Pilots Prevail

Leaving Auckland

2007-04-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

The time has come and all good things must end. I'm sure some of you had heard that Mike has returned to the states and Sundance was sold and I will be returning home soon. We tried to extend our leaves and were denied so back to work we go. Sundance was sold to a Kiwi(James) that was our neighbor in the marina. James has made some improvements to Sundance and will get her ready for the next cruising season. Sundance was a great boat to us and we will never forget her. James has the same ideas as Mike and I had and so in the near future Sundance will see the open ocean again and will carry her precious cargo safely to many more distant ports.

I have spent the last few weeks visiting friends and getting ready for my return to the land of plenty (United States). New Zealand has so many beautiful places to see and explore. I highly recommend a visit from anyone that has ever wanted to visit this country. I have two more weeks and then I will head to Sydney Australia for a week and then head home. Being home will be a shock for I have become accustom to a different lifestyle and surroundings. I will have to relearn how to drive on the right hand side of the road and all of the craziness of driving in the states. The first meal I will have will be a spicy Mexican dish. Good food is hard to come by in New Zealand. The food is very bland. Once settled in I will work on a photo album to put on DVD for any one who would like to see all of our pictures. Anyone interested in a DVD please email me, and I will send out a DVD when I have completed the photo album.

We would like to thank everyone for following along this last year and for all of the great support. Our original plan was to be out for two years but plans do change and we were blessed to go as far as we did in the last year. The places we have seen and the incredible people we have met will be remembered forever. Thanks again Carson and Mike

More Trout

2007-03-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

First picture this brown took on a nymph and was 5lbs on the Hope River. The second picture was a 5.5lbs brown on the Hope River.

The Proof

2007-03-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

The biggest fish I have ever caught on a fly rod. 7 lb brown trout. Greenstone rainbow trout. Really that is me with another brown trout

2007-03-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

The Greenstone Valley. Rainbow trout. All the fish we caught were released. Sunrise in Glenorchy, south of Queenstown.

Fly Fishing

2007-03-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

One month ago I left the North Island for the South Island to fly fish the southern rivers of New Zealand. I met up with friend Bob Wright and we planned our attack. We started on the Greenstone River, outside of Queenstown. We packed our backpacks and headed out for a 6 day tramping ( backpacking) , fly fishing adventure. The first day we tramped ( Kiwi term for hiking) for 4 hours and reached the lower Greenstone hut. The tramp was up hill most of the way and I was sore on the arrival to the hut. The huts are sponsored by the NZ government and I believe the country supports about 190 huts throughout their forests. The cost is $5.oo a night and it is first come first serve. The huts have bunk beds with foam pads and sleep 6 to 24 people, and a area to cook and eat, all enclosed. Some of the huts are very primitive and others have running water and flushing toilets. Most of the huts are policed by local rangers. The second day we headed up river to a private hut we had rented from the deer stockers association. This hut had running water and a nice view of the valley above. We fished for 4 days and caught several nice fish and had great weather. We worked our way out on the 5 day and on the 6th day we made it back to the car ready for a hot shower and a big steak. Several days of dehydrated food can turn your stomach. We spent one night in Queenstown and planned our next attack. We fished some local rivers for the day and we packed up for a 5 day tramp on the Oreti River, the home of the trophy trout.

We had a two day drive to the area around the Oreti. We packed our packs again for the tramp in. We spent a half of day tramping in and were able to fish the afternoon. We fished for three days and got skunked. We saw many fish but the fish weren't biting. In New Zealand fly fishing is usually done by sighting the fish then you stalk and go for the presentation and hopefully the trout will take your fly. The river was very low as many of the southern rivers were and many of the locals told us that this slows the fishing down. The fish are in survival mode and are un-fishable. I believe that is why we got skunked. We spent a few days on the road again and arrived to the entrance of the Hope River.

We planned a 6 day tramp into the Hope. We had great weather and caught many big fish. I was able to land a 7lb brown trout. I caught several 5lb fish too. The tramp in was easy but the tramp out was the most difficult. The terrain was very technical. We made it out just before the rain. The rain has been coming down for the last three days and the rivers have become to dirty to fish. I will be on the North Island next week and will look for more rivers. All and all the fly fishing and tramping in New Zealand has been incredible.

Fly Fishing

2007-02-13T13:25:00.000-08:00

Hello to all,
Mike and I survived the wine festival over the weekend and really enjoyed our sail to Waihake Island. I have arrived back down to Queenstown and Mike is staying up north. I will meet up with friend Bob Wright to start a 6 week backpacking and fly fishing trip. I will be away from the blog site for several days and hopefully will be able to find a internet cafe to update photos and stories. Please check occasionally. Thanks Carson

2007-02-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

Carson and Mike getting sharky

2007-02-06T14:20:00.000-08:00

Tailgating before the rugby match.

Our cruiser friends Rick, Robin,Randy,Sheri

Pictures

2007-02-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

Raglan break

Beach we camped North Island , The Van A.K.A Super C

Pictures

2007-02-06T13:48:00.000-08:00

Piha Beach, West Coast North Island

Super Bowl Weekend

2007-02-04T11:48:00.000-08:00

Super Bowl Sunday we find ourselves back on Sundance after two weeks of searching the west coast of the north island for surf. We found an amazing book on all of the surf breaks in New Zealand. This was very odd to us because if someone in the states would attempt to write a book about all of the surf breaks in California or Hawaii they for sure would find them selves being chased by several pissed off surfers. Surfers for years have defended their hometown breaks from outsiders but in kiwi country the surfers invite you to surf their waves. The first break we headed for was Muriwai Beach. The first challenge was to find the best way to drive to this beach. New Zealand is very small country and this only supports one motorway north and south so when you want to drive east and west you drive on country roads. The country roads interchange through small towns and can be confusing. We were heading south on the motorway and we were near a long board surf shop that we had visited once before. We stopped in for some local knowledge and directions for Muriwai Beach. When we walked into the shop the smell of freshly poured resin hit our noses. We looked around the show room of new and used surf boards and some of the pictures on the walls and visioning ourselves on some of the waves that we were seeing on the walls. We were approach by a very tall and heavy set man. He introduced himself as Wayne and asked if he could help. As soon as we opened our mouths he could tell we were Americans and the jokes started to come. We told Wayne were we wanted to go and he gave us directions and some advise. During our conversation we ended up in the shop area were Wayne's partner Teri was pouring resin on a 1ft by 5ft sheet of fiberglass. We watched and within a few minutes Wayne and Teri had fiber glassed 45 sheets together to make a fiberglass board. When the board is dry they will use a stencil to make scags for surfboards. A scag is the fin that is attached to the bottom end of the surf board. The scag enables the surfer directional control of the board when riding a wave. During this time Mike and I had been looking around the shop talking to the guys. Mike noticed hanging up on the wall several locked up rifles. The rifles looked like 22 caliber. Mike asked about the guns on the wall and before we knew it we were talking guns. Teri took down the guns off the wall and showed us the collection of 22 caliber rifles. All of the 22 cal had silencers. These guys were into varmint hunting and big time gun collectors. Wayne brought out his photo album. Teri opened the gun safe and we are getting the full tour of all the weapons they own. 50 cal sniper rifles to every size semi and automatic rifle. We handled just about every gun they own. This is what happens in Kiwi country, everyone is so friendly. We went in for some simple directions and the next thing we were handling sniper rifles. two hours later we were finally on the road to surf.

The first break was Muriwai the wind was on shore and the surf was blown out we headed down the coast to Piha and found a car park to set up camp. We spent the night and the next morning Mike surfed the break on Piha beach . The water was confused and the waves were very sporadic. Mike was in the water for about an hour. We decide to head further south to the legendary surf town Raglan. Several hours of driving we pulled up to this beautiful little surf town. We found a great place to stay up on a hill overlooking the break, we set up camp and then headed to the break. Manu Bay was the first break. All of the breaks were left hand waves. It was late afternoon when we hit the water. We had plenty of daylight left and the sun was shining. The waves were small but fun and we enjoyed a afternoon of surfing and talking to some of the local surfers. We surfed for a couple of hours then headed to camp and made our way to town for some local food and beer. We had a early night got some good sleep and were up at dawn. the next morning we surfed Indicators break, the surf was great. Raglan is a very magical place the surf is clean and the waves are very consistent. The coastline is rocky and steep. Raglan has 6 point breaks and all are amazing. We really enjoyed our stay in Raglan and hope to visit this magical place again.
We headed back to Gulf Harbour to meet up with our friends Dave and Janell. They invites us to go diving on their boat. They have a 56ft Hatteras, beautiful boat. The trip was great we got scallops but no lobster. Two days later we were back in the marina and we again had plans to meet up with our friends Graham and Taran to go surfing and camping up north. We regrouped and the next morning, headed north to meet up. We met Graham and Taran in Whangarei and followed them to Kaitaia. We were heading to a break called shipwrecks. To get to this break we had to wait for low tide so we could drive our vans over the reef to the beach on the other side of the reef and drive down the beach for several miles. We timed our arrival perfectly. We located a great camping spot and set up camp. The break was in our front yard. We surfed and camped for 4 days and had a great time with Graham and Taran. We got back to Sundance with no cuts or bruises just great memories.

Last Friday we went to a local rugby match with some of our friends in the marina. We tailgated before the match. Good fun. Today we will watch the Superbowl at the local pub in the marina. Next week we will take Sundance out for the first since we arrive to Waiheke Island for a wine festival. We will anchor up with four other cruising boats from the marina.

Road Trip

2007-01-19T18:22:00.001-08:00

Looking down on Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu.

Sunset over Lake Wakatipu.
Para gliding over Lake Wakatipu.

Road Trip

2007-01-19T17:54:00.000-08:00

Carson and Eric downtown Auckland
Carson loading the $1400.00 van. We drove over 1000 miles and added no oil. Nock on wood.
New Years Eve , Camping on some farmers land for the New Years concert.
Mike, Eric, Carson North Island

We are alive

2007-01-16T11:00:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,
Mike and I have been very busy working on Sundance this last week. The days are long with daylight so we have been taking advantage of this to get some much needed boat projects off the list.
We had a great 12 day road trip with our friend Eric Barden and in the next few days I will post some great pictures of the trip. Our plan in the next few weeks is to head north and west and do some surfing and camping along the west coast of the north island. The north coast has some incredible surf and the surfers are very friendly and love to share the break. Most of the coast line reminds me of the central and northern coast of California.
We have made several friends in the marina and tonight we are having three boats over for Mikes famous Thai Curry. The locals around the marina tell us of good scallop and lobster diving not far from the marina so hopefully this weekend we will have some fresh sea food for a weekend feast. The weather is cool we have had a few hot days. Today it is cloudy and the temp should get to 65 degrees.

Queenstown

2007-01-06T23:18:00.000-08:00

The adrenaline rush,we missed flying so much we had to fly the Fly- By -Wire Sled. The engine driven sled is lifted 100 ft into the air and when you are given the signal you release yourself for a powered dive into this canyon. The sled is held by a cable and you command the sled like a skate boarder in a half pipe. The name of the game is to fly the sled to the max height up then by using the controls turn the sled back down towards the ground. The sled is suspended in the middle of a canyon and this gives you great freedom to swing as high as you can. What a rush . The first picture is Mike , then Carson, and the last picture is Eric A.K.A Metro

The New Year

2007-01-05T22:17:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year. Mike and I are back in New Zealand. We had good trips home and were did the time go? We have been on a very fast track this last week. We have a good friend Eric Barden visiting us. We left Auckland on the 31 December and have seen the east coast of the North Island and then drove to Wellington. Caught the ferry to the South Island and made the drive to Queens town for a week. We will work our way back to Auckland around the 9th. I will upload pictures when we are back in Auckland. When Eric leaves we will spend a week on Sundance ( maintenance). We will then spend the next four months driving the west coast of the North Island camping and surfing. Later in Feb we will be heading down to the South Island and backpacking and fly fishing. I will update our locations and give some good info and pictures. Thanks for all the emails and comments.

Pictures

2006-12-01T09:23:00.000-08:00

The days are colder 35S 174E.

Coast line on the North Island

Bay of Islands, North Island NZ

Pictures

2006-12-01T09:15:00.000-08:00

Chantal holding Sundance steady.

The seas are calm.

NZ Airforce P3 Orion checking out Sundance and the motley crew

Pictures

2006-12-01T08:51:00.000-08:00

Tom on the night watch

Another amazing sunset.

Sundance at the fuel dock Vuda Point Fiji.

Carson and Mike two days out of NZ.

Tom paying attention to Mikes conversation.

Arrival

2006-11-29T11:25:00.000-08:00

The final push to Opua was a very nice ride. The crossing from Fiji to Opua NZ was 8 days 16 hours. We had incredible weather and our arrival in the morning was painless. Customs boarded us and we cleared with in an hour. This is were the fun begins. I had gotten word that U2 was playing in Auckland the night of our arrival. I suggested to the crew about trying to go see U2. Not much convincing needed and if we cleared early enough so we could make the 3 hour drive to Auckland ,scalp tickets to a sold out show and spend the night and be back to the boat the next morning. The first thing was to put Sundance to bed and we had her in her slip by 10am. I rented cars and within the next hour we showered and picked up two more people( Jason& Laural from Monkey's Business) for the adventure. Total people 6. The goal was to leave Opua at 1pm and we would miss the Friday rush hour traffic in Auckland. The concert was on the other side of town. We left Opua by 1:15 and headed down the road. Remember that driving is a challenge because you have to drive on the left hand side of the rode, also no traffic lights most countries use round abouts ( traffic circles). We stopped for food and cash which delayed us another hour. Two hours out of Auckland we hit a traffic accident that closed the highway for two hours. We found a detour which put us on the coast and cost us another hour delay. Getting close to Auckland we hit the rush hour traffic and one of the gals needed a pee break so we exited the highway and within minutes we found petrol station. Trying to find our way back to the highway we got lost and miraculous we found the way through surface streets to the concert, time 7pm. We walked about twenty minutes to the gates and found people selling tickets for half price and we were able to buy 6 tickets and headed to the concert. We found out later that these tickets were bought a year earlier and U2 had to cancel the show. Most of the tickets we purchased were for people in large groups that couldn't make the make up show. Lucky for us. The show rocked and the crowd was a lot of fun.

The concert ended around 11:30 pm after three encores. We headed back to the cars and tried to find some hotel rooms. searching for over an hour we decided to make the long drive back to the boat. We refueled the cars and had several Red Bulls and headed down the highway. We arrived at the marina at 5:30 am and we were all beat. We had one small problem, we left the keys to get through the gate to the boat on the boat. During the day these gates are left open and we thought we would be back the next day during the day. The next challenge. The water was too cold to swim and the marina had lots of jellyfish floating in the water around the docks. We looked for security but no luck. Mike and Jason found a one man kayak and Mike who was half asleep,( he didn't get his afternoon nap) slowly paddled his way to Sundance get the key and let us in.

Around 11am we started to wake up and needed to get Sundance ready for the last push to Gulf Harbour Marina. Gulf Harbour sits just north of Auckland and is about 120 miles south of Opua. We left around 4pm and sailed all through the night with 10 kts winds and clear skies and calm seas. We arrived in Gulf Harbour around 10:30 am and proceeded to our berth N17.

The next two days we cleaned Sundance and packed our bags for the states. Mike and I will be in the states for the month of December and we will pick up our adventure again just before New Years. We wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and we will close with pictures from our last crossing to NZ.

November 23th

2006-11-24T17:04:00.000-08:00

We Made It

Sundance has landed and we are safe in the bay of Islands. We are tied up to the customs dock waiting for the customs officials to clear us into New Zealand. We had a very nice entry into the bay and we are hopefully going to the U2 concert We are on a time crunch and will post more tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving. Position S 35 18.86 E 174 07.326

November 22th

2006-11-22T15:23:00.000-08:00

Day 8

Hopefully tomorrow this time we will be in Opua, New Zealand. Yesterday afternoon after getting many sources of weather, and reading many weather faxes we determined that our needed northwest wind wouldn't arrive for another day. To push further south and west of our 33 S mark we would extend our arrival to Saturday. We decided after several discussions to cut the corner and make a new rumb line for Opua. The winds were still from the east-southeast and we were able to keep the sails up and crank the motor to increase our speed. These are the times when you have to decide if we want to burn the Arab Juice or wait for the wind. The Arab Juice won and this will put us into Opua Friday afternoon. The winds tonight should shift to the northwest and that will help our push into NZ.
Last night was amazing. the stars went to the horizon and the seas were as flat as glass. Daybreak came and the winds were still light and the seas were calm. New Zealand's outer waters are known as some of the most treacherous due to the wild low and high pressure systems that roar through the region. The last two days you would never know, we are smack dab in the middle of a very large high and that is why we have no winds. Once the high moves west we will start to see the winds pick up from the north-northwest and they will increase in strength. We will be in port when these winds reach there full strength and stir up the ocean again. We will never complain about no wind and calm seas, this is truly a treat for us and a great welcome gift. We will see land later today and will follow south along the northeast coast to Opua.
Today we will take advantage of the calm seas. We have cleaned the decks of the salt that gathers so think on all of the outer surfaces and put some of our sails away. The sky is completely clear and bright blue in color.The warmth of the sun is always welcome. The spirits are high knowing that we will make landfall within the the next day and though being tired has slipped our minds. We have decided that for our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow night we will try to find a seafood dinner house and go all out and celebrate our very successful and last crossing of the season.
I was just interrupted from writing by the New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion. They patrol the outer waters and they just did a fly over. We made radio contact and they asked for our updated arrival time. The protocol is for us to give customs a 48 hour update on arrival time which we have done through our single side band radio.
Have a happy turkey day and eat some turkey for us, we will give a report tomorrow upon our arrival. Position S 33 40.122 E 172 48.233

November 21th

2006-11-21T15:09:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone well today is just like the last few days, after the 4 hour break you get up for your watch and wait for the wind to change. Last night around 1am the wind started to die and we thought for sure we were going to get our north to northwest wind, the wind gods were playing a game with us. The wind just died and we had to start the motor. We motored until 10am this morning and we currently have back the winds from the southeast 20 kts. We were suppose to have the north to northwest winds by now but no luck. We have decided to go to our 33 S way point and hopefully the northwest winds will appear, if they don't we will have to turn left to a 140 degree heading and start the motor. Hopefully the winds will change to our favor as predicted. The prediction was for us to have these winds at our present position. because we don't it makes us very leery about the rest of the forecast. This route has added another 55 miles to our already long crossing. The seas are small and the temp is a fresh 65 degrees. The nights are cold, only because we have been in the tropics for the last six months. Anything under 70 degrees is cold. Mike made his famous Thai curry chicken and some fresh veggies last night for dinner. Yum! Yum! Position S31 33.450 E 172 07.223

November 20th

2006-11-20T14:55:00.000-08:00

Day Six:

The wind is cool and the seas are choppy. We are about 360 miles from Opua and looking forward to the arrival. Yesterday the wind stayed strong and we were beating into a southeast wind swell. The ride was a little rough but we made OK progress. Last night the winds dropped to 15 kts from 25 and we had a nice pleasant ride all night. The sky was covered in clouds all night and we never saw a star. The temp at night was in the 50's. This morning the wind has started to pick up at the present time 20kts from the south east. The wind swell is picking up 6-8 ft. We are steering a 180 course and when we hit 33 S we should see a wind change from the north northwest. When we hit these winds we will turn left and take a down wind turn toward Opua. If we tried to proceed to Opua at our present position we would be directly into the wind and would have to motor. We would lose speed and we would have a really rough ride to Opua. On the menu for breakfast,lunch and dinner 3 minute noodles. This is the meal of choice!
Position S 29 23.456 E 172 43.332

November 19th

2006-11-20T08:45:00.000-08:00

Sailing is such a challenge sometimes. Yesterday was going very smooth and by the afternoon the weather started to change on us. We had light winds and calm seas and by noon the seas started to get very disturbed. The winds were a fresh 15 kts and the sail plan we had up wasn't working. We changed the sails several times and no matter what we did we could only get 4.5 kts out of a 15kt 90-60 degree apparent wind angle. We scratched our heads and we could never come up with a solution. We sailed all night at 4.5 kts and just accepted it. In past sail configurations we have seen our speeds around 6.5 kts this is why we were frustrated. This morning the air was very cool and more clothing was needed to keep us warm. The wind started to pick up and the seas became rough. We were right in the middle of a low pressure system and the rain started to fall. The winds have changed from a east to a south east and our heading is 180 magnetic. We will stay on this heading until 33 degrees south and then the wind is fore casted to change to the north, northwest. then we will make our turn toward Opua and have a nice tail wind . The weather models have predicted this to happen so we are trusting these models to get us in by Friday morning. Friday night a new low is fore casted to hit the NZ coast and we want to be in before this hits. Position S 27 46.000 E 173 17.099

November 18th

2006-11-20T08:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterdays sail was the best day we have had. The wind was 15kts and our speed was 8kts. The swell was small and the wind waves were perfect ( non entering the cockpit ). The days before we had many waves getting us wet from the port side of the boat. Timing is everything! Last night about mid night our wind started to die and by this morning we had to start the motor. We need to keep our speed up to 6 kts so we can make it into Opua before the next low is fore casted to hit ( next Friday night). This low will bring us winds not in our favor and some rain. This is the challenge and that is why sailing is so much fun, really. Today the seas are calm and the swell is small. We are less than six hundred miles from Opua, about half way. As I write we are starting to get some wind and we have all the sails up and Mike just shut down the motor. Hopefully we can keep up the 6 kts without the motor. Sailing without the motor is so peaceful and very relaxing. Yesterday we ate a little more than the days before but we still don't have our appetites. The crossing diet is in full swing. Position S 25 47.014 E 174 04.214.

November 17th

2006-11-20T08:42:00.000-08:00

Day three is always a good day. Our bodies get in tune with the boat and the swell of the ocean. The feeling of sea sickness goes away and you begin to get your appetite back. By tomorrow we will feel really normal. The winds have dropped a little but they are perfect for us 15-20 kts. The seas have also dropped to 8ft. Our speed has picked up to 8 kts and the ride is very comfortable. Sail configuration, We have the third reef in the main and the first reef in the Genoa. The skies are clear and the temperature is 75 degrees. The nights are starting to get cooler and within the next two days we will be wearing long sleeve shirts during the day and our foul weather gear at night with multiple layers under neath. We haven't been in cool weather for over six months so I think this will be a shock for us. We have really enjoyed Tom and Chantal ,the stories they have are amazing. They had one crossing that should of taken 35 days but the wind died and it took them 67 days. They are true cruisers and we are having a great time with them. Position S 23 28.859 E 175 01.750.

November 17th

2006-11-16T14:23:00.000-08:00

It's the 17th of November and I'm sure many of you are getting ready for the Thanksgiving Holiday with your family and friends. We should be pulling into New Zealand around that time. By then we will be craving all kinds of food and I'm sure we'll not be able to find a turkey dinner in New Zealand. Have some turkey and pumpkin pie for us and watch some football too.

The last 24 hours has been a little rough and rainy. The winds dropped to 15kts during the night but are back up to 25kts today. The seas are around 10ft. We have been averaging around 6kts an hour. The skies this morning are clear. The seas are still too rough to make any big meal in the galley and no one really feels like eating anything big. The Ocean Crossing Diet has kicked in again. The weather forecast is the same for the next couple of days and then hopefully the winds will lighten up a little as will the seas too. Position S 21 15.20 E 175 42.55.

First Night

2006-11-15T11:09:00.000-08:00

We got a late start out of Fiji but we made it and have had our first night out. The winds were fresher than fore casted as expected. Last night we saw wind speeds up to 38 kts and the seas were very disturbed. Mike and I were quickly reminded of leaving Hawaii by last nights wind and waves. Chantal and Tom are adjusting to Sundance very well. This morning the wind is around 25kts and the seas are 10-12ft. The next two days we should have the same conditions then should settled down around the fourth or fifth day. The sky conditions are clear and the temp in the 70's. Position S18 53.12 E 176 48.18.

Leaving Fiji

2006-11-15T08:52:00.000-08:00

We have just left Vuda Point and are heading to Lautoka to check out of the country, we will make Wilkes Pass before dark. Once out of Wilkes Pass we are free of any reefs and will be officially on our way to New Zealand. The trip plan is about 1100 miles and should take us 8 days to complete. We have made so many friends and it is tough to say goodbye the longer we stay. We received hugs and some tears from some of the women workers at Vuda Point. Several of the men workers stopped by the boat to wish us well and to have a safe trip to New Zealand.They aren't as emotional but in their voices you can hear how sad they are to see us go. When you spend some time in one place these people become like family and they are, as well as we are sad to say goodbye. The people of Fiji are wonderful people and we look forward to visiting again.

I will give a position and condition report tomorrow. The winds forecast looks good but this stretch of water can be very challenging and we will have to watch the weather very closely. Wish us luck and we will update tomorrow.

Pictures

2006-11-12T22:14:00.000-08:00

We have two days to prepare for the crossing. We have picked up two new crew members, Tom and Chantal. They are from Switzerland and have been sailing their boat for the last 3 years from France. They are leaving their boat in Fiji for the cyclone season and will return next season to finish their around the world cruise. Tom has always wanted to do the crossing to New Zealand and we needed crew. Win win for the both of us. We look forward to sailing with them.

The pictures above are sunsets from Musket Cove and the photo on the right a street in Nadi Town.

When we start our crossing I will write a daily blog with a small story ,weather conditions and the position of Sundance. We have been told that this crossing will be one of our most challenging. We look forward to the challenge and have taken all of the steps to make this crossing a safe one.

Leaving Fiji

2006-11-12T21:24:00.000-08:00

Well the time has come for us to pull the anchor and sail to New Zealand. The last couple of weeks we have been moored at Musket Cove. The picture to the right is from a hill that over looks Musket Cove. We had a great time at this little resort. The resort is great for cruisers. We barbecued just about every night and we surfed Wilkes Pass every morning. We could take our own tender or hire a ride from a local Fijian Little Mike. Little Mike actually isn't very little, 6ft 5in and weighs around 300lbs. Little Mike would pick us up at Sundance and take us out for 4 to 5 hours. The surf was challenging at times but for the most part very fun and consistent. The break was on a reef and at times could be very shallow. We both survive all 10 days with only a couple of small scratches. The one thing we had to watch out for was the sun. We were constantly applying sunscreen. Last Saturday we were allowed to surf one of the private breaks on the island of Nomotu. Saturday is the day that the surfing guest leave the island and new guest arrive. For 4 hours the the left at Nomotu is open to the public. The only way to the break is by boat. We hired little Mike and had a great day surfing overhead to double overhead waves that you could ride for 300 yards. The only problem is that the paddle out after the ride is 400-450 yards but worth every paddle. We both can say the surf in Fiji is excellent.

Some nights we would meet up with some of the guys we met out at the break and have some beers. Most of the guys we met were from New Zealand or Australia. Many of the New Zealand guys invited us to surf some of their local breaks when we get to New Zealand. The only downfall the water is cold, bring out the wet suites.

We had some cruiser friends tell us that the time we had planned for Fiji was not enough and they were right. Fiji has so much to offer, lots of resorts with so many water sports. The local people are so friendly and warm. The surfing and diving is awesome. Fiji rocks.

Sunday, November 5th

2006-11-06T09:17:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone sorry for no updates for the past week. We have been entertaining again. Mikes' friends Tom and Kara from Hawaii stayed with us this last week. They met us at Vuda Point and we then headed out to Musket Cove. The week was busy with surfing ,scuba diving hiking and barbeque's. We enjoyed their company and were sorry to see them go. They left us with 4 news weeks,Captain Morgans Rum, Hawaiian coffee, corn tortillas and a pair of Toms' underwear for Mike. You'll have to ask Mike about the underwear. We haven't seen American news since we left I can't decide if I missed it or not. When I finish reading them I will let you know.

We have had amazing weather. The sunshine most of the day and then a little shower in the evening. The sunsets have been amazing to. The anchorage is well set up and several cruisers are in the bay waiting for the window to New Zealand. We have another week before we look for our window. Word has it that Musket Cove was started by a husband and wife who were cruisers and settled in this bay. The resort caters to cruisers as well as land lovers. The resort has many bures (small huts) ,a nice swimming pool, market, restaurant and the most important thing the $3.50 bar. Every drink is $3.50. For the cruisers the resort has laundry, hot water showers, and barbecue pits. The market we can order a steak dinner with all of the fixings and pick it up by 6pm. Then we go out to the $3.50 bar were the barbecue pits are conveniently located and cook our food. The bar supplies the plates and utensils. What a deal.

This week we plan on surfing and getting Sundance ready for our most challenging crossing. We estimate the crossing to New Zealand to take us around 8-10 days. We will keep you posted of our week and when we will leave for New Zealand. When we start our crossing I will give the daily position and everyone will be able to follow us on Google Earth. We have been getting great response from our friends who are using Google Earth. Position of Musket Cove S17 46.275 E177 11.308

Maite Pointe

2006-10-29T20:52:00.000-08:00

The view off of Scott and Kelly Schulman's Maite Pointe Resort.

Sunsets

2006-10-29T20:49:00.000-08:00

2006-10-29T20:46:00.000-08:00

Carson and Mike enjoying cliff jumping. The water was the perfect temp after the hour long hike.

Mahi Mahi

2006-10-29T20:40:00.000-08:00

Lots of Mahi Mahi. Lonnie caught this 20lb Mahi Mahi, outside of Mbua Bay.

Jack Fischer

2006-10-29T20:35:00.000-08:00

Jack Fischer at the helm of Sundance. Jack hitched a ride with us to Savu Savu. Jack took the helm for 6 hours. All we had to do was feed him.

Pictures

2006-10-29T19:34:00.000-08:00

Lonnie at the helm (Carson's father). Another tough day. Sundance can be challenging to steer, after a few helpful hints Lonnie was keeping on course.

Shark Dive

2006-10-29T19:23:00.000-08:00

We found a new sport (shark diving) what a great sport. We all survived the shark dives and we encountered lots of sharks. The first dive was staged in 90 feet of water. We all gathered on the bottom and watched a guide chum the water for the sharks. So many fish gathered to eat the free hand outs the guide was giving. With in several minutes several Silver, and Black Tip Sharks appeared. We spent 18 minutes at 90ft and then ascended to 45 ft for another feeding. after 10 minutes we ascended to 10 ft and watched the guide feed little white tip sharks. Such a frenzie. The second dive we were suppose to see the Bull and Tiger sharks. The weather was stormy and the visability was poor. We only saw a couple of reef sharks and never saw the big sharks. We were told that this time of year the Bulls are out mating. The dives were fun and maybe next time we will get to see the big sharks.

Lautoka

2006-10-25T21:32:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to Lautoka October 25th. We checked in and headed to Vuda Point Marina. The showers are hot and the beer is cold. The last couple of days we have been watching a cyclone that has developed to the west of us. We decided that putting Sundance into this Marina would be a safe place if this cyclone wandered our way. Todays weather report gave us a good news and we will only get some rain and winds from this storm. The cyclone is breaking apart and should not hit Fiji as is was perdicted earlier this week. The skies are cloudy and the wind is light and the air is very muggy and lots of bugs. The locals tell me that with these conditions to expect rain in the future. Who needs a weatherman. We will stay for 3 to 4 days and provision and send my dad back to the states on Saturday. Tomorrow we are going on a shark dive. We have been told by several cruisers that this dive is spectacular. We will watch in open water a guide feed several types of sharks. Black tip, white tip, bull,and with any luck a resident tiger will come to feed. The bull sharks can be as big as 13ft and the tiger is around 15ft. I will try to video this dive. Wish us luck. The internet is very slow in Fiji and with any luck I will post some pictures early next week. Thanks for all of the emails and for all of the support.

October 23rd

2006-10-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

Waiting patiently for the weather can be very trying on the nerves. Yesterday morning we listened to the weather and I talked to our friend Curley and we got the green light. The winds were to drop 5kts and that was enough for our crossing. We left around 7am with two other boats and had a nice sail, a few waves made it over the dodger and into the cockpit. The sun was shining and the wind was about 25kts. The wind waves were about 5ft. We were able to to fish and about half way we hooked a 15 pound Mahi Mahi. The Mahi Mahi gave my dad a good fight. We dropped the hook around 3pm . Last night we hosted a potluck with the other two boats and celebrated the crossing. We had fresh Mahi Mahi ,salad,rice,and a peach cobbler. We supplied the fish and the rice. By 10 pm ever one was beat and returned to their boats.

Today we will work our way to Lautoka. We are on the North East Coast of Viti Levu. We will track a inter reef route which will keep us out of the swell and wind waves. We will cover about 25 miles today. Position S17 18.889 E 178 13.680

October 20th

2006-10-20T14:16:00.000-07:00

Hello to all ,
We are still in Mbua Bay and waiting for the wind to drop. The forecast today as for the last three days is winds 20-25kts with gusts to 30, seas very rough. Earlier today I radioed our friend Curley who we met in Tonga, he lives in Fiji (Savu Savu).
Curley has lived and boated Fiji waters for the past 35 years and has incredible knowledge when it come to Fiji Marine weather. I mentioned to him today that we were going to batten the hatches and give it a go to Viti Levu. We were real curious what his response would be. His response was NO NO NO! Our guts were telling us no and it was good to hear the same thing from someone who is very experienced in these waters. We will stay put until the winds die down. We will also confirm with Curley when a good time to cross the pass. We have been told that this pass gets as nasty as the Oahu to Molokai pass. We have plenty of books and Xbox games to keep us busy. Mike and I have been playing John Madden football. Mike has been the victor in the last 3 games. When it come to the cribbage tourney we have had for the last 6 months. I'm ahead by three games. My dad has been helping a lot around the boat and has been enjoying some of the books on board. The plan for the next week is to sail to Lautoka and park the boat for three days. We will head over to shark cove by rental car and do the dive with the sharks. We have heard this dive is incredible.

October 17th

2006-10-17T16:00:00.000-07:00

We left Savu Savu and we are heading to the island of Veti Levu. This will take us about 3 days . We are on a slow track, only covering 20-30 miles a day. We had a great stay in Savu Savu. Every place we go we meet so many great people and it is tough to say good bye. The sun is finally shinning. We have seen rain for the last week and being on a boat in the rain gets damp and moldy. Yesterday we had a great sail to Wainunu Bay. position S16 54.826 E178 58.782. The winds have picked up a little today and we will head to Coconut Bay today. Position S16 59.630, E 178 40.970. We got skunked on the fishing yesterday so maybe today we will have better luck today. In a few days we will be in Lautoka and I will be able to post some pictures. I have received reports that Google Earth does work with the position reports.

October 16th

2006-10-17T15:58:00.000-07:00

First blog Viani Bay has some local residence that have been in this bay for 5 generations. Cruisers that we meet in Tonga ,(Peter and Sandy) suggested a stop in Viani Bay. We were told about the Fischer family. The Fischer's own the land that surrounds this beautiful bay and have farmed the land for many years. We wanted to dive the reef outside of Viani bay but didn't know the entry points and the one person who did was Jack Fischer. We went ashore to find Mr Fischer. My dad and I asked some locals and within a few minutes we found Jack's house. We arranged for Jack to take us diving that afternoon. Jack jumped aboard Sundance and we headed out to Garden Reef. We anchored Sundance jumped into our dinghy and Jack dropped us over this amazing reef. The coral were so colorful. Lots of reef fish. When we surfaced Jack was within a arms reach in the dinghy to pick us up. We climbed aboard Sundance and headed back to Viani Bay. The next day we arranged for a morning dive and then we were going to head to Savu Savu. Jack asked us if he could hitch a ride to Savu Savu. We agreed and met Jack the next morning. The morning dive was the Great White Wall. This time Jack dropped us off with Sundance and stayed on board and motored around until we surfaced. The water was more rough that is why we didn't anchor. This dive was amazing. We entered the water in about 30 ft. The entrance to the Great White Wall was through a cave,the exit of the cave was in 60ft of water facing a wall that extents from 30ft of water to 150ft. The visibility was perfect. We could see the bottom. The wall is about 300 yds long with so many corals and lots of fish. We dove to 120ft for a few minutes and then ascended to 50 ft for the rest of the dive. We saw a couple of reef sharks lurking in the distance. The dive was incredible. We surfaced and Jack was there with Sundance. We boarded put our gear away and headed to Savu Savu. Jack took the helm all the way to Savu Savu. The winds were 25kts and the seas were 8-10ft. The wind was downwind and made for a fast and occasionally wet run to Savu Savu. Jack steered the boat all we had to do was feed him lunch. Mike and I enjoyed the break. We even made it to happy hour.

Fiji

2006-10-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

Since the last post we have been very busy, My dad coming to meet us,. the weather and the diving. We arrived in Tavauni last week and had a great time with Scott and Kelly Schulman. Kelly's brother and Sister in law were also visiting. We had such a great time, The resort, Matei Pointe has such a great view of the ocean, the staff were so helpful and warm. The showers were hot and the food was the best. Scotts drinks were a little strong but who is complaining, free too. The sail to Scott's place was a nice. We left Savu Savu around 1:00 am and we arrived around 10:00am the next day. We had a great sail and caught 5 Mahi Mahi on the way. We had a gift to present to Scott. We dropped anchor and it took us about an hour to locate Scott. I will say it was such a warm feeling when our dinghy landed and Scott was standing on the beach with a big smile. I left Chico 6 months ago and to meet a great friend on a beach in Fiji was a great welcoming.

The next day my dad arrived and we had to celebrate again for his arrival. On the last night Scott had a Lovo for all of the guests and we had such great food and Kava. We stayed one more day and planned our return to Savu Savu. The weather was changing and we headed for Viani Bay the day after Scott and his family left. The sail to Viani Bay was short and techinal. We had to navigate around a few reefs and the skies were cloudy. The reefs are hard to see if you have cloudy skies. We made it in and spent atwo very nice nights in Viani Bay.

October 6th

2006-10-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

Good day to all we are safe and sound in Savu Savu. We arrived last evening. With calm winds and calm seas. The last five months we have crossed two lines of importance. Several months ago we crossed the equator and yesterday we crossed the international date line. One way of knowing is on the positions that I give at tne end of the blog we went from west to east. We have one more big crossing for the season, New Zealand. We will start planning in a month and will cross around the second week of November. We encountered several pumice fields when we were closer to Savu Savu. A couple of times we shut the motor down and coasted through the fields of pumice. No damage to report.

We fished yesterday like everyday we are out at sea and we encountered a awesome sight. We were about 25 mile out from Savu Savu and I was at the helm. I was looking out on the Starboard side (right side ) of the boat when I saw a Mahi Mahi jump out of the water straight up into the air.This fish was about 75 yards ahead of us. I have fished for this type of fish for several years and have never seen one do this kind of act. I steered the boat towards the area and saw a fifty five gallon plastic drum cut in half floating in the water. Mahi Mahi like to swim below floating object Small fish collect around floating objects and the Mahi Mahi feed off of the small fish. I called Mike up and told him what I saw and said to get ready near the fishing rod. Within a seconds after we past the drum the spool of the fishing reel was zinging as the fish was running with our lure. Mike grabbed the fishing rod and as soon as he pulled the rod out of the holder the fish was gone. Mike started to reel in the line when out of the coner of my right eye I saw something jump. I turned my attention and within seconds I saw two Mahi Mahi in formation hurdling through the water at a 90 degree angle for our lure. These fish were racing to grab the lure. I have never seen fish this size hurdle through the water for a lure with so much speed. I said Mike to stop reeling and wait, you are going to catch one of these fish. Within seconds Mike had a fish on and after several minutes a 20 lb Mahi Mahi was landed. This was one of two awesome sights we encountered yesterday.

We were rounding the corner for the entrance of Savu Savu Bay when I spotted a pod of dolphins. Mike was at the helm and I was inflating our tender on the fore deck. I worked my way up to the bow sprit and was watching the dolphins. They were about 50 yards ahead and moving slow on the surface. Dolphins are very playful and love to swim up to the bows of moving boats and ride the wave that is created from the bow of the boat. We have several times encounter this and lots of times the dolphins will roll so they can see you. ( I felt these dolphins came to great us and welcome us to Fiji). On the bow spirit I leaned down an I could almost touch them, at this moment we had three dolphins swimming on the bow I could hear them talking to each other. Every few seconds this one particular dolphin kept rolling to his side and looking at me( he was the biggest and I assumed he was a male). I being like a little boy was waving and say hi to him and thanking him for such a great arrival. This dolphin rolled one more time and took one more look and then sprinted away.I looked in the direction of were he went and then all of a sudden no more than three feet away from me he came airborne straight up higher than me standing on the boats bow sprit and perfectly tucked his head and made a perfect dive into the water. I felt like I was at Sea World and was holding a fish for him to fly up into the air and take and perfectly land head first with no splash back into the water. We were both amazed what we saw. Mike and I have seen a lot of wild dolphins and have never seen one perform this kind of act in the open sea. From what we have seen so far I think we are going to love Fiji.

October 4th

2006-10-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

Land is in sight. This morning we spotted Fiji as planned. We are about 40 miles out and will be in Savu Savu this afternoon. We motored all night and around 3am we finally got some wind out of the north. We were able to pick up the pace from 5kts to 7 kts. The pumice sightings were few and far in between, good thing. The skies are cloud lywith a threat of rain later today.

The seas are calm and have been calm for the last 24 hours. We are half temped to throw a line and surfboard out and carving some turns behind Sundance. Today we will check into customs and get supplies and get ready to head out in the morning. I have a good friend from Chico, Scott Schulman who with his lovely wife Kelly, own a resort on one of the outer island. (Taveuni) We will meet up with him and drink his booze and eat his food. We haven't eaten a warm meal or had a ice cold drink in the last four days. Watch out Scott!

We will pick up new crew on the 9th. My dad Lonnie is going to join us for three weeks. We have many dives planned and lots of sailing to the southwestern part of Fiji. One of the dive is a awesome shark dive. We dive with a guide and watch him feed 10ft bull sharks and many reef sharks in the open (No cages). If we are lucky, once in a while they get to feed the resident 13 ft female tiger shark. Cross your fingers. The surfing is world class when we reach southwestern Fiji. Position S 17 08.21 E 179 44.68.

October 3rd

2006-10-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

Day two and it seems like we have been to sea a week. The winds at first were great and around 4am this morning we lost all of our winds. This is not normally a concern but we planned to make the Lakemba Pass in the Lau group of islands 124 mile south east of Fiji around 8 this morning and instead we are entering the pass at 2pm. This pass can be tricky during the day and shouldn't be attempted at night, many shallow reefs and not many landmarks. Lakeumba Pass is 24 miles long and we should clear by 6pm tonight. The winds were fore casted to be 15kts and at the present time we have 5 kts of wind. Not enough wind to push Sundance through the pass before dark. When we clear the pass we will enter the Koro Sea and have a direct run for Savu Savu, Fiji. We should make port by tomorrow afternoon. We have seen some pumice floating around but not enough for concern.

I have received some emails about plotting our positions. Don't quote me on this but I think you can see our position on a map at Google Earth. Put in the lat and long and the program will show Sundances position. I haven't tried so I don't know if this works. The current conditions, partly cloudy skies, Temp 82, Seas 3 ft, and you all know light winds. Sundance position Lat S17 47.7 Long W178 21.3. Mike's tip of the day; Never buy toilet paper from a Chinese market in Tonga. You can only guess where Mike is hurting today.

October 1st...On our way

2006-10-02T14:02:00.000-07:00

Good Morning everyone,

Mike and I are on the way again. We are heading top Savu Savu, Fiji. This morning after fighting rain and winds in the wrong direction we are doing well. We have had to motor all night and the winds this morning have changed for the better as fore casted. The rain has stopped and looks to be a partly sunny day. When we motor we have to hand steer. We rotate our shifts every three hours. The first day is tough, after the first day your body gets use to the pattern. We have had reports of a big pumice field floating in the area so we have to keep the look out for this too. The pumice is from a Volcano that sits off of the Vava'u group. Some boats two weeks ago received some damage to their bottom paint. The field can be three feet deep. We have been advised if we encounter the pumice to stop moving and don't run our motor or anything that draws in salt water to the boat. We are the first boat to make this passage in the last two weeks. We will report any encounters to Ragitti Air. Ragitti Air is a ham radio watch for all cruising boat that travel through the South Pacific. We check in everyday and get weather and give our position and any other pertinent information. This is a great network for the cruising community. I will give a update tomorrow morning.

Position S 18 21.1 W175 21.2

Departing Vava'u

2006-10-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

The day has come for us to leave Vava'u. The weather says it all, it is gray and rainy. We are going to miss our friends and the island group of Vava'u. This last weekend we were able to spend with some good friends and say goodbye. We have made alot of friends that will be in New Zealand. We will get to meet up and tell sailing stories and how we braved the seas again.

We will have rain for the next two days and good winds the crossing will take us three to four days. I will post daily position reports and weather conditions.

Delay Departure

2006-09-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are delaying our departure again. The weather window to Fiji is not good. The forecast is 25-30kts winds and 5-6.5meter confused seas. We have had some reports of boats who have left Fiji have turned around and no boats are leaving Tonga. We will wait and watch the forecast for the next week and choose our window. Fiji on Friday will get hit with a nasty low and Tonga will be hit on Saturday with a different low. Lots of rain and wind.

Blue Lagoon

2006-09-24T15:25:00.000-07:00

We stayed two nights in this Lagoon. Water color was incredible and the surf on the west reef was very good.

Ace Hardware

2006-09-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

Ace is the place. Vava'u has a Ace Hardware. This hardware store has a great selection of stainless but nothing else. I will tell you I will never take Home Depot or Lowells for granted.

September 22,2006

2006-09-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
We are coming up to another weekend and it will be our last in Tonga. Next week we will for sure be leaving for Fiji. The plan is to leave Wednesday or Thursday. Depending on the weather. Speaking of weather, we for the last three days have had rain and high winds. Two nights ago we were on a mooring ball in the town of Neiafu. Mike and I headed into town for some dinner, around ten pm a storm blew in and knocked the power out and the wind blew about 45kts. We waited for a while and decided to take a run for the boat. When we arrived to the dinghy dockwe were completely soaked.We noticed that our dinghy was almost filled with water. We had no bailing bucket so we decided to go for it. Sundance was about 500 yards from the dinghy dock. The ride was slow,wet and rough. The waves from the wind were coming over the bow of the dinghy and the wind was so strong in our faces. The wind also carried heavy raindrops which would sting. The ride was very long and slow. We made it to the boat drenched and and ready for dry clothes. That night the wind and rain blew all night. The VHF radio was on fire. Many boats were caught out in this weather and were dragging anchors. No losses but a couple of boats ran aground. Mooring balls are awesome.

The next day we headed out to try to find some surf. The wind was still strong but Vava'u has alot of islands with reefs that if you time it right with the wind and the tide you can find a good wave. Well yesterday no luck. We have met up with another boat Water Dragon. The couple thats live on the boat are from the west coast and have been cruising for the last five years. Gram and Tarren are our ages and Gram is also a surfer. We sailed yesterday all day looking for surf with no luck. We pulled into Blue lagoon yesterday afternoon. The water in the lagoon is this deep blue an amazing color. I will try to post some pictures later of this lagoon. We stayed last night in Blue Lagoon. Mike made his famous curry dish. Gram and Tarren came over for dinner and cards. We planned our attack for the next day and talked about cruising.

Well it is the next day and the wind is still blowing around 20kts and no surf. We are going to pull anchor and try to find a dive spot for this afternoon and then we will head into Neiafu for the night. Rumor has it some of our new friends who live in Vava'u are going to throw us a going away party on Monday. Darn another party.

Travel to Vava'u

2006-09-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. We are still in Vava'u and we have changed our plans again. We plan on leaving for Fiji next week. We have been really enjoying the Vava'u group of islands. The people are very friendly and we have made great friends. I am amazed by how many American citizens have picked up and moved to Vava'u. We have become friends with most of them. This group of islands is ready to explode with tourism. One of the big problems is air transportation. Tonga has only two airlines and the airport in Vava'u is not big enough for jet aircraft. The local airline flys a DC3 and twin otters just about everyday from Nuku'alofa. Everyone that I have talked to enjoys the flight on a DC3. Some of you know that this airplane has been flying for 65 years. Everytime the DC3 flys over I have to look with amazement, I feel like I have fallen back in time. Vava'u is a great place to travel to. Time to travel is about 2 to 3 days from the states with 6 stops,4 different aircraft. Patients is a must, nothing happens on time when you travel to Tonga. Today's rumor no fuel for the DC3 for the next few days. No airline service for the week. This is very normal and no one gets upset this is Tonga. The U.S. dollar is worth twice the Tongan dollar. Things are priced well and food is cheap. The Moorings has a fleet of boats for rent, mono hulls and catamarans. Vava'u is one of the last places you can swim with the Humpback whales. The Humpback whales come to have their babies and to mate. Several tour boats will take you out for the day and will allow for you to jump off the boat with a guide and swim within 2 feet of the whales. We plan on swimming with the whales next week before we leave. Mike and I have gotten into a real laid back life. Our days consist of at least one game of cribbage and a little work on the boat. Then we decide if we should go surf or dive. At night we go into town and have dinner or we will have dinner on the boat and play xbox. Life is very simple. I know for myself this is the most relaxed I have ever been. No phones, no mail, no bills only time to play and learn and meet new people. Cruising is a great life.

North East Shore

2006-09-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

Outer Vava'u

2006-09-10T18:18:00.000-07:00

Outer Vava'u has incredible cliffs and private beaches. Some of the beaches can only be accessed by boat. We plan on heading south at the end of the week.
My nose is healing very well the swelling has gone down and the cuts and bruises are gone. We have been ejoying the hospitality of Vava'u. I have tried to upload some incredible pictures of the coast line for two days. I will try later in the week and if unable everyone will have to wait until we get to Fiji. The internet is very slow . I do apoligize for my busted up nose on the front page for so long. Hopefully I can post these great pictures later.

September

2006-09-05T12:37:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone hope everybody had a safe and fun Labor Day weekend. We have stayed in port for the last 5 days and we will head out later today to meet up with some friends and enjoy a spanish dinner at La Paella on Tapanas Island. Mike went surfing this morning with some locals. I was unable to go due to a fractured nose. I fell one evening in the dinghy and my nose and face made contact with the out board motor. I told Mike I was ready to go and I really wasn't. Mike gunned the outboard and I fell with my face and nose taking the fall. I ended up with a black eye and some lacerations on the top of my nose. Nose and left eye very swollen for three days. Today swelling down and black eye slowly going away. Photo was taken next day.

Sundance

2006-09-04T21:26:00.001-07:00

Here is Sundance proudly anchored on one of the outer islands of Vava'u.

Go Karts Tour North Vava'u

2006-09-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

Go kart tour of the Vava'u is the only way to see the back country. Tour lasted about 5 hours and lots of mud.

Mahi,Mahi

2006-09-03T19:50:00.000-07:00

Carsons' Mahi caught just north of Vava'u

Having a cold one

2006-09-03T19:25:00.000-07:00

Carson,Chad and Mike at Tonga Bobs'

Entering Vava'u

2006-09-03T19:07:00.000-07:00

Entering Vava'u . The limestone Cliffs many say the islands remind them of the San Juans.

Tuesday, August 29th

2006-08-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

The sun is shining and the wind is light and variable, few scattered clouds, air temp 80 degrees. This makes another perfect day in paradise. The last couple of days we have been hiking ,diving,making new friends and eating other peoples cooking.

Last Monday we headed out of the Blue Lagoon and headed to Ovaka island to go diving. We were on a lobster mission . We anchored in the afternoon and loaded up the digny and headed to and area were the reef drops off to about 100ft. We geared up and exited the dinghy. We were in about 20ft of water we headed north and reef dropped to about 60 ft with sheer cliffs of limestone rock. Lots of cracks and holes for lobster to live. We spent about 25 mins looking deep into these cracks, and found no lobster. I didn't want to get skunked so I went on a fish hunt. The area we were in is good for black grouper. In just a few minutes I spotted a 10lb black grouper. I stalked the fish trying not to spook him with my air bubbles and any fast movements. Grouper are very skittish fish. Chad had a underwater camera and was filming my hunt. I never got close enough to get a good shot with my Hawaiian sling. We moved on and came across a 5ft white tip reef shark. We started to head back and I spotted another grouper, I slowly worked my way, being patient I was able to get close enough for a good shot. I aimed, and released the sling. Direct hit in the gill plate just aft of the head. Chad captured the kill on film . I speared a couple more fish and we had fish for the freezer. The fish ranged from 4 to 7 pounds. More than enough for a couple of hungry sailors.

We got back to the boat cleaned our fish and gear. We pulled anchor and headed back to the blue Lagoon. We made reservations at the Ika Laki resort for dinner. This resort is owned by a Kiwi couple and run a fishing charter business 5 months out of the year. The primary customers are Kiwis and Australian. Word has been getting out about the blue marlin fishing and sail fish and many Americans are starting to make the long journey to Tonga to fish these waters. While we were having dinner one of the boats came in with a 250lb blue marlin. A Kiwi couple caught three and kept one. The couple donated the fish to the local villagers for food. We had another excellent meal and drank some good Kiwi wine. Another awesome day.

Monday, August 28th

2006-08-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

Today is Monday the 28th and we are still hanging out on the island of Vava'u. Last Thursday when we arrived we weren't sure what to expect from this island group and we were shocked by all of the cruisers that have stopped here too. When we sailed into this chain of islands the sight was spectacular. We were about 20 miles to the north when we spotted the tall and sheer limestone cliffs that makes up most of the islands of Vava'u. From what I have seen most of the islands of the south pacific are atoll or volcanic type islands. The first island in Tonga was volcanic, 165 mile south the next big island Vava'u is mostly limestone. Vava'u is made up of 60 islands distributed over a sea area of 18nm east-west and 16nm north-south. On average,for every nautical mile a vessel travels in any direction there are 4.8 picturesque islands.

We arrived and set anchor around 5 pm on Thursday, first thing was to find Mike some lobster. We headed to the Mermaid bar and had a rum and coke visited with some folks we had meet on the way and then headed to the Dancing Rooster restaurant. We were told this place rocks for lobster. Well they only take reservations and we were out of luck. We returned to the Mermaid and Mike had lobster. I have seen them bigger in New Orleans and I think they call them craw fish,crawdads. Mike had a smile on his face and he was happy. After dinner we were tired and headed back to the boat.

The next morning we needed to check in with customs and find a place for laundry. We achieved our goals and cruised around the village of Neiafu. Neiafu is the main village of Vava'u. We found a fresh fruit and vegetable market much like a farmers market and purchased some fresh produce. As we walked around we found everything we needed and some. On our tour we found a Mexican cantina, Tonga Bob's. We had to give it a try. The beer was cold,margaritas' freshly made and the food was incredible. home made tortillas and salsa. The couple who owns and works the restaurant are from Oakland, California. They got tired of the US rat race and sold everything and moved to Vava'u. The day we were in they had live music so we stayed. When I said we stayed we did indeed until closing. The next day we all were moving very slow and pretty much did nothing.

The next day after our day of recovery we pulled anchor and headed to Vaka'eitu island. This anchorage was located in a well protected inlet and the depth was 55ft. Several dive spots a dingy ride away. Mike and Chad dove I watched the boat and recovering from a sinus issue. The boys said the diving was ok and the water was cold. I know cold water and 79 degrees to me isn't cold. These boys say they are from Minnesota, hard to believe. I made them hot coco to warm up and we made dinner watched a dvd and called it a night.

The next morning I decided I needed to get off of the boat. I took my long board and paddled about 300yards to shore and went for a hike. I found a trail through the jungle and walked about half a mile, The sounds were different and I always felt like someone or something was watching me. I was walking and I felt something crawling on my shoulder, a ugly spider had found my bare shoulder. I did notice many spider webs along the trail but never thought I had disturbed any of them. I brushed him off and pressed on. I was more in tune with my surroundings and notices many worms hanging from the trees. I realized that if you brushed into the worms they would fall on me too. A shirt would of been nice. The trail came to a steep drop of red clay, I made my way down and found myself on a secluded beach. I combed the beach , looking for beach glass and any unused shells. All the shells I liked so did the hermit crabs. I found a couple of shells the crabs didn't get and explored the mile long white sandy beach. I finally made my way back to the boat, a few shells,no spider bites. We pulled anchor and headed to the next spot. The Blue Lagoon.

The Blue Lagoon is in the middle of Foelifuka island. The only accesses is through a very small inlet about 40ft wide. Low tide the depth is 7ft . Once in the Lagoon there are many anchorages and the water is deep and blue. We found a spot next to a reef . The bow in about 40ft of water and the stern the depth drops beyond 100ft. We are surrounded by sandy beaches and lots of coconut palms. We will stay for the night and do some exploring the next day.

Later in the week I will be able to post pictures.

Tuesday, August 22nd

2006-08-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

We are just entering the passage for Vava'u. We had estimated a earlier arrival, but last night around 9pm our winds changed from the southeast to the south. We lost about 2 kts and didn't get the southeast winds until 7am this morning. The seas were 3 to 4 ft. In the distance last night we saw several thunderstorms and were able to pass them without a squall. The ride was very comfortable and uneventful. First thing on the agenda, lobster sandwiches. I will update in a couple of days. Thanks Carson, and Mike.

Monday, August 21st

2006-08-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

We have left for Vava'u again and we are having a much nicer sail. The weather is forecasted to be good and the winds should remain out of the east for the next two days. We started out with good luck this morning by catching a 25lb Mahi, Mahi. We are in sight of another boat Artic Fox. These folks are from Oregon, husband wife and their 8 year old son. We met them in Pago, Pago and they have the same destinations planned as we do. We are a little faster than them and will arrive about 2 to 3 hours before them. Having another boat near by is always comforting. We have learned that Vava'u is the jewel of Tonga and we will find lots of outdoor activities to keep us entertained. Lobster is very abundant and we were told of a restaurant that specializes in lobster sandwiches. Mike is drooling. I will bet our first stop will be for lobster sandwiches We will arrive early afternoon tomorrow. Perfect time for lobster and a nice cold beer. Hopefully I will be able to find a internet cafe and upload some pictures.

Calm Seas

2006-08-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

0730 we pulled the anchor and headed out to sail south to our next stop Vava'u. On our way out of the lagoon it was a perfect morning, light winds calm seas, temp about 80 degrees. We were just outside the inlet to the lagoon when we spotted some humpback whales .They were out about a mile in front of us so we went towards them. When we got close we counted about 5 adults and one baby. Chad shot some video of the whales and we headed south. The wind was perfect from the east 15 kts. We were averaging about 6.5 kts and figured we would be in Vavu'a about 1pm the next day. The weather started to change a little. Some clouds were moving in. Our barometer was reading 29.90 and was not moving lower. We were 20 miles south of Niuatoputapu. The wind started to change and was coming from the south. We tacked to the south west and then we would tack back to the southeast and the further we got the south the winds would change back to the east. This time of year the winds are from the east. This was strange to have wind out of the south. Tacking to the southeast was going to put us into Vava'u the next evening. Slowly the clouds started to increase and the waves were getting bigger. The wind was averaging 22kts. We had seen this all the way down from Hawaii several different days so no big deal. Time passed and we were slowly heading southwest. Just before dark we were 20 mile west of our rumb line and we chose to tack southeast. We were established on our southeast heading and the wind was increasing 30kts and the waves were 15 ft, Again we have seen this and not a big deal,we put on our foulys and hunkered on down for the night. We continued for five hours on our southeast heading, in that five hours we only traveled 4 miles. We were fighting the current, big waves, and winds gusting to 35kts. We checked the weather and a low was moving from the south in our direction. We needed to make a decision, to continue on for a very rough ride or turn around and head back to Niuatoputapo. In the 13 hours of sailing we were only 40 miles from our starting point. It was a no brainier if we turned around we would be in a nice sheltered lagoon in 6 hours.We motored sailed down wind and headed back to Niuatoputapo. We entered the Lagoon at day break and set the hook by 0630. We were all exhausted. After much needed sleep we relaxed on the boat made dinner and watched a movie. Tomorrow we are invited to a barbecue on the island. We plan to leave on Tuesday, the forecast is clear skies with winds out of the east.

Leaving Tonga

2006-08-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

Mike and I went to shore to find Chad. We gave some kids some candy for info on our missing friend. We found him in the next village with this funny grin and he was speaking Pete. Our airline friends will understand. Chad claimed that they made him drink Kava , but we think it was the Tonga love machine that took him away from us. We washed him up and gave him some clean clothes and a very cold Coors light. We set sail in the morning and should be in Vava'u the next morning. The diving is to be great and we will run into other cruisers in Vava'u. I will give a position report sometime tomorrow.

Monday, August 14th

2006-08-15T22:04:00.000-07:00

Tonga

We made yet another crossing to the Kingdom of Tonga. We sailed for two days and nights and made it to Niuatoputapu Island. The most Northern of the Tonga Chain. The crossing from Samoa was pretty normal we has seas around 5-7 Ft and winds 15-20 kts. We picked up a new crew member in Samoa. Chad Huston met us in Samoa and will be with us for 3 weeks in Tonga. Chad is a pilot for Southwest airlines. We just cleared customs, three gals and one man came out the boat. We have learned that if you give a gift they will treat you very well. One of the gals who was in charge kept eyeing Chad. The customary in Tonga, if someone asks you for something you have to give it to them. The large Tonga woman asked for Chad so we gave him to her and we passed customs with flying colors. Chad went screaming and kicking, all we could see was this large gal carrying Chad over her shoulders like some piece of meat. I guess later we will have to go to shore and listen for Chad's screams to save him.

I will report later tomorrow what we find as we explore the island. I will not be able to post pictures until we get to Fiji which will not be until early October. The last post took about 8 hours to download all those pictures. Samoa's internet was very slow. We are very spoiled with all the high speed internet that is available to us. Please be patient and the photos will come.

Leaving Pago Pago

2006-08-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

Today we leave Pago Pago and head to Tonga. We only have a two day sail and then we will explore Tonga. Tonga is located south of Samoa. I have tried to get the tracking site to work and no luck. We will be giving position reports. Thanks for following along and hopefully we will be able to post pictures in Tonga.

Seven Week Diet

2006-08-10T17:35:00.001-07:00

Carson and Mike after seven weeks.

Crossing the Equator

2006-08-10T17:20:00.000-07:00

Let the hair flow. Sam had the most to lose. Mike and his Mohawk.

Palmyra

2006-08-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

The international airport. Mikes new home, a bomb shelter.

Palmyra Island

2006-08-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

Mike and Sam Climbing around a Lockheed Loadstar. This aircraft crashed after landing on a cargo charter. The Palmyra Yatch Club.

2006-08-10T14:27:00.000-07:00

Palmyra is a group of islands that are just north of the equator and is owned by a nature concervancy. Several government agencies operate this facility for research, private and government funded. The wildlife was incredible from the coral reefs, islands of palm trees and to the lagoons that surround this group of islands. Every animal and plant is protected. We met the staff of the island and a few researchers. Everyone we met was very helpful and friendly. We would of liked to stay longer but we had a schedule to keep.

Fanning Island

2006-08-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

Enjoy the pictures of Fanning Island.

Tuna, Tuna, Tuna

2006-08-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

Carson's $11.00 Blue Fin Tuna, Mike's Sushi Platter, Biggest fish winner Carson's 65lb Yellow Fin Tuna. Fresh tuna for lunch.

Bone Fishing

2006-08-09T21:12:00.000-07:00

Bone fishing Fanning Island. Mike's first fish after 8 hours of casting.

2006-08-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

Mike and I traded with some local Fanning kids candy for coconuts. Mike tried his luck climbing a coconut tree too.

2006-08-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

Independence day on Fanning Island. Marching, drinking warm beer and coconuts. July 12th

Photos

2006-08-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

Morning sunrises and evening sunsets.

Pago Pago

2006-08-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
We reached Pago Pago and we are really enjoying the cold drinks and the variety of the food. Saturday night after we filled our guts and doused our whistles we were ready for a good night sleep. We slept for about ten hours, what a great feeling. We decided to do laundry first thing on Sunday morning. We loaded up the dingy with 6 weeks of moldy,crusty,and stained clothes. Don't ask Mike where his stains were, and headed to the laundromat. We unloaded our filth into 14 washing machines and started the cleansing process. After 2 hours and one three way cribbage game we had fresh ,clean and dry clothes. While we were waiting for our clothes I noticed a sign on the wall that read hot shower for $1.00. I inquired and yes it was true we rented a shower with hot water for $3.00. We scrubbed, shaved, brushed and q-tipped every part of our bodys. ( seperatly of course) Clean clothes and fresh smelling skin we were ready to find some more food.

The three of us walked around and checked out the town. We found the yatch club and wetted our whistles once again. We looked for food and before you knew it we were eating a sampler plate of fried foods and loving every minute. We had only one problem everytime we would eat we would compete for the bathroom. Our stomachs have shrunk and are not used to so much rich and oily food. Every bite was worth it. Can't wait for dinner tonight!!

I will have a new laptop by the end of the week and I promise the pictures will start flowing. Please be patient the pictures are worth the wait. ( especially my shaved head)

We will be heading to Western Samoa later in the week.

Saturday, August 5th

2006-08-05T18:50:00.000-07:00

Today we arrived in Pago Pago, American Samoa at approximately 5pm MDT. The ride in was a rough ride, but with three good hands on board the Sundance arrived safe and sound. We will try and seek out a internet cafe tomorrow sometime and emails will be forthcoming in a few days.

Sunday, July 30th

2006-07-31T15:05:00.000-07:00

At 09:00 local time the position of Sundance is S 02.36.5 W 164.59.6. The wind is out of the ENE at 14 knots. Everyone is doing great and are in high spirits. After crossing the equator yesterday Sam and I both shaved our heads and Mike has chosen a Mohawk in celebration of crossing the equator. Don't worry we took lots of pictures!

Saturday, July 29th

2006-07-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

Today we crossed the equator at 5:40a.m. on Carson's watch. We made steak and eggs for breakfast, and for dessert a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. We are having 6-7 nots of wind, with calm seas. Can't wait to see civilization! We have 6 days left... We will post a position in the next couple of days!

Thursday, July 28th

2006-07-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

Our Position is: N 04 53.7 W 162 46.7

Winds are about 7 knots with comfortable seas

Palmyra

2006-07-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

Hello to All,
We are on Palmyra and we have had a great time. The sail from Fanning was only two days but long. We had a couple of mechanical problems and we had for the most part no wind. Everything is fixed and the Sundance is running great. Last night while we were socializing with the staff of Palmyra we were informed of the new installation of satillite internet and here we are posting a new blog. We will stay for another day and head out to Pago Pago. We will be losing Sam and pick up our friend Chad. Sam has been alot of help and a great crew member and will be missed. Chad watch out Sam has set bar very high. In Pago Pago we will shop for supplies (Rum) and I will be able to get a new computer and will be back on line. Mike and I plan on spending two days at a internet cafe and get caught up on emails and update the site with lots of pictures and more stories. We love all of your comments and I will try to get the tracking info corrected so everyone will be able to follow. Our next leg we will only give a position report every other day. The wind has not been very good. The sail to Pago Pago might take upto 10 days. Thanks again for all of your support and we will be publishing lots of info when we arrive in Pago Pago.

Thursday, July 20th

2006-07-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,
I have had complete electronic failure and because of our new friend Bob who is the NCL manager we are able to get an email out to the blog. We are leaving Fanning Island today and heading to Palmyra. It is going to take us about 36 hours to sail to Palmyra. We will spend about 3 days there and then we will head to Pago Pago which will take about 8 days. When we get there will be able to email and upload pictures of the trip once we arrive. We want to thank you for your patience and please keep checking on the site. We plan on arriving on August 2nd in Pago Pago. Fanning has been an incredible experience and I have many stories to write on the blog site when we get to Pago Pago. Thanks again Carson, Mike and Sam.

Friday, July 14th

2006-07-14T15:52:00.000-07:00

The Lastest Update

My laptop computer has crashed and I am trying to restore all the lost files. Hopefully the computer will be up in running within a few days! Please keep checking the web site for updates.

Thanks for all your support!

Saturday, July 8th

2006-07-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

Another day in paradise....

What day is today? We have lost track. I can tell you that today is just as beautiful as the past days. We had a little rain and the rain catcher that I made yesterday worked great we collected about 4 gallons of rain water. The surf was EXCELLENT Mike was like a kid in a candy store. I surfed for a few hours but the current was a little too strong for me so I decided to go get the underwater video camera and film Mike. Mike says that this break is better than Restaurants, in Tavarua. I got some great footage of Mike. I swam in to the shore and got more footage from shore with the camera out of the underwater case. BIG MISTAKE!! When Mike was done surfing he retrieved the dinghy and I jump into the water to swim out to him. I put the camera back into the case but I really didn't check it very well. Guess what? When I got to the dinghy the underwater camera was full of water S###! I have taken the camera apart to let it dry out,I will put it back together in the morning with hopes that it will work again. I'm bummed about the camera but I'm really upset about losing the footage of Mike surfing this incredible wave.

While this was going on Sam wanted to explore the north island. We dropped him off when we went surfing. Sam said that he walked on this sandy trail for about 3 miles and really didn't see anybody. He said that there were many banana tress and lots of coconut palms and lots of coconut crabs. Yum!Yum!

Tomorrow we going to, well I don't know what we are going to be doing. All of you will have to check out the blog site to find out! Have a wonderful day!

Friday, July 7th

2006-07-08T22:39:00.000-07:00

What day is today?

Fanning Island is more than I could have imagined. The local people are so friendly, the weather is perfect, the surf is magical, and the diving is awesome. The clarity of the water is perfect everyday is 100 feet visibility. Yesterday was as perfect as all of the past days. We had a great breakfast with two other boats. We told stories about our lives and had many laughs. After breakfast we went for an afternoon surf. Shoulder high waves and no other surfers. When we for back to the boat we did some chores around the boat, charged up the batteries and made water with the water maker.

All of the islanders catch rain water to drink. The ground water is only good for washing. When we use our water maker we use power from the batteries. When cruising you have to learn to conserve everything power, food and water. Fanning Island doesn't have fuel or water and very limited food.

The sun is very intense here because we are not far from the equator 3.5 latitude. After anchoring we took the spinnaker pole and attached it to the mast and attached the other end to the fore stay. Then we draped a tarp over the spinnaker pole and lashed the trap to the stanchions and the safety lines. This makes a great tent over the fore deck and keeps the sun off the cabin below(much cooler). The last few days I have been pondering how to make a rain catch. I came up with an idea last night and within a hour using some line and placing a thur hull fitting in the tarp over the fore deck I made a rain catch. I attached a waterline to the thur hull fitting and feed the line to a 5 gallon water jerry can. All I need now is some rain, my luck it won't rain while we are in Fanning. I really enjoy being creative and trying new ideas.

When I finished the rain catch it was time for us to head to the shore to attend a fundraiser dinner. Menu lobster, red snapper, rice, squash, bread and fruit on a palm leaf woven plate. Beverages were coconut milk or warm Australian beer, the first beer hurts. All you could eat and drink for just $ 5.00 such a deal and it was good too. We took the dingy back to the boat around 11:00 pm and Mike and I played one game of cribbage. Mike has finally learned my game and he has the luck of the cards, Mike won again. After I got skunked I licked my wounds and off to bed I went.

Thursday, July 6th

2006-07-07T19:37:00.000-07:00

The 5th of July was our first full day on Fanning Island. On the 4th we took a little walk through one of the villages and meet one local man who has a market with some dried goods and canned goods too. His name is Kol Robi. The island is third world there is no electricity and no running water. Their diet is mainly fish and rice. Fanning has a supply ship that come once a month from Tarawa. When we meet Kol Robi we asked him about coconut crabs and he told us how to catch them and that they are good to eat. We had read and heard about the coconut crabs and how they were really good to eat. We are going to get some of those crabs one of these nights.

Well, on the 5th we got up and started to plan our day. Sam made his famous breakfast burritos, all I can say AWESOME. While Sam was cooking breakfast I decided that I was going to try my luck fishing below the boat with some light tackle. I was using a small spinning rod,15 lbs test and a kastmaster lure. First cast I got a goat fish and then it seemed that every other cast I had a fish. Some I threw back and a couple seemed to have gotten away. Within a half hour or so I had three really nice fish. I decided that we would try to trade them with the locals for some fruit. After breakfast Mike and I decided that we would go surfing and on the way would try to trade the fish with our new friend. We took our dingy to Kol Robi's hut. We gave him the fish and he invited us into his hut. When we sat down he had one of his sons bring over a bucket and showed us five coconut crabs. He told his son to cook them for us. While watching the crabs cook, his daughter brought each of us a coconut and we punched a hole into it and we had coconut milk while we waited for the crabs to cook. Everything is cooked on the open fire, they use the coconut husks to fuel the fire. The crabs were boiled for 20 minutes and then they were served to us. Mike and I ate crab for an hour and talked to Kol Robi about his life here on Fanning Island. We had such a great experience and we meet a new friend.

After our feast Mike and I went surfing. The break is a world class left and we were the only guys out there. After surfing we headed back to the boat and played some cribbage, drank some beers and started dinner. For dinner I prepared Tri Tip, mashed potatoes and some baked beans. No lobster tonight. We had unexpected company just before dinner. Two couples came by to welcome us. They have been on their boats in Fanning for the last four months. We invited them aboard for some cocktails and learned all about them. It was fun socializing with some new people. After they left I served my cold dinner and before we knew it it was 11:00 pm, time for bed. We have been invited to a fund raiser tomorrow night, it should be very interesting. We have some great pictures of the coconut crab feast. Sorry I can only send text right now, but when we get to Samoa I will be able to upload some pictures for everyone to see. Tomorrow we plan on exploring the other side of the island and we'll be going surfing to of course.

Tuesday, July 4th

2006-07-04T19:26:00.000-07:00

We are officially in Fanning. We set the hook about 10:00 am and cleared customs by 11:00 am. We had a long night because we had to slow the boat down so we would time our arrival properly. Everything worked out great for us. We have already meet some other cruisers Lou and Ann. They are both in the their 60's and have been in Fanning for 4 months now. We found out about all the great secrets of Fanning. The Island has about 7 villages and the population is around 2000 people. Rumor has it that we will be eating lobster everyday. The locals don't eat lobster, Great more for us :-) . The customs man told us were to dive and that we could take as many lobsters as we wanted. We plan on being here for about a week or so, it just depends on the surf. Nobody surfs on this island and they have an incredible left at the mouth of the harbor. Darn private waves, diving, lobster everyday and night, no phones or television etc. Feel sorry for us. I will send pictures once we get to an Internet cafe in Samoa. Have a great 4th of July!

Monday, July 3rd

2006-07-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

Almost there....
We are very close to Fanning Island we only have 59 miles to go. We would of been in tonight but it is very dangerous to enter the harbor at night because of the current, depth and obstacles. We have been briefed by other cruisers to only enter the harbor when the sun is high on the reef. We have slowed down the boat and we plan on a morning arrival around 10:00 am. The sun should be high enough so we will have a good clear shot into the harbor. We have had a few rain showers and some sun. All three of us are looking forward to being on the hook. All of us have read at least two if not three books on this crossing. Oprah watch out we might start our very own book club. The dinner menu for this evening is SPAM with wild rice and canned peaches. Sounds good! Yum Yum

Our position: N 04 48.534 W 159 17.659

Sunday, July 2nd

2006-07-02T22:49:00.000-07:00

Lots of water still on the horizon and no land insight. We have another 200 miles to go and then we will finally be at Fanning Island. Last night we seen another fishing boat about 6 miles to our west and but we had no radio contact. Mike seen an aircraft on his watch last night. On my watch I had the pleasure of being greeted by 6 dolphins. They swam up to the starboard side of the boat and worked their way across the bow of the boat. We had another windy night last night. The weather today is very nice, but the clouds are forming and we will probably see rain later today or tonight. Spirits are great and can't wait to see land.

Our position is: N 07 03.622 W 158 28.451

Day Six

2006-07-01T22:03:00.000-07:00

Day Six and things are going GREAT!!

Last night was so spectacular with all the stars. We seen the southern cross. It was the first time for me. We had a very nice day yesterday the weather was great along with nice smooth seas. We are averaging about 160 nautical miles a day which is really good. We have been trolling for anything and have had no luck. We think that if the wind stays with us, we can be to Fanning Island by Monday afternoon. Our winds have been averaging around 22 kts.

I made breakfast this morning, pancakes with peanut butter and maple syrup. Yum! Yum!

Our position is: N 09 15.896 W 158 08.892

Day Four

2006-07-01T09:37:00.000-07:00

June 30th,2006
Last night I had the 10pm to 1 am shift, we had rough seas again with 30 kt winds. For most of the trip we have been using our stay sail and our Genoa at the second reef. Our average speed has been around 7kts. We have had a rough ride for the last 4 days. Sleeping has been tough.

When you have a night watch you get a lot of time to think about life and the possibilities of something going wrong. You run different scenarios in your head to try to figure out what would be the best solution. All three of us have talked a lot about all of these things. This time has really opened up my eyes about everyday life back at home. We take a lot for granted. We had some excitement last night around 3 am, Sam was on watch and he spotted a boat off in the distance. Mike and I got up and we seen the glow of light off the starboard side of the boat. We turned on the radar and we confirmed that it was another boat, we tried to make radio contact... No luck. We figured that they did not speak English. The boat got close enough that we could see their green running light and they shined a very bright spotlight on to us. We haven't seen anything for the past 3 days and nights. To see another boat in the middle of the Pacific gave us a warm feeling that somebody was out here with us. To some this might seem such a trivial thing but for the three of us it was a real spirit lifter. The route that we are on has no shipping lanes and to see this boat within 2 miles was very exciting for us.

Today was a great day for all of us, we were able to finally eat a regular meal. I surprised the boys with a Costco Lasagna and Chinese salad. When I pulled the lasagna dish out of the oven we all couldn't believe we were going to be having a hot meal for the first time in days. We have finally gotten over our sea sickness and this hot meal brought much joy. You would of thought that for the last 4 days not eating very much that we would be starved. After only a few bites we were all so full, I guess our stomach have shrunk. Great Diet!!

Our position is: N 11 53.893, W 157 41.260. Still working on the tracking web site.

Day Three

2006-06-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

Today is day three and it seems like an entire week has gone by. We still have 640 nautical miles to go. Unfortunately,we are all very sleep deprived. We are finally getting used to our three hour shifts and we are getting our sea legs. We are in some better seas today and finally not feeling so sea sick. We think by tomorrow we will all be up to cooking something good for dinner. All we have eaten over the last few days is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and some Top Ramen, at this rate we will get to Fanning 20 pounds lighter.

Our position: N 15 0000 W 157 20.20