Pitufa.at

The only way to be really comfy in an open anchorage like in Honiara is to be huddled in a protected corner with the bow pointing into swell, so that’s what we did for our last two visits to the capital of the Solomons. I used to dread manoeuvres with Pitufa (no bow thruster, long fin keel, huge prop), but with lots of practicing I… Continue reading »

Smurfy welcomed today’s oh-no-fishy aboard! Why oh-no-fishy? Because we never catch one when it’s convenient… Today we were sailing goose-winged through an uncharted area full of reefs with the help of sat pics and just as a squall hit, the genoa got backwinded and rain was suddenly pouring into an open hatch, this king mackerel decided to bite! Smurfy didn’t care about the brouhaha and… Continue reading »

I can highly recommend hydrocolloid plasters for the onboard pharmacy. They are ideal for cruisers as they seal off a (clean uninfected) wound perfectly from dirt, flies, bacteria and you can even go snorkeling with them. They were readily available in French Poly, but not in Fiji or Vanuatu and even in Austria I had to order them at the pharmacy and the ones I… Continue reading »

After a long waiting time for us, finally a visiting vet came to the vet-less clinic in Honiara and we used the chance to take Smurfy for a vaccination boost AND to have him neutered. People were assuring us that he’ll be tamer without testosterone in his system, but I have my doubts as he was more aggressive as a kitten than he’s now as… Continue reading »

Ever since we set out sailing we’ve relied on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for weather info and warnings. But NOAA data and warnings on storms, earthquakes, climate, etc. are not just important for sailors, but for everyone around the world. That’s why the orange administration thought it was a great idea to cut their staff and budget brutally down. Yesterday there was… Continue reading »

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… Continue reading »

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… Continue reading »

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!

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… Continue reading »

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… Continue reading »

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

… 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

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… Continue reading »

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… Continue reading »

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,… Continue reading »