Passage Notes - Days 3 & 4 - FP (Raiatea) to Cooks (Palmerston Is.)

Finally...Fish On! Mahi-Mahi! The hunter becomes the hunted. This male/bull hit a pink-purple squid lure. At about 4' long (51"), he provided a bounty of fillets

Good Weather Conditions Continue - The Bonne Chance Charms Must Be Working

(Sylvia)

Day #3:

Another gorgeous day. When the wind dropped to the low teens we got to work replacing the wayward nut on the sail slide. We decided to check every single slide on the mainsail so we dropped the entire sail. While the jib kept us sailing along, we tightened every single nut on every single sail slide. Needless to say, this took a while as the boat was in constant movement, going side-to-side in the swells. By the late afternoon, we were pretty tired and decided to play it conservative/easy and keep the mainsail reefed, have dinner and start our watch system early to make sure we got enough R&R (rest and recovery).

Around 16:30 (4:30 p.m.) we both went to the back deck to reel in the fishing lines and relax. Just as Tom was about to reel in his first line - THWACK! A sudden sound - a fish strike! We could see it was a mahi mahi! Tom immediately began hauling in the fish on the hand line while I rummaged around for the gaff. No time for slowing the boat with the sails pulling smartly. As the thrashing fish neared the stern, we could see its shimmering blue, green and yellow mahi colors. It was a 4' long bull/male, but this was no time for gazing. I took control of the line while Tom reached down and with a hefty, well-aimed swing, and gaffed the fish behind the gills. Now almost dispatched, we held the panting fish on the swim step until we could administer the 'permanent sleep' with a merciful dagger to its distinctive, oversized forehead. It was a beautiful fish!! So much for our night of relaxation/recovery. It was "a mission" to process the fish and clean up the mess, but we were rewarded with a freezer full of delicious fillets. Sadly, we lost one of our favorite work buckets while cleaning off the swim step. The sea giveth and the sea taketh away. Maybe Tangaroa needed a new bucket. We paid homage to the Mighty Mahi and slipped the carcass into the sea and, as we transitioned from French Poly to Cook Island waters, I offered our second good-luck coin to Tangaroa. Thanks for the fish; enjoy our bucket.

We thoroughly enjoyed our fresh mahi mahi meal, but were eager to resume addressing our rest deficit condition. My 22:45 (10:45 p.m.) log entry: "Beautiful night. We're tired". Luckily, it would be another magnificent night and with our reduced sail plan, we finally gained our R & R.

That night we crossed our halfway point and I celebrated by enjoying a frozen cream cheese/peanut butter dark chocolate cup that Katie had made for us. Yum!!

The 24 hr stats for day #2: 
Distance made good = 140 nm; 
Distance sailed = 176. 'Penalty' = 21%. This is trending unfavorably.

Even with daily issues, the boat keeps sailing, moving forward, 24 x 7, and making mileage toward the next port.

Tourjours un Problems du Jour - Always a New Daily Problem

Day #4:

The genset is leaking water inside its soundproof case. When we were heeled over the first couple of days Tom noticed that water was dribbling out of the case that holds our little Panda genset (generator that recharges the batteries). Water in genset = NOT good. Our main Yanmar engine (aka Double D) will recharge the batteries, and we have solar panels as well, but with our refrigerator, freezer and now the auto-pilot that works 24/7 we need those batteries to get a good daily recharge. No genset = PITA (and no ice!).

Tom thought he had diagnosed the problem, a leak in the plugged hole that he and Captain Coconut had previously drilled into the exhaust elbow to clean it out (and fix a different PdJ). So he removed the screw/plug, cleaned it, resealed and rescrewed it. Problem solved! Later that day when we turned on the Panda, it still leaked. Dang! So we have yet to properly diagnose the problem. It won't be easy with all the hoses, hose clamps, etc. in that jam-packed jigsaw puzzle of a machine. (Update: tightened all hose clamps on seawater system an no more leak; however, the rotor/coil must still have residual moisture in it because now it sounds like popcorn or arching. Bad. So need to dry out the rotor/coil).

We constantly have to roll our eyes that there is always an unforeseen problem-of-the-day to be attended to. I won't list all the niggling things that we've dealt with on this journey, just believe me.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed another fabulous day on the water with brochure conditions. One of the highlights was a sushi dinner with nori, rice, and of course fresh mahi mahi (hamachi!).

That night (next a.m. actually) at 0200, while enjoying the moon and stars, my AIS (Automatic Information System) alarm went off. WTF? We hadn't seen a boat, ship or plane since leaving Raiatea. About 12 nm ahead of us was a large cargo ship, no doubt one that transits through the Cooks Island bringing cargo and goods to the various locations. Then Tom spied a plane in the sky heading toward Tahiti. The 204' cargo ship Layar Mas passed at a comfortably safe 2 nm, to port/left, going in the opposite direction, and was lit up like a cruise ship. Alarms sounding, boats to the left of us, planes overhead...all of a sudden it felt a little crowded out here!

The 24 hr stats for day #3: 
Distance Made Good = 148 nm. 
Distance Sailed = 171. Gybing 'Penalty' = 13%. Improvement.
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Passage Notes - Days 1 & 2 - FP (Raiatea) to Cooks (Palmerston Is.)

Mainsail, full hoist, sunset backlight  as we depart French Poly for the Cook Islands.

Two and a half years after arriving in French Poly Cinnabar departs again for new distant lands.

Passage Making - Refreshing Rusty Skills:

Day #1, Sunday 23 September 2018: After many goodbyes to our good friends in Raiatea we sailed out the western pass of Raiatea at 15:30 (3:30 p.m.) bound for the open sea and Palmerston Atoll in The Cook Islands, a distance of 675 nm (nautical miles). Katie on Pangaea had given us some good luck charms: one to keep to help insure good weather and two French Polynesian franc coins with which to make offerings to Tangaroa, God of the sea. We tossed the first coin in the water as we exited the island reef pass. The good luck charm, a small bag holding a beautiful pearl from the Tuamotus and a shiny, virgin French Polynesian coin would have pride of place on Sharkie's belt. (Sharkie...our little stuffed San Jose Sharks Hockey mascot keeps constant vigil at our mast).

We quite literally sailed due west into the sunset, on our bow, and a full moonrise, coincidentally on our stern. And yes, some proverbial good luck dolphins also escorted us away. Wow!

We expected rambunctious weather for our first night and that's what we got. Winds in the high 20's and steep swells from different directions made it a challenge to get our "sea legs". Luckily the wind and seas calmed down a bit before midnight and even though it was challenging for the off-watch down below trying to sleep, it was magnificent for the on-watch up above. The skies were mostly clear and bright due to the nearly-full moon and all in all it was a glorious night as Cinnabar whizzed fast westward with a fully reefed mainsail (reef = reduce sail area by dropping it a bit and securing it) to reduce the bounciness of the waves and a reefed jib to slow the speed and keep the near runaway boat under control.

Brochure Sailing. Sunset Daily Grog Ration. Sublime Condx from our "Living Room"

Brochure Sailing - This Never Happens:

Day #2: It was a beautiful day at sea with moderated winds in the teens. The sea was still bumpy with 2.5 meter swells coming from different directions, but at least they were smoother and not as steep as the day before. We shook the reef out of the mainsail and continued happily on our journey.

In the afternoon, during a maneuver (probably gybing), Tom found a nylock nut on the deck. Uh oh, loose hardware = not good. Where did it come from and what was going to come apart? A while later I came up from resting and saw Tom lying on the deck with the binoculars staring at the mast. "I think the nut came from the top batten car", he announced. I looked too and sure enough, that car (they are the things that slide up and down mainsail track and keep the sail attached to the mast), looked different from the others. All of the cars had a shiny nut on the bottom but the offending car, WAY up high (60'), did not. It was too windy and too late to do anything about it that day so we put it on the "to do" list for tomorrow.

At 15:30 we took our 24 hr. stats: 154 nm "distance made good" (avg 6.4 kts), and 173 nm actually sailed (avg 7.2 kts). What is "made good" vs "actually sailed"? Due to the direction of the wind Cinnabar cannot sail directly to our destination, instead we sail angles so we actually sail more miles than we would "as the crow flies". This is effectively a 21% penalty against optimum efficiency.

That night was the true full moon, it was clear with few clouds and we were feeling bold so we decided not to reef the mainsail. Cinnabar hauled ass with her full sail configuration. More good times! Although it was great fun for the on-watch (Sylvia) above deck, the fast speeds made for a bit of a lurchy hell for the off-watch (Tom) trying to sleep below. Tom got up from (not) sleeping and suggested we reef the mainsail to make things more comfortable. He had no sooner geared up and come up on deck when a big wave washed over the side deck and fully drenched Tom and one of our bean bag chairs! Soooo not fair. At least if was warm water and warm temps outside. We reefed the sail, dried out and got better rest for the remainder of the night. The thing about these night time maneuvers is that one or both crew invariably lose some of their sleep time, hence the potential sleep debt that can build up over time.

Nevertheless we were happy about our trip so far. The big question was would these sublime conditions hold?

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A New Chapter For CINNABAR - Leaving Frech Poly. for New Zealand

Now that the guests have departed we are busily attending to all the projects that will make for a safe passage from French Polynesia to Palmerston Atoll and then on to Niue and Tonga. From Tonga we will head to our final (this season) destination of New Zealand.

We have a list of things "to do". NOT on the list was this one: While checking the wire from the Single Side Band (HF) antenna tuner to the backstay (which turns the backstay into a very tall antenna) we discovered the tuner wire was undergoing corrosion. 

The radio has been working fine and it is our lifeline to checking in while underway, for downloading weather forecasts and even getting email from one of our accounts. But that corroded wire was a ticking time bomb and it was much better to replace it while at anchor than during a rambunctious passage.

Boat yoga? This would have been nearly impossible to do under way.

To access the bottom of the antenna insulator Tom had to go upside down in the aft locker and reach the nut at the very back of the boat between the ladder. I didn't get the insulator in the picture but the little arrow is pointing to it. The corroded wire is hanging down. 

We had a lovely farewell dinner with our friends Mike and Katie from PANGAEA at the Raiatea Lodge restaurant. Then we remembered it was our 30th anniversary of being together so we turned it into a bit of a celebration.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Our lifestyle is one of hellos and goodbyes. We look forward to catching up to friends we've said farewell to in the past but it is sad to say farewell to the friends we have here.

When you next you hear from us we will probably be underway, heading westward. 

Captain and Mrs. Coconut visit CINNABAR

Ahhhh...back in the tropics!

Our friends Rob and Nancy from SHINDIG were able to squeeze a visit to French Polynesia into their super busy schedule. I'm pretty sure they welcomed a break from all their home improvement tasks. They got to do a bit of work aboard SHINDIG for a few days and then they boarded Cinnabar (loaded with swag for us of course) for a week and a half of sailing, snorkeling, and basic R&R. 

Just a few highlights:

Our first night at anchor we traveled to a small anchorage we had heard about near one of the eastern passes out of Raiatea. We slowly picked our way through a pearl farm, Rob on the bow looking for buoys under the water, and wedged CINNABAR into a tiny space tucked next to a motu out of the wind. There was no room to swing so Rob paddled to shore on his SUP with a long line which he tied to a tree. We dropped our anchor, backed down, and winched in the shore line until CINNABAR was secure. The boys thought this was all great fun but I admit to being a bit nervous about the set-up. Luckily the weather cooperated and we enjoyed a calm evening.

Check out the line stretched out behind the stern. An anchoring first for CINNABAR.

The next day we reversed the procedure, sailed out the pass and headed for Huahine. It was a brisk and sporty day and we made record time with a reefed mainsail and jib. The entire trip from pass to pass was about 3.5 hours. Not bad for 26 miles. 

Captain Coco at the helm. Very sporty weather!

While in Huahine we spent a lot of time in the water. 

Ready to snorkel in Fare, Huahine.

The swell was up and Tom and Rob had a great day of surfing, Tom on his board and Rob on his SUP. Other activities included an island tour for Rob and Nancy, and Nancy got invited to a musical recital performed by four girls from the two kid boats in the anchorage. Being a musician herself, Nancy also performed as a guest.

During the end of their trip we managed to arrange one or two happy hours with some other fellow cruisers.

Reconnecting with Mike and Shelley on AVATAR.

They ended their trip with a stay at the Raiatea Lodge and treated us to a gourmet meal. Wow! 




Thanks Nancy and Rob for all your generosity! (And the Don Julio that we are saving for our arrival in New Zealand in November.) Your visit felt way too short and we'd love to see you aboard CINNABAR again. 



P.S. We can't wait to see your new house.

Sister Sonja and Erik visit CINNABAR

Welcome to French Polynesia!!

It's been a good season for visitors here in les Iles-sous-le-vent, aka leeward islands of French Polynesia. Sonja and Erik managed to squeeze in a visit and they were blessed with (mostly) excellent weather and the some of the best snorkeling conditions we've seen here.

They pretty much did a reverse trip version of Joe and Lisa's visit, starting in scenic Avea Bay, Huahine. Their taxi driver happened to also be a tour guide and for the price of taxi fare she also gave them a mini-tour of the island before dropping them off. They had copious amounts of luggage filled with goods for us and select bottles of booze and a few bottles of excellent Ridge wine. Oh how I miss those California zinfandels!

Of course we had to do the Polynesian traditional pit-cooked Sunday brunch at Chez Tara and it was delicious and plentiful as usual.

We stayed in Avea Bay for six days because the snorkeling was absolutely outstanding. The waves were down so currents were light and the visibility was super clear. We snorkeled our favorite spots and explored some new ones too. 

Just another gorgeous sunset in paradise!

But eventually it was time for a change of scenery so we motor-sailed up to the town of Fare to get ready to head to Raiatea.

This paddler drafted off our wake and kept up with us for quite a while...at 6.5 knots!

One of the favorite excursions we had in Fare was a visit to the Passion Distillery. The owner Christian is passionate (hence the name) about distilling liqueurs in all the tropical flavors, passion fruit, pamplemousse, ginger, citron, cacao, nuts, coconut, pineapple, and the list goes on. We tasted many and purchased a favorite and left by 11:00 with a slight buzz.

Christian and his wife Rosie who poured our tastings for us.

Erik liked this sign at the town dock in Fare. We wondered if this was put up after someone drove into the water? 

The next day we motor-sailed in light breeze to Taha'a where we anchored for the evening. Sonja and Erik were able to get a quick snorkel in before the sun set. 

A little more wind would have been nice but otherwise it was a great day.

Raiatea was our next stop and we spent the afternoon and night at the Carenage anchorage before starting our Raiatea circumnavigation. We had a great afternoon snorkel in the pass and saw lots of fish, lion fish coming out of their caves and our first nudibranch sighting of the year. Two nudibranchs together (doing what?)! 

Erik relaxing at the anchorage before the big wind event.

Sonja had been saying that she wanted to get some sailing in and she sure got her wish. Because the next day the winds were coming from the NE and were predicted to be quite windy we chose to circumnavigate Raiatea counter-clockwise which would put us at a south anchorage (hopefully) out of the wind. As soon as we got out of the pass to head south the katabatic winds came screaming over the mountains. We were under jib only and were seeing 8.5-9.5 knots of boat speed, i.e. FAST. We had a very sporty sail back into the SW pass and it was slightly too much excitement as we navigated CINNABAR through the narrow channel while 30 knot gusts came over the mountains.

We eventually reached our destination and were happy to find an available mooring ball. The weather was still windy but a little bit more settled there and the next day we had an excellent snorkel session.

After snorkeling we continued east and northward until we got to our destination of the famous Taputapuatea Marae. 

A fun and educational day at Taputapuatea

We've talked about this magical marae, which was the traditional spiritual center of Polynesian navigation, in past posts. The one special thing we did this time was make an offering. One of our favorite aunts who passed away a few years ago had made some seashell earrings years earlier (lots of them as wedding favors). We added them to the offering alter and had a short, silent meditation, feeling the mana (spirit). 

Aunt Lynette's earrings hanging from a shell necklace.

Unfortunately Sonja and Erik had to fly home soon so after spending the night near Taputapuatea we had to complete the circumnavigation and head back to the anchorage near the airport. The weather was becoming overcast and squally and by that night the first squall hit.

The next morning in the rain we loaded up the dinghy with Sonja, Erik and their much diminished luggage. They got out of Raiatea in the nick of time before several days of bad weather.

Good Vacation!!

MYSTERY OBJECT: in the last blogpost we had a mystery object which nobody took a stab at trying to identify.

ANSWER: it is the inside of a SPROUTED COCONUT! (Check out the link.) It has taste and texture like a mildly sweet coconut sponge cake. Who knew cake grew on trees?

Sonja and Erik, you were terrific guests and you are welcome any time!

Link to ALBUM 

Sisters!!