In 1992, I met a girl at university from Lord Howe island – Monica’s stories and her then boyfriend’s stories of the island inspired me to make it a must visit spot. It took me 19 years to get to “THE ISLAND” as it’s affectionately called by the friendly locals. The island lived up to all of my expectations and some, it could not have been a more perfect stepping stone into Australia! – Great beaches, incredible scenery, fishing, diving, snorkeling, hiking, good food, a bowling club, friendly people and we even got a great surf in… it’s good to be home!

I would like to dedicate the Lord howe island edition to one of our most valued supporters, Andy’s grandmother. Lila, thank you for your support and kind words over the past year or so. I hope you enjoy this latest ‘journey’ from the comfort of your home in Qld. Don’t throw away your computer yet though, there may be one or two more blog editions to come.

First night at sea en route from New Caledonia.

 
It was weird looking at the chart plotter and seeing Squander pointing at the familiar shape of Australia
  

Heading south – the weather got colder with every mile sailed – are we sure we want to be leaving this life behind?? 
Powering along… giving the wet weather gear and hoodies a workout!

 
By Day 4, Lord Howe island appeared on the horizon – the main peak is almost 1km high – we’re were still some 25 miles away

G’day mate!

Speaking of mates… the greeting committee numbered in the hundreds!

Follow us!

Happier in mid air then in the water!
 

Some of the most playful creatures in the sea – we never tire of seeing these guys! 

the flying torpedoes!

Andy, the dolphin whistler!           

As Lord Howe continued to rise out of the sea in front of us. 

Suddenly the fishing line went OFFFFFFF…. 

It took a while to reel it in… the biggest Wahoo i have ever caught! 

Andy had the awesome death grip around the throat as we wrestled with the unhappy camper… 

Finally under control… yeah baby!! 

1.5 metre Wahoo – yum!!

With the fish safely onboard it was time to contemplate the significance of what was happening….I was about to set foot on Aussie soil….  

Hello Australia!! 

A BIG thank you to Clive Wilson, the harbourmaster and voice of “lord how Maritime” on VHF 12, who expertly guided us in through the narrow and shallow north passage. 

Squander safely attached to a mooring in 2.4m of water… 

We had heard about the bowling club, and when I asked Clive over the VHF if it was far away, the standard Lord Howe answer followed “nothing is far here mate”, but if you like I’ll meet you at the dock in an hour and give you a lift to the club…  we were sold!

I filleted and cleaned the Wahoo as quickly as I could, somewhat surprised by the 8+ foot “Galapagos whaler” sharks that soon started circling Squander… they were far from shy bumping the stern with their huge dorsal fins as they tried to get closer to the fish scraps… hmmm… snorkeling was going to be interesting!

We had a sensible 2-3 beers and a burger at the bowling club and retreated back to Squander for a good night’s rest.

The next day we hired bicycles and went about exploring the island…. most people get around on bikes, and the few cars that are around are limited to driving at 25km/h 

the local fuel station doesn’t get much use.  

On a sunny day Lord Howe island is spectacular… rolling green hills, forests and  mountains surrounded by crystal clear blue water – there seems to be enough of everything for everyone -  small herds of cows graze happily, oversized vegetable patches growing enough produce to sustain the needs of a few locals,  a couple of fishing and diving boats sharing the expansive lagoon and only two cruising yachts attached to the moorings inside the reef. 

Getting some shade from the midday sun.
 
Plenty of grass to go around.

The island is roughly 10kms long and 2kms wide. We soon got our bearings and like kids who just got their first bikes for Christmas, we raced around the nooks and crannies of the island checking out the sights.

Jose and Andy tackling the steep hill!
 

One of many pristine, deserted beaches! 

Sofi enjoying the windy roads.

Lord Howe island has no mobile phone reception and only one place where you can get access to the internet – when it works… The internet access point is at the museum, and I’m not sure if it is some sort of in-joke, but the access speeds are definitely pre historic!

So whilst Jose and Andy caught up on their facebook and email messages, I decided to do something rare – I visited the museum… and loved it!

It is largely dedicated to the history of accessing the island – from the early days of sea planes from Rose bay in Sydney that used to take 4 hours, to the ships that were tragically wrecked on the island.

The Ansett airways sea plane ready for take off from Rose Bay in Sydney.

Qantas Empire airways

Little has changed in the legroom department, however it seems the early days of flying were a lot more social. (…and thanks to Matt C and his keen eye… how’s the guy holding onto his rifle!)

The sea planes used to draw 1.5 metres which meant they had to plan to land and take off within 1 hour of high tide, causing flights to often take off from Sydney in the middle of the night to ensure a safe arrival at high tide.

The big, heavy planes would then be attached to a mooring overnight in  much the same way that yachts are attached nowadays. 

On a number of occasions strong winds caused the moorings to break and planes to end up on the beach. 

With locals chipping in to dig the planes out,  only one plane was lost due to too much damage.  

Some ships weren’t so lucky, if memory serves me right this was an American Tuna vessel wrecked in the 60’s – its remains are a popular snorkeling spot.

Squander is moored next to another yacht in almost exactly the same spot as the wrecked ship in the picture above. 

With the wind swinging offshore , the snorkeling conditions could not have been better – crystal clear water, although slightly cooler then what we were used to, provided a perfect opportunity for some more underwater photos.   

the cooler water seems to allow a lot more green plants to flourish underwater.   

Andy spotted this Butterfly Cod and called me over. 

he was interestingly stubborn and would not move even if i shoved the camera in his face – he would simply flare out all his defenses in a bid to threaten me out of sight! 

Snorkeling the Tuna Boat ship wreck 
the Pacific Rock cod.

The elusive Doubleheader
  
A school of locals – the lord Howe Butterfly fish

Sofi and the yellow Green Wrasse.  

The supply ship was in – it sails from Port Macquarie every couple of weeks bringing anything from barrels of fuel to run the power station to fresh fruit and veg .

One of the many highlights of Lord Howe is hiking – we chickened out of the 8 hour power hike to the highest peak, instead tackling a ‘strenuous enough’ 2 hr stroll.
 
Eight and a half minutes into it, having a much deserved break!
 

That’s where we came from – looking north!

I wish we had had more time to dive some of these outer islets. 

This seems like such a distant memory after 1 month in Sydney…. 

Looking South. 

Surf’s up on the outer reefs…

testing out the Macro function on my camera

Looking towards New Zealand!

The modern way to arrive – a small Qantas plane approaches the runway.

Almost at our destination… swim time!   

And a quick snorkel before lunch!       

With fresh Wahoo in the fridge, we came up with an idea to get up at 6:00 am and make fresh sushi before setting off on our hike… and so we did!  

Devouring the fruits of our early morning labour!

Being the only current crew member from the northern Hemisphere, Josie occasionally feels upside down!

we enjoyed the beaches… 

the slow pace 

and the pristine waters….but our minds were elsewhere, or at least mine and Andy’s were… we were ready to head home! I would have dearly loved to stay longer in Lord Howe, but the weather gods yet again played their cards and it looked like now or in 10 days time… we had only been here for 4 days, but we heard our calling and decided to set sail… We knew we were going to get a fast and bumpy start with some decent Nor Easters forecast, and according to the bureau of Meteorology it was going to be a slow finish with light southerlies…. hahahah… since when do you get “light” southerly changes offshore from Sydney… but I was willing to take the risk… worst came to worse we would head for Newcastle or even further north.

And so we took off from Lord Howe in 20 knots, which built to 25-30 fairly fast and with our trusty second reef in the main and not much stay sail, we got into the counter current and screamed along at 9 knots towards Sydney!

After 36 hours of high fives and close to record breaking speeds the wind went north then west the died then kicked in from the South West and gave us a last kick in the pants….! With confused seas and a  short and sharp swell, poor Squander was falling off waves and doing it tough….   

Andy trying to wash up as we beat upwind into the southerly…  

I spent a solid stint on the wheel in the rain trying to massage Squander through the peaks and troughs, taking my mind off things by recollecting the months and months of amazing adventures that were drawing to a close! 

And by early morning on the 17th of November 2011, Sydney heads were only 5 miles ahead (according to the charts) – I struggled to see the coastline through the fog, mist and rain!  

North head… it was emotional seeing that familiar headland that I had sailed past on so many occasions on various boats…  

The crowds stayed in bed, but my mum, Dad and my old mate Foz braved the elements and welcomed us with great fanfare! We could hear fog horns coming down from above and as we looked up….

we spotted the sign…. Welcome Squander… ahh it felt good to be home!!! 

hey girls….. wake up, check out the Sydney skyline!! hahaha

Are you kidding, we left Fiji for this??! 

Stoked….!

… and proud!! 

With Virtuo Michael braving the elements, we got a phone call from the Real Michael who had brought the whole clan down for a look… We diverted course to Rose bay and dropped by the wharf to say G’day!

Ava, Che , Michael and Rebecca… so great to see you guys!! 

before long the fog started lifting and incredibly within 1.5 hours of arriving we had cleared customs, Quarantine and wee free to enjoy the rest of the day…

Yeahooooouw!! 

Jose putting on a brave face!   

we sneaked into the RANSA dock at Rushcutters bay and managed to get a great shower before leaving Squander and heading next door for lunch at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia – the institution that i sailed out of for so many years.

With our welcome home party scheduled for a 5:30 kick off we all decided to get an after lunch siesta, before sailing to Manly for the party. 

By 5:30 we were anchored off Manly Wharf and getting stuck into the first of a number of rums… Thank you to Fil Tejszerski for the the next series of Photos!

getting ready to head ashore! 

Mum (centre) and friends Dorota (left) and Ania (Right)  

here we come Sydney!!
   

Woah… so many familiar faces in one place!! 

G’day Dad…. a feeling of relief to be home safe and sound!

yep, I think Mum was happy to see me! 

But even happier to meet Andy!!   

Original Squanderers Nath (Strike!) and Simon (Action!) were there to welcome us home!      
and after 10+ drinks a speech was made… for those of you who didn’t understand my slurry words, here’s what i really tried to say!

“when you’re old and frail, you’re far more likely to regret those things that you didn’t do, then those that you did”

For many years, I used to walk into my office and read that quote by Mark twain.
It gave me the courage and inspiration to attempt to try and fulfill my dreams and to do it without being slowed up by the fear of possible failure.

Three years ago almost to the day, I finished work and set my mind on exploring the world.  2 months four wheel driving around parts of Australia that I had never been to, surfing in Indonesia, 2 months sailing in the south pacific between Australia and Vanuatu, 2 months road tripping through the middle east and north Africa, 1 month of visiting all my family in Europe, and 2 months hitchhiking by sea on various yachts. Sailing from Europe to West Africa and eventually completing my first of three Atlantic crossings…. And that was all before I bought Squander! I feel like the luckiest person alive.

When contemplating these good fortunes, the thing that kept on reoccurring to me is how lucky I have been to be supported by so many good friends and family.

Most individual pursuits could not have been achieved if it weren’t for the support of others, and the voyage of Squander is no different….

Thank you ALL – your support has made this trip so much more rewarding, meaningful and it’s been awesome to share it with you.

And if the people involved from afar have been the supporters, then it stands that the Squanderers, the 25 or so individuals that have sailed on Squander, have been the amazing team, the players that I will forever be grateful to.

Amanda, Simon, Dimitri, Nathan, Todd,  Luis, my sister Agatha, the duchies Kiki & Allard, Jenny, JB, Aaron, my mum n dad Matthew and Elizabeth, my cousin Stefi, Stefis friend, Michelle,  Andy, AJ, Caitlin, Mojgan, Scotty, Elyse,  Brento, Sofi and Jose

At various stages of the past 20 months, we chose to share a living space equivalent to half a small studio apartment between as many as 6 of us at a time. Our home was often rolling and rocking, sometimes tipped to one side, sometimes wet, sometimes stifling hot, but rarely unhappy!

We gave up our personal space, forgetting our day to day needs and focusing on enjoying the journey, helping each other, giving each other space when needed, but mostly sharing the good times!

Everyone contributed to the journey in their own way and I wouldn’t change anything about it.

There are however two legendary guys that do standout as having been instrumental to the overall success of the journey. They both know Squander as well, if not better then I do, they committed countless hours to night and day watches, making critical decisions that ensured our safety and comfort whilst at sea,  ticking off the ever present TO DO and maintenance lists, coming up with creative solutions to problems when needed and probably the most impressive of all achievements – putting up with me for so long!!

Simon Fraumeni, with whom I first discussed this trip some 14 years ago, came onboard for 6-8 weeks in April 2010…. He stayed a year and 2 months!   in Tahiti, he jumped onto our ‘sister’ ship MAD and continued sailing as far as Fiji. He crossed the Atlantic Twice on Squander and sailed almost 5000 Nautical Miles of the Pacific with us. Punching out a joke a minute when in form, Simon kept the mood on Squander a solid 11 out of 10 at all times, never taking anything too seriously, and finding THE BEST in all things that came across his path.

Andy Patrick joined us in Morocco over a year ago, and at only 25 years of age he was instantly the most experienced sailor. His enthusiasm for anything to do with wind, water and waves made an instant impact– with Squander’s toy repertoire swelling almost overnight.

Andy lead the charge and inspiration to Dive, Surf, kiteboard, spearfish, skurf, freedive and keep us moving fast! Aside from being a gun sailor, he’s a pretty damn good sparky, pours a mean rum and has become the best cook onboard!

To both of you guys a MASSIVE thank you – I owe the success of this trip to you both and absolutely could not have done it in such style and comfort without you!

And last but not least – there are two people to whom I owe the biggest of thank you’s – MUM N DAD!! they introduced me to the spirit of travel and adventure at a very young age, gave me the most incredible of childhoods and forever changed my life when Dad hand built me my first sailboat when I was 8 years old.

They have supported and even encouraged my crazy antics ever since!
THANK YOU MUM N DAD!!!!!!
  

The party wound up at a reasonable hour and we somehow made it back to Squander for a nightcap!    

La Boheme anchored next to Squander.

the following day the Sun came out and we moved Squander to her new home at Middle Harbour Yacht Club

The days started rolling as we washed, scrubbed and cleaned Squander… a huge thank you to Andy, Sofi and Jose for helping out!

A short week after arriving in Sydney, it was time to say farewell to Andy… we miss ya mate and look forward to hearing more updates on what’s happening in QLD! 

Andy heads home…!

Two and a half years ago, I sailed past New Caledonia on the way to Vanuatu from Sydney. I was sailing aboard Moksha, a Hanse 540 and had just completed my first 1000 Nautical miles of cruising. All of my previous offshore experience had been on racing yachts… now, a short 30 months later, the cruising lifestyle is coming to an end right where it started. Sailing out of New Caledonia for Australia will mark the 25,000th Nautical mile of cruising – for those of you not familiar with nautical terms – I’ve basically been drifting around the world for 45,000 kms at about 12kms per hour. The experiences we’ve had in new Caledonia are just a small part of the reason why!

Land Ahoy… we sight New Caledonia after 4 days at sea en route from Fiji.
 
Happy faces… Sofi and Jose (asleep) complete their first international offshore passage.

With the weather looking below par, and temperatures in the low 20s, we decided to anchor for the night in a small bay and continue the following day to Noumea to go through formalities and check in.
 

Ok, OK… so we HAVE to drink a rum n coke and say thank you to Neptune and whoooo??  the girls reluctantly partaking in the traditional Squander arrival ceremony. 

After so many months in the tropics, it was strange to be wearing jumpers and hiding down below to stay warm. The girls suggested we should do something French seeing we were in a French territory… we scoured the bilges and found an old jar of pate, a tin of canned Brie and a bottle of Beaujolais that had somehow previously escaped out attention… 
Bienvenue a Nouvelle Caledonie.

the next day the sun was shining again, and although not hot it was a lot warmer… we went for a morning swim, ate a slow breakfast and by the time we left for Noumea, we realised we wouldn’t make it there in time to go through Customs…. so… 

we found another small bay just outside the city and anchored for our second night in new Caledonia… 

the full moon was out in force. 
and we cooked up another French feast – baked mahi mahi with the last of our vegetables from Fiji.

Dead calm – it’s almost midnight as the city lights merge with the full moon to illuminate the night.  

Woke up early the next morning and pointed Squander at Port Moselle in Noumea. 
Andy ready to lift anchor.

Every city has the keen early morning fisherman… I want to be one when I grow up!

We soon had Squander in the Marina and were told that customs, immigration and Quarantine officials would be along shortly and the whole process should not take too long… True to their word Customs arrived soon after and began by asking for our passports, boat papers, port clearances and so on… it wasn’t unusual, but I had a feeling these guys were on a mission…

They meticulously analyzed our passports, and hammered me with questions about where we had all met, why we went here, there and everywhere  and I guess something about our ages, travel patterns and the answers i gave them made them very suspicious. They curtly advised that all crew have to stay above deck but cannot leave the boat and i have to stay down below with them as they proceed to do a full search of the boat… one of them left and returned with tools, snake camera, remote microphone and all sorts of cool gadgets.

Nothing was spared, panes were unscrewed, underwear drawers turned upside down, freezer emptied, sealed powdered milk bags sliced open, cake mixes smelt, cameras shoved into every nook and cranny, under the water tank, the fuel tank – it was actually a really interesting experience to see how these guys operate and if it wasn’t for the three hour ordeal – it would have been fun – I got to see a lot of Squander that I hadn’t seen before!

Sofi snuck in an action shot as I answered the questions down below. 

The customs guys were professional, but in no way rude or unfriendly – France was in the world cup final and the conversation soon turned to Rugby and the best beer to drink in New Caledonia… they considered fining us for stopping for two nights without checking in, (they asked me to turn on my chartplotter and examined out tracks!!), but they accepted my reasoning and let us off.

We picked up some supplies and bailed out of the city for Illot Maitre, a small island 45 minutes from Noumea… 

What now??! a Coastguard vessel and helicopter head for us!

hahaha… got them!! turns out they were just practicing…

We picked up one of the Free moorings and relaxed….
 
No Andy, they’re not my Buddhist prayer flags….

With the laundry out of the way, it was time to Kite! 

The winds were light, so Jose took the opportunity to give Sofi her first kiting lesson. 
Ready to go, but the wind totally dropped out… 
the girls amused themselves with a game of Pallet.

Strike a pose for the cameras. 

Andy playing umpire

And finally the wind kicked in – time to kite!!

Woahhh… where did everyone come from??! 

With smiles all around, we returned to Squander for a great dinner and fireworks show right in the anchorage. Still not exactly sure what the occasion was… but hey… why not??!           

the next day we were up early and decided to head further afield to explore new playgrounds.

Saying goodbye to Illot Maitre – we will be back. 

Jose getting ready for action! 

la capitana Argentina is in charge!

Calm. 
Andy Spots our destination.
  

And soon the friendly locals arrive to greet us… 

following the dolphins into the anchorage 

Parlez vous Francais?? Andy decides to get amongst the locals for a swim.

An island to ourselves….

anchored off Illot Kouare.  

Speeding off towards the nearby reefs for a snorkel.  

Incredible visibility – I don’t think we have ever seen water so clear. 

Sofi wastes no time exploring the depths – her new favourite sport is spotting sharks and sea snakes – not bad for a city girl!

Our trusty dinghy awaits patiently as always. 

a fiery redhead – never seen anything that bright underwater before. 

Jose opted for above water snorkeling – with water so clear you don’t even have to get your hair wet. 

Looking East

Looking west

Looking South  

And as the day drew to a close, it was time to hang up the bikinis, and enjoy a sunset drink. 

the wind kicked in early the next day, so we headed ashore to check out the wildlife, explore the island and do some kiting.

Andy was straight in the water making the most of the 20+ knots of wind, the girls caught up on some tanning, whereas i decided to try and have an up close look at the local residents.

Inspiration for a fighter plane??! 

Ahhh… Pierre, zer is some human coming to ze nest??!!

I’ve never been much of a bird watcher, but these guys are cool!
preparing for landing.

They fly out to sea and back all day collecting seaweed to make nests out of.     

and the fighter planes share the island with these weapon birds…  

….nice fuselage, and well designed landing gear stows away seamlessly.     

With the bird watching out of the way, it was time to get a quick kite in before the storm rolled in. 
Andy heads back to shore as the clouds roll in…

I followed soon after…  
We are going to miss this life – #1

The next few days are a blur as I lay in bed with some serious stomach bug, pretty weird as no one else got it – maybe it was the birds??!

after 3-4 days, we sailed 10 miles north to Illot Mato for some more kiting and in my case some more recovery time , eating plain pasta and catching up on some movies.

Anchored in illot Mato – Squander on the right and “El Regalo” from the USA on the left

Andy and Jose attacked the bay throwing double back loops, grabs, back loop transitions and all sorts of funky shit – nice work guys!

Jose spots a back loop landing as Andy charges in the distance

that afternoon Andy and Sofi decided to hike to the top of the island and managed to get some incredible shots.   

the Dinghy anchored down below.  

El Regalo and Squander dance at anchor. 

Sofi trying to pick up Squander 

Need good light to get into these anchorages – would hate to do it on a cloudy day…
 
The next day we decided to head back to Noumea to pick up some supplies, catch up on emails and decide what to do next.
 

The dinghy spinning out of control as we sail in 30 knots – probably should have pulled it out of the water for the trip. 

I went to Uni with a guy that used to eat MARS bars with a knife and fork, and now another phenomenon right before our eyes – Sofi eats Oranges with a knife and fork! 
Fish heads for $6 a piece… we were a bit late at the local fish markets!

mmmm…. yummy!  
Traffic, street signs, paved roads – all seems quite hectic!

What happens when you leave Jose and Sofi for 15 minutes in a shop….

First officer Jose 

Surfer Jose…. 

Baby Sofi… what the?? 

having dragged the girls away form the shop and the shop keepers who were loving the entertainment, we decided to try and do something unusual – some urban sight seeing! 

a meeeewwZeeeeeUm…. we almost went inside!  

With the weather forecast being spot on for kiting, we moved back to Illot Maitre.

The stainless steel balustrade reflecting the sunset…. We kited all of the next day and didn’t take a single photo! 

As the day drew to a close, Scott. Nancy and their young son Seb pulled up in Traveler and invited us over for dinner. We gladly accepted and had a great night – thanks guys!! 

The mornings are often glassy – Jose getting ready for a morning swim! 

back flip off the bow to start the day! We enjoyed another great day of kiting, before the wind finally backed off and allowed us to head south again towards baie du Prony and onto ille de Pins (Isle of Pines) 
Ille Montravel, at the entrance of baye du Prony.

It.s about 5 miles ‘in land’ to get to the anchorage we were heading for.  

We eventually dropped anchor and transferred to the dinghy to go in search of the hot springs for a sunset nature bath! 
Such a contrast to the reefs and blue water that lies only 5 miles away.

We eventually found the hot springs

and quickly jumped in for a self timer photo, before…. 
…the girls commandeered the hot tub for some important business! 

French hot springs have never smelt so fresh! 

Another sunset announces the beginning of night.

Heading back to Squander – you have to look out for crocodiles after sunset and hit them in the head with an oar so that they don’t bite your dinghy! 
oooops…. sometimes you miss and they swallow your oar! 
with so many attractions, we weren’t sure what to do – eventually we opted for a hike…

We navigated as far as we could with our dinghy

Tied her to a tree and went exploring 

A rare sight – everyone wearing shoes! 

 
Sofi decided she need a quick swim before continuing.      
Bonjour messieur, can I borrow you rally car for an hour or so??

No shit sherlock….

yeah follow me, the path is this way!

ok… maybe it’s not… anyone got any ideas?!

Follow the light… back on track!

reminds me of some new logo – like a BHP re branding??!
   
Andy ready to roll – an early departure for Ile de Pins.
 
the anchorage sleeps….

as Squander glides towards the open sea again.

We were only a few miles offshore when all three lines went off at once!!! 

we lost one, but managed to reel in 2 decent Big Eye tuna 
Model number 1, likes Sushi and teriyaki seared tuna steaks.
 
Model number 2 prefers sashimi and curried Soy fillets.  

Arriving in Kueto Bay, on the Isle of pines.   
Anchored in Paradise
 

The peak is calling, Andy and Sofi make the early morning departure… 
 
Vamonos!

The view from half way up.
 
Andy checking out the sights.

Squander anchored in the distance.

 Sofi hoping a BIG plane will land and save her a walk back….
  
We will miss this life shot #34578

Morning walk.

Lunchtime swim

Afternoon sight seeing 

Sunset drinks 
we will miss this life shot #45234

should we have another beer… hmmm… nah the tide is rising and the dinghy is about to float away, may as well head back!

That evening I checked the weather and the window we’d been looking for was coming. It was Wednesday evening and it looked like Saturday would be the perfect day to leave…. it was time to head back to Noumea and checkout… but not before we checked out one more island.

Sofi has developed into a keen fisherwoman!

We had a relaxing day, catching up on blog writing, reading, and making a wish list of all the fish we wanted to catch on the 60 mile journey the next day! 

And what a day it was… 2Tuna, 1 Mahi mahi, 1 Golden Jack and two Spanish Mackerel!

Andy bagging the Mahi Mahi! 
the first Spanish mackerel was huge and we decided to throw it back.

The second one was a more manageable size – they look very similar to Wahoo!  

Sofi continuing her fishing education!

We got back to Noumea on Thursday night and early on Friday morning went into the marina for a night, provisioned and checked out… we’re expecting to set sail on Saturday and should be in Lord Howe Island on Thursday – our first landfall in Australia and only 400 odd nautical Miles from Sydney!!

See you soon Australia!!

x

One of the countless things I have loved about this journey, is the rich array of crew that have made Squander home… The 25 or so Squanderers (defined as having spent at least 1 week sailing on Squander) have hailed from Australia, Russia, Spain, The Netherlands, Poland, England, America, France, Iran and Argentina. Whether they stayed 2 weeks or 14 months, each crew member has added an extra stitch or two to the complex fabric that we have weaved since starting our journey in early 2010..  Food has always been an important thread and our newest Squanderer has already thrown in a few keepers.

José (pronounced Josie) rushing around organising lunch.
   

Lunch is served. 

We motored out of Port Denarau, where we had said goodbye to Simon who finally made the decision to return to Australia, after his 8 week holiday that started back in April 2010. It’s possibly the longest holiday extension in history… it lasted one and a third years and involved sailing across the Atlantic twice, a good part of the Mediterranean and most of the Pacific.
José settling in on Squander.

Having spent a bumpy night anchored off Beachcomber island, we set off early pointing at the Northern Yasawa islands. We had good breeze and covered the 60 or so miles easily.

We managed to hook three tuna along the way, one I lost whilst being lazy and not gaffing it properly, one got eaten by a shark as Andy was trying to reel it in and the third one we got to keep and eat for dinner!
if we had any doubts as to whether there were sharks in these waters, we don’t anymore. All that was left of our tuna once Andy reeled it in.
 

We soon arrived in Sawa-i-Lau, home to some famous caves, deserted beaches and crystal clear waters. 

We relaxed and watched the sunset having the entire bay to ourselves save for a small cruise ship anchored in the distance.  The next day was somewhat gloomy and overcast so we watched movies, caught up on emails, finished the blog and read books. 

3G Internet is available just about anywhere in Fiji – Jose catching up on emails thousands of miles from home. 

Ready for some DIY hairdressing 

A joint creation for lunch, Sashimi, salad and Sushi….

The next day we all got up early and headed to the beach to find the Sawa-i-Lau caves.

The early morning caving team is ready to go. 
The first cave is easy, you basically walk into it and jump in the crystal clear water. Jose and Sofi ready for some exploring. 

Enjoying a moment of solitude. Jose contemplates the second cave. You have to swim underwater through the hole in the bottom right of the above picture.

Eel cam – yep apparently there are eels in these waters – ready to swim into the next cave?

 
Taking deep breaths, torch in hand… let’s do it!  

 
Andy and Jose pop up in the pitch black cave.

We explored the second cave for a good 15 minutes before diving back under and into the main chamber.

Hey Andy what are you up to….??
 

Andy spots the entrance to “pregnant woman’s cave” so named as the fissure in the wall is so skinny that pregnant women cannot squeeze in. The entrance is above and to the left of Andy.   

the girls relaxed as I followed Andy into the Abyss. 
Once inside, it’s an amazing (and very dark) maze of tunnels that makes you feel like you’re about to tickle some monster’s tonsils. We had luckily borrowed two torches at the last minute which made the exploring of this maze possible.

Andy spotted a small pool of water and reasoned that he may be able to swim out of the cave rather then backtrack the way he came in. It took him two attempts, returning the first time for some extra air but eventually he negotiated the longish underwater tunnel and popped out back in the main chamber. Left alone in the small pool, I figured what the heck, took a deep breath, sunk to the depths and searched for the beam of light that would indicate an exit was in sight, I swam around the first corner and soon spotted my guiding light….

Popping out in the main chamber….

With the main activities ticked, we weighed anchor and headed for our next destination – Blue Lagoon – the setting of the eponymous 1980’s movie about a ship wrecked young couple…. 

Dropping anchor in Blue Lagoon.

Despite still being relatively un-spoilt, Blue lagoon is no longer deserted. In fact one of the reasons we came here was because of a little boutique resort called “Nanuya island resort” which is widely reported as having some of the best food in Fiji… we were ready to treat ourselves to a night out.  

Andy and Sofi exploring the local reef as Jose and I went to make dinner reservations. 

the dive shop next to the resort.

Tying up the dinghy… ready to book ourselves in for a sumptuous dinner!

As it  turned out the resort had recently introduced a “No Yachties” rule – you can imagine our disbelief when we were told that not only we weren’t allowed to dine there, but we were requested to leave the premises immediately… when I asked why (there was a big sign saying outside guests welcome!!), we were informed that a “Yachtie” had recently sexually harassed a guest and as such ALL yachties were banned. It was obvious that the new rule had come from above, and the ground staff were visibly uncomfortable enforcing it… but there was no point arguing, they were just doing their job… 

Thumbs down to this joint….!

Tomorrow is another day… we enjoyed a great home hooked BBQ aboard Squander and were greeted the next morning with a pearler of a day. Andy jumped in the dinghy and soon returned with a big smile… He’d found a near perfect kiting spot across the bay.  

Nice work Andy… My ankle was till far from good, so I was happy to take photos and keep Sofi company. 

Perfecto!  Sofi all smiles. 
Speaking of smiles, Jose pumping up her Bandit ready to carve up the lagoon. 

Is that Sofi’s twin sister??? or is Sofi doing exercise…??!

As the morning turned into afternoon, we were all famished and decided to pack up the gear and head back to Squander for lunch and an afternoon photo shoot.

We met the local family who lives next to the resort in some traditional Fijian huts.

They grow their own fruit and veg and offered to sell us anything we needed. We bought some limes, bananas and oranges from them. I also asked if they knew where the Blue lagoon film was shot as we needed to recreate a scene from the poster…     
the lady pointed us up the hill…. 

we discussed it amongst ourselves, our actors were looking nervous.

Soon some help arrived as the original location scout from the 1980’s classic arrived back on land and pointed us to the correct spot.

spot the difference – Return to the Blue Lagoon!

Having some new found Street cred, Andy managed to shake his Yachtie status and was allowed to order drinks for us at the resort as we hid behind a tree – but alas still no dinner!    

A quiet evening followed as the wind was predicted to be even better the next day.

the girls were up early cooking up breakfast in anticipation of another great kiting day.

and we were in for a treat. A super low tide, 18 to 22 knots and crystal clear flat water. 
Sofi working hard on her suntan following an early rise… she may also be contemplating how to make it up to Andy after accidentally letting go of his kite the day before… kite ended up in the trees and has since had a successful trip to the kite doctor to patch up the four large holes!
   

I stretched my ankle as best i could, taped it up but it was still feeling very tender…

“Andy you may as well take my kite…”   and stop bashing that poor innocent tree! 

Andy back in good spirits riding the black Wainman! 

Jose and Andy charging up and down the bay.

Sofi was on Dinghy driving duties, as we chased out protagonists of the day trying to get the money shot. 

Jose was pulling some nice tail grabs… 
Whereas Andy was working on his back rolls.

looking for a landing….preferably the right way up!

getting some good lift.
 

Josie commences launch sequence…. 
…. launch successful…. 

… grab and land!    

Andy was spotted trying a new “no board – feet only” maneuver! 

Jose Wipeout!   

before long the photography team was back in position to enjoy the spectacle from afar.  

beach dog!

The next morning we sailed onto Manta Ray bay, where you can occasionally swim with Manta Rays – as it turns out September is not that time of year and all we got was a torrential downpour and a rolly night’s sleep as the weather came in.

We anchored Squander three times in an attempt to get a comfortable night’s rest. First we dragged anchor and almost ended up on the rocks, then we got the shaken not stirred anchorage as squander bounced around in the swell and eventually we moved around the corner and anchored on the west side of the island facing out to sea with a stern anchor to keep our bow into the swell.   

the next day, the calm seas had returned and we sailed on to Waya island.

Approaching Waya on the right    

By early afternoon we were anchored off Yalobi Village and decided to pay them a visit.

Our united nations diplomatic mission heading ashore.

We happened to arrive as one of the families was moving house to another island where they had got jobs. Many of the villagers were by the shore waving goodbye and helping pack the small  aluminum boat with their belongings.

Eventually we were invited to visit the village and taken on a guided tour.

First the local gym, sport and rec club. 

Then a stop at the local bakery to buy a  chocolate cake

The baker hard at work waiting for her cakes to boil. 
we bought a cake and proceeded with our tour.  

Our host showed us her home…

and garden….complete with pineapples, Cassava, sugar cane, bananas, papaya and taro.

She also introduced us to her granddaughter… and promised that when her fisherman husband returns she will bring us some fresh fish to the boat.

we spent half an hour talking and buying some fresh supplies before being welcomed to continue our visit on our own.

Muuuummm, there are strange people taking photos of our house! 
the village coconut husking station.

Our favourite piece of real estate – complete with great views and outdoor kitchen. 

Sofi found her own favourite house and was ready to stay.

Before returning to Squander, we visited the local school where the kids were busy building new steps from the beach to the playground.    

Busy collecting sand 
A quick photo break when the teacher’s not looking.

Sofi getting involved… “what can i do to help?” 
Is this little girl the future prime minister of Fiji ? she didn’t stop working and was always smiling!

Jose ready to return to Squander. 

Sofi and Andy ready to roll too… Squander awaits in the distance. 

As promised, before sunset, our new adopted grandma delivered us her husband’s catch of the day!

Happy days – that will be $10 bucks thanks!!

We woke up early the next day with the news that our spreaders (broken part of our rig that helps hold the mast upright) had arrived from France and were being held by customs until we returned to Denarau. Our taste buds were still dancing from the previous evening’s BBQ fish feast , when we sadly weighed anchor and left Waya bound for Port Denarau.

Sunny where we were – a small island cops the brunt of the rain from this awesome cloud in the distance. 

We arrived back in Port Denarau, and as is often the case in these kinds of ‘hubs’, soon ran into people we knew… Sarah and Stoff from Takalani whom we’d last seen in Tahiti, the Onghiara crew (whom we’d last seen in Bora Bora) was also in town ready for a charter and the biggest surprise of them all – Rebecca from MAD had returned from Norway that very morning to deal with the ongoing issues with putting MAD on the market – not to mention La Pelicana was getting ready to set sail for the non-stop 1800 mile journey to Bundaberg in Australia and the girls  were here too.

Trouble personified – The girls (AJ , Gabi & Ashley) were ready for a night out.

As you can imagine, with the social crowd easily swelling to over a dozen people a night out was inevitable…. I guess the spreaders would have to wait.

Pre-dinner drinks at the pool bar – living it up in Fiji! 
Nikita happy with her chili mud crabs!
 

Sofi, Jose and I, joined Nikita and Kyle for a great dinner at the Hilton, before re-uniting with the boys who had managed to make short work of  a case of Fiji gold and a few other chasers on Squander…

Nikita, Sofi and Kyle befriending the dinner show performers.

Sofi completed the awesome troublesome foursome! 

The decision was made – time to check out the infamous Ed’s bar…. it was way past midnight before we left the marina…  and aside from a few sensible souls who chose to not go out, most of us returned home in the early hours of the morning ready to not do that again for a while!

Andy and Kyle suffering from the effects of one or two Vonus…

Speaking of Vonus, seems they have  positive relationship mending qualities!

Andy demonstrating one of his secret weapons – the sympathy card ! 
Kyle and Nikita strutting their stuff!  
Mixing it up with the local crowd!
 

The next day was all about the Hilton swimming pool, watching Australia play Russia and enjoying the cloudy day – both literally and figuratively speaking.

One of these girls didn’t go out last night. 

Nothing like sneaking into a resort and charging it to room 2345… another banana smoothy please! 

Sunday was all about replacing the broken spreader. I managed a solid 5.5 hours suspended up the mast – but the job was finally done!

We had heard of an incredible shark dive you can do on the southern coast of Viti levu…. observing at close quarters up to 10 species of sharks being hand fed in the wild – The brochure promised tigers, bulls, black tips, white tips, lemons, silver tips and greys… it didn’t take long to sign us up!

We hired a car and left at 5:30am on Monday morning bound for Pacific Harbour some 2 hrs away.
 

By 8:30 am we were on our way…. 
Andy’s not one to be shaken easily, yet he was spotted looking into the distance, murmuring a few words under his breath with hands tightly clasped…

Sofi and Josie managed to sneak into the pilot house and got a ride to the dive spot with the captain and his daughter.

We soon arrived at our dive site and two full size SULO bins, filled with fish guts and massive TUNA heads, were lowered some 25 metres to the ocean floor…

the remora sucker fish arrive at the scene first

followed by the rest of the gang…

trying to keep a lid on things until we reach the bottom.

The punters follow. Hmmmm….throw buckets-full of dead fish in shark infested waters and then dive down 25 metres to see what happens… what a great business idea!

Breakfast is served. Let the feeding frenzy commence.

As oxygen consumption from the punters (us included) goes up to max 10.
  

A couple of the friendlier giants of the deep… A 1M+ Napoleon Wrasse and a giant grouper on the bottom right.

Is that divemaster looking nervous??

Here sharky sharky….a BIG grouper follows an even bigger shark.

Outta here!! – Hey tough guy, where are you going…?? oiii… come back here and feed the sharks! 

ahhhh ok… now hold that tuna head in your hands like a man! ….it’s his first day on the job and he had a mild panic attack – wonder why?!  

Somebody say Tuna head??

tuna head???!!

What do you do if a giant tuna head is being quietly transported towards your own head  by a bunch of small fish…. Do you A: Act cool and pretend like everything is OK. B: Push the Tuna head away thus saving your head, but most likely losing your right arm to the shark that’s just spotted it or C: Ruuuuuuuun!! 
option D: punch the shark in the nose and let the little guys enjoy their breakfast! 

One for the little guys.  

the Napoleon Wrasse.

With the sharks well fed, they took off as fast as they came – unfortunately no Tiger sharks, as a consolation Andy and Miss “yellow lipstick” seemed to have struck a connection – seen here caught in the moment staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity. 

a remora sucker fish checks out a piece of fish skin as it drifts towards me.

Here fishy fishy….want some fish skin?!

Andy loses his girlfriend in a crowd…

hey Big guy…. she’s gone, but I”M HERE…!

Yellow lipstick’s the go in these parts!

Following a solid 20 minutes in 24 m of water the food ran out as quickly as our oxygen and it was time to slowly head back to the surface           
the remora sucking up to the SULO bin – literally.
    

The fish heads are gone and us humans are left on the bottom…. let’s say, for arguments sake, that one of the big sharks missed out on a feed – what happens next??        

Some questions are better left unanswered, let’s go and explore the ship wreck.     

“hanging up” – The remora suckerfish equivalent of looking for a parking spot after a hard day’s work. 

Meanwhile whilst we were busy diving, the captain entertained the girls by letting them fish for the highly dangerous, killer Remora “Sharks”

We returned to Denarau on Monday night. Tuesday was all about getting Squander ready for the 700 Nautical mile journey to New Caledonia – Jose and Sofi went shopping, where as Andy and I took  care of important things like updating our facebook status, filling the water tanks, paying the bill at the marina and topping up on Diesel.

too late to leave…

Our planned departure got delayed and we stayed an extra night in the marina – early on Wednesday morning we motored up to Lautoka, where we had to go through Customs and Immigration….

by midday our passports were stamped and we had the necessary clearances – we were underway – sailing downwind in a steady 25 knots towards the reef pass into the open ocean, at 1:00pm we caught a fish just in time for lunch, all was going to plan…. at around 4:00pm we had one of our first setbacks… as we were exiting the reef pass, a 40 knot squall caught us unaware with a full main up… rooky error… some quick thinking and we soon had all sails down and narrowly missed leaving our mark on the reef. We probably should have turned back and anchored for the night, but we’re just not the type of people to turn BACK…

We made it out through the reef pass in one piece, hoisted sails and were away again…. but soon the wind started dying and shifting to the WSW – the direction we were trying to sail in…. we were in less then 10 knots of wind and sails were starting to flog, when in a matter of seconds another squall hit us – 25 knots or so, then 30, 35, 40…. we ran away with it for 10 minutes – heading towards South America – then as suddenly as it had arrived, the wind dropped off to 8-10 knots. We pointed Squander at New Caledonia yet again, motor sailing, bashing into a sloppy sea…. BIG Black clouds everywhere…. then as the sun began to set I had a brilliant idea…. we don’t have to be out here…. there’s a a perfectly good anchorage only 8 miles back….

And so as the sun set we sailed back to Fiji for one more night’s rest before trying again in the morning.

The following day was gloomy, but the forecast looked good – we pointed Squander at New Caledonia and boldly motored away from Fiji.

Some 10 miles offshore we spotted a vessel powering towards us, black smoke billowing from its engines. Soon after, the Navy boat captain called us up on the VHF and requested that we stop as we were going to be boarded for a routine inspection. 

The boys came over and it soon became apparent they were indeed just doing a routine inspection of our papers, we made a few jokes and before long the cameras were out and the conversation had turned to discussing who was going to win the Rugby world cup. Gotta love Fiji! 

Good on ya fellas – I wonder if they would be this friendly had we gone ahead with our harebrain idea of not bothering to check out properly??!

I have a distinct feeling that the Patrol boat and all associated equipment may have been a fairly old , ex-Australian donation to Fiji…. either way, I hope these boys don’t have to catch anyone trying to actually get away from them.

soon after the clouds parted, and the wind kicked in – we were underway – sailing.

A nice Wahoo caught on Day 2.

Introducing Sofi to the Squander Spa – note the extra safety device around Sofi’s stomach, cleverly engineered by Andy. 
With the “Pacific salt water spa treatment” out of the way, it was time for some hairdressing….

Jose ready for her first night watch – sailing from Fiji to New Caledonia.

the passage has been one of the smoothest and calmest we have experienced to date, allowing the girls to establish command of the galley in great comfort! 

José ordered the deluxe package at the Squander Spa – it includes unlimited supply of water buckets without having to lift a finger.

She seemed satisfied! 

The multipurpose transom! 

Night 2 was a cold one, with some fresh winds blowing up from NZ. 

Day 3 – the Mahi Mahi was a highlight!! 

Happy days… it’s been a while since we’ve landed one of these! 

Sailing into the sunset, as Australia plays South Africa in the Quarter finals of the Rugby World Cup…. We hoped that Radio Australia would transmit the game, but instead we were left listening to an American sounding guy who received a Nobel prize in Canberra this week… seriously, how un-Australian!!

Thanks to the wonders of technology, we were kept updated via Satellite phone text messages… it was a nail biter to the end…..

The excitement as the above email arrives in my inbox – through to the semi finals by a whisker – well done boys!! 

Yes, we are at sea, sailing at 7 knots in the South Pacific, during the night…. possibly the longest stretch of calme seas I have witnessed in the Pacific whilst still having enough wind to sail. 

keeping ourselves entertained on the last Day…. wind finally drops out as the sea glasses out and we motor the last 100 miles to new Caledonia.

As we approach the 1 month anniversary of our arrival in Fiji, I find myself seriously wondering if life is in fact fair? the fun times have not stopped, and despite a few reality checks here and there, we have been blessed with rewarding experiences at every turn…. so if life is fair, how will we be expected to repay all of this good fortune?…. for now we’ve put that question to the back of our minds, and are concentrating on enjoying Fiji – possibly the most perfectly suited playground we have found to date! Sharing with as many new and old friends as possible and ignoring the tide of time as it pushes us closer and closer to the end of the cruising season in the South Pacific and the inevitable return home to Australia.

 
Speaking of old friends, Virtuo Michael steers squander into Fiji.

We had a fast run to Suva from Tonga, arriving late on a Sunday night. It was blowing 25+ and the swell was building as we negotiated a night entry into Suva harbour… our charts were spot on and with an added help from the leading lights and some waypoints sent to us by MAD who had entered earlier in the day, we had it well covered.

Our stop in Suva had a number of objectives – firstly to clear in to Fiji, secondly to get a good dose of civilization (shops, banks, traffic, restaurants, bars) and most importantly to pick up our latest crew member Sofi who was carrying some important cargo for us – Chocolate!

The Cargo was delivered safe and sound! 

trying to find the customs office, Sofi, Andy and Brent. 

….ahhh nope, not here either – Brent cracking up at our interpretation of Fijian directions!

we entertained ourselves observing the myriad of buses as we wondered the back streets of Suva Port to find customs.

we eventually found what we were looking for and managed to complete the paperwork some 24 hrs after first starting the process.

Next was Food and soaking up some civilization….

The Suva Markets kaleidoscope.       

Rob and Hanna had told us great stories of the Suva fish markets from their previous trip ten years earlier, but very little remains of the old fishing fleet and their catch seems barely legal.

Fanning the local catch – are the Chinese fishing out Fiji’s waters too?? 

Then it was time to hit the big smoke, complete with malls, Cinemas and traffic!

The novelty soon wore off and we completed our shopping at the local spice market before planning a midday escape to Yanutha island.   

The curry ingredients isle! 

Brent and Sofi sampling the local organic rice! 

So who is Sofi….??? For those of you that have been following our travels for a while, you may recall that back in March 2011, we stopped in Colombia and went to the three day Barranquilla Carnival – it was there that we met Sofi, she was on holidays from Argentina. Thanks to the modern wonders of Facebook, the rest is history!

Step back in time, March 2010 (past, present and future Squanderers drinking Medellin rum in Colombia)   L to R – Sofi from Argentina, Caitlin and Andy from oz, Simon the International man of mystery and Kirsten from Holland who sailed with us in Spain in 2010 and happened to be in Colombia when we were there in 2011.

…back to Fiji… the weather had deteriorated significantly in the three days we had been in Suva and I quietly wondered how Sofi, our newest crew member was going to handle the bumpy 30 mile journey to Yanutha island…?!

Backbeat leading the charge out of Suva

Chasing Backbeat in 30 knots (2nd reef and twin headsails)

As it turns out we had nothing to worry about, Sofi seems to have been born for the sea, instantly slotting into her favourite position and being more worried about taking pictures then the 2-3 metre swells and 30+ knots of wind.

Backbeat hiding in the trough of a passing wave..      

Yanutha island is a tiny spec about 10miles offshore from southern Viti Levu.

As soon as we dropped anchor, the weather started improving…. we were in high spirits and ready to explore. I swam ashore to see if anyone was living in the small hut on the beach. At first it seemed abandoned, but then i heard a whistle and minutes later met Aseri and his wife and baby daughter. Aseri and his family were the sole inhabitants of this part of the island.

We spoke until sunset, me mostly asking questions and listening and Aseri and his wife explaining the layout and history of Yanutha. Amongst other things Aseri invited us to make the 20 minute trek across the island to the village where a big feast was being put on the next day.

Early the next day eight of us set out across Yanutha, hiking up the hill, through the school, which doubles as a tsunami shelter and down to the Village. 

Andy looking down towards the village of 200 or so inhabitants.  

Hanging out with the local kids… 

We checked out the original church which has now been replaced by a more modern building.

Andy and I took up the invitation to eat some local food and were well rewarded with a  feast of local Taro leaves in coconut milk, chicken and lamb curry, Cassava, and Taro – yum! 

With the afternoon nearing, we decided to leave Raffa and Andy behind as they were getting stuck into some Kava and the rest of us headed back to our anchorage.

Brent, Sofi and I went for an afternoon snorkel in the anchorage

Backbeat and Squander with no one else around at Yanutha island 

We all woke up early the next day, left Squander safely at anchor and took Backbeat for an explore offshore towards Frigates Reef, where Fiji’s most under rated wave was to be found.

From the minute we got up, there was a feeling that today was going to be a special day – Sofi watching Brent wax up a new board!  

With Yanutha island only 4 miles behind us, we had a double strike pulling in 2 great Big eye tuna….

Girl Ash showing off Lunch! 
Yeahaa Boy… Raffa stoked with his work!

soon after we had Backbeat safely tied to a mooring off the edge of the reef 
 
the tuna were bled and hung to set. 

And we jumped in the dinghy in search of our maiden waves in Fiji. 

conditions weren’t perfect, but we could see the potential of this place.

Brent going for the inside position as Andy paddles out on the left and I contemplate a drop in! 
Great to be surfing again!
     
Andy picks off a nice little one! 

and the swell starts building as day one comes to an end.

We motored back to Yanutha island – it was the 27th of August and Australia was due to play the tri nations decider against New Zealand – the local village didn’t even have electricity, yet we had ambitions to watch a live Rugby game… we set our minds to it and through the wonders of Virtual private networking, managed to create a VPN connection between Squander and Brent’s Sydney office in order to do a live stream of Rugby….

Edge of the seat stuff as Australia played the best game of Rugby I have seen in years, defeating NZ and winning the 2011 tri nations cup…   

Live Rugby streaming on Squander… WTF???  

By the time the game finished we were all super tired after a long and rewarding day… a blissful sleep followed. We woke up the next day pumped to do it all again…

Early rise and everyone was all smiles as we left Squander behind and headed towards Frigates for day 2 of fun.

Backbeat was back in her favourite position, and the news was all good – conditions had cleaned up significantly.

There were 4 other guys out from WA…

Andy wasted no time getting his name on the board

Not too many pics were taken as everyone got more then their fair share of waves.

By the afternoon, the breeze started building and one of the WA lads pulled out his kite and put on a show.
 

As the sunset we yet again returned to Yanutha island.                    
One week anniversary of being on Squander – I think Sofi is enjoying herself!

Happy days!!!  Gav, Ash, Brent , Girl Ash, Raffa (upside down), Kate, Andy and Sofi.

The next 2 days were spent relaxing, sitting out some bad weather and running the inaugural 2 day GADI course with Sofi and Brent partaking and passing with flying colours… your certificates are in the mail… 

For anyone wondering GADI (Gav n Andy Dive instructors) course is a serious alternative to PADI.

Brent and Sofi – GADI qualified.  
Brent and his Instructor, Andy – first boat dive.
 
Girl Ash playing in the coral garden.        
Ash playing underwater Air Guitar. 
  
Ash and Ash in the deep blue

Not sure what, but pretty cool…!
   

Ash doing his HOT LIPS trick with his flippers.    

That evening we headed ashore to Batiluva Beach resort for dinner

Brent enjoying his last few days in Fiji. 

The original Squanderers, circa 1784…        With the diving complete, it came time to say goodbye to Brent, who had to shoot back to Sydney after a short , yet fun 3 weeks onboard Squander… Brento – you were missed the minute you left – great times!!!

Sofi and Brent – asta la vista Brento! 

We left Brent in the capable hands of the local longboat driver and headed out for day 3 at Frigates… the wind had dropped off and the swell was on the up!

Andy and Raffa – warpaint on and ready to charge!

Raffa leading the attack!

Ash jumped in the water and took this series of photos – with easily one of the best day’s surfing I’ve had to date!

Fish perspective as a set of fin zooms past Ash underwater.

yours truly racing down the line

Smiles all around as Backbeat pokes her mast out.

Andy loving life…!

Raffa tucking in for a hair wash!
 
Andy duck dives a set heading out for more fun.     

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS DAY CLICK HERE

The next day was even better, although there were a few more bodies in the water.

 
Wide closeout set.
    Girl Ash providing some valuable support in the dinghy!

Raffa charging as always.   
Gav puling off another long left…   
Raffa launchoes of a closeout.
 

In between surfing, eating and lunch and afternoon surfing, we managed to Squeeze in two incredible drift dives.

Ash giving the newly GADI qualified Sofi a few last minute tips for her first open water boat dive.
Gear is ready.

Sofi giving the GADI approved OK sign.

Dropping into the abyss

Crack in the wall

 
Andy Squeezing into a vertical crevasse.

Andy and Girl Ash testing gravity theories.   big school of fish sneak past a sleeping shark.
  

Despite all of the fun we were having, we decided it was time to move on to the west coast of Viti Levu… we set off early in the morning and pointed Squander and Backbeat at Robinson Crusoe island….

Conditions were perfect and we soon realised that if we pushed on, we could make it all the way to Denarau in the one day – and so we sailed past Robinson Crusoe island….

…and by sunset we were safely anchored off Port Denarau!

The next day we got Squander into a marina – only the third night in over 5 months that we had the luxury of unlimited fresh water and shore power – it was great!! 

No sooner had we tied up that we ran into Moji and Rebecca – incredibly they had decided to head back to Norway and were leaving the next morning…. an impromptu night out was organised and we celebrated almost 10 months of cruising together, crossing the Atlantic and most of the Pacific in company – we miss you already ladies!!
 
Pre going out drinks on Squander….

Ash, Simon and Andy in fine form as always! 
Scott from Scotland gets a hair transplant

Sofi gets her party face on…. 

Laila, the owner of Lulu’s gets the dancefloor started with Simon demonstrating the one handed beer dance.   

Like bees to honey…!

It had been a long time and will be along time again before I drink tequila like we did that night – ouch!

The Persian princesses and I! 
We all had a few hours sleep, before waking up to say goodbye to the girls and help Rebecca pack her bags!

Sofi pointing at the enemy!

Happiest Scott we’ve seen for a while…

Whilst we were in Denarau, I caught up with Keith and Leanne and their daughter Chloe, who were in town for a few nights – we had a quick catch up on Squander and a long afternoon/evening at their hotel but somehow managed to not take any photos – great to see you guys and look forward to catching up in oz!!

A quick trip to the local markets for a re-provision…

 
Nice melons Sofi…. boom boom!!

with Squander fully re-provisioned it was time to head to Musket cove for Fiji Regatta week… There were about 65 yachts entered, including Squander and Backbeat and events during the week long Regatta were due to include anything from Dinghy racing, Beer drinking competitions, tug of war, round the island racing, Pirate day race to Beachcomber island, hairy chest competitions and all sorts of shenanigans… it also happened to be within a stone throw of Cloudbreak, Namotu and Wilkes – three of the most famous surfing spots in Fiji… and it was one of the bet places for kiting…. still not enough reason to go… well Foz , one of my best friends from OZ, was dropping in with his wife Anna for a 4 day holiday to say g’day and celebrate his 40th birthday!! Anybody got any Berocca!!?

Squander got a polish and a solid wash whilst we were in Denarau marina.

The sun sets over Musket cove as we spend night one of 12 in this little magnet of a place.

Checking out the Fiji Regatta week program. Hmmm… given the average age of the yachtie crowd is well over 55, the wet t-shirt competition was one event we wanted to avoid!

Unbeknownst to Sofi, her replacement credit card  had been delivered to Musket cove…. an she’s also happy to be here!
       

the island bar was a nightly event, with cook your own BBQ, a $3 salad bar and well priced drinks….

Ash, Andy and Simon discuss some serious business at the island bar.  
Gotta give it to Freddy – he built himself a floating Bure and takes it from Party to party… seen here beached at the island bar! 
Sofi and Ash have become besties!

The next day we headed out for a surf at Wilkes Rights – Tavarua island on left and Scotty O’connor’s Namotu on the right 

Raffa pumped as always – we miss ya mate! 

The surf was OK, but nothing to write home about – everyone got a few waves and we returned to backbeat famished – Ash, Kate and Sofi had chicken Burritos waiting…. you’re the best girls!! 

that evening Anna and Foz dropped in from Sydney !!

we had a customary catch up on Squander and everyone got to meet each other… by midnight, Anna went to bed and Foz and I sampled a couple of rums and caught up on life till the early hours of the morning.
It was thumbs up the next day, as Foz and Anna came to check out Squander in the daylight!

That evening we organised a birthday Party for Foz, who was turning 40…

 Happy Birthday to meeeee,…. happy b….! 

The following day, the sun finally came out and we jumped on Squander for an afternoon of Snorkelling and lunch at the sandbank – a small islet that only appears at low tide.
 
Squander at Musket Cove marina.

Foz and Anna as we anchor off the Sandbank.

The annual Musket cove Pirate day race to beachcomber island was the following day… Anna and Foz checked out of their hotel and we all jumped on Squander and ‘raced’ to Beachcomber…. within 30 minutes of the start the wind had died and we turned our attention to motor racing whilst having fun…

Andy, Foz, Anna and Sofi

Backbeat comes in for an attack… 

and cops a Squander Spray….

Unbeknownst to us, the real pirates were on a catamaran called Kapai – making wet toilet paper munitions….

They took us by surprise as we were about to hoist our spinnaker

Squander was coming off second best, however Squander’s captain noticed a particularly interesting booty that he thought ma be worth ‘looting’!  

the attack continued, and the booty wasn’t giving up…. 

We had to go to our secret weapon – the Spinnaker!! 

the pirates were baffled as they couldn’t penetrate the shield we put up! 

Two of the pirates take a break from the onslaught – they definitely won the battle – but the war had just begun! 

With Kapai taking off to target others, we were left to entertain ourselves yet again… Andy scurfing behind Squander!

Captain Gav had a go, with a great idea of wearing sailing gloves… hmmm… slippery when wet… ended up in the drink and needed to be rescued by backbeat… 
and transferred to Squander, with Foz doing some fine dinghy driving!

Squander crosses the finish line at Beachcomber

When the cat’s away, the mice will play – The boys on MAD anchored in prime position.

before long we hoisted our Flying Kangaroo and were ready to attack Beachcomber! 

      Anna, Ash and Sofui getting into the spirit!

Discussing tactics with one of the offending pirates!

As the rest of the pirates get into the groove.

Before long the sun was setting yet again…. and Anna and Foz’s 4 day stay was coming to an end. The next day we sailed back to Denarau and dropped off our guests, before returning to Musket cove for another week of Fun!

          
More fun times at the island Bar…

The Italian connection – Fraumeni and Vissani! 
The Happy crew of MAD.

With a solid 10 days of partying under my belt, I woke up and decided it was time for a few days without a drink – I already managed over 24 hrs and was on a roll, so i called up Simon on the radio and suggested a long kayak paddle instead of kicking around Musket cove where the beer drinking, wet t-shirt and hairy chest competitions were being held.

After a 30 minute paddle we arrived at the Sand bank where we planned a solid work out followed by a sprint paddle home…

what we HADN’T planned on is the fact that the day’s festivities had been moved to the SAND BANK!! 

Everyone was here… even Freddy had brought his floating party palace! 

Before we had time to protest, someone had yanked the water bottles out of our hands and informed us that we had just been nominated to represent Australia in the beer drinking competition… we tried protesting, but it was to no avail….

Each team (Australia, NZ, USA and rest of the world) has three women and three men…. The women stand at one end and each have a full beer between their legs… they must hobble over to their respective partner and without using hands fill up the Man’s Beer glass… see below

 
Once the Beer is full, the man must skull it and put the empty glass on their head which signals that the next woman can start making her way across the field.

…. yep, we took the crown away from team NZ and won a case of beer in the process – I guess fitness day will have to wait!

What happened next is something that many a male dreams of… Simon and I were asked to be judges in the wet T-shirt competition… now it all may sound good, but with the average age of contestants being slightly over 59, we both had very mixed emotion about our newfound roles…. the categories were as follows:

1. Heavy weight division

2. Sheerline division

3. Experienced division

In the end we negotiated a happy compromise, we let the more mature judges do the judging and we would do the prize giving
 

the heavyweight finalists…. 

To our great delight and her pleasant surprise, Ash from Backbeat won the “sheerline” division.

Not to be outdone by the ladies, the Hairy chest competition attracted a formidable field….first prize…. you guessed it… a set of clippers! 

and another day drew to a close, as Musket cove settled in for a quiet night before the following day’s serious round the island race.  
 

Here’s one for reality corner…. amongst all of the fun, I spotted another broken spreader…Sparcraft have been really good about it and have sent us two brand new spreaders for free from France.

That evening Musket cove was abuzz as everyone was talking about the surf forecast for the following day.

The next morning we all jumped on Backbeat and headed out early …

Shay pointing out Cloudbreak in the distance as Andy, Trent and Ash look on.

Namotu lefts.     

In the end the swell didn’t quite materialise, and the wind was into it…   

wiping out in bumpy conditions at “Restaurants”  With most other breaks blown out by the wind, the crowd gathered at Restaurants.

The following day, Andy got up early and headed back out for waves… I had a rest day and chilled on Squander… by the afternoon, the wind had picked up and kiting on the Sandbank was definitely on…

the people you run into…. The pirates turned out to be keen kiteboarders…. interesting!

Conditions were perfect, and we couldn’t wait to get into it… I did two runs with an ear to ear grin, when disaster struck… still not sure what I was thinking but i found myself in mid air, out of control and doing an involuntary 180 mctwist with cheese – or something like that…. what followed wasn’t pretty… but suffice to say that  two weeks on I’m still hobbling…. although my ankle and hammy are getting better by the day… not to mention my ego!

On the upside, that evening was the Regatta closing party and we agreed to meet the Pirates for a final showdown!

 
the Fiji Police band provided the entertainment.

and dinner was served at dusk… 

the Ashs, with Andy getting a two for one happy hour deal!  

Trent from jarvis Bay in Oz, came up with a plan to round up the Pirates for a final showdown.  Meanwhile back at the Table….

The night ended early, and there was a suggestion or two that someone spotted some guy dancing on one leg till the end, but don’t believe everything you hear…

The next day the boys were out surfing again, whereas I was searching for anti-inflammatories for my ankle…. by the afternoon the situation was under control and we enacted the final part of the plan – there were two prizes up for grabs…. a berth on Squander and a second to none, one of a lifetime experience offered by Trent who drives whale watching boats in Jervis Bay, Australia….

the stage was set….  

Pirate 1 – AKA Cindy…. ready to impress the Judges… 
Pirate 2 – AKA Jose is a kiteboarding instructor and was going to be hard to beat
    
Mum kites as Dad babysits the kids….  

Jose got into it straight away, impressing the judges with some fine aerial maneuvers.  

Busting out everything she had, Jose easily secured her position on Squander….       

Meet the newest Squanderer…. Jose – pronounced Josie, from the Netherlands.   

Cindy took the other prize and is currently holidaying in Jervis bay, Australia.    another one for reality corner – discovering one of the lockers had salt water in it….

That evening we sailed from Musket cove to Denarau for yet another goodbye party. Kate and Raffa were leaving the next day, flying to NZ to start a new life on land after sailing to Fiji all the way from Panama.

Good luck guys!!

We had a great dinner at BoneFish in Denarau – Thanks Ash for shouting the table!!

  
complete with the biggest pepper grinder in the world!
   

After dinner, we finished up with a customary night cap on Squander…. Simon also flew back to Oz soon after and we’re awaiting parts for Squander and all going to plan should be leaving Fiji in early October bound for New Caledonia.

until then, we’re in the Yasawa islands relaxing, settling into the new configuration of 4 crew and enjoying as much of Fiji as possible.

until next time – thanks for getting this far!!

Writing this blog can be a real challenge sometimes… so much goes on, that it takes some serious effort to travel back in time and try and recall the multitude of experiences, emotions and events that took place in a different country, time zone and environment. One of the techniques I use, aside from the actual photos, is to look at emails that I sent to people when we’re at sea. The below excerpt of an email I sent to Rob summarizes our final 48 hours of the 720 Nautical mile trip from Suwarrow to Tonga

Calm before the storm, Wahoo Sashimi – powering along in a gentle breeze and calm seas.

From: vjn3469
Subject: laughing
Date: 2011/08/14 21:28:10

Thanks mate.

Had a look at the GRIB and decided to slow down to hopefully let the majority of the front pass North, before we plough straight through it. 216 to go – calm seas, and a gentle breeze on the beam – calm before the storm???

THAT WAS YESTERDAY – I GOT INTERRUPTED as I was writing this last night we piled straight into the Sou-Wester.

Hard 24 hrs – 25-35kn apparent at 30 to 45 degreees – getting an absolute pounding and struggling to keep on course. pretty full on out here, cracking up though as we’re really taking Scotty and Dad though their intro to sailing course (and some!)

……

yep, some of the toughest conditions we have experienced since sailing from Bermuda to the Azores in the northern Atlantic some 18 months ago.

 
Psyching up to take on the night watch in pouring rain and big seas.

 
Andy and I took turns hand steering – trying to minimise the pounding as we sailed into short, steep seas. Pappa G strapped in and having ‘FUN’.
 
Another decent wave rolls through under Squander.
  

the worse of the storm is over, wind swings 30 degrees and we look like being able to make it to Tonga. 

Every storm has to end, as a new day dawns we spot Tonga on the horizon… and….

… we land a Mahi Mahi at long last
Scotty holding up the final piece of the fishing puzzle!

Smiles all around – Pappa G responds to the news that Tonga is in our sights!  
Squander looking a little battered down below – the table went flying and tried to join Andy in his bunk as we fell off one of the waves the night before.
 
Well done Dad…!! a proud sense of achievement as we cover the final miles of a 1400+ Nautical mile journey from Bora Bora to Tonga via Suwarrow!
 
Still plenty of Breeze as we sail into Vava’u in Northern Tonga!

Neiafu Harbour in Tonga – a welcome shelter.

We were all tired but with some encouragement from Rob, Hanne and the Ashes – we had a celebratory arrival Rum or two… at 11:00 am… and continued well into the afternoon and the evening. Incidentally, recent studies of sailors, have concluded that drinking large quantities of rum upon arrival in a port is an evolutionary phenomenon that erases the bad memories, and swells the stories to such proportion that they in turn drive the sailors to continue on their adventures with little or no  ‘liability’ from the previous discomfort experienced…. really!!!!
  
a couple of stowaways in the sail bag!

The next day we did all the usual chores associated with arriving in a new country… customs, immigration, quarantine and a fresh food shop!! Still looking a bit tired after the pre and post arrival battering!

We quickly got Squander back in shape and rejoined our friends on Backbeat, MAD and Sequel – we all headed off for Blue Lagoon… a small anchorage South West of the main island of Vava’u.

  
Leaving town behind. 

As it turned out there were three other boats already there – two from OZ and Mike, a solo sailor from the states on “Flyer”

We were really hoping to find waves… but it wasn’t looking promising. 

With the sun setting, and nature putting on yet another unique show for us, we decided to check out the local bar.

Backbeat with golden fingers of sunshine in the background.

 
The crooked pontoon – based on an average trajectory of a drunk sailor – apparently since removing the straight Pontoon, incidents of drunken sailors falling in the water has diminished by 30%!…. I love the initial sweeping bend to the right, followed by the sharp correction to the left.. they’re onto something!
 
despite the potential of this place, we didn’t feel all that at home and a plan was formulated to organise a BBQ on the beach instead.

Andy playing support for Rob on the BBQ  

Dinner is served! 
Freya putting on the after dinner fire show!

The next day we explored the outer reef, free diving whilst being entertained by the sounds of Whales ‘singing’ nearby… at first we literally thought it was someone playing a  joke on us, as the whale songs were so clear it sounded as if they were right next to us.

Scotty hunting the depths in search of whales
    

We ended up circumnavigating the small island, pappa G was having so much fun he didn’t want to get back in the dinghy and swam around almost all the way back to the anchorage!  

That evening, everyone was in good spirits and a jam session was called on BackBeat… Scotty, Raffa and Ash lead the charge interchanging the three guitars onboard, where as Andy played solid support keeping the beat.  

Ash threw me a harmonica, and I think I got one note out that was vaguely in tune… Scotty trying to work out the magic that was spilling from my mouth! 
As the main band took a break, the support act surprised everyone!

Moji encouraging an unplugged session after hearing the efforts of the support band!

after 2 nights in Blue Lagoon, and still no sign of waves, we started seeking out other activities… First on the list was Mariner’s cave, possibly the most famous of the many caves in Tonga, and also one of the more challenging to find.

searching for Mariner’s cave 

We eventually found the entrance, and took a leap of faith swimming inside

Here comes Scotty. once inside there’s a significant pocket of air where you can come up for a breather.

Hanging out on the surface inside the cave as the light beams in from the outside world via the underwater world tinting it a fluorescent blue.

Scotty comes up from the depths as Andy hangs on the surface inside the cave.

Every time the swell rolls in the air becomes crystal clear, and the minute it drains away a dense fog surrounds the cave…

eerie at first, but you soon get used to the sudden fog.

     
time to go… we’ll be back when Brent arrives!        

Dad stood by on Squander as we played in the cave… before long Pappa g had us enroute to our next destination.  
We were in the mood for caves so decided to check out Swallow’s cave

This time I stood by on Squander, as Andy, Dad and Scotty took the dinghy for a run  inside the cave.  

We proceeded to search for a deep underwater cave that is supposed to be home to many lobsters. We got the scuba gear ready, briefed Pappa G who was going to be our surface support aboard Squander and prepped our expedition. 
The dive compressor has been getting a lot of use lately.

We dived an amazing spot and found a number of caves, but no sign of lobsters. Unfortunately I didn’t take down my camera, so you’ll have to take my word for it!!

With all the fun we were having, time was ticking and Sequel got on the radio that the weather window was looking good to get moving – tonight!! This was likely to be the last place we were going to see them before a big reunion in Australia!
 

Team Sequel, Angus, 6 years old, first sailed on Sequel before he was 1 years old sailing from England to Norway and then to the Caribbean.  Freya 4, basically born on Sequel and Mum Hanne on her 2nd circumnavigation.
We’ve sailed with Sequel since first meeting in Panama over 5 months ago, in these 5 months there has been one or two occasions where our mutual departures have been mutually interrupted by an impromptu goodbye drink that tasted too good to stop at one….

and so it was that Sequel came to say goodbye and stayed overnight tied up next to Squander for a final farewell!

We woke up the next morning feeling a little hazy, Sequel was motoring out of the harbour and heading for Fiji. For us it was Super Saturday – the local Rugby derby was on and we were told it should be a good day with two big games planned.

Despite the wet conditions, we braved the muddy tracks and made it to the local footy ground. 

A solid turn out!

 
the local Chinese $2 shop was making a fortune – Rebecca, Moji and gAsh (girl Ash) sport the latest in football fashion accessories.

before long the local boys ran on to great roars and cheers form the crowd.

that was until the opposition fielded their side…
the local Gatorade sponsored VIP box.

Ash and gAsh.

The local boys try to get on the board with an attempted 3 pointer.
 
Despite all of the fun and fanfare of the Rugby, we bailed out at half time and headed back to the boats for an afternoon of slow cruising down to Lape island, where the local villagers were putting on a fundraiser to help build a small wharf.

there was no wind, so we motored all the way there – I came up with an idea to Skurf behind Squander and try and ride the dinghy’s wake.

Andy imagining a 6 foot barrel behind him…
 
before long we were anchored off Lape island and headed ashore to the small village of 20 or so inhabitants.
 
we got there just in time, as the chief said a few words of thanks, and the village choir sang a song or two.

The local feast was impressive, Rebecca jumping the line again as Moji protests and poor old Simon hopes there’s enough food left to go around!

the local kids looked well fed!

and we soon understood why – yum!!

Scotty, Andy and Dad.

The next day was yet again flat, and we felt for Scotty who was dying to get one more wave session in before returning to reality back in Sydney, we were all a bit frustrated as we had had high expectations for surfing Tonga…. 
 

Just as our frustrations were threatening to hit boiling point, Pappa G yelled out WHALE!! and we ended up spending the rest of the afternoon Whale watching, forgetting the lack of waves.
there she blows!

Mum and baby!
 
We tried to turn off our engines, and depth sounders in a hope that the whales will stick around Squander for a while.

but they had other ideas, diving for the depths in search of a quiet spot to rest for the night.

but just as one pod disappeared another one popped up on our bow… my ‘brilliant’ camera decided to create an artistic focused version of the stitching in my furler with blurred whale in the background – magic! 
these guys were a little more curious….

popping their head out for a look…
 

The sun was setting and we still had a way to go to our anchorage for the night, so it was time to say goodbye to the whales…

The next day we motored to town and i jumped in a cab to meet Brent TR at the airport. He arrived in great spirits to spend 3 weeks with us aboard Squander in Tonga.

We picked up some more supplies and were soon underway again, this time to a remote anchorage near Kenutu island.

We didn’t waste any time and soon threw Brent into the great blue abyss of snorkeling and free diving.

Welcome to Tonga…!.

Unidentified 4-5 foot shark of sorts?!   
Scotty making the most of his last days of a 7 week stay aboard Squander – wow that flew!

Brent’s first day comes to an end!
 
It’s not always paradise out here… in fact Tonga hadn’t been delivering the best in terms of weather or swell and so we decided to call an early end to our stay and head for Fiji….but not before changing a few logistics around…. I emailed Sofi (our newest crew member from Argentina) who was due to arrive in 4 days time from NZ and explained what was going on – she understood and rebooked her flight direct to Fiji with no fuss, the next step was to discuss an unplanned ocean crossing with Brent who had a return ticket to Sydney from Tonga – he was equally flexible and agreed to sail with us from Tonga to Fiji!
  

Dad and Scott’s last night in Tonga – we took over one of the local waterfront restaurants. 
BACK ROW: Brent, Scotty, Andy, Moji, Pappa G, Simon and Scott (from MAD)
FRONT ROW: Rebecca, gAsh, Ash and Gavin

Dad looking tanned and relaxed….!

The next morning Dad and Scott took off for the two flights back to Sydney via Tongatapu. For us it was time to visit a few of the sights with Brent, check out  of Tonga and look for a weather window to Fiji.
 
Friday night at the local park… roasting a couple of pigs and a few chooks!

The weather was looking good for a Saturday morning departure, so we got everything out of the way and saved the afternoon to show Brent Mariner’s cave.

    
Squander docked at the local container terminal, where a Diesel Truck comes to fill us up with Duty Free Fuel…

On the way we came across a couple of sleeping whales… I broke one or two of the guidelines and jumped in the water in an attempt to try and swim with them.
 
Chasing giant whales with a mask and flippers is not as easy as it seems…. I got within 20 metres before they reached for the depths.

The water was unusually murky…. I was so close, yet so far

Andy stood by on Squander as Brent and I explored mariner’s cave again.

A perfect day for a sail – waking up early on Saturday morning for the trip to Fiji. 

Despite only being onboard for 3 days, Brent acclimatized very quickly to life at sea. We had a dream run with strong winds and mostly clear skies.

Sailing West as the sun sets on the first day at sea!
  

And so here we are in Fiji – country number 20 for Squander in as many months. Fiji so far as been everything we imagined and a lot more. we still have at least 2 weeks left and it’s already looking like a bumper issue in the making with new crew, surfing, diving, guests from OZ, local villages and the occasional goodbye party as our floating caravan starts to disperse and head to their varied final destinations for this sailing season!

We sailed west from Bora Bora on a Wednesday morning. Our last night in French Polynesia was spent at the local Karaoke restaurant, listening to the local crowd busting out love song after love song – surprisingly entertaining!! Our initial plan was to sail to Maupihaa Atoll, followed by Palmerston island in the Central Cook islands. I looked at the weather and all signs were pointing at us changing plans and pointing Squander at the Northern Cook island of Suwarrow. It’s a destination that was 150 Nautical miles out of our way, but one that I had read about years earlier and was really excited to visit one day – I crossed my fingers and hoped it was the right decision.

Our first two nights at sea were tough. The seas were in the 3m+ range and confused at best, Andy and I hadn’t had a good shakedown since sailing from the Marquesas to the Tuamotus back in May, whereas Dad was fresh off  a plane and Scott was still coming to terms with his sea legs not wanting to co-operate.

But by Day 3 the seas had calmed down, the sea legs kicked in and Scotty reeled in his first Tuna – things were looking up.

Dad took his watches very seriously, and was always up on deck on time – checking for light leaks??.

Scotty was getting involved in every aspect of sailing, fishing, and day to day life onboard. Seen here wrestling a BIG fish at sunset.

We had a couple of good days and the evening of Day 3 we realised there was a slim chance we could make it to Suwarrow by Sunset of Day 4 – not a bad run for a 660 mile trip.

By Sunrise the Spinnaker was set, and Andy and I took turns hand steering aiming for a 180 mile run in 24 hrs. 
Yeeooow….the target is in our sights – Andy can taste that arrival rum already!

Everyone was eager to arrive before sunset as our charts of the pass weren’t ideal. Pappa G getting involved with some keen eyeball naviguess-tion.
Glad to be here… inside the Atoll heading for the anchorage as the sun begins to set.

Squander was the 36th yacht to visit Suwarrow in 2011 – not a whole lot of traffic around these parts.

Anchorage island – population = 2
With a cracker sunset, we enjoyed a quiet rum and an early night followed by a well deserved night’s rest.

The next morning Andy had a fun time launching the dinghy amongst our welcoming committee
Scotty stoked to be back on terra firma…

We had aspiration to explore more of the Atoll, but solid trade winds and the resulting chop inside the lagoon confined us to the area around Anchorage island.

Scotty and Andy stretching their legs – a walk around Anchorage island takes approx 30 minutes.

Pappa G appreciating the local sights.

Squander hanging out with some new friends. You begin to understand why the hermit, Tom Neale chose to live here for 17 years.

Everywhere you turn, there seems to be a conveniently placed Hammock to stretch out on – Andy testing the eastern side of the island.

the path to the “office”

Going through customs, Quarantine and immigration at Suwarrow – why can’t Sydney airport be this relaxed??

With all of the formalities out of the way, it was time to start exploring the underwater world. For the first time since being the in the Pacific, we were told the words we wanted to hear – “there’s no threat of Ciguatera poisoning here, you can eat whatever you catch!”

James, one of the two rangers that live on the island for 6-7 months a year, told us of a giant grouper that had been spotted near whale island the previous season – that’s all we needed as incentive to head that way as a starting spot for exploring.

No giant grouper in sight, but plenty of interesting fish and coral.

ahmmm… speaking of interesting fish – The black-saddled grouper became our main target with the spear gun. Most were between 30-60cms with Andy being the leading marksman teaching Scotty and I his skills.

Scott happy with just one flipper

A small grey shark comes for a closer look.
Hey boys, I might check out the sharks from up here for now.
More interesting fish that we have never seen before… a Bird Wrasse on the bottom right amongst them.
the trumpet fish.

Getting involved in the “food chain game” is interesting business… Scotty spotting Andy in the early days as we tried to work out how aggressive the local sharks are.

The black tips are generally first to show up…

Being a born king of diplomacy, Scotty brokered a deal with Mr Sharky.

Thumbs up, we kill one and keep it… and then we shoot one and leave it for the sharks to eat – that’s the deal!

The Lion fish – a pest in the southern Caribbean, seems to be at home here.

Despite the deal we brokered, the black tip gang kept up its patrol and was never far away.

Andy  decided to take matters into his own hands with a less diplomatic approach. Squander was suddenly thrown into a kidnapping ring.

Now listen here pal – you go tell ya mates, that if they don’t let me shoot three grouper per day, there will be serious trouble!

The wild animal and his shark!

One morning James and John asked if we could all come and help rebuild the jetty after one of the ladies caused a minor land slide upon entering her dinghy. Scott and Andy took up positions of Foreman and leading hand, while Gav & Matthew, also known as the “Blisters”, decided to show up after all the hard work was done.  

Following all the hard work on the Jetty, Scotty volunteered to use the over ripened bananas to bake a banana bread. There may have been some confusion with the ingredients or maybe it was Masterchef at his best?? either way an egg got replaced by chocolate and a good dose of rum, extra bananas were added and the baking time was extended by a solid 100% – the results were very “surprising”  to all of us – one word of warning – this is for professionals only -don’t try it at home kids!

With the day drawing to a close, we munched on banana bread and reflected on the To Do list which needed attention. A storm was brewing on the horizon so I squeezed in one last snorkel before tackling the jobs the following day.
The elusive “Moorish Idol”

As I swam back to Squander, Dad had launched a search and recovery mission – I guess I hadn’t realised I was back to being the kid and had to tell dad where I was going and what time I would be back… funny in retrospect!

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REALITY CORNER -  A NEW CONCEPT

We recently had a dinner conversation discussing the contrast of the images represented in the blog, with the reality of sailing and living aboard. There were a number of statements put forward as potential descriptions of the blog ranging from “highlights package”, to “false advertising” to “it doesn’t show the motion of the ocean” and a few others that escape me. It made me laugh but also made me wonder if I should start a “reality corner” aspect of the blog where we discuss the less glamorous aspects of our existence. I’m fairly certain, you, our audience is not interested, however I will give it a try…. here’s this month’s  top 5 of things that “weren’t in the brochure” .

5. learning to cook lunch and dinner for 4 people and cleaning up in a small cabin, that has been attached to the latest rollercoaster ride at sea world and happens to have a perfect temperature for bikram yoga. Not to mention the inspiration that comes from the taste of the breakfast that refuses to stop crawling up your esophagus.

4. Not using fresh water – we do most of our showering, shampooing, washing  dishes in salt water. It really is no problem once you get used to it.

3. Oil filter vibrated loose on generator and caused masses of black oil to spill through the bilges mixing with the salt water from the leaky foot pump. Today activity – on your hands and knees with toilet paper scooping up black diesel oil for hours – fun for everyone.

2.  One of the toilets backwashed whilst we were sailing in some bumpy conditions, spilling you know what into the intricate shower floor (rock, scissors, paper for who get to clean it up)

1. Sailing up wind for 36 hours in big swells, Squally winds 20-35 knots and pouring rain – did I mention we actually had to put a jacket on – almost unheard of!

=============================================

Now back to what we really get up to….

With the sharks still not honouring their end of the deal, we decided to get more tricky with spear fishing – the idea is you pretend you’re just snorkeling, check out the sites, and when the sharks get bored and swim away you shoot the grouper you’ve being eyeing off for the past 15 minutes.

Three species in one shot. From left to right  the White tip (top), the Black tip and the Grey shark.

Up close with the menacing-looking white tip

With the message loud and clear, we focused on the snorkeling for a while…

This Giant Moray was looking hungry.
The smaller fish teasing the hungry eel.

Flutemouth fish

Starry Puffer – Winner of strangest looking fish in Suwarrow
They could be brothers.

With the sharks distracted, we quietly slipped the spear gun back in the water and went in search of lunch.

Ooops… obviously not quietly enough – The white tip showing his stealth as Gav realises he has company – change of shorts please!

Not having much luck, I decided to hand over the gun to Andy.

It didn’t take long for Andy to spot his target in about 15 m of water.

and seconds later The white tip and the Grey shark were also coming in for the kill

The race is on to get it into the dinghy before the sharks eat your fish or…. you.

Unlucky mate, no fish for you, go find your own

Scottys target.

It’s best to get a kill shot through the head so the sharks don’t get into a frenzy and mistakenly eat you. Scotty with a solid kill.

Andy with the day’s catch. heading up to the filleting board. We ate fresh Black-saddled grouper, peacock hind grouper and marbled grouper on a daily basis. Just a few of the creations – Fish soup, fish Thai red curry, pan fried in Garlic, Butter, Chili. The best.

With the fishing out of the way, it was time to take care of some washing. So the women were sent to shore to the laundromat.

The shark feeding area used to be around the other side of the island where the boats are anchored. But that all changed when one of the rangers got nipped on his ribs by a black tip.

Following the sunset shark feeding session, John and James (the rangers)  organised a “potluck” dinner for the yachties in the anchorage. Everyone  brings a plate and let the feast begin.

Dinner time = Happy Andy

One of our neighbours plays the trump card. Baked apple pie.

Best immigration guy, AKA John the legend, in the world – now have a beer bro! 

It wasn’t long before some Rum was fetched from the boat and Scotty Sax came out for a one off show.

Ranger John, Corey from Rutea, and Lars from twister.

Papa G giving some solid life advice.. after a bottle of wine and a few rums. John seems to be taking it seriously.

One of the many great aspects of visiting places like Suwarrow, is that you tend to live life according to Nature’s will – you rise when the sun rises and once it sets, there’s no electricity to keep you awake (unless the full moon is out), so you tend to go to sleep early – if it rains you read a book, when the wind blows you kite, when it’s still you snorkel… most people are tired by 10pm and any attempt to bend nature’s laws tend to fail…. so despite a great evening being had by all, we were all back on our boats by 10:00pm ready for the next day’s activities.

Andy, the owner/skipper of Savannah told Andy and Scott there were big Manta Rays at a nearby reef. I’ve dreamt of swimming with these gentle giants for years. The tanks were prepped and we went off in search…

No sign of the Mantas yet, Andy in the distance and Scott in the foreground.

Cruising through the rugged terrain. 15 minutes and still no sign of any rays.

And then – out of the blue, the first of three Manta Rays that we saw within half an hour.

The Manta Ray is the largest species of the rays. They can grow up to 8m wide and weigh in at a solid 2300kgs. The biggest we saw were about 4 meters across.

they are incredibly playful and not in the slightest bit shy.

Follow me…like this….!

Andy “flying like a manta” ,getting in close and personal, at one point just a few inches away.

Blow some bubbles for me!! go on…

haaaaa…..Enjoying the Spa bath!

Scotty exchanging fighter pilot tricks with our new friend.

….And the Manta reciprocating with an evasive bank to the left.

Our white bellied friend decided it was time to leave us for now – the show ended all too soon and we hoped we had enough air left to see on more Ray before having to surface.

We didn’t have to wait long, out of nowhere this black one almost blindsided Gav

Hello human… I turned around and there it was – wow!
Seen with a 4 foot shark following it.

Like us they are curious and love to play

Speaking of playing, we definitely met our match in terms of a boat with the most toys onboard – in fact we were well and truly trumped by Pete and Daria from Downtime who have the best floating play pen we have seen to date. Kites, scuba gear, fishing gear, snorkeling, the best tender in town – Pete knows how to have fun – and so it was no surprise that they kindly decided to host a number of poker, dinner and drinks nights aboard Downtime – Thank you guys – good times and look forward to catching up again soon!

Pete AKA “Gary Busey”  and the lovely Daria hosted a number of great poker and drinks nights aboard “Downtime”

Pete came over one morning and suggested we go kiting – he had devised a way of launching a kite of the back of his boat – it sounded great – Scott and Andy were out spearfishing, So Dad and I jumped in to Pete’s dinghy and headed over to setup.

Imagine our surprise finding a movie star in the middle of the pacific. Jack Nicholson in Suwarrow.  
before long we were hooting up and down the bay in near perfect conditions – yet another tick for Suwarrow!

With a fun afternoon of kiting and a couple of celebratory beers under our belts, we went and  got cleaned up before returning to Downtime for a night of poker. 
Most of the people in the anchorage took up the invite – the stern of Downtime still had room for a few more dinghies!

The winner – ANDY from Savannah in the centre of the photo.

It was Day 8 in Suwarrow, time had flown and like it or not we had to start thinking about moving on to Tonga. A 720 Mile crossing. The weather was looking tentative at best, but we had little choice as it looked like it was now or not for another week. before leaving we took Dad for a snorkel in the hope of showing him a Manta Ray.

Pappa G searching the depths.

Blowing bubbles to try and attract the Mantas.

We had almost given up when  a Black bellied Manta Ray flew in for a look accompanied by a bunch of Remora sucker fish.

It didn’t feel like sticking around for too long….

Until Scotty went and grabbed its ‘hand’…

And it was soon back for another fly by!

And so on that note we all signed out from Suwarrow in our own way….

Scotty saying goodbye to the underwater world.
Until next time black tip.   
Floating in the blue Abyss – Thanks Suwarrow!

Pappa G kicking back in the Dinghy – satisfied with his efforts!

on the morning of leaving Gav went up the mast to have a look at some strange noises coming from the Staysail Furler – nice view from up here!   

With all said and done we went ashore to say goodbye to James and John – Andy sacrificed his Squander T-shirt, left behind as a memento.

John and James soon stapled it to a leg of their house

And so we sailed off on a Monday morning – bound for Tonga – it was an interesting trip, we caught 2 Wahoo and a decent Mahi Mahi, lost a number of lures to BIG fish and ended up getting both lines spooled arriving in Tonga with no fishing lines left. there are some serious fish in these waters!!!

Sailing with Dad – over 4 weeks onboard Squander – we’ll miss you Pappa G!
Stoked with Wahoo numero uno!

Smiles all around as we catch dinner!

Pappa G has been awesome – cooking dinner, washing up and generally helping around the boat wherever he could!

Scotty getting some driving under his belt!

resting – the calm before the storm!

We had a hard final 36 hrs – upwind in 25-35kn apparent at 30 to 45 degrees –short, steep swells – Huey decided to give us a good old pounding – we were struggling to keep on course. with some of the most serious conditions we have had to sail in.

We all had a good laugh at it in the end though – Scotty and Dad got a comprehensive intro to sailing in the last month – sailing over 1500 Nautical miles in a big variety of conditions, Squander held her own and we’re all here in Tonga, safe and sound and enjoying the local attractions!

Until next time!

Andy and I are sitting in a cafe in Bora Bora, listening to Polynesian Reggae music, catching up on emails and writing the latest installment of the blog – Elyse and Scott are pearl shopping, Squander is anchored out the front in a perfect blue lagoon, dancing around in the light trade winds – it will be difficult to say goodbye to French Polynesia after almost two months of cruising these idyllic waters.

Approaching Northern Tahiti.

Having left the Tuamotu archipelago we did an overnight sail from Apataki Atoll to the island of Tahiti. We desperately wanted to get there in time to catch the massive 15 foot SW swell that was hitting the islands and specifically the world famous Teahupoo pass where the likes of Laird Hamilton were putting on a show.

Moorea island in the distance seen from North western Tahiti

Unfortunately we left our run too late and all we got is queasy stomachs as we sailed in the big confused seas in company with MAD, and arrived just as the weather returned to its glorious normal self, with the swell evaporating with the morning clouds.

July in French Polynesia is all about the Heiva festival – kids are on holidays, there are public holidays almost weekly, dance contests, beauty pageants, singing contests, live music, outrigger racing and a general festival atmosphere. Amongst enjoying the festivities, we had a few jobs to do, as well as prepping Squander for our latest crew arrivals.

The lagoon around Tahiti is full of outriggers training for the upcoming races. TIARA in the background – a giant yacht we last saw in Ibiza in August 2010.

In other news, fourteen months after first setting foot onboard Squander, Simon has “moved next door” onto MAD who are more or less sailing a similar route to us, so he is never too far away. Before leaving, Simon put in a big effort helping us out with usual maintenance, servicing and so on. We managed to get a lot done whilst anchored off the Marina Taina on the North west coast. We re-provisioned, picked up cooking gas, diesel, water, fixed both toilets, replaced the freezer, serviced the generator, replaced some running rigging and did a bunch of other smaller jobs.

the town dock in downtown Papeete.

By the time the weekend rolled around, we were ready to check out Papeete’s night life, so we moved Squander to the town dock in order to be closer to the action.

Rauata Temauri – Miss Tahiti 2011

It was Friday night and somehow the camera never made it out, but we had a classic party night at Morrisons where the Miss Tahiti after party was being held.

Hanging out on Ivalu.
Before heading out, we ran into Martin and his sister Barbara on a yacht called Ivalu – a great story of brother and sister circumnavigating the world on mum & dad’s yacht – hailing all the way from Germany we instantly hit it off with them and managed to party with them and MAD till 6:00 am.

The next day (or afternoon) everyone was a bit tired, so we took it easy. Martin, Barbara, Eric and i took Squander’s dinghy and went exploring the nearby reefs.

Brother and Sister enjoying the good times

We saw a bunch of local families raft up 4-5 boats in the middle of the lagoon for lunch, so we decided to ask them if we could tie up to them. They were welcoming and we spent an hour or so snorkeling and hanging out in the middle of the shallow lagoon – One of the men on board dropped a simple net as everyone else proceeded to enjoy the day, swim, drink and wait for lunch to catch itself.

The lunch catching net.

Soon after, as the tide turned, the lunch selection swam into trouble.

Manybar Goatfish soon to be on the BBQ!
Barbara taking pity on one of the fish and trying to set it free when no one was looking.

A Chinese research vessel – our neighbours in port.
That evening, being Saturday night, we hit the local street food markets in Papeete. Andy in the distance as Barbara and Tony from Farr Fly discuss the menu.

As soon as we walked into the markets we spotted Shay and Ben from La Pelicana, the Aussie lads from Brisbane whom we had last seen a week or so ago in Apataki – the boys were keen for a night out, so we dug deep and headed out for round two in as many nights.

Ben, Shay and Barbara enjoying a drink at Paradise Night

The eclectic crowd included the local front row forward dressed as a woman in grey. I think she’s pregnant

Barbara going off on the checkered dance floor.

We had a relaxing Sunday morning, said goodbye to Martin and Barbara who set sail for Tonga/Fiji where they planned to replace their main engine which was on its last legs. As for us we gave Squander a wash and motored back to Marina Taina to replace the freezer and meet Scotty who flew in on Monday night!

Scotty arrived in his usual good spirits and fitted in straight away.

We introduced Scotty to our friends on various boats, showed him the local surf break which we managed to surf a couple of mornings in a row and generally let him acclimatize to the pace of Polynesia! 

These barges are anchored in the lagoon and people swim, paddle or boat over at sunset for a beer or two.

With all said and done, it was time to set sail for Moorea and onto Huahine where we were meeting Elyse.

Leaving Tahiti in our wake

At this point I will hand over the BLOG reigns to our guest blogger SCOTTY – take it away mate!   

Our guest blogger Scotty admiring Moorea’s south coast.

For those of you who don’t know, I am a long time mate of Gav’s. We met in 1996 travelling through Portugal in Kombi vans. Our mutual interests, sparked a long lasting friendship that has included many trips to locations all around the world. As an avid reader of this blog, I am super stoked to be able to join the crew for a month or so. Tahiti certainly hasn’t disappointed. It’s everything the brochure says and more. Travelling by boat offers hidden treasures and has allowed us access to locations most can’t get too.

The locals showing that a beach umbrella can be used anywhere.

The pass into Haapiti on the west coast of Moorea. (The Tahiti main island is in the background)

It’s not often you get to sail into a tropical island, park the boat and take a 5 minute dinghy ride to a glassy 4-6 foot left hand reef break. That pic is of me post surf, just a little bit excited!

Perfection.. all to ourselves

Raffa (from neighbouring yacht BackBeat) sets up a barrel . Ash looks for the drop-in.

Squander’s captain “Gav”, launches into a sweet left.  

Scotty-stalling for the barrel

Andy sitting on a dinghy taking photos of Gav surfing– why you ask??

sets roll in in the distance as La Pelicana (QLD), Squander (NSW) and Backbeat (VIC) lie at anchor in the lagoon

Our neighbours from Backbeat, the smiles say it all. from left to right. Ashley, Kate and Raffa

Snapped. The 2nd  “Unbreakable” Hayden Epoxy FibreFlex with carbon rails to be snapped by Andy in the last year. Name and shame.

We did hit a small snag. Andy’s frown is matching the shape of his board in this pic. It wasn’t  the reef that was the culprit. His size 12 was just too much for the fiberglass. This left Andy on photo duty for the 6 am morning session. As luck had it, a local Tahitian surfer Gav befriended in the water, was able to take Andy’s board to be repaired by a local shaper.

Perfect 6 foot sets roll in on one side and this as a backdrop on the other… tough gig

Ben and Shay from ‘La Pelicana’. say goodbye as they leave for a huge passage straight to Fiji.

Our stay in Moorea was brief, but super rewarding. It’s certainly a place we would all love to come back to.

SAILING TO HUAHINE

We opted to sail overnight to beat the new swell arriving. It was my first serious passage and my first introduction of what it’s like on the open seas at night. We departed at 5pm and arrived in Huahine at 7am the next morning. My Sea legs held up, and I now understand how amazing the journey has been for Squander. It’s certainly more of a physical and mental challenge than I anticipated.

Another beautiful sunrise as we approach Huahine

Sometime during the night a giant Squid tried to make sweet love to Squander. This was the result.

A captain’s job is never done – scrubbing the Squid ink from the decks as we motor past Northern Huahine. Andy had to show him how to hold it…
Dream Shack.

As we rounded the northern end of Huahine we were greeted by another perfect Polynesian setting of mountains, sunshine and picture perfect reef break. This island is known for it’s surfing localism and we were warned to paddle out with caution. The right hander is a definite no go zone. Unless you can get your surfing done by 8.30am. The locals aren’t early risers apparently. We opted for the left which was slightly more forgiving and were treated to some spectacular waves and surfing by some of the local Tahitians. They are true water men and I will never forget the experience of sharing the waves with them.

It wasn’t long before we were reunited with MAD … again

Rebecca from MAD, showing how to drive a dingy on her stomach

My girlfriend Elyse arrived on day 2 at Huahine. After the long flight from Sydney, an overnight stop in Papeete, (Tahiti’s capital) and a motion sickness tablet, she was a little worse for wear, but still smiling.

Elyse realises she’s not dreaming – she actually is aboard Squander.

With Elyse settling in, we headed to the protected south of the Island. 

The search for waves never ceases

Scotty and Elyse Enjoying the serenity

Once there, it was time for Gav to put his mechanical hat on. It seems owning your own boat is not always as glamorous as it sounds. Before buying Squander, Gav knew nothing about engines, look at him now!  

Socialising and boating go hand in hand. Once down south of Huahine we met up with Sequel and MAD and the first of many a get togethers with the other 2 boats took place.   

The after lunch stroll

Simon Rebecca and Moji scoping the Kite Boarding situation

Stonehenge

Elyse enjoying a well earned rest from her Sydney life as a primary school teacher.

My first catch of the trip. A Brassy Jack.

It always tastes better when you catch and cook it yourself.

It’s no Club Med

Rebecca, Rob, Moji, Hanne

The view from the bar whilst enjoying a couple of happy hour beers in Fare

Possibly the cutest 5 year old alive. Freya from Sequel

TAHAA

Our stay in Huahine finished with sunset drinks with our travelling companions. The next morning we all packed up and set sail for the nearby island of Tahaa. With the wind at our back we made good progress in the choppy seas. After 4 hours we arrived to another slice of paradise.

The captain delivers the goods again.

Soon after our arrival the weather came in and we postponed the snorkeling. That was the last bad weather we have seen for some time.

The weather turning  quickly . Mad once again dropping the anchor next to us.

Jack of all trades. Gav is a DIY hairdresser too.

The following day was picture perfect and we headed to a small motu (island), for a beach day.   

The king of romance

Elyse’s first Snorkel. The mask is hiding a huge grin.

Gav kiting as the afternoon wind picked up.

After a rewarding day at the beach we decided to move the western side of Tahaa to escape the wind.

We ended up dropping anchor outside the most expensive resort in the Society Islands.  

More sunset drinks

The next day we discovered a coral reef river that flows between 2 Motu’s. You start at one end and you drift with the current through a maze of spectacular coral and marine life. 

The coral river front door mat.

The Coral river

At one with the locals

Team Fitness First

Someone is being cheeky again!

Motoring to see a local dance festival with Bora Bora, (Our next destination) in the background.

Gav put’s his chef hat on and prepares a feast after buying a huge whole yellow fin tuna for $20.

Tahaa hosting an inter Island dance festival.

Shake them hips

The band consisting of Drums, ukalalee, and choir

Mooshy, in with the locals

BORA BORA

It’s the jewel in the crown of the society Islands and a stop that we couldn’t wait to get to. This Island has it all and we have ticked all the boxes, including Shark diving, swimming with sting rays, circumnavigating the island, Kite boarding, Eating at famous Bloody Mary’s and of course hosting drinks and socialising with anyone who is up for it. The pictures will tell the story here.

To lazy to fly the kite for the passage to Bora Bora. Sailing along under Main, poled out Genoa and Staysail kept the speeds high.

Sequel sailing into Bora Bora slightly ahead of us. 

A private motu that we swum to. Roughly a 1.6Km round trip.

The Hilton…

Elyse up the mast enjoying the view and shaking off a little sea sickness from the crossing.

Freya and Elyse

Ken, Tony, Hanne, Gav and Andy. Drinks in Paradise!

Kyle and Angus. Incidentally Angus at 6 years of age could probably beat most adults at Chess. Careful of being polite and accepting his challenge.

Our morning swimming destination. Only to be chased away because its privately owned

Gav, Rob and Simon perched above the turquoise water

Rob on his way to visit the sharks just outside the pass into Bora Bora

Scott

The Lemon Shark grows to 13 feet. Responsible for over 20 attacks worldwide but never a fatality.  They prefer to eat limbs and not entire bodies. These bad boys were around the 10 feet mark . Enough to raise the heart a few BPM when they come back for their 7th look at your feet

Simon with Shark behind him

Dinner at Famous Bloody Marys.

The urinal at Bloody Mary’s. Remember to flush. Errr just yanking your chain..

Simon and Moji
A few additions with a white pen made the board outside Blood Mary’s complete Who the hell is Rex Reed?

After dinner drinks on Sequel. Elyse, Scott (plastered) and Rob (not far behind)

Squander’s usual hangout on a Sunday

While Gav and Andy set up the Kites the local kids brought in a freshly caught Octopus. 

Playing support crew. Matira Point is a perfect kiting platform. 20 knot trades in chest deep water as far as the eye can see.

The Bora Bora Heiva festival choir.

The Bora Bora Heiva festival dancers.

The choir leader decided to annoy everyone sitting behind him

The hip movement of the women is spellbinding!

Andy with some down time at St James restaurant. Not a bad office to work from with Squander in the background

Ash and her father Rick host a Banquet on Backbeat.

Elyse not so keen to get in the water with the Sting Rays.

Snorkeling with the sting Rays

Every day the tourist boats come and offer the sting rays a free feed. The sharks are onto it and circle for the scraps.   

The Rays love a free feed.

Smiles all as the local tour guide finds a sting ray without a stinger for Gav to hold.  

Gav learning nothing from Steve Irwin, provoking this guy by yanking on it’s tail.

Hercules AKA Gav

Elyse laughing as she relives the trip/ fall down the stairs from another night of Squandering

Unfortunately it was time to say goodbye to Elyse. Her 2 week school holiday period ended, and Squander was starting to prepare for the Arrival of Gavin’s dad. The locals prepare for a fishing competition. $50 entry fee and $1500 first prize.

The changing face of Bora Bora

Scott and Andy heading for a party at an undisclosed location.

Soon after the food and the booze began to flow.

Kyle and Nikita our gracious hosts lead the way to the night club

The local security guard kept watch on the Gringo’s

Rebecca and Moji strutting their stuff

Slightly hurting from the night before, but Bora Bora has the antidote and soon the smiles where back.

Kyle instigated Scurfing and Wake boarding. Mad and the Bora Bora mountain in the background

We phsyched our friends to come and check out the rays again. Nikita showed no fear.

Mathew Gorazdowski, AKA Pappa G arrives

The last 2 days has been spent showing Gav’s dad the sights and getting him and Squander ready to go sea. Fuel, water, repairs, and provisions have been made…and we’re setting sail for the Cook islands!

The Tuamotu has been everything we could have imagined and more. I personally would love to spend 3-4 months exploring these amazing islands, with clear warm water, steady trade winds, an abundance of fish, seafood, deserted beaches, perfect waves, world class scuba diving,  kite boarding, windsurfing, spear fishing and most of all friendly, welcoming people.

Whilst still in Fakarava, our newest crew member, Moji went ashore and befriended Sophie, a French girl who had had enough of the rat race in Paris and moved to this Atoll some 3 years ago. She built herself a little house and setup a vegetable stall out the front. It was her day off and she invited Moji for drinks with the local girls.

Sophie on the far right and the local femmes….

The next day we visited Sophie’s vege stall to get some fresh supplies. Gavin, Sophie and Hanne from Sequel.
that evening The Ashleys put on on a big dinner and we mixed it up with the whole crew from Khamzin and Squander creating a party of 15 aboard Backbeat.

Andy and Bettina.

Simon and Moji took an afternoon to hire some bikes and tour the island.

We left Fakarava Atoll with Sequel leading the charge and Backbeat and Squander following. We had a 20 Nautical mile sail in great conditions.

Backbeat setting the pace

Wind against tide creating choppy conditions in the North Fakarava Pass

On the way to Toau we were desperately trying to catch some fish when both lines went off…. we had hooked a male and female Mahi Mahi of a size that I have never seen.

Andy & Simon got the female onboard whilst I fought the Bull (male) for some 30 minutes.

the beautiful lady .

Someone (we won’t mention any names) turned their back on the 1m+ female and she jumped overboard… as soon as that happened the male (Bull) put on the biggest fight I have ever witnessed from a fish – far more then a marlin or sail fish.

getting pretty exhausted after a good fight

I got the male Mahi near Squander and we could not believe our eyes  – it was a beautiful monster… but he just refused to give up and in the end managed to break the line…. it was poetic justice as we let the girl getaway and he rejoined his female companion!

as close as we got to landing the Bull
Rob and family on the almighty Sequel sail past as we fight with our fish

By the time the ordeal was over we were way behind Sequel and Backbeat who were approaching the anchorage in the distance.

We ended up  anchoring in the dark in a deserted part of the Toau Atoll. A mid sized Atoll that has 40 human inhabitants, after 6 days we met 3 of them!

Luckily Rob didn’t let his fish getaway and I cooked up a  big Fish soup for everyone that night!

We woke up the next day in Paradise. Khamzin arrived soon after.

Backbeat, Squander, Khamzin and Sequel in Toau.

With a perfect 20 knot breeze, we wasted no time to set up the kites and spent 2 days kiteboarding in crystal clear water, with massive sting rays and other fish darting underneath us.

Our trusty dinghy has been running overtime delivering us to kitebaording, scuba diving and surfing locations.

Andy powered up hunting for the next gust.

And finding it just in time for a photo!

then it was my turn….

Starting to get the gibes down.

The water was mind-blowingly clear…and shallow!
Trying to get some air.

Don Simon and Moji arrived soon after… wasting no time…

Simon got in the water…and

…nailed it! – yeehah!

Andy amused himself trying to practice climbing coconut trees.

Taking Rob’s windsurfer for a spin.

After a solid kitebaording session we made a big BBQ on the beach, followed by a bonfire.

Setting up camp on the deserted Motu

A fallen palm tree for a bench.

Hanne – the new lady of the house is happy!

… and before long all 19 crew from 4 boats join in the fun!

The last of Rob’s Mahi Mahi was a tasty treat!

Freya was still hungry and went Crab hunting up a tree

Poor fella didn’t stand a chance.

Hanne and Moji kicking back after lunch.

Rupert, Khamzin’s skipper, showing off his new  Polynesian Tattoo.

Raffa getting coconuts for desert.

….and then making the mistake of teaching Freya to climb Coconut Trees… but not how to get down!

We started a small fire during the day….

…and as the sun set, Rob decided to rid the entire island of dead wood!

The following day was more kitebaording and snorkelling.

Andy Has been spear fishing a lot so we’re eating fresh fish often – Marbled grouper, parrot, and a few others.

Cleaning the day’s catch.

Chilling out, cracking coconuts, chasing crabs and throwing the frisbee around… it’s tempting to not leave!

A quiet dinner aboard Squander .

After a number of days in Paradise we decided to keep moving for fear of never leaving, Khmazin decided to sail direct to Tahiti, where as Sequel, Backbeat and us headed for the tiny bay at the north of Toau.

Arriving in Anse Amyot.- view from the mast

We caught an unidentified fish but had to let it go as the ever present Ciguatera threat has us a little freaked out if we don’t recognise a species.

Sailing into the pass at Anse Amyot, Toau, Tuamotu

From left to right a Swedish boat, Cool Cat from Cairns, Sequel from Newcastle and and Sabina from Alaska.

Backbeat on the left moored next to the small village where only three people live permanently.

We happened to have arrived on the day of the 19th wedding anniversary of Valentine and Gaston – a great couple who live on the Atoll alone with grandad… that day all the cousins and aunties were there swelling the population to 14 people.

View from Shore.

Gaston – Husband, fisherman, repairman and non stop machine – he is 1/3 of the permanent population of this Motu.

As soon as we came ashore, Valentine had us involved as if we were part of the family – moving tables, setting up, walking around with entrees. Sometimes you meet people that have a natural talent for forging relationships at lightning speed – Valentine has this and she effortlessly gets things done with a huge smile on her face, whilst having time to sit, chat, show us how to crack coconuts and drink rum the Polynesian way .

Valentine was the perfect host inviting us to come back to dinner the following night.

Gaston gets the party started as Valentine hides from the champagne cork.

We voted Hanne to be the “cruiser’s voice” and to make a small speech in French on our behalf.

We had a great party, eating, drinking and enjoying the Polynesian hospitality. The couple of the moment (no – not Andy and Simon) sang a couple of Polynesian songs with Valentine playing the Ukalele and all of the local folk joining and singing.

Gaston punching out a few hits.
Moji, as always a great ambassador and champion “wing woman” helping us meet the local ladies.

Hanne from Sequel and Grandad!
the lovely Vaea – Valentine’s niece.
Rob from Sequel with Vaea’s mum

Rob on fire!
The party getting started on the dancefloor

“Half your age plus seven” theory was getting stretched a little too far here

I love the fact that Squander seems to sniff out parties – even in a remote Atoll in the middle of the Pacific!

Introducing…. THE ASHLEYS!

Valentine and Don Simon all smiles!

The next day we did 2 dives in crystal clear water… and that evening Valentine and Garston invited us to dinner of freshly caught lobsters, Poisson Crue and Tuna sashimi… another fun night with 14 people from the anchorage all joining in… some oldies from Sweden and Germany, Sequel, us and Darren & Harruko from Cool cat.

Andy break dancing 20 metres underwater.

Messieur Moray eel looking angry!

Laughing underwater – Andy’s been using the compressor to fill our bottles with….??!

Plenty of these weird, spiky creatures crawling all over the sea bed.

The yellow trumpet fish…

Rob hanging out off the wall!

Before long the sunset was ringing the dinner bells and it was time to go ashore again for a local feast – it was full moon and Garson had been lobster collecting the night before coming home at 3:00am with 30 KGs of live lobsters after only 1 hour!!

BBQing a small portion of the catch.

Simon, Moji and Valentine.

The next day we spent the morning on land having morning tea with Valentine and Garson. by 11:00am Garson was off fishing for the day, and it was time for us to say goodbye to Toau and the great experiences we had here and motor to Apataki – our last Atoll in this amazing part of the world. We said our goodbyes, accepted parting gifts of freshly made coconut cream, fillets of parrot fish and live sea snails and pointed Squander at Apataki.

Despite Simon’s prayers on the bow, we had no wind and had to motor the whole way there.

Entering the pass at South West Apataki.
There’s a fairly established community here with almost as many people living on water (it seems) as there are on land.

Bullet proof seas side living – you can catch a seafood smorgasbord right out of your kitchen window!

The local dock only gets used once a week when the supply ship comes in which means the rest of the time it can be used by US!!  it’s big enough for three yachts – we were the fourth yacht to arrive and missed out on a spot – lucky for us Rob from Sequel was kind enough to offer us a raft up…

Sequel and Squander rafted up in Apataki with a full moon in the background.

With everyone safely tied up we decided to celebrate with a dock party!

almost everyone accounted for – Che, Andy, Ben, old mate and Tony, Tristan, Trstan’s brother, Hanne, Rob, Simon, Darren and Haruko – Moji, Angus, Freya and Gavino taking the photo and art directing the shot.
Andy and the LA PELICANA boys from Brisbane

Early the next morning the spectacular sun rise awoke Squander….

she looked eager to keep exploring….

at 6:00 am the locals are out in force….

Hanging out, eating breakfast, talking, laughing

All eyes on Tony and the lads on Prinz Karl as they hooked another huge fish before the rest of us had even woken up.

We decided to leave the dock and set sail for a tiny island some 5 miles inside the Atoll… we dropped anchor and waited…. After not seeing MAD since Panama some 2.5 months earlier, they had finally caught up to us….

Rebecca waving to us or is it to her Soul mate Moji???

This was MAD’s first stop in the Tuamotu so we got up early and took them exploring – anchoring off a  secret reef for some out of this world snorkeling in Crystal clear water..

Andy the human fish herder.

Spin that wheel – The school swims around Andy.
Our version of Peak hour traffic.

coming up for air.

The fish scatter….

As old mate sharky comes in for a closer look.
the puffer fish playing hide and seek

From one secret spot to another – we dropped Simon onto MAD and they went on to explore the local pearl farm – where as Andy and I arranged to meet up with the Pelicana boys at a secret spot that was reporting some world class waves. It was shallow and not as big as we had expected it… but it was ON!!!

Smiles all around – dinghing to the break

Where did he go???

Andy into it… with at least 20 cms of water between his board and the reef below.

Oh to be a goofy – Ben charging!

Ouch – every fall almost guarantees a reef scrape or two.
Andy waiting his turn in the small crowd,

The following day, I decided to bypass the surf as one too many close calls with the reef freaked me out a little… it paid off as the local outrigger crew were looking for an extra body to train with.

Slipping into the coveted number 5 position

Exhausted but stoked after a long non stop paddle for miles offshore in the rolling swells.

Obligatory team shot.

followed by a stretch with the lads.

With our water sport appetites truly sated, it was time to head for Tahiti… to make some repairs, provision, party and pick up new crew.

A satellite view of the tiny portion of the Tuamotu that we visited.

As always there’s lots happening onboard and the next blog from the Society islands is already looking Jam packed!!

Trying to access the microwave proved to be an interesting puzzle, and repeated searches of Google didn’t turn up anything…

So I stared at it for a long time, unscrewed a few screws and slowly and mostly without damage managed to solve the puzzle.

STEP 1: Remove the top vent – it should just pop out with a bit of help

STEP 2 – using a bit of force push the top skirting up and with your spare hand, via the vent access pop the microwave cover out (see below)

Microwave cover pops out 

At that point I got stuck… something was holding teh bottom of the cover and i couldn’t for the life of me work out what it was…

After 10 minutes of scratching my head I decided to use a bit of elbow grease again – and very gently pulled the cover down and was surprised to see wood screws….

I continued to push and slowly the screws pulled out without significant damage to the wood. where did they come from??

Ahhhh…. that was clever Jeannneau – nicely concealed and covered up by the skirting … there may be a way of removing the skirting first??? 

Once the cover was off it was easy – there are three screws that you have to unscrew from underneath in order to free the board 

And voila, your micorwave slides out   

Next… I’ll need to disconnect the power chord which can be accessed from the cupboard below… and then time to find a new microwave with the same dimensions – that should be a fun puzzle!

UPDATE – NEW MICROWAVE IS IN.

I opted for the LG MS1949TL  which had exactly the same  dimensions. it only comes in a stainless steel finish which may yet prove to be the wrong decision as it may rust or ‘stain’ but with a 2 year warranty an for $175 I figured it was worth the risk. This microwave is almost exactly the same chassis down to the position of the feet where the screws screw into from beneath the mounting board.

Key Features

• Stainless Steel Finish
• Quick Defrost
• Quick Start
• Auto Menu
• Child lock
• 2 Year Warranty
• Dimensions (WxDxH)455×325x285mm

South western coast of Tahuata
We were on our way to Hiva Oa to do the necessary check ins when we came across this uninhabited bay. We pulled in to check it out when we heard cries of Le Squnderrrr, Le Squaanderrr – it was Daniel & Stephanie on CayOne whom we hadn’t seen since the Galapagos…

We dropped the anchor and decided to spend a couple of days enjoying this little slice of paradise. The following day a bunch of us got together for a BBQ on the beach.  As it turned out it was going to be a good day to practice our French & Spanish as we were the only native English speakers.

The girls enjoying a bit of improvised shade!

Andy & Simon eying off le poulet on le BBQ

we had so much fun at the beach that we decided to continue the fun aboard Squander.  Daniel, Andy, Simon, Sarah, Stephanie, Jean Baptiste, Charlie and Clara.

The following morning we got up early and made our way to Atuona bay in Hiva Oa. It’s a very small and uncomfortable anchorage, that requires the use of two anchors to stay put and even so boats dragging anchors seems to be a regular occurrence… we went about doing what we had to. We also got word from Mojgan that she would be flying in to meet us and join Squander for a few weeks.
The old Landies are everywhere here – great cars!

Le Banque.
It tends to rain a lot  in the Marquesas… so it was nice to get a few hours of sunshine!

Primo tucking into a local refreshment at the Make Make snack shack in Hiva Oa .That evening the Crew aboard Khmazin pulled in – Captain Rupert and his Motley crew of 7 from Australia, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain and the UK – we invited them to join us for a beer at a place that had been recommended to us,

We had heard of Alex Kayser who runs the best Bar/pension in Hiva Oa – www.pension-hivaoa.com – hailing from France originally with a German Father, he found himself in Hiva Oa some 24 years ago, fell in love with a local lady and 5 kids and many years later he still calls this paradise home.

Alex’s wife is a great cook and all the kids get involved when you go and spend a day or evening hanging out at their place – complete with free wi fi, swimming pool, amazing view, pool table and the outstanding cuisine (not to mention the cold beer!!) 
Andy, Kate, Simon and Mojgan.

after dinner shot with the family.

Mojgan joined Squander and soon set out to bring Squander up a few notches in cleanliness!

The next morning we decided to hide from the heavy weather that had rolled in to the area at the little bay we had been to some days earlier – all the boats were gone except for us and one other.

The following morning I swam ashore and with no one around decided to explore inland a little – and.. it paid off… Tahitian lime trees, Grapefruit and a Mango tree – I decided to sample some of the local product – YUM!!

The three day sail to the Tuamotu wasn’t overly pleasant as we had winds forward of the beam, big confused seas and overcast conditions most of the way. Copping a wave on the beam.

Sailing with a 2nd reef and staysail the whole way with some stiff breeze in the high 20’s and low 30’s.

But as they say every storm has to end, and we soon forgot our trip as we approached the Northern pass into Makemo Atoll.
Simon hoisted half way up the mast as we avoid the massive coral heads inside the Atoll

Safely anchored – Squander numero uno.

The crystal clear waters of North eastern Makemo
Moji & Don celebrating arrival on land.

Our own private slice of Pacific heaven.

The only 4 humans from horizon to horizon. Squander in the background.
Collecting firewood for the sunset beach bonfire.

After getting our fix of land time, we decided to explore this underwater paradise… I’ll let the photos do the talking
Scissor sail sergeants and an unidentified black and red spot fella.

on the right a Reticulated Butterfly fish

A school of unicorn fish

The Andy Fish searching the depths for sharks.

This huge coral head is poking through the water some 2 miles from shore – it is approximately 10 metres high!! 

Our first sighting of the black tipped shark…. and far from our last!

The Large Tridacna Maxima Clam with amazingly coloured flesh.

Another clam the size of an A4 sheet of paper. they close as soon as they sense your presence.

Coral garden just under the water’s surface.

Shark cam…. da…duh….da…duh…. or however the Jaws theme goes!
4M long sting ray.

With the morning’s activities complete, we spotted a boat on the horizon… before long we heard the voice of Rob, Hanne and the kids yelling out to us. we had kept in touch via Long range HF radio for the past 2 months whilst crossing the Pacific, often talking over crackly lines thousands of miles apart. In the end we had arranged to meet here in Makemo.

Sequel III doing a drive by before the games began.
Freya didn’t believe her parents that she was coming to Squanderrr

Angus waits patiently to play (and often beat) the winner of any board game.

With an amazing Pacific Sunset in the background, We gave Hanne some of the freshly caught tuna and she turned it into platters of sushi.

Sequel III and Squander.

We enjoyed a long evening of catching up.

Kids tucking into mum’s artwork.
Andy, Rob and gavin
Moji, Freya, Hanne and Angus

Andy & Rob with a rum coloured glow.

goodbye to another day.

Simon feeling the pressure from an onslaught from the master.

aerial view of the north of Makemo Atoll

After two days we decided to move to the North western part of Makemo Atoll where there’s a small village that is only inhabited during Copra Harvest season. Again we were the only 2 boats and humans there for a couple of nights.

Dropping anchor in North Western Makemo. A view form half way up the mast. Huge coral heads and reef everywhere.

Looking down at Squander.

Sequel drop anchor next to Squander in over 10 metres of crystal clear water.

Andy wasting no time jumping off the back of Squander into an underwater fun park.
The ever inquisitive sharks coming to have a look at the new residents

The local parrot gang

The sneaky Black tip.

And his mate the white tipped reef shark deciding to face the camera and force a change of underwear for the camera man.
Purple coral and Clams.

Moorish Idols and a Forceps Fish on the bottom right.
Lemon peel angel Fish 
Andy leading the charge back to Squander via the coral forest.

And our new mate following us.

The next day we got the spear gun out, laid out 6 pairs of fresh undies each and decided to go spearfishing for lunch… the game goes as follows. Spot a medium sized fish, aim your speargun, wait until the sharks have their back turned and then shoot, retrieve and swim as fast as you can back to the dinghy before the sharks decided to eat your lunch.

Aside from the inherent dangers of dozens of sharks milling around, Ciguatera is a toxin found in many species of reef fish.  it’s hallmark symptoms of hallucinations were appealing at first until we found out that they are often matched with nausea, vomiting, muscle and joint aches, paralysis and at times death.

After shooting this beautiful Coral trout, we found out from the locals that it’s a no go – DO NOT EAT! So it became shark feed.
Andy spearing a tasty Marbled Grouper which is safe to eat in Fakarava Atoll, but we never found out if it was safe in Makemo. According to the locals, Ciguatera poisoning can be very localized such that one reef has it and another just 3-4 miles away within the same Atoll is fine.

We made a few mistakes that day… firstly we brought back the poisoned fish to the boat and cleaned it off the back of the boat attracting tens of sharks – in future we will probably clean the fish away from Squander.

The sharks are very inquisitive but generally do not attack humans – however when they smell blood or food – the situation changes… they gang up and trash and bite at anything that seems edible… it often starts and finishes within a 5 second period, but the lightning speed with which they appear is heart stopping to watch.

Sharks circling Squander.

Our second mistake, we call “Simon’s mistake” – mixing healthy bravado with a keen interest to check out the sharks up close, Simon inadvertently jumped right on top of a big bunch of fish guts making the sharks believe he was after their food…. they reacted in split seconds and 4-5 large sharks launched themselves at him…. we heard something that sounded like a girl screaming, but Simon denies it so we’re giving him the benefit of the doubt.

He was out of the water faster then he got in and looked at our three confused faces with a mix of panic and stay cool smile. We were sure half of his kidneys were no longer there. After exchanging stares for what seemed like an eternity i finally asked if he was OK…. “YEAH MATE… no worries” came the quick reply.

“No ahmmm….. scratches…. on your right side….?” Simon paused and slowly looked down and we waited for another eternity as he turned the right side of his body to face us – no blood…. on his torso or stomach… phew…. then I saw a big pool of blood forming in the dinghy at his feet where he was standing….

Ah Siiiiimoooon…. what about your leg…..?

ohhh c’mon guys, can i come back onboard now??

the sharks continued milling around for hours.

Ouch… lucky it was the top side where there was plenty of bone to deter the hungry shark.

We let Simon back onboard and cleaned him up, Moji slipped me an extra $50 to shave Simon’s leg under the guise of medicinal reasons – he protested but we held him down and shaved away.

A few 3M steri stitches, a healthy dose of antiseptic Betadine and the Big fella was back in the game!  

The strangest thing happened next – we all suddenly noticed the motu (island)that we were anchored next to and everyone was keen to explore it – on land! 

Despite losing a fair amount of blood Don Simon was showing his usual super human strength throwing coconuts at coconuts trying to knock them down.
With the coconut game over, we walked around the small island, checking out the deserted huts and abandoned village. 

We found a fresh water tank with crystal clear rain water and not only filled up our boat, but also managed to create a makeshift shower for Moji.

We were ready to pack up and move on to the next Atoll, when Rob from Sequel came over… hey guys, anyone want to come snorkeling with me????

Ahhh…. yeah, sure Rob…. why don’t we dinghy over to that reef really far away…. Simon had to keep his leg dry, So Andy and I volunteered.
Showing the sharks who’s boss…. spear gun in hand just n case!

The afro coral. 
Rob and Andy snorkeling in Buddy formation…. strength in numbers!

with everyone safe and sound back onboard we set sail for the overnight trip to Fakarava Atoll. We had a brilliant sail in light steady winds that died just 1 hour before we arrived.

Approaching the southern pass of Fakarava Atoll in still conditions.

Tetamanu Motu in Southern Fakarava
Navigating the shallow pass close to Pension Tetamanu.

Andy unhappy with our catch – getting teased by another sumptuous looking, Ciguatera infected Coral trout. Back you go Fishy.

We dropped anchor in 10Metres of water, complete with shark population.

Andy suited up for another spearfish – we now knew what we could eat.
Happy with Andy’s efforts – a bullet head parrot fish and two marbled grouper for lunch.

We’ve noticed everyone has 15HP Yamaha engines, including our French neighbors. After a great lunch, a few swims, some more fishing (including accidentally hooking a 5 foot shark on one of the rods ) we decided to pay a visit to the great little Diving resort in Southern Fakarava. Tetamanu Diving centre has water front bungalows for 12 or so guests and one of the best sunset bars we have yet been to. (www.tetamanuvillage.pf)

Enjoying a sunset drink as our dinghy hangs of the edge of the pier.

Left to right – Rob, Isabelle (owner), Moji & Simon, Hanne and Andy.

Sunset over the pass

Surreal sunset French Polynesia style – turning it on for us. 

Team Squander in high spirits!

The next morning we woke up to a dead clam before the storm. Soon after dark clouds rolled in and the wind howled for the next 4 days,.  

Squander sits and waits for the storm to roll in.

BBQ’d “Vlaming’s unicorn fish” for dinner – caught off the back of Squander at anchorage in southern Fakarava.

On the morning of the 6th of june it was time to sail some 30 miles north to the top of Fakarava Atoll for the devils’ birthday – Rob or Damo as his alter ego is known was born on the 6/6/66 – A dinner was organised and we celebrated his birthday in traditional Polynesian style with a touch of Aussiedom thrown in.

A multinational birthday – Rafael (Brazil), Kate (aus), Ashley (Aus), Ash (USA), Gavin, Tony (south Africa), Hanne(Norway) Jo (UK), Karl (South Africa), Nikita (UK), Aussie Rob, Simon and Andy.
One of a number of well delivered birthday speeches – Rob held the crowd breathless with anticipation.

The devil’s out!

The next day we checked out the village, did some kitebaording and caugth up for dinner with Backbeat and Khamsin for a great night of lamb stew and a few drinks.

and so on that note, I’m off to say g’day to some locals at the end of the pier… we will be leaving the relative civilization of this place tomorrow and heading for Toau and Apataki Atolls.

Hope you enjoyed this pictorial feast… there will be more to come!