Au revoir Tahiti!

Rambutan - kind of like a lychee


Soursop - I like Chris's (Candine) description best 'tastes like lolly pops!'

It's been so nice to be back in French Polynesia, it really is beautiful here. The only thing we'll
miss are the high prices!


Beautiful sunset over Moorea


Sunset over Moorea


Malachi sailing wing on wing

We've had success with repairs and everything is working and will hopefully be doing so all the way home. We've had fun playing in the water and swimming with the rays. We've had our fill of fresh French baguettes, pineapples and fresh salad and we've eaten at the Roulotte. We even celebrated both Dionne and Emma's birthdays! What more could we want?


Biking in Tubuai


Emma's 9th birthday in Tahiti.


Happy Birthday Dionne! (not her 9th - in Moorea). I made those delicious cinnamon buns for her! mmmmmm! (Thanks Cynthia for the awesome recipe, we're famous for those now)


Every evening the the Tahitians practice in their outriggers, it's major competition here.


Austin (Candine) and emma playing on the beach in Tubuai.

But, alas, the time has come for us to cast off once again and set sail for Hawaii. We will miss the smells of the islands and the 'wahh, wahh' of the sirens as they pass by. We're planning to stop in the Tuamotus for a night or two before the passage to Hawaii, which will be much better than the passage between NZ and Tubuai. It'll be a much shorter passage too, maybe around 16 days if we're lucky.



Here's a pic of Whangarei, out of place, but a cool pic from Graeme. You can see Malachi to the right of the red roofs on the far shore and you can see the yellow sign of pak-n-save, our grocery store, in the background. The store was nice and close, really great, we just borrowed the trolley to transport our groceries back to the boat!

Tubuai to Tahiti

We decided, after much deliberation, to depart Tubuai ahead of a storm that was expected to arrive on Friday. So a little after one in the afternoon, Malachi and Orca III weighed anchor and set sail once again, this time, bound for Tahiti.


One of the nice things about being at sea is that there are no pesky flies to interrupt your sleep.


This trip was VERY different from the passage between NZ and Tubuai, in fact, we enjoyed a beautiful reach for the first 12 hours and we were making 8 knots over calm seas, lovely! It was sunny most of the time and Jocelyn even decided to take a dip one afternoon.




Malachi caught, seemingly, the only fish between Tubuai and Tahiti, a nice Mahi Mahi. We had hoped to catch another bigger one so we could have a feast in Tahiti, but it didn't happen.




The girls have been working hard on their school work during the passages, as conditions permit and have been making fair progress.



Here's a picture of us girls in our standard passage attire - pj's! This pic was taken as we left NZ.



One thing I forgot to write about as we were underway between NZ and Tubuai, was Jocelyn's BD. On the 26th of April, we celebrated Jocelyn's 17th birthday with fresh cinnamon buns for breakfast and Tex Mex for dinner, we had hoped to have made landfall by this time, but we made the best of it. Orca III sang Jocelyn a song over the VHF - very nice.




Jenny, presenting Jocelyn with her BD gifts


Cheery Jocelyn loved here gifts especially the Twilight shirt from Jenny.

The passage to Tahiti took just shy of three days and we were all tied up at the Quay in Papeete by seven am Sunday morning, just in time to pick up some freshies at the market!

We feasted Sunday night on steak and fries at the Roulotte as we celebrated our arrival and mothers day. It's good to be in Tahiti, but it's oh so hot and humid!

Tubuai

The kids are happy to be on land!



Kyle, Jenny, Jocelyn, Maya, Graeme and Emma on our first walk in three weeks!

Jay and Steve on our journey into the Gendamarie

Our beautiful girls on a beautiful beach

A pretty church in town, where we listened to the beautiful singing

In Frech Polynesia, as in France, people purchase their baguettes fresh every morning. It would appear that some the islanders on Tubua have their bread delivered with their mail!

Tubuai has been a wonderful place to stop and rest. The island is very beautiful and the islanders are very friendly. While here, we enjoyed a variety of activities from walking and swimming to biking and playing on our own private motu. We even followed the sound of drums one night to watch the musicians and dancers practice for the big dance festival which happens in July in Tahiti.

Jay hanging out with the local men watching the practice of the drummers and dancers.

Alain from the Tubuai Centre loaned us each a bike so we could explore the island. There is pretty well one main road that runs along the shore. I though it was funny that there was a crosswalk!

Ready to roll! Maya, Marg, Dionne, Kyle, Chris and Emma

Traffic control on Tubuai.

Roadside fruit and vegetable stand. The ladies who ran this little shop loaned us some wrenches to repair one of the bicycles.

One afternoon after chores, school and repairs were done, we hopped in our dinghys to play on the little sandy motu between the anchorage and the reef. We had this entire little motu to ourselves and we enjoyed swimming, collecting shells and even a game of bocce!

Sandy motu

Jocelyn & Graeme reconstructed this lobster

Jenny, Maya and Kristie collecting shells

The time has come for us to depart and continue on our voyage to Tahiti, with just under 400 miles to go, we'll be there on Sunday. We look forward to a good passage and some fun times in wntown Papeete, maybe even internet!

It just wouldn't be complete without a picture of a flower!

We made it!

Land Ho!

After 23 days at sea, most of which was rougher than we like, we arrived in Tubuai. By 8:40 last night, we had the anchor set and were enjoying a relaxing drink before bed. We were particularly tired after hand steering for the last four days. What a relief to not have to steer or stand watch. Orca III, with whom we'd been traveling, and Candine, who left Auckland the same time we left Whangarei, arrived about 30 minutes after us. Now here we sit, three Canadian boats at a remote Polynesian island, it's surreal! It was very exciting to see this little island appear in the distance after not seeing land for so many days, it was an amazing sight.

The three Canadians invade Tubuai, only one other boat has been here this year.

This morning, we tended to some chores such as laundry, general tidying up, inflating the dinghy and moving the life raft, then we headed to shore to explore this beautiful island. The people here are so very friendly, everyone who passed us on the road waved. We must have looked very conspicuous, ten of us white Canadians walking the main road in town. We even garnered a hearty chuckle from a fellow riding his scooter, when all of us stuck our thumbs to hitch a ride. Marie at one of the little stores opened up just for us, so we all indulged in a frosty ice cream bar. Then it was off to the Gendarme, unfortunately they were closed today, but there were workers in the garden who asked us to return tomorrow morning. You should have seen the looks on their faces when we told them that there were three boats and fourteen people checking in! It's even more apparent now that this little island gets few visitors. It's hot and humid here which will take us a few days to adjust to, but at least this is the coolest of the Polynesian islands, so we can acclimatize a little easier.

Thanks to all of our family and friends who have been supporting us through prayer during this passage, we couldn't have done it without you.

Oh what a difference a day makes!

This passage as most certainly been the toughest one with three gales and winds as strong as 45 knots and seas as big as 7 meters. For the most part, Malachi has done very well as has the crew, the only problems we've experienced have been, once again, the generator and the auto pilot. We've spent the past 30 hours hand steering with two of us on watch at a time for a four hour shift, switching off as each hand steers for one hour. We have never had so much sea water on deck before, with all of those huge waves sometimes breaking on the bow and other times breaking on our side. Many of those waves splashed right into and over our canvas enclosure soaking everything in its path including the inside of the enclosure. We were even wearing our rain gear when we were steering and had to keep the companionway closed to keep the sea water from going down below. This past storm lasted 72 hours and was punctuated by a spectacular lightening show last night that lasted almost 12 hours!

Some big 7 meter seas.

Malachi just slices through those huge waves.

BUT, today, we awoke to sunshine, light winds and calming seas YAY! and if that weren't enough to lift the gloomy moods of the crew, it was calm enough to shower! It's amazing how much you come to appreciate the small and simple things in life so much more when you're on an ocean passage.

Orca III, the pot of gold!

We've got about 280 miles left on this trip to Tubuai in the Australs and we can't wait to be there. We're dreaming of steak and french fries, ice cream, swimming and snorkeling, not to mention a still anchorage.

This little chickadee hitched a ride with us for a few days.

Calm Waters

Thank you so much to Glady Martin for this beautiful and encouraging poem. And to all of our family and friends who are praying for us during our passage, we appreciate you all so much!

Calm Waters

On this Easter morn you sail

on waters calm and blue

God stretched His mighty hand toward

your homeward trip that's due..

On days the wind is wild at sea

He'll hold you safe to Him

And when the stillness teases sail

He'll blow gently with a hymn.

Fear not of waves or dangers near

for He has guards for you.

His warrior angels stand swords drawn

as you sail the mighty blue..

Soon you will be again at home,

your hearts have changed so clear,

Our God has shown you many things

while on your sojourn years.

So, on this day that He arose

and opened up a way,

that we can live in paradise

and begin a brand new day.

Face the east and smile your love

and know that He's with you.

Close your eyes and listen close...

He is saying..."I love you."

dedicated to

"The Crandell Family"

copyright

Glady Martin

April 12, 2009

The 9th day out...

Malachi sailing in the 'Roaring 40's'

We're so glad we had such a nice start to this passage, it allowed the crew to get used to the motion again after sitting still for several months. Unfortunately, those first few days were not repeated on the next four. We have encountered winds as strong as 42 knots and seas as large as five meters, but the good ship Malachi and her crew are still going strong!

We have found ourselves sailing SSE and even due south at times to avoid a nasty low pressure system that was passing by to the north of us. The night before last, we even hove to for 18 hours to 'supposedly' get some rest, but that proved to be almost as uncomfortable as pounding into the waves. Around midnight last night, the winds and seas started to ease up giving us a nice reprieve and the outlook for the next several days looks very favorable.

Here's a pic of Orca III in the swell, you may have to enlarge the picture to see them, this will give you a good idea of how big the seas are.

One of the nicest things about this passage has been being in VHF range with Orca III, it's amazing what that little lifeline of contact will do for your spirits. While we were hove to, we drifted farther apart and could only make contact at the pre-arranged times via the SSB radio - still good but not quite the same as being able to pick up the VHF and chatting whenever you feel like it. We are now back in VHF range with Orca III just over a mile away. We are still sailing in relatively close proximity to both Orca III and Candine and we talk at least once a day on the SSB to exchange position reports and discuss weather and routing. It's very nice to have the support of cruising buddies when something goes wrong. Candine is experiencing an overheating problem and was able to discuss a solution with Orca III over the radio.

We're really looking forward to making some great progress over the next several days while the winds are favorable to travel east, that way when the winds shift, we'll be far enough over to alter course to the north and still make it to the Australs.

*NOTE* You can see our track and current position by clicking on 'current position' near the bottom of the right hand column. We update our position daily.

The first few days out...

Our departure from NZ was easy as...

Will will miss all of our cruising buddies who are continuing their sailing adventures. Thanks everyone for making this the trip of a lifetime for us!

After leaving the town basin marina and an emotional farewell to our fellow cruising buddies we motored to Marsden Cove at the mouth of the river. It was very nice to spend the night in a very quiet atmosphere prior to our departure. NZ customs arrived at 8:30 am on Saturday and as soon as Malachi and Orca III were cleared, we set sail for the east. We are traveling in very close proximity to Orca III and Candine (from Victoria) is not too far away.

Beautiful Whangarei heads at the mouth of the river.

Our first day was pleasant, partly cloudy, with very light winds so we motored for about 7 hours before there were sufficient winds to sail through the night. Day two, we spent motoring on calm seas but sailed through the night. we've had a mix of wavy and calm seas, sailing and motoring, but so far, this trip has favored sailing. The high pressure systems are still quite far south, so, while our destination is north east, we are sailing south east into the highs with the more favorable south west winds. Everyone is feeling well, aside from a cold that seems to be making its rounds.

We've had some excellent wildlife encounters, starting with penguins just as we left the river....yes, that's right, penguins! We've had dolphins join us on a couple of occasions too - bringing all of their friends over to play in our bow wave. One of the more excellent surprises was the escort Malachi was given by a flock of Albatross! These birds are huge! We had a little sparrow land on us a couple of times to rest, but 'Hitch' didn't stay long.

Our last view of New Zealand, a memorable sunset.

We've been fishing, but with no success. Poor Albert (Ross) didn't realize the squid that was following us was a fishing lure and when he tried to get it for lunch, it tangled in his beak. This upsetting episode, both for Albert and the crew of Malachi, was resolved after reeling the bird in and Jay hanging over the edge with a pair of pliers to free the hook from his mouth. I'm sure his beak and wings were very sore, but he'll be just fine. We haven't tried fishing since.

Poor Albert! but he was so cooperative as Jay removed the hook from his beak. The wingspan is between six and eight feet! a huge bird!

On Monday morning, Orca III and Malachi's courses converged just around sunrise. Orca III caught four albacore tuna and since we were so close to one another, they maneuvered along side us to give us some fish. This is a very unusual thing to do but the seas were calm and they had done it once before. They tied a line with a weight at one end and tied two tuna fish to the other end. As they came beside us, they tossed the weighted end of the line then once I had caught it, they placed the other end, with the fish on, into the water and I pulled the fish aboard Malachi. Then with the omission of the fish on the line, we reversed the process to return their line so that we're good to go for the next time!

At 5:40pm yesterday, we crossed the dateline and are now back in the western hemisphere so we celebrated with a cheer and a call on the radio to Orca III to brag. Steve said it's the first time ever that he's been ahead of someone and behind someone at the same time!

Go!

And we're off!

Malachi has spent the past three months in Whangarei where we've enjoyed being with lots of friends and where we've done lots of fun things. But, alas, the time has come to bid farewell, to the land of the long white cloud. We will miss all of our cruising buddies who will be continuing on to Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and beyond. We hope you'll look us up next time you're in Vancouver, we would love to see you all again.

We've had the great pleasure of having Meridian rafted to us for the past couple of days. Meridian is Malachi's twin and we've been trying to catch up since Mazatlan! Here we are side by side in the town basin marina. We've totally enjoyed meeting up with John and Nancy and family and are sorry not to have had more time together sooner. Don't the boats look awesome together!



Eitan from Mintaka flew home with his mom on Tuesday. His dad is sailing the boat back to the US with crew. The girls really enjoyed meeting Eitan and will miss him and all of the other great kids here in Whangarei.


Eitan, Kyle Maya, Jenny, Jocelyn, Jaryd

We will be sailing north east to French Polynesia where we'll visit Tubai, in the Australs and Tahiti in the Societies. We should be there in time to celebrate Jocelyn's 17th birthday on the 26th.

So as we throw off the bowlines and sail away from the safe harbour, we'll leave you with a few slang kiwi words and phrases - g'day mates!

Cheers - a friendly way to say good-bye or can also mean thank-you
Boot – car trunk
Chilly Bin – a cooler, also called an esky as in “Eskimo” brand coolers
Chips – french fries
Cinema - movie theatre
Crisps – potato chips
Dairy - any convenience store, like 7-11
Dear - expensive
Dearer - more expensive
Diddle yourself - cheat yourself
Dun and dusted - all done, complete
Flash - very fancy and posh
Fringe – those are bangs, like hair over your forehead
Good as gold - means 'perfect!'
Handle - a mug. Otherwise it’s a glass which is smaller with no handle.
Hire - In NZ one doesn’t “rent” a car or canoe. You “hire” them.
How ya’ going?- is used instead of “How are you doing?”
Jandals - flip-flops
Judder Bars – speed bumps
Mixer - a faucet with both hot and cold water, highly uncommon here. Almost always a sink has the dreaded individual spout at each end of the sink. When washing your hands you freeze your left hand while scalding your right. The spouts barely hang over the lip of the sink making it almost impossible to wash dishes.
Nappies - diapers
Owl-Lou-Mini-Um - this how they pronounce aluminum
Scroggin - Trail mix
Serviette - table napkins. A “napkin” in NZ is a feminine product.
Sweet As… - means emphatically I agree or very cool, also used as a fragment not a sentence
Tea – Dinner
Tramping – hiking
Whitewear – these are appliances like washer, dryer, refrigerator, dishwasher, etc.