Pitufa.at

Christian Feldbauer, Birgit Hackl: KNOW YOUR WEATHER, Cruising World, April 2022. Read the online version of this article.

During a 30 knot squall the track for the genoa pole got ripped out of the mast–incredible with what extreme forces a sailboat has to deal, the big foresail is over 60 m2… No way we could manage the downwind trip without a genoa pole. We have to interrupt our trip for repairs.

After wonderful nine years year we are on our way to new adventures–Fiji, we are coming! Watch video here on www.pitufa.at winken_drohne

Toilet troubles are a cruisers’s nightmare. The plastic base plate of our Jabsco was cracked and we were worried that it would turn into an ejector seat on passage (just imagine the mess, YUCK!). Fortunately the part was on stock in Tahiti (at Ocean2000) and we spent a fun day dismounting and remounting the whole thing (disgusting, but fortunately not quite as bad as expected).… Continue reading »

One of the old plexi windows of our sprayhood got smashed in on the rough trip to Rapa. We ordered a roll from Tahiti and spent three days replacing the windows. Not an easy task to stuff so much material underneath Miss Pfaff (our sturdy sewing machine). They turned out surprisingly wrinkle-free and now we have a panorama view again! At least partially–the garden’s back… Continue reading »

The main bay of Rapa with its two villages is a windy place when it’s blowing from the east, in all other directions we don’t see steady winds, but strong gusts whirling down the mountains. This pictures shows Pitufa testing the new mooring in 45 knots… Local boats were still buzzing across the bay on that day, fishermen going out on the ocean–the people of… Continue reading »

Three years ago we built a mooring for sailboats with the municipality of Rapa, so visiting sailboats don’t have to anchor in the infamously difficult bay and will neither damage their gear not the beautiful staghorn coral. When we got back this year, we were happy to pick up our sturdy mooring and then we asked the mayor and community workers whether they wanted to… Continue reading »