Norfolk Island

Going good today, motored though most of last night but then the wind came in this morning nicely and we have been heading west. Passed about 80 miles south of Norfolk Island and it's a real shame we couldn't stop in to check it out.
The sky's are grey today with a big swell coming in from the north, looks like we will get a lot of rain the next days but it's all good.
Sunflower is sailing really well considering we have 2 reefs and a reefed Genoa, we do have a favouring current though. We don't want to go too fast as we want to arrive in Bundaberg not until Monday the 18th. Check in for Australia is already $600+ and if we arrive on the weekend you can probably double that for overtime! No hurry anyway , part of the condition of entry with all this Covid 19 is we have to quarantine for 14 days. When we left the rules were that the quarantine starts from the hour we leave NZ so arriving on the 18th will be 12 days at sea and then we can do formalities and go to anchor for 2 more days quarantine before being set free into the world, well Bundaberg and that could be dangerous!!
Hopefully these rules don't change before we get there.
Not a lot more going on, lots of reading, eating, spilt half a litre of dirty engine oil all over the cockpit, couple of little birds flying in and out of the cabin and a big Albatross has been checking us out from time to time, the days are rolling on nicely but still not BBQ weather

Pos 30*19s 167*27 Days run 133nm, 889nm to Bundaberg
38 hours on engine since leaving

9/5/20 Rolling

Yesterday we were going along nice but a lot more west than planned then late afternoon we jibed and headed more north to find a bit of warmth. Last night I lost my shit, we are sailing as dead down wind as we can with all sails poled out and even though it wasn't that windy, only about 13kts the sea was horrible. A big rolling swell had picked up and if you look at the chart where we are the contour lines are just crazy with all these trenches and mountains the currents are pushing you all over the place and Sunflower ends up corkscrewing all over the place with sails banging like crazy so the only thing to do so we can each get a few hours sleep was start the engine. By 4am the seas had dropped and it was relatively calm again with just a little current against us and we set the sails and are still going fine. The winds are meant to go more east this afternoon so we will make some more west from that hopefully.
Fishing hasn't been happening, haven't even wet a line yet as I don't want to get even more smelly, it's so bloody cold we haven't had a shower since we left but today is the day! We are probably about 500km north of where we were in Whangarei NZ and it's making all the difference also the water temp is also up nearly 5 degrees so happy days. The suns out today with just a few rain clouds about and our solar is topping things up and there's just enough wind to sail so Happy Days

Midday Pos 31*29s 169*45e
114nm made good to Bundaberg, 126nm made good towards Norfolk Island
1025nm to Bundaberg

Covid 19

Thurs 7/5/20

Well I think it might nearly be a year since I have updated the blog, I'm not sure if I even wrote about Tonga it was that long ago, I just lost touch with it all as I'm over the blogging writing about the same stuff always over again but I do miss writing about the sailing which is why we are here for.
So let me just say Tonga was great, Minerva Reef was brilliant, passage to NZ uneventful, New Zealand absolutely fantastic and Covid 19 sucks balls.
We were fortunate enough to be in one of the best places in the world for the Corona virus, New Zealand an isolated modern 1st world country that loves sailors, so very lucky. Then there is the town Whangarei that we spent the lockdown in, absolute gem of a place the friendliest locals and a good handful of our really good sailing friends that we have known some since the Caribbean, we were so lucky to be there I tell you.
The only deterrent was it is getting bloody cold, real cold especially with those southerlies. Just before the 5 weeks NZ covid lockdown finished I had been contacting ABF, Australian Customs to see if it was possible for me and Julie to sail for Aus, after a fair amount of paperwork we were both allowed as I'm an Australian citizen and Julie got an exemption being my immediate family so we got the ball rolling and went ahead contacting NZ customs and filled out another heap of paperwork and then they determine if we are allowed to go. I think we may be one of the first yachts to actually leave, if not the first. When I first contacted them there wasn't much in place and then the forms started and it evolved from there, all parties really great to deal with but they are very understandably very cautious of letting first anyone in to Australia but then also NZ have to have their worries about endangering their workers or us sailing off and needing assistance if we get into trouble out there, fair enough.
Anyway after waiting for a half decent forecast we decided to leave and here we are just over 24 hours out and past the North Cape into the Tasman/South Pacific on a course heading for around Norfolk Island then heading more west up towards Sunny Bundaberg the land of the worlds worst rum!!
We left on the back of a big shitty weather system with freezing cold southerlies, heading out the heads we were wondering what the hell we were doing trying to motor sail out of the channel into 25+kts with the tide against waves and the bow burying into the waves and me soaked to the bone, also with the harbour master in his little boat behind us wandering what the fuck we were doing as he was probably copping it worse than us! Anyway it was enough excitement and after we rounded the heads we had the 25 behind us and we were rushing off with a just a double reefed main doing 7kts, happy days and time for a celebrated beer.
As predicted the wind died and by midnight we were motor sailing for a few hours but then some beautiful sailing in just enough breeze but then with a big cloud that died at lunch today as we neared the Cape and are motor sailing once again, forecast has light winds for the next few days so I predict it will be much the same until we get up to Norfolk Island and soon after there is a bit of a trough coming through and then wind after then, let's see

Fri 8/5/20
Sailed nicely yesterday afternoon until nearly midnight when we lost all the wind and had to start the engine. From the Cape and up until this morning we had a strong current against us but this morning we finally lost it and may even have a touch with us let's hope it lasts. At daylight there was just enough wind to sail so we poled out the genoa but the wind comes and goes so with a big side swell our fully battened mainsail was bashing around so we put in the second reef and poled out the staysail and have been going along alright, at least nice and quietly without the engine.
12to12 run 120nm made good for Bundaberg, 1138nm to go.
Hey and it warming up a bit!! Really amazed how quick it has changed but it is still far from tropical
Pos @ 1230= 33*02s 171*23e. 21 hours on the engine since leaving Marsden

Nuie

We arrived in Nuie at 0530 this morning with a full moon and got on one of the yacht clubs moorings. After a couple of hours sleep we started to get ready to head in and do the formalities and have a look around but thought I would download one quick long range forecast as the weather has been changing so much. It doesn't look good, another trough arriving in Nuie lunch time tomorrow with strong winds and lots of rain, not really the weather to be sight seeing. Then by Saturday another big system coming with loads of rain and westerly winds, no good at all for us. So our options are to stay, pay $200 do a quick tour tomorrow and then leave for Tonga Wednesday but then all the wind has been sucked away so will most likely have to motor most of the 2 days sailing. We decide to stay, really want to see this place as it's meant to be quite special.
Put sail covers on, pack away sails, pole ect ect launch dinghy and head in.
Nuie is completely exposed from the west and has a lot of surge so is only a fair weather place. There is a crane on the dock and you have to lift your dinghy ashore as it's not safe alongside ......the crane isn't working today but maybe later the power will be back on and it will be? We um and ah if it's worth chancing it for such a short stay with shit weather??
No time to go, back to the boat and get everything ready again. You can't change the weather ☹️

Catch up of the last month-

After leaving Huahini we sailed across to Raiatea and Tahaa for a week of looking around and were lucky enough to catch a music festival in town the last night. From there we went over to Bora-Bora to wait for a weather window to cross to Tonga.
The weather had been really unsettled the last few weeks and this was no exception with only a few nice days here and there and then the rest very windy and rainy but at least we managed 3 beautiful days in the SE corner of Bora in the picturesque turquoise waters you see on the TV. Then another weather system was coming so back around the other side to hide from the 40kt forecast and got on one of the yacht clubs moorings. A 51ft Outreamer cat in front of us broke his mooring that night and ended up on the reef 1 mile behind lucky stopped by a bungalow on the water that put a hole in its port side but not on the bottom so he managed to get away although still has to haul out and fix a lot including the centreboard, sad story for them but I have no idea why they left the boat unattended in that weather, and also so lucky for us we didn't get hit as we were right in its path.
So we had 2 weeks waiting for weather in Bora along with a heap of other boats waiting to head west and when it finally started to ease we shot through with very fast sailing the first night and then it eased and had perfect sailing the next few days. We wanted to stop at Nuie, 1050nm and a tiny little island on the way to Tonga but at the speed we were sailing we would arrive on a Sunday and they don't do check ins on this day. Right on our path is Palmerston atol owned by the Cook Islands so we decided to make a quick stop here.
Very funny joint indeed, William Masters in 1867 arrived here with 3 Polynesian women and set up camp and ended up having 26 kids to keep himself busy. So now the main island is split up in 3 parts for the different families and has a thriving population of 31 residents, all related off course and either called Will, William or bill with a couple of Edwards thrown in, the grave yards say it all with ALL the last names being Masters!
We were lucky to be the only yacht there the first day and got a very nice tour and had lunch with one of the families. The next morning 8 boats arrived so it was time for us to leave for Nuie 380nm away.
With the weather being so good I got a little casual and only downloaded a big long range forecast with winds to see if we had enough for the next week and no westerlies, all looked good. Then once we were underway for Nuie I download a detailed grib for the next couple of days with gusts/rain/waves ect and it showed a right little system in our path and boy did we cop it the night before last. It came up just before midnight with lots of rain and not so bad at the start but we got the mainsail down and furled in the Genoa just leaving the staysail poled out (wish I hadn't) then soon after it really came in. The seas built very quick with the wind a steady 35-40kts screaming so we just ran NW with it and all was well although a lot of things flying around inside the cabin. It was too rough to drop the staysail but it all was fine anyway and by around 4am it had dropped to 30kts and hung around like this with loads of rain until nearly lunch time and then settled right down ye
sterday afternoon and now the seas are better once again, quite an adventure anyway.
So now we should arrive in Nuie tomorrow morning and with weather permitting we will stay until the end of the week then leave for Tonga which is just a 2 day sail away and arrive in the North to what looks like a beautiful place called Vava'u.

So far just one little Stripey Tuna caught and one full real of line with lure lost to something way too big, maybe today is the day??

Societies

I wrote this a few weeks back but never got around to posting it, for those that are interested-

Societies

I returned from 5 weeks work in Aus in the middle of May to Papeete Marina where Julie stayed for the duration. We arrived there from the Tuamotos end of March and it was nice to be in civilisation again, the marina is smack bang in the middle of town with bars and restaurants around and lots of boat/hardware shops around so it was a busy time. We hired a car, drove around the island, refitted the dingy, built new shelves in Sunflowers workshop as well as a few other things you can't do on anchor so it was nice.
Julie enjoyed being in a marina for a change also while I was at work, joining the local gym to keep herself busy as well as making a new dinghy cover which was a fair old task, turned out perfect of course
I retuned and we changed out our solar panels for 2x 315w panels and man what a difference. We can now run watermaker for 3 hours a day if we like and always have full batteries, passages should be a lot better now with the thirsty autopilot also. Not many things at all are cheap in French Polynesia but funnily enough solar panels are subsidised so they were actually a bargain.
After 4 days rushing to get everything finished and cleaned up my dad arrived for a 12 day holiday and we sailed over to Moorea, good times. Hadn't hung out with my old man properly for quite some time so it was really nice. We just explored a few bays around Moorea taking it easy, no big sails or anything. The weather unfortunately was on and off with lots of rain around but it was still a good time.
After dropping him back in Tahiti we did some more stocking up and then did an overnight sail to Huahini where we have been for nearly 2 weeks and what a great spot. Besides the Huahini Yacht Club having happy hour every day what has made it so good is that so many of our good cruiser friends are here, it's been really fun and social that's for sure.

Living Expenses in Marquesas

A season in Marquesas, what to bring?

Beer is what you bring, and lots of it!! Before coming here we had heard how expensive everything is to live here so we stocked up the boat massively and a lot of the stuff we stocked up with is actually as cheap here because certain things are "Subsidised."The shops here are basic, it's a shock for sure when you first arrive but you quickly get used to it and actually get quite excited finding new treats but for most of the stuff you need the shops have it all here, just not the big selection. It's France Territory so there are also quite a few unexpected purchases in these little tucked away shops also. 

So I thought I would make this list of the basics that most sailors need if anyone is coming this way, it may be useful. 

Anything with a red sticker on the shelves or in the fridges is subsidised and makes it a LOT cheaper, it's most of the basics you need, here's a quick list in US$-

Packets of 500g pasta-spaghetti ect-$1

Decent Thai rice- $1.40kg

Flour/sugar $1.50kg

Sunflower oil- $1.50ltr

Extra Virgin olive oil $10ltr

Powdered milk $3 for 300g packet

NZ tinned butter (really good) $4.50 a pound

Cheddar cheese(processed block but actually ok) $1.50 250g

Dry cheese crackers $1-1.50 a packet

Basic tins of corn, sardines, tomatoes ect are also very cheap here but then as soon as it's fancy or not subsidised it's ridiculously expensive. 

They have decent selection of Basic Asian foods also like soy sauce, sweet chilli, sesame oil, oyster sauce that are very reasonable around $3 each a bottle, but not Thai or Indian pastes and curries here. 

Coconut milk $2 can

Dried herbs ect are VERY expensive here??

Coffee $5-6 250g

Peanuts, chips ect are all mostly very expensive

Cleaning products, shampoos, cling wrap/tin foil ect all very expensive

Large wheels of French Brie cheese-$20-22kg

Swiss cheese-$12kg

No fresh cheddar??

Parmesan cheese available but expensive

Fresh bread-baguette 60c

Dozen eggs $6

Frozen meats- Its amazing the selection of frozen vacuumed packed meats in the tiniest of shops here from NZ, Australia, Argentina and Uruguay and all very good. 

There are loads of goats in the hills here the locals eat so lamb isn't subsidised but great NZ lamb legs, chops ect are all here but expensive at around $20kg

Beef is subsidised, so don't stock up in Panama or Ecuador like we did!

NZ/Australian rump 1.5-2kg packs-$9kg

Sirloin steak-$13kg

Argentine/Uruguay Black Angus Rib Eye (absolutely delicious!) $15kg

500g mince $8

12x decent hamburgers-$10

Chicken-

Whole Argentina chicken -$5

Chicken breasts are hard to find and super expensive 

2kg Box of chicken legs- $10

Pork they have in the hills so is reasonably expensive and not so much available. 

Bacon small packet $6

Fish- when you can buy from the fisherman it's super cheap at $5kg for tuna or whatever else they have caught but you have to get up real early and expect to wait!

Drinks- Like I said bring beer as it's ridiculously expensive. Took us a while but the best thing to do is as soon as you arrive is to buy a crate of bottles. They are 500ml and you pay $18 for the refundable deposit of 20x bottles and the plastic crate and then about $55 for the 20x bottles of beer or $2.80 each. Cans of beer (330ml) are about the same price as big bottle or $66-70 a case. 

Wine- cheapest but half ok yachtie grade wine is around $9-10 a litre. Half decent bottle of wine is from $20

Local Rum- $28ltr, cheap vodka ect $50+, known brand whiskey $100??

We heard stories of in the past the officials had searched boats and if they had too much spirits/wines ect they had to pay a tax, this isn't the case anymore and we even asked the official in Nuka Hiva when we checked in and he said no worries as long as it's for personal consumption. 

Mixers- coke/tonics $1.50 can, juice is also expensive $3.50 litre 

Fresh Veges are available in the main ports and it's a shock at there prices but you soon get used to it. Lettuce $2-3, tomatoes $4, potatoes/onions $3.50 so it's not so bad just the selection is not always there (weird to think you can get excited by carrots??,)

Fresh fruits are everywhere and easy to get even just going for a walk-mangoes, pamplemousses, papaya, avocado,limes ect

Hardware stores in main towns have not a bad selection but boaty things are scarce and super expensive like epoxy, antifoul ect. Sikaflex $50 a tube, tape/brushes expensive so if you have projects bring whatever you can. 

Water- drinking water is available from taps at certain places on certain islands and comes straight from the mountain, you have to dinghy. At certain times there is a lot of rain but then there are big dry spells also, I can't work out the rainy seasons??

A watermaker isn't a must here but it is more so in the Tuamotos. 

Fuel is available easy in Nuka-Hiva and Hiva-Oa

Diesel is $1.40 litre. Kevin at yacht services Nuka Hiva can get you a duty free cert or if your in Tahiti the cert is free. It's valid for 6 months and the price for diesels is then 80c a litre. 

Gas- best to buy a local bottle, $30 refundable deposit and then $30 for  big 14kg bottle of gas. We bought easy at the hardware stores or supermarkets a regulator for $12 and put this bottle in our hatch. We also bought a connector for local bottle for $10 and can fill our normal bottles by doing the gravity method. Otherwise Kevin at yacht services will fill your bottle for $50

Bars and Restaurants- good news is you won't spend much money in these places as there aren't any! Well there is a few "snack" restaurants for lunch and maybe a pizza place but that's about it. Lunch at a snack is usually about $10-12 but is such a massive serving most of the yachties share a plate between 2. The locals can eat!

I saw one place that was almost a bar in Hiva Oa but the last time we went it was closed for some time. 

Internet- This is terrible, by far the worst we've ever seen, imagine 5 minutes just to open your bank App on your phone? Faster internet is coming though as they have laid the cable and they just need to connect but things take a lot of time here I can tell you. Some snack restaurants offer wifi otherwise you buy a VINI SIM card for your phone and these work reasonably well. You can sometimes make whatsapp calls without big delays and download a weather grib file but don't expect to do any searching or especially book a flight if needed, this is really hard. A 200mb top up card costs $10 but because you can't download anything 200mb actually lasts quite a long time! You buy the SIM cards at the post office. 

So as expensive as you think it may be it isn't really all that bad if you eat the basics and don't drink too much beer but you have to remember it's some of the most remote islands and the supply boat only comes 1-2 times a month "usually".

And remember if you see something in the shop that you want buy it there and then because often it won't be there the next day, especially cheese!