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Birgit

Author's details

Name: Birgit
Date registered: September 22, 2010
Jabber / Google Talk: admin

Latest posts

  1. Fotos der Eröffnung des Flughafens auf Woleai — February 16, 2026
  2. Pics of the opening ceremony of Woleai airport — February 16, 2026
  3. Life with Slipping Rib Syndrome — February 11, 2026
  4. Leben mit einer “verrutschten Rippe”, dem Cyriax Syndrom — February 11, 2026
  5. Unsere Eindrücke von den mikronesischen Frauen — February 6, 2026

Most commented posts

  1. The Matuku Marine Reserve and how it came into being — 11 comments
  2. Donations for the Marine Reserve in Matuku — 10 comments
  3. 2 magical, but bouncy weeks on an uninhabited atoll — 8 comments
  4. Hilfsprojekte für Matuku — 7 comments
  5. Leeloo 2000–2021 — 6 comments

Author's posts listings

2018
18
Jan

Close-hauled

by Birgit

The day before yesterday the northwesterly died down and then the wind set in again from the east instead of the promised southeast, so we’ve been fighting as close-hauled as it gets to hold our course to the Gambier. A rough end to a pleasant passage–we should arrive early afternoon.

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2018
16
Jan

Fish!

by Birgit

Usually we dread too little wind on passages, because that means rolling in confused seas and flapping seas. This time though, wind and seas gradually calmed down together, so this morning Pitufa is gliding over flat seas in only 8 knots of breeze. It’s sunny, no clouds in the sky and the sea has this peculiar shade of blue that is so dark it almost… Continue reading »

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2018
15
Jan

Northwesterly breeze

by Birgit

The northwesterly breeze keeps blowing us steadily on a comfy course towards the Gambier. Sunny skies, calm seas–we haven’t caught a fish yet, but apart from that this passage has been really perfect so far.

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2018
14
Jan

Comfy sailing

by Birgit

The wind has calmed down a bit, but we’re still sailing along with 4 knots, so we’re not complaining! 388 nm to go

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2018
13
Jan

Steady sailing

by Birgit

The wind is blowing steadily from the North, because a small low moves by west of us and has shifted the wind conveniently for us. 500 nm to go!

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2018
13
Jan

Leaving Rapa Iti

by Birgit

A weather window to sail to the Gambier has come up and we leave lovely Rapa Iti tonight. We are a bit sad, because we had such a great time here, but it’ll also be nice to sail towards warmer weather. 570 nm to go!

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2018
07
Jan

Better safe than sorry

by Birgit

The low passed by as quickly as predicted: yesterday morning we had 25 knots from the east (still calm waters even though the bay is open to the east), at noon 35 knots sustained (some chop built up, but nothing spectacular) and in the evening the wind turned southeast and calmed a bit down, but since then we’ve had gusts over the mountains, some up… Continue reading »

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2018
04
Jan

Preparing for a gale

by Birgit

Rapa’s a great little island with beautiful nature and wonderful people, but weather-wise it’s rather unfortunate… It’s located outside the tropics and also outside the trade-wind belt. Variable winds prevail the whole year round which makes it somewhat difficult for sailboats to visit. In July and August the temperatures go down to 10 degrees with winter storms battering the lonely little rock. The summer is… Continue reading »

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2017
30
Dec

Fortresses

by Birgit

Rapa Iti (the old name is Oparo) was colonised by Polynesian settlers about 1000 years ago (sources vary on that). The limited resources of the small island (Rapa is only 40 km2 big, but most of that land area is rugged and mountainous) led to conflicts among the growing population and the construction of 15 fortresses on the hilltops. When the island was discovered by… Continue reading »

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2017
21
Dec

Hyper active sunny days

by Birgit

Sunny days have been rare so far, so whenever the sun comes out we try to use the nice weather as actively as possible. On Monday we went ashore to see the freighter arrive. It was a big spectacle as it didn’t only bring new provisions, but also the island’s kids who attend school in Tahiti or Tubuai and only come home during the longer… Continue reading »

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2017
18
Dec

Warm-cool Rapa

by Birgit

Rapa Iti is the remotest island of French Polynesia. There is no airport, the cargo ship only comes once a month (sometimes it skips a visit…) and Raivavae, the nearest neighbouring island, lies 290 nm away. The anchorage inside the huge main bay of Rapa is well protected from waves, but gusts howl down from the mountains whenever there are strong winds–and that seems to… Continue reading »

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2017
16
Dec

Arrived in Rapa Iti

by Birgit

After a boisterous trip, we arrived in Rapa Iti with the last light–fortunately the days are longer down at this latitude or we wouldn’t have made it. The island looks spectacular, despite the fact that it’s covered in thick clouds. The forecast shows a front arriving tonight so we’ll get some rain to wash off the salt and then hopefully some sunny weather to explore… Continue reading »

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2017
14
Dec

On the way to Rapa Iti

by Birgit

We set out from Raivavae yesterday at noon into high winds and waves. We caught a yellow fin tuna just after leaving and cutting and storing that guy took some seasickness medicine… We’re going fast though, so we’re not comfy, but happy to get to Rapa quickly! 177 nm to go (out of 300)

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2017
12
Dec

Rain, rain and more rain

by Birgit

The weather’s still nasty, we’ve managed to do a short hike during a sunny spell on Saturday, but apart from that we’ve been at home working on boat projects, while it’s pouring down outside. Fortunately we’ve already explored the island thoroughly during our first visit here 2 years ago, so we’re not missing out on anything new.

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2017
09
Dec

Grey and cold

by Birgit

We arrived at noon and are now anchored off Rairua, the main village of Raivavae. The island’s mountains are hidden behind thick clouds, the sky is grey and it’s surprisingly cool. Last week when we suffered in the humid heat of Tahiti we were joking that soon we’d be complaining about the cold in the Austral Islands

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