Chesterfield Reef

Colin and Sandy Cruising with Papillon
On route to Australia via Chesterfield Reef
04h30 UTC 29 October
Course: °
Distance covered last 24hrs until 01h00 GMT: 169nm
Distance to Chesterfield: 0 nm
Position 19°52' S 158°27' E Anchored
All's well on board.

Another good run and we got to the Reef at around 13h00 (02h00 UTC/GMT). We approached our waypoint for entering the reef and there was nothing to see. Shortly afterwards the depth meter registered the bottom and it zoomed from 180m to 28m all in a short distance. At least we knew we had arrived even though we saw nothing. Only after motor sailing in another 4-5 miles did we finally see any of the islands. They are very flat and only raise a few meters above sea level. We finally motored upwind to the anchorage all in deep water 30-40m and only a few bombies once we reached the shallower water where we anchored.. There is one other boat here and we anchored about 100m behind them. It is a choppy anchorage as the wind (SE) is blowing parallel to the islands and has a fairly long fetch. We pitched the pick over the side in about 9-10m with plenty of chain. The bottom is sandy as are the islands and we seem to have good holding here. We may dump the dinghy over the side later on especially if the wind dies down a little. The islands are loaded with birds and by this evening when all those who are out at sea feeding return it will be quite spectacular. Tomorrow we will definitely go and explore. Right now time to catch up on some rest. Till next time

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Nearing Chesterfield Reef

Colin and Sandy Cruising with Papillon
On route to Australia via Chesterfield Reef
02h00 UTC 28 October
Course: 246°
Distance covered last 24hrs until 01h00 GMT: 135nm
Distance to Chesterfield: 127 nm(at 07h30 utc)
Position 19°15' S 160°28' E
All's well on board.

We have had a good days sailing and are trying to keep our speed up to 6kn so that we will arrive tomorrow afternoon at Chesterfield Reef. We do not want to be too late as we have 7nm to negotiate along the inside of the reef to the anchorage. The wind has strengthened a little but has gone more to the south making it a close reach and a little bumpy. If necessary we will motor to keep up our speed if the wind drops. It would be nice if it were to go a little more to the east.
Otherwise all's going well

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Halfway to Chesterfield Reef

Colin and Sandy Cruising with Papillon
On route to Australia via Chesterfield Reef
02h00 UTC 27 October
Course: 262°
Distance covered last 24hrs until 01h00 GMT: 141nm
Distance to Chesterfield: 296 nm
Position 18°40' S 163°22' E
All's well on board.

We left Port Vila on a beautiful morning and a good breeze. Once out in the open ocean we have had a 2m swell/chop with the winds varying a little but mostly behind us from the east. At times we have sailed at 7-8kns and then the wind goes light again and we drop off to 4-5kn. At the moment we are passing through "Grand Passage" to the north of New Caledonia, which also marks our halfway point to Chesterfield reef. The sea is supposed to flatten off a little as we get out on the other side for a short while before a southerly swell pushes into the area for the next few days. We are looking forward to Chesterfield Reef as we have received some lovely feedback on the birdlife there. The actual islands are small compared to the reef system, but there is a good anchorage near one of these islands. There is a weather station on the one island but otherwise the islands are deserted. The plan is to stay for 3-4 days and then leave - as long as we have a good weather window - for our last leg to Bunderberg that is 440 nm further west.
Here is a story for you as found on the notice board at the Royal Suva Yacht Club and corrupted by my memory....
These two sharks are swimming along and come across some survivors of a ship that sunk. The younger shark wants to rush in and grab a feed but his dad holds him back and tells him not to rush. First we swim around them a few times with our fins just showing he tells his son. Then we swim around them with all of our fins showing. After we have done that we will rush in and eat them all. The little shark still looking a little confused wanted to know why he could not just rush straight in. Ah said his father.... they taste much better with no shit inside!!!
With that we will say bye till next time

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THe last leg to Australia

It's time to move on again, sadly for the last time on this trip as we head off to Australia tomorrow(Tuesday). With the cyclone season peeping around the corner it's time to run and hide somewhere further south. We have thoroughly enjoyed Port Vila as well as our trip around the west coast of the island. The people have been great and the bays and anchorages quiet and secure. Even the fishing here has been good. We have 580nm to Chesterfield reef and should be there in five days. We will stay there for a few days and do the last 440nm as soon as we get a good window to do so. The winds and seas seem reasonably good for this passage but we have found that what you see on the gribs can be far from what we get.
So we will write again soon as we run down to the top of New Caledonia and through the Grand Passage. Till then...

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Port Vila (on the island of Efate); Vanuatu

We have arrived in the lovely little port of Port Vila in Vanuatu. We had the bio security official come out to us and give us our clearance to go ashore and to complete Immigration and customs. However, we will go back to yesterday... after a night of motoring we started sailing and the wind built up slowly. After leaving such a stinky carbon footprint in our wake the wind decided to do some cleaning out and blow it away. We had the wind on the beam and reached all afternoon and night at 7-8kn. Talk about making up time! Needless to say by nightfall we were having a wild theme park ride so we move a mattress back to the floor near the mast to find a little less motion and hopefully some sleep. Early dawn showed the outline of Efate on our starboard side and the moon setting on the bow... pretty cool... as we surfed along. We lost a big fish when the boat rounded up while Colin was just starting to get some line back. As the boat went about we wrapped the line around the bow. Sadly the prop had the last word by cutting the line and the fish lived for another day. Hey, but the beef on the islands is supposed to be the best in the Pacific... hopefully we will get some as most of it is exported to Japan. So by 09:00 we were anchored in the Quarantine area and ashore for lunch. The town is very nice and there is plenty to see and do. So a few days here and around the island, mostly the west and north west coast and then back here to wait for a good weather window... or maybe just go as it does not seem to make much difference. So till later...

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Better winds

Colin and Sandy Cruising with Papillon
On route to Port Vila; Vanuatu
16h30 UTC 13 October
Course: 262°
Distance covered last 24hrs until 24h00 GMT: 124nm
Distance to Suva: 131 nm
Position 17°58' S 170°23' E
All's well on board.

Talk about leaving a large carbon footprint in the middle of the ocean. In the last 24hrs the wind did not fill in until this morning so we motored all night. The sea was like glass and we only had a little drizzle and a full moon so it was a pleasant watch for the whole night. This must be the most diesel that we have used on one passage so far in the Pacific. Early this morning the wind filled in from the south and we managed 2-3 kn for about two hours until the wind picked up to around 12 kn. We are on a broad reach and making between 6-8kn. If this wind holds... please, please, please! then we should get in tomorrow at lunch time. Customs etc close at four and only open again on Monday so we really need to get signed in. Decided to try for some fish for supper so we dropped a line in and lost one and got one all within an hour. It was a small skipjack just perfect for two. Tomorrow well will try again and as we are heading to port will take what comes along... it's nice to share with others sitting on anchor.
So here's hoping the weather stays as it is, the gribs say it will turn a little more to the east, but that's fine. Till next time...

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Heading for Vanuatu slowly

Colin and Sandy Cruising with Papillon
On route to Port Vila; Vanuatu
16h30 UTC 12 October
Course: 262°
Distance covered last 24hrs until 23h00 GMT: 81nm
Distance to Suva: 259 nm
Position 18°15' S 172°35' E
All's well on board.

Planning for a trip... well at least looking for the best option for it. We tried our best BUT... Well we have had it all. We were going to leave on the Thursday but a weather system moved down from the north and cancelled that. So being a weekend with a holiday attached on Monday we decided to finally sign out but did not leave as we waited for a better weather window and left on the Sunday. It rained a little on the way out but the evening was pleasant and the wind light until we finally cranked up the diesel sail and motored through to the morning. At eight it all began to change with a northerly wind that would wind up to gale force (force7/35kn). The seas climbed to 3-4m and were very steep and breaking. With wet deck we ploughed on and by three it started to subside and we had a pleasant night doing 2-3 knots in a steady north wind of 5-8kn. Yesterday morning was like glass and later we had some rain squalls (tons of water) with winds from the west... guess which way we are going... but again had a pleasant night. Today it started off with no wind and then we had the wind turn 180deg and blast us from the south at 20kn. And has now settled to a light wind from the ENE. We were hoping to get in on Thursday but it looks like we will be lucky to get there by Friday and it's more likely that we will arrive on Saturday to Port Vila. Some of this weather was on the cards but it has been frustrating trying to point the boat in the right direction and keep it moving. Otherwise life goes on, looking at places still to visit, books to be read and food to be done.... till next time.....

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Heading for Vanuatu slowly

Colin and Sandy Cruising with Papillon
On route to Port Vila; Vanuatu
16h30 UTC 12 October
Course: 262°
Distance covered last 24hrs until 23h00 GMT: 81nm
Distance to Suva: 259 nm
Position 18°15' S 172°35' E
All's well on board.

Planning for a trip... well at least looking for the best option for it. We tried our best BUT... Well we have had it all. We were going to leave on the Thursday but a weather system moved down from the north and cancelled that. So being a weekend with a holiday attached on Monday we decided to finally sign out but did not leave as we waited for a better weather window and left on the Sunday. It rained a little on the way out but the evening was pleasant and the wind light until we finally cranked up the diesel sail and motored through to the morning. At eight it all began to change with a northerly wind that would wind up to gale force (force7/35kn). The seas climbed to 3-4m and were very steep and breaking. With wet deck we ploughed on and by three it started to subside and we had a pleasant night doing 2-3 knots in a steady north wind of 5-8kn. Yesterday morning was like glass and later we had some rain squalls (tons of water) with winds from the west... guess which way we are going... but again had a pleasant night. Today it started off with no wind and then we had the wind turn 180deg and blast us from the south at 20kn. And has now settled to a light wind from the ENE. We were hoping to get in on Thursday but it looks like we will be lucky to get there by Friday and it's more likely that we will arrive on Saturday to Port Vila. Some of this weather was on the cards but it has been frustrating trying to point the boat in the right direction and keep it moving. Otherwise life goes on, looking at places still to visit, books to be read and food to be done.... till next time

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Heading for Vanuatu

Time to move on. We have had a good but wet stay in Suva and leave today for Vanuatu. It is a pity that we have so little time left as it is already the 9th of October. The weather ahead for the next few days is varied with heavy showers and light winds. The grib files change by the day so who knows what we will get. It's just less than 600 miles to Port Vila and we are hoping to get there by Friday. There are still so many places to go to but we have to cut them out of our schedule as we stay longer somewhere else. We have booked into the marina at Mooloolaba from the first of December and will more than likely leave Bunderberg around the 20th November and head down via Tin Can Bay where we spend some time before the trip down to Mooloolaba. We are still planning to arrive around the 7th November in Bunderberg. So that's the basic plan and we will fill in the details as we go.

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Arrived... Suva; Fiji

Suva Fiji
After a slow day with the wind on the nose it finally relented and moved back to the south. We had a very calm night with enough wind to keep up four knots which is all we needed to arrive here in the morning. All night we had the glow of Suva on the bow. There are extensive reefs around Suva and approaching as it got light was just perfect. We took a few fixes to check the accuracy of the charts and were happy with following our electronic charts in. It always seems far more difficult when looking at the approach on the charts, but once you get there it always seems a lot easier than one presumed. We anchored near the Royal Suva Yacht Club and cleared in with the port captain who told us to contact the yacht club to complete customs etc. We called them on the radio and they said we could check in and pay or wait until tomorrow ... so here we are relaxing and sleeping our day away.
The harbour inside was filthy with tons of oil on the surface as well as general rubbish. There goes our nice clean hull. The harbour is filled with deep sea fishing boats rafted together. These are all long line fishing boats that are stripping the pacific of its pelagic fish. The other thing one notices is that they all have Chinese flags off the stern. All around the pacific the Chinese are taking over putting some money into the country for basic development and then collect all the fishing grants etc and clean out their natural resources. Since arriving we have seen a few of the boats rafted near us dumping their rubbish over the side. It's no wonder that the harbour looks as it does.
On a lighter note while Colin was on watch a bird crashed on deck. Shining a light in its direction he found a rather dazed Bird of Paradise with its squid lying on the deck and it stumbling around a little stunned. It did not have much room to take off so flapped around helplessly. Fortunately it flapped down the side past the cockpit where Colin got hold of it. After trying to calm it he was going to launch it, when it latched onto his finger with amazing power for such a small bird. The beak is serrated to grip squid which are extremely slippery from the surface of the water. It took a while for Colin to pry its beak open and launch it skywards in the dark where it found its wings and got going.
So tomorrow we sign in and will head into town to explore. From the water the town has many new and modern looking buildings. Apparently the shops are also well stocked. There are a few things that we need so hopefully they will be available here. Our last shop was in Tahiti almost two months ago.

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Light winds good eating

Colin and Sandy Cruising with Papillon
On route to Suva; Fiji
00h37 UTC 23 September
Course: 280°
Distance covered last 24hrs until 23h00 GMT: 97nm
Distance to Suva: 89 nm
Position 18°19' S 179°56' E
All's well on board.

So who told the wind that we were way ahead of schedule and who computed the last weather grib files? Since entering the Lau group of islands the seas have been flat and life on board is levelling out. The wind has slowly died and at times we were down to a meagre 1.8kn of boat speed. Not that this is a problem as we have plenty of time. The grib files that we got yesterday reported that we would continue along on our way with 10kn of wind from the SE slowly turning to the east. Lovely! This morning the wind was 6-8kn but was now blowing from the SW and slowly squeezing us northward on a beat as it tracks to the west. So we are beating to Suva in light winds and the sea is still calm.
We caught a big Mahi Mahi yesterday afternoon and released it as it was over 4ft and far too big for us to keep. It took the lure and then started an amazing aerial display that we have not seen from a Mahi Mahi before. As the winds were light we turned the boat until all the sails backed so that the boat stopped while we fought the fish. If we had a freezer it would have filled that. We only keep big fish if we are going into port or an anchorage where we can share it out.
We have passed some beautiful islands that on the charts look absolutely fantastic with good places to anchor. We no sooner pass the one island and the next rises up over the horizon to great you. As slow as we are going it looks like a Sunday arrival in Suva.... so I guess its cough up and pay. If the wind had stayed with us all the way we would have had a very quick passage. So instead the books are being read and food made and being calm ... sleeping. It takes a few days before one gets used to three hours on watch the three to sleep, but it is nice if you can sleep when it's your three hours off.
Well it's time to finish this as its time to cook or bake something.....hmmm cake!! And we have been making water so the engine has been on and the fridge will be cold, so some jelly will be good... maybe with the still weather some chocolate moose might go down even better.
Till next time

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On passage to Fiji

Colin and Sandy Cruising with Papillon
On route to Suva; Fiji
23h00 UTC 22 September
Course: 259°
Distance covered last 24hrs until 22h00 GMT: 159nm
Distance to Suva: 189 nm
Position 18°30' S 178°24' W
All's well on board.

After a busy morning sorting out our clearance and getting the boat ready we finally left Neiafu at around two. The winds have been good with some rain. Today we reached the Southern Lau group of islands that belong to Fiji. We are in the Oneata passage which is around four miles wide. We arrived here as it was getting light so that we were able to get some bearings and see how well the charts lined up with the reefs and islands. The passage is around 15nm long and with the winds being rather variable we are making between three and six knots it should take around 4-5 hours. We are way ahead of our schedule and will arrive in Suva on Sunday morning. This is a problem as we will pay-a-plenty for arriving after hours. So we will have to see what to do to slow down. Otherwise alls well on board and the boat is doing fine.

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Setting sail for Fiji

It's time to move again and after a wonderful stay in Vava'U in Tonga we say goodbye to many of our friends that turn off here to head south to New Zealand. Some of these boats we have been with since the Canary Islands and many more from the Caribbean. There are however many boats that we have met in the Pacific that are headed to Australia and many of them are doing the rally to Bunderberg so we will see them in ports as we head on west. We still have two thousand miles to go and the road gets a little tricky as there are tons of islands and reefs in the course ahead. Most times when we set off we have open ocean and can really relax as long as the weather stays good. The first that we get to is the Southern Lau group of islands that belong to Fiji after about 200nm. There is a pass that we will go through that lies almost in a straight line between here and Suva. After that we have a few islands to go around on route. Unfortunately we cannot stop in the Lau group as you need a permit and need to first sign in at Suva or Savu Savu. These islands are beautiful and the people still live traditional lives in their small island communities.
So if the weather is good we will sign out tomorrow and should take 4-5 days to get to Suva. It's been raining the last few days and we are hoping that the weather will improve. The winds look like they will be light so we will see how it goes. Well that's it for now we will update as we go along.

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Cruising; Vava'U; Tonga

Since arriving here a week ago we have cruised to different anchorages that are not very far apart with lovely clear water and tons of small fish. The bigger ones like the tuna/bonito are all over the place but not interested in the lures we have to offer. One large fish cleaned us out and stripped the reel... it might have been a "GT" -giant trevally - as it was over some deeper reef. There are tons islands that stand to 150 to 250 feet, mostly steep sided with a slight undercut section around the tidal zone and many with their own little beach. The islands are all well wooded with small cleared areas where there is a house or so. Generally there are very few people on the smaller islands. Around the islands are beautiful reefs that are very colourful.
One island has a large cave called Swallows Cave. You can swim in or take the dinghy in. The inside has some stalactites, small swallow nests hanging precariously to the ceiling and deep blue water full of fish below. Sadly it is also covered in graffiti dating back to the whaling ship days and all the way to the fluorescent spray can scrawling. There is another cave that we have not been into as you have to dive down 2m across 3-4m then up into the cave. It is far from a suitable anchorage so one needs to go as a group and do it in relay so that someone stays on board.
There are many anchorages still to explore and fishing to be done, but we will go back into town- Neiafu on Tues/Wed next week to meet up with our friends that arrive next week. Until arriving here we have not met many Aussie and Kiwi cruisers, now every bay has plenty as this is the cruising area for boats that leave from Australia and NZ. The last bay there were five Kiwi boats and one charter boat with folk from Christchurch. This is really a wonderful cruising area.

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The people of Nieiafu; Vava'U; Tonga

Captain Cook called it the "Friendly Isle" and nothing has changed since. The Tongans have always been a kingdom and as such were never colonised by any country. They have retained their cultural ways and unlike other islands that have followed the ways and copied or tried to copy the colonial ruler's way of life. The people here are fantastic. Go into the market that and you are not given the hard sell to buy anything... "Hello... would you like some bananas?" "No Thank you" "Well are you having a nice day?" Where are you from? And off they go having a conversation with you as if you have known them for ages. Then on to the next stall and there would be some more jovial chatting which could include a few more surrounding stalls.
Life is simple here ... be friendly and have respect for others and that's all it takes. There is still an element of trusting others that we in our modern ways have all but thrown out of the window. There is a giving nature... if I have I will share. This is hard ... to be on the receiving end of this. It is not a monetary rich place and yet the people give you things even though you could have bought it instead. We bought some bone carvings and pearls and got extra things added in and then bananas pawpaw's and lemons as a gift on top of that. We have not lived in a culture where people are so keen to share and cannot reciprocate such generosity. Yes these people are rich, very rich. Rich in joy, love, life and spirit. Long may their riches be preserved!

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Arriving in Tonga

It was a long last night with the sea rough and the wind strong. We ran down to the Vava'U group at six knots with just a little jib up. Around four in the morning we were five miles off and we approached the islands using the radar. As we came around to the west of the island the seas started to calm down and after four days the boat became still. We slowed down and waited for na little light of dawn at 6:30 before entering into the passage between the islands. On our way in we were met by a pod of humpback whales so we motored around with them for a while. What a great experience. There were about 8 adults and a calf. One very large one came right up to our stern. They then move off out towards the sea and us in to the bays. Half a mile further, we came to another pod and switch the motor off and drifted along watching them. Finally we got going again and headed up the bays to Nieiafu where we tied alongside to clear customs and immigration. This took a while but everyone was so friendly and helpful that if seemed effortless. Once cleared - three hours later - we took up a buoy off the town happy to be in some still anchorage at the end of the trip. It took us ten days and we covered just on 1300nm.

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Reaching in to Tonga

Colin and Sandy Cruising with Papillon
On route to Neiafu; Vava'u; Tonga
23h00 UTC 24 August
Course: 244°
Distance covered last 24hrs until 22h00 GMT: 160 nm
Distance to Neiafu: 88 nm
Position 18°19' S 172°34' W
All's well on board.

Winds the same... seas the same, maybe a little higher. We took the main down last night and sailed on a small jib but still got to over 10knots. Our average speed for the night was 6.82 knots. We have moved out of the cabin into the saloon onto the floor in the passage. This area has the least movement and at least we can get some sleep. It is very comfortable.
Well tomorrow is Thursday the 25 Aug and we arrive in Nieafu in the morning. We may have to heave too for a while until it is light to enter. But due to lack of interest and keenness we decided to only get there on Friday. Jokes aside tomorrow does not exist as Tonga takes it time as UTC+13 so we affectively cross the date line earlier than 180°. So tomorrow is Friday the 26th.
Lucky we were not a day later as we would not have been able to sign in until Monday and you cannot leave the boat until you have cleared customs and immigration.
So one night of bouncing and tomorrow we can rest.

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Bouncing around.. two days to go

Colin and Sandy Cruising with Papillon
On route to Neiafu; Vava'u; Tonga
23h00 UTC 23 August
Course: 244°
Distance covered last 24hrs until 22h00 GMT: 168 nm
Distance to Neiafu: 267nm
Position 17°34' S 169°42' W
All's well on board.

Well it's a rocking and a rolling all over the ocean at the moment. The seas are 3-4m with a short chop attacking on all fronts but the starboard beam. It is amazing that, in still water, you dive below the boat to clean the bottom and as you sink in the silence you have this massive keel just hanging there. It is still, four and a half tons of lead hanging on the bottom. The boat does not move. When you walk around on deck it is a very still platform. In contrast we are being tipped up all over the place by the waves. They roll us to over 35° on one side and back again to the other in a matter of seconds. Then a wave will hit the stern and the boat slews around causing the self steering into its defiant mood as it swings the helm over to turn the boat back. Unfortunately the night before we had one of the lines on the self steering untie itself and we landed up doing an uncontrolled gybe in 25-30knots. Fortunately not much damage and Colin had just ducked back down into the cockpit from resetting the steering lines. Well the autohelm self steering that was steering the Aries spat the dummy as it tried in vain to get us back on course. Colin disconnected the autohelm and put the wind blade on so that the Aries could sail us on the winds direction. We have fixed the autohelm ... one of the drive belts had come off.
Sleep is really a problem at the moment and we are both fairly tired. Your body gets hammered as you are never still and always needing to hang on. When it is still, you can read a book etc, but at the moment even that does not work. One moment the book is on your nose the next heading off for a tour of the cockpit with you arm attached and your eyeballs stretching to try stay on the line you were reading. So you sit...three hour on three off.
The other evening as the clouds drew the curtains on a fair sunset it looked as though it would rain a lot during the night. Sitting in the cockpit later you could see the stars slowly appearing to keep you company. The moon arrived later... not much left but enough to send all but the brightest stars into hiding. All the contrasts are simply fantastic as one goes from one stage to the next.
We have two more days to Tonga and should arrive some time on Thursday morning. At our current rate of progress(ave:6.8knots) we will need to slow down a little tomorrow night so that we can arrive in daylight to navigate our way in. The winds are expected to remain the same so I guess that the seas will not change much. That's it for now... time to go hang in the cockpit for a few hours

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On route to Tonga - winds up

Colin and Sandy Cruising with Papillon
On route to Tonga
23h00 UTC 21 August
Course: 244°
Distance covered last 24hrs until 22h00 GMT: 117 nm
Distance to Tonga: 551nm
Position 16°25' S 164°40' W
All's well on board.

Yesterday we had a very slow day as the winds stayed below 10kn. We were doing between 2.8 and 5 knots for most of the day. The sea was fairly flat so it was a good relaxing day. This morning the winds arrived at around 8am and have picked up through the day. We have a good 15-20 knots and are sailing at 6-8 knots. The sea is very lumpy with swells from all directions. These will build as we head down towards Tonga as there have been some big fronts passing through there. The wind should settle to the SE and later in the week to easterly, so hopefully the sea will settle as well. Sleeping now becomes a bit more difficult as the boat is bouncing all over. The evenings have been cool but during the day it gets very hot. With the rougher weather the ports are closed so it gets very warm down below. Otherwise all's going fine.

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On route to Tonga - light winds

Colin and Sandy Cruising with Papillon
On route to Tonga
23h00 UTC 19 August
Course: 254°
Distance covered last 24hrs until 22h00 GMT: 142 nm
Distance to Tonga: 790nm
Position 15°48' S 160°40' W
All's well on board.

A follow up on Riri that went onto the reef at Palmerston Island (Cook Islands): the island is a small atoll in the middle of nowhere. Yachties use it to break the journey and only if the weather is suitable. It is too deep to anchor off the reef and there is no pass to get a yacht into the atoll. The Islander have put out buoys and the families of each buoy look after you when you arrive and help you ashore etc. They also have large feasts where all the yachts get invited. Riri was moored to one of these buoys when it broke free and Riri and the mooring went up onto the reef at three in the morning. Frank and gail have salvaged what they can with the help of other cruisers and the islanders. There are a few yachts still to pass there and some there already that will assist them and take them on to Tonga.
We are well north of them, in fact between them and Suverow, the other island that yachties stop at for a break. We are trying to follow the wind that for the last day has been allusive. We have motored for almost twenty hours on still seas that have a lazy 1-2m swell running. The swells have a long period so there is not too much movement on the boat. Yesterday just before sunset we saw a shoal of tuna ahead of us. Colin jumped up and got two lines in. The smaller rod got hit first and the line broke almost on the strike. The other lure had a few chasers but no strike. Colin retrieved the line and change lures that had an immediate effect. The rachet on the reel broke and caused an overwind and the fish snapped the line. After a quick reset we were into the tuna again... result... tuna for the next few days.
We motored through the night and this morning the breeze filled in and we are under sail again. It's been light but it is slowly building and we are now up to 5-6 knots boat speed. This should hold for the next day maybe a little lighter tomorrow before it builds over the next few days. We are slowly heading south again so that when the blow arrives over the weekend from the SE we will be far enough south to keep the wind aft of the beam. The gribs say 25Kn+ so we should have some fun and some waves to go with it. So for now we will enjoy the lovely sailing we are having.

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