Posts in category Fiji

Mermaid ON Duty – Boatwork in P...

August 7, 2017 Written by El Capitán
Hey everyone!  It’s been a long time since our last update.  All is great in the beautiful Fijian Islands!  We are hiding out in a secret bay just off a black sand beach in the lee of beautiful Taveuni Island.  It’s a gorgeous spot and only rarely visited by a few locals on horseback, who bring their steeds to the beach to cool th [...]
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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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The Blonde Mermaid Graces the Cover o...

December 30, 2016 Written by El Capitán
A beautiful woman on the starboard bow of a beautiful catamaran flying a beautiful spinnaker. I was just reminded how fortunate I truly am. Check out my Blonde Mermaid (Alyssa) on the cover of the January 2017 issue of Latitude 38 magazine. Look inside the ‘Changes in Latitudes’ section of the magazine for her write-up on catamara [...]
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Passage to New Zealand – And We...

November 3, 2016 Written by El Capitán
We are clearing out of Fiji in 15 minutes. The past 24 hours has been insanely busy. We feel ready, we feel Quixotic is ready, the weather looks good, so south we go!  Updates to follow under way when radio propagation allows. Here are some pics from our boisterous sail across the Bligh (we hit 10.5 knots!) and of Quixotic staged and ready fo [...]
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Savusavu to Bua Bay – Catamaran...

October 30, 2016 Written by El Capitán
After a few days in Savusavu doing boat projects we headed out to Cousteau’s resort for a few nights. We met some new friends, Bob and Julie, who just built a new house here. We offered to take them sailing and when we were out we hooked a 100+ lb yellow fin tuna!  It was a herculean effort by Bob and I to bring it within arms length of [...]
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The Rocketship QUIXOTIC Blasting Nort...

October 16, 2016 Written by El Capitán
I guess we finally learned how to sail a catamaran to windward! What a blast! Turns out we have one hell of a fast boat.  We finally summoned up the courage to raise enough canvas to let her rip and that she did. We were sailing at 9 knots with apparent wind forward the beam. It was a blast!  For the sailors out there I will go into more deta [...]
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Epic Sail From Suva to Wakaya Island ...

October 13, 2016 Written by El Capitán
We escaped dirty, busy Suva!!  Quick update as we are still under way and less than an hour out of Wakaya Island. The Mermaid is filleting a fresh Mahi she caught, the sails are drawing and we’re blasting north at 8 knots headed to Wakaya Island. After Wakaya we’re headed to Makogai, Namena and back to Savusavu for a quick stop be [...]
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Wow, Catamarans Have a LOT more Winda...

October 10, 2016 Written by El Capitán
Last night was a little too much excitement for our taste!  We knew a weak low pressure center was going to pass over us yesterday evening so we prepared as we would have on Ellie – apparently not enough…  We learned a lesson last night: Catamarans behave like a drunken donkey pontoon boat on steroids in a blow! We made sure we we [...]
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Overnight Passage to the Big City ...

October 5, 2016 Written by El Capitán
Just dropped anchor in busy Suva after sailing 200 nautical miles in 31 hours nonstop from Vanua Balavu. The passage was pleasant with a variety of conditions. We flew the chute (spinnaker), which was awesome! We motor-sailed through the night with lightning in the distance and this morning we had the chute up as we dodged Tawainese junker fi [...]
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Vanua Balavu Exploration and Rescuing...

September 30, 2016 Written by El Capitán
We’ve been enjoying the beauty of Vanua Balavu for a week now. This morning finds us anchored off Susui Village to fulfill a promise made a year ago. The village has mostly recovered from Cyclone Winston but the church we attended last year is still a pile of rubble. The people are happy and smiling and all seems well here. We came to d [...]
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