Daily Logs

Tintin - Taha'a Coral Garden

Our last stop before heading on to Bora Bora tomorrow has been the coralgarden of Taha'a.We are anchored just next to a small motu on the west side of Taha'a.There is a steady gentle current of water flowing between twomotus, from the outer reef towards Taha'a. Snorkelling in thestream we were carried over a garden of coral the size of severalfootball pitches. It felt like we were flying over the coral andamazingly colourful (and fearless) fish. Another incredible place inthe world.m_YDXJ0044. read more...

Tintin - Marae Taputapuatea

Our exploration around Raiatea continued from Alex's bay, as we tiptoedjust inside the reef around the south of the island with Aurora B.The channel was pretty narrow in places between the fringing reef andthe island, but under engine and with the centreboard up we navigatedthe 20 miles aound to the east side. More bright green mountains,waterfalls and bays kept opening up to our left; on our right theturquoise of shallow reef then deep blue ocean. Our destination was Marae Taputapuatea.The marae is just about 1m above sea level, a large rectangularconstruction with a row of standing stones at one end. Here priests wereinitiated, sacrifices made (both human and animal) and ancestors wereconsulted. It is said to be the most important marae in all of FrenchPolynesia. It held its own. read more...

Rubicon IV - blog

April 8, 2019I’m really bad at writing when I should.It’s night and there is lightning outside. I felt like there was nothing fun to do besides go to sleep, so I decided to write another log. to quote my past couple logs, “a lot has happened…”. So we left Panama, and were under way for 22 or so days. (3,800 nautical miles) During that time we…Shot at a booby with water guns (I also shot Pavel and Dad)Caught a baby sailfish (like a swordfish) that looked like an eel (we let it go)Ate a chocolate cake when we had 1,000 miles to goArrived last in the ARC, but in styleWhen we arrived in Hiva Oa (Hee-Va Oh-Aa), we were greated by horns and cheering. To quote my mother, “We had arrived, and they want everyone to know it.”In another anchorage, There were multiple strays that hung out around we. read more...

Tintin - Plateau Temehanirahi

The climb up to the sacred plateau of Temehanirahim_20190513_114655 m_20190513_120911. read more...

Attitude - Full moon tonight

Hello everyoneA beautiful full moon rising over the Atlantic this evening.We had another day of relatively light winds so we focused on the lunch challenge. We will each put forward a signature dish over next few days and photo’s will follow. Chef Rui prepared a delicious seafood pasta today and set a high standard. More news on this challenge tomorrowDue to light winds today we set all the sail power we have, with code zero, Genoa and full main and got a bit more speed out of the boat. Hoping for stronger winds tomorrow and 500NM covered alreadyBest wishesRui, João and Antonimage1 image2. read more...

Attitude - Wind

Hello everyoneWind picked up today and made everyone happy and we benefitted from a steady 15- 20 knots as we progress to Horta. We are also noting the water temp starting to reduce as we feel the chilly winds coming.We have noticed a lot of Sea grass along the journey from the Caribbean and now also here in Atlantic. The view is that there is a lot more than people can remember. Any concurrence with this and why? Best wishesRui, João and Antonimage1. read more...

Salamander - YB Connect Message from Rebecca Hayter

Salamander, day three... yesterday was our wildlife day. We?d already seen lots of Portuguese man of war jellyfish, like a big version of the blue bottles we get in NZ so that cancelled the daily swim. Around mid morning our first dolphins came to play, like speckled small bottle nos--Transmitted by Rebecca Hayter using YB Connect (www.ybtracking.com). read more...

Sweet Dream - Day 122 May 16, 2019

Morning brought buckets of pouring rain. This was perfect for washing the salt off the boat. While nature washed the outside, I tidied the interior, and Lars did errands and appointments. Our friend, Roy withMabrouka came in to the marina in the early afternoon. We invited him and his crew, Dave to come for a light supper. In the afternoon, Lars and I visited the big central city market and found souvenirs for our family members. We wrapped and tagged and packed them all before it was time for supper. Roy, Dave, and another single-hander, Mike from Washington DC came for drinks, cheese and crackers and chicken salad. Not a bad dinner considering we hadn’t picked up the cooking gas yet! We found it amusing that around the table were four folks who set out of Washington state, and one from. read more...

Sweet Dream - Day 121 May 15, 2019

Today we bid farewell to Moorea and all her stunning beauty. We had a wild, wet rollicking sail very close hauled on a port tack to Papeete, Tahiti City Marina. On our way in, we passed Chao Lay sailing out to Moorea. Just as two nights before we had passed Endo 2 going to Huahine as we were leaving. Ah, ships passing, and all that....We arrived on the city dock in time for a nice rain storm and a crazy street musician serenading us from the promenade directly behind the boat. What fun! I love this vibrant city! After the street musician was done, the “ party boat” next to us cranked up some happy local tunes. I tidied up the inside of the boat, Lars checked us in, and dropped off both our cooking gas tanks to be topped off. Soooo...since it was raining, and we couldn’t cook on the. read more...

Sweet Dream - Day 120 May 14, 2019

Today we arrived in Moorea about 09:30 after a very lovely squall free overnight passage. We anchored at the Tiki garden spot, had a quick lunch while we settled that the anchor (which we could see buried in the sand) was holding securely. Then we popped the kayaks in and headed to shore. Going across the fields of coral we spotted four young sharks having brunch! Shudder.....anyway, we ended up leaving the kayaks at the International hotel and getting directions to Woody. A short walk on a very nice pedestrian area of a well paved road brought us to Woody’s place where we made his acquaintance and purchased one of his lovely hand made ukuleles. Who hoo. We had brought a large dry bag to transport it back to the boat in. Then we upped the anchor and moved round intoOpunahu bay. Once. read more...

Attitude - Potuguese Man O War

Hello everyoneA quiet day for wind so time was spent checking on critical systems and contact points as well as trying to figure out the wind over next few days. We spotted a lot of Portuguese Men O War ( Bluebottles) shaped like sailing caravelle’s floating in the ocean. I’m told these contain enough toxin to kill a man, só best left alone.Again, a good lunch was enjoyed by allBest wishesRui, João and Antonimage1 image2. read more...

Sweet Dream - Day 119 May 13, 2019

Lars and Glen started the day drift snorkelling with the dinghy. I baked a pan of scone bread. We bid farewell to Glen and Mary, who were on their way to tour the island,motored over to Mango and joined in the fun for George’s birthday party. Patrick and Brigita were gracious hosts. We had good times with George, Bobbi, Tony and Susan from Cabana, JF and Marie of Cassiopeia, Peter and Nicky of Chanto, while the”boys” played with a drone “toy” we ladies discussed lots of aspects of sailing life. Later the discussion turned to Fiji, NZ and Oz. So exciting looking ahead to new vistas! We reluctantly bid them all adieu and returned to get our Sweet Dream ready for the journey back to Tahiti. We had all marvelled at the Polynesian house boat that puttered by during George’s party, then Lars. read more...

Sweet Dream - Day 118 May 12, 2019

Morning coffee, yoga, the ubiquitous ray hunt in the kayaks...I know these past few days’ post sound like a broken record. But, it didn’t feel that way at all! It was more like a Sweet, favourite song being played on repeat until you learn off every word by heart. Speaking of hearts, ours leapt with joy when we saw Danica 1 coming round the island, followed by Cassiopeia. Yay! The Warc family was growing! Captain finished up the oxygen in his tank scrubbing the second half of the boat, I tossed a quick lunch together, and then we were joined by first Glen and Mary, then George from Cabana, and Peter and Nicky from Chanto in need of some water pipe fittings. We split up for awhile, then met again at the hotel for happy hour. Oh my my my mai tai! The Chanto crew were very happy with their. read more...

Attitude - Set sail for Azores

Hello everyone We departed from St George’s harbor at 11h00 today and set course for Horta, só back into blog mode after 5 very enjoyable days in Bermuda. We enjoyed the scenery, friendly Bermudians, and of course, the food. We must mention the WAHOO Bistro in St George’s for its delicious Ceviche and Seafood dishes. A return visit to Bermuda definitely on the cards.Back to sailing, and wind has been light at start and everyone trying to rationalize a course to Azores. North, South, follow Rhumb line or a combination? It will change like the weatherBest wishesRui, João and Anton. read more...

Amanda - Start from Bermuda

Amanda hopes to be on the start at 11 - if they Will just release our skipper in due time.....image1.. read more...

Tintin - Polynesian tatoos

All through the islands of Polynesia we have seen people with tatoos.Not just any tatoos - whole arms, legs, faces, backs. They are works ofart. Tatooists of the Marquesas are recognised as the experts. Stylisednatural forms and tikis are integrated with other symbols, and each hasa significance. A turtle represents longeivity, a manta ray, the ocean;tikis are there to protect you. Several World Arc sailors visited thetatoo artist in Hiva Oa, Marquesas, and returned delighted with theirtatoos which were designed for them individually to represent thingsimportant to them. m_20190512_162745 m_20190502_092842. read more...

Tintin - Following in the wake of Captain Cook...almost

On 25th August 1768, Captain James Cook set sail on board theadapted North Sea Collier, HMB Endeavour, from Plymouth. This was thefirst of his three voyages to the Pacific, and the aim of the expeditionwas to reach Tahiti in order to observe a transit of Venus across thesun on June 3rd 1769 and to search for the Great Southern Continent.HMB Endeavour was twice as long as Tintin; it carried a crew of 94people, and provisions for 18 months. The passage across the Bay ofBiscay was very stormy and some of the deck cargo, including many hens,were washed overboard. First port of call was Madeira where Cook tookon board 3000 gallons of Madeira wine.250 years and 2 days later, Tintin set off from Salcombe, 20 miles eastof Plymouth, also bound for Tahiti via Madeira. We had a beautifullycalm. read more...

Sweet Dream - Day 117 May 11, 2019

Today we spotted Piekea on the AIS., when did they sneak in? We tried to raise then on the radio, to no avail, even as they were motoring out again quite early, no radio response. We were sorry we’d missed them. Then Mango and Chanto arrived. Lars donned his scuba gear and scrubbed half the bottom of the boat, Brigita came by on her paddle board for a visit, Peter and Nicky dropped by from Chanto, and it was just great fun to have more WARC boats in the bay, We had a lazy afternoon, I read a Dick Francis book, Captain took a proper nap and we ate a simple supper and listened to music under the stars, savouring the beauty of this bit of paradise on our Sweet Dream.image1.. read more...

Sweet Dream - Day 116 May 10, 2019

Lots of rain in the night, and morning broke grey over the horizon. We decided to go to the hotel for a nice breakfast and WiFi. Hahaha! Sorry, breakfast closes in five minutes(it was 08:55!) And also, there is no WiFi available at breakfast. Oh well, back to the boat we went, made our own second breakfast, and did some more boat chores. We went to the hotel for a delicious lunch in the early afternoon, then enjoyed the generous offer extended to us to sit in the breezy lobby and use the WiFi. Very productive afternoon in cyberspace. We accomplished almost everything on our lists and had a good time catching up with our kids. The hotel Mahana is very cruiser friendly and accommodating to allow lagoon guests to partake of the amenities offered! image1.. read more...

Sweet Dream - Day 115 May 9, 2019

After a slightly less rolly, fewer squalls night, morning brought a beautiful rainbow and sunshine. After coffee and yoga on the back deck, we dropped the kayaks in the water and went hunting for manta rays. The “hunt” is a fun competition of which one of us can spot the most rays first. Eagle eye Captain always wins, but it’s a fun workout for both of us. Back on the big boat Lars changed oil and other pertinent fluids in the main engine and the generator. I did laundry and scrubbed the fibreglass ceilings in the salon and nav station. What could have been a tedious chore was a visual feast, stopping every few minutes to enjoy the incredible view of the lagoon. In the evening Debra and Paul came over from Tumi and enjoyed a g/t sundowner with us. Every night the sunset is spectacular. read more...

Tintin - Raiatea

We're currently moored up next to Aurora B in a wonderful anchorage 3/4the way down the west coast of Raiatea.And today we are doing...verylittle.Which is just great.The previous blog talked about the first 2 races of the Tahiti PearlRegatta.The 3rd and final race was a lap of the island of Taha'a,inside its reef.We had a wonderful day's sailing.The crew of theprevious days was augmented by Ed and Gemma from Aurora B.The startwas shambolically organised, with the line running downwind instead ofupwind as in the race instructions.We realised this about 3 mins fromthe start when we found ourselves alone in a great place for the linewith everybody else on the other side of the line, confirmed when raceradio said that downwind sails were allowed over the start.Byaccident or design, we. read more...

Sweet Dream - Day 114 May 8, 2019

A beautiful day in paradise. Nice slow morning full of gentle yoga, kayaking, and boat chores. Light lunch, nap and snorkelling off the dinghy at the southern point of the bay in the afternoon. There is some really beautiful coral there with fascinating wiggly things blowing back and forth with an extraordinary amount and variety of colourful fish! There was a lot of current, though, and that seemed to become a stronger theme as the days went by.Captain grilled steaks and we had a nice supper in the cockpit after the sun went down. During the night a few squalls came through, making us happy about the 195 feet of chain we had so generously laid out the day we set the hook. It became quite rolly as well, with waves actually breaking into the anchorage. Very different from four years ago. read more...

Maria Concordia - Log Bermuda

blockquote.cite { margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right:0px; border-left: 1px solid #cccccc } blockquote.cite2 {margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right:0px; border-left: 1px solid #cccccc; margin-top: 3px; padding-top: 0px; } a img { border: 0px; } li[style='text-align: center;'], li[style='text-align: right;'] {list-style-position: inside;} body { font-family: Segoe UI; font-size: 12pt; } Maria Concordia won second prize in the leg from Tortola to Bermuda! A fine bottle of Gosling rum, nice and local. Bermuda is a lovely island, very British, great public transport system, every garden could compete with a Botanical Garden in other countries, lush and green. Beautiful villas all around and the view out to turquoise, shallow. read more...