Almost there

It's 5am in the morning, my last night shift. When I took over the wind got weaker, I un-reefed the Genua sail and half an hour later I almost started the engine. Then all of a sudden the wind came back. Now I am sailing with 7.5-8 knots towards the Bay of Island while the "boys" are sleeping (or trying to?). Walking on the boat in these heeling conditions is very difficult. Changing sides on the boat means walking steep up-or downhill. You have to hold onto something the whole time, otherwise you fall or slip. Since the wind shifted a good day back we're now heeling to port side. So opening the fridge means being prepared for everything to fall on your lap - but it usually does not as we have put almost everything in baskets and those are on anti-slip mats in the fridge, that really works.

We're about 43nm away from the Bay of Islands, 33nm from the nearest point ashore. I just had a freighter passing by on port side. And I can already smell land. It's very interesing to smell the air and smell differences. Weather like it looks like a lot of fog, maybe some rain coming. I'll know more in about an hour when the sun rises and it gets brighter outside. With our current speed we should reach the Bay of Islands in about 6hrs, but I don't think we can keep this speed, the wind is supposed to diminish. We'll see. Chances are good we reach the Q-dock (quarantaine dock) in time to get cleared in today - meaning we will be re-united with our friends this evening. But I should not get too excited, at sea things can always change fast...

It's now 6 am, 35nm from Bay of Islands. I can kind of guess the land behind the fog. Fog towards land is relly dense. I can hardly see the freighter which is passing in front of us at that moment in 1,5nm distance. Not to talk about the one to our port side passing at 10nm distance. This has been the most intersting shift of this trip due to the wind changing strength (between 5kn and 16kn true) and direction, changes in visibility (very good to poor), 3 ships...Always something to do.

Thank god I had used our motoring day, when there were basically no waves, to pre-cook food and use up all the remaining fresh stuff which we're not allowed to bring into New Zealand. With the wave and heeling situation on our last sailing day I would not have been in condition to cook big meals. So on the nice day I made Banana-bread, a big meatloaf ("Hackbraten")and Krautwickerl. The boys loved it. It's all gone by now...Last night I made a nice soup, today for lunch we'll have the last sausages and salad. It's actually the first time that I was worried we would not be able to eat up all. I had planned for a 2 day longer trip...

It has been a very quick ride over. I am happy to see that Alita has indeed gotten so much faster than she already was. While our friends, who left Vuda 1 day earlier than us, motor-sailed a lot we motored only one day and our travelling time will have been about half a day shorter than theirs. It looks like we will reach the Bay of Islands extactly 7 days after leaving Fiji, including a little detour due to wind directions. So far, to this minute, we have travelled 1053nm! At the end, it will have been about 1100, 60 nm more than the shortest distance. That's not bad.

Talk to you soon, when we're in Opua.

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Position Report for ALITA - 23.11.2014 19:00 UTC

Date: 23.11.2014 19:00 UTC
Latitude: 32° 07.7'S
Longitude: 173° 34.9'E
Course: 177 T
Speed: 6.8 knots
Wind Speed: 10.0 KT
Wind Dir.: 270 T


We are happy sailors again, heading directly for Opua. There is a front expected for Wednesday, so we are glad we made some haste!
After a calm and glassy day all is "tiketiboo" (Kiwi slang for "wonderfull") on board. Spirits are up, but we are all glad to get there tomorrow.

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Position Report for ALITA - 22.11.2014 17:00 UTC

Date: 22.11.2014 17:02 UTC
Latitude: 29° 23.1'S
Longitude: 173° 47.2'E
Course: 184 T
Speed: 7.1 knots
Wind Speed: 2.0 KT
Wind Dir.: 160 T


Not having run any kind of combustible engine since we left Vuda Marina in Fiji, enjoying our solar power, finaly at 3am this morning (14:00 UTC) we reluctantly had to give up on sailing, when the wind dropped to two Beaufort (less than 6 knots) from changing directions. We are a motor vessel now. Shame on us!
Despite the irritating rattle and hum everything is wonderfull aboard. At least the 1 knot counter current we had for the last 48 hours stoped as well, so we can enjoy full speed along with the noise.
With the help of fossil resources it seems we can keep up with the master plan to reach Opua on 25.11. noon local time (24.11. 23:00 UTC).

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Fast trip

Hello from my midnight shift. We're already less than 3 days away from New Zealand! Unfortunately the wind is going to die soon - actually it basically already has, but I am (in my shift) still reluctant to start the engine when we're kind of sailing most of the time. But, the wind changes direction and strenth (3-9kn) all the time, constant corrections are necessary. Soon we will have to motor for a day. It's so peaceful out there right now, considering that until early this morning we had strong winds and waves of up to 3m / 10ft) and basically banged our way through the waves. There is nothing like a calm, beautiful day after a rough time, it's a wonderful feeling.
So far this trip has been a 24hrs work out every day. With a constant strong healing to our starbord side you constantly need your muscles to move around and even sit or sleep. The toughest part is cooking in the kitchen - great belly muscle work-out. We're all well up and enjoying the ride. However these last days I did not feel like sitting at the computer downstairs to type. So thankfully Marcus copied his daily status report (which he sends to our friends expecting us in New Zealand and to the ones who left a day before us)to the blog. ALso Marcus helped me out in the kitchen by sharing the cooking.
So, nothing else exciting to report. I probably won't be posting again until we arrive in New Zealand. But the copies of the status reports will continue to be posted so that you can follow where we are.

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Position Report for ALITA - 20.11.2014 20:00 UTC

Date: 21.11.2014 18:00 UTC
Latitude: 27° 02.9'S
Longitude: 174° 19.1'E
Course: 181 T
Speed: 7.1 knots
Wind Speed: 13.0 KT
Wind Dir.: 090 T

After three days of beating into the wind (40° APP) it feels good to be on a reach (60° APP)!
All wonderfull aboard - no more seasickness!

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Position Report for ALITA - 20.11.2014 20:00 UTC

Date: 20.11.2014 20:00 UTC
Latitude: 24° 44.7'S
Longitude: 175° 05.1'E
Course: 199 T
Speed: 6.9 knots
Wind Speed: 20.0 KT
Wind Dir.: 112 T


It was a nice day, with calm seas and a huge barracuda landed and released.
Then came the night and a small front and it got rather unpleasant.
We are thru the front now, but winds remain a bit challenging.
All good aboard, except one seasick guest.

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Day 1 of passage

We're a good day out of Fiji now, spirits are up, crew is well up, we're enjoying beautiful weather and a good sailing so far. The first few hours out of the reef were a bit choppy with the waves coming around from the island + wind waves = cross sea. A seasickness pill made me happy and prevented any bad occurances ;-) So all is good, very calm sailing yesterday and now Marucs and I are in the process of preparing a dinner with the Mahi Mahi from yesterday, since yesterday all we were able to do was cook pasta and heat up the pumpkin sauce I had prepared (actually that was Marcus' cooking act yesterday for his crew:-) )I am really happy I finished pre-baking bread yesteday just before we exited the reef. A big group of cute spinner dolphins waved us good-by with playing with the boat and jumping on the sides. Very cute.

Unfortuntately, as predicted, the wind slowed down this morning, so instead of 7-8 knots we're travelling at 5-6 knots, sometimes even 4-5. In our first day we travelled 160nm, an average of almost 7 knots. That's very good, considering that we travelled at 6 knots the first 3 hours within the reef. Our long distance average is 140nm/ day, our maximum so far over the years has ben 210. Tomorrow the wind will pick up again and for about 2 days we expect it to get more uncomfortable, but not really bad and no storms. So, let's keep the fingers crossed that all will remain to be good.

On our website and the german blog you can see our current position each day at noon our time (just in case I once don't feel like writing) (Click on "Where is Alita").

Our current position is: 20deg 54,6S and 176deg 40,2E

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Mahi Mahi

We're just outside the reef of the main island and a nice big Mahi Mahi (about 3ft/ 1,2m) already sacrificed himself for our dinner. Wow, I hardly have space in the fridge and freezer...But, we'll make some space.

Vuda

Last port in Fiji

We're in Vuda Marina waiting for customs to clear out of Fiji. We're only a few moments away from setting sails to New Zealand.

Hemisphere 2

Hemisphere

While we're preparing for our departure the world's largest sailing catamaran came back to Denerau. You like it? You can rent it for only 200.000$ per week. Check the website, this thing is incredible.

The last resort

That is not only a beautiful song from the Eagles, but right now we're seeing the last resort of this year's trip to Fiji. We're on our way back to the marina on „Mainland" now, after two exciting weeks with our crew Barbara and Roland enjoying the Yasawa and Mamanuca Islands. We had beautiful lonely islands with their beaches and coral reefs with all their fish all to ourselves. We anchored in front of nice resorts where we could feel like a real tourist and enjoy a drink or two at the bar overlooking the ocean (and our Alita ;-)). We went to see a village and asked the chief for permission to anchor and set foot on the island, hiked the hill and visited the school. We went into caves and swam and dove in there. We saw lots of fish and ate some good ones, Marcus and Roland had some nice diving. No time to get bored, lots of time to relax. We had good food, great conversations and beautiful sunsets. Last night we topped it all. We were back at anchor in Musket Cove, took a big chunk of tuna fish, which Marcus had caught in Minerva Reef and kept in the freezer, and two steaks as well as boiled potatoes to the bar. There they have BBQ grills, which operate with $2. You can BBQ your stuff there, at the bar they give you plates and silverware which you don't have to wash later on. Sooooo cool. Of course you buy your drinks at the bar. They have nice tables in the sand, that's where we ate until shortly before sunset and for the sunset we moved in to the lounge seats with sunset view. What a gorgeous finish of sailing in the beautiful part of Fiji. 

Tomorrow we have change of crew. Markus, a young guy from Switzerland, ist joining us to sail to New Zealand. We will most probably start on tuesday early in the morning (that's 1,5 days from now), which gives us a lot to do. Clean the boat, do washing, prepare for the trip with shopping and cooking - and I have one day for that. Bread no 1 and 2 are already in the process, no 3 & 4 follow tomorrow…

The first 3 weeks were way too hot for me in Fiji, but this last week was just perfect - as were the anchorages and the weather. Marcus and I took turns sleeping outside, enjoying the good air and a fresh breeze - I even saw a falling star last night just before closing my eyes. So I am happy we had this good time and although I really enjoyed it now I am looking forward to sailing to New Zealand - even more to getting there and seeing all our friends there…

Here are some pictures. You find more online. 

This is the lovely school we visited, the last picture is the head of the school with his son „Junior". They are very well organized but don't get much support from the state other than the necessary papers and pencils. The would LOVE to have some learning books, toys etc. in english. If you know someone or a school who throws old things out maybe you can send it to them? They would love it!

T

If you or someone you know would like to help the school by sending things of the wish list, pls. use the address stated above: 1038 RATU Namasi Memorial School, PO Box 1226, Lautoka

Life on board Alita: Roland enjoying my Roland E-Piano Fresh fish with from the grill with salad

     

„Cloud 9" bar at Musket Cove in the most beautiful turquoise water...

Our final dinner out in the islands, using the BBQ_opportunity at Musket cove

Another beatiful day in paradise

We're at Manta Pasa today, hoping to see a Manta Ray tomorrow morning although this would be like a miracle. Had great snorkling today, not as beautiful as in our last anchorage though. Another story about the caves and visiting the school up in Yasawa island is coming.
Just had a fresh fish for dinner and we're enjoying this sunset right now.

Yasawas

Life is so good, I am too lazy and too busy to write. Breakfast, snorkeling, lunch, snorkeling, hiking, snorkeling, dinner, tired. That's my day. Inbetween all that I need to make sure we're not running out of yoghurt or bread. And we're also sailing or motoring, depending on the wind. So far we were on one spot for two days due to weather, besides that we moved every day. On thursday we sailed with winds up to 25 knots for about 7 hrs. 

The Yasawa islands are finally the paradise we've been looking for. Lovely, lonely beaches, nice tourist resorts in beautiful setting (most of them even with backpacker shared rooms starting at 16 EUR!), nice reefs for snorkeling and diving, blue water (sometimes even really clear), green islands with lots of birds and paths to hike (paths which the locals use to get from their hidden village to the resorts where they work) ….Today we reached the southern point of the northernmost island in the Yasawas, Yasawa island. This place is owned by a small village so after the arrival we went ashore, went to see the chief Voka to ask for permission to go to shore, see the village, go snorkeling and diving. Of course the brought the obligatory Kava. Those strange tasting roots from a pepper plant which dissolved in water you'd never drink - unless you have to. So far there was no Kava ceremony (called sevusevu). We might have to drink it tomorrow. But, the chief offered us today that we could have fresh coconut drink tomorrow. At first, when we were in his house, he was very formal (and we woke him up from his afternoon sleep). We had carefully read the instructions in the cruising book on how to behave when you met the chief and during a sevusevu. So the first thing was: correct clothes. We all wore our Alita crew skirts which I had sewn. Men blue, girls pink. Skirts go over the knees. We wore T-Shirts making sure our shoulders are covered. When we entered the chief's house we left the shoes outside. We sat on the mat when he sat down. Men with crossed legs, women with both legs to the side, making sure the knees are covered. While the chief received us he finished putting on his shirt and buttoned it up. When we met him on the beach later on, he was wearing no shirt and no skirt but bermudas (with Bob Marley print on them). We chatted for a while with the chief, showed him our cruising permit (which we had asked for in Savusavu; the permit is from the government written in local language asking the chiefs to receive us as guests and to allow us to visit the village and anchor in their bay) and set a time to visit the caves here tomorrow. We walked on the beach for a little bit and saw that the chief came and put something in our Dinghy. When we came back we saw that he had given us 3 big papayas. That was very sweet. We chatted a bit more on the beach and he was very nice then, not so formal. He asked us for a fishing line. We'll give him that tomorrow. So, it's dealing time again, giving and taking. That's fun. So tomorrow we will visit the caves (the legend says you can walk in the caves all the way to Lau), and then the school here (I have seem drawing books and pens for the children) and the village. Another day full of excitement. 

Yesterday we visited the chief's wife (which at that time we didn't know is his wife). On the other side of the island we were anchored at in the Blue Lagoon, there is a place called „Bo's Tea House". Believe it or not, in the middle of nowhere there is a little café where Bo serves homemade Banana cake and chocolate cake. She is the only one there who serves cold drinks. It's too unreal to describe. WE almost did not get there, since locals on our side of the island had told us that the Tea house is closed. As we found out then, it had been closed the 2 days before (1st day for a funeral, 2nd day for her daughter's wedding with 300 guests). Then it was a very long walk along the beach, about an hour. The first buildings we saw was a ruined tourist resort. We thought we had found the reason why they said the Tea House is closed. Marcus knew from the Cruising book that there is a direct path over the mountain to the other side, so we looked for it as we did not want to go back the same way. So we walked on ant found this lovely place. The lady, Bo, was very friendly and told us the name of the village we're at now and that her husband is the chief there. What a different world. 

Here are some pictures of the last week. More pictures soon online in the photo gallery

Crew outfit ready to go to the chief of Nabukuru village

Clear water

        

Beautiful „Octopus Resort" (they have Backpacker rooms as well!)

First time ever I saw a sea plane landing and starting in front of my eyes!

Bo's tea house

Where we are now

Sunset… ..and moonrise In the village

Life is hard Graves