This tracking site (YIT) is shutting down in December, so we're migrating to a new tracking service through Predict Wind. We installed a satellite tracking device and it sends a position every 30 minutes! You can see our current position at https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/Eagles_Wings

Moved back to the town mooring after a week of diving. Saw lots of new and interesting fish. The stay at Enemanet was a very nice change from the busy town mooring field.

Moved to mooring at Enemanet Islet. New transmission worked great and we're finally going to do some diving for a few days.

We arrived safely in Majuro early this afternoon. The transmission behaved itself and worked fine all the way into the mooring field. We motored quite a bit over the last few days, which was a very good thing given the light winds. We had some nice wind for our arrival and were able to sail for the last several hours. It is great to be in port and the folks here are really friendly and helpful. Should be a very nice stay.

Motored all of yesterday in light headwinds. We passed a series of floats to our port side yesterday. May have been a fishing net. Started sailing again early this morning when the clew of the genoa blew out. Ken was able to get the sail rolled up and then secured it by winding several halyards around the sail. Motorsailing now and getting close to Majuro. We should arrive today. The transmission has been cooperating and we're hopeful we'll get into the atoll under our own steam.

We motored all yesterday in light winds. We've been able to increase the rpms of the engine gradually with no additional vibration. Hopefully we'll get some wind later today so we can start sailing again. We've been seeing little lights darting around at night in the water around the boat. Maybe we're seeing squid eyes?

We crossed the equator yesterday. This is the first time since 2006 that we have been in the Northern Hemisphere with the boat. Although the wind was light (10-12) during the day, it was from a good direction and we could sail. The wind slowly petered out by late afternoon. We crossed our fingers and started up the engine. The transmission engaged and we've been motoring slowly ever since. It doesn't look like there will be any wind in the near future. The sea is very placid, though there are some big rollers coming in from the north. It is actually good we are going slow as it is giving some big storms up north a chance to move off. The sky cleared enough last night to see planets and northern hemisphere stars. It was glorious to see the northern sky again.

After mostly a light air day, the wind picked up yesterday evening and we're back to sailing. While we were motoring earlier in the day, the transmission was behaving, although we still had to run at reduced rpms. We've seen a handful of ships and fishing boats on the AIS since we started, but yesterday (9 days out), we had our first visual on an actual ship (as opposed to just its lights). We had a few squalls yesterday and overnight but they just had some rain and wind up to 24 knots. Luckily we haven't seen any lightning in several days. We should cross the equator soon. The highest water temp we've seen is 87.8F and that was at 5 37 south. The temps have actually been decreasing as we're approaching the equator (between 84 and 85 degrees F). But it is more humid, so is very sticky. Ken says we should "embrace the sweat". Beth is considering shaving her head.

We picked up some nice wind during the day yesterday and it was from a favorable direction and we were able to sail all day. As squalls started to pop up, we reduced our sail plan to a very conservative rig (2 reefs in the main and staysail). It was killing us to have all of the nice wind around that we couldn't take advantage of. As it turned out, the squalls never delivered a big punch (even though they looked impressive on the radar). The wind gradually died during the day and bit by bit, our speed bled away until we were like a big cork, just bobbing around. After our alarming experience getting the engine in gear yesterday, we were reluctant to turn it back on. But, we held our breath and Ken gave it a whirl. The transmission engaged, but with a lot of vibration. We found that the vibration was manageable if we ran the engine at low rpms. We've been inching along ever since. We have to run up the rpms every hour to blow out the carbon, and that is a teeth rattling experience. But, at least we are able to motor in the light conditions. We've been in contact with the excellent mechanic we have worked with for many years in NZ and he is helping us sort through options. We've also been in contact with a person in Majuro who could provide us with a tow once we get to Majuro if we need it. He had some very helpful ideas for helping us get this fixed. So, we're much more optimistic about the prospects for getting the transmission sorted once we get to port.

The wind held from a good direction all day today. We had expected it to shift to the North and northeast and lighten, but we were able to sail all day. We sailed through several squalls, but there wasn't much in them. Overnight we had more significant squalls with wind up to 33 knots. The wind finally went north a few hours ago and we are now motorsailing in a more northerly direction. When we tried to put the engine in gear, we had the same horrible noise we had two days. Ken believes there is a problem engaging the transmission. He was able to make an adjustment to get it to engage, but we're not sure what the scope of the problem is. Will do more troubleshooting during the day today. It was very hot today during the day and we turned our dorades forward to get more air through the boat. But then we forgot to turn the dorades back later in the day and when the squalls hit overnight we got a bit of water down below. Some clothes and bags got wet, and the forward head had quite a bit of water on the floor. But nothing got damaged. Guess we won't make that mistake again any time soon.

We motored during the day yesterday in light winds but started sailing again early evening when the wind started picking up. Ken saw lightning in the distance on his watch, but we haven't heard any thunder. We reefed down for squalls and also because Beth has limited maneuverability. Her injury (likely a cracked rib) is constraining her from doing quick or involved sail changes on her own. Wind has been up and down all night with squalls, but we're sailing along nicely at the moment. We have about 1/2 knot of counter current. It has been very HOT during the daytime. Yesterday it was over 95 degrees down below, so we turned the dorades around to get more air. The water temp is over 85 degrees. We have two fans going in the pilothouse and it really helps to have so many hatches in the pilothouse. Beth has been sticking her head under a sink faucet to cool off, but that water was also very hot! There is always an ice bag on the head technique?.

We got through the sling shot maneuver without a hitch and are continuing to head NE. We want to mention that we've been working with Bruce Buckley, a weather router based in Australia. We've worked with him on many passages and he has been fantastic. In this case, our initial impulse was to try to get past this system on the east side. That would never have worked, and we would have aborted the effort. But, we would not have had the confidence to try this sling shot move without Bruce. It's one thing to try to maneuver around a tropical low once it's up and running, it's another thing entirely to figure out where it will form up and what it will do afterwards. Bruce was also able to keep us out of most of the squalls and thunderstorm activity surrounding this thing. He was a senior meteorologist at the Perth Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre and he's vastly better at it and has far more information about it than we have. All told, it has been an excellent passage so far. We had a very nice day of sailing yesterday, with good wind all day and overnight. We went through one squall during the day that dumped a lot of rain on us, but thankfully no lightning. The wind held out much longer than we expected overnight and we just started motoring around 1800 UTC after the wind dropped below 7 knots. We had a bit of excitement when we Ken test started the engine (for the first time in 5 ½ days!). After Ken put the engine in gear, it started to make a horrible screeching noise. Ken turned it all off and inspected everything but couldn't see any problem. This noise happened on another starting attempt. It was almost like the shaft couldn't turn. Ken fiddled with it some more, muttered some incantations, and then it worked! We're still not sure what the problem was, but at least it is working now.

We executed the sling shot maneuver about 12 hours ago. So far so good. We're expecting to encounter some thunderstorms, but have only gotten a few bouts of light rain. The developing cyclone to our SE is giving us a very nice boost. And it is great to finally be heading more to where we are ultimately trying to go. We are thinking we'll have to carry on further east than the Longitude of Majuro, so that we can head back to the NW when we hit easterly winds. Three boobies visited us about sunset and tried to land on our hardtop (which has solar panels). Ken maintained a watch to shoo them off (they make a real mess). He convinced them to head back to the Solomons (which are very close) after a lot of very vigorous whooping. So far we've only run the engine for 30 minutes (to get out of Port Vila), so we?re happy about conserving our fuel reserve. We had expected we'd need to motor a lot.

We've been working to position ourselves to sling shot off the backside of the tropical storm developing just NE of the Solomons. We're aiming to stay close enough to it to have good wind but not TOO close. Will be interesting to see how this works. We can always run further west if we have to. We've been paralleling some impressive looking squall lines, but we haven't gotten into one yet. We've been alternating between double reefed and triple reefed main, with no headsail, but there is plenty of wind to move us along. Very pleasant at the moment. Hope it lasts.

Very nice sailing conditions all day yesterday. We reefed down about sunset, as squalls started to pop up. So we've been meandering slowly since then. The wind gets sucked up by the squalls but then the next minute it can be 22 knots. Most we've seen so far is 26 knots. The wind has also shifted around a good deal, but the monitor wind vane is handling that well. Our course is looking a little bit wobbly. The clutch for one of our jib sheets lost the spring which holds the clutch mechanism in place (allowing the line to move freely). Fortunately Ken found a spare and was able to install the new spring. Both of us have also developed minor injuries. Ken banged his elbow very hard and it swelled up. Ice and an anti-inflammatory is helping that. Beth lost her balance and fell on her side/back into the vanity in the aft head, breaking the toilet paper roll holder and bruising her back. Ice and Panadol is helping that. Between the two of us, we have one intact person. We'll have to be more careful...

Very nice sailing conditions since we started the trip. Jibing downwind as we make our way NW. Have seen no boats other than those at the dock in Port Vila since we left. We know Cetacea is out here, but we haven't been able to connect with each other via VHF or AIS.

We left Port Vila yesterday afternoon and are enjoying very nice sailing conditions. We are bound for the Marshall Islands, but are sailing to the west first to get on the west side of some nasty looking cyclonic activity brewing to our north. We're not sure if it will amount to anything, but decided to be safe. This promises to be a long passage and likely to be very squally.

We motorsailed from Erromango to Port Vila today. The weather was beautiful and we had a good trip. We caught a mahi mahi along the way. It is great to be back in Port Vila.

Sailed from Port Resolution to Ponamias Bay on the NW corner of Erromango today. We had great wind all day for the trip which was a good thing as we had a long way to go. The anchorage at Ponamias Bay is very small but surprisingly well protected from trade winds. We had trouble setting the anchor, though. Took 4 tries. We thought the holding would be good as there is a river at the head of the bay so there should have been good mud. But, if it is soupy mud the Rocna doesn't grab so well. We're planning to make a push to Efate tomorrow.

After some very nice diving at Anawamet Bay, we decided to start heading to Port Vila. We sailed to Port Resolution on Tanna today and had super wind for sailing. And to top it off, we caught a small yellow fin tuna. Will leave tomorrow morning for Erromango.

Moved to the north side of the island yesterday and are anchored in Anamnet Bay. Very beautiful and peaceful. Hope to dive on the nearby reefs today. Noke, the chief's son, paddled out to us in his dugout outrigger. He returned later in the afternoon with loads of fruit, a pumpkin, bok choy, and an unusual vegetable called a snake bean. The bean is almost a meter long! Just as an update on our vibration issue: Ken found no damage when he dove on the prop after we arrived in Aneityum over a week ago. The prop speed had been scraped off in some places on the skeg and prop but otherwise no sign of any problem. All of the zincs were intact, much to our surprise.

After a slow start this morning, the winds really picked up and we had great sailing all day, arriving in the afternoon at the Anietyum Anchorage. We're looking forward to exploring the place.

Reached the trades yesterday morning and Eagle?s Wings spread her wings. We were moving along very nicely in light air under full hoist, but had to reef down overnight with brief squalls and winds up to 26 knots. We also found an adverse current for many hours during the night. Great to be sailing again. We got permission to stop at Aneityum and with luck (e.g., no more adverse currents), we?ll be in before nightfall. If not, we?ll heave to and go to the anchorage tomorrow morning.

Motored slowly all day yesterday, as the wind dropped to zilch (and we are trying to keep the vibration to a minimum)down). The grib files show little circles (instead of wind barbs) in the area we are traveling through (which means no wind!). Fortunately we have a favorable current giving us a boost. We expect the wind to pick up today so we should be sailing again soon. We did have temporary bursts of wind yesterday in small squalls. We saw a spectacular full rainbow yesterday afternoon that lasted 15 minutes and dazzled us with the most vibrant violets. The angle of the sun was just right and the rainbow continued onto the surface of the water at each end.

Wind up and down yesterday but were able to sail for a while. Motoring now. Boat had a strong vibration early this morning. It wasn?t an earthquake but Ken thinks that maybe one of our prop zincs came loose. Vibration decreases a lot if we turn down the rpms, so we?re motoring more slowly.

Wind picked up a little yesterday and were able to sail in the afternoon. Motored for a while overnight but wind came up in squalls and have been sailing since early morning. Squalls giving us wind, but no rain yet. We can see rain on the horizon but we?ve only gotten the wind part (up to 22 knots) of the squalls.

Very nice day of sailing yesterday but wind died off early this morning and we are now motoring. Wonderful to just sit and read or listen to books and music.

Left Marsden Friday afternoon, bound for Vanuatu. Had a pleasant sail up the east side of the north island. Lots of squalls around when we left, but miraculoudsly they didn't hit us. Beautiful stars out ovenight.

Cleared in this morning at Marsden and came up the river this afternoon to Riverside Marina. So great to see so many familiar faces.

Arrived at the Q dock at Marsden at sunset this evening. Wonderful to be back in NZ!

Another great sailing day for a good chunk of yesterday. We slowed down in the evening as the wind shifted to the NW. Caught a nice tuna last evening. Went through thunderstorms this morning and hove to for about an hour. Close lightning strike knocked the lights out on our instruments but they came back after a bit. See some blue sky poking through to the west but also see some squall cells on the radar. Motorsailing now.

Had great sailing conditions over the past day. Some squalls with wind up to 28 knots, but no significant rain.

Had some beautiful sailing yesterday in light winds. We put a fishing line out but no luck. Wind picked up a bit after midnight and there are a few small squalls around (but no lightning).

Got underway again early yesterday evening. Motorsailed overnight as the wind went light and was shifty in sporadic squalls. Wind shifted around to the WSW this morning and we're sailing again. Beautiful conditions for the moment.

Had very nice sailing yesterday and into this morning. Then a big thunderstorm rolled through an hour ago and we have been hove to since then. Did not get a lightning strike, but it was flashing all around. Put the nav computer in the oven and some other instruments in a faraday box in the pilothouse. Had wind up to 26 knots as squalls approached.

Left New Cal for New Zealand late yesterday morning and are leisurely making our way ESE. We are trying to position ourselves further north than our rhumb line in order to weather a front expected tomorrow. We hope to make the turn south to New Zealand tomorrow evening. Conditions at the start were very light and we motored for the first 12 hours. But we're sailing now, though ia bit throttled as we don't want to get too far east before we make the turn. Gorgeous conditions at the moment, but we expect that to change tommorrow afternoon.

Checked out for passage to New Zealand yesterday. Moved to Port Koube on the east side of Ouen Island today to wait until several fronts move through before leaving for NZ on Wednesday. Got hit by a nasty squall on our final approach to the anchorage. Looks like this will be a great place to be in the expected westerlies.

Arrived back in Noumea late this morning. Saw tons of bait balls as we came through the lagoon. Now anchored in Orphelinat Bay near Port du Sud. Hoping to find a window to NZ in the next few weeks.

Starting the move back to Noumea to look for a weather window to NZ. Took advantage of the early afternoon rising tide to move to Baie Uie.

After five wonderful days of diving and snorkeling on the reefs near Kouare Island, we sailed to Bay of Prony, as we are expecting stronger winds over the next few days.

Very pleasant motor sail down to Kouare Island in the Southern Lagoon. Beautiful spot in these settled conditions. We checked out a few potential dive sites this afternoon and hope to dive tomorrow.

Arrived at Mato Island early this afternoon. This place is really well protected and calm. We plan to stay overnight before moving to some islands further south.

Moved from Port du Sud to Baie des Citrons this morning when the wind was light for getting off the dock. We plan to head to the southern lagoon tomorrow, when wind should be less.

Moved to Port du Sud dock for a few days.

Had a nice motor sail to Noumea early this afternoon. Anchored in tight quarters with lots of other boats. Looking forward to provisioning and sampling some French food.

Arrived at Anse Magic in the Bay of Prony late this morning. Beautiful spot and very protected.

Left Beautemps-Beaupre yesterday afternoon and are on our way to the New Cal mainland. We had light winds on the nose and are motoring. Caught a nice mahi mahi just before sundown last night. Conditions very benign so far but decided to wait out the higher winds we're expecting in a bay on the mainland. Winds started to pick up a bit overnight but are still on the nose.

Motored 25 miles to Beautemps-Beaupre atoll earlier today. Very beautiful place. Hundreds of terns swarming around. The birds are still active even at 8 pm at night. Looking forward to exploring in the water tomorrow. Water is quite a bit warmer here than at Ouvea or Lifo. Anchorage very small and shallow (5 meters). But should be fine in these calm conditions.

We moved down the coast to the Mouli anchorage a few days ago and have been doing some interesting diving on the nearby reefs. We're headed out to Beautemps-Beaupre for a few days before heading back here as the winds start to build.

Sailed to Oeuva today and arrived late in the afternoon. We hope to do some diving while we are here. Sky was very overcast for the trip, but didn't get any rain.

Arrived at the Lifou anchorage earlier this morning. Huge anchoring area, which is a good thing as there are about 25 boats in the Loyalties Rally. Looks like a beautiful place.

Arrived off Lifou overnight and are hove to. Very peaceful here in the lee of the island. Beautiful full moon.

On our way to Lifou Island in New Caledonia. We joined the Down Under Rally to the Loyalties so we can check in at Lifou. We're looking forward to exploring the Loyalties.

Arrived back in Port Vila this morning.

Sailed from Epi to Havannah Harbor today in boisterous conditions. Saw up to 26 knots of wind and a few brief showers. Now anchored in very calm Havannah Harbor. Heading to Port Vila tomorrow

Motored into headwinds to Revolieu Bay on Epi today. Revolieu Bay is a bit rolly. We'll see how it goes tonight.

After a wonderful week of diving on Dixon Reef and meeting the welcoming locals of Tavendrua, we moved down the coast to Southwest Bay. We're day-hopping back to Port Vila. The SW Bay anchorage is extremely protected from the SE trades.

Sailed overnight from Mele Bay on Efate to Malakula. Very nice sail. Winds became very shifty as we sailed up the west side of the Malakula. A few showers. Anchored in very serene spot near Dixon Reef.

Moved to Mele anchorage today to get our Nitrox certification at the local dive shop. Not rolly at all (amazingly), but very smokey from burning of the fields nearby.

We Were jostled by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake this morning (at about 8:13 am local time) while we were on our boat on a mooring here in Port Vila Harbor. We thought we were being hit by something large (guess we were thinking about that fishing boat in Suva Harbor) or that we were dragging onto a reef

Arrived in Port Vila this morning (local time). Great to be back in Vanuatu.

Getting close to Port Vila. Should arrive today. Saw a very strange cloud streak in the sky to the east just after sunrise yesterday. The streak started just above the eastern horizon and continued a good ways up in a straight line, angled a little to the south from straight up. Then the streak just ended. Never saw the streak actually being made -- just saw it sitting there, and then drifting off to the SE. In case you think we're bonkers, we have a picture to prove it! Began to use the autopilot again yesterday to test out the effect of the new wiring. Autopilot brain now getting adequate input voltage, but motor still running hot and the voltage levels provided by the brain to the motor and solenoid look strange. Will have investigate more when we are in port. At least we have not received any more Rudder Response failures.

Sailing nicely in light wind using Monitor windvane. If all goes well we should make it to Port Vila tomorrow. Spotted glow from the volcano at Tanna off in the distance (saw it through night vision scope). Small rain squalls in the area yesterday, but none came over our heads. Not a drop of rain so far on this passage. Ken finished the wiring project for the autopilot last evening and we will test it out today.

Finally sailing again! Motorsailed for most of the day but shut the engine off last night as the wind started to pick up. Super sailing conditions with very slight seas. Last evening, we sailed by Hunter Island, a giant volcanic rock south of Vanuatu. The night sky was incredible last night. Sliver of a moon with Venus early in the evening and then later on two shooting stars shot across the sky in rapid succession. Using windvane steering now so autopilot is getting a very needed rest. And a milestone was reached last night when Ken actually did some work (swaging wires for the autopilot project) during his night watch. This noteworthy event was made possible by the new watch schedule we started using last year (8 hrs on, 8 hrs off). We both feel so much more alert and rested than with our old schedule (4 hrs on, 4 hrs off). Hope to install new wiring for autopilot today.

Another beautiful day of motoring. The southern cross is disappearing below the horizon (just the last two stars of the tail are still poking up). We put out a scrap of sail last evening to catch a few whiffs of breeze. Wind is supposed to increase a bit today which will be a nice change. We?ve had no further failures on the autopilot after the install of the new motor. But we did discover a wiring problem yesterday during our tests and Ken hopes to fix that today (at least a temporary fix). Also plan to make an adjustment to the autopilot hydraulic pump but that may have to wait until we are in port. We?re now headed for Port Vila.

Motoring in light winds. Installed new motor for autopilot but new motor still running hot. Planning more tests today. Very calm conditions, blue sky. Water temp steadily increasing every day. Saw beautiful sunset with crescent moon last evening. Looks like we will be in good shape with fuel so upped our motoring speed.

Motoring with all sails down. We had an autopilot failure this evening but are able to use the autopilot to control the rudder directly (which puts less strain on the autopilot motor). Rudder steering is requiring constant monitoring of the course, but at least we can do adjustments using the control head inside the pilothouse, as opposed to hand steering out in the cockpit. The benign conditions (light wind and seas) are very helpful right now. (Never thought we?d be glad for no wind!) Ken will tackle repairs in the morning. The failure happened just as we were putting out fishing lines, so had to abort fishing until autopilot healed.

Motorsailing. Looke like we will be motoring for the foreseable future, as we don't see any good sailing wind in the forecasts. Hoping to get north of that low due next week over Vanuatu. But also need to conserve fuel given all of the expected motoring, so we're running the engine at lower RPMs than normal. Getting a little boost from the southerly wind but don't expect that to last. Pleasant temps and didn't need a jacket yesterday when the sun was out. Found a squid stuck to mainsail.

Left this afternoon from Marsden. Wind was 15-20 when we left and seas were not bad (1-2 meters). We were chased by a squall after we exited Marsden, but it squeaked by behind us, so we didn't get any rain. Winds built a bit later in the afternoon and the most we saw was about 26 knots for a brief period later in the evening. Winds gradually dropping overnight. Hope to delay motoring as long as possible. We are sailing east of the rhumb line to get a better angle on the wind. Also, that will put is in a better position to come back west once the trades build in. No moon out, but lots of stars.

Went down the river this morning to Marsden Cove. Planning to leave this afternoon for Vanuatu.

Had nice sail from Tutukaka to Bream Head today and went up the river to Riverside. Great to be back!

Sailed down the coast to Tutukaka from Opua today. Very nice sailing conditions in 10-15 knots from the ENE.

Got a great boost from the wind this morning and were able to make Opua and get cleared late afternoon. We'll be in Opua for a few days before heading south to Whangarei. Very good trip. New watch schedule (8 on/ 8 off) worked really well.

Wind has backed around and we're sailing again. Hope to make Opua today if all goes well.

Motorsailing into light winds. Passed through a weak trough last night. Wind shifted all around and we had some rain, but otherwise it wasn't too bad. Ken lost a boat shoe overboard. At least he didn't jump in after it.

Wind held for longer than we expected and had nice sailing conditions all day. Turned on the motor early this morning as wind backed and lightened. Full moon making night watch keeping much easier.

Picked up some nice wind overnight and having a good beam reach at the moment. We know it won't last and expect to have to motorsail again.

On our way to NZ from Isle of Pines. Light winds, so motorsailing to keep speed up. We're trying new watch schedule at night (8 on/ 8 off). Will see how it goes. Weather very benign for departure.

Leaving today for New Zealand. Had several nice dives at Gadji. Hard to leave this place!

Left Port du Sud today and are at the entrance to the Bay of Prony. A beautiful spot in these light conditions.

Motorsailed back to Noumea today. Will spend a few days doing errands and then plan to check out for NZ. We hope to spend some time in Isle of Pines before heading south.

Dove on the Prony Needle today. Water was very murky and it started out a bit creepy. The needle structure is alien and eerie. We saw lots of interesting fish and creatures, including a group of spadefish who greeted us as soon as we got in the water. They followed us around for the entire dive, sometimes getting right up close to our faces. Ken got an otherworldly picture of a collection of extended coral polyps that looked like an exploding galaxy. The center of each polyp was glowing like a little star. We hope to go back again tomorrow.

Moved to Ile Casey in Bay of Prony today. Very peaceful in the mooring field. Looking forward to diving the Needle of Prony sometime in the next few days.

Still at Mato. We keep spotting new (to us) species (or variations) during our dives and are stoked about what we are seeing even though visibility hasn't been great. We plan to stay here until the wind really settles down and then move south to Ua before heading back to Noumea to checkout later in the month.

Pried ourselves away from Noumea and are now anchored at Mato Island. Absolutely stunning here. We're anxious to get in the water tomorrow. Quite a few boats anchored nearby, but plenty of room.

Tied up at the dock at Port du Sud. We had anchored out in the bay but the marina captain asked us to bring the boat to the dock for clearance. A very stiff sea breeze had built up (up to 23 knots) so it was quite choppy out in the bay. Lots of racing boats parading by for Wed races. Met a very friendly couple who live on their boat here. He's 80 years old but seemed much younger. We're looking forward to exploring Noumea.

Arrived in New Cal this morning. Anchored in Port Boise, waiting for morning tide tomorrow to continue to Noumea. Beautiful spot.

Expect to get to Havannah Pass in the morning. Pleasant sailing conditions with minimal seas. Looking forward to first visit to New Cal. Adverse current.

Left Port Vila today for New Caledonia. Nice sailing conditions. Stars out in force. Water temp has dropped over 3 degrees since started this morning.

Anchored by Iriki Island in Port Vila. No moorings available as ICA fleet has gathered for the trip to New Cal later this week.

Sailed to Mele Bay today. Nice sail for first part of trip but then motored up the bay toward Port Vila.

Moved up the coast a bit to explore other possible dive sites. Haven't found anything else yet. May move again soon.

Moved anchorages a few days ago closer to the Havannah Harbor entrance. Previous anchorage too exposed to swell. This new anchorage very good in ESE winds (though winds are gusty in here). Have dived on Paul's Rock (to the south) several times and it is surprisingly good. Rock area is in a bit of a reserve (buoy says "taboo fishing"). Interesting sponges and squirts. School of barracuda and good number of larger fish. Also saw a beautiful green turtle. Water very clear. Site is still diveable even when ESE winds are up.

Sailed over to the Havannah Harbor area today. Anchored a bit south of the harbor entrance. Hope to visit some dive sites nearby while the weather is settled. Very peaceful, though a bit rolly.

Arrived safely in Port Vila. Nice to be back in Vanuatu. Sky was overcast when we got in, but no nasty fronts yet.

Another pleasant day of downwind sailing. Sun was out for part of the day. Slowing down as we make our final approach to arrive in Port Vila in the morning.

Nice placid day of downwind sailing. No rain today. Cloudy tonight but some stars around. Ken broke a tooth this evening. Hope to find a dentist in Port Vila.

Saw sun for about 2 seconds during day, otherwise completely overcast with squalls. Wind up to 32 knots for brief time. We have been paralleling a fishing boat since we left Suva. Luckily he has AIS so we can both keep out of trouble.

Left Suva this afternoon and on our way to Port Vila. Light rain as we left. It was so dark that we thought we were having our own eclipse. Small squalls throughout the day so wind up and down. Moving nicely with wind behind us. Some stars are poking through now. Very pleasant temps.

We sailed to Suva today from Beqa and had great wind for most of the trip. Much better trip than we were expecting. Suva Harbor is very dirty. A big slick (diesel or gasoline) floated by after we were anchored.

We moved around the corner to Malumu Bay in Beqa. We'll sail to Suva tomorrow and spend a few days provisioning and doing errands before checking out for Vanuatu.

We did 2 shark dives with Beqa Lagoon Resort yesterday and they were fantastic. Saw a tiger and lots of bull sharks, huge schools of snappers, remoras, bannerfish, etc... plus an enormous giant grouper. The crew at BLR is amazing (very organized and helpful). The weather for the dive was perfect and there were only 10 divers (not counting BLR divers), so lots of room to move around on the boat and in the water. Highly recommend!

Moved back to Beqa Island and are anchored near Beqa Lagoon Resort. We're scheduled to do the shark dive on Friday. Hard to leave Yanuca, though. Very accessible dive sites there with beautiful fans and hard corals. Some nice soft corals too. Visited village on Yanuca (on east side) and saw interesting water desalination system at the village. They can process about 1000 liters every 2 days. Very friendly villagers.

Yanuca island. on the west side of beqa lagoon

Moved over to west side of Yanuku. A film crew was here making a movie called Adrift, based on the book Red Sky in Mourning. We had to move the boat several times to get out of the way of filming

Moved over to west side of Beqa, just off RaviRavi village.

Sailed to Beqa today. Had nice run and caught a mahi mahi on the way. Anchored in Malumu Bay.

Moved back to anchorage in Nabouwalu Bay yesterday after wind shift to the NE made the other anchorage too rough. Nabouwalu Bay is protected from all directions except WNW.

As of 2017-07-16 01:00 UTC: Moved around the corner earlier today.

As of 2017-07-14 02:00 UTC: Arrived at Ono Island after an overnight sail from Koro Island. Very quiet and peaceful here. Will do Sevusevu tomorrow.

As of 2017-07-13 14:00 UTC: On our way from Koro to Ono. Very pleasant sailing conditions in light wind and minimal waves. A small passenger ship is doing donuts in front of us. Not sure what they are up to. They never answered our VHF call. We just changed course to get further away from them.

Sailed to Koro Island today. Plan to see some friends here.

As of 2017-06-18 05:30 UTC: Sailed until 6 am local time today and hove to for 6 hours. We made our way up to Savusavu and anchored about 5:15 pm local time. A very nice trip. The most wind we saw was on the trip down the river from Whangarei to Marsden. Very nice conditions. We motored for a total of 72 hours since we left Marsden. We will clear in tomorrow.

As of 2017-06-17 13:00 UTC: Shook out the third reef during the day and let the boat stretch her wings a bit. We expect to arrive near Savusavu this morning and will heave to for a chunk of the day to time our arrival at dusk. This will allow us to check in on Monday and avoid over 300 FJ in overtime charges. Had some small squalls during the day with a brief gust to 31.8 knots. Crossed back over to west of the dateline. Very nice sailing.

As of 2017-06-16 13:00 UTC: After several hours of super sailing, we decided to slow down to arrive later in the day on Sunday in Savusavu. Now sailing with triple reefed main and no headsail. Caught two more fish at the same time during the day. One was a yellowfin and the other a skip jack. We kept the yellowfin. Temperature jumped to 26c. Wind up and down.

As of 2017-06-15 13:00 UTC: Wind picked up yesterday morning (local time) and we started sailing again. Caught 3 fish (all skip jacks) as we passed to the west of S Minerva Reef. Kept only one. Still battling pesky adverse current that has been our companion for days. Water temp jumped to 24c. No more fuzzy hats!

As of 2017-06-14 13:00 UTC: Another placid day of motorsailing. Wind backing around and increasing so we should be sailing again soon. No bites on the fishing lines today.

As of 2017-06-13 13:00 UTC: Motorsailing in light wind. We lowered the mainsail during the day in order to replace our new main halyard with the old halyard. The cover of the new halyard is too slippery for our spinlok clutch. Conditions were very placid for the switch. Temps rising steadily and we have shed our jackets. We're headed east of the rhumb line to get a better angle when the wind is expected to build out of the ESE in a few days.

As of 2017-06-12 13:00 UTC: Wind died off and we are now motorsailing. Caught a small skipjack but threw him back.

As of 2017-06-11 13:00 UTC: Nice sailing all day. Expect winds to lighten considerably over coming days, but we're enjoying the nice sailing for now. Weather has been mild and the full moon makes nighttime watchkeeping very pleasant. Water temp took a big positive jump a few hours ago so it is quite comfortable.

As of 2017-06-10 21:00 UTC: Left Marsden about mid-day yesterday, bound for Savusavu. Had problem with the autopilot (communication error) and the boat turned hard to starboard. We were in the ship channel going down the river from Marsden when it happened. Thankfully no one (and nothing) was nearby so we just did a 360. Fortunately we didn't have any sails up. We suspected problem was with an add on box to our Robertson autopilot and we were able to bypass it. We decided to motor without sails for a few hours to make sure the autopilot was behaving properly. It all seemed ok so we are pressing on. No repeats of the problem since. We are now using the monitor windvane so won't get another chance to test the autopilot until later on. Very pleasant conditions and sailing nicely downwind.

Leaving for Savusavu today from Marsden.

We decided to wait for another window out of here.

We arrived at Marsden mid-afternoon after a boisterous trip down the river. Blinding rain and wind gusts to 34 knots. Will decide tomorrow about leaving on Sunday or waiting for a better window to Savusavu.

As of 2016-11-24 02:00 UTC: We arrived at Marsden early this morning , cleared in and went up the river on the afternoon tide to Riverside marina in Whangarei, where we are now safely moored. We had a nice welcome from friends both at Marsden and Riverside. We sure do love New Zealand. This passage was unique in that we never had the wind on the beam or aft of the beam the entire trip.

As of 2016-11-23 15:00 UTC: We are zeroing in on Marsden and expect to arrive at the mouth of the river around dawn. We had a beautiful, placid motor down the coast. A large pod of dolphins welcomed us just south of a line on the same latitude as North Cape. We could see them making a beeline towards us from many directions. Some of the smaller dolphins leaped through the air right next to the boat. How thrilling! And we had another special treat just before sunset when we landed a 12 lb albacore tuna. A super end to a challenging, but excellent passage.

As of 2016-11-22 15:00 UTC: Had a wonderful day of sailing until about mid-day yesterday when we lost the wind and had to turn on the engine. The sky was a beautiful blue all day and the air temp very comfortable. The stars splashed across the sky overnight in a dazzling display. There is barely a ripple on the water and the phosphorescence in our bow wave is mesmorizing. What an unusually calm final approach to New Zealand. We decided to continue on to Marsden Cove and hope to be there early Thursday morning.

As of 2016-11-2021 15:00 UTC: We have been making good progress for the last 24 hours as the winds came up and backed. We’ve even had a favorable current at times. The skies cleared overnight and the southern cross is beckoning. Water temps are slowly dropping, but it is really incredibly pleasant. The waves built again and they created rough conditions earlier in the evening. The waves are now more well

As of 2016-11-20 15:00 UTC: The seas subsided and the winds backed nicely and we were able to sail with full hoist and jib during the day. The gentle motion allowed us to make a temporary fix to the autopilot. The wind died off early Sunday evening and clocked around so we were heading off toward Tasmania again. We’d also been contending with a .75-1.25 knot adverse current for most of the day, so we fired up the motor to head more south easterly to get out of the current (at least according to OSCAR). We’re hoping to sail again once we get south east enough to get out of the adverse current and the wind fills in.

As of 2016-11-19 15:00 UTC: Winds have backed around over the past 12 hours allowing us to make a better course to NZ. We had good wind all day and are able to make good progress as the seas come down. We had expected to be motoring on this leg of the trip, but the winds have continued to hold.

As of 2016-11-18 15:00 UTC: Continued to sail to the ESE with triple reefed main for most of the day as the seas and wind built (most we saw was 25 knots of wind). No squalls, though. Made the turn back to the SW this evening as the wind shifted to the SSE. Shook out a reef and are sailing slowly under double reefed main. We are curving a gradual arc toward NZ as the winds back around to the SE and E. We’re sailing slowly to avoid pounding into the big seas and because we’re steering toward Tasmania, rather than New Zealand (the winds are still too southerly). Autopilot failed early this afternoon. Ken spent several hours in the aft steering compartment looking at the autopilot brain (hard duty with the big seas, especially since he had to keep the hatch closed so it got pretty hot and stuffy in there). Ken thinks the problem may be due to a bad network cable fitting at the control box. We will try to rewire the box when the seas subside. We put the monitor wind vane back on and after a couple of hours of use that failed, too (gears decoupled). Beth hand steered for an hour and a half while Ken repaired the wind vane. Luckily he got it working again.

As of 2016-11-17 15:00 UTC: Low clouds developed during the day to the west, but then receded later in the day. Wind held all day and had very nice sailing under double reefed main and staysail. We're moving gradually to the ESE to get a better angle to NZ after the wind switches around to the SE late tomorrow or early Sat. No squalls today and wind has been very steady.Will be interesting to see what its like out here when the waves build on Friday. Caught a nice mahi late this afternoon so we slowed down for a couple of hours to land and clean him.

As of 2016-11-17 15:00 UTC: Low clouds developed during the day to the west, but then receded later in the day. Wind held all day and had very nice sailing under double reefed main and staysail. We're headed gradually to the ESE to get a better angle to NZ after the wind switches around to the SE late tomorrow or early Sat. No squalls today and wind has been very steady. Caught a nice mahi late this afternoon so we slowed down for a couple of hours to land and clean him.

As of 2016-11-16 15:00 UTC: Sunny skies today but big cloud banks developed during the day. Many squall cells overnight, some with heavy rain. Mix of motor sailing and sailing. Moving slowly to SE. Slight swell started to appear today and expect that to continue to build. Sailed by several round markers in the water Probably placed here by the fleet of fishing boats we passed by. Water cleared up and we were able to use the watermaker. Caught a little tuna late in the afternoon.

As of 2016-11-15 15:00 UTC: Another benign day with lots of sun, no waves, but also no wind. We sailed very slowly earlier in the day in 5 knots of wind, but wind has dropped off overnight so we're back to motoring. We went through some large areas of brown particulate matter for most of the day and are not sure if that is due to volcanic activity. It didn't look like pumice. The fish seemed to like it as we could see fish swimming around the boat. We tried to snag some, but no luck. We're still planning to head to around 22 south and then turn east if the winds shift to the south as predicted. We'll find a place to heave to once the waves/southerlies build and hope to continue to NZ after things settle down.

As of 2016-11-14 16:49 UTC: We left Port Vila early Monday morning and are slowly making our way SE. We had quite a variety of conditions as we left Port Vila but things settled down once we got away from the island. We're planning to head for a waypoint to the SE above 22 S where we'll hang out until about Saturday before continuing on to NZ. We're expecting headwinds and big seas later in the week so we'll heave to in a few days to let that go through. Conditions are beautiful

As of 2016-11-14 16:49 UTC: We left Port Vila early Monday morning and are slowly making our way SE. We had quite a variety of conditions as we left Port Vila but things settled down once we got away from the island. We're planning to head for a waypoint to the SE above 22 S where we'll hang out until about Saturday before continuing on to NZ. We're expecting headwinds and big seas later in the week so we'll heave to in a few days to let that go through. Conditions are beautiful

As of 2016-11-04 08:14 UTC: Arrived in Port Vila late this morning. Will look to leave for New Zealand after mid next week

As of 2016-11-03 15:00 UTC: On our way to Port Vila. Motoring slowly in light headwinds and minimal seas. Caught small tuna this afternoon.

As of 2016-11-02 05:14 UTC: Sailed to Malua Bay on NW side of Malakula Island. Will continue to Port Vila on Thurs.

As of 2016-10-29 08:00 UTC: Moved to Aore Island cross from Luganville.

As of 2016-10-28 10:08 UTC: Moved south to Aese Island this afternoon.

As of 2016-10-23 09:23 UTC: Moved up to Peterson Bay early this afternoon. Another beautiful anchorage.

As of 2016-10-22 08:45 UTC: Arrived Espiritu Santo this afternoon. Had some unexpected nice wind starting mid-morningl. We are in a beautiful spot off Aese Island and plan to move to Peterson Bay tomorrow.

As of 2016-10-21 21:00 UTC: Many squalls as we were leaving Port Vila. 1 - 1.5 knots adverse current for most of the trip so far (finally disappeared within last hour), so slow going. Had some stretches of nice sailing in benign seas. Motor sailing now with wind dead downwind.

As of 2016-10-20 20:00 UTC: Leaving today for Santo.

As of 2016-09-11 00:30 UTC: Moved from anchorage to a Yachting World mooring. Quaranatine anchorage very foul. Dragged our Rocna several times and got snagged trying to pull it up. Mooring much more comfortable. Port Vila very bustling. Great fresh market. Outstanding, giant grapefruit (like pamplemousse in Marquesas).

As of 2016-09-08 02:00 UTC: Arrived at Port Vila this afternoon. Big system came through late this afternoon and it did a nice job washing all the salt off the boat. Looking forward to exploring the town.

As of 2016-09-07 22:15 UTC: Underway to Port Vila and getting close. Hove to for a few hours this morning to time our arrival when we are both up. Few squalls on the trip. Wind all over the map strength wise from 10 to 32 to knots. Seas are a bit confused, but not too large (1-2 meters). Ken was able to get the monitor more operational so we using that exclusively. Autopilot will require power tools to fix.

As of 2016-09-06 19;17 UTC: Planning to leave Port Resolution today for Port Vila. Went up to volcano on Monday and it was amazing to see the volcano spewing out giant billows of blue, gray, white, and black plumes. Lots of fiery rock shooting up like fireworks. The guides wouldn't let anyone to the rim, as they were concerned about safety (volcano quite active that day). They do allow you to the rim if the activity is lower. They make a decision about which areas to open at 3 pm each day. Volcano trip costs: 2500 vatu/person for truck trip to staging area near volcano, 7500 vatu/person for volcano excursion. Be sure to have exact amount for each segment of trip (you pay separately for trip to staging area) as they don't seem to have change. Port Resolution beautiful, but quite rolly. Very friendly local fishermen came out to visit in dugout canoes. Wonderful bananas and papaya.

As of 2016-09-04 23:00 UTC: Had a nice day of sailing yesterday to Port Resolution. Wind and waves lightened as we got close to Tanna. Could see volcano in the night vision scope 30 miles out with awesome bursts of light. Volcano spewing out large plumes. We got the anchor down about 9 am local time. Anchorage very protected but rolly.

As of 2016-09-03 21:00 UTC: Winds built again yesterday to 25-30 with 3 meter seas. Boat handling it all just fine. The wind backed more overnight and is diminishing. Guess will have to shake out another reef! The seas are also subsiding. Lots of stars overnight and very pleasant temps. Windvane still hanging together. Will have to wait until we get to port to fix autopilot. No traffic at all since leaving Fiji waters.

As of 2016-09-02 21:56 UTC: Left early afternoon yesterday local time for Port Resolution. Benign trip out to the pass but then winds picked up to 25-30 (gusting higher) after we got through the pass. At least they were behind us. Autopilot broke overnight so we switched to wind vane (that had problems too, but Ken was able to jerry rig a fix). Glad we're not hand steering. Sailed with triple reef main only until this morning when we shook out one reef. Conditions have lightened up this morning with winds 20-25 and seas not so big. Nice and sunny! Very pleasant temps.

As of 2016-09-01 07:51 UTC: Moved to Vuda Point early this afternoon and are now anchored outside marina. Will likely check out tomorrow for Vanuatu.

via streaming

As of 2016-08-28 09:21 UTC: Moved to Denarau this morning. Anchored outside marina.

As of 2016-08-25 07:14 UTC: Moved to Saweni Bay near Lautoka today. Lots of wind to start the trip, but then wind died off as we got closer to Viti Levu.

As of 2016-08-15 04:04 UTC: Moved south today and are now anchored off Drawaqa Island. Good conditions for the trip.

As of 2016-08-11 05:17 UTC: Moved south to Blue Lagoon. Had nice clear skies for trip. Very protected anchorage in here.

As of 2016-08-05 10:30 UTC: Moved 7 nm around the corner to Sawa-I-Lau Bay to get better protection from nasty weather expected over the coming days. Very protected anchorage here and there are no swells at all. Really peaceful, beautiful place.

As of 2016-07-25 06:00 UTC: Moved to the southern bay of Yasawa Island. Very protected in here. Hope to find some dive spots. A bit gusty in the anchorage but not rolly at all (so far).

As of 2016-07-24 10:00 UTC: Moved a little to the south yesterday to be away from the Yasawa Island Resort. Did some snorkeling yesterday and Ken hung out with a large formation of squid. The squid squad seemed to adopt him as one of the group (he kind of looks like a squid). Dove today near shore down the coast a bit. Saw a few new fish species but the coral has really suffered with massive die offs. A few isolated corals hanging on.

As of 2016-07-20 20:00 UTC: Arrived safely in the Yasawas yesterday afternoon. Anchored off the northern island of Yasawa. The seas were very confused (like a washing machine) as we emerged from the protection of the Great Sea Barrier, crossing above the Bligh Waters to the Yasawas. We had some squalls as we approached the group but fortunately they had moved away by the time we put the anchor down. Lovely spot with sandy beaches alternating with very rugged shore line. This is our first visit to the Yasawas and we can see there is lots to explore. Fine protection in SE trades.

As of 2016-07-19 20:29 UTC: Left Naqelelevu yesterday morning and are underway to the Yasawas. Expect to arrive early this afternoon. Beautiful sailing in flat water. A small pod of spinner dolphins joined us for a while, darting from one side to the other through the bow wave.

As of 2016-07-15 20:00 UTC: Moved to anchorage near Island yesterday. Many more people here than last time we visited and some families from the abandoned village have returned to start up the village again. We had a sevusevu on shore yesterday afternoon and the people were very welcoming. We were told that Fiji Fisheries has banned the harvesting of beche de mer inside the lagoon, as they are trying to rebuild the population. There are some companies harvesting outside the reef. Lots of changes going on

As of 2016-07-13 20:00 UTC: Anchored near entrance to reef at Naqelelevu. A large pod of spinning and leaping spinner dolphins greeted us yesterday (local time) as we entered the lagoon. What an amazing welcome!

As of 2016-07-12 20:00 UTC: Left Savusavu early yesterday afternoon and sailed overnight to Naqelelevu. Beautiful sailing conditions in SSW winds. Wind up to 25 knots early this morning. Caught mahi mahi on the trip over. A couple of fish with sharp teeth bit through two steel leaders earlier in the day. We are hove to and will wait for good light to enter the reef.

As of 2016-06-29 09:28 UTC: Sailed from Namena to Savusavu today. Nice conditions even though we were close hauled.

As of 2015-06-24 10:33 UTC: Sailed in beautiful conditions from Koro to Namena earlier today. Hope to do some diving here over the next few days.

As of 2015-06-15 02:44 UTC: Motored to Koro Island today in very light wind (1.5 - 3 knots) and very minimal seas. We're visiting some friends (Hans and Dory who used to sail Happy Monster) who are building a house here. They survived Cyclone Winston earlier this year when the eye went right over their house. The trees are starting to grow back their greenery, but the hillsides still look quite bare.

As of 2015-06-06 13:00 UTC: Arrived safely in Savusavu today just after noon and are now tied to a Waitui mooring. Waitui is definitely open for business and Jolene, the manager was super efficient in getting the officials organized for our check in. The mooring has a new chain (just installed over the weekend) and was checked by a diver. Downtown Savusavu is bustling as always and has made a great deal of progress in recovery from cyclone Winston. The trip from NZ went very smoothly (other than a problem with a batten luff box on the main). We used the engine for less than 30 hours in total and had some terrific periods of sailing- including one of our fastest days ever. We really appreciated the efforts of David, Patricia, and Mike at Gulf Harbour Radio for the YIT site. And the qualify of the weather information was outstanding - it made trip planning so much more effective.

As of 2015-06-05 11:48 UTC: Sailing with double reefed main alone. Wind was light earlier but has built again. Had to jibe to avoid a fishing boat with nets in the Koro Sea. Now sailing final approach to Savusavu. Expect to get in around noon on Monday. Slowed down so we are both up for the final run up the bay into Savusavu. Lots of stars out. A few small squalls. Very comfortable sailing deep down wind.

As of 2015-06-04 11:48 UTC: Started sailing slowly again after midnight last night when wind picked up to 10-12 and backed around to the SE. Wind started to pick up to 15-20 during the day today and we started gradually reefing. Wind backed to the ESE early this evening and and built to 20-25 knots. We expect the wind to back even more overnight. Now sailing with triple reefed main and staysail with wind just forward of the beam. We are heading further east to get a better angle in the Koro Sea for the approach to Savusavu as the wind continues to back. Wind has eased up a little over the past few hours, so we're a bit underpowered with this sail plan. but at least we're prepared for expected higher winds. Uneventful day with a few squalls. Very pleasant temps. Very cloudy.

As of 2015-06-02 11:45 UTC: Motored sailed over last day when winds went light and swung around to be on the stern. Were able to start sailing slowly as wind backed around to the SSE. We had to drop the main this afternoon when a batten car detatched itself from a slider on the mainsail track. The screw holding the car to the mast slider stripped out of the fitting on the sail. Fortunately we had a replacement fitting and were able to replace the damaged piece. But we had to remove a good chunk of the sail from the sail track to complete the repair. And we had to motor in the wrong direction for an hour to take pressure off the main, allowing us to get feed the sail back onto the track. We decided that sailing in the opposite direction from your intended destination makes for slow progress. Luckily the conditions were very benign during the 3 hour repair and we had no squalls.

As of 2015-06-02 11:45 UTC: Numerous squalls over past 24 hours. The squalls pass fairly quickly but sometimes they pack a punch with the wind gusting to 25-30 knots in the stronger ones. Wind backed to SSW after a strong squall late in the afternoon Wind continuing to slowly back. Put out a fishing line but no luck so far. Beautiful luminescence in the water near the beam of the boat.

As of 2015-06-01 11:45 UTC: Wind lightened up considerably today

 -- as low as 5 knots for a time. Shook out the two reefs in the main and

 switched from staysail to jib. Boat moving well under full canvas in

 light air. Waves also diminished and with the sun out it was a beautiful

 day on the ocean. Water temps have been rising steadily (now 23c) and

 don't need jackets anymore. Winds shifting between WSW to WNW but Monitor

 windvane handling the swings like a champ.  Beautiful starlit sky. 

We will be departing this afternoon from Marsden for Fiji. Will keep you all posted!

As of 0232 2016-05-29 UTC: Motored down the river to Marsden Cove. A few showers. Wind up to 24 knots. May leave tomorrow for Fiji but keeping a close watch on forecasts.

Motored up the river to Whangarei after sea trial yesterday. It was nice to get out and sail after so many months on land. We have a few things to sort but mostly it all looked good. Hope to be ready to sail north in a few weeks.

Anchored in Urquharts Bay. Motored down the river yesterday and will do sea trials today.

As of 0621 2015-11-27 UTC: Arrived in Marsden just before 5 pm local time. We had some nice sailing after we turned the corner south of the Poor Knights. And then had a screaming deep reach around Bream Head (we were doing the screaming!) with winds up to 33 knots and with the main at full hoist. Luckily we had rolled up the jib before that, as the angle was too deep to hold the jib. The wind around Bream Head can be quite ferocious, as we discovered. We are safely tucked in for the night at the Q dock and will get cleared in tomorrow morning. Really great to be back.

As of 2100 2015-11-26 UTC: Land Ho! Can see Whangarei Heads poking through the clouds. We should reach Marsden late this afternoon/early evening. Motorsailing with the wind dead astern

As of 2100 2015-11-25 UTC: Put up reacher yesterday for a few hours in the afternoon before turning on the engine a little before 8 pm local time. Lost wind completely this morning and now motoring in 3/4 knot counter current.

As of 2100 2015-11-24 UTC: A fast day yesterday with a favorable current. Lost fav current last night. Wind stayed 13-15 knots overnight, but lightened up considerably this morning (to 9-12). Gliding along nicely, but will think about putting up light air sails today. We'd like to put off starting the engine as long as possible. We've changed our destination to Marsden Cove, as the conditions look good to continue on. Drop dead gorgeous day.

As of 2100 2015-11-23 UTC: Great sailing again today. Wind is holding and we have a favorable current (after having an adverse current yesterday). We'll appreciate these super conditions while they last. Water temp has dropped 11 deg F since leaving Savusavu.

As of 2100 2015-11-22 UTC: Wind lightening up more. Beautiful blue skies. Gorgeous sailing.

As of 2000 15-11-21 UTC: Wind lightened up for a few hours overnight, but back up today. Moving along well and have better motion as were able to crack off a little. Still very boisterous as wind is forward of the beam.

As of 1134 15-11-21 UTC: Left Savusavu early Saturday afternoon (local time) for Opua. Had to sail close reach into Koro Sea chop. Very rough. We had to keep ducking down when we poked our heads out from the back of the pilothouse as huge amounts of water crashed into the bow and flew back to the stern. At least the decks are getting clean! We got drenched a few times. Beth lost her cookies. But we're moving fast and once we got out of the Koro Sea, the waves smoothed out some.

As of 0400 2015-10-04 UTC: Sailed back to Savusavu today after great visit with Hans and Dory on Koro. Caught mahi mahi just before we got to Savsuavu.