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What rhymes with tanker?  Someone needs to go back to commercial vessel driving school. As we passed underneath the Bay Bridge, a cargo ship, whose AIS vector showed that he was passing to our stern, decided he wasn't going to pass behind us anymore. He changed course...

What do you do with a month in Alameda? Install Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries, that's what. It took a long time to plan, but they are in, and the old lead-acid batteries are out. The previous Trojan batteries may have a good reputation, but we never liked them. It...

It could have been worse "There is no hurricane coming, but it will be very windy in Spain." I think Michael Fish, the weatherman, said on television before the October 1987 storm.  The forecast models predicted maximum wind speeds of 22 knots approaching Cape...

Escape to America Although we enjoyed spending time with our new grandson, older grandsons, daughters, and even older family and friends (although we would have liked to have seen more - but Covid, you know), and we appreciated seeing places we hadn't previously...

Doing time Despite 24 days quarantine spent in hotel rooms, the last three months has gone quicker than a line of coke up John Belushi's nostrils. Maria and I are at the tail end of another isolation period, this time in a Basingstoke hotel where we, too, are sticking...

Luggage lugging in paradise The next phase of hard labour started when we arrived in Nuku Hiva: we needed to get the stuff we wanted to keep off the boat, stored away and shipped to the US. For that, we enlisted the help of Kevin at Nuku Hiva Yacht Services. Not only...

It's been a bit full-on Here's a summary of what we've been up to In the last two months: We bought a new boat Sold our existing one Sailed 500 nautical miles from the Tuamotus to the Marquesas Hauled Lady Jane out to polish the hull and service the propeller Emptied...

Leaving Fakarava We eventually detached ourselves from our mooring at Pakokota after almost 3 months of paddleboarding, walking, waiting, snorkelling, boat buying and socialising - then headed to Rotoava in the north of Fakarava. Here, we heaved our accumulated...

Long time lingering What's this near-obsession with the internet you might ask? Well, for sure, it's a rare luxury to have internet access on the boat. Sometimes it's nice to get information without having to spend hours sweating in the heat paying for over-priced...

Hop to Hirifa Our original plan was to stop at Pakokota Yacht Services for the evening before heading to the south of Fakarava. We knew from our last time here that it’s a great place to break up the trip. But as we approached Pakokota, we could see no room at the inn...

A***holes After a fabulous overnight sail from Tahanea, and no dramas entering the Fakarava's north pass, we headed over to Rotoava and found a spare mooring buoy. We were as thrilled as anyone suffering sleep deprivation could be. Maria hooked the mooring pennant at...

Thrown out of Raroia After being unceremoniously dumped out of Raroia like pair of drunks hurled out of a nightclub by an overly-aggressive bouncer, we can confirm that the tide estimator for this pass is wrong. With the tide ebbing at a rate of 5 knots and the pass...

Smooth seas On our last visit to the Tuamotus, we headed for Kauehi, then Fakarava and Toau before leaving for the Societies. This time, we decided to head further south to see more of these beautiful atolls. Our destination: Raroia.   We couldn't have asked for...

Big Ray in Taiohae Bay Like Hiva Oa, most boats confined during the Covid-19 lockdown period had cleared off, leaving a relatively expansive area in from which to pick a spot. So, we chose somewhere close to town just outside the no-anchoring zone in Taiohae Bay....

We moved into a zoo Oops! Due to 'technical difficulties,' this is a bit out of sequence ...   By the time we arrived at Hiva Oa, most of the boats languishing in Tahauku Bay during the lockdown period had cleared out, enabling us to secure a spot towards the back of...

Pétanque and a haircut anyone? As a May Day treat, Chez Jimmy's Jimmy sold us some doughnuts, treated us to beer and a game of pétanque. Fortunately, John (half the crew of our long-term coronavirus-isolation neighbours) pre-warned us about Jimmy's boule throwing...

Return to Vaiatahu We dodged a bullet leaving when we did. Because of coronavirus concerns, the Fatu Hiva locals told the crews of all the boats in their anchorages to leave and to go to Hiva Oa; the vessels in Hiva Oa had to stay put, and some boats were told to go...

Back to the Bay of Virgins I'd heard it's possible to buy a hand-crafted ukulele on Fatu Hiva, so I wanted to go back there. Maria wasn't so keen, but on 14th March the wind came around to an ideal direction - she acquiesced - and off we went. The sailing gods were...