ende

2025
25
Jul

Birds in the Solomons

We don’t see many sea birds here, but when anchored close to shore the chorus of birds consists of an amazing array of different voices! The most raucous and visible are the groups of white cockatoos that flit from tree to tree and always seem to have something to quarrel or chat about. We hear lots of different warblers and pigeons, but they mostly remain hidden in the dense foliage of the forest here. In some remote areas we got lucky and saw hornbills–incredibly impressive, large birds. Long before you actually see them you hear the THWUMP THWUMP of their wings–almost like a helicopter!
Here’s a tame hornbill we met in PNG

There are different kinds of parrots around, here a tame couple that lives in Simon’s nature reserve

Both the hornbill and the parrots are free to fly around, but come when called in the hope of getting some goodies :-)

2025
23
Jul

Sewing projects

While I was in hospital with the staph infection Smurfy gave me (okay, indirectly as the bacteria entered the blood through a Smurfy scratch) he thought it was a cool idea to pee on my bed, so Christian (who was overwhelmed by the boathold already) spent a day washing sheets and pillows. Fortunately the mattress cover was due to be replaced anyway–we had bought the material in Vanuatu last year and never got round to changing the top side. So yesterday we washed and reused the lower part of the cover (it’s a crazy shape), pinned the top piece in place, then I sewed two sides with the machine, we gently stuffed the soft latex mattress in and then I spent the rest of the afternoon stitching the remaining two sides by hand..
As the sewing machine was out, I remade the mosquito screens today–vital to have tight-fitting screens in an area with malaria.
Smurfy supervised all projects as usually, helping paws always in the way… How can anybody be such a monster and still look so cute and innocent?


2025
20
Jul

Back home!

Still standing! Battered, swollen, but happy to be back home and out of the dirty harbour of Honiara. 1 week since the surgery to clean out an abscess on my kneecap after a staph infection from a little scratch on my ankle… 6 more days, then we can get the stitches out and I’m allowed to dip into the Pacific!

2025
14
Jul

Bacterial Infection

The western Pacific islands are notorious for bacterial infections. Despite constant disinfecting one of my many Smurfy scratches got infected while we were working at Simon’s Nature Reserve.
A nasty bug got into my bloodstream, chills, fever and then my knee spontaneously went melonsized.
A day later (July 2) we went back to Honiara, antibiotics IV at BS Medical, ultrasound at Frontier radiology–thanks to all the doctors and nurses who tried their best to help me. When the infection persisted after a week (and most of my veins had been burned and clogged by cloxacillin IVs) we got worried that we were dealing with MRSA resistant bacteria and they don’t have antibiotics for that in the Solomons.
After a call to our insurance I hobbled on the next flight to Brisbane on July 9, took a taxi to the emergency of Royal Brisbane and Women’s hospital and was admitted after a few hurdles. Clindamycin antibiotics soon kicked in, but the doctors still recommended surgery to clean the abscess that had formed on my kneecap.
The lovely surgical team played Rage against the machine for me and let me watch the procedure, but I was still surprised that they insisted on a 4 cm incision instead of minimal invasive–maybe they thought a Solomon-style procedure was more fitting for a tough island girl…

I saw the wound for the first time two days after surgery, looking all dry and clean, but huge. Yet another story my scarred, knobbly knee can tell. The new one’s going straight across an old gravel rash from when I was 16 and went too fast around a curve on my moped, to the right the one from when a piece of cliff came off with me in french poly and on the outer left when I slipped from a rock searching for dear little Leeloo in the bush.

I was so happy to be walking almost without a limp when I got out of hospital the same day– half an hour later migraine, nausea, cold sweat. All symptoms disappeared as soon as I lay down and came back when I got back up. Did some reading: cerebrospinal fluid leakage from a needle puncturing the system during a spinal block. Called the hospital, the hospital who said I could come into the emergency and sit there for a few hours to get admitted, or rest at home and call an ambulance if it gets worse. I went for the latter and today it’s getting better. Can’t anything ever be straightforward with me??




2025
29
Jun

Our experiences cruising Papua New Guinea

I’ve just finished a short summary of our visit to the Eastern and Northeastern Islands of PNG. This area used to be quite popular, but for the last decade rumours of violence and crime (that are certainly true for parts of the mainland) have kept sailboats kept away. We enjoyed the little islands very much and would like to encourage more cruisers to visit–the islanders would be happy to have more visitors coming to their stunningly beautiful anchorages :-)
Here’s our short cruising info

2025
27
Jun

15% discount on all Pitufino models!

The season-start discount is coming to an end–just one more week :-)
Order your Pitufino now and get 15% discount!
There’s a brandnew model out: Pitufino V1.2 comes with analogue inputs, digital outputs and Victron ports for battery monitors, etc.
More info on the Pitufino webpage

2025
25
Jun

30 years together

… and the last 14 of these years 24/7 365 aboard our Pitufa–I suppose these count double??
We got lucky and found each other as teenagers, so we got to grow (up) together :-)

2025
18
Jun

Installing a solar system for Simon’s Nature Reserve

We’ve been busy all week, but now the solar installation for Simon is finished!
Christian (and plenty of helping hands) mounted 3 of our used panels together to have one big panel

Then Simon’s brother Charles built a post where the panel will have a maximum of sunshine

Then we had to lead a mighty long cable high up to keep it safe from playing kids and scratching chickens

And install charger, inverter and battery in Simon’s house for communal use

All done, the lights went on and people can charge their gadgets :-)

2025
15
Jun

A shipment from Australia to the Solomons

We ordered a new chain and new solar panels from Australia and had them sent to a freightforwarding company and they were meant to send them here on a containership. Sounds simple, but it turned into an epic story when OPFL in Brisbane after being super responsive suddenly no longer reacted to emails or calls. Just when we were convinced that they had sold all our stuff on ebay they got in touch again–apparently it’s a one-woman business and that woman was in hospital for a while and nobody put our things on the ship we had agreed on. In the meantime two other ships had left, but finally our things set out on their trip and arrived with just a month delay in Honiara. BJS (the company that works together with OPFL got them through customs and delivered quickly and efficiently AND they gave us a mighty discount to make up for the long waiting time. Instead of the 300 Euros we expected, we only had to pay 170 Euros–a real bargain for half a cubic meter on a containership!
So despite the nerve-racking waiting time we can still recommend BJS in Honiara and their freight forwarding partner OPFL in Brisbane.
All things arrived without damage and even without a discount it’s a real bargain. You should definitely not order with them if you’re in a hurry, impatient or tend to nervous break-downs.

2025
09
Jun

Shopping in Honiara

We’ve just spent 3 days on Honiara’s dusty roads chasing parts for the mooring and solar installation and of course we’ve done some more provisioning for ourselves. Once again everything went fine, nothing got stolen and yesterday we sailed over to Simon’s bay again! We didn’t get much sleep in the loud and rolly anchorage in Honiara and this time Christian caught a big-city bug, so today we’re just sorting through the chaos and cleaning up the boat, but soon we’ll get to work :-)
Simon went to Honiara with us to (hopefully) get help for his chronic bronchitis and asthma at the hospital. The plan was to take him back home yesterday on Pitufa, but he’s still getting some treatment there this week. At least we can now call him, because we’ve already given him his new smart phone :-)
Thanks again to Cornelia, Martin, Josef, James, Kristi and Jon for their donations!!

2025
30
May

Photos of Simon’s Nature Reserve

Simon's Nature Reserve, Solomon Islands

Simon has been protecting his reef for 20 years--in a world with rising temperatures and bleached reefs his efforts are more important than ever. Simon would need some help. Here's his little nature reserve (located in the Florida Islands just north of Honiara).

(30 photos)


2025
30
May

Support for Simon’s nature reserve

Google maps shows a place called “Simon’s Nature Reserve” in a bay on the Florida Islands just north of Honiara and intrigued by the name we anchored, not knowing what to expect. An eco lodge? A nature park with a guard? Turns out Simon is just a local man living in a hut ashore, but he has dedicated the past 20 years to protecting the reef off his (and his father’s and uncle’s) land.
He tries to make sure nobody goes fishing there, has collected different types of coral from around the bay and has tried to keep them safe from locals breaking off bits to grind and burn into lime (needed in combination with beetelnut) and from crown of stars invasion. He talks about concepts like bio-diversity, coral bleaching and effects of climate change without ever having had the chance to get any higher education. He has just talked with everyone who came to visit his reef and sucked up information like an eco-sponge.
He warns us ahead that his reef has suffered during the last summer (“I cry when I see my coral…”), then takes us snorkeling, points out special exhibits (red coral, a dark-blue anemone, etc.) and we are happy to find that even though this well-tended reef doesn’t have much large fish (too many poachers come at night), the coral looks much better than any reef we have seen since leaving the Bougainville Strait.

We take many pictures and when we discuss them with him and his family the day after ashore, his face lights up when we tell him about the positive state in comparison to the rest of the Solomons!

Simon would like more nature-lovers to come, visit his reef and support his project. He’s only asking for a 50 SBD (6 USD) donation from visiting sailors to go snorkeling or diving and the local dive operator that occasionally brings tourists pays even less: just 25 SBD (3 USD) per person–not enough to buy equipment to mark the protected zone, patrol it or even buy a flashlight to check for poachers at night or to buy a new diving mask. He has tried over the years to get support from NGOs, but none were interested (a phenomenon we know all too well from trying to get conservation organisations aboard projects that would really deserve funding…), but it’s hard to get visitors for several reasons:

- Sailboats: We are really experienced in anchoring in precarious places (without damaging coral), but it took us a long time to find a spot on the steep slope that goes from the very shallow healthy reef down to 35 m within a short distance. To attract sailboats, Simon would need at least two moorings. We are getting new chain and can donate our old chain, but we don’t have the necessary shackles and rope to finish moorings.

- Visits to snorkel (from Honiara): Simon and his family have an old solar panel, but they would need a battery and an inverter in order to charge a smart phone (which they also lack) in order to be able to get online and have a webpage (or at least a facebook page) and email contact so that people could get in touch with them and arrange a visit… We can donate solar panels, but we would need a battery and an inverter to charge a smart phone that we also don’t have yet ;-)

Of course it would be easier to just shrug and tell him that he’s doing a great job and wish him good luck instead of getting involved and trying to help this great initiative. But this is an opportunity to support a project that can make a big difference in this lagoon as

- a breeding ground for fish that can prevent the villagers from selling the last fish before realising that it’s too late for protection

- an opportunity to give corals beneficial conditions (lots of herbivores to keep them clean, someone to remove threats like crown of thorn and adding species to see if they can cope with the rising temperatures) so resilient coral may adapt here and hopefully repopulate other reefs elsewhere.

Please get in touch if you are sailing towards the Solomons this year and would like to donate or actively help, or if you live nearby and would like to support Simon’s Nature Resort!

We start by donating 50 m of 10 mm galvanized chain for the moorings.
Additionally needed:
- shackles
- swivels
- rope
- floats
- someone with scuba gear to lay a number eight around two boulders to attach the mooring to (a weight might tumble down the drop-off, so not ideal).

In order to get Simon connected to the world, we can donate solar panels, but additionally we would need:
- a battery
- an inverter
- an old smart phone

To patrol the reef and keep nightly poachers out, a strong flashlight would be good.
In order to keep up his work Simon will need a dive mask–his is broken.

If you cannot come to the Solomons to actively help, please consider making a donation! All the equipment needed to make Simon’s nature reserve more widely known and accessible and keep him going comes up to about 500 EUR–very little money to make a big, positive impact in a world where nature is struggling with our pollution and shortsighted exploiting of resources and where even less funding than before is available for conservation projects. Within Europe bank transfers are ideal as there are no fees. If you live elsewhere in the world you can donate with PayPal

2025
26
May

Honiara, capital of the Solomons

Anchoring
We were warned not to go to Honiara by sailboat as the anchorage has a bad reputation for bad holding, bouncy conditions and crime.
Well, I suppose we got lucky: we found a good anchor spot off the breakwater cafe (a big thank you to Fred, the owner, who let us use their dock and helped with advice) and with a few days of calm weather it was quite comfy there most of the time.
Smurfy found our anchorage in the harbour stressful, but exciting!

View from the breakwater

The harbour area is generally nicely made up with carvings from all over the Solomons–we particularly liked this god of the sea :-)


Our first impression was that it’s horribly dirty: the floodings just before we arrived flushed most of the plastic trash from the gutters into the sea and we were horrified about the amount of floating plastic. The Breakwater Cafe and some hotels started a clean-up of their area while we were there, but the problem’s the trash that keeps piling up in the streets.
Honiara after the flood swept the garbage out to sea

Major awareness raising is needed

Shopping and transport
The expat community was wonderfully friendly, helped us find all the stuff we were looking for at the different supermarkets and hardware stores (The range of goods in the isn’t quite like Fiji and it’s more expensive than PNG, but we still stocked up on goodies, even on gluten-free stuff for Christian and high-quality catfood for Smurfy) and we even made it to one of their Friday evening drinks’n'dinner events!

It’s easy and cheap to get around in Honiara with the buses that constantly run up and down the only “highway”–a four lane road without pedestrian crossings or traffic lights. Apparently there are many accidents, suprise, suprise ;-) Taking a taxi back with cartloads of shopping is also quite affordable. Only the highway is paved and walking the incredibly dusty roads we ate considerable amounts of dirt and grit…

Medical services
We went to BS Medical to see the dentist there. The young dentist (studied in Suva) maybe didn’t do the most thorough check-up ever (no fancy equipment), but certainly the most entertaining one. Me (curious): “Do you often do root canals?” Lina (confident): “Yes, almost every day. And the patients don’t come back.” Me (being my naughty self):”Because they all died??” Lina (laughing out loud): “No, they do come back eventually, just not right after to complain…”
Apparently the prices are quite stiff for Solomon standards, but we thought that 2 consultations plus 1 x-ray for 80 USD was quite cheap.
I also went to the “Regional Eye Clinic” to have my retina and eye pressure checked, all was done quickly and professionally and when I asked where to pay the woman at the reception just shrugged. The clinic’s free for everybody :-)

Unfortunately, air conditioning has become a status symbol here, and the icy air on my sweaty body, combined with coughing and sneezing people everywhere, naturally led to me catching a virus. Fever, but also a runny nose and cough – unpleasant and very debilitating, but at least we know it’s not malaria.

2025
15
May

Sailing towards Honiara

The only times we get north or northwest wind is when a cyclone or low passes south of us. With some patience we managed to sail all the way down from northern PNG riding those winds. This week a low south of Guadalcanal brought strong winds and floodings to Honiara–and brought us a weather window to sail down from New Georgia to the Florida Islands just north of Honiara.
We spent a few days in an uninhabited bay on the northermost island of the Floridas and yesterday we sailed down along the island chain to a little village near Tulaghi town. We’re used to having canoes around the boat just after we arrive, but yesterday half the village came out for a chat and to trade fruit and veg ;-)
Nice downwind saiing conditions, calm seas, so no rolling :-)

The rugged coast of the Florida islands–beautiful islands, but badly scarred from mining.

When we anchored behind Undeka island an all-girl canoe came out first

And soon we had half the village around

2025
05
May

8 months of Smurfy aboard

Incredible, but true, our kitten’s already grown up. He’s still a bit crazy, but getting better (or so we tell ourselves).
Unfortunately there’s no veterinary in the Solomon Islands, so we still haven’t been able to have him neutered. For now we just hope that he won’t start marking his territory anytime soon as he can smell neither competing rivals nor lady cats out here on the boat ;-)
If you know a vet who would like to fly to the Solomons and spend a while aboard Pitufa sailing, snorkeling, sundownering and generally have a good time in exchange for a tiny little surgery, let us know!!

Here’s what little Smurfy has been up to recently:
He briefly considered an attack on a little village in the Solomons

Then fortunately changed his mind

He helped Christian with the sails

and lent a helping paw when he was filling the watertanks after all the torrential downpours we’ve had recently.

He entertained us with some crazy climbing

and fought the heat with (literally) prolonged siestas.

He looks like a perfect little angel, but all our bites and scratches show that he’s not as cute and innocent as he looks ;-)

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