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Captains log April 19, 2009,
I have not fallen overboard and yes it is really me updating my log. Been a few months so I will start out by saying how sorry I am about taking so long to get back to my loyal followers. But I will try to catch you up on what's happening with me, Barb and the boat.
The boat is doing great. We have spent some time and money on getting everything ship shape before we head out in a couple of weeks. The two main things we did was have the bottom of the boat repainted and added a new water maker. There were a lot of other things that were addressed but I will spare you all the details. If you are a regular reader of my log you know the problems we had last year with the H2O maker. Making water this year and for years to come will be trouble free. I am very happy I don't have to spend countless hours upside down in the bilge working on our water maker. I will keep you posted but I will stay optimistic no matter what. In the following logs I will update you on the boat and fill you in on some of the other additions we made to the safety and comfort of Destiny.
Hopefully if you're reading my log you are also following along with Barbara's log. In the past week she has worked hard to bring everyone up to date on our stay in New Zealand and our travels back to the states during the holidays. I don't read Barb's blog but if she didn't tell you, she is hard at work getting the boat provisioned. When we leave here it will be the last time we have access to decent grocery stores until we get back to New Zealand in November. To understand what a daunting task that is envision doing your grocery shopping once for the rest of the year. I try to stay out of her way because she really does a great job. We want for nothing. Other than getting that chore done we are both ready to go sailing.
Our plan right now is to leave here around the 2nd of May and head north to Fiji. If you have read recent news on Fiji there has been a coup going on. Since we are not going to any of the main cities we should be OK. If all goes well we should make the passage in about 8 days. After we get to Fiji we really have no idea what we will do next except to go back to New Zealand in November.
We have really enjoyed our stay in New Zealand. This is a beautiful country with a great deal to see and do. If you don't have New Zealand on your future travel plans you really should make it one. I also want to say how great the people are. In our short stay here we have met some great people who will remain our friends for years to come.
That's it for right now. Till next time this is Destiny back to 1 6.

Captain's Log November 23, 2008

My guess is that no one really reads these anymore because I am not very consistent at writing but for what it is worth thought I would share a few of my thoughts. These last six weeks have probably been the most fun and rewarding of the whole trip. A few of my takeaways…

By far the greatest thrill was swimming with the whales. You have to remember that even though you pay to swim with them there is no guarantee that you will get that close or even see one. The day started out rather chilly (relative for this area) overcast and rainy. If we did see them picture taking would not be very good. They don't want any more than 4 swimmers and a guide in the water at a time once we spot the whales. On our boat that meant there was to be 2 groups. Barbara and I got in
group 1 only by chance I swear. We see a whale and into the water we go. We are supposed to stay with the guide and make sure if the whale surfaces near us to avoid the tail section. That is pretty obvious when you see the tale of a whale up close. One flick of their tale would probably crush you. Not easy to stay up with our Tongan guide who swims with whales for a living. Also hard to keep up when you've got a camera in one hand and you're wearing fins that are about 2x too small. The guide
points down and about 80 ft below the surface you can see the white underbelly of an enormous whale however the mask makes everything look 30% bigger. They start to come up but moving away from us. We kick and swim as hard as we can to catch up to them but we are no match for the whales. They do surface but just long enough to put their tails high in the air and dive down again. They might stay down for 30 minutes or longer. It was a close encounter but really no photo ops. I guess at that point
I would have felt that I got my money's worth. I mean I was in the water swimming and a whale was also swimming very nearby. As advertised Swim with the Whales. Time for group 2. The boat moves into position and off they go. The whales were not interested in swimming with us. OK, this goes on all day group 1 has not been in the water but 1 time. The whales were enjoying staying on the bottom and only occasionally coming to the surface. It was now about 4pm time; to start heading home. Suddenly
one of the whales comes up about 50 yards from the boat. Group 1 is ready to go and into the water we go. It is raining and overcast but who cares I am again in the water with whales. I am trying very hard to stay up with our born to swim in the water Tongan guide. As we move into position the whales dive deep and we can do nothing except float on the surfacing waiting. About 20 minutes goes by the clouds clear, the sun comes out, and the sky is blue and suddenly the whales begin to surface.
I say suddenly, because this huge creature covers a great deal of ocean in a very short period of time. I get the camera ready and look down. Right below me the whale is heading straight for me. All I could think about is get a good picture and don't get hit by the tail. As she surfaced I could almost reach out and touch her. Once on the surface she turns on her back and then back on her stomach. She knows we are there and is very careful not to hit us. She looked me right in the eye and
said, "how ya doing?" I thought I would hyperventilate I was breathing so hard trying to stay with the guide, the whales and take pictures. We tried to stay with them but they were off to the bottom and we were in awe. Tonga is only one of 2 countries that allow humans to be in the water that close to whales. Wouldn't surprise me if it were banned there also in a few years. Whatever they decide I had my shot and something that I will never forget. Barbara and I were very lucky to have had
the opportunity. WOW, still gets to me, just thinking about it.

The sea giveth and we taketh, brings me to my second big take away. I finally catch a fish. Eat your heart out David Topolnicki. David always goes up to Canada in the spring to catch fish. He comes home with a car load of fish and all sorts of fish stories and pictures. I am jealous. Well after nearly 6,000 miles on the open ocean I can say I finally caught and landed a fish. It was about a 25lb Mahi Mahi, which these waters are full of. What a great thrill. I was getting pretty discouraged
with my fishing prowess. In fact Barb had to really get after me to put the line in the water this time. It was a beautiful sailing day I wasn't sure I wanted to ruin it by not catching another fish. Up to that point we had caught fish but were never successful in getting them aboard. Not this time. I was prepared and ready to bring up almost any size fish. I had decided to fish with 200 lb test line, just tied to the back of the boat no rod no reel. If I caught something there was no chance
it could break the line and swim off with another lure. It would be just me the fish and a line. Then the big fishing story here is when we left Tonga to sail to New Zealand. The Opua Cruising Club was hosting a rally for arriving yachts and one of the events there was a contest to see who could catch and land the biggest fish during the passage. I came in second with my next catch a 53 ½" long Mahi Mahi. First place went to a guy who caught an 8 foot black Marlin. I was very happy to have placed
I am now able to say we can live off the sea. We are becoming very self sufficient.

Last takeaway was our passage from Tonga to New Zealand. Historically this section of ocean can be very unpredictable weather-wise. Like everyone else we watched weather forecast and weather maps. We paid for a passage weather routing service and we discussed strategy with other cruisers. The big problem is that about every 5 to 7 days another front passes through and if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time you get hit. Proper planning and a lot of luck go a long way. We finally decided
to head out with a pretty good weather window. The first part of our passage was pretty benign. A good bit of it was light wind and we had to motor. After about 4 days we got word that we would probably get hit by a pretty bad squall with winds between 35-40 kts. We got the boat prepared for heavy weather and as predicted at almost the exact time they predicted the winds began to build. We lost our wind instruments a couple of months ago so we could not really tell how hard it was blowing but
it was more than we had ever seen in the past. As it continued to build we took all the sails in, pointed the boat to go with the wind , and left the main engine running at about 1000 RPMs to give us the ability to steer the boat on a straight course with the auto pilot on. Barbara and I retreated to the dry comfort of the main cabin of the boat and had the ride of a lifetime. The boat never went under 7kts and sometimes it was traveling much faster. We were headed west which just so happens
to be somewhat the direction we wanted to go. Didn't really matter we were at the mercy of the wind and waves. I looked outside at one point and saw our dinghy flying in the wind like it was a kite. I told Barbara there is no way our dinghy would make it till morning. One of the things you worry about in seas like this is that your boat will get going so fast down the back side of one wave that it will plow into the next wave and flip end over end. We never got going that fast. The storm hit
us around 11:30pm and at about 2 or 3 AM I estimated the winds to be in excess of 50 KTS. All we could do was ride the waves and wait for the storm to pass. By about 6 AM the wind and seas had relented a little but were still 30+ kits and the seas were still very high and seemingly coming at us from all directions. In our total amazement the dinghy had held on by 2 lines. The bad news here is that the seas were still so rough it would not be safe to go on deck to tie it down. I have to say it
was great to see sunlight the next morning. Even with the winds blowing at gale force we felt like we had seen the worst of it. As the front moved past us and we were able to talk to some of our fellow cruisers on our scheduled morning net it looked like we were the only boat to see the worst of the storm. Boats all around only had winds in the low 30's and the waves were manageable. After it was all said and done we were able to keep the dinghy but we lost 2 oars, a seat cushion and our American
flag. After the storm passed we were able to sail the boat at a very good speed toward New Zealand. No more motoring. The other positive here is that we were able to see what the boat could do under some very tough conditions. To me, it was very comforting to know that we are on such a seaworthy craft. All in all Destiny hardly blinked at what was thrown at her. Just the same Barbara and I hope to never have that experience again.

We have just spent a week and half in the Bay of Islands in NE New Zealand and are on our way to a marina in Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty. We will leave the boat and fly home for 2 months and plan our next year's journey. We are still excited about our next port wherever that might be. It is hard to believe we have come this far. We have learned a lot and we know we have more to learn but we are not rookies any more. It will be great to come home and see family and friends but we also look
forward to next year and where the winds will blow us. "This is Destiny going back to 16".

Captain's log for October 4th 2008...

and almost 2 months since my last update. We have been busy sailing the South Pacific and visiting some very interesting places. So here are a few of my thoughts.

We left Bora Bora and French Polynesia on August 16 and decided to head southwest toward Rarotonga the main island in the Cook Island chain. Can't say we were sorry to put French Polynesia on our stern because we were running out of money. The expense of staying there sort of takes the fun out of it. Don't get me wrong it is a great place to visit beautiful islands and people but maybe being there 3 months is a bit much. Sure glad we couldn't extend our visa now we can say; "been there done that".
We had a great sail to Rarotonga. Calm seas and light winds. Would have liked more wind but those were the cards dealt on this leg. This was a good time for us to unwind and relax from the hustle bustle of Bora Bora. The other good thing is that when we are away from land we aren't spending any money.

We arrived in Avatiu, Rarotonga the capital of The Cook Islands rested and ready to see a new land fall. Our first adventure here was getting situated in the harbor. It was required that you drop your anchor toward the middle of the bay, and then back the boat about 200 ft. up to this very large concrete sea wall and tie your stern lines to the wall keeping the boat at least 15 ft. from the wall so you don't crash into it when the weather gets rough. Thank goodness we had some of our cruising
friends there to help because it is a daunting task for 2 people. I do have to say Barbara did a great job setting the anchor and helping us tie up. She is really becoming quite the sailor. After getting the boat safely in place it was off to town. This is the first place we had been since leaving San Diego where the people speak English. So great to be able to communicate in English again. However, the biggest reward was the American dollar was now worth something. On the Cook Islands they
have their own money, only good in the Cook Islands, and the New Zealand dollar. One NZ dollar was 70 cents in US money so everything we bought there was at a 30% discount, yea! Just as a comparison the French Franc in French Polynesia cost $1.36 US. So, not only did the dollar go further but the cost of items was cheaper. We were really excited about being there. The people were great and acted like they were happy we were there, and it was a lush green tropical island. We stayed a week and
I think all but 1 day it rained. Can't complain we still had a great time. Rented a moped and circumnavigated the island, about 2 hours, went to their big open air market on Saturday and generally had a good time. After a week though it was time to move on. The weather calmed down enough for us to leave port and head off to our next port on the Island of Niue.
A big gold star if you know where Niue is on the map. Unless you have a detailed atlas there is a good chance it's not on your map. In fact we were considering bypassing this island and heading directly for Tonga. We changed our mind and decided it would be a good break in the passage to stop and spend a few days seeing a new place. We ended up staying 8 days. The people on the island, 1200, took us under their wing and treated us like royalty. When we first came ashore to check in with customs
the people from the yacht club picked us up and made sure everything was taken care of during check in and then they drove us around and showed us the island. The yacht club is a house in town with a big front porch and all the cruisers seemed to hang out there. They had a kitchen and if you wanted anything like a soft drink, beer, wine, or anything else you just helped yourself and then paid up when it was time to go, and all on a honor system. Another kind of different thing on this island was
that when you needed to get around on the island you just hitch hiked. The locals always stopped and picked you up and took you where you needed to go. We really enjoyed our stay here. We spent a day hiking along the coast line, did bingo with the locals at one of the local bars, I think everyone on the island attended, and hung out at the yacht club and caught up on the internet, which was free. We could have stayed longer but the weather and ocean was giving us a break so we thought we better
take advantage and move on to Tonga.

The passage to Tonga is just 240 miles and can really be a piece a cake or very rough. We caught it on a rough couple of days. The seas seemed to come at us from all directions and the winds were not strong enough to drive the boat through them. It was therefore our pleasure to enjoy a very rough 2 days at sea. Not life threatening just very uncomfortable. We didn't get much sleep but the passage was made a little more doable because we had an extra crew on board with us. Ryan, from Parker,
Co., was crewing on another boat and needed help getting to Tonga after his services were no longer required on his other boat. We agreed to get him to Tonga so he could pick up another boat and head to New Zealand. After his departure Barbara and I are much happier when it is just the 2 of us.

We got to Vava'u Tonga, the northern group of islands, in one piece and have enjoyed this place probably the best of all the places we have visited so far. The main city of Neiafu is centrally located on the island and from this spot you can go to about 40 different anchorages all within about an hour's time. If you want peace and quiet and the place to yourself there are plenty of spots or you can anchor with some of your sailing friends in other anchorages. When you come into the harbor at
Neiafu there are plenty of restaurants and stores to go to. What is really special is all our cruising friends we have met over the past 8 months are all here and it is great to get together with everyone and talk about all our experiences this year. Tonga and especially these islands are where the Humpback whales migrate to every winter to have their calves and mate. So, from July to October the waters are full of whales. Tonga is also one of only 2 places in the world where you can swim with
the whales. Barbara and I took one of the whale tours and had the good fortune to be able to get up close and personal to the whales. What an experience to be next to these giant creatures in their marine environment. That has got to be the highlight of our year.

It is now time to start heading south. Tomorrow, Monday, we start the last leg of our journey for 2008 and start working our way 1,000 miles south to New Zealand. We are again excited about a new land fall and new experiences. It will also be a good stopping place to come home and see family and friends.
This log report finds Destiny and crew all well and in working order. We have so many memories and so many more to make. With that this is Destiny back to 1-6.

Captain's log August 13, 2008

I admit it; I haven't done real well keeping you posted on what's going on. You have to understand it is very busy out here. Where will we snorkel today? What boat will we watch the sun set on? What's for dinner? Why is the moon so bright? Busy, Busy, Busy.
We are at the end of our stay in French Polynesia. Hard to believe it has been 3 months since we got here. If you read my last blog Barbara and I were a little down with all the boat mechanical problems. But soon after the last blog we got everything working and we have been that way ever since. Water maker completely is overhauled and working. In fact it is working and making water better now than it ever did. Our dinghy went to the dinghy hospital and had a major healing. The fuel leak fixed and nonexistent. All is well TODAY; tomorrow that can all change.
Our stay in all the islands has been very memorable. A few of my highlights. I will never forget the first land fall in the Marquesas. After being on the open ocean for 21 days and seeing the island of Fatu Hiva with its lush green valleys and mountains. What a welcome sight. It was a tremendous sense of accomplishment to sail that far and hit the target. The modern world of navigation is really great. The Marquesas were like going back in time very rural and rustic.
Our next stop was the Tuamotu's. We had a great time there because Barbara and I checked into a luxury resort hotel and stayed 3 days. These islands are very different because they are really reefs that have formed a big circle with a lagoon in the middle (called an atoll). The reef part has developed enough to support trees and land for growing things and a few villages. I don't think there is anything quite like these islands anywhere in the world. We were lucky to be able to spend a few days there. One of our highlights was doing a dive at one of the passes into the atoll of Rangiroa. They drop you off outside the pass and then the current swipes you through the pass and then they pick you up on the inside. The water on the surface is rough and the current is even rougher. Under the water it is a different world. It would be like swimming in an aquarium. The fish and coral are so abundant it literally takes your breath away.
After a few days we were off to the Society Islands with Tahiti being our first landfall. Seeing Tahiti for the first time was really inspiring. This is one of those life goals that were finally coming true. Barbara and I kept saying to each other, "we are in Tahiti". One of our main goals in Tahiti was to get the boat fixed and working again. We were very lucky to be able to get a slip in the largest marina in Papeete. Normally we anchor out from land but with what we needed to do to get the boat fixed it was great being at the marina. In 2 weeks we were all well and ready to go again.
From Tahiti we sailed to Moorea, just 10 miles but a world apart. This island is truly what you think about when you think about French Polynesia. The bays between the mountains and the reefs with all the colorful fish. We liked it so much we stayed here for 2 weeks. A high point for me was being able to swim with the Stingrays and sharks. Sounds pretty intense but was a very serene experience being a part of their world for a few moments. The rays would come right up to you and allow you to touch them. A really awesome experience.
During the middle of July we were blessed to have Jeri Lyn and Jeff Martin, close friends from Denver, join us for a few days sailing and exploring the other islands. As luck would have it for them the weather was not very kind to them. Three of the 5 days they were on board it rained. In spite of all that it was memorable to me because they came all that way to see us. They were great sports and we had a great time anyway. On their last night with us in Bora Bora we had dinner at a restaurant that might have been the best food I have ever eaten. The restaurant is Villa Mahana and we want to thank Mac and Pamela Buckland for the recommendation.
The days pass quickly in these islands. It is now time to go to a new land and a new adventure. One thing stays constant, the people we get to associate with our like no other. It is a very special community of people where everyone watches out for each other. We feel lucky and blessed because of it. We are both excited about what tomorrow brings. You have to be careful and not get ahead of yourself. Very important to live in the moment probably want be this way again. I hope this gives you a perspective of my last 3 months. It's been a great time but I can't wait for the next land fall. Destiny back to 1-6!

Captain log update 6/18/2008

A lot of people have been writing in wondering where my updates are.  Barbara reminds me every day that I need to do the update so finally I feel compelled to write.  It has been a long time so I will try not to repeat too much.

Our life aboard for the last 3 weeks has been consumed with the fact that our water maker didn't work.  At first it would work in the evening then it would work for 8 hours and then nothing for a few days.  It was very frustrating.  I spent many hours taking the thing apart to try and determine where the problem was.  Finally it quit all together.  We were still in the Marquesas and were getting ready to head to the Tuamotus but we had no water on board to make the crossing.  On a whim we decided to go over to a little island in the Marquesas that we hadn't been to yet and see if we could get some water and then make the crossing.  When we got to the harbor on this island we found out that if we waited till high tide we could tie the boat to the dock and hook up our hose and fill the water tanks.  The water was not drinkable but at least we would have water for bathing, doing dishes and running the toilets. I can't tell you what a God send this was.  By the way, in all the islands in the Marquesas this is the only one that had a dock that would allow us to do this type of fill up.  Without this we were looking at many hours of going back and forth in the dinghy filling water jugs and pouring them into the water tanks one by one.  Ok, water issue solved for at least 2 weeks if we were real careful how we used it. 

It seems that when one thing goes wrong something else happens at the same time.  As the water maker was dying on us Barbara kept telling me she smelled diesel fumes on the starboard side of the boat.  We had just filled up with fuel so I figured there might be a pocket of fumes that had developed during the fill up.  We had very rough seas after we filled up and made our way over to the island to get water. The diesel fumes got worse and finally we started going through every compartment to see if we had a leak.  It didn't take long for us to discover the problem.  We had a break in the fill line from where we put the fuel into the boat on deck to the fuel tank.  This break in the line had allowed fuel to wash up from the tank and out the break and into several compartments and into the bilge. In one of the compartments that the fuel had leaked into we found probably a gallon of fuel.  On a boat where the fumes cannot escape easily a few drops of diesel will stink up the whole boat.  We really had a mess on our hands.  I really had no way to patch the leak and as long as we were at sea in rough water the fuel would continue to wash up that line from the fuel tank until we used up enough fuel so it couldn't reach the break.  So we turned the main engine and generator on and started using fuel.  Doing this for a couple of days got the fuel level down enough so we didn't have any more spillage.  Problem, resolved for the time being.

I cannot tell you how stressful this is on captain and crew.  Cruising the islands was suddenly not much fun.  The boat stunk and we worried about the water running out.  We decided to throw the towel in and head for Tahiti and get this stuff fixed.  On the way we would stop over in Rangiroa in the Tuamotus and then proceed to Papeete the main port in Tahiti.  It took us about 3 days to cross between the islands and get to Rangiroa, which is the largest atoll in this group of islands.  The anchorage here was just offshore from this beautiful resort the Kia Ora Village resort.  This place is exactly what you would think of if you pictured a south sea island resort.  It was perfect and of course it was Barbara's birthday so we got a room (bungalow), for 3 nights.  This was the perfect place at the perfect time.  Can't tell you how much we enjoyed those 3 days away from the issues of the boat and our way of life on the boat. 

After our stay in Rangiroa we did an overnight sail to Tahiti where we are now, working on getting things fixed, replaced or whatever it takes to make life on the boat good again.  How could I forget our last problem.  Our dinghy has a big hole in the front tube.  I have tried to patch it but have not had great success.  About 4 times a day I would have to pump up the tubes so we could use the thing.  To fix the problem we need to have the dinghy out of the water for a few days and have them use some special glue that needs to dry inside to work.  To do all that we needed to be in the marina so we could tie up and let them take the dinghy away to be fixed. This is the time of year that everyone comes to Tahiti to sail and charter so the marinas are completely full.  I just happened to be at the right place at the right time and the marina manager said he had a spot that just opened .  My lucky day!

So here we are in a marina in Papeet ,Tahiti.  The parts for the watermaker have been ordered and should be here by the end of the week. They will come get the dinghy tomorrow and fix the leaks and the rest of our little problems are getting resolved.  In spite of all the problems I can't believe we are here.   It just doesn't seem possible that a few months ago we were in the cold and snow of Denver and now we are in French Polynesia.

I know this report seems a little gloomy but there are 2 sides to this life style.  When everything is working and the weather is right this is a wonderful experience. On the other hand when things are not working this can be a real challenge.  We are very thankful we have more of the good days. That's it for now from the South Pacific. This is Destiny back to 16.                        

 

Captain's Update May 27, 2008

It doesn't seem possible but we have been in the Marquesas Islands for 3 weeks.  As a first landfall after 21 days at sea this isn't too bad.  Lush green islands with fruit trees everywhere.  The native people of the islands could not be nicer. They are always smiling and welcoming you to their village.  They have the patience of Job dealing with people like us who know no French and have a hard time with the language.  Somehow or another we both figure out what the other wants and we end up with a mutual understanding.  You get the point this place is very unique; both the land and the people.

A few days ago a friend wanted to know what it was like seeing land for the first time in 21 days when we arrived in the islands.  Out at sea the colors you see are very limited.  There are many shades of blue, gray and white.  At sundown we have orange, red, yellow, and pink. The one color you don't see is green.  When we came in sight of land and we could start to make out the island with its many shades of green that you see and it reminds you how much you have missed that color.  When we pulled into the little bay we were headed for I really didn't give much thought to this being the end of 21 days at sea.  Those first few minutes we were very focused on getting the anchor set and making the boat ready to stay a while.  Barbara was not feeling well so as soon as we got the anchor set she went below and took a nap. I got the deck chairs up on deck, got a cold beer and a cigar and started to think about what we had just accomplished.  It was a very special moment.  The dream of doing this for so many years was finally being realized.  The other thought I had on first seeing the island from about 30 miles out was that I could travel 2,700 miles in this giant ocean and find this little speck of land.  Technology is great.   

 After 3 weeks we are actually getting excited about going back out to sea.  Next weekend we will head SW toward the Tuamotu Islands.  These islands are about 460 miles SW from the Marquesas and about 200 miles east of Tahiti.  In fact they are the largest island chain in French Polynesia.

Since my last update the water maker stopped working again.  Spent several days taking it apart and putting it back together.  I was able to finally get in touch with the guy who installed it and he told me what was probably wrong.  When we get to Tahiti that will be one of the first things that gets worked on.  So as far as making water, when we are underway it seems to work and when we sit at anchor it doesn't work.  Such is life on a boat.   The only other thing that isn't working quite right is our dinghy.  4 days ago a rusty dock ladder put a hole in the side of the dinghy.  That's not good because air leaks out.  My first attempt at patching the leak would be graded as a C-. When we bring the dinghy back on deck I will start over and try to get the leak stopped.  Compared to other boats we are doing quite well in the area of equipment breakdown.

Some observations after joining the cruising community.  The boats and crews we met when we arrived in the islands are kind of our cruising pals all the way to New Zealand.  Good thing we like most of them.  When things break it usually happens along with other stuff at the same time.  That phenomenon greatly increases the stress level on our boat, if you know what I mean.  Even though we are surrounded by water, fresh water is like gold.  When we talk about the water maker going out you might as well be talking about sinking the boat.  It is the ultimate stressor.  The Milky Way is brilliant here and we watch it every night. Additional information - it runs east to west and you could use it to navigate.  The villagers are getting rich off of coconut oil.  Who would of thought?  The one part of our boat life Barbara and I have not mastered yet is the radio.  Our goal in the next month is to learn how all that works.  We are really not acceptable members of the cruising society until we master that aspect. 

Time to go it is way past my bedtime (9pm).  Busy day tomorrow, we move to another bay and village.  We really are having the time of our life.  Every day is new and rewarding and we look so forward to the next day and what it will bring.  Take care land lubbers and we hope your day and week will be as rewarding as ours. "This is Destiny, back to 16."       

Captains Update, May 17, 2008, Bahia Hanamoenoa on the Island of Tahuata

Please forgive me for taking so long to give you an update. A lot has happened since the last time we talked. Before I get started I want to tell those of you who have emailed that I am sorry I haven't got back to you. Since we crossed the equator our ability to send and receive email is very limited. There is only one station that we are able to get connected with and that station will only let us be on line with them for 30 minutes a day. By the time we send some messages and then start receiving
we run out of time. That's what you get when its free so It might take awhile for me to get back to you.
We arrived in the Marquesas on May 8th. We did the crossing in 21 days and that is way above average for 2 people from Denver. The last 4 days of the crossing was like we were in a speed boat. We had 2 days that we averaged 190 nm. That probably doesn't sound like much to land lubbers but for a sail boat that is moving. A little perspective if we did 120 nm a day we thought we were doing well. So, when we got to the islands our first stop was the island of Fatu Hiva. The bay we anchored in was
like going back in time. For 6 days we never paid money for anything. Everything we got was bartered for. Seven pamplemousse (grapefruits) & a stalk of bananas was about one tee shirt and 3 small bottles of shampoo. Barbara got real good at wheeling and dealing with the locals. I probably gave too much away for what I traded for but in my mind the things we were trading were really throw aways. The best way to describe the bay we were in is to envision the movie Jurassic Park. In fact we cut
one of our hikes short because we feared a T-Rex was right down the path. Every morning I would go up on deck to have a cup of coffee and I would have to pinch myself I just could not believe we were actually here and living our dream. What a great way to start our journey in the South Pacific.
The boat has been great. We have had a few bumps in the road like the generator stopped working again and our water maker went out. Both problems were overcome and we are back with all systems normal. I am learning very quickly how all this stuff works. I better because without the generator we can't turn on the air conditioner and when the water maker goes out we can't take a shower every day. As of today all systems are working normal and that makes Barbara and me very happy.
As a foreigner we are required to check into the country and clear customs. In the Marquesas there are 3 islands you can go to that have the facilities to do that. We choose the island of Hiva Oa. We felt like we had gone into the city after being in Fatu Hiva for 6 days. We were in the largest town on the island and its population was about 1500. There was a post office, 4 little grocery stores a gas station , bank and 2 restaurants. One of the restaurants was only open for lunch. The anchorage
was a 40 minute walk into town so we rented a car for 2 days. This was the first time in over 30 days that I had to take money or a credit card out of my pocket to purchase anything. That is probably a first in my adult life. The anchorage in Hiva Oa left a lot to be desired in fact it was maybe the worst I have ever experienced. The water was only about 10 ft deep and when the tide went out and we were at low tide I probably only had about 1-2 ft of water below the keel. To make matters worse
the tides are greater during the full moon stage, which is what we are going through now. Now let's add large 4 ft rollers coming in and now the boat was rocking and rolling like we were at sea. Finally Saturday morning we were exhausted and at first light we got out of there. Next stop the Island of Tahuata which is a short 7 mile trip across the channel from Hiva Oa. We are currently anchored in a little bay with a white sand beach and water so clear you can see forever. This bay is completely
deserted with only lime, coconut and banana trees. Back in paradise! This is a place you read about in travel magazines when they talk about the islands in the South Pacific. It's beautiful and made even more so by the anchorage we just left but tomorrow we move on.
It is really hard to describe the beauty here. The sea, the people, the sky, sunsets it is too much to put into words. Got to go, its Sunday night and I have to get up and go to another little bay to sit and watch another sunset. Wishing all who take the time to read our story another great week and good health where ever you are. "Over and Out Destiny back to 16."