Christian got me a chain for my birthday and it’s all shiny and pretty! 70 m of 10 mm chain would be a bit bulky for a necklace, but they suit Pitufa’s bow just fine The Maggi chain we bought two years ago started rusting after 6 months and by now it’s already disintegrating, losing material and leaving a rusty mess on deck every time… Continue reading »
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2017
29
Jul
2017
17
Jul
2017
17
Jul
New Article in All-at-Sea: Interview with female single hander
A couple of months ago in the Gambier Islands we met the young, French single hander Charlotte Guillemot. As she is the first female single hander we have met in the Pacific, we interviewed her. Birgit Hackl: Girl Power: Interviewing Charlotte Guillemot, All At Sea Caribbean, June 2017, p. 40–42. Free download from allatsea.net.
2017
16
Jul
Back in Tahiti
Last night we arrived after a pleasant, but rather slow sail at Point Venus in Tahiti. We caught a Wahoo on the last day and the fridge is filled up with filets and steaks Now we’re getting ready for our yearly provisioning and spare-part marathon.
2017
14
Jul
Swell
Yesterday we motored out through the shallow pass of Faaite with the last light and set sail towards Tahiti (240 nm). We set out in calm conditions and the wind has gradually picked up, so that we’re sailing along swiftly, but in still rather calm seas under sunny skies. That kind of start is much more pleasant than swapping from the lagoon to rough ocean… Continue reading »
2017
13
Jul
Stopover in Faaite
We came in to Faaite yesterday afternoon. We took a walk around the lovely little village today (just 400 people live here) and arranged an appointment with the mayor. We asked about the status of Tahanea, found out that the people of Faaite see it rather as a food reserve than a nature reserve and tried to convince the mayor to actively protect the bird… Continue reading »
2017
11
Jul
Leaving Tahanea
This morning we set the alarm clock to 3 and sailed out through the westernmost pass of Tahanea at 4. The night was brightly lit by a still almost full moon, but I was still a bit nervous, because we had not been through that pass before. In the end it was calm and easy to exit and we set sail towards the neighbouring Faaite… Continue reading »
2017
28
Jun
Mantas!
Yesterday we were anchored off ‘smurf island’ in the middle of the lagoon. During the night a northwesterly wind set in (the forecast had nothing but easterlies predicted…) and we got dangerously close to the steep reef off the island. We brought out a second anchor at 1 o’clock in the morning and spent a rather restless night with fortunately not strong, but consistent winds… Continue reading »
2017
22
Jun
Weather quirks
The French Polynesian Meteo as well as the grib files predicted a disturbance with wind clocking to the north, then west, south and finally southeast. During such episodes the southerly and/or southeasterly winds are usually strong which the Polynesians call ‘Maramu’. Ideally we would hop from anchorage to anchorage around an atoll to be on the protected side, but in an atoll as big as… Continue reading »
2017
21
Jun
Bird islands in peril
Tahanea was the first atoll we ever sailed too. We were enchanted by the bird colonies and healthy reefs and expected other atolls to be just like that. We were disappointed wherever we went. On populated atolls the motus were all burned down (‘cleaned’) at some point and the endemic shrubs replaced by coconut plantations where people make copra that is then turned into palm… Continue reading »
2017
12
Jun
Anniversary
It would be hard to find a more perfect spot than beautiful Tahanea for our 6th cruising anniversary. As an anniversary present we got ourselves a phantastic snorkel trip through the pass with white tips, black tips, grey reef sharks and even a lemon shark, and as a special highlight an eagle ray and a turtle passing by to congratulate
2017
09
Jun
Lagoon sailing
It’s a pleasure to sail across a calm lagoon on a sunny day, but yesterday’s trip from the northernmost point to the pass area was quite exciting. Sailing close-hauled in quite some wind (around 20 knots) we were dodging bommies and of course a fish decided to bite just as the wind was gusting up a bit. Now we’re anchored next to the northernmost pass,… Continue reading »
2017
08
Jun
Around the atoll
We’re enjoying our time in Tahanea, moving around the atoll according to the wind and spending the days with a nice balance between boat projects and fun like snorkeling, kayaking and long walks along the motus. At this time of the year a big fleet of yachts passes through the Tuamotus. We see some of them on the AIS, hear them talking on the VHF… Continue reading »
2017
27
May
Repairs
The downwind passage from the Gambier to Tahanea with quite a windy start put lots of strain on the material. We bent a stanchion and one of the genoa poles actually ripped the pole track out of the mast (a 15 cm long bit, we could still use the other pole). Christian has already cut out the bent bit and will move the remaining piece… Continue reading »
2017
26
May
Good sailing
This morning we arrived at the pass of Tahanea after a very slow nightsail (we didn’t want to get there during the night). At 8 the pass still looked quite impressive with high standing waves (wind against an outgoing current), so we sailed up and down with 3 lures out hoping to finally catch a fish. After 2 hours the pass calmed down, so we… Continue reading »