Cooksails

The passage from Port Resolution, Vanuatu to Opua, New Zealand was not as painful as I expected. Thanks largely to expert forecasting provided stateside by my Dad, we managed to select a good window of weather to avoid any terrible conditions. Many would claim that an uncharacteristic display of patience was rewarded with a smooth […]

In sailing, there are two types of cruisers: those with freezers and the rest of us. The yachties with freezers lead a glamorous existence filled with filet minion, ice cream, and cold drinks. The rest of us subsist on an assortment of bland dry goods (i.e. pasta) and barely edible culinary imposters (i.e. powdered milk). […]

The concept of paradise varies with each individual and reflects our own unique values and our highly personal natures. Some people imagine paradise to be white sand beaches and clear blue water. Others consider paradise to be a lush forest dense with vegetation. For some, majestic mountains rising out of the sea embodies the pinnacle […]

After the difficult journey from Port Vila to Erromanga, we spent Monday afternoon relaxing on the boat. Our monopoly of the Dillons Bay anchorage came to an end in the evening, when a boat from New Zealand arrived and anchored near us. Prior to their arrival, a couple of men from the village rowed out […]

After only a week in Port Vila, Vanuatu, it is difficult to offer a fair assessment of the city or of the country. Initially, we were disappointed on approaching the island of Efate to find that rather than the towering volcanic peaks that we were expecting, there were only rolling hills draped in ever-present clouds. […]

In retrospect, my comparison between Lautoka and Chicago in my last journal entry was misguided. They are completely different. I like Chicago. A better comparison would be to New Jersey; although the island of Viti Levu is not shaped like an outstretched arm, I still consider Lautoka to be the armpit of Fiji. As my […]

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 […]