Things have been very eventful since our return to New Zealand on the 27th of February! We almost immediately moved the boat to Auckland, got our boat work started, and then flew to the South Island and spent 10 wonderful days in Fjordland and Queenstown. After our return to Auckland from the Southland, we … Read More →
Tag Archives: Tonga
Tonga to New Zealand, Day 6
Friday 10/18, Day 6 Wow o wow…..this incredible South Pacific journey is almost over…..very mixed emotions….on the one hand we are pretty tired, not just from this passage but for the entire past 11 months…..so many new places, cultures, sights, ocean miles, navigation, repairs, new friends et al that comes with cruising new places….not seeing … Read More →
Tonga to New Zealand, Day 5
Thursday 10/17, Day 5 Whoa….what a ride today. We swore we would never get in a headsea situation like we did from Providencia to Grand Cayman but yet, here we are. Why when a forecast is wrong it is always for the worse???? We knew we had to pass a trough/front when we left last … Read More →
Tonga to New Zealand, Day 4
Wednesday 10/16, Day 4: The trough hit us around 3:30am. Before that, the winds built from 10-15 to 15-20G22 NNW and increased to 20-25G30 SW for about 30 minutes with some squalls/rain, then reduced to 14-18G24 kts SW. I think the North winds may have knocked down some of the SW swell as the seas … Read More →
Tonga to New Zealand, Day 3
Tuesday 10/14, Day 3: Well……from boredom to sheer fright all in a days passage….arghhhhhhh!! The boredom part……just ideal trawler weather….very much welcomed after the 12 hour sporty ride last night. The winds were ENE 8-12 kt behind us and a 3-6′ SSW swell that was no bother…..sunny, but a bit cool……so we just watched and … Read More →
Tonga to New Zealand, Day 2
Monday 10/14: Today was 3 different conditions. First, in the morning, it was rather calm conditions, 8-12 kt SE winds, 1 meter seas. In the afternoon and last evening, the winds built to 18-22 kts SE with considerable 2-4′ wind chop as well as a 2 meter SSW swell. After dinner the ride was rather … Read More →
Vava’u to Ha’apai Tonga
Thursday, 9/26/2013 Wow….has it really been 4.5 weeks since we arrived in Vava’u Tonga…..where did the time go. Kathy did try and update the blog with pictures from Suwarrow and Niue but the internet is just too slow and about all we could do is get emails 🙁 (( We are on a day passage … Read More →
Niue to Tonga, Day 2
3:00 am 8/22: Sleepy is the word for the day…..not sure if it is the bee sting or just getting tired of all these long passages but having a hard time staying awake…..arghhhhh!!! I took 3 naps yesterday and still feel very tired!! We are not alone on getting tired of these long passages….that is … Read More →
Niue to Tonga, Day 1
2:00am Wednesday 8/21: We left Niue at 12:45 am…..ugh!!!! As a parting gift from Niue as Kathy and I were retrieving the flopper stopper, I inadvertently stepped on a bee….oweeeee……and, I’m allergic…..so, a couple of Benadryl and some hydocortisone cream and I’m good to go….of course, the foot is now a size 20…yuck!!!! We are … Read More →