We have spent almost a week in Noumea, getting familiar with the lay of the land you might say. Our biggest stumbling block, surprisingly, hasn’t been the language barrier. I have to admit I am pretty proud of my abilities communicating in French this time around. I have managed not only restaurant orders but telephone…
Passage Picts
A few pictures from the passage, I wanted to take more but it was too wet for any electronics outside.
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Noumea
Just a quick update. We arrived in Noumea late yesterday afternoon after spending a quiet weekend in a beautiful anchorage about 30 NM from town, no check in’s on the weekend. The passage took almost exactly 5 days, down to the hour, from reef pass to reef pass. It was one of our wettest trips…
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Underway to New Caledonia
We’ve departed on our 700NM passage from Fiji to New Caledonia. The weather looks good so we are crossing our fingers that it will take 5-6 days. However, we all know how accurate the weather man can be, so don’t get worried if it takes up to 10 days. I have activated our SPOT, a…
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Galley Notes: I really like your pawpaw, can I shake your tree?
Last month I finally received a new supply of mason jars. The dozen that I carefully carried back from Australia last year quickly got filled in the last round of preserving I did. My enthusiasm for canning was bolstered by my success so another yachtie and I decided to combine our order and split the…
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Broken Engines & Breadfruit Gnocchi
Equipment fails and things break but life doesn’t stop. There are still dental appointments and piles of stinky laundry and a sink full of dirty dishes. Amidst the chaos and frustration we still have to eat. The easy way out in times like these would be to have a hot shower and treat ourselves to…
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Some things are sent to test us.
Some people like to call it a “Shake down cruise” but I think that sounds too nicey nicey. There has been nothing “cruisey” about the last two weeks on board Kate. The term “Sea Trial” seems much more appropriate. As is the norm before a passage and after a long period on the hard we…
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Remember that time we sailed around Costa Rica?
“As we neared Costa Rica we sailed into days of violent squalls. The thunder was so loud I wondered if the rig was coming down, and caught myself ducking with my hands over my head. The pitch black night was punctuated by blinding bolts of lightning that often struck the water nearby. We watched as…
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Hard times, no more
The last few weeks have been long and exhausting. This time of year in the South Pacific always is. As the heat of summer recedes and winter brings calmer weather and favorable winds there is a rush to get projects completed, to meet deadlines, to catch weather windows. But this year our transition from being a…
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"Safety never takes a day off."
During the first few months we lived on board I would often find myself awake in the middle of the night, my mind swirling around worst-case scenarios, wondering how, or if, I would cope if something bad happened. Sometimes I was worried about the big stuff but as often it was knowing that a chipped…
