We are now hauled out in the Port Townsend boatyard. We?ll be living on the hard until the end of the year, working on some major cosmetic improvements to Second Wind prior to selling her.

This will be our final YIT post, since the site will be shut down in December. We want to thank all our friends and family for following our travels. Deep appreciation also goes to Mike at YIT, who faithfully maintained this invaluable service. Fair winds!

We moved back into the PT marina to facilitate offloading and cleanup. After we moved we realized, with some sadness, that we will probably spend no more nights at anchor.

Despite strong winds curtailing our outdoor activities, we had a good time in Anacortes. After the winds eased we rode the currents back to Port Townsend, and will be offloading large items like sails and dinghy (prepping for projects and for the NW winter).

Yesterday evening we symbolically closed the circle on our 6 year journey, returning to our home port of Anacortes. We entered Cap Sante Marina, our boat home for 20 years, with all of our country flags flying, and were greeted at the dock by Katelinn and Camden with signal horns and spraying champagne! An appropriately emotional homecoming.

Tonight we?re on a mooring buoy at Cypress Island, another favorite spot because of the hike to Eagle Cliff.

After several days anchored outside the breakwater at Port Townsend again, we are making our way toward our home port of Anacortes.

We?re at lovely Watmough Bay, one of our favorite anchorages from years gone by.

We moved to Port Hadlock two days ago to be in a better position for strong incoming southerlies. That anchorage did not feel as secure as we?d hoped. Thanks to a generous acquaintance, we are now on a beefy mooring in Mystery Bay (Marrowstone Island). 35k gusts are predicted again for tonight, but we hope to sleep better this time.

We?re anchored outside the Port Townsend Boat Haven, giving us access to Katelinn while she?s there aboard the schooner Adventuress.

Second Wind is back in Washington after her six year adventure! Katelinn welcomed us to the dock at Port Townsend. We?ll be here a few days, after that TBD. By early October we will complete the journey by returning to our home port of Anacortes.

We?re anchored at Marble Cove in Barkley Sound, 280 miles from our previous anchorage. 36 hours of predicted wind turned out to be just 12 so we ended up using more fuel than we planned, but we?re still glad we chose this route. We wanted to be on the wild side, and Barkley Sound has many special memories for our family. We?ll rest here tomorrow then probably head to Washington without another stop.

Since we're sailors we opted for sailing, and went down the west coast of Vancouver Island. We had a great overnight run last night; it felt wonderful to be back in some wind and swells. Unfortunately, the predicted N20k for today did not materialize, so the giddiness was shortlived. We're now motoring again! On the bright side, we found summer. We haven't been this warm, or seen a big blue sky or stars at night, since late May.

We're anchored at Fury Cove, the last stop before heading across Queen Charlotte Sound and down Vancouver Island. The weather forecast keeps changing so we still haven't decided whether we're going down the inside or outside. We're not keen on all the motoring in inner channels so would prefer to sail down the west coast of the island, even though it's a lot more miles. That said, right now there are gale force winds predicted for that area, which isn't appealing either. We'll decide by tomorrow afternoon.

No rain again today; with good visibility, we opted for some shortcuts through Reid and Gunboat Passages. Since we're just motoring, it was more enjoyable to maneuver through those narrow channels than to just drive along water highways. We're anchored in Codville Lagoon, which feels like a large lake once inside the entrance.

I turned 65 today and got the best birthday present possible: sunshine! The day began with heavy fog, which made it difficult to maneuver around the many large logs in the channels; but by midafternoon the sky was clearing. We're anchored in tiny Oliver Cove, a lovely place with rocky islets that we can actually finally see.

The planet has all the way around the sun 6 times since we left Washington on this date in 2014. It's been quite a journey.

I haven't been able to get an SSB connection for several days and of course we are far from internet range, so eventually several of these posts will upload at once. It feels odd to have no communication with the outside world (except for VHF radio; at least we can still get marine weather broadcasts) and have almost every anchorage to ourselves, as if we are alone on the planet. Fog and rain obscure the scenery, but this morning we got to see our first Dall porpoises in years. Welcome home! We're anchored at Bottleneck Inlet, a cozy little spot on Finlayson Channel.

No fog today, and very little precipitation. Because of all the rain in the last month, waterfalls that are usually dry this time of year were gorgeous. We were grateful for today's good visibility, because Fraser Reach was gushing everywhere! We're anchored at Khutze Inlet, near a spectacular cascade and a seal colony.

Despite fog, rain, headwinds, adverse currents, and a mess of large logs in the water thrown in for good measure, we pushed on as far as Coghlan Anchorage. It's exposed to the south winds but since the next viable anchorage is 40 miles away, here we are.

We had 20k headwinds in Arthur Passage and Grenville Channel, so we had another very slow day (3.5k average speed) and once again did not get close to our intended anchorage. Ordinarily that wouldn't matter, but since the customs officer threatened us with 3 years imprisonment and up to a million dollar fine if we didn't do exactly as he said, it actually does matter that we're not making enough distance. We don't expect to end up in a Canadian jail, but we don't want to tangle with the authorities, either.

Wind and sea conditions below are in the East Inlet anchorage. It's too foggy to see much but we did get to hear the haunting call of a loon.

It was unfortunate our limited number of days allowed in Canada forced us to press on today, as conditions south of Prince Rupert were even stronger than forecast. We bashed into 25k headwinds and 2-3 foot waves for hours, averaging just 3k of speed. We?d gone just a little over half our planned distance for today when we decided we couldn?t make it to that anchorage before dark. We?re now anchored in Lawson Harbor, hoping for better conditions tomorrow.

We checked in to Customs at Prince Rupert late this afternoon.

Reception was as chilly as expected. We would love to wait out tomorrow?s wind and rain in this nice little anchorage, but we have a limited number of days before we have to exit Canada, so we?ll keep moving.

Conditions below are inside Prince Rupert Harbor. Dixon Entrance, the day after strong winds, had W18k wind and W 3m waves.

We're anchored in Foggy Bay, a cozy little spot that should be protected from the strong winds forecast for tonight and tomorrow. It's our very last anchorage in Alaska! Art made the most of his fishing license by bringing in some rockfish and setting out the crab trap one more time.

It didn?t rain today! We?re anchored in Crab Bay on the east side of Annette Island. Ironically, we can?t drop our crab pot here since we already caught our daily limit this morning before weighing anchor. We took advantage of the rain break to swap foresails for the trip south.

Forecasts are indicating Saturday would be the best day to cross Dixon Entrance into Canada, so we are gradually working our way toward that transit. With 26 consecutive days of rain, we?re not too sorry to be heading south. Maybe there?s a summer down there somewhere!

We left Ketchikan and stopped in Metlakatla, a Tsimshian village that is the only Indian Reserve in Alaska. We got permission in advance to visit, but even so were impressed with the friendly reception we received.

Finally got to Ketchikan! Caught a rare northerly and actually got to sail for a while. We have several projects that need attention so we plan to be here at least a few days.

Happy Anniversary to us! (Can it really have been 46 years?!) Vixen Inlet did indeed have plentiful crab, and now we've moved on to Meyers Chuck. It's a tiny fishing village (so tiny it doesn't even have internet; didn't think that happened anywhere anymore); just a few homes and small boats, and Cassie (who distributes the mail once a week and bakes cinnamon rolls).

We are ready to head south down Clarence Strait to Ketchikan, but since that trip is upwind we still need to wait for a better weather window. In the meantime, we have moved to Vixen Inlet. It's very calm here, and as always, we are alone in the anchorage. The previous location used to have good crabbing but now it's full of jellyfish and we caught no crab; we're hoping for better luck here.

Strong winds are expected to arrive again tomorrow evening so we moved to Santa Anna Inlet, reputedly very protected. We expect we'll be holed up here for 3 or 4 days. We took advantage of the time before the rain starts again and scrambled through the thick forest to a nearby lake, along the way gathering a lot of wild blueberries. Crab for dinner, blueberry pancakes for breakfast!

The Anan Bay Bear Observatory was one of the best experiences we've had anywhere! We spent hours watching brown and black bears catch and eat salmon that were trying to jump a waterfall; at one point a mother and cub decided to have their meal just a meter from the observation deck. Now we're anchored at Frosty Bay, an extremely quiet cove.

The strong winds dissipated so we continued south in Eastern Passage and are anchored in Anan Bay, actually just an indentation. Tomorrow we will hike to the Anan Bay Bear Observatory; only 24 visitor permits are issued per day, but this year getting 2 of them was not a problem.

After a fascinating morning exploring the rock carvings at Petroglyph Beach, we left Wrangell and followed the tidal current south in Eastern Passage. We're anchored in a small bay half way down the western side, out of the current and hopefully out of the gale force winds predicted for the larger straits. We'll hunker down here for a day or so.

We are docked at Wrangell, now a fishing town but originally a Tlingit community. We?ve already enjoyed the many totem poles and tomorrow will hike to a beach known for its ancient petroglyphs.

Weather kept us in Petersburg longer than planned, but today we took a flood tide down Wrangell Narrows and are anchored near the south entrance. The Narrows are 21 miles long and have 65 channel markers for the twists and turns, which made for an interesting few hours.

Yesterday a sunny Shanghai-La, today blue icebergs as big as houses near Le Conte Glacier, tonight docked amongst the fishing fleet at Petersburg. No boredom on this boat! We?ll be in Petersburg for a few days, locating a replacement part for our chartplotter sonar and attending to miscellaneous chores.

Another day's drive (with so little wind, trawlers make more sense here than sailboats) brought us to Thomas Bay. The bay's glacier receded ages ago, so the main draw is Scenery Cove. It's a narrow steep canyon with a meadow and stream at the head, beneath a ring of mountains; it looked so perfect it hardly seemed real. And the water was a most unusual emerald green, adding to the surreal quality. Once again we are the only boat in the anchorage, though the plethora of crab traps in the bay means there must be people somewhere (possibly coming over from Petersburg?).

There were several bays within Tebenkof Bay, each of which had numerous islets and coves. We enjoyed watching black bears on shore every day, as well as a large number of otters: fun to see, but they decimate the crab population. (No crab cakes for us after all.) Tonight we are in Portage Bay, a placid and sheltered anchorage in Frederick Sound. We've had sunshine for 2 days in a row and are revelling in it!

Today brought some wind, and we tacked our way down to Tebenkof Bay Wilderness Area where we are anchored at the end of Thetis Bay. Fishing is reportedly good here, so we plan to explore some nooks and crannies in the area for the next few days while trying to replenish our fresh seafood supply.

Art jury-rigged a repair for the windlass yesterday, then the sun made a brief appearance so we had an enjoyable walk to the nearby lake and natural hot springs. This morning we had a lovely soak in the bath house, then drove (very little wind, as usual) to nearby Red Bluff Bay. It's in a gorgeous setting, almost completely enclosed and surrounded by tall mountains, with a large waterfall on one side.

Into every life some rain must fall. Figuratively, we've been repair-free for quite some time, but yesterday the chartplotter's sonar stopped working (fortunately we have a backup depth meter), and this morning a piece broke off the windlass so it will let the chain down but not bring it up correctly. Literally, it's raining, so we're anchored at Warm Springs Bay but are not keen on hiking to the waterfall and lake. Putting two and two together makes today a fix-it day.

A humpback whale sounded near our boat in Chatham Strait, we're anchored in a tiny gem of an anchorage (Ell Cove), and we had fresh crab cakes for dinner. All is definitely well aboard!

Our primary route is now southerly, and already it's warmer. We're anchored at Corner Bay in Tenakee Inlet, where we've been enjoying watching a mama bear with her cub, and later an unusual bear that was brown but with white ears! Our crab trap was filled this morning so we had a delicious crab feast for dinner.

After many marvelous experiences in Glacier Bay, it was time to start heading south. We are docked at Hoonah, the oldest Tlingit community in Alaska (settled when glaciers overran their previous home in what is now Glacier Bay). More than a convenient fuel stop, it?s a small and charming little town.

We are anchored in Bartlett Cove, our last night in Glacier Bay. A grand finale experience was having a humpback whale do barrel rolls and fiercely slap its flukes on the water, just yards from our boat while we were anchored at Willoughby Island waiting for a favorable current. Wow!

We drove to the end of John Muir Inlet today, flanked by intriguing and increasingly more stark cliff faces. All the glaciers in that inlet have receded dramatically, but we managed to snag a bit of glacier ice and made a ceremonial G&T at the highest latitude we will ever be in our journeys (59 05.310N). A whale was feeding in North Sandy Cove when we arrived to anchor for the night. Tomorrow we'll return to John Hopkins Inlet to get one last look at the glaciers that still reach the sea.

SSB connections have been erratic so these posts may be out of order, but that doesn't matter. Yesterday was rainy and we only went as far as Sebree Cove, but today was more clear and we drove to the end of Wachusett Inlet. It's a narrow fiord with milky jade water, flanked by steep snowy peaks, numerous cascades, and thick forest; we soaked in the majestic beauty for hours. Now we're at Goose Cove, the farthest north we will ever anchor. There are bergy bits around us and the water temp reads 41F, but the sun feels warm and we enjoyed seeing another bear on shore.

The glacier at the end of Tarr Inlet was active, and we got to see huge slabs of ice break off. The sounds were as powerful as the sights: ice cracking sounded like rifle shots, and chunks hitting the water sounded like cannon booms (and created waves that rocked the boat). How dramatic, to witness the earth changing right before our eyes! Now we're anchored at the end of narrow Tidal Inlet (which we dubbed Waterfall Alley), watching a bear graze near the shore.

Every day has been an adventure! Yesterday we drove into John Hopkins Inlet, past glaciers and through bergy bits. Anchored at Reid Inlet, today we walked around (and briefly on) Reid Glacier. Tomorrow we'll drive up Tarr Inlet (no sailing wind here) to see the glaciers at the end of that long arm.

Every day has been an adventure! Yesterday we drove into John Hopkins Inlet, past glaciers and through bergy bits. Anchored at Reid Inlet, today we walked around (and briefly on) Reid Glacier. Tomorrow we'll drive up Tarr Inlet (no sailing wind here) to see the glaciers at the end of that long arm.

We entered Glacier Bay yesterday, anchoring at South Fingers Cove last night and Blue Mouse Cove today. So far the mountains have been mostly shrouded in clouds, but even glimpses through the mists have been captivating. Otters abound, and porpoises and whales have been feeding in the cove. We are the only vessel in this area, and it feels magical!

Anchored at Inian Cove on Inian Island. Given the prevailing wind direction we were surprised to be getting wind inside the cove; the hills are funneling gusts. That plus no sun means it feels cold, but it sure is beautiful! We've also been treated to the sight of many otters and sea lions.

Sitka and a side trip by plane to Denali were terrific; now we're headed north to Glacier Bay. Rather than taking the inside route motoring through narrows, we chose the ocean side and rode a southerly wind up the Gulf before tucking into picturesque Elfin Cove. Built on the steep rocky sides of a small cove, this charming little community uses boardwalks and boats to get between dwellings.

We?ll be in Sitka for at least another 10 days, getting a marine survey completed and taking a short side trip to Denali National Park. I?ll resume position reports once we start to move again.

Arrived in Sitka! Overall a good 23 day passage. It?s cool and damp (summer here feels like winter in the San Juans), but the eagles and rocky islets feel just right.

After a lull in the wee hours this morning, a favorable wind shift is allowing us to sail the final miles directly to Sitka. Since it is light so late, if it weren't for the cloud cover we might even be able to see land today! We've been sighted ourselves; we were buzzed by a plane this morning.

Fortunately when the low reached us last night, we did indeed only catch the upper edge of it (sometimes strategies actually work). Winds in the mid 20's for about 12 hours, with comparable seas, were quite manageable. Conditions steadily improved since morning. If the wind angle was more favorable we could make landfall tomorrow, but the wind has shifted to the NE, exactly where we need to head. Even with some long tacks, we're encouraged to think we can arrive by Tuesday.

The breeze picked up this morning and the sea was relatively calm, so we had a great sailing day. The clouds even parted for a while this morning and we had our first glimpse of the sky in 2 weeks. Didn't last long, but it sure was nice!

There are times to be content with sailing slowly, but this is not one of them. Another deep low is approaching so we are motorsailing, hoping when it arrives we'll be near the outside of its NE quadrant rather than taking a direct hit. An added advantage is that the engine heat is warming up the cabin; what a relief! We were delighted to pass by some floating bull kelp. It didn't just mean we are getting closer to land, it looked like home.

Yesterday's dramatic barometer increase did indeed foretell an improvement in the weather. Today's winds and seas are much more favorable; all three sails are flying and we're enjoying a fine sail. With no waves running into the cockpit and a thin enough cloud cover for some solar to finally get through, we were able to spend some nice time outside for a change.

Yesterday's dramatic barometer increase did indeed foretell an improvement in the weather. Today's winds and seas are much more favorable; all three sails are flying and we're enjoying a fine sail. With no waves running into the cockpit and a thin enough cloud cover for some solar to finally get through, we were able to spend some nice time outside for a change.

"Same song, third verse; a little bit colder and a little bit worse." The galley window sprang a leak yesterday and was letting in a pint of water every time we got hit by a large wave, which was very often. When we slowed down, Art was able to go out and caulk it heavily; it's ugly but so far is keeping water outside. So we're back up to speed, which means waves are constantly smashing into the boat but we are making good progress.

Similar conditions to yesterday, but we decided we needed to head more upwind so we wouldn't get too far east too soon. By mid afternoon when wind and seas increased that made for very aggressive sailing, so we rolled in the inner foresail and are sailing on 3rd reefed main alone. Now we're only making about 3k but at least we are maintaining course and not bashing nearly as much. Our cabin heater stopped working. Since the problem is apparently in the control unit, it's not something we can fix until we get to Alaska. We're cold all the time now, which is going to make the last part of this passage much more uncomfortable.

Having a rough ride. We need to be heading more north but any further upwind would be brutal. It would be more comfortable to fall off the wind more, but if we head that direction we'll have to crawl back north eventually, so we might as well do it now. The not so happy medium is taking wind off the aft quarter, with lots of rolling and waves crashing into and over the boat.(Much too loud to sleep!) The good news is our Hydrovane is steering the boat better than we could, so we just huddle under blankets in the cabin and pop our heads out regularly for safety checks.

By heaving to rather than run with the system, we were in more favorable wind within 6 hours; the price paid of fewer miles toward our destination was worth it. We've been traveling nicely today (though the gribs show a deeper low right on the heels of this one; oh joy). It's Day 9 of cloud cover, but the rain stopped so we enjoyed being in the cockpit again. A milestone: 1000 miles to go!

We're in the midst of a low that a previous forecast showed passing over by this evening. Unfortunately we're having trouble with SSB transmission and haven't been able to receive a current forecast, so once the winds got over 35k (10k more than predicted), we decided to heave to for a few hours. Ideally drifting this direction will get us out of the worst of it sooner.

This report is from Saturday 6 June USA (in case post gets delayed).

The wind behaved as predicted so we are indeed still upwind but on a better course (and not even bashing much). It's gotten quite cold already for us tropical wimps, so the thought of another 1000 miles north makes us shudder! We've added layers of clothes and blankets, and turned the heater on for a bit this morning. This is Day 7 of cloud cover (good thing we're not navigating by sextant), but even without sunshine the enclosed cockpit is a reasonably good solarium during the day. We've passed the half-way point and will have a celebratory meal tonight.

Addendum: This report is from Friday 5 June USA. We're having trouble with SSB transmission so it may not have been posted.

The wind behaved as predicted so we are indeed still upwind but on a better course (and not even bashing much). It's gotten quite cold already for us tropical wimps, so the thought of another 1000 miles north makes us shudder! We've added layers of clothes and blankets, and turned the heater on for a bit this morning. This is Day 7 of cloud cover (good thing we're not navigating by sextant), but even without sunshine the enclosed cockpit is a reasonably good solarium during the day. We've passed the half-way point and will have a celebratory meal tonight.

The wind behaved as predicted so we are indeed still upwind but on a better course (and not even bashing much). It's gotten quite cold already for us tropical wimps, so the thought of another 1000 miles north makes us shudder! We've added layers of clothes and blankets, and turned the heater on for a bit this morning. This is Day 7 of cloud cover (good thing we're not navigating by sextant), but even without sunshine the enclosed cockpit is a reasonably good solarium during the day. We've passed the half-way point and will have a celebratory meal tonight.

The wind behaved as predicted so we are indeed still upwind but on a better course (and not even bashing much). It's gotten quite cold already for us tropical wimps, so the thought of another 1000 miles north makes us shudder! We've added layers of clothes and blankets, and turned the heater on for a bit this morning. This is Day 7 of cloud cover (good thing we're not navigating by sextant), but even without sunshine the enclosed cockpit is a reasonably good solarium during the day. We've passed the half-way point and will have a celebratory meal tonight.

The wind behaved as predicted so we are indeed still upwind but on a better course (and not even bashing much). It's gotten quite cold already for us tropical wimps, so the thought of another 1000 miles north makes us shudder! We've added layers of clothes and blankets, and turned the heater on for a bit this morning. This is Day 7 of cloud cover (good thing we're not navigating by sextant), but even without sunshine the enclosed cockpit is a reasonably good solarium during the day. We've passed the half-way point and will have a celebratory meal tonight.

We finally got into some wind, though distance made good to our destination has not improved because we're bashing upwind and off our desired course. However, it's not worse than we expected, and the wind is predicted to clock tonight and tomorrow. IF it does, we'll still be bashing but we'll be on a much more favorable course. We've been visited by dolphins twice, once with a spectacular show of leaping and playing!

In spite of the light wind we've been able to keep sailing at an acceptable pace. That said, being off course and having to jibe downwind the last couple of days means our distance made good has been disappointing. Gribs are forecasting a wind shift and increase tomorrow, so we're staying optimistic as we float along in light fog...

The previous wind shift took us off our desired course, but at least we can still have the sails up. And another plus: we came across a glass ball! An incredible stroke of luck, and in the calm air we were able to snag it easily. No fish on our trolling line, but we caught a treasure.

Sailing very slowly can be called ghosting, but last night we were truly a ghost ship: creeping along silently in fog. We are far enough north to need jackets and sweats on night watch, but not far enough to be past the large area of high pressure (= light wind). Probably the best way to look at it is that every day we're not getting slammed is a good day.

Update to the noon position: wind turned lighter and more southerly. We did a gentle jibe and are now sailing at 2.5k on a course of 40T.

So far this has been a surprisingly slow trip. Wind got over 20k yesterday, but today we are back in light airs that are forecast to be in our area for at least a few days. At least we are able to glide across the sea over long low swells, so we can't complain.

A good day. We have plenty of wind and are now a fourth of the distance toward our destination.

Fuel is a concern on a passage of this distance, but when the wind died last night we decided to motor. We needed the engine on to run the watermaker (=refill the empty tank), plus there was good wind predicted to the north and we didn't want to miss it. Mission accomplished: tank is nearly full and we've caught an ideal west wind, moving well in exactly the direction we want to go.

In the Excitement Of The Day Contest, 2nd runner up goes to the freighter that came within a mile of us (sure were glad we had the AIS). 1st runner up was watching a green glow (not quite a green flash) on the horizon at sunrise. The winner: realizing a faulty valve in the watermaker had caused the contents of our port water tank to empty into the sea! Fortunately Art found a workaround so we can gradually refill it.

When our speed dropped below 2k last night and we couldn't keep the sails from slatting, we ended up having to motor. Thankfully the wind picked up this morning and we are having another lovely sail under trade wind skies. The stars overhead and the bioluminescence in the surrounding water have been gorgeous at night, and today we were visited by a very large seabird that we suspect was a northern albatross.

At twilight yesterday 4 boobies played with the wind around our sails until dark, then 2 of them rode on the bow pulpit until dawn. We had a good run overnight, but the wind died today and we are ghosting in the pacific Pacific.

A lovely start to our passage! We were delighted to see the Southern Cross just above the horizon last night, a final farewell to the tropics. Now we're moving along nicely in a light breeze.

We left Honolulu, planning to anchor on the west side of Oahu for a few days then head north to Alaska but have had to backtrack. Our AIS stopped receiving/transmitting our GPS information, which we felt was a dealbreaker for an offshore passage. Now we're on a mooring buoy in Keehi Lagoon, waiting for replacement parts to arrive.

We are back at Ala Wai in Honolulu, picking up & installing autopilot parts and doing final provisioning for our passage to Alaska. We're still planning on departing towards the end of May.

A pleasant overnight sail (interrupted by a 30k thunderstorm at 0500) brought us to Kaneohe Bay on Oahu. It's a very protected location and we're enjoying not rolling in the anchorage. Working on projects will be easier here (currently protecting & insulating heat ducts, and varnishing), and we plan to stay at least a week.

We made overnight stops at Big Beach (near Molokini) and east of Lahaina; both of those anchorages were only viable due to very benign conditions. Now we're at Honolua Bay, a pretty spot with lots of surfers riding large waves at the nearby point. The waves are a bit uncomfortable in the bay but the wind is predicted to shift soon, and we plan to stay here for at least a few days.

After a nice sail to Maui that included spotting some whale spouts, we are anchored at La Perouse Bay. We'd prefer an anchorage that's smaller and less exposed, but there aren't many options in this area. So far we're the only sailboat out and about (so keeping the recommended social distance from other people is absolutely no problem!).

Since Hawaii state marinas limit transient stays and it's too early to leave for Alaska, we left Honolulu to do some anchoring around the neighboring islands. We've been on the SW coast of Lanai for a few days, enjoying complete solitude in a rocky cove and a chance to continue working on projects at a more relaxed rate. (Due to coronavirus restrictions, Waikiki is now a ghost town. At least cruisers have experience being isolated for long periods of time in limited space!)

Second Wind is now at a slip in Ala Wai Boat Harbor, and we felt an update about marina conditions would be appropriate. Contrary to information found online, there is no longer a fuel dock in the harbor, nor are there pumpout or laundry facilities. Shower keys require a $100 deposit per gender and don't always work. As of November 2019, moorage rates increased considerably; in addition, they charge $10 per person per day as a liveaboard fee. On the upside, many people found these conditions onerous and have left the marina, so there is no longer a shortage of available slips. We will stay here for the time being since the location is ideal, but are likely to look for alternatives after the first of the year.

We docked at Ala Wai Harbor in Honolulu at 0900, after a very boisterous final 120 miles. The Customs officer said the weather was unusually windy (good to know we weren't imagining the challenges). But here we are, officially back in the USA. We don't plan on making another YIT post until the next time the boat changes location, which is likely to be March 2020.

After a restful afternoon & night, we set sail early this morning and are on the final sprint into Honolulu

After a restful afternoon & night, we set sail early this morning and are on the final sprint into Honolulu

We were welcomed to the state of Hawaii by our first clear night sky and the northern hemisphere stars. We dropped our sails around noon & are bobbing along in the lee of the Big Island, trying to time our arrival in Honolulu by daylight and figuring this would be the calmest place between here and there to hang out. It's giving us a chance to tidy up ourselves & the boat so we'll be presentable to Customs officials.

Every night of this passage has been squally, and last night's were particularly intense

A little more sun + a little less wind = a more pleasant day. Wind is on the aft starboard quarter, just where we wanted it, and we have about 400 miles left.

After a week of seeing nothing but gray by day & black by night, we were treated to some patches of blue around midday. With fewer squalls and not so much downwind, the jib is flying again

We dropped to second reef late yesterday afternoon, then in a strong and prolonged squall last night decided to furl in the jib. Since we're not racing anyone to Hawaii and the gribs show conditions building rather than abating, we're sticking with the reduced sail plan for now.

It's Thanksgiving Day in the USA, and we have much to be thankful for. In addition to this precious planet and our loving family & friends, we have under 900 miles to go and will have freshly caught tuna for our feast!

Light wind + large waves overnight meant motoring again, but we got back into wind around 10N; that was our turning point. Our strategy was to head north until past the ITCZ, then head NW and more or less sail the rhumb line to Oahu. Theoretically that would give us a more favorable wind angle for the last long leg (wind at least on the beam, if not slightly aft, the whole way). We'll see how those best laid plans play out...

A wet night, then a wet & wild morning; we've never had this much torrential rain on a passage before! But at least there's plenty of wind; with sustained gusts over 30k, we're reefed and still making good progress through the large sloppy waves.

We're in the ITCZ, but it has its advantages: the rain is washing salt off the decks & solar panels, and having the engine on has allowed us to make water.

It's a bit calmer today, which we welcomed. We're not quite able to make our desired course but are happy to be sailing rather than driving in this latitude. Fun to watch flying fish & seabirds by day, bioluminescence by night.

Yesterday afternoon Art noticed a problem with the gooseneck & we decided to drop the main until we could fix the problem. Fortunately the wind moved SE, so with jib alone we were able to keep on course with a slight loss of speed. This morning a little ingenuity and a big hammer resolved the issue (though with this wind angle, we're staying with just the jib anyway).

We crossed the equator last night and are now in the northern hemisphere! Second Wind was in the South Pacific almost exactly 4 1/2 years...We then made a slight course change to NNW and the wind clocked, so we had a delightful downwind day.

I had made an error in plotting one of the intermediary waypoints on our route (fortunately not one we're headed for yet). When I corrected it, the overall route was shortened by about 100 miles. Despite things going well, that was good news!

Though we're a little more upwind today, the wind strength and waves are a little lighter. We're a bit slower but more comfortable

Conditions are stronger than predicted, but winds are favorable & we're making excellent progress.

Off to a great start on our passage to Hawaii!

The fuel line problem appears to be fixed; whew! We're stocking food & fuel, and watching the weather forecasts. Early next week is looking promising, but of course it's too soon to tell.

After our record slowest passage in terms of average daily distance made good, we chose landfall at Daniel's Bay to rest in its slightly less rolly location and stretch our legs on the long walk to the waterfall. Missions accomplished, this morning we moved around to Taiohae. There is a long list of tasks to complete prior to our departure for Hawai'i, most important of which is figuring out how air is getting into the fuel lines. Of note: this is our last anchorage in the South Pacific! (Ouch, that hurts.)

What a passage! Instead of a final run with predicted E16 winds, we clawed our way in to Hakatea (Daniel's Bay) with 20k headwinds and big seas. As an added bonus, we have a fuel problem that is causing the engine to stop

Last night we made our last long tack toward our destination. We're still close hauled but at least all the miles under the keel are distance made good.

Yesterday we bashed upwind with minimal progress toward our destination. With a slight change of wind angle and speed, we're having to bash harder, but we're able to make necessary easting. A big plus: we got to watch a pod of dolphins play at the bow!

We finally crossed out of the wide swath of light air into latitudes with more wind predicted. It's a relief to finally do some good sailing, though with all the tacking necessary, landfall will be at least a full day later than we'd hoped.

Today is Halloween, and it's been a day of tricks & treats. Treats: spells of enough wind to do some good sailing, and sighting a group of whales in the distance. Tricks: longer spells of little wind, sometimes ghosting and sometimes burning fuel. No costumes for us tonight, but we'll have chili for dinner (a long family tradition

Winds here are often lighter & more NE this time of year, so we were expecting a slow passage

Shortly before noon we exited our final pass in the Dangerous Archipelago

Kamoka turned out well; Albert, its lone resident, brought us freshly husked coconuts yesterday and we had him over for coffee this morning. After maneuvering around more pearl nets and bommies, we're now anchored near the NE corner of the atoll by Chez Raita. Tonight we'll have our first meal off the boat in over a month, mmmmm!

We had a nice time in the village then waited for a day with good visibility before navigating to our next anchorage

Dropped anchor outside the village of Tenukupara in Ahe at 0830. We're in the small inner lagoon, apparently a favorite of Bernard Moitessier; it's fun to know he anchored here! In the next couple of days we'll play in the school and look for some black pearls.

En route to Ahe, unfortunately under power (no wind in the forecast for days, and we need to be making gradual progress toward Nuku Hiva). At least it's a nice day for a drive, and we're enjoying reading our books...

We completed our circumnavigation of Tikehau by sailing back to the pass, anchored at Motu Teonai. Depending on the weather forecast, tomorrow we'll either do some fishing and swimming here, or push on to Ahe.

We wanted to check out Motu Hiraumaine; turns out it's just a coral spit with a few bushes. There's no wind protection and minimal protection from fetch. That said, Shore Explores on the spit and the nearby reef motu are fascinating!

Yesterday we had some good snorkeling at Motu Mauu, then anchored off of Tavania Islet for the night. Today we had a beautiful sail up the atoll to Motu Puarua, which is a bird sanctuary. The sight and sound of hundreds? thousands? of terns and frigates is quite something!

The wind finally shifted and so did we. After some delightful experiences in Tuherahera village, we moved a short distance up the atoll to Motu Aua.

A short overnight passage brought us to Tikehau, where we anchored near the wharf at Tuherahera village shortly before the weather deteriorated. Haven't gone ashore yet, but this looks like a good place to be stuck for a few days.

Makatea is a rare raised coral atoll, with no pass, no lagoon, and high steep vertical cliffs. Though it was worth the side trip to see it, we can't recommend it as a stopover. The two moorings are in very good condition, but they are alarmingly close to big surf breaking on rocks.

Had an easy exit from Tehere Pass at one hour after low tide, and are now en route to Makatea.

Anchored at Roto Ava, a mile from Tehere Pass; still no inhabitants or vessels in sight. Plan A is to snorkel the pass tomorrow, then depart for Makatea the next day.

Yesterday we ghosted up the eastern side of the atoll and anchored at Point Teonemahina, the NE corner. This is a magical place, protected by miles of uninhabited motu; we are alone in a blue paradise! For cruisers: the route is free of hazards, as long as one stays on the shore side of the pearl floats. Navionics accurately charts the location of all shallows, though depths are inaccurate ("16 ft" was actually awash).

Correction! Last post said 14 36S but that was a typo; we were at 15 36S, Apataki atoll. Sorry! Yesterday we moved up the atoll to Motu Omiro, where we enjoyed exploring coral spits; today we went to the next motu and are anchored in front of the Apataki Careenage at Tamaro. Assam's Pearl Farm is gone; Assam retired and his son & grandson built an impressive shipyard

We arrived at Apataki's Pakaka Pass 3 hours after our intended transit, but we made it through on a 2k incoming current with no problems. Whew! Now we're anchored near Motu Rua Vahine; not much protection, but not much needed for the next day or so.

Left Papeete yesterday around noon, bound for Apataki. Predicted E15 winds turned out to be NE20's; they've eased but are still from the direction we want to go. We recall that one definition of sailing is going slowly in the wrong direction! That said, it's a lovely day to be out on the ocean.

We moved to Marina de Papeete for pre-departure errands, only to discover that the facilities are under construction and there are no showers, laundry or internet. Bummer!

We've arrived back in Papeete, completing what turned out to be a wonderful 9-week loop through the Society Islands. We expect to be in this area for a couple of weeks, preparing to sail to the Tuamotus. Right now we're anchored near Marina Taina

After we saw the underwater tikis and fed the stingrays (wow!), we skedaddled back to the more protected anchorage at the NE entrance to Opunohu Bay, then moved this morning to the NE entrance of Cook's Bay. Conditions are predicted to be calm in a couple of days, so we'll head back to Papeete then.

Opunohu Bay was as secure as it was beautiful, and hiking in the valley was excellent. We finally moved back to an outer anchorage, this time slightly west of the village of Papetoai. This anchorage is frequented because it's close to snorkeling destinations (sting ray feeding, underwater tikis), but we're not keen on it; it's exposed and too close to shallows with lots of bombies. Once we've seen the underwater attractions, we'll move somewhere more protected.

With fairly strong winds predicted for the next few days, we anchored at the head of Opunohu Bay. We'll probably get wind bullets here but we're in 20' of water with a good holding on a mud bottom. We would have had to move anyway, as work is being started to place moorings where we had been anchored; also, it's not snorkeling weather for a while. In this anchorage we have access to hiking trails and a shrimp farm (ooh, I can make a shrimp dinner for my birthday!).

We were sorry to leave Huahine so soon, but it was a good choice: rather than (the normal) hard upwind beat back to Moorea, we had a calm overnight sail with winds mostly behind us. We're anchored near the entrance to Opunohu Bay and expect to be in Moorea for at least a week.

We expected to stay at Huahine for longer, but incoming winds will give us a much easier sail back to Moorea

On a mooring at the head of Port Bourayne, where there is a rarity of rarities in FP: 1) a sand beach, that 2) is public. Picnic on a beach towel, woo-hoo!

Had a pleasant light upwind sail to Huahine, where we're on a mooring at lovely Avea Bay (anchoring discouraged here also). We plan to spend several days at this island, exploring anchorages we bypassed 4 years ago.

We heard the best poisson cru in the Leeward Islands is at Snack Mac China in Haamene Bay, so we made a side trip there for lunch; well worth it! Now we're anchored near the reef at Motu Mahaea.

Before we leave this lagoon for the last time, we had to return to Motu Tautau and swim with all the fish in the Coral River one more time. What a delight!

We moved to Faaroa Bay on the east side of Raiatea for a brief rendezvous with some new friends. It's still not swimming weather, but a plus: the rain is washing the salt from yesterday's passage off our deck and windows.

We punched our way back to Taha'a and found a calm anchorage in Patii Bay. Conditions below are outside the lagoon.

We are ready to leave Bora Bora but are on a mooring in the lee of Motu Toopua, waiting for more favorable wind and swell conditions outside the lagoon. (Why head into a 3m washing machine if we don't have to?)

Bora Bora is our turn-around point, so we are back at Vaitape to reprovision and start heading east. Of note: Anchoring is now strongly discouraged at BB. Moorings have been installed in the popular anchorages and a single company is overseeing all of them (including the ones formerly associated with BBYC, Mai Kai, and Bloody Mary's). The commercialization is a disappointment, but given the exponential increase in cruising and particularly charter boats here, the change is understandable.

The Taurere anchorage was comfortable in stronger winds, and when the wind eased we had fun swimming with rays. Now we're on a mooring near Bloody Mary's, where we will celebrate our 45th anniversary (a few days early).

We moved to Taurere, an excellent anchorage. It is reasonably well protected from the trades, with less current and less traffic than the other anchorages

After completing some errands in Vaitape, we moved around to the east side of Bora Bora and are anchored near Motu Tupe. It was a tricky entrance (shallow with lots of bommies) and there is small boat traffic to/from the nearby resorts, but it is a pretty and pleasant anchorage.

Winds have eased so we moved to a mooring at the Bora Bora Yacht Club, where we can walk into town for errands and internet.

In current weather we had 3 options at Taha'a: 1) endure wind bullets in a bay anchorage, 2) endure rough fetch in a reef anchorage, 3) sail to Bora Bora. We chose Door #3. We're anchored in the lee of Motu Toopoa, where we feel blissfully secure.

After one last fabulous float at the Coral River, we relocated to Hurepiti Bay. It's a bit shallower and feels calmer than Tapuamu Bay, where many other boats are headed. During these next few windy days, Art will do some rewiring of the watermaker, and we hope to take a long hike.

With stronger winds predicted in a couple of days, we wanted to be on the leeward side of an island; so we sailed back to Taha'a. We're anchored at Motu Tautau, near the Coral Garden

Anchored at Motu Taoru, where we had a terrific snorkel in the pass. We saw several fishes we'd never seen before (after all this time, even one new species is a delightful surprise), and a very large eel

We're anchored at Faaroa Bay, where there is a fun dinghy river trip. We're on the windward side of Raiatea, but this is a secure anchorage (35', mud).

At Opoa Bay on Raiatea to visit the impressive Taputapuatea Marae. It's not a good anchorage (very deep until right next to shore) and one of their two moorings is nearly chafed through. We'll move on tomorrow, but the marae was worth the white knuckles!

Heiva dances, performed by all the island's villages, were terrific! Mooring buoys at Patio had disappeared since our last visit, but we've moved on to Tapuamu and their 3 moorings are still intact.

Snorkeling around the motu was fantastic! We moved on to Patio for the last 2 days of their Heiva festival (dancing and food). The moorings are gone so we anchored east of town.

After a delightfully laid back stay at Moorea, we had a calm overnight passage to Taha'a. We're anchored near Motu Mahaea.

Strong winds and reports of crowded anchorages at Moorea kept us in Papeete an extra week. (After being hit by a vessel dragging anchor last year, we had no desire to get into a similar situation!) We finally made the short trip to Cook's Bay (Moorea) today, where the backdrop scenery is truly awesome.

We moved to the Marina de Papeete, right downtown. We now have our carte de sejeour in hand, so our long stay visa is now official! Plans are to stay through their Autonomy Day celebrations this weekend, then sail to nearby Moorea early next week.

Papeete is much more crowded than when we were here 4 years ago! Both marinas are full and vessels are anchored all along the inner channel. We found a spot to drop the hook south of downtown; inconvenient, but it will have to do for now. Since we have to finalize the paperwork for our long-stay visa here, we will probably be in Papeete for a while. No chance of getting bored, though; we passed up museums, gardens, etc. our first time around, so there is plenty to see while we're waiting.

We have great wind for our course, and are having to reduce sail in order to make our final approach to Tahiti in daylight tomorrow. Is that a hot shower I hear calling?

Easterlies filled in late yesterday afternoon and we've been at a gallop ever since. We had a Rainbow Morning: numerous rain showers in the vicinity, but enough sunshine to light them up with colors.

We thoroughly enjoyed Raivavae, particularly our long walks around & over the island, and feasting on pamplemousse! Now it's time to move on; we departed for Papeete this morning.

Landfall! Given yesterday's conditions we weren't sure we would arrive today, but overnight the wind became a consistent ESE 25-30k so we managed to make it. The anchorage is far from calm (see below) but we set an anchor alarm and took a very long nap! We're looking forward to exploring Raivavae and may stay here a couple of weeks; I'll file YIT reports again when we start sailing north to Tahiti.

Yesterday afternoon we encountered SE winds precisely on cue and we were able to execute Plan A (keep same direction with sails up, directly to Raivavae). Apparently one of the weather gods decided things were going too smoothly, as today has been a mess! No dependable wind speed or direction, messy seas, lots of rain (and lots of sail changes).

Ugh, still motoring. We should reach the band of easterlies any time now...

Gribs have been remarkably accurate on this passage, so we banked on being able to drive north in an upcoming calm. Sure enough, winds died as predicted; we fired up the engine and are heading slightly east of the rhumb line to Raivavae. Even with no wind for a while, the swells are still magnificent!

Soon we'll need to turn more northerly, but for now winds are still taking us ENE rather than NE. Still moving well though, it's quite a fun sleigh ride downwind on these large swells! We've started to see a few seabirds again, a different species this time. It sounded like they were speaking French.

So far we had been able to sail the direction we wanted, but the most recent wind change meant we are having to head off a bit. That's called a passage, though, and so far we're still making progress, so no complaints on this ship!

We're riding the periphery of a low and having a great run! It's a bit warmer as we work our way north, but there aren't nearly as many seabirds.

Sailing was slow overnight but picked up briskly in the morning. Conventional advice for this passage is to wait until reaching 155W before turning north, but gribs showed turning earlier could be advantageous

Yesterday afternoon's succession of strong squalls gave way to a mostly clear night with frequent gusts over 35k. The full moon on 4.5 m seas was a sight to behold! As the center of the high approached, winds calmed but seas are still large, so we're motorsailing for a while to keep from banging around so much. We're paying tribute to passing the halfway point (in terms of miles) by having a NZ breakfast and a FP dinner. (Not as exciting as it sounds

Continuing to enjoy the seabirds and large waves, and making good easterly progress. Position reports are from noon and this was our "base rate"; we spent the afternoon running downwind in front of frequent heavy squalls.

Winds were 25-30k overnight with gusts and squalls of winds 35-40k. We were glad we'd dropped to 3rd reef before dark so the feisty night wasn't problematic. We're also grateful that the wind is behind us, and we're making good progress. *This report may not have been filed properly on 17 May so I'm sending it again on 18 May (NZ date).

Winds were 25-30k overnight with gusts and squalls of winds 35-40k. We were glad we'd dropped to 3rd reef before dark so the feisty night wasn't problematic. We're also grateful that the wind is behind us, and we're making good progress.

We came a bit south to be ready for predicted westerlies, and are now on a downwind run with main on 2nd reef.

Motoring in virtually no wind and beautiful swells. An albatross has visited a few times today, along with other seabirds; marvelous! Art was a carpenter at sea, repairing a hinge that broke on our companionway door.

Squalls with 35-40k winds and heavy rain appeared overnight, but the old gals were primed for the event and came through in style (Second Wind down to just inner foresail, crew in foulies). Wind is backing, seas are getting rougher; it's a frisky ride but not a bad one.

The low pressure system arrived punctually at midnight, at which point we were very glad that 1)we are members of the Reef Early, Reef Deep Club, and 2)we weren't any closer to the center of the low. Right know we're just trying to keep Second Wind at the most advantageous angle to the waves. (And sadly

Still making good time, and trying to best position ourselves for the low pressure system soon to arrive. Ideally we'll end up near the top of it, not down in it! We were intrigued by a small land bird that found its way into our cockpit, at least 400 miles from home. When it flew away we were concerned it would perish, but a couple hours later it returned

The strategy was to sail ESE but since the wind backed, we're able to head east at best. But no complaints, we're moving nicely (and the fortune cookie said this heading may put us in a better position for the incoming low).

We've had breezes of 10-20k and mostly sunny skies; what a great start on our passage to Raivavae!

We anchored at Urquharts Bay last night so we could ride the rising current up the river to Whangarei this morning. It's great to be back at Riverside Drive Marina, our home away from home.

We are gradually making our way to Whangarei and are now anchored at Tutukaka. Unlike other recent anchorages, this one has good internet access: a blessing and a curse. I guess I'll have to get some work done rather than go hiking!

We had SW 35 two days ago, and NW 35 is forecast for tonight. In between gales we had a great time at Urupukapuka Island, with a great hike under sunny skies. We took the opportunity early this morning to scoot around Cape Brett and are now tucked into Whangamumu Harbour for the next few days.

We anchored briefly at Paihia for provisions and are now in Parorenui Bay. A Parade of Gales is forecast for the next several days, so we may shuttle between this anchorage