marina with dinghies but like old pros they hardly needed our help as they glided into their slip. The rest is history. I can sum it up by saying we have yet to spend a meal apart much less a minute. Their two boys Benjamin (6) and Sebastian (10) are fast friends of Tristan and Matthew and luckily took care of each other all week as the adults tackled the boat issues. We were treated to Weiner Schnitzel (and it's not a hot dog) for Christmas Eve on their boat and a nice church service at the top of the marina complete will all our favorite carols. Together the cruisers threw a pot luck dinner out on the Magote (local beach) for Christmas day. Our ham was a huge hit.
Bruce and Robert hit the docks running every day trying to trouble shoot their engine trouble. Lawur basically had the ability to motor only in forward at high RPM's. No reverse or throttling down as the engine would die. Long story and week short, they started with the most basic and least expensive items and worked their way up, hoping never to arrive at the transmission. An old dock mate of theirs from San Diego and new friends of ours were in the slip next to us and luckily spoke fluent Spanish. They were able to assist immensely with local mechanics and errands. Not to mention, blessed us with their wit, charm and amazing hospitality. As of Friday, the problem had been isolated to the fuel injector pump, a complicated item. The local lab was able to find three other similar yet incomplete pumps and reconstruct them a new one. We all said our prayers for this to work as we were all about at wits end with what could be wrong. Apparently we over did it. The new pump went in, ran well in forward, ran well in reverse, plenty of RPMs but now would not shut off. We decided it was the lesser of two evils and like a flash, we paid up our dues, untied the lines and left the dock. I've never seen two boats make haste so fast. Bruce and I needed to be on our way to Puerto Vallarta to meet up with the Masons and Jeffersons and couldn't stay any longer in La Paz. Lawur, not wanting to play catch up again with us joined us in the departure and here we are.
Spending the week together with them solidified a great friendship that we barely were able to begin in San Diego. Niki, as they say is my cruising twin and our similarities are endless except for maybe the German accent and 6 inches she has over me. Together we set up a bit of a commune sharing food, laundry, and shopping between the two boats, four blonde boys ala scooters, and determined dads. Keeping track of all of us at any one time got challenging so Robert lovingly gave us all the combined new name of the Schmartin's to which I added, aboard the boats Ohanawur (pronounced Ohanavur). We spent a wonderful New Years Eve rafted up together at Balandra Cove just north of La Paz. Site of their famous Mushroom rock. We treated them this time to split pea soup and the boys rang in the new year with poppers and glow sticks at the raging hour of 8 o'clock. We checked the map and figured folks somewhere around Rio de Janeiro or Greenland could use a little help celebrating as we were never going to make it to midnight. We are all currently underway to Isla Isabella, some wonderful islands just north of Puerto Vallarta with tons of wildlife to view. A couple of overnight's and we should be there.
I will end for now as I could truly write volumes. The plethora of shopping, fellow cruiser stories and insights o'plenty...more to come soon. There are lots of new photos up on the web site starting with San Diego. I am aware of a few glitches in the San Diego slide show and will try to fix them once we get to Puerto Vallarta. Enjoy your new year and we will talk to you soon
until next time,
love lisa and the boys

La Paz

2005-12-20T12:27:00.000+13:00

Friday December 15, 2005 LOCATION: en route to La Paz
GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 24 18.118N,110 09.761W

It took us a week to make it around the horn and we are now under way to La Paz. After leaving Cabo San Lucas last Saturday we snuck around the corner and anchored for a night in Las Palmillas. It was terribly windy but still less rolly than Cabo was. The next day we motored against some stiff wind and beat our way up to Los Frailes. There we were greeted by about 18 other cruisers who had done the same thing and were now holed up there to wait for a better time to head north to La Paz or south to the mainland. Tucked in this bay the winds don't bother you as much, so for the next four days we enjoyed our stay with all this company. Alcyone, the 60 ft. schooner at waterline 80 ft. stem to stern, from Port Townsend with two families aboard provided most of the toys. We played volleyball a lot. A few local young men from town came by to challenge our rag tag team and though we didn't actually win any matches against them, I can say we defended USA well in our matches against Mexico. It was always a close game. Bruce even got to try his hand again at some wind surfing. Alcyone also had some of that gear to share. There was no surfing here but we did have a great day of snorkeling with the boys. The water was a bit more murky than Cabo but we were still able to see a ton of wild life swimming around. It is amazing to realize that just under the surface and no farther than a few feet from shore the adventure begins. Some of our favorites are the unmistakable Guinea fowl Puffer and various Wrasse's with their colorful heads. You can feel the water beginning to cool again as we head further north. We got spoiled with 77 degrees in Cabo and 74 here with a bit of wind chilled us quickly. There is also the fun and fascinating pastime of watching little sting rays come leaping out of the water, flapping their wings as though they could actually take flight.
We spent a nice dinner with Alcyone aboard their boat one night, while another cruiser graciously offered their boat as Christmas movie night complete with popcorn, brownies and soda for all the children in the anchorage. Everyone had a great time. A second night we joined a couple other boats for a walk into town to have dinner at a restaurant they had found. How they found it I will never know. We walked maybe a mile inland and followed a dirt road past a small hotel, turn right at the cow, follow the dirt road past tall shrubs, past a few more cows only to have Pablo, the cook, drive past us going in the opposite direction yet promising to return. When he did return, it was with his newly bandaged thumb held high. It was from an earlier ice chopping accident. Bandaged but cheerful, he did cook us a wonderful dinner and then loaded all 11 of us up in the back of his pickup and insisted he drive us back to the beach so that we didn't have to walk past any scorpions or rattle snakes. It was a fun adventure to say the least. We are certainly not doing without where food is concerned. The local produce truck came by as scheduled on Tuesday and set up camp at the base of a campground full of trailers and motor homes. What a spread. You could find everything you needed including fresh homemade tamales which we enjoyed for lunch. We missed the bread truck that comes on Wednesdays. We hear he provides yummy apple turnovers, not that we needed any more goodies.
As life goes on the boat, all is well. There are still the occasional maintenance and repair issues to attend to. Some poor critter made it's way up the intake valve of the aft head and smells as though it has long since decayed. We have found some new canvas repairs that need to be attended to on the biminy. Without the nearby hardware stores the priorities or abilities to fix things change. As the term learning curve implies, there never is an end to the discoveries we make on Ohana Kai. We have finally discovered that the way the boat was wired, if the refrigerator is cycling it can interfere with your ability to talk on the VHF radio. Likewise, if the freezer is cycling, your transmissions will be hampered on the single side band. Just now we discovered that the autopilot provides this infernal screeching sound in the Ham radio as well. We have this whole new system of which buttons to push and un-push in order to listen or speak to anyone. Best of all, we are finally able to make contact with our friends on Lawur as they are making their way down Baja in hopes to begin their own journeys and catch up with us in La Paz for Christmas.
Yesterday it looked as though the reported lessening winds were true so we made a break around the bend and spent the night in Muertos. Up early this morning and we are on our way to La Paz. We will look to get a slip and maybe give this baby a much needed bath on the dock. That is one routine that goes right out the window when you are off the dock. We occasionally give the boat a salt water bath to knock off the larger layers of salt that stack up when we do passages.
until next time,
love lisa and the boys

Cabo San Lucas

2005-12-12T11:07:00.000+13:00

Friday December 9, 2005 LOCATION: Cabo San Lucas
GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 22 52.916N,109 54.309W

Last Monday we tucked into Bahia Santa Maria with the sunrise. Absolutely beautiful. Although we didn't get to see them up close, just after we anchored out in the ocean we could see what we think were giant grey whales breaching and spy hopping. The size of the splash that we could see from miles away was enormous. We could only imagine what a sight it must have been if we were up close. This anchorage was populated with a good number of Canadian boats. This is just helping to firm up my theory on the migration patterns of cruisers. Let me expand on this. We noticed when we pulled into San Diego that the majority of the population of boats entering the Baja race, that leaves the 1st of November for Mexico, are mostly Californians. Ready to leave their world behind for the much sunnier and warmer destinations of mainland Mexico. Pacific North westerners are so happy by the time they reach the mildly warmer weather of San Diego and shed their fleece are quite content to take their time and ease into the new climate. Bringing up the rear are the Canadian friends who flock in groups it seems and linger a little longer than most. We are all happy to slowly inch our way down the Baja coast and slide into this new found warmth. Again this has just been my observation.
Bahia Santa Maria turned out to be a nice surprise in itself. We ran into "Float On", the 3 kids Danielle, Steve and Garrett, from Canada who had their boat run into earlier. They turned us on to a wonderful hike that crosses through the peaks and valleys of the local point and provides a beautiful sight of blooming cactus and local plants, bee hives, sea shells and a breathtaking view of an equally breathtaking shoreline. On the far side of the point, these dedicated surfers, Bruce included, hiked their boards over hill and dale to catch some nice breaks just before sunset. Once back on the boat you are often greeted by lobster fishermen eager to trade you t-shirts and batteries for their catch. We declined this time as we had our own fish to fry. I can gladly say that mom was triumphant this time and served up some delicious tuna, which much to their surprise everyone enjoyed. Score one for mama.
From Bahia Santa Maria we headed directly to Cabo San Lucas. Knowing that it is a growing vacation destination and cruise line port still did not prepare us for what we saw when we arrived. Rising out of the rocks and cliffs before you even turn the corner into the bay are enormous, beautiful homes, hotels, etc. As you enter the bay, which itself I have to say is not all that big, you are engulfed in a mass of activity in the water. It is a constant swarm of water taxis and glass bottom boats, jet skis with people who have obviously never been on one before, kayakers with a death wish, parasailing boats with parasailers in tow, a few sail boats and then the ever present cruise ships. It wasn't quite overwhelming yet, but certainly exciting and you had to keep your eyes open. The scenery itself is wondrous with large outcrops of rocks, arches and spires.
The water was crystal clear, so as soon as we refueled, dropped off our garbage and anchored in 20 ft. of water, Bruce and Matthew were leaping off the edge of the boat into 75 degree water to swim around. Swimming VERY close to the boat because as I mentioned all that boat traffic around waits for no one and follows no set path or rules. We had set out a bouy to mark our stern anchor and I believe they thought it was a slolom marker. We went ashore, got a lay of the land and quickly met some of our cruising neighbors. "SeaFire" from Blaine, WA, "Alcyon" a beautiful old schooner from Port Townsend, whom we have seen in many anchorages starting in Ensenada but not yet had the chance to meet and "Capaz", from Portland Oregon also with two boys on board.
We filled a Wednesday and Thursday with errands, found Costco and felt like we were home. We attempted to get a few more boat pieces and parts but the prices were much to high. We even splurged to have our laundry done for us. Our nights were filled with sitting on the beach with our new acquaintances, watching the skydivers land on the beach and eating tacos at a local palapa. Couldn't ask for more. It was really the first time in a long time that we felt as though we were on a vacation. At least a quick break anyway. The beaches were very steep to skim boarding was difficult but playing in the waves was great. The sand itself was very different from anything we had seen yet. A pristine yellow, coarse sand that follows you everywhere but pretty easy to clean up as you dry so quickly.
We saved Friday morning for snorkeling with the boys. Matthew could hardly wait for the dinghy to stop moving before he donned his gear and leapt overboard. It was so much fun to hear his squeals of joy and laughter through his snorkel as he discovered all the fish below him. Bruce and Tristan were close behind and yelling back to me all of their discoveries. Before I could get my own gear on and jump in their squeals of joy turned a little more serious as they all hopped back into the dinghy realizing that they were getting tiny zaps from something we discovered to be masses of little jellyfish. We moved the dinghy around to a spot with a bit clearer water and tried again. We found needle fish(garfish), "Gill" from Nemo a Moorish Idol, some parrot fish, a puffer fish and hosts of others we have yet learned to identify. We cannot wait for the next chance to snorkel again in calmer waters.
Today, Saturday, we are departing Cabo San Lucas and beginning the journey around to the Sea of Cortez. We will likely make a few stops along the way in Los Palmillas and Los Frailles before making a big leap up to La Paz and it's neighboring islands. Alcyon will be there the same time and need some more players for an ongoing beach volleyball game.
We have gotten our advent chain put together to help count down the days to Christmas. We play Christmas music constantly but the warm water and constant sunshine make it a little hard to buy. On each chain link we have written one word that reminds us of Christmas and we try to find an activity that day to correlate. Such activities will include cutting snowflakes, making Christmas cookies or creating our own stockings. We know Santa loves cruisers too. Once we anchor in La Paz we may hunt for a Christmas tree but until then we have modified it to an origami tree, angels, snowman, santa and sleigh including reindeer.

until next time,
love lisa and the boys

coordinate corrections ...again

2005-12-07T12:47:00.000+13:00

Tuesday December 6,2005
Google Earth coordinates 24 46.068N,112 15.319W Location: Bahia Santa Maria
My apologies, writing at 3am may not be my best hour to work at and once again I have forgotten to update the coordinates. I should start having my editor proof read my work before I am allowed to submit it. That would certainly get rid of some of those silly typos as well.
Lisa

San Juanico to Bahia Santa Maria

2005-12-07T08:27:00.000+13:00

Monday December 5, 2005 LOCATION: San Juanico to Bahia Santa Maria
GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 27 07.738N,114 17.478W

As we had anticipated it was very tough to leave Asuncion Bay last Sunday and our new friends there. It is exciting to think of the fact that all these new connections are really just the beginning not the end. We had a one more great adventure there the Saturday before we left in a nearby by area called the Valley of the Goats. It is an area known for fossil hunting and we were not disappointed. Together we found everything from crystals to petrified bones, coral and even a couple of shark teeth. Very hot, dry desert location with large mesas, cactus and tarantulas to prove it.
Sunday and Monday we hunkered down in Abreojos. They had forecasted strong winds to be coming down the Baja Peninsula and they weren't kidding. We had sustained winds of 25 - 35 knots for nearly those whole 2 days. It makes for a quick and tricky anchoring job but other than that it is all about laying low and rolling around in the swells. The town itself looked like a large beige cloud from all the dust that is continually blown off the land. By the time we left every inch of the boat was covered in a good 1/4" layer of grit. Trying to sleep becomes rather comical as you lay there stuck out like a 5 point star fish trying not to slide around in bed. You get really good at judging just how big of a swell is going to slide your drink off the table as well. It was a bit like a cartoon, where it slides away from you and it slides back in time to catch before going over the edge. At the first chance we dodged out of there in hopes for a bit calmer weather in the next hold. A great call on our part.
San Juanico was our next anchorage. Plenty of sun and best of all NO WIND in the anchorage. We pulled in to find only one other boat anchored there. They were from Canada and on their way to Nicaragua when they were slightly delayed by a pang, which is the name for a fishing boat. Early one morning the fisherman's view was obstructed by his lobster pots and they ran head long into the port side stern of this boat. Had one of the crew not just left his bunk he would have been severely injured if not killed. The panga broke clear through their hull just above the water line. Long story short, they have become quite infamous as the entire shore could hear the event happen. They spent the week doing fiberglass repairs and were on their way.
We on the other had spent a glorious 5 days there playing on their long beaches and LONG rolling breaks. Perfect for the boys and I to practice our surfing. We spent each morning doing school work and each afternoon playing and exploring. World known for its great breaks we enjoyed each minute. It was yet another new world of sea shells and creatures. Miniscule, small green worms that would carve out little squiggles in the sand, hermit crabs of every shape and size and other inhabited snails that would drag themselves around on top of the sand. The occasional live sand dollar could be found along with sting rays in the water and another surfer found a small octopus. Operculums are the hard disc that univalves (snails) use to close up their shell when frightened could be found by the hundreds. The boys also had a great time fishing off the boat. They could hardly set their bare hooks down in the water without catching them. I haven't the foggiest idea what they were though.
The town has a much larger "gringo" population than we had seen in other towns so far as evidence by "gringo hill". Many homes are retirement spots for people who come to stay 4 months or so out of the year. Friday we walked the town and had lunch at a great restaurant named Snakes. We met the owner Chris and his family who had relocating from Hood River Oregon and loving every minute of it. Saturday we walked the other end of the town down by the point and found the palapas that you can rent for a great price. We were treated to the sounds of fantastic Mariachi music nearly the entire stay as a wedding had taken place that Thursday night and the played around the clock for the next 3 days. I kid you not. It was a very special wedding we hear.
Today we left out with just a little wind to push us along. Knowing we were going overnight we are not in any big hurry. We through out the big fishing line to see if we could catch something other than a skip jack and were pleasantly surprised. We caught a couple beautiful little Yellow fin Tuna and a Bonito right off the back. We let each one go and decided the next tuna we got, if decent size we would keep and try our hands at our fist wild fish of the trip. I will think twice next time. First we were all down below practicing our plotting of courses by hand (Tristan is a pro). Both he and I hear a strange sound and by the time we snap our heads around to figure it out we see the pole bend deep, the line play out and snap - it's gone. We are not sure what it was but we are assuming it was a pretty nice size as we have not had this problem before. We hunt to discover that was our only reel of significant weight line and opt for our next biggest reel. We play it out, have another strong hit and carefully reel in a very decent size tuna again. Unfortunately, my eldest son was now thinking better of having to kill the poor innocent creature and there was a moment of indecision. Mom of course had to be the villain - off with his head, all in the name of a great new experience. We fillet the beauty and saved him for another day. The killing was enough trauma for one day, we will save the feasting for another. Tristan did decide that if we knew it tasted like pizza then it would be much easier task.
It is currently 4:00 am and we are a few hours out yet from Bahia Santa Maria. It is quiet and peaceful and the only traffic I see is an occasional cruise ship off in the distance. Our destination is a small bay located outside a larger well known stop on the lower half of Baja known as Magdalena Bay. We will most likely not go into Mag Bay but stay outside and take a quick break before we head down to Cabo San Lucas. It will take another good overnight trek to make it there where we will have the chance to refuel and provision again. I must say it feels like true cruising now. We have been off the docks for over three weeks and have done a few small essential loads of laundry by hand. Made tortillas and baked goods when necessary. Learned the art of the sparse showers off the back of the boat. We are starting to create some decorations for Christmas and see what new version of the old traditions we will put together this year.
until next time, nos vemos
love lisa and the boys

Action de Gracias

2005-11-26T15:46:00.000+13:00

Thursday November 24, 2005 LOCATION: Asuncion Bay, Baja California
GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 27 07.738N,114 17.478W

Action de Gracias - As best we can tell that means the action of giving thanks or Happy Thanksgiving to you all and we hope this finds you all well and surrounded by family during this special time. We are well and currently nestled in Asuncion Bay. We have been continuing to hop from bahia to bahia y punta to punta, down the coast. We spent a few extra days in Bahia de Santa Rosalillita where we met some great people. A young couple Erik and Sarah, who are originally from Washington, traveling Mexico by van and surfing along the way. And a man, Ricard, from Spain who is traveling through Mexico by himself on his mountain bike. It was fun to swap stories of our travels each with a slightly different means of transportation and view of the trip. You can follow their journeys on www.vanontherun.com and www.bikemexico.blogspot.com. We hope to hook up with them again down the road.
While in Rosalillita we all got some more practice surfing on some really nice and long waves. Once your up (operative word being "up" for me) you could ride them forever. The boys also got to break in their new skim boards and are hooked. The bay itself is wrapped around in wonderful warm sand dunes that we would travel over like roadrunners(another cute bird you get to see a lot down here). Other fun finds were another new sea shell to us called turbans, which we hear are quite a yummy thing to eat and an entire whale skeleton with some leathery skin all dried out. Fascinating stuff.
Next stop was Isla Cedros. A nice island just north of the tip of Punta Eugenia and begins the central portion of Baja California. The island though it feels rather removed is the 3rd largest shipping port in Mexico. From miles away you can see giant mountains of salt that they load and export from lagoons such as Scammons lagoon on the Baja. One quick night and we were on our way to Bahia de Tortugas or Bay of Turtles. Nope, no turtles there. We had heard it is the first major stop and anchorage along the Baja coast for re-provisioning and refueling. They have quite the system going there. For a nice price, of course, they come out to your boat in their "pangas", fiberglass dinghies that EVERYONE owns for fishing, and transportation. The locals gladly take your garbage to shore for you and eventually, Jorge comes to visit you and deliver diesel and fuel. The guide books even mention by him name, although it must have been a busy day. We were told he would be the first person to meet you on your boat and seeing as how we were the last of boats that day to pull in and anchor poor Jorge didn't come for hours and yet made extra trips in the dark to bring us back our jerry cans full. We were very grateful for the help and an extra Tecate (cerveza) and friendly attempts with the language go far.
Currently we are in a wonderful place called Asuncion Bay. The best kept secret on the entire Baja Coast as far as I am concerned. It gets my vote so far as the best gem we have found yet. As with all great finds it is the people that make the experience real. An hour before you enter the bay you are called up on the radio by Shari. She lives on the point with a sweeping 360 degree view of the Pacific Ocean and can see you coming. Her back yard includes a natural jetty that provides a sheltered pool to play in no matter how high the tide or fierce the waves may be, complete with a bufadore (or a blow hole). The boys are still trying to figure out how they can get this in their back yard at home. She and her family, husband Juan and daughter Sirena welcomes you into her town and her home before you even drop anchor. We took them up on their hospitality and within five minutes of hitting the beach you meet the neighbors, have access to every amenity you need and we were treated to fresh squeezed orange juice, lessons in making tortillas and feasting.
Their house is a revolving door of travelers and they even run a B&B of sorts that includes immersion courses in the Mexican culture and learning to speak spanish. Shari graciously acts as the good will ambassador of Asuncion and shuttled us around to the store or to see the sights. Being fluently bilingual she has been teaching us every bit of the local lingo we can squeeze into our terribly gringo brains. They have horses to ride and will even take you to see a local valley where you can hunt for your own petrified shark teeth and other finds.
The town has an amazing Catholic church adorned with breathtaking stained glass windows throughout. Each depicting a scene from the bible in the lower half and a scene from the environment be it ocean or desert life on the top half. Even the copula is shaped like a lighthouse and the door hinges like whales. Not to mention the fresh pink and coral colored marble that wraps every pillar and the floors. Peaceful. We hope to attend a mass and share in their celebration before we go.
A few more travelers trickled in after us from Turtle Bay as well, and Juan and Shari offered up her home to us all to celebrate Thanksgiving. Each person contributed a goodie or two but the best part of the celebration was the offerings of local flavor. We feasted on BBQ yellow fin tuna, lobster(langosta) filled tamales and my new favorite deep fried lobster in the half shell of sorts compliments of Rosa and her husband Isidro. Lobster and Crab fishing is one of the major sources of income and industry here. Each days catch is contributed to a local co-op and sold from there. The work and rewards are shared.
Bruce was able to sneak in a few mornings of surfing with some of Shari's friends Seth and Ryan. They boys enjoyed snorkeling around the boat and chasing bait fish. When the sea lions go by the water boils with the bait fish as they try to escape. We are holding out here for another day or two as we let the brunt of a gale storm go by and we get to part take of a little more of the culture and friendship before we depart on Sunday for Abreojos (open your eyes).
Shari in her past life was a whale researcher for 15 years, and now a self motivated anthropologist and gold miner. Juan her husband builds the rock walls for homes around town, lobster fisherman and musician. If you are ever in this neck of the woods or are looking for an amazing location for some Spanish immersion encounters on the Baja Beach contact them at whales@intecnet.com.mx or call them at 001-52-615-160-0289. I will let you know as soon as their web page is up and running. (hint hint Shari) It is going to be tough to leave this anchorage behind but we are so blessed to have had the opportunity to share this corner of their world.
until next time, nos vemos
love lisa and the boys

Baja California Norte

2005-11-17T14:56:00.000+13:00

Wednesday November 16, 2005 LOCATION: Bahia Blanca, Baja California Norte
GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 29 06.240N,114 41.239W
We have been slowly and diligently making our way down the Baja Coastline. It has been relatively quiet and peaceful. Each day has brought a new anchorage for us to see and taken us a little further south. Each anchorage with it's own unique coastline and feel. There has been a fishing village nestled in nearly everyone. Here is a list of the locations we have stayed in thus far. Puerto Santo Tomas, Bahia de Collett, San Quintin, Punta Baja, San Carlos and tonight we will be in Bahia Blanca. I think it has been about 5 or so days since we have actually touch land and I have to say we are all doing well. Day three we got a little stir crazy but a ride in the dinghy to go explore always helps. Bahia de Collet has dramatic 300 foot cliff walls that line the bay. A big notch cut in the middle brings some heavy winds down through it in the evening. In San Quintin we were anchored beside our friends on Bold Spirit and enjoyed a nice night out to dinner and games on their boat. It was great fun and felt like such a treat. While we were exploring that bay in the dinghy as well we saw a grey colored whale (rather small) heading in to feed we imagine. Yesterday we anchored in Bahia San Carlos next to Punta San Carlos. You see the pattern here. Everywhere there is a "punta", point just below it is a "bahia" or bay for us to anchor in. We took our dinghy ride and found some potential waves for Bruce to ride. Yeah!!! It had been a while since we had gotten him wet and he needed it.
What we noted the most about this location was that we were finally starting to feel some warmth. Up to this point we had been experiencing fairly cool and moist weather, like a foggy Washington day. This was significantly dryer and comfortable. We went to bed early in anticipation of an early departure the next morning and by 10:30 some strong offshore winds kicked up over the bluffs and out onto the water. It turned us and the two other neighboring boats around on our anchors and whipped away at 25 - 35 knots all night and on until 10:30 this morning. You are never in any danger but you sure don't get any sleep. We set a radar alarm that would let us know if we had come loose of our anchor and were drifting into anyone or anything and likewise if anyone was heading for us. By 9:00 am we decided to pull up anchor and brave the sea further out, hoping that these would die off as the day warmed up and lessen the further off shore we went. Luckily it panned out and we enjoyed a nice morning sail. Wind is fascinating to me. Each morning at 6:00 am we listen ever so diligently through squawk and squelch for the weather report and try to picture the highs and lows scattered around the globe. Where are they now and how will they affect me? Where am I located and what land mass or water mass will come into play? ...As quickly as this wind had started at 10:30 that morning it died down to less than 10 knots and changed direction. Who knows.
We did put the fishing line back in the water today. The word around the Pacific Ocean I hear is that fish do not fear Ohana Kai. We haven't had a nibble - until today. Everyone had their turn at reeling in a decent sized Black Skipjack. We didn't keep any to eat yet, we were just so happy to break our fish less curse. We will have to check with Bold Spirit yet to see if they had any luck. They were fish less as well. And as Bruce says, he who has the first fish, has the biggest fish if even for a moment.
As we entered the bay to anchor for the night tonight, the wind picked back up again and it got dark quickly. The full moon rose just in front of us ever so majestically. We were escorted by what looked like a hundred spry dolphins feeding with a frenzy. Amazing.
hope you are all well,
talk to you soon
Lisa and the boys

Ensenada, Mexico

2005-11-11T14:23:00.000+13:00

Monday October 31, 2005 LOCATION: Ensenada, Mexico
GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 31 57.376N,116 37.376W

We made it. Monday we arrived in the early afternoon and decided to wait until the next day to start the whole customs process with a fresh day ahead of us and a good nights sleep. We had heard that it can be a few hours long process and we wanted to be as prepared as possible. We had made anywhere from 10 - 25 copies of any document we were told might be needed to use to complete the paper work. None of which were needed as it turned out. It had been relayed to us that the process might go something like this. Check in at the Aduana (customs), show proof of all things possible, not have something that they need, i.e the VIN # off the motor of the boat. Go get the rest of the information that you need. Go back and show proof again, go to the bank and pay for all things possible, go back to show proof of payment. Find out that you still don't have a copy of something needed. Find the copy store and make copies. Go back again and show more proof of something. It sounded daunting at the very least. Luckily for us times are a changing.
We met up with the Harbor Master, Roger, who for a mere $30 will kindly hand hold and baby sit you through the entire process. He took 4 different boats worth of crew members over to the one building that houses all the officials you need to meet. They used to be spread about town. Roger swiftly guided us all in the proper directions, assisted in translating, filling out paper work and even made copies for us somewhere when we needed them. He was worth his weight in gold. The two funniest parts of the process came toward the end. First, you line up at a window standing next to what looks exactly light a traffic light containing only green and red lights. Of course, after finishing the appropriate paper work and questioning, "Do you have anything you want to declare?" to which I brilliantly reply "Is there anything you would like me to declare?" Do I sound guilty or what? You then get to push a button on the street light to see if you paseo or not. It is a random check so every so often someone gets red "no paseo" and they then board your vessel and check it out. Luckily we did pass and our guide Roger gave out a tiny cheer. I am relieved especially when we found out we would have had to give the officer a ride out to our boat ourselves. That would make for some interesting small talk. The last event was when we were approached to complete a survey on how they "the government" are doing at improving this whole process. It is given by an independent consultant. He was incredibly polite and fun but we were still surprised when the final questions were "Do you think about offering a bribe?, Do you think they expect a bribe? and Do you think they would take one if you offered a bribe?" We happily answered NO, NO, NO and were on our way. We did suggest bigger signs in English would help the process if you didn't come without an escort but all in all a painless process. While standing in line, I must mention that we were surrounded by folks from Port Orchard, Poulsbo and Hunts Point. Is there no where to hide?
We found some ATM machines, got some lunch, groceries and showers over the next two days, filled out a few more papers in order to leave Ensenada and were on our way. This morning we headed out on what ended up being the busiest boat traffic day we had seen yet. A cruise ship had just docked and off loaded. The crew then began to run an emergency drill and all their life rafts descended into the water. Quite a site. Two large tugs also brought in some barges. A bit of maneuvering and we were in the clear. A quick visit to Isla Todos Santos, two islands off the coast that in the right conditions create some huge waves for the more extreme surfers. We just wanted to be able to say we had been there. Good enough for us.
The last observation would again be the support systems around these cruisers. Since cell phone, television, and most other forms of communication and information start to dwindle once you cross the border, there are these amazing "nets" as they call them. They are each set to occur on specific frequencies and times on both single side band radios and VHF. They span the entire coast and can be as simple as a roll call to see who's out there and afloat, or who needs help. One of them this morning was very local including mostly the two nearest marinas. If is funny when you realize the people talking are each sitting in their boat, most of which are on the same dock and within eyeball distance. They offered all different types off segments including even the most up to date news, weather, happenings at the movie theater or local bar, a mini swap meet of sorts, mail carrier service if you want anything delivered to or from the US (Dan is running up there tomorrow). The list is endless and all volunteer. It is the most genuine and good natured community. All those years of playing the telephone game as a kid come in handy here when you need to help relay the messages when they don't travel as far as needed.
We are all having good time trying out our beginning spanish. The boat is covered in pieces of tape with words and phrases in spanish. We are threatening to have an all spanish day but we fear at this point we may just all sound polite and starve to death. Matthew, Mr. Goodwill ambassador will get the farthest in life with the two simplest words that he loves to hand out to everyone, "Hola Amigo!".
We are off to Puerto Santo Tomas today to find a new anchorage. The charts get less specific as we go south so it means much more diligent watches.
talk to you soon
Lisa and the boys

San Diego coordinates

2005-11-08T11:18:00.000+13:00

Monday October 31, 2005 LOCATION: Shelter Island, San Diego GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 32 42.588N,117 14.063W
After that last great message went out I realized I had not yet changed the coordinates. So above are the revised ones. It has been an amazing stay here in San Diego. It is official. Today we are leaving the dock. Bruce just started the motor and we are untying the lines as we speak. It is 4 am and we have a good 10 - 12 hour day ahead of us to reach Ensenada. It is quite a site to see this city in the dark all lite up like Christmas. The channel markers of red, green and white line the path we must take to head back out to sea. You feel a bit like an airline pilot lined up on the runway. I will write soon with our coordinates from our next stop in

San Diego

2005-11-07T08:47:00.000+13:00

Monday October 31, 2005 LOCATION: Shelter Island, San Diego GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 33 27.515N,117 41.438W
San Diego, our last stop before Mexico. We arrived at the Harbor Office early last Tuesday morning hoping to find a slip. We came knowing that the chances were slim as they are all taken by the 150 other boats that were entered in the Baja Haha. A boat race from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. The last one disappeared a minute before we got on the dock. As always it works out just fine. We were given an anchorage in Glorietta Bay which sits right next too the beautiful Coronado Hotel.
Wednesday we hit the ground running. We rented a car and headed straight for Sea World. We all had a great time but after seeing all the wild life in Monterey Bay Aquarium and the excitement of Disneyland it just wasn't the same. I would like to say that we had really been enjoying the rest of the sights of San Diego since then but it has been all work. We know the freeways better than I expected.
We have begun the learn the steps of an important dance around here that they appropriately name the paper work cha cha. We each had a few immunizations left to take care of. We needed fishing licenses for the boat, the dinghy and each person on board. We began the paper work for our Visa's once we enter Mexico. We have made oodles of copies of a forms we will need, might need and have to have. We have hit every marine supply store we could find and a giant provisioning day at Costco. Plan as we may, things often go awry and yet they always work out. The boys are getting a good lesson at watching their parents learn how to deal with things when they don't go the way they want.
Some of the best stories of the trip will always be the little encounters with generous spirits. The man in Oceanside who upon seeing the surf boards on the boat and meeting us, took it upon himself to run to the nearest surf shop, buy an amazing map of Mexico, have it laminated and delivered it to us. We met a guy in a dive shop who is originally from Seabeck. The next day when we realized an underwater light we purchased there was broken, they drove out to meet us as the dock and replace it since we no longer had a rental car.
We took it easy on the weekend. Tried to find places to store all the goodies on the boat. Cleaned house and spent some good time playing soccer in a nearby park. We enjoyed walking all over Coronado Island and of course never turned down the chance for a chocolate milk shake. Today we pulled up anchor early and headed back for the Harbor Office knowing that we had a good chance to get a slip on the dock. Once our space opened up we snugged ourself into the slip and ran back into town to tie up some loose ends.
Next came Halloween. We left our options open since we did not know exactly where we would be and the boys were beginning to get a bit worried. Tristan decided to celebrate each holiday with a quick climb up the mast and then we got creative quick. We put together the two headed crew member costume and Tristan and Matthew hit the docks to deliver treats this year. We were not sure that dock mates would be prepared, let alone aware that tonight was Halloween and thus have goodies to give so we decided it was time for them to receive. We scrounged up some goodies and went boat to boat. People were so surprised and we had a great time. Generously, each boat we visited dug deep and found something creative to donate to our goodie bag. When we got back to the boat it was a little different when we counted the loot; 2 cans of diet cherry cola, cliff bars, sugar free chocolate bars, some Twix and a box of Red Vines. Certainly a unique holiday for us. They boys had a fantastic time, we met some new acquaintances and delivered some much needed cheer.
One more day of provisioning and preparation and we felt ready to go. We celebrated Tristan's birthday with some new friends. Mexican food for lunch and dinner and chocolate cake. Who could ask for more! We had every intention of departing for Mexico within the next day or two but some marvelous and unexpected connections slowed us down. A couple from Bainbridge Island were staying in a nearby hotel when they saw our port name. Long story short, they offered us a key to their hotel to use the pool whenever we wanted. Very kind. They hope to purchase a boat and cruise in the near future.
While at the pool we met a family, originally from Austria, who have lived aboard their boat here in San Diego for two years now. You can get their whole story on the Schmit family web site www.lawur.com. (My favorite boat name yet pronounced "law vur", meaning bathtub in german I believe.) They have two boys, each a year younger than ours, and we have all been thoroughly enjoying each others company and friendships. Eager to swap stories and encouragement they convinced us to stay a little longer and we may yet convince them to leave the dock a little early. They hope to depart at the end of the month and will be celebrating their bon voyage party this Saturday. Thus we decided that's what this cruising is all about, Creating these relationships and experiencing life as it comes to you.
It looks as though we will attempt our departure Sunday. We will keep you posted.
love lisa and the boys

Dana Point to Oceanside

2005-10-25T10:38:00.000+13:00

Friday 21, 2005 LOCATION: Oceanside Harbor GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 33 12.580N,117 23.694W

Dana Point. After a maneuvering from dock to dock we found our slip and got to work on projects and school. Again for a brief moment we prided ourselves on having everything in working order and not needing to run to a hardware store or West Marine. Silly us. As we finished up replacing the water pump that burned itself up in the middle of the night and found the leak in the water tank and repaired it, we were over come with this terrible smell of gasoline. This was odd since the boat uses diesel. Upon further investigation we realized that somehow the little line that feeds gas into the dinghy motor had split open and thus was the source of the stench. Off we went for a family walk to West Marine.
Dana Point is a beautiful little town. We visited the local surf shops for fun and enjoyed some delicious Thai cuisine. Friday we took another P.E. day and drove the dinghy to Doheny Beach to surf. This one was a particularly fun adventure because there was no where to dock the dinghy. We had to let down the anchor way off shore and everyone grabbed a boogie or surf board and swam to shore. We ended up spending the whole day there practicing and playing. Matthew was teaching me the art of diving into, under and over waves. I am sure I have said it before but I am in awe of how comfortable he is just hanging out in the waves. I don't know if I will ever be a comfortable with it as him.
I did have yet a second encounter with the Harbor Patrol. I failed to mention the first one when we got pulled over in Newport for not having registration on the dinghy (not required in WA) and we didn't have a legitimate life jacket for both adults. The throwable cushions apparently wouldn't do. In Dana Point I took the dinghy, by myself (a brave undertaking) along with the surfboard, back to the marina to sign up for another night when that Harbor Patrol pulled me over again. Being pulled over entails the big official red and white boat flash their blue lights at you and throw you a line while you ever so submissively float below them. This time the offense was anchoring the dinghy inside a swim zone. Mind you it was a good 300 yards from shore and it took me forever and all the energy I could muster to paddle on my board to this dingy it was that far off shore. Point being I don't really think I was in any swimmers way. But rules are rules. You have to give them the usual information of name, number and address, get a warning and are on our way. Truly, they are always very nice and respectful but you still come away feeling so guilty.
Next we were on our way to Oceanside. With binoculars in hand Bruce checked out all the beaches along the way and doing some work on the phone with people at home. Rough life. The boys worked hard on their studies though you can always tell when that energy level starts to brew. Its always good to get to shore for another long walk. When the energy levels exceed the ability to exercise at the moment the boys have devised a way of their own to solve the problem. They clear off Bruce's and my bed of everything and have an all out wrestling match. Belly laughing, head bonking, rip roaring good time. The only rule is clean up when your done. So far so good. That would be recess on the boat when you can't find a jungle gym.
Once docked the boys and I finished up some school work and Bruce was off to the jetty for another day of surfing. The boys and I took a quick walk in the afternoon to find Bruce and found a great surprise. An old schooner called the Privateer Lynx ablaze in full canvas came sailing into the marina. The whole town knew it was coming apparently and turned out for some great photos. It was fun to see the crew in full costume and cannons roaring. Always a surprise around every corner.
The last couple of days have been cool and overcast, so we hunkered down for a snug weekend. The boys enjoyed a PJ day and Bruce got in a little surfing. I got things a little more organized so we are prepared when we hit Mission Bay and San Diego this week. We will have quite a bit of running around to do as we prepare to head into Mexico. Yeah!!!
talk to you soon,
Lisa and the boys

Newport & Dana Point

2005-10-23T06:19:00.000+13:00

Tuesday October 18, 2005 LOCATION: Dana Point Harbor GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 33 27.515N,117 41.438W
We are finishing out our stay in Newport. It really is an amazing place here. It is set up like a very fancy, clean Venice. There is quite a mix of elements here when you add in the nature of the coast line and the money it takes to live here. It is a maze of water ways that flow past everyone's back door. Each person's back yard is a dock to which is tied their yacht. Next to that is tied their little waterized golf cart as I call them. Really, they are small hard bottom dinghy's that can hold 8 or so people comfortably. They are motorized, covered and fully enclosed in clear plastic, (to keep out the evening chill). Each one is decorated and adorned with comfy pillows and each day and night they cruise around and visit each other with drinks in hand. It is quite a site to see.
We spent the first couple of days getting some school work under our belts although we did have to call school off on Friday on account of too much sun. It called to us and we spent an entire day of P.E. surfing. Much fun. Saturday was spent with the usual chores, laundry, another trip to West Marine. The newly replaced water tank continues to have a small leak somewhere else that perplexes us. A few more broken items repaired such as a sheered off bolt in the macerator for the front head and we are good until the next hardware store appears.
Sunday brought Southern California's first rain storm of the season. A few locals told us that when they say it is going to rain they don't really mean it. A few rain drops started to fall and I mocked them a bit. They don't know rain I thought. We were all surprised when full on rain storm complete with a beautiful thunder and lightning display graced us all night long and the next day and the next. They boys enjoyed getting to pump out all the water that accumulated in the dinghy overnight.
I took the opportunity on that nice rainy Sunday to try to bake up some comfort food. I must preface this with I am not known for doing much baking short of cookies but I was ready to attempt an apple pie. Well, we called it an apple something. We had fresh apples from my in-laws yard and my own home made grahm cracker crust. When you factor in the pilot light kicking off somewhere in the middle of baking it did take nearly a full two hours to cook but somehow was scrumptious.
The only other true excitement of the stay was late one evening we heard a loud bang on the port side of the boat. The type of noise you would associate with having run into something real hard. Not good when you are supposed to be anchored tight. We ran up top thinking we had come loose and luckily it was just one of those fancy little dinghy's with some kids celebrating a 22nd birthday. Mid toast they didn't watch where they were going and ran into us. No harm no foul. They were terribly embarrassed but I am sure they'll never forget that one.
This morning we pulled anchor and are heading to Dana Point. Rain or not no sense in waitning. We are from Washington. It did feel rather funny to put on a rain coat though. We stopped to refuel and almost had a disaster as the head of the pump in Newport for gas is green like a diesel. We nearly put the wrong fuels in the wrong tanks. Yikes. A quick hop and we will be in Dana Point in no time.
love lisa and the boys

Quick reminder: It is best to email us directly at TheMartins@ohanakai.net. We will be guaranteed to get all emails then. Photos emailed to there will be forwarded to a land email that we can pick up later. thanks

Great fun in Marina Del Rey and Disneyland

2005-10-17T05:08:00.000+13:00

Wednesday October 11, 2005 LOCATION: Newport Harbor GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 33 36.582N,117 55.379W
We departed Ventura on a day when we knew that their famed Santa Ana winds were blowing offshore. They are known for their warmth and strength. We thought this would be a good time to get a good sail and a little more practice with stronger winds. We got what we wanted. What we didn't anticipate was just how high it would make the wind waves. The swell itself was not too large but since both them and the wind were coming at us from the side it created quite a busy and bumpy ride. As Bruce and I got the sails configured the way we wanted to deal with sustained winds of 25 - 30 knots and gusts up to 40, I realized I hadn't given the boys any sea sickness medicine and we were soon dealing with our first tossed breakfasts of the trip. Once those tummies are empty they feel much better, but they still laid low until the next distraction of the day.
A couple of hours into this 8 hour trek, we realized we were being chased down by yet another bird. The word is out after our last visitor that this is the place to rest. This creature looked much different than our last guest, in fact he looked more like a turtle flying in the air. He, quickly named Hootie, turned out to be an owl. A burrowing owl as best we can tell. He was exhausted and we figure he must migrate back and forth from Catalina Island. We saw a few others pass over us but none as tired as him. He ended up riding all the way into the harbor with us and didn't depart until after nightfall.
Once on the dock we were immediately greeted by a man who saw our port name and informed us he and his family were from Poulsbo, shortly there after we met another man from Portland, and another from Seattle. You never feel very far from home. The most exciting boat we met was one from Japan. They had traveled 32 days from Tokyo to Midway (Hawaii), from there they went to Seattle, then down the coast to here. We offered them some fish and abalone we had caught earlier and brought out our maps to talk with them. They will be taking the next 5 years to circumnavigate going east through the canal and around. I think they have a web site as well, so I will have to check it out and let you know. They were very nice to talk to and it was a bonus to realize we had the exact same boat. Knowing theirs made it across the ocean always helps to instill a bit more confidence in your own.
Aside from the dock, we didn't see much of the town except the usual, grocery store, laundry mat and of course, West Marine.
Saturday our friends the Elste family drove down from Modesto and we all descended upon Disneyland for two days of fabulous fun. The boys braved every ride we could throw at them. It was great fun and we are still all recuperating. We spent at least 15 hours in the park on the first day alone. whew!
Tuesday we readied the boat for departure the next day, wash it one more time, fill the water tanks, and of course, break something. The seam busted right out of our largest water tank. So we quickly ran back to West Marine, ordered one picked it up this morning, installed it and were off the docks by noon. The parting surprise of the day was Tristan's eagle eye actually spotted a small octopus right there off the dock in a couple feet of water speeding along the rocks. We were fascinated and left that beautiful harbor happy with our find. It has been a peaceful day of sailing most all of today and we will stop in Newport for a while.
until then, sail on
love lisa and the boys

Quick reminder for the Google Earth, just click and paste the coordinates exactly as we have them written there above. The google program can be fickle about how the coordinates are entered.

The Channel Islands

2005-10-09T05:07:00.000+13:00

Sunday October 5, 2005 LOCATION:Santa Cruz Island, Smugglers Cove GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 34 24.245N,119 41.548W
We have just completed a few days around the Channel Islands. We departed Santa Barbara a little early because there was a 940+ foot cruise ship coming in and they needed the extra space. We headed for the more remote island of Santa Rosa first and went the a cove on the far side called Johnson's Lee. A friend asked me the other day if this trip was more than I could have imagined. I realized at the end of this day, these were the moments and memories that made it just that.
First, we took the road less traveled, left civilization behind and headed for a place where there was no one to be found. On the way there we were visited by some dolphins riding on our bow current. They were a little shy but entertained us well. Matthew also pulled out his second top tooth with a little help from dad. yeah.
When we found a cove to stay in we had to choose our way carefully through a big kelp bed and not foul the prop. As we anchored we discovered on the shore was a large colony of elephant seals. The islands are privately owned so were not allowed to go to shore without a permit but they were fun to watch and listen to from a distance. The islands themselves don't look like much, very barren and dry. But the history behind them can fill volumes. On Santa Rosa Island they had found the most complete skeletal remains of full pygmy mammoths in 1994, there are 3,000 year old cemeteries, fire areas over 12,000 years old, and tree stump 16,000 years old. Amazing, and it tied in well to our history lessons.
After we anchored, Tristan decided to practice climbing the mast. A new all time favorite activity for the boys once they are harnessed in. Once up there, he was able to spot Manta Rays swimming around for us to see. That was a first for all of us to see them in the wild. A baby was following it's mother around like a little duck. We were all speechless. That night I went out to star gaze and realized the water was alive with the glow of phosphorescence or bio-luminescence. We had seen them off the wake of the boat or flushing down the toilet in the middle of the night but never so active like this. As I understand it, the phosphorescence are little microbes in the water that have the ability to glow like that when they are disturbed. As only boys could, they discovered they could disturb the creatures just by spitting in the water, great fun.
We spend the next two days spent exploring Santa Cruz Island and one of the largest known caves 120 ft high and 600 feet long. It gets dark and narrow in there fast so we explored only the first portion of it. Tristan did spot his first Gray Whale for us. He was so excited. From there we headed into Ventura Harbor for some more laundry and re-provisioning. The boys are becoming such great travelers and don't blink at the idea of having to walk 2 miles to the grocery store. As with each stop, we met some wonderful people. Lawrence and Deb Foster on Spice are preparing their boat for a trip south this winter as well and were a lot of fun to swap stories with. Neil and Judi Larson kindly came to our boat and brought a bunch of fun, creative games for us all to play on our travels and directed us to our first geocache. A GPS guided treasure hunt. Let's just say the hunt was a success, we found the treasure, left some goodies for the next gang to find the spot and we will definitely be looking for more of these along the way.
Next destination, Marina del Rey and then the happiest place on earth (besides the boat) DISNEYLAND.
until then, sail on
love lisa and the boys

Quick reminder for the Google Earth, just click and paste the coordinates exactly as we have them written there above. The google program can be fickle about how the coordinates are entered.

Santa Barbara

2005-09-30T04:08:00.000+12:00

Wednesday September 28, 2005 LOCATION:Santa Barbara Yacht Harbor GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 34 24.245N,119 41.548W
The anchorage we had in Cojo just around the corner from Conception Point was great. It was a bit rolly as we expected but the there are always the bright side of the story. It had the most beautiful pink,red and rose colored sunset. Oh yes, and the gigantic Team O'Neill surfers catamaran was anchored there. Always fun to see what they are up to. A dinghy continually brought their surfers into and out of their surf spots. Much entertainment for Bruce.
On our way to Santa Barbara we had the most pleasant surprise. Bruce went up to check our heading and found a little bird sitting on the seat. We were a good 3 miles offshore. We grabbed our cameras and audubon books and went to work. As best we could tell it was a long lost little sparrow. She sat a while, fluffed and dried herself and even took a little bread and water from us. She sat on Bruce's arm for a photo op. A second bird arrived but would only fly above us and attempt to coax her away. She joined him for a while and flew about until she was ready for another rest. She eventually got up the strength and/or courage and took leave. We named her Freeride and enjoyed her company.
We are now snuggly tucked into the Santa Barbara Harbor. It is a much more peaceful night sleep in here without the rocking and rolling of our last anchorage. The harbor is set in an amazingly beautiful location surrounded by Sierra Madre mountains, palm trees and beaches. The marina itself is impeccably kept with amazingly nice facilities. I doubt I will ever find as nice of laundry facilities so close again. We walked downtown to a farmer's market last night and hope to take a trolley into to see the Mission and other sights soon. Yesterday was filled with school work and then the whole family grabbed swim suits and brushes and scrubbed every piece on the outside of the boat. In the warm sunshine, this is actually a fun job with all that great kid help. This morning a family with a little girl came over in their dingy to introduce themselves. They are on a boat named Sensei. They will be following the same path as us and are excited to find another boat with kids. They are using a similar school curriculum to our which always adds a bit of moral support. Knowing you are not alone in anything makes it better just by default.
As boating and boat projects go things always take a little longer than expected. Our 10 min. oil change yesterday turned into a hour affair. And I am still not sure what project Bruce was working on before he took leave and ran to a hardware store no doubt. All I can say is something slipped up into the boom or mast where it shouldn't be and getting it out will be an all day affair. The boys and I finished school work in great time and headed for the beach. It is just a short walk down the dock and over the jetty wall to reach it. They donned their new wet suit booties, boogie boards and were in the water for hours. Having seen all this wildlife lately has really inspired them. With their wet suits they are that much more bouyant and love to just float in the water on their backs and pretend they are otters. Or perhaps, dive through a wave as it approaches like a dolphin. Sitting there I realized that this was the stereotypical day we northerners think they must be like here everyday. Sun, sand and surf with no other cares in the world. It did seem amazingly hot there today and we later found out it was an uncharacteristicly high 94 degrees that day. whew.
We may be heading off tomorrow for the Channel Islands. We are paying more to stay here than we like and without a car it is tough to get inland to see as many sights as we would like. We shall see what the water and weather reports say.
until then,
aloha lisa and the boys

Quick reminder for the Google Earth, just click and paste the coordinates exactly as we have them written there above. The google program can be fickle about how the coordinates are entered.

Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo

2005-09-27T04:47:00.000+12:00

Sunday September 25, 2005 LOCATION:Point Conception, Cojo Bay GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 34 32.885N,120 36.137W
Morro Bay was a great little harbor to stay in. We came in under overcast skies at sunrise again. Originally we picked up a mooring until we realized there was a small dock that was just as long as we were that we could tie up to for less money. It was like our own private little island for a while. We settled in quickly and head for the beach. The 3 boys donned wet suits and were off to surf and boogie board. It is an impressive site to play under the shadow of the 581 foot tall Morro Rock. Even more impressive were the pod of dolphins that were playing in the waves with them. They continued to breach and flip like a circus show. The dolphins would ride inside the swell and shoot out the back side of a breaking wave within feet of Bruce. We filled our next two days with school work, laundry and chores and a very special purchase. Bruce found a perfect starter surf board at just the right price for the boys. With great pride the two of them carried their new toy through down town Morro Bay and back to the boat.
We took a quick day hop in the boat and we rounded the corner to anchor in San Luis Obispo Bay. Avila Beach is located near an old UNOCAL Pier. I believe it was an oil pipeline of sorts. The story as I understand it is that the soil became contaminated by them and oil would bubble up on the beach. They were ordered to replace the beach and help rebuild the town. They removed 7,000 truck loads of sand! The beach has been rebuilt and it's beautiful. The remaining shops were sustained during the process by Unocal and the town looks like it is trying to grow again. On Friday night when we arrived, they were having a street fair of sorts with live music, food booths and a small farmers market from nearby growers and the local San Luis Obispo Agriculture Dept. We purchased some delicious peaches from a farm in Reedly and ordered some pizza from the Custom House restaurant. In it's day, the building was the actual customs department. Now it is a beautiful restaurant run by a great guy by the name of Chito Moya. He learned of our adventure, befriended us and invited us back for breakfast the next day to talk. He gave us some great ideas for places to visit inland Mexico. It was so fun to sit and learn more about the area and the history behind it. His hospitality and friendship were wonderful. Thanks Chito! Saturday day, we had the great opportunity to visit with one of my childhood friends and his family. They live in Rotarua, New Zealand now but happened to be stateside at the time and right in San Luis Obispo so Scott, Jebraun and their 3 kids Terah, Caleb and Owen Clifford all visited us on the boat for lunch and enjoyed a little swinging in the bosun's chair. (the boy's favorite pastime on the boat) We hope to hook back up with them in a little over a year back in New Zealand.
This morning we pulled up anchor and are beginning to make our way around Point Conception. It is a prominent point on the central coast line and has a reputation for being the "Cape Horn of the Pacific". It can have really rough seas and strong winds by old stories, but from all my recent reading more people have experienced quite the opposite. Our weather and sea forecast look good for the day so we're on our way. En route this morning we were visited by a little bird. He or she we think looked quite tired and maybe a little lost. She hopped around, fluffed herself for a good dry out of the morning fog and wind. We took all our photos as she had some bread and sat on Bruce's arm. Then we grabbed our audubon books and our best guess is that she is possibly a sparrow. A second one came around and tried to entice her back to shore for a bit. She rested a bit longer and was on her way. Quite a treat for us.
The wind has come up a bit now out of the north and we are able to shut the motor down and sail a bit at 5-6 knots. Perfect. Motoring can be critical to recharge the batteries if there is not enough sun or wind for the solar panels and wind generator to do the job. It is tough for them to keep up some days in the fog or calm winds but they do a great job. The batteries help to run the refrigerator, freezer, computer and other electrical functions on the boat. It is always about keeping a balance between how much energy are we using, how much fuel are we using and how can we conserve or utilize them all the most efficiently. Having said all that, it is always nice to shut it all down and glide with the wind.
Off in the distance we are able to start to see the outlines of a large oil derrick or platform. In the distant fog they look like something right out of Star Wars. It is amazing to imagine what power those hurricanes in the Gulf must have to damage to structures likes these.
Tonight we will likely find refuge in Cojo Anchorage just south of Point Conception. It can be windy there but large kelp beds slow down the swells and therefore the rolling. The swells can be fun to ride in the day but make it difficult for a real great night of sleep. We shall find out. Above are the coordinates where we are. Tomorrow we will finish the length to Santa Barbara and explore for a few days.
until then,
aloha lisa and the boys

Oops! Mistake in our last position Report :)

2005-09-21T15:57:00.000+12:00

Position Outside Carmel CA. 36 29.501N,122 00.184w

Oops! Sorry guys it looks like my typing skills are still somewhat limited. It has been brought to my attention that my coordinates put us somewhere near the Straits of Gibraltar or somewhere near Fresno....Holy bad navigating batman!!! I think we made a wrong turn somewhere. Anyhow the above coordinates should now work although I have not been able to check my work since we have no internet access at this time. Thanks Brady for bringing this to my attention :) Although I'd like to say it was late last night and we were rocking and rolling out on the Pacific and that was the reason for my ineptness, it simply isn't the case. All of that is true except for the rocking and rolling part. We are currently in.....hmmmm put this in and find out 35 22.043N,120 51.495W Oh by the way TIM I spent all day surfing a wonderful left at 35 22.404N,120 51.94W We should be here next to Rock Rock (not a typo) for a couple more days and then off to So Cal....

Talk to you soon.

Bruce

Thanks Again Brady!!

See Exactly Where we are with Google Earth!!!!

2005-09-21T04:48:00.000+12:00

Position Outside Carmel CA. 36 29.501N,122 00.184w

I'm sure that most of you are already aware of this cool little program available for free at Earth.google.com but we are gonna tell you about it anyway. Once you have downloaded this little wonder you can input our Latitude and Longitude. (From now on we will include these in our updates so all you have to do is cut and paste as we have written it into the box) You will magically be transported to our location...Well kinda!! You will be shown a real satellite image of where we are. Keep in mind the satellite photo may be a little bit old so you will not see our boat directly in the photo. You will see our exact location at the time of that posting though. This is the coolest thing ever!!!! Give it a try!!! I posted our position above just cut and paste it into the search window... Let us know how you like it....

The Martins

(the above coordinates are now correct...sorry for any confusion)

Monterey, CA

2005-09-17T16:58:00.000+12:00

Friday September 16, 2005
Time keeps flying by us. It is amazing how quickly your day can fill up with the usual stuff whether you are on land or on sea. Tuesday after Labor Day weekend we had another wonderful send off from friends out of the Bay Area. We went straight to the Santa Cruz Harbor and tied up to their docks for a few days. We found great kindness from a gal in the Harbor Masters office as we realized we needed a few small parts to fix a leaky sink. She kindly drove Bruce around town and even lent him some money when he came up a little short. We celebrated Matthews 7th birthday on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. We filled ourselves with cotton candy, roller coaster rides and arcade games. Again the Elste family was able to come and visit us. We took them on the boat and moved it down a little further south to Capitola and enjoy some fun in the sun and surf. Monday the 12th we set out for Monterey. The weather reports had said a potential of thunder storms were coming so we made haste. We have been so blessed with support from family and friends and Monterey was no different. Bruce's parents were here to visit us (and shuttle us around :)). Monterey is home to their famed aquarium and I have to say it was absolutely amazing. The boys brought their cameras and we spent hours oohing and aaahing over the creatures. They have these amazing volunteers that are just a wealth of fascinating information. The sea life to be found in the ocean and around the shore here is amazing as well. We have never seen so many sea lions, otters or dolphins in our life. While I am writing to you a pod of dolphins swam through the bay here to feed, and a sea lion popped up maybe 10 feet from the boat to talk to Bruce. The sea lions are huge and quite noisy as they bark 24 hours a day. They can also be quite a nuisance if they decide to take up residence on your dock or boat. Aside from the smell, they are big enough that a few can sink a small boat.
The marina here is quite full as it is a popular vacation spot and you can start to see cruisers that are preparing to go south like we are. We are anchored out and have been rocking and rolling alone out here for a few days and bring the dingy (newly named Dingy-Ma-Bob, nick named Bob) back and forth to their docks. A few new boats have anchored out with us last night. One of the new neighbors on the boat Salacia' just visited us in their dinghy and we realized they are a couple from Victoria, B.C. They will be following the same route with us all the way through the Pacific. I am sure we will all know each other well at the end of this trip. This weekend in Monterey is their annual Jazz Festival and a Cherry Jubilee (classic cars) Show at the Laguna Seca raceway where Bruce's parents are staying in the motor home. We have decided to wait out the weekend here as the weather service has reported a southern hemisphere storm that is going to bring some rough seas and long swells this way. Any beaches or anchorages that are facing south will feel it the most. Unfortunately, that is most of the stops for us for a while.
We are happy to rest here for a while and continue to get used to our routine. We are successfully completing our first full week of school. As with any other routine, this one will take a little time to get smooth but we are off to a good start. We are deciphering what each others needs are going to be in this process. Matthew, having never really sat in a classroom yet is learning the ropes of first grade and how to focus. Tristan on the other hand, a big fourth grader, is very used to a detailed curriculum and an amazingly designed classroom setting. He is working on learning how to be a little more flexible. I have to commend the boys on getting their morning routine down well as they make their beds and keep their room clean. It is essential when you have such small space. Our days are so much like yours at home. Morning routines, breakfast, school work and cleaning, off to town to run errands or see the sights, cook dinner, clean again, maybe watch a movie or read a book and off to bed. The schedules are much alike but the challenges and changes come from having to use a dingy to get to where you need to go or keeping your living space workable. How much stuff can you carry in the dinghy? Groceries, garbage, laundry? Everything has a place to be stored in the boat but the system always needs improvement. The challenge in the system is that you need to move something to get to something every time. It is just a new way of life and I have to say I am loving it. So far so good!
After this weekend, we will be spending more time on the boat as we have less company along the way south. We will miss the company but it will mean a bit more regular routine for us and hopefully more frequent, smaller email updates from me.

South Colby Bobcat's, the boys say Hi and hope that the school year is starting off well for you, Mr. Pickard and all the teachers. Feel free to send us an email at TheMartins@ohanakai.net or reply to this blog.
all our love,
Lisa, Bruce, Tristan & Matthew

Road trip

2005-09-08T10:27:00.000+12:00

Friday September 2, 2005
Road Trips!!! We are covering Northern and Central California and not leaving too many stones unturned. We spent the first day or two at my parents catching up on our sleep and a little swimming in Grandma Carols pool across the street. We were then able to borrow a car from my parents and head to Modesto. The Elste family, Amy, Ed, Charlie and Severin graciously put us up for the week and showed us a great time. We met their friends the Castle and Shank families and enjoyed some fun swimming and a nice BBQ. The boys managed to set up a lemonade stand and brought in a little extra spending money for all four of them to share. We were able to spend a little more time with Bruce's parents in Oakdale before they head back up to live in our house in Washington. We were very grateful to sneak in one more day of swimming at Amy's parents house the Hoffman's. These pools are key out here in the valley. Though we are taking full credit for bringing them some nice tolerable Washington summer weather. It stayed in the mid 90's while we were there and we didn't have to brave the 100's this time. whew. A big highlight is definitely the trip to Yosemite. It was a perfect day of picnic lunches and a beautiful hike up to Bridal Veil and Vernal falls. The boys all did spectacular! They were rewarded with dipping their toes in a crystal clear lake and snow cones when they got home. You can never tire of looking at the beauty and wonder of the mountains.
Back in the Bay Area my parents put on a nice little pool side get together for family and friends. My sister-in-law Jenny and niece Samantha, nephew Malcolm came down from Auburn, CA. We were able to chat and tell our story a little more. My sister Krista and her two boys Indiana and Lucian were able to come down and visit from Arcata, Ca which was very special. We took them all and did a day in San Francisco at the Exploratorium. It is very comparable to the Seattle Pacific Science Center. The boys loved making tornados, bubble creations and making dad peddle to create electricity.
We were about to head out this week before we realized that Labor Day Weekend was coming and decided not to brave the millions of boaters last summer fling and crazy waters just yet. So, flexibility is the name of our game and we headed to Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe. It was home the the 1960 Winter Olympics and nearly every one of my greatest childhood memories. My parents have a cabin there that needed some yard work done, and away we went. We enjoyed a few more pine trees and mountain hikes before we begin the rest of the journey on the water. We are back to the Bay Area to do a bit more organizing and preparations before we head out. Hope your summer is wrapping up well. I know the boys are even looking forward to a little bit more structure and routine which is good as we are ready to start our school work along with a lot of you.
all our love,
Lisa and the boys

Let us know how things are going! Please remember not to send any reply's, forwards or attachments. Thank you.

Sorry we have been so neglectful.

2005-09-06T15:37:00.000+12:00

Wow I can't believe it has been so long since we have posted. We will definatley be more regular with our posting from here on out. We are still in SanFrancisco but will be heading south on Wed. We have been having so much fun hanging out here and visiting friends and sites that we kinda stayed longer than anticipated. I'm sure Lisa will be sending out a detailed update on what we have been doing and an Itenerary of what we will be doing in the next day or so. Our immediate plans are to leave Wed to head for Santa Cruz for some surf and beach time with the Elstes and then on to Monterey to meet up with my Folks the following week. Anyhow we will be much more diligent in our posting and returning emails from here on out so keep them both coming. Oh and feel free to post here on the "Comment" section of this Blogggy thing. We have gotten quite a few emails from people who were intimidated by the "sign in" section in order to post a comment..It's really not a big deal. If you fill out the little bit of info then your post won't come up as just "anonymous" but will actually have your name or whatever you put as your name :) under your post. And any Friends of Tristan and Matthew that would like to post here, you are more than welcome also. And if thats still to complicated or Scarrrryyy you can just plain old email us at TheMartins@ohanakai.net. One last thing we just updated the Website at Ohankai.net so feel free to Click on the Adventure page to see what we have been up to and check out the photo albums at the bottom of each of those pages. In the slide shows, click on the first photo and it will show you them in larger versions, so you can see our pearly whites even more clearly.

The Annual Albion Camping Trip

2005-08-14T10:17:00.000+12:00

Tuesday August 12,2005
The Annual Albion Camping Trip has drawn to an end. We have had a really fun time with everyone. We had quite the tent city set up next to Nana & Papa's motorhome and the Wilkerson's motorhome. Ed, Amy, Severin & Charlie Elste's trailer took our old spot while Jon, Jeanette, Seth & Erik Krogstad, Jim & Tammy Channel, Shawn, Brenda, Emma & Cole Kiely, and Jareds tent were nestled with ours. I didn't think we could live in something smaller than a 42 foot sailboat but this 6 ft. tent has served us very well. It is a lot of fun to be able to hear all the sounds as the day wakes up or winds down on the water and on land. Luckily we do have Nana & Papa's beautiful motor home (emphasis on home) to make life a little easier. They are holding our clothes for us and every couple of days we can run in there and take a shower if we don't want to spend the quarters at the campground facilities. We brought the boat down from the Noyo Harbor and one of the local fisherman allowed us to use his mooring here in the little bay. She bobbed around patiently while we enjoyed life on land for a little while. It was fun to see it in this familiar setting that holds a special place in our hearts.
The camp ground itself is a bit of a dirt spit set on the edge of Little Albion River and tucked under a beautiful historical wooden trestle bridge. Everyone comes here for the fishing and come August 1st, abalone season. Nana, Papa & Felix Wilkerson were the big fisher(wo)men this year and brought in quite a few rock fish, ling cods, and salmon. Of course we all know that Nana catches the biggest. (every year!) Bruce & Ed dove for their limits for abalone as well.
We have all been practicing our surfing and hanging 10. The waves are not huge but big enough for us. All the boys got up and loved every minute of it. I myself even had a ton of fun and some success, but have decided it will be even more fun in warmer waters. The wet suits help a bit, but the 51 degree water catches up with you eventually. Especially if you get dunked as often as I do. There is also a lot of boogie boarding, kayak riding, crab chasing and sand castle building going on. We spend a good part of each day combing the beach for treasures to collect and to use on art projects. This year we covered a planter for Nana mosaic style and planted basil in it for her.
The tide pools were spectacular. We were able to see them at the lowest tide yet for us. It takes getting up a bit earlier and a little hike through some tall grassy fields but it was worth it, so say the boys. We were rewarded with views of a variety of starfish, crabs, fields of muscles and urchins, hermit crabs, and hosts of other creatures. We left there to enjoy our annual Mendo burger complete with fat fries and chocolate shakes. Day done.
Most evenings end around the campfire and marshmellows appear much to my delight. (Did I mention I love marshmellows!) There is also the annual competition to see who can get the best sunset picture. Really, there can't be any losers there. Tuesday we climbed back aboard Ohana Kai and ventured south to San Francisco and the Bay Area. In less than 24 hours we arrived at the Golden Gate Bridge at sunrise. Unfortunately, there was the typical thick fog and could only see the large footings and shadows of the bridge. Beautiful sounds of fog horns and lots of fishing boats welcomed us under. We found moorage in the south Bay at Coyote Point Marina in San Mateo. It is close to my parents home which makes for quick transportation by land. We will be staying with them off and on while we will visit friends and family in both of our home towns. We hope to see all the sights in the city and maybe even make it over to Yosemite for a quick trip. It was a regular spot for Bruce and I growing up but the boys have never been. The boys are excited to begin their part of this adventure on the boat, as we are excited to start sharing it with them. We will write again soon.
all our love,
Lisa and the boys

Getting to know Fort Bragg

2005-08-02T09:47:00.000+12:00

Tuesday July 26,2005
We had a couple of days to get our land legs back and we are certainly got our exercise. Just south of Fort Bragg is a little fishing/campground that we have been coming to for an annual camping trip for years. (Bruce since he was a kid) Usually we have a vehicle to get around in but until everyone else arrived, Bruce and I were learning the lay of the land on foot. It was been a lot of fun. We went for morning runs and found the little trails that led us to the beach. We found our favorite surf/dive shops and an old acquaintance who now owns a beautiful glass blowing shop. Starting to know the regular panhandlers by name. We had to convince them we were not honing in on their corner. When people start asking you for directions around here, I am not sure if it is a compliment that you are becoming acclimated with your surroundings or you just need a nap and a shower.
On the docks we are surrounded by quite a few nicely kept fishing boats. The US Coast Guard is also located there amongst the fisheries and we are greeted with the revelry each morning at 8:00. It really is a quiet and protected marina from the wind and weather. We took the dinghy up the Noyo River the other day and found quite a lot of wildlife. Along with a variety of ducks, herons, cormorants, osprey and a really small woodland type deer, we ran into four fun (brave) boys enjoying a summer day by leaping off a bridge into the river.
Bruce's parents and the boys arrived a couple of days after us and we are all getting camp set up in Albion for when the rest of the campers arrive at the end of the week. Lots of fishing, beach combing, tide pooling are about to begin. The biggest news is that Matthew has mastered riding his bike. To quote Sensei Grout, he "never gave up". And to quote Matthew speaking under his breath about the new skinned knee, "A little drop of blood is not gonna stop me!". He is ready to ride off into the sunset with the gang.
The campground is not very full yet but all our old regular friends are here. Some fantastic salty dogs who rise with the sun, fish to their limit and compare catches around the cleaning station.
Everyone brings their extra produce from their gardens to share and there is always an extra mouth stopping by to taste or share their favorite dish. On Sunday, we found a pancake breakfast put on by the local Grange # 766. For $5, it was a feast of ham, eggs & pancakes with homemade blackberry syrup. It was a great time to meet some more colorful locals.
We have no phone coverage while we are down in the campground but will be checking emails/voice mail from time to time when we head into town. Hopefully in a few days I will have some new photos to add to the web site. Thanks so much for keeping in touch with us. It has been a lot of fun.
talk to you soon
all our love,
Bruce & Lisa and the docked Ohana Kai

land ho!

2005-07-20T12:58:00.000+12:00

Tues. July 19,2005
Aloha from Ohana Kai,
All is going well here. We have had a few amazing days of sailing in all types of weather. We have had great wind to push us along, with the exception of the last 24 hours. We have been motoring for the last day and through quite a bit of fog. That's the California coast for you.

We have made remarkable time covering up to 150 miles a day and will arrive in Fort Brag, CA this morning just in time for sunrise. (it happens to be 4am right now and you are keeping me company on my watch, thanks) We did end up going out about 40 - 50 miles offshore to avoid so many fishing boats and crab pots. It worked! We were lucky if we saw one boat a day. Now we just see them on our radar screen and they are usually about 8 miles away. It has been an amazing concept to me to set the sails, point the boat in direction you want it to go and not have to readjust them for an entire day or night. Wind is an amazing power.

The water has been relatively calm lately and no animal life to see out there except an occasional bird, but as you often hear with boats, there is always a project to do. We are certainly no exception to that rule!
Of course we jinxed ourselves with commenting on how smooth it was going. Within a couple of hours, the whisker pole(a pole that helps to hold out the front sail) bent in half. Keep in mind the thing must be 10" in diameter and 7-8 feet long. So while Bruce was out on deck attending to that, I was trying to cook some dinner in my new pressure cooker when it blew a gasket and sent steam and stuff through out the entire galley. Luckily for me I had just stepped away from the stove. As boating (and life I suppose) goes, you fix it and move on. Bruce got out his roto blade saw and repaired the pole. I cleaned the kitchen and can say that the dinner actually turned out great despite my techniques. I was able to find the blown gasket piece, replace it and hope to be more successful at that another day. We were back in action and very blessed.

We will touch base again once we get settled in Fort Brag, CA.
love,
Lisa & Bruce

1st overnighter

2005-07-18T07:03:00.000+12:00

Saturday July 16, 2005
We have covered a lot of ground in a few days. We made it to Port Townsend with out trouble and got a spot in the marina for one night. We were up and out there quick to get to Port Angeles early the next day. Once we got there and tied up in Boat Haven Marina docks, Bruce had projects to do. He hoisted himself up the rigging to hang a bigger radar reflector.(This will allow other ships to see us easier on their radar. Good thing.) A few older men were watching him and by the looks on their faces I still couldn't tell if they thought he was ingenious or crazy. The martin gang drove up and joined us for dinner.

We were up and out of there early Thursday am and off to Neah Bay. Apparently a huge fishing area. The line up of boats waiting to get fuel was so long that we decided to dock first and carry our own fuel cans around by hand. I have to say there are pro's/con's to both. Met a nice fisherman who quite his computer job, sold his truck and bought a fishing boat. He hopes to make enough money this season to go down to CA and commercial fish there. We also ran into the couple we bought our wind generator from (Sally & Jerry on Aquarius). They are also leaving out to head down the coast the same time as us. They have some extra deck hands which turned out to be the people who helped redo our own rigging this year. A second boat named Rose is following them down also. We are all out here in the big blue together so we set up a check in time and touch base at 9am and 6pm to make sure everyone is doing fine. Aquarius is about 15 miles behind us, and Rose is about 25 miles behind us. We are making great time with full sails today. Winds have been steadily picking up today and are now about 15 - 20 kn. The swells are picking up as well unfortunately which makes for a rolly ride. We are currently about half the was down the Oregon coast.

We have been sharing shifts on watch during the day while the other one cooks, cleans or sleeps. We try to follow the same pattern at night with 4 hour watches, and so far it is going great. I have to say the time goes by much faster than I anticipated. I did spend my shift from midnight to four dodging crab pots and fishing boats. So tomorrow night we will go further off shore into the blue water route, approximately 40-50 miles off shore. Hopefully we will see less traffic.

Thumbs up for Scopolamine patches. (To prevent sea sickness) We have not had any trouble with feeling sick. I have never been seasick before but with these seas we didn't want to take any chances. So far so good.

Thanks for your emails. It is great fun to read them. Quick note. Please,please, please do not "reply" to our emails or add attachments or pictures. It is best if you cut and paste our address and start with a fresh letter to us. We can only receive straight emails with no extra frills otherwise it slows down the transmission through the Ham radio. If the downloads take to long they will kick us off the service. Please don't let that discourage any of you from writing. We love the mail.

talk to you soon,
Lisa and Bruce

Ohana Kai Shoves Off

2005-07-14T11:56:00.000+12:00

Tuesday July 12, 2005

Greetings from Ohana Kai,

Whew, off the dock. Today was the day. Three years of planning, hours of dizzying preparation, and all with support from you, we have started our adventure. With a wonderful send off from friends and family we departed at noon after topping off our fuel tanks.
A quick recap on the potential itinerary. We plan to sail from Seattle to Fort Brag, CA., for our annual camping trip for a couple of weeks. We then hope to spend about a month in San Francisco Bay Area, Southern CA, and then San Diego each. Come November 1st we will head into Mexico and cruise warmer waters for about 5 months. We plan to go as far south as Zihuatanejo. Around April 1st we will depart from Puerto Vallarta and cross the Pacific Ocean to the Marquesas Islands. We will continue through the French Polynesian Islands, Samoan Islands, Fiji and end up in New Zealand. We hope to get there in time for their summer months and enjoy their fine country by land.
Currently, Sheila and Jared are watching the boys until Nana and Papa return from their motor home tour of Alaska. (Guess they didn't get enough last year). We may get the chance to hook up with them to have dinner in Port Angeles tomorrow night and then we are on to Neah Bay and when the weather permits, it is out into the ocean blue until we reach Fort Brag. We thought it best to send the boys on land for this first leg as it is some of the roughest stretch of water on the trip.
Tonight we will try to tie up or anchor in Port Townsend and enjoy the first night on the boat.
The web page is up and running. As with everything on the boat, always under construction. Take a peak. www.ohanakai.net You can use it as a link to email us directly, which we be able to access while we are out on the water. We will also be posting daily/weekly journals to the blog site. Use the blog link and sign up to send us comments or emails from the journal entries. We can not access the internet itself from the ocean, but when we are in port we will update the web page with photos and stories at internet cafes. Feel free to forward this on to family and friends and have them email us if they would like to get on the list. If you would like to be removed, please let us know as well.
We hope this letter finds you well,
all our love,
Bruce and Lisa

The countdown is on

2005-06-11T18:28:00.000+12:00

Well folks we are quickly running out of time. Only 4 weeks left before we leave and it is coming far to quickly. I have gotten most of the boat projects done and Lisa is quickly closing in on her final projects. It looks like we will be leaving on or near the 10th of July (wish us luck). Thank you all for your comments on the site it is still obviously a work in progress. Hopefully we will have most of it complete before we leave. We love all of the comments and responses feel free to comment or email as often as you want we get a lot of pleasure reading your comments (except for Brett).

Bruce

Test Email

2005-05-18T17:33:00.000+12:00

This is just a test run to see if we can post to the Blogger from our Email....

countdown

2005-05-05T14:35:00.000+12:00

10 weeks and counting. Just trying out our blogger and getting us one project and one step closer to departure. It is beginning to feel real now. I am so glad that we will have this link to help keep us connected to home and to you.
lisa and the boys