Posts by El Capitán

Bashing Our Way up the Yasawa Islands...

June 21, 2017 Written by El Capitán
It’s blowing the dogs off their chains out here in the Northern Yasawa Islands!  The trades howling through the Bligh Passage between the two main islands had made for a tough bash north but excellent kiting and windsurfing conditions!  We are patiently waiting for the wind to lay down so we can sail the 50NM upwind back to Vanua Levu a [...]
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VIDEO – Sailing Passage from Ne...

April 24, 2017 Written by El Capitán
VIDEO – Sailing Passage from New Zealand to Fiji 2017!
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New Zealand to Fiji – Passage P...

April 23, 2017 Written by El Capitán
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QUIXOTIC – New Zealand to Fiji ...

April 22, 2017 Written by El Capitán
We sailed from New Zealand to Fiji in only 6 days!  Tonight we are motoring the extra 125 miles to Savusavu and will clear in mid-morning tomorrow (Saturday local).  The seas are MUCH calmer now that we are in between the islands. We are blasting across the Koro Sea, motoring into the wind at 7.5 knots; the waves are about 4-5 feet but, after [...]
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NZ to Fiji Passage – Day 6 R...

April 21, 2017 Written by El Capitán
It’s 0100 on Day 5 of the New Zealand to Fiji passage.  We have 23 knots on the beam and are sailing at 7.5 knots under triple-reefed main and deeply-reefed jib.  With the seas on the beam, we are taking waves and some making it into the cockpit. We are less than 90 miles from Fijian waters.  Tonight reminded me of the sailors “bl [...]
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NZ to Fiji Passage – Day 5 R...

April 20, 2017 Written by El Capitán
We are hauling ass.  We have made 185 miles in the past 24 hours.  We are 870 (hard-earned) miles from Whangarei, New Zealand and 310 miles from our destination of Savusavu, Fiji.  We will be in Fijian waters by tomorrow morning.  We can’t wait because once we reach the southern Lau Islands, the reefs and islands will break much of thes [...]
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New Zealand to Fiji Passage Update &#...

April 19, 2017 Written by El Capitán
Yeee haw!  Making 9 knots with the big bright yellow spinnaker up!  And in the right direction! After yesterday’s update we raised full sail and put the wind and seas on the beam.  It was rough but fast and we made good progress to the NE.  The seas were still big and sloppy and we were slamming pretty hard.  Also every time we went up [...]
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NZ to Fiji Passage Update – Day...

April 18, 2017 Written by El Capitán
Morning all, We have sailed 170 nautical miles in the past 24 hours. We are 530 nm from Whangarei and 660 nm from Savusavu. I had a bright idea to get us far enough east to catch the 20 knot winds that were forecast to blow alongside a low….what could possibly go wrong?  Well we did find the wind last night and we also found some horrib [...]
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New Zealand to Fiji Passage – D...

April 17, 2017 Written by El Capitán
New Zealand to Fiji Passage – Day 2 – Calms!
Hey all!  After bashing to windward for a day and a half and seeing just how much salt we could carry, we found some squalls to wash most of it off and are now becalmed.  The swell is still with us but the wind has gone. We are motoring up and over the mixed swells, but luckily they are long enough period that we are keeping great speed and n [...]
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NZ – Fiji – Passage Updat...

April 16, 2017 Written by El Capitán
Coming to you live from the catamaran QUIXOTIC on her passage north back to the warm waters of Fiji! All is well. We have sailed 183 miles in the first 24 hours.  We are 174 miles from Cape Brett (Whangarei) and 1,000 miles from our destination of Savusavu, Fiji.  We left Whangarei Harbor at noon and motor-sailed over enormous seas that were [...]
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