Last
updated December 18, 2008
Where
To Next
If you are interested in the whereabouts of CanKata,
check out the web site http://www.winlink.org/. In the first section, click on “position
reporter” and when prompted, type in VA3LME.
You will see an “x” that marks the spot of where we last reported to
Winlink where CanKata was situated. You
can zoom in and out. It isn’t “live” but
it will give you a good idea of where we are close to. You can zoom in and out. Another web site also tracks CanKata’s
position: http://shiptrak.org/ (you will
need to type in VA3LME). It plots each
position report in chronological order so you can watch us move from the
Click on the section you want to read:
Venezuela then the ABC
Islands
The San Blas Islands, Panama Canal, and Las Perlas
Malaysia – New
The Circumnavigation
Our circumnavigation will start in March 2007. Our route will take us west through the
Panama Canal, the South Pacific, New Zealand and Australia, Indonesia, the
Indian Ocean, up the Red Sea, through the Suez Canal, into the Mediterranean,
through the Strait of Gibraltar back down to the Caribbean. How long will it take? –
Most of this time will not be in the wide-open sea. Yes, we will have some big crossings:
Across the South Pacific, from
Up the coast of
Through the
From
So we are expecting some excitement, adventure, and an accumulation of stories to tell. We hope you enjoy sharing our adventure.
After the Circumnavigation
After
we have travelled around the world, we plan to make the
We
have made this plan before seeing
From Trinidad
to Grenada November 16, 2005
We arrived in
Two months in
Our next stop,
We still hope to be able to help with the rebuild, and will be anxious to see what progress has been made on the island since the devastation of Hurricane Ivan last year. We’ll let you know.
Grenada St. Vincent and the Grenadines St. Lucia
“Safe and Sound in
Our trip up the chain of islands is going well, and the following shows when and where we have been:
November 17: arrived
November 28: left
November 30: moved to
December 1: dinghied to Hillsborough to clear out of
December 3: Moved around the corner to
December 6: Weather seems to have settled a bit. Had a bumpy four-and-a-half hour ride to
Bequia (still part of
December 11: Pulled anchor at
December 13: Moved up
December 14: Sailed from
Dominica Guadeloupe
In
From Guadeloupe to
St-Martin
After a fun-filled week with Larry and Sue Dyer from
In St-Martin
Dates that CanKata is in St-Martin during the winter of 2006:
January 1 – February 7
February 17 – end of April
And loving every minute of it.
Visiting St. Kitts
While in St-Martin, CanKata snuck away for a trip to St. Kitts (a seven hour sail to the southeast) to visit colleagues/friends Ken and Sue Ann, and friends Donald and Cathy. We stayed there from February 7 to 17 – ten wonderful days at this beautiful, mountainous island. It wasn’t exactly cruiser friendly – very few anchorages with sandy beaches, virtually no dinghy docks except at the marina – but that didn’t stop us from having fun. We are going to try our darnedest to make our rendezvous with this group an annual affair.
Southbound
We left St-Martin on April 19, 2006. We won’t be back until after our circumnavigation. But we will be back, because St-Martin is one of our favourite islands – great beaches, friendly locals, safe anchorages, interesting and varied sites, easy access by air (for our visitors), delicious baguettes, cheap ribs, cheaper wine, crystal clear water, good snorkelling grounds, and more. We have told too many people about it and now they have to expand the airport, so please keep all of this information secret.
Our trip down the chain of islands went very well. Here is how it unfolded:
April 19: pulled anchor at 0600 and by 0830 I caught a
big Dorado -- our first fish in a very long time. Two little dolphins swam in our bow
wave. Anchored at 1730 in
April 20: pulled anchor at 0530, had fish for lunch and
coleslaw dressed with homemade yoghurt – see recipes page. Something very big got away with Darrel’s
hook and 80 pound test line. Anchored in
Deshaies,
April 21: pulled anchor at 0600. Anchored in
April 22: pulled anchor at 0600, and anchored in
April 23: pulled anchor at 1300 – finally, a morning off. Darrel made pancakes then we cleaned the salt off the boat while it rained. Check in at customs was smooth – in a little café that also offered Internet access. We also checked out at the same time and they gave us two days to hang around the island, with a couple of days’ flexibility. Enjoyed chicken from a roadside stand and then bought some pineapple – the best in the world, I’m sure. Caught a barracuda while underway. This time, it didn’t bite Darrel but we did bite it (small enough and far enough south to be poison free). Anchored at 1600 (short trip) in a lovely little anchorage – Petite Anse d’Arlets – and watched another breathtaking sunset. Lots of locals were on the beach, enjoying their Sunday off.
April 25: After a day off (April 24) in Petite Anse d’Arlets that involved some flag repairs, sunning, snorkelling, eating pineapple and watching another breathtaking sunset, we pulled anchor the next day at 0815 and motored to Ste. Anne, a nice anchorage on the southern tip of Martinique, arriving at 1130, in time for a lunch aboard which included homemade banana cream pie for dessert. Darrel headed to the marina to fill our jerry cans with diesel, and then we both went ashore to shop for sarongs and limes. Great dinghy dock. Most of the town was closed … siesta doesn’t end here until 1500.
April 26: We enjoyed a great four-hour sail to Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, went into the marina to check in and then have burgers and fries, and then spent the rest of the day relaxing on CanKata.
April 27: We motor-sailed to Soufriere, St. Lucia, taking just three hours, tied up at a mooring ball beside the bat caves, and then spent some time building our abacuses. It was a lovely evening at the anchorage and we found the boat vendors to be very professional.
April 28: What a great day for sailing! We took a leisurely eight-hour sail to Bequia
(part of
Update
May 4: We finally dragged ourselves out of Bequia and had another great sail, just three and a half hours, to Canouan. It was nice and quiet, but not special in any way, so just stayed one night.
May 5: We left Canouan early and sailed a couple
of hours to
May 7: After a busy couple of days in Salt
Whistle, we decided to try out
May 9: On our way again! We stayed overnight in a nearby bay, Frigate,
which was closer to the town of
May 10: Finally, the bananas we bought in Bequia are
turning yellow. Just a short sail got us
into Carriacou, which is part of
May 12: A short sail – just under three hours –
enabled Loretta to catch another fish – a Blue Runner this time. We were the only boat that anchored at
May 13: It’s so hard to leave these beautiful
anchorages, but weather is pushing us south.
We are getting great days for sailing and we have to take advantage of
them. We definitely don’t want to get
caught north of 12 degrees when hurricane season starts – nor does our
insurance agent want us to. We set sail
at 0600 and at 0730 Loretta caught another Blue Runner, which was good for four
meals. By 0930 we are anchored in
May 17: We decide we want some quiet again, head to a secluded bay and are the only boat anchored in it. The snorkelling isn’t great and there is a diesel spill one morning, so we say to heck with privacy and move to a busier bay after a couple of days. We decide to go for a hike since snorkelling isn’t so good. We’re starting to seriously miss the pristine waters of the more northerly islands. We meet up with Roamer once again and share some more good times, including swimming, shopping and eating, but mostly playing dominoes or box crib.
May 24: A good weather window encourages us to head
for
Back in Trinidad -
May 25, 2006
We are back in
We caught two fish along the
way, and saw at least 3 billion stars.
We have a lengthy list of things
we want to do while we are here. We
didn’t do any touring on our first visits, so that will be a priority. Then there is boat stuff: another solar panel, an arch for our
collection of solar panels, new lines, a rigging inspection, new bottom paint,
and other general preparations for our sail west (including a yellow fever shot
– yuck).
We expect it will be a hot and
humid three months. We will also be
watching carefully for any bad weather that may come this way. Hurricanes generally do not hit
Preparing for Panama
At the end of August, we will
leave Trinidad and head for
We have hooked up with two other
boats that are heading the same way at the same time, and expect that when we
leave, others will have joined the group.
Some cruisers have had boardings and robberies off the coast of
We had quite a list to get
through to prepare for the next legs of our journey:
Yellow fever shots, buy malaria pills
Acquisition of charts (paper and electronic)
New standing rigging
New running rigging
Another solar panel and a stainless steel arch
to hold our three panels
Life raft inspection (it passed)
New bottom paint
New main sail track (so our sail can be
dropped quickly in a squall)
Provisioning (e.g., lots of toilet paper)
So we think we are ready for the
continuation of our journey. CanKata is
chomping at the bit.
Venezuela
We made our way safely through
the offshore islands of
August 29: 13 hour sail from
September 2: 17 hour sail to Blanquilla
September 7: 23 hour sail to Los Roques
September 11: 6 hour sail to Las Aves de Barlovenito
September 14: 4 hour sail to Las Aves de Sotavento
September 17: 9.5 hour sail to Bonaire, our first of
the
October 10: 6 hour sail to Curaçao
In Curaçao, we are picking up
another crew member, John Black, who will sail with us to El Porvenir,
The San Blas Islands, Panama
We arrived in the remote San
Blas Islands, Panama, on October 25, after a seven day sail from
The guide book to this area
states that “the continental shelf of the San Blas area reaches out into the
There were a few other cruisers
here – maybe 30 in the entire area. We
generally shared an anchorage with two or three other boats. There are also “back packer” boats here – the
San Blas name for “charter” boats - that pick up back-packer tourists in
Columbia and deliver them to Panama, or vice versa. They know the area well and were valuable for
answering our questions about local customs and services. It was also fun to meet a few back-packers
and hear about their adventures in
We were in the San Blas for
nearly two months – not nearly long enough to see and do everything, but
certainly long enough to fall in love with the area and to make a commitment to
return again after our circumnavigation.
2006 Summary:
What a year. In a nutshell, here’s where we’ve been:
January to mid-April:
Mid-April – end May: Southbound to Trinidad (via Nevis,
June – end August:
Sept. – Oct. 17:
Oct. 17-24: Underway
to San Blas Islands, Panama with a stopover in
Oct. 25 – Dec. 16: San
Blas Islands
Dec. 17-27:
Dec. 28-29: Transiting
the
Dec. 30-31: On
the Pacific side of
Panama Canal
We will transit the Panama Canal
on December 28 and 29, staying one night on
We look forward to sharing our 2007 Pacific adventures with you!
Las Perlas - 2007
On January 17 we left
Across the Pacific - 2007
So we are going west.
Actually, we have to head south first.
We don’t know if we will visit the Galapagos. We’ll wait to see how much fuel we consume –
if we need to top up in the Galapagos, we’ll also do a bit of touring. If the sailing is good and we don’t need to
stop, we will save a bunch of money by not having to pay all the dues and fees
and taxes that the Galapagos authorities want.
Then we will head directly to the Marquesas in
It’s hard to believe we are already at this point in our adventure – a huge crossing awaits us, anywhere from 25 to 32 days or more. CanKata is in tip top shape, we are psychologically ready, and our larder is full. Off we go!
It’s hard to say when we’ll next have internet access to update the web site, it may be late April. But we will be in regular touch with our son Dylan through our SSB radio, so if anything incredibly exciting happens during the passage, we’ll let you know.
2007 Key Dates So Far:
January 1 – March 8:
March 8 – roughly April 7: in transit in South Pacific
Roughly April 7:
expected arrival in Marquesas (in
French Polynesia
Finally! We
arrived in
The islands of
French Polynesia are divided into five archipelagos: the Society Islands (which
include Tahiti), the Tuamotu Archipelago, the Marquesas Islands, the Gambier
Islands, and the
We first landed in the Marquesas Islands, on
On
April 26 we had another long passage to the
On
May 17 we landed in Tahiti, and are already chomping at the bit to move on to
the beautiful
Exploring French
Polynesia
Here is more detail of the places we visited April 12 – July 2007.
We managed to obtain a three-month visa for
The Marquesas, which are the furthest north and
without doubt the most expensive (we only ate one meal out – burger and fries
for roughly $40 Canadian), were breathtakingly beautiful. Waterfalls, rugged terrain, steep cliffs, river
valleys, wild horses and plenty of fruit trees provided free
entertainment. At the small
From there, we sailed to the Tuamotus, which are also known as “the Dangerous Archipelago” because of variable currents, sudden storms and poor charts, all of which add up to hazardous cruising for yachts. We are glad that we took the risk of going to a couple of the atolls, and in the end had no trouble at all with navigation, anchoring or getting around. Having said that, I must point out that upon entering the rough pass at Rangiroa, our dip stick blew out of our starboard engine and that was the first indicator that this engine was on its last leg. (See the “Redundancy” story on our Latest News page).
Atolls are amazing works of nature.
A sailor has to be very careful entering an atoll. There are usually only one or two places
(passes) where the water is deep enough so that a boat doesn’t get hung up on
the reef. Tidal currents can make an
entry or exit difficult, so we usually select slack tide to go through a
pass. Once inside the atoll, we find
calm, clear waters with beautiful coral heads and colourful fish. The “motus”, which are little islands that
have formed on the reef, sometimes have villages with friendly locals and fresh
baguettes. The villages in
Rangiroa atoll had a great snorkelling spot called “the aquarium”, where we swam with sharks, eels and millions of other fish. Snorkelers feed the fish here, so they are not as timid as fish that are hunted. Sometimes we had to swat them away as they swarmed us looking for dried baguette.
Although CanKata is travelling at the “head of the pack”, we stayed so long in Rangiroa that a number of boats caught up with us. There were so many that we decided to socialize in the evenings via a “dinghy drift”, where we all got in our own little tenders with our drinks and snacks, tied our dinghies up to each other and drifted around the lagoon while we joked and chatted and shared fishing lies. We have since broken away from the pack and now are travelling with just one other yacht – Talerra – but still doing a lot of visiting, joking, chatting, and telling fish stories.
We suffered a bit of culture shock when we got to
Our next stop, Moorea, was more to our liking – no public transit (although there were tour busses), tiny villages, rugged terrain, volcanic peaks, and excellent snorkelling. We were with the yachts Trius and Talerra here, and we all rented scooters and rode round the whole island, taking the better part of a day. Trius bought Darrel a miniature wooden scooter for his birthday. Talerra gave him reading glasses (yes, he had trouble with the map). We saw our first Polynesian dance show here for just $5 a person, and even got a bit of a lesson from the dancers. The locals were friendlier than any others to date. Polynesians have the best smiles in the world. But the poor dogs should stop having puppies.
Next stop: another
paradise – Huahine (you pronounce the e). We arrived with Trius and Talerra, but had to
say good-bye to Trius here. They are
fast-tracking to
Huahine, while not as rugged as Moorea, was just as
heavenly. Again, we rented scooters and
drove around the whole island. Although
we didn’t think it possible, the locals were even friendlier than in the other
islands. Everywhere we went, we were
greeted by enthusiastic waves and hellos and smiles. The poor dogs weren’t quite as enthusiastic,
unless we were offering them some of our ice cream (an affordable item in
We could have stayed in Huahine forever, except that time was ticking on our three-month visa. Still to visit: Raiatea and Bora Bora.
Raiatea is actually two islands (cut apart by a mythical eel), with Tahaa being the more northerly one. We sailed a “figure 8” around them and enjoyed a number of anchorages and tiny motus (small coral islands on the reef). This was Captain Cook’s favourite island. Tahaa, which is shaped like a hibiscus flower, is known for its vanilla – also known as “black gold”.
June 14 found us anchored in a calm, quiet bay on the west side of Tahaa. A large hibiscus tree on shore was shedding her flowers, and they floated past us as they headed west. As we watched them float by, we saw the sun setting over Bora Bora, about fifteen miles away. It seemed impossible that we could be sitting in the cockpit of CanKata, sipping our red wine and gazing at one of the most beautiful islands in the world. There was no moon later that night, so the stars were shining brilliantly: the Southern Cross in one direction, the Big Dipper in the other, close to the horizon and pouring out good wishes for warmth, health, and happiness for our friends in the northern hemisphere.
While in Tahaa, we toured one of the most exquisite resorts we have ever seen. “Le Taha’a” is a private island and spa that is a hideaway for the rich and famous – Tom Cruise for example – who generally arrive by helicopter from Bora Bora. A very friendly staff member, a young Polynesian woman named Tiare, walked us around the buildings (all authentic Polynesian style and made of exotic woods and materials) and even let us see the over-water bungalow that Tom stayed in. The beach villas complete with private pools, tropical gardens, outdoor dining area and hammocks on a private beach are wonderful, and rent for up to $2,500 a night. We didn’t stay the night. Instead, we enjoyed the same view, water, weather and snorkelling from our very own private over-water bungalow, aka CanKata.
While in Raiatea, we learned the meaning of “embarras de
richesse” – more riches than one can handle.
In other words, we ended up with more bananas that we could ever
possibly eat, and rejoiced when a charter boat full of vacationers anchored
beside us, enabling us to give away four dozen of our embarrassment. We had been touring the
Knock knock. Who’s there? Banana. Banana who?
Knock knock. Who’s there? Banana. Banana who?
Knock knock. Who’s there? Banana. Banana who?
Knock knock. Who’s
there?
Another “richesse” that we enjoyed in Raiatea were a few “répétitions” – rehearsals for Heiva, the two-week festival that ends July 14 that, among other things like outrigger-canoe races and tattooing displays, includes dancing competitions.
Missionaries had once banned dancing in Polynesia, but there has been a great revival and now it is an important part of the culture. The men dance with a scissor-like movement of legs … bent knees are alternatively opened and closed, with the heels remaining together, hips are immobile and arms outstretched. The women dance with a hip movement that starts from the knees … the upper torso stays immobile, the arms outstretched, and the heels remaining together. They dance to the accompaniment of percussion instruments, a choir, ukulele, and guitar, with the rhythm recalling the beat of paddles hitting water and the cadence of tapa makers and warriors.
At the first “répétitions” we attended, we saw three categories: “les enfants, les jeunes, et les mamans”. Nearly the entire community was as the local basketball court. It was evening and the court was well lit. A few locals had set up tables to sell ice cream, cakes, drinks and an assortment of other snacks. The rehearsal lasted a couple of hours and we were amazed at the talent on display. Even the wee tots too young to compete stood on the side lines and mimicked the movements, no doubt looking forward to the day they could join the troop. A few dogs tried to join the show, too. Most of the men in this community were conspicuously absent, although a number of them did appear in the audience when the girls from 12 to 28 performed their dance routines. The few male dancers that did participate had minor roles, mostly standing still while the women teasingly danced around them.
The choreography was impressive. One woman coached all three categories, each of which had about sixty dancers. Thirteen drummers played the beats that guided the movements … slow, sexy hip glides with the slow, loud drums; quick shakes of the hips with the faster beating. This was not a dress rehearsal, but one could image the grass skirts swinging to the rhythm.
A few days later, in a peaceful anchorage a couple of hours away from our first rehearsal, we attended our second. This village had only one category, the young adults (again, about sixty of them), but this group was one-third men. And boy, could they dance. The dancers had five coaches and the choreography was superb.
We had been impressed by the drumming in the first village, but this group of a dozen drummers knocked our socks off. The energy, intensity, precision and speed were remarkable. I think I’ve run out of superlatives. We sat through two-and-a-half hours of the best drumming and dancing we have ever witnessed. What was especially nice was the way the villagers welcomed us into their community. I don’t think they get visitors to their rehearsals very often, if at all. The dancers would sometimes sneak a look at us, as though they were seeking approval. I’m sure our smiles and applause indicated how thrilled we were. “Mauruuru” is thank you in Polynesian. We said it countless times.
At the end of the rehearsal, we were swarmed by the children, wanting to know how we got there, where we lived, did we speak French (two out of four of us could), and where were we going to next (Bora Bora was the answer). We gave away marbles, which I’m sure they didn’t really want or need, but they appeared thrilled to receive a small gift from us. We parted ways with all of us waving and shouting “mauruuru, mauruuru”. My goodness we love Polynesians.
Our third rehearsal was at our last stop in Raiatea – the village of Vaiaau. We had gone ashore (again, with our friends from Talerra) to take pictures of the church and to buy ice cream, and on our way to the little store we passed a home where four people were working away at dance costumes. We stopped to watch and chat, and it turns out that one of the costume makers was the Chief of the village. He allowed us to try on some costumes and he invited us to the rehearsal that was taking place that night in the covered sports arena (we were thankful for the cover – it rained buckets that night).
We continued our walk to the store, accompanied by four young diplomats who answered all our questions about their village and who picked us four beautiful mangos. We bought them ice cream.
At sunset, we dinghied ashore and witnessed an amazing show of song and dance. This group of fifty did much more singing than the other groups, and their rich voices gave us goose bumps. One of the songs, sung in Polynesian, was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes.
Since we had been invited to the rehearsal by the Chief, we were given seats of honour – front and centre (on the floor with our own boat cushions). One of our young diplomats was a dancer, so it was fun when he caught our eye, smiled one of those huge Polynesian smiles, and wagged his knees a little more vigorously than usual. Our best memories of Raiatea will be the rehearsals. It is an island of rugged mountains, crystal waters, lush vegetation, and spectacular sunsets, but these qualities are far outshone by the smiling, friendly, and musical People.
Probably everyone has heard of Bora Bora. It is so South Pacific: dramatic basalt peaks, a multicoloured lagoon, slopes and valleys blossoming with hibiscus, perfect white sand beaches, the sound of beating drums, and the sight of Polynesian dancers. There has been a huge expansion of tourism, so many of the beaches are inaccessible because of the resorts with their over-water huts. The roads are busy with car and bus traffic, everywhere there are shops selling “rare” pearls, cruise ships fill the harbour, and prices at shops and restaurants are more suitable to cruise ship tourist budgets than ours. But we were still able to find a quiet anchorage in pristine water, a rugged path to hike up a mountain for a breath-taking panoramic view, a couple of good and affordable restaurants, a dance competition, and dozens of friendly Polynesians.
Bora Bora was our last stop in
Rarotonga (Cook Islands) – July 2007
We arrived at Rarotonga on July 14, departed on July 24.
Here are some interesting facts about the Cook Islands (thank you Moon Handbooks for some of this):
- They speak English with a Maori accent.
- The Cook Islands are an internally self-governing state in free association with New Zealand (the Islanders hold NZ citizenship and use NZ dollars). Without NZ aid, the Cooks would be bankrupt.
- One-third of the tourists to the Cooks are from NZ.
- Rarotonga is the largest Cook Island. Cook himself never actually saw Rarotonga.
- The only native mammals are bats and rats. We saw neither.
- The mutineers from “Bounty” gave the people of Rarotonga the seeds for their first orange trees.
- We found that Rarotonga was one of the few places in the South Pacific where oranges were affordable.
Niue – between Rarotonga and Tonga
We
arrived at Niue on July 29 after a rough and rocky five days at sea. Being on watch was a little challenging:
Is that a mountain? No, just a
wave. Is that a high-rise? No, just a wave. Is that a monster whale? Yes, I think it is. Oh, no, just a wave. We were glad to be on a catamaran.
Interesting
facts about Niue:
-
They
speak English with a Niuean accent (hard to describe: NZ and Chinese?).
-
It is
259 square miles, and is an elevated atoll, entirely of coral. (Canada’s smallest province, Prince Edward
Island, is 5660 square miles).
-
Population
is roughly 1500 – very low density.
-
Niue
is totally dependent on official aid from New Zealand.
-
Cook
nicknamed Niue “Savage Island”, but we found the people very friendly.
-
There is no transportation
system (typical of the small islands), so people offered to drive us where we
wanted to go. On our first day, the
Custom Agent drove us to a restaurant (the only one open on a Sunday) at the
end of the island, and then the owner of the restaurant drove us back to our
anchorage.
-
Most of the gravestones on
the island are new and elaborate. We are
wondering if some of the cyclone aid (Cyclone Heta) went into grave markers.
-
The
shoreline of Niue is very mean and extremely scenic. You don’t want to wash ashore here.
We
departed on August 2 and had a great sail to the Kingdom of Tonga. We’ll tell you about our adventures there in
our next update.
Tonga – August 5, 2007
We
were welcomed to the Kingdom of Tonga (the oldest and last remaining Polynesian
monarchy) by whales. Humpbacks mate in
this area at this time of year. We were
thrilled one night to be awoken by whale songs – we could here the eerie sounds
through the hulls of our boat. Nothing
can compare … to me it sounded like a mixture of high-pitched mooing, dogs
whining and owls hooting, skillfully and beautifully composed.
Tonga
is the furthest south that we have been so far, and we found the water a little
too cool for extended snorkeling, but the nights were nice and fresh. We wore sweaters a couple of times.
There
are over 150 islands in Tonga, and we visited the Vava’u Group. Our first stop was the scenic town of Neiafu
(population about 6,000) and we were delighted to find all sorts of shops and
services available, including high-speed wifi and great restaurants. Chocolate ice cream was scarce, but the fresh
lobster and tuna compensated. From
Neiafu, we could sail to a number of scenic anchorages with beautiful sand
beaches. If only the water had been a
little warmer.
The
routes of westward-bound cruisers are starting to converge, so we met up with a
lot of old friends here and met many new ones.
Most of us went to a fund-raising event (dinner, entertainment,
auctions, and raffles) to support the local library and education fund. We were proud to be part of the biggest and
best of such an event held in Neiafu to date.
Fiji – August 29, 2007
We
had a great sail to Fiji – four days, three nights with an average speed of
about 5 knots. Some highlights of the
sail were:
-
a
total lunar eclipse
-
a
family of squid jumping onto our deck and leaving all their ink behind
-
warming
temperatures
-
we
caught THREE fish – two tunas and one dorado
-
S/Y Talerra
and her crew arrived a number of hours ahead of us, gave us the coordinates for
the anchorage, and were in their dinghy at our mooring ball to help us get
settled for the night.
The
Fijian government was taken over by a military coup early this year. We didn’t notice any military presence,
except at Customs and Immigration, and the people seem to be leading pretty
normal lives. But we did see posters
that said “Are You Registered for the 2006 General Election?” and “Choosing
Your Government is Your Right”, and found them a little ironic.
We spent
half of our time in the smaller northern island of Fiji – Vanua Levu – and
anchored in the town of Savusavu in a well-protected bay. We were thrilled to finally find affordable
prices, and ate ashore as often as could be arranged. And there was lots of chocolate ice cream. We were also able to enlist the services of a
young Fijian man, Iosefu Semi, who cleaned all the squid ink off our boat for a
very reasonable price. He had to borrow
rain gear from us because he cleaned CanKata on a rainy day (nearly every day
in Savusavu was rainy), so we gave him the rain gear as a tip. We crossed paths with him a number of times,
and he greeted us like we were old friends.
We noticed that the Fijians were much friendlier than Tongans.
We
should point out that we are no longer in Polynesia. We are now in Melanesia, which encompasses
the Fiji Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and New Guinea. Melanesian means “black”, but there is now a
tremendous variety of cultures, races and languages that make up Melanesia.
Fiji was once known as the “Cannibal
isles” but no one had us for dinner.
We spent the rest of our Fiji
time at Malololailai Island in Musket Cove with hundreds of other
cruisers. We accidentally arrived in
time for Fiji Regatta Week, and what a week it was: entertainment from the locals, Pirate
attacks, swap meets, pig roasts, wet t-shirt contests, dressing up in costumes,
races of every type imaginable, a tug-of-war, dinghy parades, barbeques, happy
hours, … all the goofy things that cruisers long for after being too long at
sea.
We left for New Caledonia on September 22, and had an incredibly speedy passage. CanKata had her fastest day ever: 177 nautical miles in 24 hours! We only had to run the engines for a few hours to charge the batteries (no sun and our hard-working wind generator, Jenny, was being blocked by our main sail and taking a well-deserved rest). We were welcomed to New Caledonia by a big full moon.
New Caledonia – September 27, 2007
For our first morning at anchor in Prony Bay, New Caledonia, we were treated to an incredible moon set and lovely sun rise, but a chilly cabin – just 20°C! Sweaters, slippers and porridge were called for. We were now 22 latitudinal degrees south of the equator and it was early spring, so cool mornings and nights were usual. After enjoying warm waters in Fiji, we were again in cooler water temperatures – 25°C, which is lovely for a dip but not so good for extended snorkelling.
When we checked in at the city of Nouméa, we were greeted by a young quarantine officer who takes her job very seriously. She took away all our fresh fruit and vegetables, garlic, honey, eggs, popcorn and some garlic sausage. We stayed in a marina in Nouméa for a few days – quite unusual for CanKata, but necessary for some business we had to take care of (like buying popcorn). The lack of privacy and smelly water ensured that we were not tempted to stay longer than a few nights. So off we sailed (motored, actually, with the wind on our nose) to the Isle of Pines, appropriately named since it is scattered with 60-meter-high “columnaris” – tall skinny pine trees like none we’ve ever seen. This was a stunningly beautiful place with numerous white beaches and quiet, secluded anchorages. We returned to Nouméa ten days later only because we had to check out of Customs and Immigration from that point.
So we are on our way to Australia now, about 15,000 miles, as the crow flies, from where we started. Of course, we have logged a few more miles than that.
We feel like we have rushed through the South Pacific. Therefore, once the cyclone season is over and we are ready to leave Australia, we will probably head east instead of north – returning to Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands instead of moving forward with our circumnavigation. We think this area is worth revisiting.
But for now we are rushing to Australia, taking advantage of a good weather window and finding a safe haven before the cyclones start. No doubt we will have lots of stories from “Oz” for our next update. (See our “Latest News” page).
PEI – October 2007
Darrel and I often speak of PEI. “What’s PEI”, many a cruising friend has asked. The answer: Prince Edward Island – Canada’s tiniest province – land of red cliffs, green valleys, pristine beaches, foaming surf, and blue skies with popcorn clouds. Darrel’s mom, after visiting it and admiring its white beaches, called it “Canada’s Hawaii”.
We lived there for eight years, back when our son, Dylan, was still living at home. We loved it there. We lived in a rural setting, surrounded by trees, a short walk from the red clay beaches of the south shore, and where we could cross-country ski from our back door. We moved away when better jobs became available in Ottawa, and when Dylan was getting close to university age. Dylan was glad to move away from small-town PEI, where there were no buses to get him from place to place, where we sometimes were housebound in bad snow storms, and where we had to take a ferry to get to a large city.
“You’ll have great memories of this place”, we said to him as we flew away from the home of Anne of Green Gables, Cavendish Beach, storm days (when everything closed down because of too much snow), strawberry socials, blue jays, purple lupins, potato fields, sand dunes, and friendly, down-to-earth people.
We were right. Dylan has been drawn back to PEI. This winter, he, Laura, Tehja and Taylor are packing their bags and moving to PEI. They have bought a house close to where we once lived, and just a 3-minute drive to Dylan’s new job. We suspect that Dylan feels like he is moving home.
Still Enjoying Australia – December 2007
Here it is – the festive season. We hope everyone is having a wonderful time with family and friends, and we wish you all the best for 2008. We are having a great time! We have met up with our cruising buddies, Lynn and Nicholas from S/V Trius, and have met many new friends, including Diane and Kerry of S/V Nemo. We have no difficulty in finding someone to play with when the mood strikes us (which is often).
Our cruising ground in Australia has been mostly limited to the Gold Coast in Queensland. We have taken some road trips with our friends, but all have been within a 500-kilometer radius. Australia is a huge country, (the continent is 7,615,000 square km, Canada is 9,970,000) and it will be impossible to see much of it on our budget. We have also scratched from our list a trip to New Zealand because of the cost. But this doesn’t bother us. Our dream is to see what we can see from CanKata … we never did plan on taking many road trips. We’ve been lucky here in Australia – a number of friends have had access to vehicles so we’ve seen more sights than we planned.
We aren’t cruising in the nicest of waters. The inland waterway of the Gold Coast is actually cleaner than other inland waterways we have seen, but we still aren’t keen on doing much swimming in it, and definitely no snorkelling. The cruising grounds further north are supposed to be quite spectacular, but the box jellyfish, which are deadly, are mating there right now. Sydney harbour to the south sounds incredible, so we’ll head there in March before heading back to New Caledonia.
In the meantime, we are temporary citizens of the Gold Coast – not a bad location to spend winter. No snow, a decent amount of rain, lots of sun, and slim chance of a hurricane. Our kind of place.
2007 Summary
In 2007, we visited over forty islands in eight countries and travelled about 15,000 km. Here’s where we have been:
PANAMA: Panama City. La Playita. Las Perlas Islands: Isla Contadora, Isla Viveros, Isla Casaya, Isla Chapera, Playa De La Sueca, Espiritu Santo, Isla Cana.
FRENCH POLYNESIA: Marquesas: Hiva Oa, Atuona, Hanamoenoa, Fatu Hiva. Tuamotus: Ahe Atoll, Rangiroa Atoll. Tahiti. Moorea. Huahine. Tahaa. Raiatea. Bora Bora.
COOK ISLANDS: Rarotonga.
NIUE: Alofi Bay. Ana Ana Lookout. Anapala Chasm. Togo Chasm.
Avaiki Cave. Limu Pools. Makalea Cave.
TONGA: Neiafu, Vakaeitu, Kapa Island, Pangai Island, Euakafa Island, Mala Islet.
FIJI: Savu Savu (Vanua Levu). Makogai. Naigani Island. Nananu. Nukuivovo. Lautoka. Malolo Lailai. Musket Cove. Beachcomber Island. Namotu Beach. Momi Bay.
NEW CALEDONIA: Baie de Prony. Port Moselle Marina and Orphelinat (Nouméa). Baie Uie. Gadgi Bay (Isle of Pines). Port du Carenage.
AUSTRALIA: Manly, Wynnum, Peel Island, Horseshoe Bay, Gold Coast, Hope Island, Sanctuary Cove, Harbour Town, Coomera, Helensvale, Bums Bay, Brisbane, Blaksley Anchorage, Wavebreak Island, Runaway Bay, Tamborine Mountain, Burleigh Heads, Snappers Point, Point Danger, Springbrook Park, Town of 1770, Glass House Mountains, Agnes Waters, Noosa Heads, Bundaburg. More in 2008!
Still in Australia – March 2008
We have been in Queensland, Australia since October 22 and yes, we are anxious to get going again. Between the cyclone season, southerlies that won’t stop and northerlies that won’t kick in, we have been held captive at the Gold Coast. It’s a nice place, but a couple of months would have been long enough. We had planned a leisurely cruise down to Sydney – reportedly once of the most beautiful harbours in the world – but the winds wouldn’t cooperate.
In the meantime, our Aussie friends have generously taken us on road trips, so we now have the following places to add to the list of where we’ve been: Byron Bay, Nimbin (hippy town where they say “just say KNOW to drugs”), Tipplers, and O’Reilly’s Park near Lamington (where we walked in the tops of the trees), and the Binna Burra caves, also in Lamington Park. But CanKata has remained on the Gold Coast, snug as a bum in Bum’s Bay.
Heading North – April 2008
Cyclone season is over, our two new engines are installed and running smoothly, we have provisioned, our route is planned, and now it is time to head north, closer to the equator.
Autumn has arrived in Australia, and with it has come cooler weather, especially in the evenings. A fleece blanket is now a regular bedding item, which is unusual on CanKata. Long pants and sweaters (“jumpers” in Oz) are often needed, and this does not please the laundry lady (that would be me). While we will miss the comfort and friendliness of Bum’s Bay, we will certainly welcome a warmer climate.
We pulled anchor and said good-bye to Bum’s Bay on Thursday, April 10. Our rough itinerary is as follows:
Cairns by June 3, Darwin by July 20, Indonesia the beginning of August. We hope to join the Darwin to Indonesia rally that leaves Darwin on July 26, but haven’t received confirmation from the organizers yet. But, one way or the other, we will be leaving Australia at the end of July. We will have been here for nine months!
So far we are having a great trip up to Darwin, having anchored in great places with exotic names like Tangalooma and Mooloolaba. There are more crazy names to come, and we look forward to sharing them with you.
Stops along the way to Darwin
It was a long journey: Bum’s Bay to Darwin … over 2300 nautical miles. We left on April 10 and arrived on June 25, a couple of weeks ahead of schedule. We just couldn’t sit still while favourable winds were blowing.
It was a pretty amazing journey. We saw very little civilization and were surprised at the remoteness of this part of Australia. For most of the trip, the scenery was beautiful, with islands dotted here and there and rugged mountains lining the coast. We were disappointed in the water clarity and hardly snorkelled at all, but the fishing was good and the weather was fine. For part of the trip, we travelled with Sylvia and Gerd of “Daedalus”, and for another part we travelled with Diane and Kerry of “Nemo”. For the entire trip, we were constantly grateful for the comfort and safety that CanKata provided … she’s a wonderful yacht.
Some highlights:
April 12: Our first snorkel adventure in Australia took place at Tangalooma, a lovely resort spot.
April 17: Caught four edible crabs in Mooloolaba.
April 23: Crossed the dreaded Wide Bay Bar in big surf without incident, celebrated with sashimi.
See “Going to the bar” on our Latest News page.
April 28: Snorkelled at Lady Musgrave atoll. The sharks are getting bigger.
May 2: Can see the Big Dipper again, upside-down, close to the horizon.
May 6: Our misadventure in Yeppoon. See story on our Latest News page.
May 7: Starting to get nervous about crocodiles in the water (Port Clinton). Didn’t bathe off of CanKata’s scoops.
May 9: Admired yachties’ memoirs that filled up the shack at Percy Isle. We left an old Canadian flag behind.
May 10: Enjoyed coconuts and our first beach bonfire in Australia along with Daedalus and Double Dutch.
May 15: Thomas Island - our first Australian rock oysters, courtesy of Gerd (and his knife) from Daedalus.
May 16: On our way to Lindeman Island, Darrel commented, “It’s like we’re sailing through a mountain range”. Very scenic.
May 20: Bowen Marina – civilization. Got groceries, did internet, filled up with diesel, got cash, ate out.
May 21: Good-bye Daedalus. On our own in Shark Bay. Didn’t swim.
May 24: Opheus Island - visited some other boats to give away fish after landing a massive wahoo.
May 25: Heard a boat calling for assistance. They were stuck on a reef in Hazard Bay. Sounds like a place to avoid.
May 26: Did some fast sailing in 30 knot winds and 10 foot seas and found a calm anchorage at Mourilyan Harbour.
May 30: Met up with Nemo at Lizard Island, hiked to Cook’s Look Out, snorkelled again (out last time) and saw giant clams.
June 2: A “Coast-watch” aircraft hailed us on the VHF radio for our particulars (first of five times).
June 3: Saw cave drawings at Stanley Island National Park. Kept our eyes open for crocodiles, swam off scoops.
June 6: Night Island – saw crocodile tracks. Didn’t linger or swim on the beach, but did swim off scoops.
June 7: We are finally sleeping without a blanket, even though it is winter here.
June 9: Hiked to Indian Bay on a path well marked with blue-coloured debris. Found more blue debris for the path.
June 12: Cape York – hiked to the most northerly point on the Australian continent.
June 12: Seisia – many other Sail Indonesia Rally boats here. Potluck time!
June 13: Still in Seisia – another brief taste of civilization – internet, ice cream, fresh fruit and vegetables.
June 18: A full moon guided us across the Gulf of Carpentaria.
June 25: CanKata anchored in Fannie Bay, near Darwin. We are now in the Northern Territory – outback country.
Preparing for Indonesia
CanKata has joined the Darwin to Kupang rally that leaves July 26, 2008 and arrives in Indonesia about July 30. We’re pretty excited about it. There are 117 boats in the fleet, many of whom will also join a rally that takes us through Malaysia. Information about the rally is on www.sailindonesia.net .
According to the organizers of the event, during
the following three months we will be invited “to a series of Cultural
Festivals at different locations through Indonesia on the islands of Alor,
Lembata, Flores, Sulawesi, Bali, Java, Borneo and finally on to Batam just
south of Singapore. As in past years the Local Administration at each of these
Indonesian islands has planned a number of events which include a ceremonial
welcome and dinner as well as cultural and arts displays and also dance
performances. Participants will be able so see some of the more remote parts of
Indonesia away from the well-worn tourist areas, and will be able to experience
different peoples and their cultures, different lifestyles, different arts and
crafts and even different languages.”
Malaysia
CanKata joined another rally: Sail Malaysia, November 15 – December 20. We enjoyed a number of advantages of belonging to the Sail Indonesia fleet: handling of bureaucrats, no bond requirements, official welcomes, gala events with wonderful food and entertainment, organized tours, translators, radio networks, and the safety of fellow cruisers nearby. It is still possible to escape from the crowd for peace and quiet, and the price is right, so why not?
Information about this rally is on www.sailmalaysia.net . Here’s an excerpt from that site:
“From the unique unspoiled places waiting to be
discovered to world-class marinas, Malaysia is a country full of diversity and
wonderful surprises. Our role at Sail Malaysia is to welcome you at the
rally stops, coordinate events and festivities, and offer a dose of Malaysian
hospitality. Malaysia is blessed with a combination of diverse heritage,
natural marine beauty and excellent infrastructure. Rally participants can
live freely and safely for long periods in Malaysia, able to travel anywhere
around the world from any of our marinas with ease and without worry about the
security of their boats. Visiting Malaysia is hassle-free and ideal for a
long-term stopover.”
But this is what really got our attention: “Customs and immigration procedures in
Malaysia are straightforward and not complicated. In addition, we will
also arrange one-stop centre for customs and immigration clearance.” That alone was worth the entry fee!
Stops in Malaysia
Here is where we spent our time in Malaysia:
October 26 – November 17: at Danga Bay
November 2-4: a bus trip to Singapore
November
7: a bus trip to Kuala Lumpur
November 18–26: travel from Danga Bay to Lumut
November
20: at Pulau Besar
November
21: a day-tour of the city of Melaka
November 25-28: rally events in Lumut
November
28-30: set anchor and toured Pangkor Island
December
1-2: long journey to Penang Island
December 3-19: rally events, touring, shopping and
dining in Penang
December 19: expected departure date for Langkawi
December 20 to latter part of January: touring Langkawi
And then we will be heading for Thailand!
Until next update,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Loretta and Darrel
S/Y CanKata