2011 New Zealand – Fiji – Vanuatu – New Caledonia to Australia Voyage

Sailing to New Caledoinia…..

Dear F&F, October 8th – 12th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere) This would be Kay\’s first ocean crossing. We went to the local markets, cleared customs and immigration and prepared \”Beach House\” for sea. The journey would be a short one, but potentially a bit more up wind than normal as we had to go around the …

Sailing to New Caledoinia….. Read More »

Tanna Island Volcano Trip…..

Dear F&F, October 5th-6th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere) I\’d made arrangements for Kay and I to fly to Tanna Island, about an hour flight. Despite assurances that the drive upon arrival would be fairly easy, it was anything but! I would have to say that the 20 minute drive to our hotel was exciting, but nothing …

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Port Vila….Goodbye Anja, Hello Kay!….

Dear F&F, October 3rd, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere) As lovely as our time together was, Anja had met \”someone\” while we were in Fiji. They decided on a rendezvous in Brisbane, Australia and far be it from me to hold back young love…:-)) I don\’t want to embarrass Anja, so I\’ll just leave the details for …

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Santo to Port Vila……

Dear F&F, September 30 – October 1st, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere) We left our mooring at Aore Island with a favorable weather report to motor south against the dormant trade winds. We weren\’t sure how far we\’d get, but wanted to try and keep the trip to two days. As such, we ended up going down …

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Luganville – \”SS President Coolidge\”……

Dear F&F, September 27th – 29th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere) We arrived at Luganville\’s \”Segond Channel\” just about 8 pm local time. It was completely dark and all the navigation lights on the charts either were not working or had changed their light patterns! Welcome to navigating in the \”back of beyond\”! We came in through …

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Another Sea Story!….Old and new…..

Dear F&F, September 26th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere) Today marks 4 years since \”Beach House\” left Marina del Rey, California. Needless to say, much has happened. Two days ago, we were having a brilliant spinnaker run which lasted 16 hours. At 4 a.m., the wind started to pipe up to 25 knots so prudence dictated dropping …

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En Route….mini boo boo…..

Dear F&F, September 25th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere) Day 2 run: 180 nm Position: 16 deg 29.5 min South 170 deg 48.2 min East Speed: Ave = 7 knots Wind: 21 knots, ESE Swell: 6.5 feet (2 meters) Air: 81 deg F/ 27.2 deg C Baro: 1015 steady Yesterday was so nice out here, we set …

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Nanuya-Sewa, Fiji to Espiratu Santo, Vanuatu…..

Dear F&F, September 24th 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere) End of Day one: 175 nm 312 mile to Pentecost Island Passage, 380 miles to Luganville, Espiritu Santo Island – Vanuatu 16 deg 41 min S 174 deg 21 min E A lovely first days sail, we put the spinnaker up mid day today, winds are SSE at …

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Nanuya-Sewa, Farewell Joe and off to Vanuatu…..

Dear F&F, September 21st – 23rd, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere) We went up to check and see if the nice dive sites off the end of Yasawairara were dive able, but the weather was just too strong. So instead, we set sail for the 12 miles back to Nanuya-Sewa. We had a brilliant ride in fantastic …

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Narara Beach…..Cobalt/Turquoise Waters……Yasawairara……

Dear F&F, September 18th – 20th, 2011 We headed up the coast to Yasawa Island\’s Narara Beach. The anchorage was perfect. The water a calm cobalt blue to turquoise in color. We dove \”Paradise Point\” and the reef off Vawa Island. Paradise Point is also a surf spot, but was calm today and offered a …

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