Audentes

One of the challenges of cruising is finding an anchorage that has clean water to swim in and enough activities ashore to allow for interesting forays inland. Typically, the more developed a town, the more polluted the harbor. Pristine anchorages are often accompanied by impassable dense forests or exhausting soft sand. In this way, Musket […]

In the waning days of summer in the northwestern hemisphere and of winter in the southeastern hemisphere our fearless battle to secure permission to visit the Lau Islands of Fiji reached its climax. Or, more accurately, the tiresome episode came to an appropriately feeble conclusion. Having received word from the police on Friday that our […]

I will preface this update by stating, up front, that absolutely nothing of interest happened this week. In an attempt to have some achievement to show for this otherwise unremarkable week, I have decided to challenge myself to include in this journal entry a reference to Lord Chesterfield’s views on sex, to use the word […]

As the largest city in the South Pacific, Suva feels like a bustling metropolis after the months spent on uninhabited islands and in small villages. There is a huge market, crowded streets, and plenty of tempting restaurants. Heading ashore, the heavy industry surrounding the harbor slowly gives way to busy streets full of tiny shops […]

Three weeks in Tonga was enough. Impatiently awaiting a weather window and not inclined to sit around waiting for the King to die, we decided to leave the waters of Tonga and head for the roti-rich islands of Fiji. After spending all of Monday clearing out, we departed on Tuesday morning. Prior to leaving Tonga, […]

In 1777, Captain Cook arrived in Tonga while on his third voyage. Inspired by the kind reception from the natives, he named the group “the Friendly Islands.” Little did he know that while the savages were wining and dining him, they were actually plotting to massacre his entire crew and plunder his ships. Fortunately, the […]

For those readers who have followed my journey since the beginning, they will probably have noticed a decline in the quality of the journals sometime around March 2005. The reason for this decline was that the original writer, my brother Brian, decided to pursue a life ashore, including the opportunity to get paid for his […]

Lord please watch over all these lost children, Going to chase a hurricane. Please shine a light down on those who wander, Filled with hunger and pain. Please raise wind for all those out sailing, On an ocean alone. Lord shed a light on all these lost children, Far away from their home. Lord keep […]

On Monday night, we enjoyed our last hours in French Polynesia by going ashore for drinks and food. The drinks were consumed at the happy hour of the venerable Bali Hai Hotel, which conveniently is the location of the main dinghy dock in Cook’s Bay. Every evening, the owner, Muk, presides over a friendly group […]

It is hard to believe that someone can have a busy and stressful week in Tahiti, but here we are. As we raced to get the boat ready for the long passage to Tonga, where we are scheduled to meet my family later this month, we are reminded how difficult it is on a sailboat […]