Daily Logs

Aurora Polaris - 9. Juli 2017 - World ARC 2017-2018

Natta gikk så det suste. Hele dagen har vi seilt i teten, som eneste mann/konebåt. De som ligger foran oss, er «Arabela» og «Kymothoe», begge bemannet med konkurranseseilere. Arabela har to russere om bord. Vi har fått veldig god kontakt med dem, og har vært deres «naboer» ved flere anledninger. «Kymothoe» har tre menn om bord. De kjenner vi ikke så veldig godt, for de har ved flere anledninger valgt andre ruter enn oss. Nå, andre kvelden, ligger altså vi som nummer tre. Vi har en katamaran, «Hanna», som ligger litt bak og lenger sør enn oss. Vi mistenker at de har valgt ei sørlig rute for så å snu nordover og få vinden bakfra det siste stykket. De er nemlig produsenter for parasail og vil naturligvis sjekke ut alle mulighetene og fordelene med slik seilføring. Vi har en perfekt. read more...

Aurora Polaris - 8. Juli 2017 - World ARC 2017-2018

Avreise! Vi måtte komme oss ut fra brygga før det ble lavvann, for det er så grunt at vi ikke ville ta sjansen på å sitte fast. Da vi kom ut i bukta, ville kapteinen ta den dobben som lå nærmest revet. Kaptinnen gjorde ham oppmerksom på at den hadde vi blitt frarådet å ta tidligere, men kapteinen var ikke til å rikke! «Vi skal ikke være der sååå lenge!» Kaptinnen måtte bare gi seg, og idet vi var på vei mot den dobben, var det en som ropte at det der IKKE var noen dobbe! Vi ble henvist til en annen, og da gav han seg!Avsparket for regattaen var kl.10. Vi gjorde oss klar, og snart var vi i gang igjen. Det kom en hurtigbåt utover med vinkende venner om bord. Rart å reise fra dem, vi som har hatt så mye sammen! I hate all those goodbyes!Vi hadde lite vind til å begynne med. Aurora Polaris. read more...

Aurora Polaris - 7. Juli 2017 - World ARC 2017-2018

Det er fredag og siste dag i Fiji. På programmet står utsjekk, skippers briefing og grilling sammen med vennene våre. Jeg går lettvint over utsjekken. Den tok flere timer, og briefingen en og en halv.Grillingen var slik at vi bestilte en meny vi ville ha, og den ble fraktet til ei lita øy som henger sammen med brygga vi lå ved. Det vi da gjorde, var å henvende oss ved en disk. Vi oppgav navn på båten vår, og fikk utlevert en pakke med alt vi trengte, samt kniver og gafler og tallerkener. Så grillet vi selv det vi hadde bestilt. Drikke kunne vi også kjøpe der, eller vi kunne ta med vår egen drikke. Veldig smart! Kaffe, kake og is, tok vi om bord i vår båt.#end. read more...

Aurora Polaris - 6. Juli 2017 - World ARC 2017-2018

Tidlig på morgenen tok vi hurtigbåten inn til Denarau igjen. Kapteinen måtte ha seg ei ny skjorte til det svarte fijiskjørtet sitt. Så fikk vi formiddagen på ny handlerunde, lunsj og retur ved 14-tida, akkurat nok tid til å vinke til Shamal som var på vei ut til Musket Cove for å ta avskjed med oss og resten av «World ARC-fleet» som seiler videre til Vanuatu og Australia.Om kvelden hadde vi en avskjedsmiddag med tradisjonsmat fra Fiji, samt en opptreden av lokale dansere. Til slutt ble alle de avtroppende båtene fra flåten vår tatt fram for at vi skulle se hvem de var og ønske dem lykke til med året som ligger foran dem. De skal gjøre forskjellige ting her i området. Noen seiler til andre områder – kanskje også til New Zealand, siden det ikke ligger i ruten til «World ARC». Andre skal. read more...

Aurora Polaris - 5. Juli 2017 - World ARC 2017-2018

Vi fikk komme inn i havna ved 13.30-tida. Da stod en hel velkomstkomité for å ta linene våre. Stor gjensynsglede etter fri-seiling i to uker i Fiji-øyene.Musket Cove er et feriested for Australere og New Zealendere.Der var både restauranter og resort, en riktig fin plass å feriere for familier, siden det er et stort havnebasseng som blir delvis tørrlagt to ganger i døgnet. Dermed er det relativt trygt å la unger boltre seg på sandbunnen, og lære å svømme på et ikke altfor dypt vann. De øvde seg på padlebrett, kajakk og kanoer. I tillegg var det kort vei til korallrevene for de som heller ville snorkle. Det er kort og godt et lite ferieparadis!Vi hadde prøvd å få legge båten vår her over til neste år, men siden de ikke har besvart henvendelsene våre, går vi nå videre til Vanuatu og. read more...

Aurora Polaris - 4. Juli 2017 - World ARC 2017-2018

Vi forlot Denarau på ettermiddagen. Da var skroget ferdig vasket, kjøleskapet ute av drift og drivstofftankene fulle. I tillegg ei brukket kaptinnetå! Ikke så enkelt når det står badestige i veien når fortøyningslinene må kastes ut, og det raskt! Det er da man ønsker at man hadde litt mer mannskap!Ankom Musket Cove ved 5-tida, men fikk ikke komme inn i havna, for de var redde for at det ikke var dypt nok vann til oss. Dermed la vi oss på bøye utenfor.#end. read more...

Aurora Polaris - 3. Juli 2017 - World ARC 2017-2018

Mandagen har gått med til arbeidsfolk igjen. I dag ble kompressoren sveiset og montert, og det tok halve dagen. I tillegg har en mann på kaien fått i oppdrag å vaske skroget og rubbe og bone det. Han har gått rundt og spurt etter vaskemidler og filler – og drikkevann, og jeg har måttet fortelle ham at det ikke er så lett å få tak i noe som helst når kjøkkenet er blokkert av arbeidsfolk. Han ville ha iskaldt vann, og jeg sa at da måtte jeg ta av flaska vi bruker til kjøleelement i kjøleskapet, for det virker jo ikke! (Han fikk av kjøleelementet)#end. read more...

Aurora Polaris - 2. Juli 2017 - World ARC 2017-2018

Søndag skulle vi ha kjørt til et raftingsenter, men kjølefolkene kom denne dagen også. De gikk på timelønn – dobbel – og utrettet ingen målbar ting. I tillegg hadde de glemt å ta med seg en ny kompressor, og da de skulle ekstratur til kontoret for å hente gass, tok de ikke med seg kompressoren som også stod der! Dermed måtte de komme tilbake mandag morgen!Vi kjørte av gårde rundt middagstider, med kurs mot Suva, hovedstaden. Da vi kom ned i sørvestre hjørne, kjørte vi inn på øya for å komme tilbake til Nadi via fjell og daler. Lite visste vi om veikvaliteten, og det var kanskje bra, for ellers hadde vi nok ikke begynt på den lange veien.Vi kjørte innover på asfaltvei, men ganske snart begynte grusveien. Den gikk også gradvis over i pukk, og de kan ikke ha hørt om veiskraping. Den fine,. read more...

Aurora Polaris - 1. Juli 2017 - World ARC 2017-2018

(Hadde nesten lyst å skrive 31.juni – sånn bare for å drøye ferien litt!)Tid for servicetekniker på kjøleskapet – igjen! Terje dro inn med lettbåten før kl.7, for det var avtalt tid! Ingen servicetekniker å se! Han kom ikke før tre kvarter senere, og var her ute litt over 8. Da hadde han bare med noen måleinstrumenter! I mellomtiden hadde kjøleskapet begynt å virke igjen. Det ble en lang diskusjon om symptomer og årsaker, og så måtte arbeidsmannen tilbake igjen for å hente utstyr. Etterpå fikk vi komme inn til en turistbåtkai midlertidig, for å få ligge der noen timer mens kjøleskapet undergår en operasjon!Det ble litt mer komplisert enn først antatt. Serviceteknikeren fant ikke noen kompressor som går på 220 volt, og skulle komme tilbake i kveld kl.16.30. Før vi forlot kaien, tok Terje. read more...

Aurora Polaris - 30. Juni 2017 - World ARC 2017-2018

«Shamal’s» vinket farvel til oss idet vi dro fra bukta ved 6.30-tida. Vi hadde lang vei å gå, rundt 60+ sjømil. Heldigvis for oss, blåste det ganske friskt rundt kysten, så vi holdt en gjennomsnittshastighet på rundt 8 knop. Det medførte at vi var ankret opp utenfor Denarau ved 15-tida.Vi var ikke sene om å komme oss i dinghyen. Det lå flere av våre venner i bukta, og vi hadde følge med far og sønn på «Altair» inn til marinaen. Det var som å komme til en hvilken som helst større marina i Middelhavet! Her var restauranter og barer, shopping av alle slag, og utenfor disse lå skipshandlerne og delelagrene.Første «pri» var leiebil. Deretter skaffe oss oversikt over området, før vi hadde middag sammen med «Altair’s». Butikkene var enda ikke stengt, så det ble en ytterligere runde for. read more...

Misto - Days 181-185 July 7-11: Destination Vanuatu

We departed Musket Cove in July 8 leaving a number of the fleet behind who have decided that Fiji is their stopping point for now. We had a rip-roaring sail to Vanuatu. It was mainly a beam reach in 15-25 knots of wind. Unfortunately the seas were very confused and it got worse during the trip. We were shipping water right over the trampoline and up over the coach roof by the last afternoon when we put a reef in the main and jib. The passage was so fast that, along with a number of other boats, we made a night entry into Port Resolution on Tanna. We followed the way points we had been given as the navionics charts had absolutely zero detail of where we were going!Customs and immigration formalities the next day took place in the "Yacht Club" a rustic open-sided wooden structure festooned. read more...

Jambo - Cycle ride in Bornholm

John and Jay suggested a bike ride around the southern part of this charming island . Ended up as a 50mile ride so my rear quarters are tender! the compensation was we stopped at a smokehouse for some smoked herring / prawns which were fantastic IMG_0710. read more...

Lexington - 7/11/2017 Sailing Frustrations

Most of my posts are real upbeat and share the better parts of our trip. I have to share the frustrations also just to keep your feet on the ground. We tried to use our propane tonight and we did not get gas. We are real smart. We had anticipated this and we had asked our people that refit my boat to be sure and get us a spare solenoid which is the part that controls the flow of gas. I took everything apart only to discover that the spare is not like the original, having totally different fittings. I could not get it to fit in the place of the old solenoid. I have been spoiled by having very good people in my medical practice. This sort of thing frustrates the hell out of me. May fair winds fill your sails with a way to vent like this! Bob. read more...

Jambo - Arrived in Bornholm

Left Rostock yesterday and managed to sail with the chute for most of the day in light winds but then had to motor through the nightOff now to research bike hire as Bornholm has over 240 Kilometres of cycle trackIMG_0701. read more...

Lexington - 7/10/2017 Heading to Vanuatu

All is well on Lexington. The winds have been moderately consistent at 14-17 from the southeast. We have a velocity made good of 6.6 knots over the past 24 hours which is great for us. The best VMG is 7.6 by Aurora Polaris. Most of my post tonight will be a copy of information sent by my sister-in-law, Sue Cole. My father-in-law who was her father was stationed in Vanuatu during WWII. Below is the information she sent to me: "Your arrival at Vanuatu will be amazingly coincidental with the World War II, 75th anniversary year arrival of the 25th Evacuation Hospital from West Suburban Hospital, Chicago. Departing from Port Vila, the 25th landed in Surendu Bay, Espiritu Santo on Nov. 29, 1942. The 25th Evacuation Hospital was a team of nurses, enlisted men, and 37 physicians, including a 29. read more...

Timshel - Fiji to Vanuatu Day 2

In the morning we were surprised to see Lexington and Zeeland close in front as they had been well ahead the night before. I guess the reaching conditions with staysail as well as yankee set suited Timshel, especially as the wind got a bit lighter.Lexington soon sorted the situation by shaking out the reefs in their mainsail and pulled away again.We did overtake Zeeland but they caught up and pulled away towards evening as the wind built again.A very pleasant days sailing for the whole fleet.Steve was net controller and had some trivia questions about Vanuatu, there were also discussions as to whether one can arrive in the dark and whether to start taking malaria prophylaxis. We spent some time cleaning up as, most annoying, the forehatch had not been closed properly yesterday during the. read more...

Timshel - Fiji to Vanuatu Day 1

We all had a nice time in Musket Cove, though perhaps did not quite have the time to really appreciate the ambience of the place due to getting ready for departure.Somewhat bittersweet as so many boats leaving the rally to do more here then head for NZ -hopefully we will catch up with most of them when we all join next year's rally.  The start line was between the reefs,Hannah lead off with her Parasailor.At the briefing Stefano had mentioned and shown a diagram of a smaller exit before the main pass and said you could go that way.Skyelark of Hamblin (Pied Piper)turned up through that passed to be followed by the whole rest of the fleet.Hannah protested to rally control that the written instructions said Manolo reef to port (which they alone had done).Coming out of the pass in the. read more...

Lexington - 7/9/17 “On the Sea Again!”

 If I had any musical talent I would make up a song “ON THE SEA AGAIN!” like Willie Nelson. It is 3 a.m. and I am doing my watch. The wind was brisk earlier but settled down to a comfortable 15 to 17 on the beam. “On the beam” means that the wind is coming from directly to our side and our point of sail would be a “beam reach”. We had a very nice stay in Fiji. There were lots of nice places. You could almost not go wrong picking spots except if the wind or swells were from the wrong direction. Several of the boats elected to stay in Fiji and then go to New Zealand in September to avoid typhoon season. Then they will join the next World ARC coming thru. The person who got Dengue Fever reported that he is feeling much better. The plan is that he will take off soon and catch up with. read more...

Jambo - Enjoying the local cuisine

Just getting provisions for the first leg and was offered pea soup in the market with local sausage- jay took some persuading but then woofed it!IMG_0695. read more...

Lexington - 7/7/2017

 Tomorrow we are off to Vanuatu, about 500 miles west. Terry Clark and Ben Clark have joined us for this leg. Terry is a pathologist that I worked with in Lexington. Ben is Terry's nephew. They both sailed with me about 15 years ago when I chartered boats in the Caribbean. Ben was captain of one of the boats and it was his first bareboat experience. Terry and Ben went to the dinner last night and we all had dinner tonight at the resort. They are jumping into it with both feet. I bet we will all have a good time. They have done a lot of sailing but not this far from home. I am sure it must feel a little strange jumping into a group of 20 boats and all the different people while jumping on a boat that they have never been on before. They will fit right in I am sure. May fair winds. read more...

Dizzy Di - Ready in Rostock

Arrived in Rostock after flying back to Travemunde Wednesday and sailing the last 45 miles yesterday.  Good trip from UK via Dover, Den Header and Kiel Canal.  Amazingly luck in and out of the canal with locks pretty much ready as we arrived.  Even better no charge as there was some admin reason why we couldn’t be charged.All good on board except freezer not operating.  Looking forward to start Monday.Keith & Di. read more...

Lexington - 7/7/17 Musket Cove

Sorry I have been a little delinquent in my daily postings. We are in Musket Cove preparing to start the leg to Vanuatu. Our boat has new crew who arrived in Fiji yesterday. They brought us lots of stuff we needed. They brought stuff for two other boats also. Their reward was that they arrived in time to go to our big dinner at Mike's Place, a restaurant connected to the resort. They will do a little more tourist stuff today and then join us. The dinner last night was one of the best on the trip. They had tables set up on the beach and a large serving table. They had roasted a pig over an open fire that was done to perfection. The night was beautiful with a near full moon. It was a dinner of mixed emotions. About 6 boats will be dropping out of the event to stay in the area and then join. read more...

Misto - Days 175-180 July 1-6: Waya, Denarau and Musket Cove

Our visit to the island of Waya and the village of Yalobi was a highlight of our time in Fiji. We anchored at the head of the bay off the village and went ashore with our gift of kava where a Sevusevu ceremony was performed and we were welcomed to the village by Tai Enochi.Andrew, a boy of 13 showed us around the village andintroduced us to the other chief Tai Tom.The next morning we attended the church in the village - the singing was simply awesome and we were made incredibly welcome by everyone.We made a small gift of coloring books and crayons to the Sunday School and found Andrew again to give him some fish hooks, as he said he does a lot of fishing.I cannot say enough about the welcoming attitude of all the Fijians we met.On our way back to the dinghy we met the principal of the. read more...

Lexington - 7/5/17 Musket Cove

We are in Musket Cove for the gathering together that occurs before the start of each leg. The resort and marina are very nice. They have lots of facilities for everyone. Just behind our boat is a beach bar area where they have cooking grills set up for guests. At the bar for a small fee you can get plates and silverware and then grill your own food. It is a nice setup and they realize that they probably make most of their money off the bar and people staying after dinner to continue to buy from the bar. The other thing that is convenient and good for their business is that you set up an account when you first check in and then you can just charge anything in the resort complex. May fair winds fill your sails! I will attach a few photos of the area. Bob This is the dock area. We are. read more...

Lexington - 7/4/17 Denarau

We have spent two nights at Denarau Marina before heading to Musket Cove Marina for the final events before the next leg. The marina was very nice. There were lots of big boats there. Port Denarau is a coastal area of NADI, a village in the Ba region of Fiji. The immediate area is all tourist. It is an interesting sight of commercial boating, ferries, tour boats, super yachts, fishing boats, dive boats and all the amenities that go with it such as a golf course, condominiums, resorts, hotels, restaurants and taxies. All this is adjacent to the village of NADI which looks like most all the other villages we have seen in Fiji. They had a very nice open fresh food market and lots of stores run by Indian Fijians. Lot of older cars and trucks. The service at the marina was excellent. The. read more...

Lexington - Boomies and Clown Fish, Fiji

  This is a boomie, a coral head that sticks up with all different types of coral and numerous fish using it for cover. My photos are nice but actually they do not come close to the real beauty. To get great photos you need lights and a red filter from what I have been told. This is a clown fish with a sea anemone. The clown fish will swim out toward you to guard his territory but soon retreats, often down into the anemone. . read more...

Lexington - Jacobi Bay, Waya Island

When I have internet I can send nicer photos, so here goes: This is sunset at Jacobi Bay, Waya Island. This was a very nice anchorage. We snorkeled and dove. This is a coral that changes color if you touch it. It blanches to a white by pulling in the polyps on the surface. Yes I know you are not supposed to touch coral but our dive master showed us how and it is a soft coral.  Video.MOV. read more...

Lexington - Viti Levu, Fiji photos

  This is St Francis Xavier Church and it is in Ra Province, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands. It is known locally as the Church of the Black Christ due to the depiction of a Fijian-looking Christ figure in the mural above the altar.  Our guide said it was a gift from the white missionaries to the black people. He did not have much more information. This is inside the church.This is the grave of the Fijian who ate the most men, 900.. read more...

Lexington - More Fiji Photos

 This is the Main Street of the town we visited. Most of the shops are run by Indians. There was a good variety of things for sale. Most shops were small and a little dark. There is always a cell card store. There was always Coke advertising. One gas station was brand new and looked very modern but they couldn't take my credit card because their connect was down. This is over looking a large shallow bay that largely dries at low tide. Note the satellite dish on the roof.This is the core of an old volcano.. read more...

Lexington - Photos at Volivoli

 This is the pool at Volivoli Beach Resort. We anchored here for two nights.This is the restaurant at Volivoli Resort. It was clean and open. During dinner they had someone playing a guitar and singing.Beach bar, restaurant and dive shop  View of the beach and water at Volivoli Resort. . read more...

Lexington - Fiji photos 7/1/2017

This is Rosie. She works at Paradise Resort and in this photo she is dancing for their Fiji night at the resort. The regular employees do the entertainment. The employees children also dance. I invited Rosie to come with me but she liked her job too much. She also said something about a husband and kids. . read more...

Blonde Moment - Blog 11

BLOG 11Sines to Lagos The final leg…………The pontoon was unusually quiet on Thursday night - no parties, no late dinners; a solemnness had descended over the fleet as we realised the forecast for tomorrow's rounding of Cape St Vincent and our approach to Lagos.(20-25 knots for our sail south increasing to 30-35 knots at the Cape and around to Lagos).Alarms went at 5.15 am and crews slipped lines and quietly departed when ready.We waited until 6.15 am drinking tea (how very British) until the harbour was empty and all jostling for position was over and quickly slipped our lines and were soon into downwind sailing, surfing down Atlantic rollers with dolphins jumping out of the waves and turning and twisting under BM.The wind increased all the way to the Cape and we reefed our main twice as. read more...

Raggy Doll - 30th June - 2nd July - The Last Leg

Friday 30th we were up at 5am for an early set off. There had been lots of talk of high winds, possibly force 6 or more and nobody wanted to be late leaving. The sail down the coast was good, we were nearly at Cape St Vincent when the theme tune to jaws became very appropriate as a shark glided passed, we'd seen dolphins but this was the only shark. As we rounded Cape ofSt Vincent, the wind started to pick up. We dipped our ensign as a sign of respect for Commodore Nelson (later to become Admiral Nelson) on 11th February 1797 he managed to sail through the Spanish fleet in the fog, identifying their position, but not their number, thereby allowing the British Navy to attack and defeat them.Grey Goose who were roughly 5 nautical miles ahead, warned us that at the second headland the winds. read more...

Jambo - Ready for the off

Jambo is in Rostock ready for the start- we had an interesting trip over from The Solent taking in time for some sight seeing in Amsterdam and doing the mast up route through the Netherlands coming out at the German Friesian islands and "Riddle of the sands" countryLooking forwards to our next adventure.Philip. read more...

Timshel - North to Blue Lagoon

Well set up by the full English (breakfast) on Skyelark, Taistealai and Timshel headed north, though regretting leaving our lovely bay.Taistealai was leading as Chris had carefully plotted many waypoints from Google Earth on his chartplotter to thread our way through the reefs, whereas Timshel was looking at it in real time on the ipad (luckily there seemed to be enough internet access).The Motion X app seemed to work well, at the start the Bing picture was clearer, but unfortunately as we proceeded north we found that Bing had not photographed that bit.There were a couple of alarms as we found ourselves in shallowing water (5m), later inspection of the track showed that these patches were on Google earth, but just not that clear, but we arrived safely at the Blue Lagoon and anchored. read more...

Timshel - Heading back south

Had a couple of nights at Blue Lagoon we are now underway heading south, faithfully following Taistalai in front and our breadcrumb trail from the way up.Blue Lagoon is a nice resort on a beautiful island (Nanuya-Sewa)with lovely friendly people.Chuck (Exit Strategy) took me for a run first thing in the morning on wonderful grassy trails and views.We all walked the same route later but also taking in the shop, the tea room and buying jewelry en route.Parts of the island are Private but only when a Cruise ship is in.The yellow ferry comes and the seaplane transports the rich (possibly also the famous?).We didn't see Brooke Shields - must watch the film sometime.. read more...

Aurora Polaris - Bilder fra Fiji - World ARC 2017-2018

Noen bilder av hva vi har opplevd og sett på Fiji. Dette blir bare litt av alle opplevelsene vi har hatt her.#end DSC_7295 DSC_7348 DSC_7363 DSC_7364 DSC_7395 DSC_7403 DSC_7527 DSCN1918 DSCN1922 DSCN1933 DSCN1948 DSCN7833 DSCN7882 DSCN7899 DSCN7922 DSCN7924 (web) DSCN7943 DSCN7964 (web) DSCN8042 DSCN8096 DSCN8101 DSCN8117 DSCN8180 DSCN8202 DSCN8230 DSCN8255 DSCN8348 RSCN8315. read more...