Pat Bon - Where Did Those Five Weeks Go?

16:29.568S 151:45.84WWell looking back, those 5 weeks in French Polynesia just flew by and disappeared in a blur. I last said hello to you all when I was on board AquaLuna with Claire and Malcom for a few days in the Tuamotus. As planned, I met up with Pat Bon in Taina Marina in Papeete, Tahiti and we promptly departed on Saturday 26th, along with 1D, Amelia and Magea for Moorea and the other Society Islands. Moorea is only 20NM or so from Papeete, so a short crossing to 2 large bays in the north of the island, well sheltered by outlying coral reefs. Moorea was a lovely place and several ARC’ers had gone there while work was being done on various yachts in Papeete. Sadly, due to amount of rain that had fallen, these large bays had fairly mucky water, so we anchored just inside the reefs,. read more...

Pat Bon - Marquesan Delight & Depravity

08:56.427S 140:06.145WWe’ve just set sail for the next set of Polynesian islands in our adventure - the Tuamotus! We lifted anchor at 0400 and are now 6 hours (40NM) into the 540NM passage from Nuku Hiva to Fakarava, the coral atoll we’re heading for.We’ve spent 12 days in the wonderful Marquesas, having arrived just before dusk on Sunday 23rd March, following the 3,160NM passage across the Pacific from the Galápagos Islands. After a few days to get some boat jobs done and some fresh provisions, we left on Thursday 27th March for the nearby island of Tahuata and the village of Hapatoni for the traditional fire pit feast. From there, we headed for the island of Oa Pou (pronounced Wah Poo) where we dropped the anchor in a small bay on the west coast with a small village called Motukara,. read more...

Pat Bon - A Marquesan Heaven

09:48.695S 139:01.847WWe’ve made it…. We’ve crossed the Pacific! 3,160NM in total and we did it in 18 days, 8 hours and 15 minutes, that’s an average speed of 7.18 knots. We arrived in the harbour near the main town/village of Atuona in Hiva Oa and dropped anchor just behind the breakwater. Finally a relatively gentle roll on board Pat Bon rather than the oceans more frantic pitching and rolling we’ve been used to these last 2.5 weeks. We packed things away quickly and headed straight for the nearest hotel where 4 large and very cold Hinano beers were ordered, along with 4 steak and chips! We arrived 2nd in class and 4th yacht overall, without taking into account the handicaps. Fruition took line honours in class, but she is a powerful 80’ yacht, so we’d expect that. Also Misfit, a large. read more...

Pat Bon - God ….. I Hate Fish

11:56.051S 129:55.264W“TAKE COVER - incoming squadron of fish”. With that, Val hits the deck or cowers under the spray hood. Or it’s Nathan wearing his new fish slippers - a new fashion trend, although the trail of fish guts and fishy body parts isn’t pleasant, especially after a day in the tropical sun! It’s a nightly and coordinated attack on Pat Bon by our fishy friends - there we are, quietly on watch, minding own business when the unmistakable slap and splatter of a flying fish bouncing around the cockpit. A mad dash trying to catch and return it to its fishy kingdom, but it’s so slippery and almost impossible to catch with your hands - and boy, do they smell, even when alive! Sometimes they’re in stealth mode and they simply hop out of the water and onto the deck, there to remain. read more...

Pat Bon - Boobies, Whales, Sunsets….. but where are those trade winds!

09:12.947S 106:11.799W Pat Bon and her valiant crew are just over a week into the BIG leg 4 of our World ARC adventure, the 3,000+ nautical mile crossing of the Pacific Ocean from the Galapagos to the Marquesas islands. We’ve managed to do over 1,100NM so far and today our GPS system told us we’ve got under 2,000NM to travel until we reach the island of Hiva Oa in the Marquesas. So a third of the passage completed - yay!  The crew have all guessed our arrival time at the finish line in Hiva Oa. This based on the distance we’ve travelled so far, the predicted weather, bearing in mind we only have sufficient fuel to motor a total of 7 or so days and we have to use the winds to sail for over 80% of the time and our planned course, which takes us quite far south of the rhumb. read more...