Monthly archives for July, 2015

Kicking Back at Avalau Island

July 29, 2015 Written by El Capitán
Kicking Back at Avalau Island
We have spent the last three nights anchored in the lee of a gorgeous uninhabited island named Avalau. The anchor is set in 30 feet of turquoise water just off an extensive barrier reef. The island is fronted by a long stretch of very fine powdery white sand. The protection from the trades is adequate but the wind waves wrap around the island [...]
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Anchored off Beautiful Nuku Island, V...

July 27, 2015 Written by El Capitán
Anchored off Beautiful Nuku Island, Vava’u, Tonga
Malo e lelei ki he pongipongi ni, [good morning in Tongan] Monday morning finds us at anchor in the lee of a steep, volcanic, lush, palm-studded high island named Nuku. Ellie is lying peacefully to her anchor in crystal clear turquoise water. I awoke to find Alyssa in the cockpit reading peacefully with a smile across her face. What an absolu [...]
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Vava’u, Tonga

July 23, 2015 Written by El Capitán
Vava’u, Tonga
I need to catch everyone up on the last few days, so allow me to back up. After that wonderful sail, we made landfall in Vava’u in the early morning. It was raining hard with limited visibility. We had the engine on and were short-tacking into Vava’u. We had to alter course more than a few times for fishing vessels and humpback wh [...]
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Coming to You Live From the Aquarium ...

July 21, 2015 Written by El Capitán
Coming to You Live From the Aquarium Cafe, Neiafu, Tonga
We’re here. We’re elated to be in Vava’u. We’re freezing and wearing sweaters at 18 degrees south. We’ve cleared in. Ellie is on a mooring. Vava’u is breathtakingly beautiful. We just had fish and chips. We’re both ready to catch up on some sleep and then plan our itinerary for visiting the many dozen [...]
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Samoa to Tonga – The Final (Pea...

July 20, 2015 Written by El Capitán
Samoa to Tonga – The Final (Peaceful) Night on Passage
When people dream of sailing the south pacific, this is what they must imagine. Full sail sheeted in tight, driving the yacht hard under a clear and star-studded night. As extraordinarily rare as these conditions are, these are the conditions we are enjoying tonight. We were both trying to remember the last time we had a passage this pleasant [...]
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Samoa to Tonga – Day 2 – ...

July 20, 2015 Written by El Capitán
Samoa to Tonga – Day 2 – Glorious Sailing Coinditions
This passage is progressing as the most pleasant we have enjoyed to date. The wind has been light and forward of the beam but just enough to allow the monitor windvane to steer a perfect course. The swells are small and the wind waves less than 2 feet. We are sailing as hard on the wind as we can since it has become more southerly. If the win [...]
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Samoa to Tonga – Day 1

July 19, 2015 Written by El Capitán
Samoa to Tonga – Day 1
We made it out of Pago Pago yesterday as the sun was setting. On our way out of the harbor, the autopilot (that I just rebuilt) decided to lose its mind and was turning the opposite direction to the input from the control unit. We quickly disconnected it from the wheel and hand steered out of the bay into good sized seas. We cleared the green [...]
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Adios Samoa! We’re Putting to S...

July 18, 2015 Written by El Capitán
Adios Samoa! We’re Putting to Sea! Next Stop Tonga!
The transmission only took one and a half (frustrating) days longer than we thought but we finally aligned it perfectly and it’s spinning smoothly as designed. We’ve cleared out and are working hard to pull our anchors and put away the dingy. We plan to leave the bay at 1700 this evening. The conditions are forecast to be excellen [...]
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Video – Crazy Anchorage in Suwa...

July 18, 2015 Written by El Capitán
Video – Crazy Anchorage in Suwarrow During High Winds!
Video shot after dropping anchor in Suwarrow. Recap of our heavy conditions during the preceding 12 hours. Check out how big those waves are in the anchorage! Share this:EmailShare on TumblrPrintMorePocket
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Pictures – Penrhyn Kiteboarding...

July 18, 2015 Written by El Capitán
Pictures – Penrhyn Kiteboarding and Suwarrow Diving
Lewis rippin’ across the Penrhyn lagoon New kite. Ellie in background Mermaid taking lessons from Levi. Kite flying over Ellie Watching the girls crash the kites Anchorage Island, Suwarrow John Neal’s dock in Suwarrow   Share this:EmailShare on TumblrPrintMorePocket
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