May 2007 Suva, Fiji
Here is an account of our most recent passage from Brisbane to Suva, along with plans for the rest of the season.
Before departing Australia we found an affordable 300-ton travel lift and spent 7 days on the hard. Along with fresh paint and zincs we pulled the through hull fittings, overhauled the anchors and chain locker and replaced some thin hull plates in the stern.
After the haulout our cash flow was down to a trickle. We could afford only half the fuel and a third of the food stores we usually provision
Expecting a 4 to 5 week passage we departed Australia with a crew of nine. As opposed to last seasons finish with an all-girl crew this season it started with all guys. Brittany and Kat stayed on from last year as watch leaders. Among the new crew there were 2 Americans, Seamus and Dan, 2 British lads, Jim and Adam, Australian Tony and Kiwi John. Rounding out the crew was first mate Kat from Germany and 2nd mate Brittany from Disney World.
From our little Caravan Park on Doughboy Creek we motored for 60 hours through calms and cat’s paws to a position about half way to Lord Howe Is. and 150 miles east of Cape Byron. With less than 7-days motoring left in our fuel tank and over 2000 miles yet to sail, we had to shut down the engine and wait for the wind.
For the following 2 days the current set us back along our track line to an area on the chart called Britannia Seamounts. These undersea mountains rise nearly 4 kilometres from the sea floor to a couple hundred meters under the surface. After 3 days drifting back toward Cape Byron a sou’ wester had us underway once again. Another 3 days we passed north of Lord Howe where we set a more easterly course for Colville Ridge, north east of New Zealand.
From Lord Howe onward we there we were several weeks tacking into light head winds. Nearly 3 weeks later we once again found ourselves becalmed over the Wanganella Bank. This was another area of undersea mountains nearly 2 kilometres high. After several days without much progress we were giving some thought to using the engine, when the 48-hour weather prognosis indicated a northerly wind was on the way. This was becoming the slowest passage I have ever made in my life and I have made a few.
When the wind finally arrived we made North Cape in 3 days only to be met by a nor’easterly gale. Within sight of Three Kings Islands it had taken us 33-days and 1525 miles sailed, to cross the Tasman Sea, with an average of 46 miles a day. We were hove to on a starboard tack for a day till the front passed through followed by a light sou’wester.
We shook out the reefs, set the square sail and were underway once again. As we neared Colville Ridge and headed north the wind backed to the sou’east and freshened. After so many weeks at 1.7 knots we were rolling along at 5 to 6 knots, logging days well over a hundred miles.
By the end of the 5th week at sea we had run out of white flour and were running low on milk. We inventoried food stores. There were lots of beans, rice, pasta, eggs, potatoes and onions; but tinned food had to be rationed to 3 tins per day and chocolate mike was no longer an option.
As we approached the tropics, the wind moderated and backed to the east. We were back to our average of 75-miles a day with a lumpy beam sea running 4 to 5 metres keeping the main deck awash.
After 15-days on a starboard tack we sailed into the Lau Group and the Koro Sea. Eighty-five miles from Suva the wind stopped just south of Matuku Island. So, we motored the last 22 hours for a 48-day passage totalling 2725 miles sailed.
Now in Suva we have one week to provision food and fuel and make repairs to the steering gear.
Leaving us here are Tony, Jim and Adam. Joining us are Brittany’s brother Nic and Jesper, from Sweden, who sailed with us 5 years ago. We will try to snag a few back packers off the beach before we leave next week.
We are in touch with both YCI and Project MARC. The first YCI expedition, with 12 people, will start in Port Vila on the 27th of June. We will be nearly 4 weeks at Banam Bay, Malekula restoring a fresh water system for the 6 villages there. This expedition finishes at Luganville on the 25th of July.
From the end of July, till the end of August, we will have a month free to explore the Banks and Tories islands at the north end of the Vanuatu group.
YCI has cancelled their participation in the September expedition to build the school at Wusi. This project was originally started by the senior members of Project MARC as a favour for friends in Utah. With this project still in need of volunteers, our plans for September and October are currently in limbo pending further development. By late October we will be underway back to New Zealand. We would like to arrive in Bay of Islands by mid-November. We will be 5 weeks working our way down the east coast of North Island, planning to be back in Nelson before Christmas.
We will be underway again mid-April 2008. Details of next season’s itinerary have yet to be decided.
If you are thinking about joining the crew this season; our fees this year are the same as last year. For the remainder of the sailing season, the fee is $26.66 per day or $200 USD per week. When we arrive in Nelson, the daily rate will return to $100 USD per week. It takes 12 months on board to become a full member of our co-operative. Full members may be able to sail for free, or pay a small maintenance fee, depending their effectiveness as crew.
A berth may be reserved by sending a 50% deposit. The balance is due when boarding. Email us for details.
Evan
Before departing Australia we found an affordable 300-ton travel lift and spent 7 days on the hard. Along with fresh paint and zincs we pulled the through hull fittings, overhauled the anchors and chain locker and replaced some thin hull plates in the stern.
After the haulout our cash flow was down to a trickle. We could afford only half the fuel and a third of the food stores we usually provision
Expecting a 4 to 5 week passage we departed Australia with a crew of nine. As opposed to last seasons finish with an all-girl crew this season it started with all guys. Brittany and Kat stayed on from last year as watch leaders. Among the new crew there were 2 Americans, Seamus and Dan, 2 British lads, Jim and Adam, Australian Tony and Kiwi John. Rounding out the crew was first mate Kat from Germany and 2nd mate Brittany from Disney World.
From our little Caravan Park on Doughboy Creek we motored for 60 hours through calms and cat’s paws to a position about half way to Lord Howe Is. and 150 miles east of Cape Byron. With less than 7-days motoring left in our fuel tank and over 2000 miles yet to sail, we had to shut down the engine and wait for the wind.
For the following 2 days the current set us back along our track line to an area on the chart called Britannia Seamounts. These undersea mountains rise nearly 4 kilometres from the sea floor to a couple hundred meters under the surface. After 3 days drifting back toward Cape Byron a sou’ wester had us underway once again. Another 3 days we passed north of Lord Howe where we set a more easterly course for Colville Ridge, north east of New Zealand.
From Lord Howe onward we there we were several weeks tacking into light head winds. Nearly 3 weeks later we once again found ourselves becalmed over the Wanganella Bank. This was another area of undersea mountains nearly 2 kilometres high. After several days without much progress we were giving some thought to using the engine, when the 48-hour weather prognosis indicated a northerly wind was on the way. This was becoming the slowest passage I have ever made in my life and I have made a few.
When the wind finally arrived we made North Cape in 3 days only to be met by a nor’easterly gale. Within sight of Three Kings Islands it had taken us 33-days and 1525 miles sailed, to cross the Tasman Sea, with an average of 46 miles a day. We were hove to on a starboard tack for a day till the front passed through followed by a light sou’wester.
We shook out the reefs, set the square sail and were underway once again. As we neared Colville Ridge and headed north the wind backed to the sou’east and freshened. After so many weeks at 1.7 knots we were rolling along at 5 to 6 knots, logging days well over a hundred miles.
By the end of the 5th week at sea we had run out of white flour and were running low on milk. We inventoried food stores. There were lots of beans, rice, pasta, eggs, potatoes and onions; but tinned food had to be rationed to 3 tins per day and chocolate mike was no longer an option.
As we approached the tropics, the wind moderated and backed to the east. We were back to our average of 75-miles a day with a lumpy beam sea running 4 to 5 metres keeping the main deck awash.
After 15-days on a starboard tack we sailed into the Lau Group and the Koro Sea. Eighty-five miles from Suva the wind stopped just south of Matuku Island. So, we motored the last 22 hours for a 48-day passage totalling 2725 miles sailed.
Now in Suva we have one week to provision food and fuel and make repairs to the steering gear.
Leaving us here are Tony, Jim and Adam. Joining us are Brittany’s brother Nic and Jesper, from Sweden, who sailed with us 5 years ago. We will try to snag a few back packers off the beach before we leave next week.
We are in touch with both YCI and Project MARC. The first YCI expedition, with 12 people, will start in Port Vila on the 27th of June. We will be nearly 4 weeks at Banam Bay, Malekula restoring a fresh water system for the 6 villages there. This expedition finishes at Luganville on the 25th of July.
From the end of July, till the end of August, we will have a month free to explore the Banks and Tories islands at the north end of the Vanuatu group.
YCI has cancelled their participation in the September expedition to build the school at Wusi. This project was originally started by the senior members of Project MARC as a favour for friends in Utah. With this project still in need of volunteers, our plans for September and October are currently in limbo pending further development. By late October we will be underway back to New Zealand. We would like to arrive in Bay of Islands by mid-November. We will be 5 weeks working our way down the east coast of North Island, planning to be back in Nelson before Christmas.
We will be underway again mid-April 2008. Details of next season’s itinerary have yet to be decided.
If you are thinking about joining the crew this season; our fees this year are the same as last year. For the remainder of the sailing season, the fee is $26.66 per day or $200 USD per week. When we arrive in Nelson, the daily rate will return to $100 USD per week. It takes 12 months on board to become a full member of our co-operative. Full members may be able to sail for free, or pay a small maintenance fee, depending their effectiveness as crew.
A berth may be reserved by sending a 50% deposit. The balance is due when boarding. Email us for details.
Evan