CYAN:Westbound, Around!

2011-11-04T01:56:00.000-07:00

I just listened to this program from This American Life. It was presented earlier this year and you may have heard it. It will only be available for listening for about another week and then I think they start charging $1for back copies. It was fascinating and well worth the time to take a listen.

The subject this The History of Money

2011-09-15T01:59:00.000-07:00

Here are photos from our travels around Croatia that just briefly touch on the beauty of this wonderful country. We really loved it there. We were most impressed with the fact that it has remained so civilized for so long...since early man... and was not as damaged by the dark ages. It has also remained seriously Christian since the first century followers. The scenery is just beautiful each place we looked: from the country villages, to the mountains, to the ancient fairy-tale like cities. We enjoyed ancient Roman ruins, Palaces, Castles, Monasteries, still working aqueducts from Roman times, nature walks, and even Hospital visits when I broke my wrist. But the Doctors don't look as yummy as the Croatian doctor on ER did! We just couldn't show everything here on the BLOG!

Wall around Dubrovnik

Architectural accent on building in old Dubrovnik

Rugged coastline

View at our anchorage while going between islands

Church near Marco Polo's House in Korcula

Local craft in Korcula

Lynn enjoys the flowers at a local market in Trogir

CYAN at anchor at a small village of Luka on the Island of Sipan

Monestery from 12th century on Mljet, pronounced miliet

At anchor in National Park Island of Mljet

Medieval wall along some city

Trogir rooftops withCYAN in distance

Trogir storefronts

Trogir courtyard

Exploring Knidos, Turkey

2011-07-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

What fun to pretend we are archeologists and try to see ancient buildings in big piles of block and wonderfully carved marble. That’s what the old port city of Knidos in Turkey is today.

Looking through the theater across the stoa or market

Here below is the fallen church facing east and curved on that end with a baptismal well.

On the left is me holding a carved shard of pottery, of course!

From 400 BC to 1000 or so AD it was a prosperous port and educational center in the Carian Empire exporting all kinds of products around the Med and famous for it’s builders and educators. One was the builder of the lighthouse in Alexandria; Sostratus, quite famous. Another, Praxiteles sculpted the statue “Aphrodite of Cnidus” there and it was said to be so enticing that it had to be covered to keep men in line! It was the first life-sized female nude statue.

This city was even known as a medical center. As yet very little has been done to excavate the damage of time, war and earthquakes. This made walking all around the site even more intriguing. We could try to imagine how the buildings were used by ancient civilizations. It was quite a large city covering hills on both sides of the isthmus where it was filled between two islands to form two harbors: one for defense and one for trade. Knidos was rediscovered from rubble in 1812 but not even sorted for over 100 years. Some university in Russia is working on it now.

The main street of marble steps going up the hill

Just part of a column laying right at the waters edge

Today there are just cruise boats and a restaurant and you can see CYAN there among them. We took long walks in the morning and got lots of exercise before taking off for the next stop.

CYAN is just to the right of the catamaran in the center.

Info on:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knidos

Here is the “loud ass” that woke us up!!!

Istanbul

2011-07-11T23:13:00.000-07:00

Istanbul Skyline

While CYAN was docked in Finike...we had paid for a months dockage to have some work done ...we flew to Istanbul for a few days. That’s all it takes to see the main attractions there but they are interesting and exotic.

Hagia Sophia

The architecture of the Hagia Sophia was so remarkable for it’s early age and it has made it through the ages so well considering the fact that it was turned into a mosque and then into a museum. We have included a photo the icon of Christ that is in so many art books. It was inspiring to see this artwork in it’s element and to so many others like it in detail.

Icon of Christ

We visited the Topkapi Palace. This huge Ottoman palace is where hundreds of wives and concubines were housed for 400 years and the most you could say is that it’s really big and very over done with not much architectural significance or consistency that I could see. There is some culture and history and the gardens were nice. The middle-easterners really get into rugs and pillows and tiles all in a vast number of contrasting designs and colors. There were huge numbers of jewel encrusted weapons and decorative items on display that we had to wait in lines to see....then wondered why! Sort of overwhelming!

Tiles at Topkapi Palace

We saw the gigantic Blue Mosque that the residents all want to make sure you see but we were not as impressed with it as we were the Hagia Sopia. No one says “you must see the Hagia Sophia” because it was originally built as a church...they all want you to see the Blue Mosque. It is just big and blocky and almost trying to outdo the Hagia Sophia. It was built almost 1000 years later. It has thousands of textured tiles stuck all over it instead of icons and levels but they make for a beautiful interior view.

Exterior of Blus Mosque

Interior of Blue Mosque

On another note...the tile murals in the public transportation stations areas were just amazing. Turkey has some great new artists coming along today. I was very entertained as a modest ceramic worker myself, to see them all over Istanbul and loved them all.

We also might mention that the food in Turkey is really some of our favorite. We have especially liked the food since coming to the middle east and it’s been quite a surprise.

Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar was grand but there were no bargains to be found at all. the vendors were very polite and friendly though.

We made a special effort to visit a Church, turned mosque, turned museum in north Istanbul called Chora Church known for out standing ancient frescos and mosaic icons dating 1300's and the foundation of the building from 600AD when it was a monastery. We really liked the curious design and were impressed at the quality of the work...inspirational!

Chora Church

As much as we liked Istanbul, it just doesn’t compare to the wonderful coastal towns. The people and the villages and the markets with their fresh veggies are making Turkey such a joy and now we can see why some of our cruiser friends have been raving about it here and we have made a special effort to get here.

We are at Topkapi Gardens overlooking the Bosphorus,

the body of water connecting the Black Sea to Sea of Maramara

CYAN in Israel

2011-06-17T00:48:00.001-07:00

Dome of the Rock where in days way back, Abraham is said to have been willing to sacrifice Issac. It is a Mosque...OF COURSE....and they are a bit fussy about letting anyone see inside.

We truly loved traveling around Israel and went to Jerusalem twice, there is so much to see.

We hope these few pictures show what a great time we had. there is just so much history and archeology. It brings back old Bible stories and makes them come alive.

For example our marina was In Ashkelon which is where Goliath, the giant that David slew with his sling, was from; the home of the Philostines. We visited Jaffa near Tel Aviv where Jonah boarded his ship for his "alleged encounter with the great fish". We saw Caesaria, built by Herod as a port and show place and where Paul was taken prisoner on a ship to Rome but escaped in a storm. We saw the beautiful Sea of Gallilee where so much of Jesus teaching took place. There was the whole of Jewish history in Jerusalem and the surrounding towns. We saw some of the Dead Sea Scrolls in a museum and later visited Qumron where they were discovered in a cave.

We must especially mention seeing the actual burial tombs of Abraham, Sarah, Issac, Rebecca, Leah and others called the tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Hebron. The documentation of the sale of this hill to Abraham where the tombs are is right in Genesis, we looked it up! Hebron is held by the Palestinians and security is tight. They only allow a small access to the ancient Temple there.

Steps in a dug up place in the jewish Quarter in jerusalem

St marks in Jerusalem, the world's oldest christian Church with the Upper Room of the Last Supper in the basement...also pretty well documented.

Park in the Jewish Quarter...all of Israel is so much greener than we expected....and lush.

Muslim market where the best buys and cheapest food was in Jerusalem.

Notes of prayer requests left in the Western Wall of the ancient remains of the original Temple in Jerusalem.

Life in Jerusalem showing some of the Orthodox and Ultra Orthodox.
Crusader Castle from the early Middle Ages in Northern Israel
Chuck is impressed by "Dollies" with guns!!! We were in the ancient City of David right by Jerusalem and was there before the Temple was built by Solomon his son.

Dome of Church of the Holy Sepluchre on the location where the crucifixion took place but it's doubtable...still well decorated and way old!!!

Some of the Walls in Jerusalem

Street in Jerusalem

We are now in Turkey and will be adding pages soon.

Touring Egypt

2011-04-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

While the boat was left in a marina on the Red Sea coast, in early April, we traveled from Hurghada, to Luxor, Egypt, by local bus for 5 grueling hours but only costing us $6 each. We plan to travel cheaply stay in very basic hotels so we can enjoy our future travels longer, especially in the Med and Europe where it's so expensive. We really began to enjoy the middle eastern food that was so cheap and well flavored with interesting spices.

The main attractions to see in Luxor are: Luxor Temple. The Temple at Karnac and the Valley of the Kings, Queens and Nobles which is a series of tombs that are highly decorated to pay tribute to dozens or more Egyptian rulers. Here we found a vast amount of art and architecture to check out. These 2 "gigantically huge temples" are each about the size of athletic stadiums and meant for a fair amount of walking. I know that sounds redundant but I want to emphasize their size!

Luxor Temple entrance gatres

Approach to the Temple at Karna collimate where 134 columns held up a rock ceiling

Karnac columns and carvings

Decorated details that completely cover all columns and walls showing customs and traditions between gods and mortals and royals. Some of the original colored paint that was applied 3000+ years ago can often be seen. All the temples were almost completely covered by sand, inside and out when they were discovered at various times in the 1800's and early 1900's.

Ramses 11 at Luxor Temple. He just couldn't promote himself enough so he made himself a god!

Structure at the Valley of the Kings where mummies were prepared. Took 18 years to build and was used once!

Chuck inspects a statue of Horus at this god's Temple, south of Luxor on the Nile. He has the head of a hawk and often the body.

On the Nile, a traditional fuluka sailing vessel passes an ancient village carved into a hillside.

We hold a door key to Nefertiri's temple at Abu Simbel, which is in the shape of an ankh. The ankh is very often portrayed in mural artwork and stands for good life, long life, eternity, whatever.

Abu Simbel:

From Luxor we traveled 4 more hours further south to Aswan. The photos above are from Abu Simbel which is a complex of structures south of Aswan and almost to Sudan on the Nile. We stopped at 2 other temple locations on our way down by hired car...a real luxury compared to the bus!

Aswan and the Abu Simbil visit was the highlight of our trip and it was challenging to go there. We got up at 3 am to take the additional 4 hour bus ride to the location and arrive at 8am before the impressive heat begins. You gotta really want to go to this place! These 2 hollowed out mountains are fronted with sculpted facades and they have elaborately decorated temples inside.

What is really amazing is that, in the 1960's, UNESCO completely disassembled them and rebuilt them 20 stories higher on a cliff because a giant dam was being built to control the Nile flooding. These temples were originally built to commemorate Ramses11 and his favorite wife, Nefertiri, as they were becoming gods, according to the decree of Ramses11 himself. The mountain structures were cut into refrigerator sized, or larger, blocks, then reassembled and patched so well that they show almost no sign of damage. We were really impressed by their original splendor and the amazing feat of moving them.

Later, while still in Aswan, we visited the Botanical Gardens and the Nubian Museum before returning to the boat and to prepare to go through the Suez Canal.

CYAN in Egypt, finally!

2011-04-05T01:30:00.000-07:00

What a warm thrill it is to have a pretty good net connection to read all the emails, FB messages, and Blog comments realizing that so many folks at home and abroad were thinking about us...I keep getting misty eyed!

We are doing very well now, and reached Egypt after the improvished Sudan but still 120 miles to go north before we can leave our boat at a marina in Hurghada and see the ancient sights in Egypt...and PLAY as our reward for all this past stress. Ahhh, hotels!

We had to stop just south of our goal in Hurgada, Egypt because the wind always comes head on from the north and it just got too strong to go forward into it So on Sunday, 9 boats all pulled into a resort marina in Port Ghalib [25 deg 32 min N, 34 deg 38min E]....cheap but no laundry or food shopping but they have a TGIFridays!!! I haven't gone out to dinner in months, it seems....Yemem didn't count...it was just sustenance!

Plenty of water here to wash 3 months of dirt and salt off the boat...unbelievable grunge!!

This resort here is empty due to the revolution and unrest here...or whatever happened in Egypt...we aren't sure but we think it's over now. When we do get to travel it should be uncrowded and cheaper. We expect to go thru the Suez Canal in about a month then revel in our sailing in the Med and seeing old friends in Turkey who came thru last year.

We expect todock in Cyprus in the fall [but things can change] where a new marina gave us a super cheap deal to leave the boat over next winter. We can easily fly to Lebanon and Israel during cold weather. But before that, during this coming summer, we plan to sail in Turkey and maybe to Croatia where we hear it's beautiful and not too expensive.

We may sell the boat in the Med...maybe a 25% chance if there is interest...but will probably sail to US in one year from this December as soon as hurricane season is over. All depends on how expensive Europe is and if we are still doing well.

This whole ordeal was the most severe thing we have ever done and it's such a relief to have it over and get back to normal life...or what goes for normal for us. You all will never know how much these thoughts meant to us during the trying times we have had.

We still pray for the family in captivity in Somalia from Denmark and for the relatives of our friends on Quest.

Sudan

2011-03-25T06:45:00.000-07:00

We have been in Suakin, Sudan for 3 days now and all I have done is clean dirt off all kinds of stuff. This place was a port over 3000 years ago and it looks like it hasn't changed much. What looks like bomb ruins is just what is left when the rich folks in the old city took their house building blocks with them when Port Sudan was made the main port city about 100 years ago. The new town is like life 200 years ago...all folks in traditional dress...turbans and long wraps...goat is the only meat in the butcher shop! The fresh veggies and fruit are really good but the selection very basic. We do plan a trip to the local history museum...it is quite interesting here.

We will make it north from here to our first stop in Egypt, 450 miles away, probably in short hops to reef anchorages to avoid driving into 20 knots of wind from the north. We might get a break and 3 good days to go overnight and make some way but we will have to see in 2 days when we get back out there on the water, just what it's like. BTW, a reef anchorage doesn't have protection from the wind like a cove of land...it is just anchoring inside big areas of coral that usually protects somewhat from the waves for comfort. They can be challenging to enter with just the right light so we can wind our way through the "crunchy stuff".

There are no facilities for internet or getting money here but not much to buy anyway and the food in the simple restaurant is very simple, dry and overcooked. The folks are very poor but so friendly and welcoming. I gotta say that after navigating Eritrea where all the navigation markers were gone, it's a treat to have well kept up reef and anchorage markers...and some are outstanding...like tall white pillars...little Washington monuments on a coral reef!!! We have 15 boats in this anchorage that couldn't take many more...and there are more coming. We plan to leave tomorrow but we will wait 2 days at least and see.

I am finally over my dreadful respiratory flu...Chuck got to do some snorkeling and found the coral remarkable but few fish. I still hope to get in but the water and weather is getting cooler.

We will keep posting with another check in soon
Lynn and Chuck on CYAN

Safe at last!

2011-03-14T21:39:00.000-07:00

We finally got to a point 100 miles north of Bab al Mandeb after making the passage on March 11 and then anchoring with the Vasco de Gama Rally (9 boats) behind the cape at Ras Terma. We took off Sat AM and made it to another safe but rolly anchorage south of Great Abail Island, with old cinder cone volcanos on it at

13 deg 52.84 min N and 41 deg 59.12 min E.

We plan to stay here 2 days and nights to avoid northern winds and also because I have a flu or some sort of respiratory infection and we both needed a break.

Our friends Eddie and K. P. on the yachts Chulupa and Joceba, came in to this anchorage last night. We parted with them 50 miles before the Red Sea opening, 3 days ago, because they wanted to go thru at night against the full tidal current we decided to transit Bab al Mandeb the next day. We are too old for that kind of rolling around into choppy swell ...but they made it fine and so did we.

We are very thankful to finally relax and only worry about weather and boat systems as usual. Now we will carefully watch the weather avoiding the northerlies until we get near Port Sudan, about half way to Suez. From there it's all northerlies and we just have to choose light blows to motor into. That's called using the "iron sail"!!!

Our 38th wedding anniversary is coming up March 23, and we plan to celebrate it in Egypt with a stainless steel polishing party (we hope we can find people to come).

more later and photos someday...who knows when we will have access to internet.

Lynn and Chuck in CYAN

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more Aden

2011-03-07T01:28:00.000-08:00

Typical Yemeni boat

I just got a chance to read all the comments to my past posts and still have tears in my eyes knowing that so many old friends, family and even folks who don't know us have given us encouragement and concern. My net time is so limited or I would answer each one. Please know how much this means to both of us.

We are so ready to leave here but the weather is not cooperating with 25 knot winds and 6'sea but at 4 second intervals makes for a bumpy ride.

I was so thrilled that my blog was published on the Cruising World magazine website. And also that the SSCA even stopped the presses to add it to the latest bullitin. We want more folks to know the dangers here so yhey can do something to make it safer.

We hope to leave in 2 days either with the other 2 boats or sailing behind the rally that is also here. We are only 250 miles from the safe area!

At least there is time to see the area in the dafe zones and get more laundry done!

article is at
http://www.cruisingworld.com/how-to/seamanship/stress-in-the-gulf-of-aden

Lynn and Chuck in CYAN

What a relief!

2011-03-05T07:03:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, March 3, CYAN entered Aden harbor just before dawn. A rally of boats that had come in just before us and we, 3 boats with tired and stressed crew, had to anchor in the dark while dodging boats, platforms, and huge moorings. We got to sleep at 6:30 am. So here we are right in the middle of the Yemeni revolution, and even hearing gunfire at night, but still we feel safer than on the pirate infested sea. When we went food shopping, yesterday, our taxi driver told us he was part of the protest and carried the flag in some parade. BTW, the supermarket was such a joy...the best since Australia...better than Singapore because it is so much cheaper. Reminded me of my beloved Kroger!!! Or Ralph's in LA! They did have incense burning, whole skinned lambs hanging up and 5 kinds of feta cheese....a litttle different.

We went to dinner with the crews of Chulupa, Koi and KP, and Joceba [that I have been spelling wrong], Claudia, 3 year old Angelo and Edi. We all celebrated our safety but mourned the sad loss of Quest and worried about getting news of ING and another vessel that is rumored to have been taken.

About the photos...one shows our route across the Ocean where each diamond is 24 hours. The triangles show the high danger zone rectangle...we went just SW of it. The skull is where Quest was captured and the '!' is where ING was taken.....right on our path just a few days later. The photo with the arrowheads shows how we see ships with the AIS on our chartplotter screen...they are in a close convoy, often with a military escort. The wordage photo shows the kind of info we get on the ships...and as we come to the Suez we will be in company with many. The big ships are usually so nice to talk to on the radio.

The other shows Aden Harbor. Some fishing vessels look like what I imagined the Apostles fished from 2000 years ago only without the Yamaha! The hillside buildings look as they did 1000 years ago and it is all quite interesting. The folks are friendly and welcoming here. Most of the women are completely covered in black with just eyes showing and on the day of worship, Friday, the men were often in complete white garments. The harbor area is very well protected during the unrest. We expect to leave in 2 days, maybe Tuesday, if the strong winds die down a bit. It's supposedly blowing 50 knots at the Red Sea Entry at Bab El Mandeb 90 miles away. We are not ready for this kind of work yet!

Thanks again for the many emails and comments of concern and support....it meant more than you could know. We are so ready for just everyday "plain vanilla" cruising without all the tension. The romance of the Med and even going home again gets closer every day.

from deep in our hearts

Lynn and Chuck on CYAN

more news

2011-03-02T13:11:00.000-08:00

Just when we thought we were getting safer we have had several recent events that are tense. S/V Imagine who is with Lapalapa about 70 miles behind us right at the safety corridor saw a motor vessel...don't know how big...aggressively approached and flares were sent. Then a mysterious vessel with a red light shadowed their sailboat and then turned dark....but radar showed them still there. They put out distress calls for the corridor ships but no response. When they called the USN in Dubai on satelite phone, they got a small ship and helicopter in about 1/2 hour and all they could find at night was something that looked like a fishing vessel but it could have been a disguise, too.

Then we read an email this morning about ING and the severity of their condition. They were overtaken right in the same route we had taken only a few days before and near where one of us 3 boats, Joseba, had a mysterious encounter with a 100' vessel that he out maneuvered. We leave the corridor tonight for a fast run to Aden. Civil unrest seems calm compared to this anxiety on the sea. We hear things are under control there now, somewhat.

This is all almost unbelievable! It will affect the cruising community for years. I might add that we don't know of anyone else out here in our age range....mostly younger cruisers....for whatever that's worth! Maybe we are young at heart or maybe we need more sense!!!

We pray for ING who was anchored near us in the Maldives but we don't know them. Just being out here together during all this makes us, the sailing community, feel like family. Being able to talk to the other 2 boats we are with, Joseba and Chulupa has meant a lot.

Hoping for some good news soon. The Red Sea opening is just north of Aden and then we use the southerly winds to sail north like crazy!!!

I must say that the love and Prayers we have received with each email we read has affected us to the point of tears. We appreciate all the outpouring of concern for us.

Lynn and Chuck on CYAN, Wed, March 2.

On March 23 we will celebrate our 38th wedding anniversary...hope we are safe.
NOTE...right now as I send this, a Ship is reporting 2 strange small boats circling him at a point not to far from us. Something has to be done about these maniacs!!!

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Is there safety?

2011-02-28T01:49:00.000-08:00

We are having nice steady winds from dead east for almost 24 hours going 4-5kts, wing on wing, and are now about 230 miles to go to Aden. The boats we are with, Chulupa [USA]and Joseba [France/Spain] are good company and we travel at same speeds together. We are followed by Imagine and Lapalapa [both USA boats]about 100 miles behind us.

That is our good news...we know of 2 other "aggressive incidents" but we will look for more info before commenting further. We 3 boats are pretty secure now with helicopter flyovers and NATO warships staying in contact. Last night we learned about s/v Pegasus leaving Aden without checking out due to gunfire and some people were killed by student uprising against the present admin...we think. We heard this AM from Jean Pierre on Sanang getting stocked in Al Mukulla, Yemen, that he saw similar unrest there and was locked in a market for a while. We also hear that our other alternative stop, Djbouti, is also know recently known for robbery attacks and other crime. It is also another 100 miles out of our way. We have also been warned about 3 locations in Eritrea [in the Red Sea], that are usually ok stops in precious years, are now off limits due to holding crew and not allowing consular contact for various time periods. This is making it a tough decision about where we can provision and get fuel before going into the Red Sea. We are still getting info on Aden, but are now thinking that stopping there as a group will probably be ok or worth the risk. We are sure getting TOO used to risk!!! You have to be accompanied by an agent for everything and everyplace you go but the prices are cheap even if the ATM machines themselves take an extra tip out of the each deal!!

As of today, we have come just over 3400 miles since we left Thailand 6 weeks ago on Jan 15th. I have been off the boat for only 5 hours shopping in Andamans and briefly in Maldives. I guess another good thing is that we never know how we are going to cope with such stressful situations until we are put to the test and maybe, just maybe, I am more stable than I used to give myself credit for. Chuck always says he will tell me when it's time to panic but I haven't had a chance to go into panic mode yet!!!

Keep us in mind...this adventure isn't over!!! We are doing pretty well sleeping, sailing, eating and drinking!!! Attitudes are reasonably optimistic but we will celebrate when this whole fiasco is over.

from the most inept "fisherpersons" in the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea...where ever we are...we just can't catch a fish!!! We know they are there...we have had tackle lost and nibbled. Wonder what they sell in Yemeni supermarkets?

Lynn, and Chuck, too on CYAN

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Article to share

2011-02-26T01:50:00.000-08:00

This was written as an article for the Seven Seas Cruising Association Commodore's Bulletin but it will be posted here and can be shared with any publication interested in our experience.

Indian Ocean, February, 2011, Decisions and Emotions
S/V CYAN, Island Packet 380, 4.7' draft

I begin writing these comments at sunset, just as CYAN enters the patrolled corridor, in the Gulf of Aden, February 25, 2011.

In January, while finishing repairs in Phuket. Thailand, the original decision to cross the Indian Ocean and Red Sea wasn't difficult. Over 200 yachts had safely crossed the year before and the pirates weren't attacking yachts anymore, apparently. We felt OK about leaving and planned a cruising stop in the Andamans. That turned out to be a waste of time, money and patience with bureaucracy. They closed the rights to anchor in the most interesting locations and the average anchorages costs $10 a night, $60 a day for the marine park [and you have to be gone by night time] and we had to call and check in twice a day. Forget that. We'd been to much better places in the Pacific from where we have wonderful memories.

Then, in February when we arrived in the Maldives, Uligan or Uligamu, actually, we found 22 cruising boats that were in somewhat of an uproar with differing opinions on future cruising. Apparently, the pirates had become more aggressive in January while we were en route, and there were more events happening in the middle of the Indian Ocean than along the coast. It seems the small pirate boats were working from a mothership that supplied guns and drugs and encouragement to bring in bounty and captives. Some cruisers had changed plans and were returning east, some arranged shipping for their vessels and many in the TTT convoy headed to Pakistan to follow the coast. While we were there, it came down to 4 vessels who wanted to go ahead with the rhumb line, heading straight for the Gulf of Aden. Then 3 more followed a few days later. Just 2 days before we arrived in the Maldives 6 boats had departed the straight route so there were a number of cruising boats out there. We understand that this first group from Uligan stayed in visual contact with each other and we did not hear them on the Flying Fish net in the AM.

There is a story in my family passed down over the years about a great, great...however many times... grandmother who was widowed in the early 1800's and received a land grant in Tennessee. She packed a wagon with her belongings, a mother-in-law and 5 children and traveled from east Georgia through the mountains to settle in her new land. This story and others were the topics Chuck and I shared while making the decision to voyage through the Indian Ocean. We talked of how Chuck felt the first time he landed his A7 jet on an aircraft carrier at night when he flew as a Navy pilot in the 70's. I mentioned the stress, during labor, of being told my first/only child might be severely malformed from the x-rays taken. We talked about the most stressful things we have encountered...and the list wasn't long. In 38 years of marriage we have been blessed and had only routine challenges in life. There runs a strong naval tradition in both of our families that affects us with determination and a love of the sea. Both our dads [USN retired] and 3 uncles fought in the Navy in the Pacific. My dad was at the flag hoisting at Iwo Jima. Other close relatives fought in Korea and Vietnam and, of course, Chuck spent 7 years and 2 cruises flying off an aircraft carrier in the Med. We have always felt at home on the sea and planned and saved for our cruising life for 38 years. We felt a right to be able to travel the seas freely. We prayed about our decision and for God to help us consider, responsibly, all the alternatives. It came down to both of us agreeing to follow our plan right for the Red Sea and hope for the best.

I want to say that there was no right or wrong way to go for those of us making these important decisions. Each crew had to decide within their level of comfort and pocketbook according to their values. Many opinions were shared and it came down to each captaining their own vessel. As of today, we just heard that 14 boats are now being shipped to the Med from several places. I told Chuck that every time I had an anxiety attack on this voyage [as I am prone to do] about the present threat, to just say "$30,000" and it would change my attitude. We all have our own motivations.

The sailing has been much more enjoyable that we anticipated with steady winds 10-15 knots and flat seas. We only motored 40 hours in 14 days so far. We were handling the voyage carefully. The 4 boats that left together are checking in faithfully on the SSB morning and night with a few others calling in their locations, too. We give our location as a range and bearing to a predetermined waypoint. Then there was that dreadful morning net when we heard that our wonderful friends, Scott and Jean Adam and 2 of their friends on board s/v Quest, were taken captive in an area we all thought was relatively safe. Our anxiety level hit new highs but we kept on our route NW. At this time any other decision just didn't make sense to us.

We were in an area about 500 miles off the horn of Africa [about halfway from the Maldives] before we began to see any shipping vessels since we had set out 8 days earlier. On the SSB, we could only get connected to Winlink for email and weather about every other day and hadn't heard anything from the media or even received many emails since folks were writing on Sailmail and we couldn't connect there. Then one midnight we got the CNN report from our son about the tragic outcome on Quest when all four crew were brutally murdered during negotiations. All kinds of feelings and thoughts went through our minds and we held each other a lot and cursed the savages and their criminal organizers with "typical sailors expletives". I never thought I would hear Chuck say,"Now, I'm scared!". Whew, now was the time for praying for strength, guidance and stamina.

Word was out that USA vessels were being targeted in retaliation for one pirate justly convicted in the USA. How irrational is this thinking? Some recommended we remove our flag. For us, there was no question about it. We were not going to remove our flag. It just wasn't in our values. We sailed with no lights or the emitting of an AIS signal, but we could still receive. We kept a US registered EPIRB ready to launch and told our son [our primary contact] that if an alarm was activated, it was due to an attack and send help immediately. We emailed our son, Geoff, that if we were captured we wanted the forces to take all aggressive measures even if it put us at risk. We still have an Australian EPIRB on board. We checked the radar often and also removed our reflector. Today we restored it. We did every reasonable thing we could think of to prepare. Actually, we do not consider ourselves in a safe zone yet. Finally, today, we are in a more patrolled zone with P3 airplanes overhead taking our ID info and hearing them talk to warships on the radio. They asked if we'd seen any suspicious activity and reminded us that channel 16 was being monitored.

On February 26th, as I finish this, we caught up with s/v Joseba of France and Chulupa of the USA and we plan to travel the corridor with them. They are 2 of the 3 other boats in our group. S/V Senang of The Netherlands has taken the coastal route to cruise with German speaking vessels. Eduardo, on Joseba, told us about an encounter they had just a few days ago when a 100 foot boat tried to get him to stop while he was sailing in an area about 100 miles off Suqutra Island and they were waving a USA flag by hand off the bow but did not contact him on radio. [we think they did not speak English.] He motored his boat erratically, winding all around, as well as he could and they finally gave up. We consider any vessel that does not use radio contact for permission, a threat in this situation, and would do the same. If we see guns, we set and pitch the EPIRB!

We are still coping with our grief and anger over the loss of our friends. This will take time. There were tears and cries of anger and frustration. We have only read part of a few relayed articles to know about what is being reported concerning this situation and how it is expressed in the media. We both know that this was one of the most stressful and emotional events we have ever dealt with. At this time, we hope that there are more enlightened minds making decisions that will put a stop to this needless cruelty and acts of crime on the high seas against the rest of the world.

Today, our goal is to refuel in Aden, 400 miles away and continue on as quickly as possible. We understand that the TTT rally has not reached Pakistan yet. We hope the coastal route will be safe for them. We sometimes wish we had weapons on board but they can be even more dangerous when outnumbered by pirates. We do wish we had bought a satellite phone.

We hope with all our hearts, that all the vessels arrive safely, both cruising boats and merchant ships. We hope some of the nice anchorages in the Red Sea allow us to recuperate and enjoy cruising our beloved sea again.

Presently, en route, just north of the safety corridor in Gulf of Aden....

Lynn Evans, Commodore, SSCA
along with Chuck Evans, Commodore, SSCA

Beaufort SC is CYAN's hailing port but our home base is Jacksonville, Florida.

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90%

2011-02-25T01:49:00.000-08:00

We feel we are about 90% safe now we are entering the patrolled corridor through the Gulf Aden about sundown tonight. I guess we will consider ourselves pretty safe when we are well into the Red Sea. Last night, we were traveling without lights or AIS and encountered an unlit ship on a moonless night on my watch...it was so weird and too close for me at 3 miles...I could hear his engines. We decided to turn on the AIS since then and we have been keeping very close eyes out. We plan to travel just to the north of the patrolled corridor to avoid the coastal fishing boats and nets off Yemen and to stay close to traffic but out of the way.

Imagine me, Lynn, standing watch in this tension, quietly reading on a dark boat and being suddenly joined by a 8" flying fish flapping on my arm...that was alarming. He flapped around until he finally flapped his way to the water!

This just in...Terrific news...just now as I write...listening to a European P3 aircraft talking to a warship heading to
Aden as we are 500 miles away still...music to our ears. He is telling everyone to report anything suspicious and reminding us that it's being patrolled on radio channel 16. He is now talking to 2 of our little group of 6 boats and we are a few miles behind. We think he is headed towards us next and I told Chuck to get some clothes on!!! God bless all the military and patrol vessels!

Of course all these military and big ships think we are idiots to be here...and we sometimes wonder ourselves. We can laugh and kid a bit more now but not relax....not yet.

When you get a chance look up the Navy story of Stephen Decatur and the battle of the Philadelphia in 1804. It's a most fascinating story and we need some of his techniques for fighting the Barbari Pirates in the War in Tripoli. Similar situation...Should be a movie! Try Wikipedia. We read it aloud from Chuck's copy of Sea Power from his Naval History course in college that we carry to read about historical locations we encounter. We used to live right near Decatur GA named after him!

Write us now only using the Sailmail email now since we can't get Winlink...and I gotta say I have cried a bit with every warm, loving sentiment that has been sent our way with all our recent emails. You have no idea how your warm thoughts and love has helped us. I am trying to write everyone just a small note in addition to these updates. Please understand if it takes a while.

Yea!! Chuck is now checking in with the P3 plane...they know we are here and who we are! For me this is the best news yet! And the Capt Chuck has just upped our safety factor to 95%!!!

More later. Love to all
Lynn on CYAN
and Chuck too!

PS...now they talking to another warship...I love it and thank God!

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almost safe

2011-02-24T04:09:00.000-08:00

We are almost out of the high risk zone...should be another 36 hours when we are in patrolled shipping zone that runs west towards the Red Sea Entrance and we are headed for Aden to refuel.

At 11 pm last night...only time we can only send and get email and weather...We read the news report that Geoff sent us about the vessel QUEST and our dear friends Scott and Jean and their crew being brutally murdered. It was a tough night on us, to say the least. I broke down from grief and tension and Chuck has never longed for a jet and bombs so much since 9/11. Our tax dollars paid for him to respond that way with his old flight training but it's understandable. He is also distraught but his anger came first! We look at these fine fellow cruisers as martyrs to the cause of our right to sail the free oceans in relative safety. They will not be forgotten by any of us cruisers and for those of us who were friends, we really know what a loss their deaths are. Our hearts go out to their friends and family at home.

We loved talking religion and movies with them...what fun we had going out several times in Phuket and planning to see them again in the Med. There aren't too many Christian Cruisers...it's a secular bunch...but they were fine examples and we had similar views. Scott was one of the directors of the movie "Deliverance" and James Dickey, the author, was a client of Chucks, about the asme time years ago. Our hearts are heavy with thoughts of the violence and terror that our friends endured. We hope this initiates the most aggressive retaliation possible. We have to do something, sometime...this just can't keep up.

We were sailing north about 3-400 miles off Somalia as this whole Navy thing was taking place just about 100 miles closer to shore than we were. They were towing QUEST west and kept a close look out for anything strong on the radar. We now sail in the moonless night with our lights off but checking AIS and radar often. Today we don't know if we are safer with the "blessed" USN ships off the coast or if some maniacs will come along and blast us dead out of spite and revenge. These aggressive, drug charged people [loosely called that] are uncivilized, caveman-like, irrational maniacs. We have both prayed a lot and kept going on our route north/northwest to the shipping channel in the Gulf of Aden. And we will not remove our flag!!! So many of our relatives have fought for it and it's a big emotional issue for us. Had we known this before we left the Maldives, we still would have come...we damn well have the right to be here! Perhaps more stupid than brave! If we were deterred by hight risk situations, we wouldn't be here! But this may be adrenalin talking!

The sailing and seas here in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea have been wonderful ...mostly going 5-7 knots in better than expected winds, and this voyage could have been great if it weren't for this burden of sorrow and taste for revenge.

We just had to share our thoughts and conditions with you all. We know that you are wondering about us.

Love...and we hope to write soon from a safer location to say that the worst will be past.
Lynn and Chuck on CYAN

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Getting closer to a safe zone

2011-02-23T10:11:00.000-08:00

We are almost out of the high risk zone...should be another 36 hours when we are in patrolled shipping zone that runs west towards the Red Sea Entrance and we are headed for Aden to refuel.

We just had to share our thoughts and conditions with you all. We know that you are wondering about us.

Love...and we hope to write soon from a safer location to say that the worst will be past.
Lynn and Chuck on CYAN

We are still OK!

2011-02-21T10:26:00.000-08:00

Yes, I think we might have been nuts to get here in the middle of the active area of the Arabian Sea....but since we are here we are praying for a safe exit for us and all the other vessels who are also nuts!!!

Chuck just talked to one cargo ship passing us this AM that said they outran an "aggressive small boat" and then 1 hour later talked to a Dutch ship that hadn't seen any problems. We are now entering the shipping lanes....but we hope we are west of the most active areas.

We are still checking with our small group of cruisers in the AM and PM and we can only send and receive email and weather about every other day. The weather and sailing has been wonderful...all will be fine when the great USA blows the pirates all away.

We are distressed and most upset about the capture of QUEST. Scott and Jean are friends and really wonderful people and don't deserve this treatment....God be with them...please remember them and all of us in your prayers. Somehow we pray that they will be fine and their captors are blown to hell!!! If we only had Jack Bower from "24" and Jack Reacher from the Lee Child series....if only!!!

Today we have about 5 more days to sail before relative safety about 550 miles. This will be in the main shipping channel "security corridor" which is well patrolled with security vessels. We monitor the radar and have removed our radar reflector to better slip through. We also have our AIS on just receive and not broadcasting our location. We only know of a few other USA boats so maybe that info on targeting US boats was a bluff....or maybe they are deterred by the active Navy response!

WE WILL NOT REMOVE OUR FLAG!!! We have discussed it and we just won't do it. Nights are usually ok...they haven't been known to attack at night and our usual boat speed has been 6 knots which is good for us on the windvane.

Should something happen to us...we take full responsibility for our actions...we just want all our family and friends to know how much they mean to us. Maybe next time we will do something normal like travel in an RV!!! Hah! Us do something normal???

We will try to write again soon. Keep up the prayers and hopes for us all.

Lynn and Chuck on CYAN

Fiasco..workday from hell!

2011-02-14T19:03:00.000-08:00

Here it is our last day before leaving to sail NW and the generator quits due to overheating. While Chuck troubleshoots the genset", I discover that a 4 liter box white wine has leaked all over the back room and it smells like a winery!!! That took several wipe downs.

After hours of dissembling the genset...I mean all day...he finds the saltwater intake blockage and fortunately I had bought some acid cleaner just for waterlines. Hopefully it will work fine from now on.

So now we get to shop for food on the small island with a store the size of a walkin closet...but the supply ship comes in today and they promise some fresh stuff. Next we put away the dinghy and put up the pole that holds the jib out in light winds, make up the bed in the main cabin for passages and we are set to depart this afternoon.

keep us in mind

more later

Lynn and Chuck on CYAN

First Leg of Passage

2011-02-11T05:59:00.000-08:00

We wish we had delightful news to share but not this time. The voyage from the Andaman Islands south of Sri Lanka was most uncomfortable but not to the point of dangerous. Most of it was spent in a weather low pressure system that moved west with us making for weird choppy seas and westerly winds to beat into. Beating is sailing close into the wind and we got lots of smashes slapping into the bow and we took on more salt water all over the boat than any other trip....makes for a mess to clean up now we have arrived in the Maldives...actually Ulagamu in the north of the chain.

One really nice thing cheered us. A huge ship passed us and sent us a message on our AIS device [this tracks ships for us and sends a signal about us to them]. They said,"Ahoy brave sailors, Bon Voyage!". We didn't even know we could get messages over the AIS screen and our unit isn't fancy enough to send one. We had 2 ships that were happy to change their course and go behind us when we asked them. Amazing to see this 1/5 mile long vessel alter course just for us.

Here in Ulagamu it's quite remarkable...a school of squid have circled the boat all morning and we see manta rays and porpoises every time we go outside. 19 boats here are in somewhat of an uproar changing plans to avoid the expanded pirate areas. Many...maybe half are going back east or going 1000 miles north to Pakistan or paying $30,000 plus to have their boat shipped from here by a contracted ship. There are still those of us who will go ahead with our plans and take the direct route to the Red Sea stopping in Aden if we need fuel which we probably will. This leg that we depart on Monday Feb 14th will take 2 1/2 to 3 weeks.

Now is time we need prayers. This is the biggest risk we have taken but we have a pod of 4-6 boat that will remain in radio contact but we will not be in sight but rather on our own for the most part.

We would love to hear from folks but our sailmail email isn't coming through so if folks write us there we will write when we can get it.

We are very busy fixing small, inconvenient breakdowns around the boat and lots of mildew!!! Please keep us in mind...

Lynn and Chuck on CYAN

west to Maldives

2011-01-30T02:18:00.000-08:00

We left the Andamans on Thursday Jan 27 at just before sundown...they want you out of their hair in 2 hours after checking out from immigration. So we got to sail thru a 1 mile passage in the blacka** night with no moon or sight of a horizon...just the radar image to get around the south of the main islands. Even Chuck who is a pillar of patience couldn't wait to get out after "big brother" was watching us the whole time with radio calls and even helicopters. I mean we aren't carrying weapons!!!

Some anchorages there were supposed to be just great but now they are off limits for cruisers and they are also charging about $10 a night to anchor any where in the islands. Even the regular anchorages are often in passages between islands with current and deeper than we like at 60-70' depth. As far as we are concerned the whole Indian bunch can just shove it!!! We heard of a taxi driver reporting a cruiser for changing out a routine pump and the govmt charged him duty for bringing it in because he allegedly brought in the pump to sell!!! Go figure! No other government acts this way....taxi driver spies??? Come on!!!

3 days behind us now with lumpy seas but usually good enough wind to do 5-6 knots. We have had enough scattered storms to clean off the salt and top off the water tanks....and make everything sticky and knocks us around freshening up our bruise assortment!

This sunday am just after I got up from my last sleep about 1pm, Chuck says we are dragging something and he has to go into the drink and cut it off in 25 knot winds. We hove the boat to with the staysail...[sorta stopping it by keeping it almost into the wind]. He was so brave to tie himself on and dive down with a knife and cut off a 10' long bunch of nets...looked like a bunch of onion and fruit bags in a old fish net. It was hooked on a tiny ...less than 1/4" screw... that holds on a zinc and had been slowing us down by a knot of speed.

Cooking has been a challenge but I am getting my sea legs back and learning to wait for the right roll to cook and it takes twice as long. No fish yet but we still keep trying as long as there aren't storms. These storms are pretty mild...just annoying.

more later

Cyan Crew
Lynn

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First Anchorage in Andamans

2011-01-22T05:13:00.000-08:00

Finally, we are anchored at Havelock Island in the Andaman Islands, way SE of South India. The check in process the last 2 days for us both and the vessel was beyond belief. We had heard that they have the "bureaucrats from hell" here in India and boy, do they like paperwork and job security. We have never had to go fetch, in the dingy [on several trips], 12 different customs, quarantine and immigration guys from the harbor dock to fill out forms and submit pages of info and then, later have 7 more coast guard guys get on the boat for more of the same paperwork. They needed to know everything about us, our plans and the boat....like how much booze we have, a list of all meds, all the food and suppies we have, all our electronics and a list of jewelry and other things of value and another list of everything on the boat like anchors, sails, electronics.

While cruising we have to call in twice a day and tell them everything we do. You'd think this was the garden of Eden instead of a bunch of islands. How this country functions, we cannot understand!!! When they gave me back the paper with all our prescriptions all neatly listed and said they also needed to know all the expiration dates, I blew up, emphatically said that "They all are expired...I only take expired meds and I wanted out of their country...NOW!!!" Well, since they never seen a conniption fit, they backed down and said we suddenly passed quarantine and there were no further problems! I'd had enuf folks tromping thru my boat all day asking all kinds of personal questions like how much did the boat cost, how old we are, how long we have been married...everything but info on our private stateroom life!!!

The town at Port Blair is a dingy village from the past with cows rooting thru garbage cans and getting anything done, like buying deisel fuel, takes great effort, filled forms and long lines. Getting a cell phone sim card was more of an event than the whole process of Checking into most other countries. The card just costs a total of $2.50 and 30 minutes building up a 20 page file for their record. There were about 6-7 boats in the anchorage checking in or out and on Sat the 22nd of Jan we were glad to get off on our trip around these islands we have read and heard so much about.

Our first anchorage is off a nice long, beach with a small resort. The seas are soft and the breeze keeps away the bugs and cools us. Fishing is supposed to be great but we haven't caught anything all day...maybe tomorrow!!!

We heard about the "big Salties", the saltwater crocodiles that are in all the brackish areas off the main islands and to watch where we swim. We enjoyed watching the porpoises jump while having dinner and look forward to walking the beach and fishing tomorrow. We will snorkel in a better location for coral than here....and we will keep posting...

Lynn and Chuck, too, on CYAN

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We are off

2011-01-17T01:56:00.000-08:00

We left Phuket, Thailand early...a lot earlier than Chuck wanted to get up...on Monday Jan 17 after anchoring in a wonderful cove on the west side of the island. We actually had some light wind and sailed until about 1pm and have been motoring and will probably will thru the night....makes for an even warmer cabin to sleep in with the heat of the engine while off watch. Chuck sleeps from 7-12 then Lynn sleeps 12-5am, then Chuck for another 3 hours and Lynn for another 3 hours. This works for us. We were told to always get at least a sleep of 5 hours for good brain rest. It always takes 3 days to get used to the schedule with Lynn getting a tad bitchy due to lack of sleep.

We are fishing but haven't caught anything yet....seen several big ships going to and from India.

Huge healthy salad with croissants for dinner with box wine.

I just want to check that this is making it onto the blog...more later

Chuck and Lynn on Cyan

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Leaving Jan 16th

2011-01-14T00:22:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the blog we plan to keep while traveling through the Indian Ocean and on to the Red Sea.

Here is a slightly inaccurate map [since Lynn doesn’t quite know where Aden is] of pour planned course. She also can’t make a straight line with Photoshop yet so the course line is a bit sloppy but you get the idea.

We can send messages to this BLOG right from our SSB radio and keep folks posted about how things are going. We expect to catch fish and avoid pirates!!! Apparently they are targeting areas well south of our course anyway. We can’t send photos but we can ramble on about what we are doing and how the weather is.

We can only get messages if you know our sailmail email address and we cannot put it here due to spammers acquiring it. We do hope to hear from folks. This trip is going to take a while but we are well stocked and the boat is well conditioned.

Warm thoughts

Lynn and Chuck on CYAN

Prayers from our friends and family who are "believers" are always appreciated!

Report on Visit to China

2010-12-19T23:38:00.000-08:00

Holiday Season 2010

We are glad to be home on the boat but there has been a huge amount of rain, even well past the change of seasons and the boat is torn up and on the hard getting new wood, bottom paint and other repairs.

We need to report on our China trip and all these photos are just some that caught my eye as I went through the mass of photos that we took.

Smoggy day at the wall!

We stayed in 12 different locations all around China and have decided that for us, China is simply "not fantastic". It is pretty OK if you have extra time and more money than you might expect to pay. We were happy making our own arrangements and liked Agoda for hotels. We often took day tours recommended by cruiser folks and from Tripadvisor. We still found all of China very average, in general. With all the raving I hear I feel like someone needs to tell another side. We are not naive travelers. We enjoy a sense of adventure and don't mind if everything isn't perfect because it's another challenge. We were disappointed with much of the big attractions just being rebuilt rather than maintained to look like they used to when they really didn't used to use so much concrete! So many places looked manufactured to be tourist attractions. And the air pollution was dreadful casting an awful haze over everything.

Old style banking building in Pinghao

There were some places that were remarkable. We really enjoyed Pingao, an old walled city, Dali for it's mountain hike and old walled town and Lijiang as an example of ancient culture, even tho it was a bit touristy...especially it has a nice palace visit called “Mu’s House”. We did the usual touristy things in Guilin, Li river cruise thru steep karst[upward jutting mountains], and it was all pretty ok in the pollution. Our short waterfall hike in Dali in the mountains convinced us that rural China is nicer than the smoggy, noisy, 'overdone with tourists' big cities. We think it takes younger bodies to really enjoy the rural adventures tho..

Just us somewhere pretty!

Many natural elements were stunning but they are far apart. So much of the info at attractions is, of course, altered to go along with the current government ideas that we were always suspicious. Many tours just told us the info we could read in English if we wanted to with out giving any depth. We found that getting the headphone recorded tours was always interesting and we often wished we had chosen them over a guide.

Lynn tries calligraphy and does OK encouraged by onlookers!

Much of the archeology was very interesting and there is more variety than we expected all over China. We did like learning a lot about prehistory and early man...one of Lynn’s favorite subjects. Chuck was more interested in military stuff and politics. China has been around for an amazing amount of time and accumulated an even more amazing number of Chinese!!! Maybe we got “Chinaphobia”!!!

Must make time for happy hour!

All this doesn't say we are sorry we went. We wanted to see China and what it had to offer. We just feel like it has been just a bit overrated. And we found the food was universally average to awful. It seems like we would have found something remarkable in over a month of experimenting as we always do when we travel ...but we didn't. The quality was just so average even in expensive restaurants and with guides to help us choose. Nothing was worth ever having again or as good as frozen Chinese food in the US!

Clear skies for mountain hike on paved path...easy!

We liked Hong Kong somewhat better but it was even more expensive, like the US....the history was interesting there but many places were just touristy sites and shopping and high up views from mountains. It was like “China-Lite”!! We didn’t think it was worth it to just shop ‘til you drop! The history museum was quite well done as were several museums all around China. We learned a lot from the better museums everywhere. We especially liked the Capitol Museum in Beijing... Good general info on all of China and architecturally stunning.

Stayed in antique hotel...like 500 years old!

Lynn was not impressed with the Chinese gardens...too manufactured from concrete and unnatural....too stiff and formal and artificial. Too many things seemed like Disney had made ancient places to visit. It just didn't feel genuine and sincere but rather like tourist traps to suck money from you. She did like the calligraphy, clay and porcelain traditional arts.

Typical old house

If asked, I guess we would say if you don't expect too much, China might turn out fine but too many folks are making it sound fabulous and we worked hard, but couldn't find very much that was great. There was too much smog, smoking, yelling into cellphones, and pushing crowds [even in the off season] to make some things worth a treasured memory. We absolutely enjoyed many places but we were just not overwhelmed with awe. I also need to say that this is a very generalized opinion with an overall aspect.

Lejiang canal scene

The treatment by the Chinese people was outstanding and we can't say enough good things about them. We were surprised to find and enjoy the Chinese as being very expressive and open like the Italians and not nearly as shy and soft spoken as the other Asians. We usually stayed in 3-4 star hotels but did stay in Hostels in a few places and wished we had used them more than we did. They were more personal. I will add that all the transportation works very well and we were impressed, especially with the super high speed trains.

Mu's Residence in Lejiang

We are now getting our Indian visas now to go to the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean and they are supposed to be wonderful and sparsely populated and also with quiet anchorages...sounds fantastic after the hoards of masses of folks we saw in China. We gotta admit that it is an amazing feat to employ, house, feed, nurture and amuse so much of the world’s population in just one country.

A Wall where potential candidates are found for arranged marriages

Must include the mass of Terra Cotta Soldiers to prove we were there!

The Great Thai Elephant Adventure

2010-09-10T03:47:00.000-07:00

CYAN's crew tries a new skill!!

One of our most special adventures has been the Patara Elephant Farm in Chiang Mei, Thailand. It’s the number one rated thing to do there on Tripadvisor Website and we consult that site often in our travels. This choice was better than we expected! It was educational and so much fun.

They picked us up early at our hotel and there were about 16 in our class of trainees. We learned about how the elephant is endangered and being abused by other tourist organizations. It seemed like we learned a lot about elephants: their reproduction, digestive health, usefulness, disposition, skin care, communication with us and us with them and of course, how to board one and get off! This can be complicated but we managed with help.

We examine the droppings for health check...[it was like shredded wheat!]

Chuck gets on like a pro!We will not show my boarding...it was not a graceful sight!

Most interesting is that a swinging tail and flapping ears means a happy elephant and saying “deedee” to them mean “good elephant” while stroking under the eyes is affection! We had to write all the commands on our arms to keep track and they respond well to commands…eventually. Speed isn’t their strong point! Strength is!!! And coordination, along with warmth and friendliness! They get friendlier with you when you feed them that first basket of fruit and your hand is enthusiastically scooped right into their mouths with the fruit.

Chuck feeds his new friend!

Bath time in the river was fun but a lot of work! Skin care is important.

The elephant shower us after we bathed them

We learned to examine the sizable, but not offensive, droppings [see above] to check for health and to correctly bathe the elephants for skin care and do they ever love a good bath! They are very cooperative in the river. But, slugging through the muddy jungle takes some encouragement and that comes in the form of kicking them firmly behind the ears to go right or left and saying “bye” but more like “biii” to get them to move forward on the trail instead of stopping to nibble tasty bamboo shoots, a real favorite. We were so surprised at how well these elephants could climb over these steep trails in the jungle. Lynn who has some height issues had closed eyes a few times and we were more than 10’ up off the ground sitting on their heads rolling with each step. She kept looking for a soft muddy spot to fall but never did!

Along the muddy jungle trail!

After riding for almost 2 hours through steep, muddy but beautiful jungle we arrived at the wonderful waterfall for lunch and a swim with the “big” fun bunch. This was really a wild time as you can tell here. Lunch was great but all the leftover food including the banana leaf table cloth got fed to the elephants and they were used to it and ready for it!

These guys were like big babies in the water and we all had a blast like kids.

I’m sure the photos show what a wonderful day we had and we both will never forget our elephants. Lynn’s was Man Wan Dee and Chucks was Man Su Noy. They were both 35 years old and still in birthing years. They had both been teak log workers at one time and were “retired” now.

A tired return ride home.

Patara is a special location that takes in and cares for many elephants acquired from many sources and for many different reasons. We were so impressed with their work.

We were absolutely exhausted but what a wonderful way to end our 3 week journey in Northern Thailand.

http://www.pataraelephantfarm.com/

Lynn and Chuck, who are now getting ready to go to the US for 19 days then China for 5 weeks!

Touring Bangkok and the Northern Early Thai Capitols

2010-09-01T21:01:00.003-07:00

It'a about time for some news from CYAN. We are in Boat Lagoon Marina in Phuket, Thailand which is a great place to work on the boat. And there was a lot to be done.

We finally got the boat work done on CYAN so we were able to take off for Bangkok and places north of there. We found a gem of a hotel in the President Palace. [For those planning to go to Bangkok...don't consider anywhere else. Everything was just perfect for less than $60 a night.]

We began by seeing all the many Wats in the area. For the home folks...these are Buddhist Temples that are lavishly decorated in a vast number of different ways often with different remains of the Great Buddha himself inside a "Chedi" [sorta like a tall pyramid structure] on the grounds, too. Remains of other royal and religious folks are inside Chedis, too.

We really began to enjoy the different styles of temples especially in Bangkok because they were decorated with richly painted murals all over the walls telling stories of religion, myths and what life was like in ancient days. We hadn't seen that in other SE Asia locations. There are literally hundreds of Wats but tourists try to see the significant ones with specific artistic value. In total we have seen at least 35 to 40 in just Thailand alone. And that's in detail, walking all around! We are about to become Buddhist by saturation!! I hope they have a sense of humor!!!

Marble Wat in Bangkok...so beautiful!

example of story telling painting on walls

One meaningful experience in Bangkok is visiting the Grand Palace and grounds. I am impressed that the present king...Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), who is the longest serving monarch in the world and the richest being worth more than 30 billion dollars according to Wikipedia. It's all quite complex and we were glad to have a guide on our tour the day we toured the palaces. No photos were allowed inside and it was a shame because we really enjoyed the visit and walked ourselves to exhaustion over more than 15 buildings.

Detail at Palace grounds

Needing a break next, we decided to go to cooking school and perfect some needed skills and it was such a great fun morning: educational and so entertaining and really filling.

Are we having fun or what?

We sought out some more obscure tourist locations to visit like the Jim Thompson House and the Suan Pakkad Palace Museum. Jim Thompson was an American who had developed a big silk trade in the 60's and built quite an elaborate home complex and art collection with lovely garden [for Lynn]. We just loved seeing all of it and would recommend it highly. We learned about him in the mountains of Malaysia when we were there in June because one day he mysteriously vanished from there and has never been seen again. Big Asia Mystery!!!

this is a typical Thai home on the grounds

The Suan Pakkad Palace Museum was very interesting. It was a collection of 7 old Thai buildings moved to Bangkok to house the beautifully done display of an extensive archeological expedition in northern Thailand and many other pieces of art work.

After a bit of shopping we were ready to board the train for Ayutthaya an ancient capitol of Thailand from 1250 to 1760. It had many ruins and, yes, more Wats, to visit and we hired a tuktuk to drive us to the best selection to visit so we would feel like we got a good view of it all since we both were still recuperating from this darn H1N1 flu and hacking away. It was well worth the look around.

The below in Ayutthaya is the famous head left by thieves that a tree grew around and is considered sacred now.

We definitely thought going to Sukhothai was more exciting, though. It was more trouble to get there. We had to take a 5 hour train ride from Ayutthaya and then take an hour bus ride to the town near the ruined remains of the ancient, elaborately designed showplace that was the capitol of the northland in Thailand fighting off the Burmese in 1100-1250. It was surrounded by moats and had all kinds of water features and temples with unique designs. We think no trip to Thailand is complete without seeing this fabulous place.

The train ride to Chiang Mai was quite attractive through the mountains going north but it was 8 hours and we only brought snacks. We didn't much like the rice and spicy tofu they served! We were ready to relax and enjoy Chiang Mai which is actually another capitol of Thailand...the Lanna area...the very north and has a rich history of it's own. We have just loved it here and have seen such a thick concentration of Wats and monks all around...like one on every street corner...no kidding! But they all have something interesting to offer and we still actually find something good to look at...can't believe it...me who gets bored so easily!!! Buddhism is actually pretty cool...even for good Episcopalians...we can respect all this. These people are so sweet and calm and helpful. they sure don't understand excitable people!!!

We do the big Elephant adventure tomorrow and I will give that it's own page. This is long enough. For more photos and info check out Lynn's Facebook page at

http://www.facebook.com/#!/Lexxycyan

all my photos are open to everyone and aren't repeated here.

On the road to yet another Wat way up on a mountain overlooking Chiang Mai on a clear Day

The rest of the Tour, SE Asia, 2010

2010-04-07T05:37:00.000-07:00

Our new 37th Anniversary

Elephant Rings from Laos..

the elephants rotate around...so cute!

Soupmaker on the street in Hue

We must mention the food in Vietnam because it is so good everywhere we go and the healthiest in the world with little use of fat and starches and so many herbs to flavor the soups and banana wrapped goodies. We have just loved it and will learn to make much of it....especially after the boring, spicey food in Malaysia. We have also taken up having massages at the reasonable prices and are enjoying the spas as we travel around. Chuck has decides he really wants one of these talented massage girls to crew on the boat but I say only if she can cook the food too!!! They sure don't take up much room!!! Chuck has gained weight and I have lost...I just love that...the beer is too cheap and I gave up drinking and coffee and it has done me good!!!

Hue

Next thing was just a short bus ride to Hue where we had the nicest hotel and we just relaxed for several days before going on to Hanoi. Besides Lynn came down with strep throat and needed a break. This is a town with 5 Universities and is also the place where Hoi Chi Minh whent to high school. We went to the museum that was all about him and it was actually quite interesting. There is a huge walled area in the old city called the "Cidadel" that was a fortress and if a commoner entered he was killed...in earlier times, of course. We visited the tombs of earlier emperors which are actually beautifully landscaped parks that take quite a while to walk around. By now we are half way up the coast of Vietnam and we are ready to fly to Hanoi because there are really no real tourist attractions to see until there.

Here are shots of an old temple in a lake in mid Hanoi

Hanoi
This was a surprise because so many had told us that they didn't like Hanoi and it was just a big city. We found many things to like after learning our way around. Our hotel was on the edge of the very ancient "old town" and it was always exciting and not threatening to walk around. It was just too tempting to shop for small fun items that were great buys. They have great copies of everything from Rolexes to Iphones and Ipods. We were advised to try and take in a symphony but there was the ballet of Carmen opening instead and with some new friends we went and got 3rd row tickets. We found it to be really a great performance in dance and costume with only the set needing some flair but that's just us...we are glad we went. We also met for lunch with some folks we'd met earlier in Singapore for a nice visit.

Opera house where we saw the ballet was based on the one in Paris

The Hanoi Stock Exchange, Chuck just had to take a photo

Sapa

We took the night train to Sapa but without planning ahead only got what's called a hard sleeper but it was OK and we slept away the night. We'd planned over 4 days in Sapa with plenty to see but only got in 2 days because we both got dreadful stomach flus like we hadn't had for 20 years or so with Lynn getting knocked down first. so it was good that our tickets and hotel were so cheap. The other days were like in slow motion in a haze of nausea drugs. We took another night train down to Hanoi and a flight to Luang Prabang, Laos, on Wed March 24, the day after our 37th anniversary. We are in a nice remote resort outside of town, still doing some recovering. We bought cute matching elephant silver wedding rings for our anniversary. Chick hasn't worn a wedding band since heleft his in the safety deposit box when we left. That was sentimental.

Scenes around Sapa

Some of the Ethnic Hmong peoples around Sapa

Laos

We really enjoyed relaxing for 6 days at this reasonable resort in LP, Laos and Chuck needed time to recover from what ever hit both of us in Sapa. We had leisurely strolls into the village, ate yummy french food, saw a vast number of varied temples, pretended we got up at dawn to see the traditional walk of monks down main street being fed sticky rice by the residents, a centuries old tradition. We can imagine it. Besides it seems sorta peronal to me and photos are not allowed but most took them and that's offensive! LP was a nice visit and we should have stayed there and not wasted our time with the capitol of Vientiane for 3 days. We are sorry we took the time because it was quite boring but not un attractive, just no redeeming value to speak of. We did find an example from the mysterious "Plain of Jars" where stone age jars were carved from stone quite interesting [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_of_Jars]. We were also fascinated by the Ethnic Market that everyone calls the witchcraft market where you can actually buy elephant tusks if you want to risk it and have the conscience.

Monks in Luan Prabang

Lynn with a jar from the Plain of Jars, repaired, and Chuck with a temple dog!
Below are items, herbs and effigies from the witchcraft market.

Then on April 3 we headed to KL, where Chuck bought his Ipod Touch and we bought luggage for China in September. We also got to go to church on Easter Sunday with folks from so many countries in their native dress, India, Malaysia, Africa. It was so impressive at St Mary's Anglican Cathedral. On April 6 we were off to Penang for some dental work and medical tests and minor surgeries before going back to the boat.

Best of all was how good the nachos at Chili's tasted along with the Wendy's burger and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Just had to have some home food after all this time!!!

PS.Lynn is doing great not drinking alcohol or coffee or citrus or soft drinks any more...and proud, she is!!!

We can finallly tell you about Vietnam!

2010-03-27T01:00:00.000-07:00

Biker Couple with no tatoos!!!

We left Phnom Penh on Feb 26 after a very nice stay in Cambodia. We had allowed an extra 3 days for processing of our visa at the embassy of Viet Nam, and were surprised when they had the processing done, and our passports back to us on the same day we applied! This gave us an extra 3 days in Phnom Penh for relaxing, shopping etc before bussing to Ho Chi Minh City (new name for Saigon but everyone still calls it Saigon).

The bus ride to HCMC was fine, including an efficient crossing of the Cambodia, Viet Nam border. HCMC is a large, prosperous, swept clean, busy city with cleaner air than expected. We found it to be a better "city experience" than PP in Cambodia but then it has come further with a lot more economic help .

One of the remarkable things about the city is the traffic. Everyone owns motorbike and they all drive like the crazy from every direction!!!! We found the city to be beautiful and green, and good for walking (check all ways before crossing the street, as they drive on the right, just like in the US)

After a few days in HCMC we bussed to the resort town of Dalat in the central highlands. It was a 7 hour bus ride to the town, which is situated in mountains that look a lot like north Georgia or eastern Tennessee, at an altitude of 5000 feet. We rented a motorbike for $4.50 per day and drove all over the surrounding countryside especiallythe coffee plantations. One of the main crops in this part of the country is coffee and it's some of the worlds best. The locals call it "Ca Fe Sua Doc", and it's served in a small drip strainer perched on top of the coffee cup and brought to your table. The coffee is as thick as syrup and VERY strong. Although strong, it is very smooth, and not bitter at all. We liked it a lot and now order "Ca Fe Sua Doc" sometimes when we want coffee. Dalat is the "California" of Viet Nam, because much of the available land is cultivated for growing everything from artichokes to zucchinni and all types of flowers. It is a lovely landscape, covered with small farms everywhere. Meals in Dalat, as well as in the rest of the country are VERY cheap, and highly nutritious with lunch for 2 was usually about $5 and dinner for two about $10 often including Dalat wine.

After a few days in Dalat we bussed to the town of Nha Trang on the South China Sea coast. Nha Trang is the best beach in the country and it has islands offcoast for diving. The beach front is the equal of any we have seen. It is clean, safe and beautiful. There are several high rise hotels on the beach (Sheraton, Novatel), and 4 new high rises going up along the main road. This is the beach capital of Viet Nam but we see our share of those types of towns.

Before our arrival we were concerned about how we would be received as Americans. We have been pleased and surprised that there is no anomosity in the Vietnameese at all. We were in a photo shop in Nha Trang and the operator offered to shake hands with Chuck and said "Viet Nam and America friends now. No more war".

Making Ca Fe Sua Doc

We took a dreadful overnight bus ride [had a flat and it had no restroom] to a wonderful centuries old port town called Hoi An and we really liked this location a lot. It had many restored merchant homes and trading buildings, temples, meeting houses and performance pavillion houses that were preserved and that could be toured.

We met a couple from New England that spend the winter in our hotel ever year for 5 years now and come back to the US with more money that when they left cuz it's so cheap to live in Vietnam for 3 months a year. The architecture and history was fascinating but we saw some traditional entertaining, folk dance, song and opera, that really was wonderful and so different and dramatic.

We took a tour to some historic runs built by the Champs, pronounced "cham", who originally came from Java and went back to very early man there. They were converted to Hinduism and built a series of impressive temples without mortar in the 1st through 5th century AD. Some damage was done during the war but much remains and is being preserved.

Some shots around Hoi An, one of our favorite places

Courtyard in traditional building in Hoi An

Fruitseller with new friend in Hoi An

A lantern maker in Hoi An

These temples are from the 1st through 5th centuries

We have more to come on Hue, Hanoi and Sapa in the next Blog.

Visit to Cambodia February 2010

2010-02-25T00:12:00.000-08:00

We set out for our Southeast Asia adventure with Cambodia in Mid February meeting up good friends, Ray and Marilyn [from vessel Horizon] in Siem Reap. We'd heard nothing but great things about Cambodia, especially the kindness of the people, and we have found it an amazing and enlightening country. It really is like stepping back in time. Lynn was so excited to see that they still use huge clay pots...the size of washing machines...to hold and even filter river water in the country towns. She had read about the potters who make them way back when she was a potter. Few places in the world still do that.

We immediately followed our friends to Battambong for 2 days of country life in Cambodia and also because we may not see them for a long time and this is another good spot to visit. We all took a "tuktuk" ride around the dusty country. A tuktuk is a motor scooter pulling a covered cart seating 4. We got to see temples, a cave where hundreds of bodies were disposed during the Khmer Rouge Genocide and took a rickety ride on the bamboo railroad. This"railway" is just a bamboo slat raft sitting on 2 railroad wheel axles with an outboard motor connected to a fan belt running it. This raft thing was used to take crops to the city to sell produce and was disassembled when an actual train came along.

We returned to Siem Reap for several days staying in a nice comfortable $16 a day hotel. Siem Reap is the star location in Cambodia with many reconstructed temples from the 9th to the 12th century. The temples were built to honor Hindu Gods and commemorate favored myths of certain kings and are now for Buddist worship. These are massive constructions the size of cities with huge water reservoirs. Almost a million people lived all around this part of the country at this time and they have lived here since prehistory meaning 10's of thousands of years. That is amazing. Java man, one of the earliest cavemen, came from here in SE Asia.

We set off south to the capitol of Phnom Penh on quite an adventure of a 6 hour boat ride. It was overbooked so we rode on top for the first part and got soaked until some folks finally made some space below in the freezing air conditioning. We were glad to arrive, especially Lynn who had a mild cold anyway. In the city, it was still the celebration of Chinese New Year and a challenge to find a Hotel room so we had to pay $35 but it included breakfast if you like instant eggs, spam, hotdogs, orange koolade and noodles! We found a market for granola and box milk!!!! The fruit and veggies are great and overall the food is just yummy [except breakfast] and really cheap...and often FRENCH!!! Yea!!!

With their philosophy of Buddhism teaching tolerance and acceptance, these are really mild, polite, courteous people who really want to do a good job. We are so impressed with them. We are also crushed learning that Polpot's Khmer Rouge Regime wiped out 15% of the population in the early 70's in the Genocide that especially targeted the "intellectuals" who threatened his regime. That meant any man, woman or child who wore glasses or owned a book!!! We met some relatives of victims. So bitterly sad. See the movie "The Killing Fields". We visited the place that was turned into an interrogation and holding prison before execution in the city and we chose not to visit the killing fields themselves thinking we had seen enough. The city is slowly moving forward and rebuilding after being almost completely crushed. What really surprised us is that Polpot was allowed to live comfortably in Thailand until 1998 after murdering over 1.5 million people...astounding!!! They need Rambo here!!!

The King himself helped bury the significant number of crown jewels and gold statuary before leaving the country before the Regime and much was saved. We really enjoyed seeing the renovated palace and beautiful grounds that this country is very proud of. There is a strong bond between the king who is in his 50's and unmarried and the people. The country is a committed democracy, they did tell us, though.

We got our Vietnam visa here and leave on a 6 hour luxury bus for $12 for Ho Chi Minh City on Friday Feb 26. We'll see if it's better than the boat trip which wouldn't be hard to beat!!!

Malaysia

2009-11-30T02:28:00.000-08:00

Shots around Malaysia in no particular order:

Buddist Temple in Melaka with offerings

Biggest buildings in Kuala Lumpur

Historic Fort in Melaka

Learning about how to make "Birds Nesr Soup"
It's sweetish and served for dessert!

Buying Batik artwork on silk in Melaka

Moslem school kids cut up with Chuck and Julia from Pacific Star, IP350

Malaysia is not as pristine as Singapore but a damnsight cleaner and richer than Indonesia so we are ready to like it here for a while. We plan to leave the boat in Langkawi while we travel and work on sprucing it back to shipshape!

We came to Johor the first of November, for the start of the Malaysia Rally but quickly went our own direction and pace, sailing NW up the Mallaca Straights, one of the busiest ship traffic locations in the world. We stayed in the barge lane missing all the fishing nets that are layed continously in 30' or less depth.

Our first stop was the historic town of Melaca with forts, museums, churches and old rebuilt squares to roam around. Next we stopped at Port Dickson where we left the boat for 5 days to visit the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur...means "muddy confluence". We did the usual big city stuff: shopping, museums, architecture, gardens. It was pretty OK but quite cheap!

After that we sailed straight for Langkawi, a group of touristy resort islands in the Andaman Sea. They are dutyfree and the water is much bluer than the muddy Straights. There are several marinas and yacht services. First we get 7 new batteries, a charger for shore power, a "fixed" or a "new" fridge, canvas repaired, new cockpit cushions and lots of scrubbing of mildew from all over this tub!!! I'll call it by name when it looks "schoonery" again!

We plan to visit Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and even come home for a while, hopefully in spring. Good news is we bought a small AC unit cuz this weather is really hot and now we can sleep and work better.

We will also get physicals and renew prescriptions here, so hopefully we are in good enuf shape to keep doing this cruising stuff. We do have the net here at the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club, so keep in touch.

Back to making the maintainence list...haven't begun work yet.

Singapore

2009-11-05T05:14:00.000-08:00

We can only hit the high points in Singapore. We stayed 3 weeks and just loved being in a big city again. We shopped....shopping is a marathon activity here...and saw all the museums. We toured around Little India and Chinatown with friends who met us coming in from Malaysia. We stayed in Raffles Marina, the most luxurious marina we have ever been in but very reasonable.

Singapore is immaculate and quite refreshing after Indonesia with all the polluted water.

We really loved the most wonderful tropical Botanic Gardens we have ever seen and the Bird Park was also quite remarable. The Zoo was just soso!

We had to get new passports so that's why it took a while but it was no problem...except the minor one...the heat...whew...quite warm here. Tried to stay gone until 6pm when it cools down.

In Nov we are on to Malaysia with the start of the rally that we really are just drifting with in the straights of Malaka until we get to Langkawi near Thailand. That's when the water gets nice and clear again and we look forward to it.

Kalimantan to Singapore

2009-10-09T01:49:00.000-07:00

We gotta say, the last part of Indonesia was definitely the best!! We were so impressed with our visit to Camp Leakey where wild orangutans are cared for before being released back into the wild. What a great experience! Actually just imagine anchoring right on a river in southern Borneo. The Indonesian part of Borneo is called Kalimantan. We took this river boat for 2 days and one night through the jungle to see these amazingly intelligent "cousins". You know there is a lot going on when you look deep into their eyes.
There is more info on the website on the Kalimantan page but I just had to add some more photos here.

We arrived in Singapore on Monday Oct 5th and it's great to be back in the first world again. The 4 days it took to get here was when all the dreadful disasters were hitting this area and we kept getting email asking about our safety when we didn't really know what was going on. We will be at Raffles Marina in Singapore until the Malaysia Rally begins and we sail up the straits of Mallaca towards Thailand.

Keep an eye out on the website, Starsonthesea.com for a Singapore page as soon as Lynn fully recovers from a weird infection setback.

Pix of Indonesia/August '09

2009-08-27T21:24:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pix of Indonesia and the adventure verbage follows on the next pages ...all about our time here.

After this we will post about our trip around Bali and we will get more photos on the net in Singapore. Internet is not readily available here and this is our first chance in 2 months.
Lynn and Chuck on CYAN

Kicking back!

Heading West to Bali/August '09

2009-08-27T21:23:00.000-07:00

We are having trouble raving about this country. Compared to our other cruising areas this one is more challenging and we are not particularly enthusiastic about it. The anchorages are deep and rolly; not conducive to rest. The food is cheap but mediocre although the beer is good. The land is hot, dry and parched with lots of dirt and dust to collect on the boat….and no rain for over 2 months so there is salt everywhere. Many villages are pitifully poor and needy and we would like to help more than we can. Some actually rate as Fourth World!

We really just passed time until we got to the island of Rinca, near Komoto, and saw the giant Komoto Dragons. That was something impressive to write about. They actually can swim and climb aboard boats if they smell meat. We couldn’t get off the dinghy onto land because they looked so fierce.

We began enjoying this country a bit more when we arrived in Lovina Beach, Bali. We could have just skipped everything up until here if we had it to do over again. Also, this Boat Rally is the worst organized event we have ever seen…actually entertaining in its inefficiency! They keep cancelling things and changing the rules and the organizers quit halfway through it. We had taken off on our own away from the crowd of boats, anyway. We are waiting to renew our visas now and are just killing time before we visit the island of Bali. We have heard good things so are looking forward to improvement in our outlook.

We guess someplace has to be our least favorite!!! After here we go to Borneo to see the Orangutans and then to Singapore before another rally in Malaysia and then on to Thailand.

WE ARE ACTUALLY HEADED HOME AFTER THAILAND! In January we will head around India, through the Red Sea to Turkey. We won’t be back in the US on CYAN for at least 2 years but we are headed that way.

Lynn and Chuck on CYAN

Trials In Indonesia/July 09

2009-08-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

Maybe we jinxed ourselves by saying too often that things had been going too smoothly, but our luck all caught up with us on our way to Indonesia.

The first inconvenience happened when, in the middle of the night, on the short 250 mile passage, the head got completely blocked and we proceeded to disassemble it and treat it with phosphoric acid. Meanwhile, when we are both working in the head with sails reefed and pointing the boat to the wind for a smoother ride, a wave hits and a kettle of tea flies across the galley staining the rugs with creative brown designs. Then on another wave all Lynn's earrings in a Tupperware box, that has always been secure, hits at the right angle and the stateroom is peppered with jewelry, everywhere. We finally unblock the head after several hours of “bucket and chuck-it” as cruisers call it. All this, while the wind picks up to blowing 30 knots.

We finally reach Saumlaki, Indonesia where the 140 boats in the rally crowd into a deep anchorage. These local folks...40,000...in an oversized village actually, have never seen so many westerners at one time. The people here are very welcoming and delightful folks...we can't say enough about their attractiveness. The officials do the best they can with the overwhelming number of vessels to go through quarantine, immigration, customs and harbormaster clearance. Beaurocracy is the game here and we must enjoy it!!!

Our next set of problems didn't really start until the second day where we are called on the radio to assure us that someone is out there saving our dinghy...WHAT DINGHY... we didn't know it was missing!!! The D ring we have hauled it by for thousands of miles gave way and it was taking off across the bay!!! Then we went on the arranged tour of villages to view the culture, dancing, singing and crafts. The marathon hour tour ended up lasting 9 hours on a bumpy bus with no restroom facilities and just one cup of water. The tour was wonderful but they hadn't prepared for this huge number of cruisers, amounting to over 200 in 5 busses on back roads.

Anyway, after we got back, at dusk, we find the dinghy had been pushed under the pier by the other 30 dinghies and it was crushed and full of water from high tide!!! We got towed back to the boat by helpful fellow cruisers only to find that our BOAT WAS MISSING...IT WAS GONE...ooops… look around...there it was ...over 300 feet north from where we left it. The anchor that had held fine for 2 days, somehow, proceeded to drag across the slimy mud and past a neighboring boat but not hitting it!!! We find out that 4 other cruisers in dinghies guided it safely and let out more chain to hold it securely. We pride ourselves in anchoring and we were mortified to be caught in such a mistake!!!

It was all a day from hell and mostly an affront to our dignity. We will learn from it all and not be complacent...if that was our mistake. The next morning we re-anchored with a wounded windlass [the motor thing that pulls up the chain]. Chuck spent the all day learning how to rebuild the waterlogged outboard motor while Lynn was in bed with chills from “Indo revenge” as also experienced by with other visitors here!!!

We finally got the motor fixed although the cover looks like it was run over by a truck!!! We also fixed the wiring on the windlass with help from other cruisers. Just another step in the great adventure but we have to say...we were tired, frustrated, embarrassed and humbled by all of it. The breakage could have been worse and more threatening...like actually having to get parts sent into here. “Impossible but can be arranged”, as they say, expecting bribes.

It was not our best time on the boat so far!!! Still we leave to see other parts of Indonesia west of here and hopefully with better luck!!

Lynn and Chuck on CYAN

The end of Australia

2009-07-15T03:13:00.000-07:00

Chuck's view while diving!

We haven't written in ages because there just isn't anything exciting about getting ready to leave the first world.

There are many things to fix on the boat like refrigeration, windlass, SSB radio [shorting out causing shocks ouch!] and a bunch of boring miscellaneous small stuff. We always appreciate the engine and generator which are purring nicely and after our boat's slick bottom paint we are scooting along at nice speeds like 7 knots!!! We have been packing in the provisions and booze like there is no tomorrow. That's because we want more than fish and seedy rice!!! And also there are no alcoholic goodies in Indonesia!!!Our passage along the islands of the Great Barrier Reef and the NE coast of Aussieland was quite enjoyable. We especially liked Cairns, Cooktown, Townsville, the 5 day Great Barrier Reef Cruise and wonderful cape Tribulation with it's beautiful rain forest. It's a long damn way around Australia, though...I mean this place is spread out!!! It seemed to take us ages!!!

We must mention that the folks here are our favorites in the world so far....they are just great everywhere we went...just like southerners at home...warm and instant friends...we love them!!!We sailed around the NE section of Australia all the way to Darwin and have been here almost a month getting ready. It's hot and sticky here and it's the dead of winter!!! On July 18 at 6am we take a 3 day voyage north to Indonesia for 3 months in the third world...actually it's the most exotic place we have been yet, as far as lack of communications like the internet or even medical help. There are 140 boats in this rally so we have lots of company and we have seen just loads of friends that we haven't connected with in ages.

I might also mention that we installed an AIS unit so that we can always see the location big ships and they can see us. We will be going into busy traffic waters from here on.

We promise to report here more often during our travels.

We plan to go to Bali and Borneo, too, which just sound so wildly exotic!!! We understand that the Indonesian people have little but are warm and inviting. We hope there is not another earthquake in Sumatra like the one that wiped out Thailand a few years ago because that's just where we will be!!! After Indonesia we go to Singapore about October and then to Malaysia for several weeks before Thailand about Christmas time.

Please write us at the usual sailmail address...we will miss friends and family.

Lynn and Chuck...the tired and drinking crew of CYAN!!!

March 2009 Manly and Bundy

2009-03-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

Hamish, along the coast.....

We expected to just stay a brief time in Manly, near Brisbane, in early March, and visit with Horizon folks, Marilyn and Ray, but this cyclone, Hamish, came down the east coast and trapped us there so we ended up working on the exterior teak. Now this teak job is a huge endeavor and one we can put off for ages but we finally got it done. We will put up photos of CYAN in her finished state after the haul out.

These photos try and capture the fun of those weeks we spend doing maintenance projects to get the boat in good shape so we can go out and live and play safely. I won't try and list all the fun jobs....they do mount up, tho!!!

We did arrange to take breaks for scotch tastings for Ray and Chuck...a new hobby in off hours!!!

Do these guys look happy or what???

After many harried days of work and errands in Manly, looking for supplies and a new water heater we catch a weather window and we set out for our voyage north to Bundaberg and to be hauled out for a bottom job repainting the hull after 2 1/2 years cruising. This is an especially long time to put off a bottom job and we don't know what to expect.

Lifted out of the water by the travel lift after backing into the slip in raging current and wind!

Hauled over to the dusty, dirty boatyard where we have to crawl up and down a 10' ladder to get off and on the boat!

The paint the had applied in Venezuela in 2006 had held up remarkably well and we had no real problems. We just spent a normal 9 days getting the bottom sanded, primed, sprayed and the new water heater installed. We did that, of course. We had to have some engine work done and we are installing AIS that will allow us to monitor ship traffic while at sea and have them see us, too. We still have provisioning and errands to do in town and a dentist to see.

Soon we will be out there anchored in the islands having fun again!!!

Making our way north

2009-02-17T17:25:00.000-08:00

Here it is mid February and we are late making our way north to Brisbane and on to Bundaberg to work on CYAN.

We spent almost 2 weeks in Broken Bay, a breathtakingly beautiful area 1/2 day north of Sydney, waiting for elusive winds from the south to blow us on northwards. We decided to knock ourselves out cleaning and re-oiling ALL THE INTERIOR TEAK WALLS and cabinets. It turned out to be a huge job and we went through lots of Nuprin feeling all of our years and then some! It looks like new from the inside now, with new rugs and decorator cushions. We sorta miss that ole smell of mildew, tho!!! We just need to work up that same fury on the exterior next month when we need to renovate the teak and wax the fiberglass!

We set out from Broken Bay with some good south wind on Feb 10 and made it as far as Port Stephens Bay, getting only 80 miles north of Sydney. These southern gift winds were part of a monster high pressure system near Tasmania that dryed out Melbourne and encouraged those fires in South Australia you made have heard about. The fires left many homeless and even killed over 200 people. This system whipped up a series of lowpressure systems off the eastern coast, where we are in New South Wales. Each low had a clockwise circular flow and an eye like a small cyclone. These lows have been happening for the last seven days we have been waiting. We have seen loads of rain and roaring winds continously from 20 to 35 knots in this protected bay and they were over 50 knots off shore as this photo shows in the orange areas. One gale warning after another and many flood warnings. This shows the low after it had moved away from the coast.

CYAN was anchored well and rode it all out with several other boats in Salamander Bay and we made many good friends as well as seeing some old cruiser friends, Three Ships and Allaban. We can't complain about the fun we had passing the time. There was a good little mall near by, nice walks, a wonderful marina...it was one of our favorite stops. We were invited to a yacht club as honored guests for dinner by new friends, David and Lannie on Gypsie Lee. We also met George on Thalia 11 who at 76 is still single handing after making a circumnavigation in '94.

I included the photos below to show what we do to kill time while waiting for weather...laundry, shopping, downloading, sewing, refueling, and of course by-passing the leaking hot water heater. That's one more thing to buy when we get to Bundy in March.

Looks like Thursday, the 19th will be good to go all the way to the Gold Coast Seaway and on to Manly off Brisbane. Should take us 3-4 days...about 350 miles but some of it takes waiting for the right tides to go through the shallows inside the seaway.

At least we have predicted winds from the south even if there are showers included. They just come with the package. We will post more updates later...all this is just day-to-day cruising life but it's what's happening in our lives and actually we are having a great time even if it's not the expected schedule!!

Adventures in Sydney

2009-01-10T16:56:00.000-08:00

It's been about a month since we have arrived in Sydney and it's just flown by. We really haven't noted anything on this blog because there is just too much to note. Who wants to hear about all the usual museums and parks we all visit in a world class city?? I won't really go into any detail...ok!!! Just let folks know we are well and having a great time enjoying Australia. We do notice that the weather here is absolutely more varied than any we have ever seen anywhere. It cane be really hot then cold then rainey then blow like crazy...just stick around!!!

I will note that our cove at Cammeray Marina, where the boat is moored, takes a good strong 3/4 mile uphill walk or 106 steep steps and then 3 steep block uphill to get to the bus so we get a work out on most days. We have learned the transit system well and have traveled all over town. It feels good to be cleared as healthy by the doctor here and get new glasses, prescriptions, etc.

We made new friends of Mark and Heather who entertained us during the holidays and introduced us to many interesting folks. Mark is the Island Packet dealer for Australia and introduced himself when we happened to anchor [legally] in his condo's front cove.

Our pictures here are self described...just a token of the beauty that is all around this lovely city...one of the nicest we have ever seen. Sydney is so crisp and clean that is is a joy to discover.We got to see 3 events at the Opera House itself, city museums, especially the Nautical Museum, Zoo,Gardens, historic city sections and walks, meeting with new and old friends, and, of course, there is always catching up on shopping and lots of movies.

When we weren't out and about we were trying to get motivated to get some jobs done on the boat but kept getting tempted to play instead. We did get some gas work done for a small fortune and new radios installed to replace semi-working old ones.

Next we head north to Broken Bay for a few weeks of exploration and perhaps some boat work...we'll see!!! Then we start the long haul north against the current and exploring the coast.

The Crew of CYAN

Down the coast to Sydney

2008-12-09T21:48:00.000-08:00

We had a great sail for 4 days and nights down the coast from Brisbane until we hit some strong weather coming from the south and decided to duck into Lake MacQuarie to wait it out. We were just 60 miles north of Sydney and had a nice 4 day rest there meeting locals, walking around town and watching races.

The sailing south along the Australian coast is flukey sailing....there are currents and eddies. Sometimes we hit the southerly current going 2-3 knots and flew and sometimes the wind would come from every direction at some time during the day with lumpy seas to motor into. We had to use the engine about 1/3 the time. It was all quite scenic and the coast was far more covered with mountains and cliffs than we expected. The whole coast is quite shallow for several miles out so the swell is not bad.

We arrived in Sydney on Monday, Dec. 8th, in rain and 25 to 30 knots of wind and anchored right at the famous Opera House in Farm Cove which is more impressive than in photos. This place is very well designed! We just left the dinghy at the pier, ignoring...or conviently overseeing a sign that said "no vessels without permission"...we thought they meant really big boats and not little dinghys!!! Anyway they left it along for several hours while we walked all over town and also got tickets for performances.

We only stayed one night at this anchorage. Lots of ferries zoomed past and sightseeing boats drove all around us while we had sundowners. It was so rocky with the swell from their wakes that we kept spilling our coffee!!!

We changed to another anchorage and then got a nice surprize....an email from the Australian Island Packet Dealer who saw us anchor, looked us up on the net and sent an email for us to call him. We had anchored right in his condo's bay and he swam over to visit with a cooler of beer and invited us to dinner. That's Aussie spirit!!! This is gonna be a great place to visit.

We will soon leave this bay called "The Glebe" to go to Cammeray Marina to our mooring for a month to get settled in. We have work to get done on the boat and routine doctors to see. All part of our time in port.

We Spend 2 Weeks in Brisbane

2008-11-28T23:55:00.000-08:00

After we sailed from Bundaberg we headed south for Brisbane and expected to spend several days with friends in Mooloolaba on our way but it didn't work out that way. We had to head overnight directly to our marina at Manly which is near Brisbane, Australia, because a big storm system was heading north from New South Wales along the coast. We got docked just a few hours before several days of colorful, wet, loud weather hit the coast causing millions in damage. Worst storm in 30 years!!!

The weather here had been dreadfully dry for ages but since we have been here we have seen more lightning than the whole 4+ years we have owned the boat!!!! We have had rain numbering in feet instead of inches!!! Rivers are swelling above flood stage and mosquitos are swarming. We had pea sized hail that sounded like bullets and we were concerned for our solar panels!!

We finally got a chance to take the train into the city and Brisbane is young and bustling. What an attractive downtown with a huge arcade of many streets and shops and street entertainment. We just weren't used to cities and the noise knocked us over! By the end of the day it was sensory overdose....too many lights and sounds. Guess we got used to quiet islands!

Manly is just a short train ride to downtown Brisbane and we visited there several times. "Brissy" is one of the fastest growing cities in the world and very up to date.

Brisbane City, Anzac Square, A Memorial Park

Here we are after having just run for a ferry on a day in Brisbane with the other cruisers friends from Fast Forward and Catimini in the group photo below.

We really covered the whole city. We ate, drank and caught up on our recent passages and future plans.

It was great to see Brisbane and get a bunch of shopping done especially with the good Australian dollar exchange rate now. We had a toned down Thanksgiving on the boat with Thai Chicken and cranberry sauce and missed family, of course.

Now we are on our way sailing south along the coast to Sydney. We expect to anchor each night enjoying the coastal sights unless the weather window is really good and then we will shoot straight through and go the whole 400 miles!! We look forward to Christmas in Sydney and plan to meet friends there and take our time seeing the sights. We are staying on a mooring in Cammeray Marina just outside downtown.

Here in Australia we have a modem like a cell phone with instant internet access and we are really enjoying the First World priviledges again with instant connections!!!

Wishing everyone safe and blessed holidays....

Lynn and Chuck on Cyan

Arrived in Australia

2008-11-07T18:10:00.000-08:00

Please join as a subscriber to this blog to be notified when it is updated or add this site to your bookmarks to check it from time to time if you are interested in our further adventures. We don't usually update it enough for it to get annoying!
Or you can just check www.starsonthesea.com from time to time.
There is a new page on New Caledonia that's just been posted. Checkhere

We took the Port to Port Rally from Koumac, New Caledonia to Bundaberg, Australia arriving Oct 29. We had a brief stop for 4 days at a wonderful sand bar in the middle of the Coral Sea called Chesterfield Reef with 7 other cruiser friends in the rally.
Koumac was a particularly fun visit. The rally folks organized excursions to working mines, and an abandoned mining village, ancient caves, wine tastings and a pig roast before we left to sail west. Lynn celebrated her birthday on the 16th along with Mike on Kokamo who had the very same birthday, tasting French wines, cheeses and pates. What a tough life!!!

After all the vessels arrived the 4 days of parties began in "Bundy". There were games and prizes and Chuck bid $3 on a nice yellow hat got toad #1 who won the race and we won 2 days and nights at a B&B on the beach and, what's best, 2 days rental car to do shopping for provisioning...yeah!!! He also won the stuffed toad in the picture.

On election day they came to interview us because they were looking for some Americans who were watching the election closely and since we had internet connection, we were. The next day we were in the papers with a nice picture. That was a nice welcome since we'd only been in Australia a week!!! Here is a shot of the paper.
We expect to leave Bundaberg and sail south to Brisbane area about mid month taking in some nice stops along the way. We are heading to Sydney for Christmas. The fireworks on the bridge there on New Years Day is supposed to be spectacular and we have a dock reserved.
More Later.....Chuck and Lynn on CYAN

New Caledonia

2008-09-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

In Honor of the Forces who by their Presence During the Pacific Wave

From March 1942 to February 1946 Insured the

Freedom of New Caledonia

Her People are Deeply Grateful

We arrived in Noumea September 20th and were lucky to find a place in the marina with sketchy internet. This is the place, where in 1943, Lynn's Dad and her uncle Bud were stationed during WWII and they got the message that she was born on October 16th. Yes, she will get Social Security this year. We promised Uncle Bud some pictures so here they are:

These shots are around Anse Vata, or Vata Cove which is southwest of Noumea.

It's too bad the day was cool and cloudy or

we could have taken shots of the

TOPLESS DOLLIES ON THE BEACH!!!

We visited the museum and aquarium

Next we plan to provision at the wonderful French waterfront market and head up the west coast and down the east coast of New Caledonia to make a circumnavigation of the island. Most of it will be inside the reef which protects us from the ocean swell. This will take about 3 weeks and then we check out for Australia.

Vanuatu Visit

2008-09-20T23:49:00.000-07:00

In August we sailed to Vanuatu where many of the Survivor TV shows were films.We spent about 10 days in Port Vila, the biggest town in Vanuatu. It's an attractive and enjoyable place. It had quite a presence in World War 11 with many Navy persons and Michner's "Tales of the South Pacific" took place north of here in Luganville. It's fun to try and speak the Pidgin English. CYAN blong nambawan. “Cyan is number one!” Yes nambawan is one word.

This country is about the most "third world" and primative we have been to yet. They have lots of old world superstitions, volcanos erupting, waterfalls, cannibalism until 1969, weird cults that worship WW II soldiers, few clothes, sharks, sea snakes and many other edgy things to watch out for. They are warm and inviting folks but quite simple their cultures and art. Until recently in the 1900s there were loads of different island cultures and languages in the 80 islands. They fought and ate each other and any white folks thinking about settling around. It was hard on the missionaries but they finally had an impact. The more remote islands still share their customs and dancing with cruising visitors. We spent 9 days around the islands north of Port Vila but had to head back when we got a great weather break.
We missed the famous volcano on the island of Tanna but we can’t do everything if the weather doesn’t work out. Malaria is an issue and we are taking meds that make it hard to sleep but ward off the critters in the mosquitos' bite!!! Chuck went on some scuba dives and saw even more unique sealife. He was ecstatic about his dive on the Cooledge, a WW II wreck in Luganville.

On his birthday, Chuck caught this 60" mahimahi that we shared with 2 other cruising boats and one whole half was given to feed 6 local families.
We plan to take off about mid September to visit New Caledonia and we are provisioning now. Shopping is good here in Vila and duty-free booze is cheap so we are making room to take a bunch to Australia.

Pictures of Fiji

2008-08-04T20:16:00.000-07:00

Go to our website for more photos and info

Lynn And Chuck on CYAN

Vanua Balavu, continued

2008-07-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

Bavatu Harbor

This is one of the most beautiful anchorages and quite an interesting visit. After anchoring way back, right between the small island at the south of the large cove/harbor and the cliffs to the west, we came ashore at the boat landing and found the longest and most well built wooden staircase we'd ever seen. This must have been 15 stories high; we should have counted! There is a large coconut plantation covering most of the eastern side. We'd met Tony, in Lakemba. He owns the plantation and the 85' charter vessel, Tau. He gave us a letter of introduction that we presented to Fane, who is his plantation manager. At the staircase top we found the coconut plantation and tiny village of 5 houses, a "sometime" store and an open air church for the workers. Fane gave us a tour of 2 lovely homes with astounding views of the harbor, we bought coconut oil and walked back by the cows, and horses along the road to the landing instead of the tall staircase. We left gifts for the villagers and bought 4 amazing lobsters for $50 from Fane's husband so he could get a new diving mask and spear fish on the reef for his village. We'd offered him Chuck's spare mask but it was too large for him.

For anchoring in Banavu Harbor, we would recommend the eastern anchorage instead of the southern one due to lack of breeze and a few bugs. We do mention that behind the small island at the south, is a nice set of coral heads to snorkel at mid-tide.

To prepare to leave by Qilaqila Pass we moved to the larger U shaped cove behind the innermost range marker. There was some current and we set the anchor right in the middle between the big rock on the north of the eastern cut and the center island. The current took us over towards the island and out of the bumps of the waves. It was plenty deep right up to the steep rocks and we ended us spending several days waiting for the right weather. We found the best snorkeling right at the eastern cut at mid-tide and at a tiny beach beyond. Saw beautiful fish and interesting formations.

Cove anchorage 17deg 09.839S 179deg 02.094W

Info on leaving and entering by Qilaqila Pass:

There were 3 markers for this pass on the charts but we only found one at the inside and it was bent over, a white top just barely visible at high tide.

Approach, lining up range markers 17deg 09.502S 179deg 02.948W
Mid-pass Waypoint 17deg 09.361S 179deg 03.384W
Clear, at end of pass Waypoint 17deg 09.228S 179deg 03.908W

The last waypoint is a line up point to enter this pass if coming from the rest of Fiji and the range markers are very evident. We had no problem but we were at full tide in the morning with some overcast and didn't see the southern reef as well as well as we saw the waves on the reef on the northern side.

Our Navionics Gold software was still off by .4 mile in the whole area of Vanua Balavu .

On our return to main area of Fiji we tried to stop at a recommended anchorage called Nanuku Levu, a tiny set of 2 islets on a long N/S reef. The patch of shallow sand was just too close to the western reef and the chop was just too lumpy. We then tried to make it to Laucala by sunset but there was no pass marker as our chart indicated. We decided to heave-to in the 7 mile long bay just south of Budd Reef for the night. We should have motor-sailed in order to have an alternative and took it as a lesson. The next morning we motored sailed the brief 8 miles to the east side of Taviuni where we anchored about 1 mile south of the airport runway.

As a summary, our visit to the Lau Group was one of the best sailing experiences we have ever had and we would encourage cruisers to make this a part of their Fiji visit.

Lynn and Chuck on CYAN

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Vanuabalavu

2008-06-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

Bay of Islands info

We came into the reef by the Adavaci Passage on the west because we were coming from the SW and it worked out fine. Only one beacon on the SE part of pass. Our Raymarine Navionics Gold chart plotter was off by al most ½ mile at this island after being so close on the others.

Approach Pt from sea 17deg 13.616S 179deg 01.096W
Mid-pass WP 17deg 13.550S 179deg 00.805W
Pt on NW reef where other
Beacon should be 17deg 13.456S 179deg 01.035W
SW shoally side to avoid 17deg 13.621S 179deg 01.229W

We passed Vanuahaloa Island on starboard and went north to Bay of Islands. We heard a radio call but thought it was from Lomaloma on the other side of the main island. We couldn't see a village. It was from Daliconi to our East behind an island. They own Bay of Islands and we were supposed to have checked in there first and had sevusevu and got a permit, $25 Fiji each person for 30 days anchoring. It was still well worth it. This village is not named on the chart. We went back 4 days later after Bay of Islands visit to pay. I told them I would spread the word so they wouldn't have to send a boat out to each cruiser to tell them about the permit. The Lau Provisional Office where we got the permit should have told us.
DON'T LET THIS DETER YOU! Bay of Islands was one of our favorite places in all Pacific!!! It was a playground and we were all alone. We were the 3rd boat this year when they had 22 boats by this time last year.

Daliconi Village WP 17deg 13.140S 178deg 57.400W
Anc in 28-34' good
but rocky holding 17deg 13.175S 178deg 57.983W
WP S of Vanuahaloa Isl 17deg 13.243S 178deg 59.722W

Our first anchorage in BOI was the 10 meter deep cove on Calders we called Chuncky Rock Cove. We stayed 3 nights exploring all kinds of hidden nooks and coves in our kayak and snorking mostly on shelves due to the depths.

Anc in 22' close to steep S wall
in OK holding [we stayed
right in place due to current
running from hidden cove at S] 17deg 10.876S 179deg 01.334W

We made a safety circle around it to check depths and these cliffs are straight up and down. The rock formations all around were magnificent as well as the aqua blue coves.

For our 4th day we anchored in Ship Sound. The passage there was exactly as Calders says with good visibility. The best snorkeling was on a large head between Ship Sound and the larger bay north, right in the middle. Apparently mid pass has the most nutritious location for sealife with the water flow. We saw loads of huge fruit bats roosting and flying around.

Ship Sound anchorage in
25' good holding 17deg 10.049S 179deg 00.918W

Our 5th day we anchored at the village [as mentioned above] and had dinner with a family there, then on to the northern anchorages.
Lynn and Chuck on CYAN

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Lekemba Island in Lau Group

2008-06-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

Lekemba, Capital of Lau Group

Anchorage is in a "cove" in the reefs on the due west side of the island. There haven't been any markers in recent memory no matter what the guides say and we could barely see, through the trees, the roof of a house mentioned in Calder's that we were supposed to approach towards. We found it a challenge just finding this more shallow anchoring plane [50-75'] by going south along and outside the reefs. There were no references to locate it.

Approaching the open roadstead:
Soundings begin 18deg 12.621S 178deg 50.743W
Approach to spot 18deg 12.653S 178deg 50.607W
Exact spot of anchor 18deg 12.674S 178deg 50.500W
In 54' depth

An 85' sailboat from Savusavu said we were in his exact favorite spot when he comes to pick up charterers so he anchored behind us in about 65'. There is room for 2 boats to swing side by "close" side and the protection was remarkably good in up to 20 knots. We drove the boat in a 400' circle to check safe distance to the reefs and found the center was good in all directions for depth and put out 225 feet of chain.

A dinghy can be motored the 3+ miles to the village at higher than mid-tide and it took us 1 hour paddling over 3-4 spots. We returned and motored outside and it took ½ hour. Wear life vests! We were just outside the surfing type, swell waves…creepy!!!

When we got to the dock on the south side of Nadawa Passage at Tubou village, we were met by 2 soldiers who were adamant that "You cannot come here, go back to Suva!". We just said "Give us a minute to tie to the rocks and we will show you our permit" but they still almost threw us off. When they read the permit and made a radiophone call to someone more official, they turned into all smiles and welcomes, drove us to the barracks, gave us fruit and coffee and assigned a young, "uninteresting" soldier to guide us around town. We had to pry info from other residents because even though he had grown up there he knew nothing of what a visitor would want to see.

We presented our kava gift and had sevusevu with the asst chief but he didn't make the grog, just took the package and our bags of gifts. That was fine with us.

The walk from the dinghy landing was through a little used copra factory guarded by a bull tied on the road blocking our way. We found a place beyond him to carefully creep through the barbed wire fence. The village has a store that opens at 4pm but we weren't around at that time. No other shops were found but fuel and premix is available.

We met some school teachers who told us that the vocational school had wood carving classes and sold their work. The next day we left the dinghy on the beach at the mouth of the spring there, where we thought the dinghy channel was, and walked in towards the village. The school was sold-out of woodwork due to a craft show recently but meeting the head master and seeing his plans for making opportunities for new students was interesting. We got a ride to the grammar school where the teachers had invited us to visit, had a delightful time with kids and walked back for 1 ½ hours in the heat and flies…whew! Then we found the full moon tide had gone waaaay out leaving the dinghy ¼ mile away from water on mud. We killed time waiting 2 ½ hours before we could get to a much enjoyed happy hour. We only stayed 3 nights and 2 days, then left at 5 am in an easy "getout" to sea.

Chuck and Lynn on CYAN

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Lau Group Info, CYAN Fulanga, June 08

2008-06-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

All waypoints were noted as the boat was actually at that location except where I noted "approximately by sight" when I put in a waypoint at what looked like the right place as we went by it. Disclaimer...this is the best we have and numbers were double checked on the plotter but there are no guarantees!!!

Approach to pass from NE

We approached island from the west and followed the NE side of surrounding reef to the obvious pass which heads SW into lagoon. We stayed to the port [SE] of the pass due to current drifting us NW to starboard, on a slight incoming tide, [1 hour before high tide in Lakemba, the only tide info we had]. Current was only moderate and wouldn't bother anyone but Lynn!! Depth was 14' to 20' in the pass but might be a bit deeper in very center of the 100'+ wide pass. We passed closer to the big rock just inside the pass, than expected and the coral head we saw might have been the eastern of the 2 shown in the "South Pacific Anchorages" book by Clay, our main guide in these islands.

Our Pass Waypoints:

Line up outside pass WP 19deg 07.310S 178deg 32.404W

Middle of pass WP 19deg 07.554S 178deg 32.542W

Big pointed rock close at port [approx location by sight from boat] WP 19deg 07.667S 178deg 32.539W

Just past rock WP 19deg 07.684S 178deg 32.626W

Coral head on SB [by sight] WP 19deg 07.781S 178deg 32.707W

Beside the coralhead WP 19deg 07.807S 178deg 32.688W

Safe inside WP 19deg 07.850S 178deg 32.750W

I know this is more WP's than anyone needs but if I'd had had them on our Raymarine Plotter I would have felt better just looking at them all lined up. Navionics Gold chart was brief on this island but amazingly accurate, being just a bit off east to west.

Other waypoints we noticed inside:

Coral head on port in mid lagoon[By sight from boat on our route NW thru lagoon]WP 19deg 07.818S 178deg 33.605W

Center Lagoon Rock WP [stands out in mid lagoon] Go straight on to village or turn port to "Cove" anc WP 19deg 07.597S 178deg 33.943W

Village anchorage NW of "Onepalm" Isle [ancorage is between it and big black Rocky patch N of anchorage] WP 19deg 07.306S 178deg 36.628W

Coralhead on way to cove from village [approx by sight] WP 19deg 07.967S 178deg 35.118W

"Protected Cove" [Comfy in 32+ knots]WP 19deg 08.325S 178deg 34.844W

Village info

We first anchored at the village in 15-20' for 2 nights for sevusevu, check-in with Chief and permission to fish, swim, explore, etc. There is a big, wide shallow reef [1-3']all along in front of Navindamu village. Take dinghy around to the south towards "Onepalm" Isle [obvious name I gave it!] Go towards a stake at beach. There is a lot of dark grass close in to beach.

Village personality was not as warm as we expected. We'd read that some remote villages just want to know when you are leaving. We wanted carvings and had to pry info out of them. They are just not outgoing but, more private folks. The assistant chief who presented our kava to the chief of this village wouldn't even give his name and was not helpful with info on how to find other villages by track or water. "No way for you to go there!" and we weren't gonna press it.

They did say James Taylor has bought land for an elite hotel here and expects to seaplane in tourists. They asked us to ferry 8-20 church goers back to neighboring island,Ogea Driki [just a few miles away], but we just couldn't do it in 30 knot winds, 15' seas and with no chart of the island. We did give them extra food to feed the folks until 3 days later when they have a break in the weather.

Cove Anchorage

On the way to Cove, as we came from the village anchorage, we crossed 2 slightly more shallow bars at 20' [low tide] depth in what was usually 40-60' depths in main sailing areas. It's really not a cove but feels like one for protection, just off the straight south side of the main island and in a large space between big muffin rocks east and west. There are some little sandy beaches in sight. There are villages on the chartlet and we saw open boats carrying folks but don't know where the village tracks are. In the "South Pacific Anchorages" chartlet, the "cove" was just SE of the "12" meter depth at the anchor. The muffin islets are more spaced out than he shows there and we could get close to shore by 200 meters or so. We didn't see any rocks or heads at all in 16-22' depth anchorage area and we had 150' of scope out for a frontal passage.

Cruisers can help!

They don't have any weather info. We can tell them what we have found from our SSB reports. At the future more remote islands I think we will bring printer copies of weather for a "PR gift". They seemed amazed we knew the weather for several days.

We brought to share:
Teeshirts, reading glasses [bargained for $4 ea in Suva], chisels, sharpening stones, fish hooks and line, hair ornaments, colored pencils [$1 in Suva], drawing [unlined, $.69] stack of notebooks [Lynn hopes to give art and cartooning lessons]

We wish we had brought:
Personals like combs, nail clippers [big and small], fabric wraps [cheap in fabric store in Suva], first aid spray or cream, insect and rash treatment cream, Q-tips, fly strips, pieces of cheap carpet [samples to wipe feet at doorways, cheap in Suva], hair clips and elastic bands for girls, small towels and wash cloths, plastic tubs of all sizes [they made kava is worn out tubs], kava straining cloths [where you get the kava], small gardening tools, cheap cooking tools and containers. They sleep on really worn out foam….any amount, 1-10, of compressed [for space] foam pads would be great, even small ones for kids.

More info coming on other Lau Group islands we visit.
Please comment below if you are a cruiser and this blog helped you. We just want an idea of who stops by!

Lynn and Chuck on CYAN

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CYAN Cruising the Lau Group, Fiji

2008-06-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

Visiting the Lau Group of islands is a special privilege because we needed a specific government cruising permit and they only give a few to those who really want to go....it was like a job interview. They don't want folks corrupting the traditional, tight-knit villages there. They are very religious, {mostly Methodist} emphasize education {many of the leaders and officials come from there}, and, what we like; the Fiji handicrafts are made on these islands and there is no tourism. Also, of course, there are few charts and no navigation aids like reef markers either. This is gonna be another step up in navigation having only to come inside the reef that surrounds most of the islands by sight alone with good overhead sunshine. The islands are hills in a circular shape made by the remains of a volcanic rim with coral reefs near the green hills and another circle reef outside.

We have known of 3 boats, who were lost crashing into reefs in several locations....gotta be worth the risk. These 12+ islands are some of the best in the Pacific and have the nicest folks, from what we have read by other boats who have gone there in the last few years. In the last few months have they been a bit more lenient with permits.

Lynn got a haircut in a shop in Suva, owned by a nice lady, Tai, whose brother works up in the Government there and they are from the Lau Group. They got us a formal invitation to one of the islands...Thithia...where their relatives are expecting us....this makes our visit more special and helped us qualify for a permit.

Now...for the entry formalities...We have to wear long skirts and Chuck wears a "sulu" [pareau, in French Poly, Lavalava in Samoa, etc] a sarong wrap made for men...he got one in Tonga. Also, we have on board 4 bunches of wrapped Kava root...look like butt-ugly bouquets!!! We are required to greet the Chief of each island.

We have brought school supplies, 10 pairs of reading glasses [$4 ea at chinese shop], fish hooks, line, teeshirts for kids, craft activity, games and other stuff to share. Fiji has over 300 islands of all sizes and we have several weeks to wander around before on going to Vanuatu....even further into the third world, if possible.

The weather window was flat calm for the trip...which is good because we had to motor east 200 miles from Suva [2 days and nights] into what is usually 15+ knots of tradewinds from the SE. The sea looked like a mirror reflecting the stars!!

We arrived in Fulanga, at the south of the Lau chain, on Monday, Sunday in US. The pass through the reef was narrow and shallow with in incoming tide and it all went well but was touchy while we were there. Depth goes from 600' deep to 30' like a snap and was 14' deep in the channel. No info said that. We skirted a huge coral head right about 5' under water just inside the entry channel and right before the lagoon where the water becomes a deeper blue, cyan actually, and has more dept...35-60' throughout. It has many huge limestone rocks carved by the sea, scattered around that are easy to see. The aqua water allows easy sight of any shallow areas, coral reefs or rocks. We haven't been in aqua water for a long while...Bora Bora we think.

We saw a village directly across the 3 mile wide lagoon when we got out in the middle...Navindamu, and decided to anchor in 20' just outside the low, 100' wide coral and grass reef in front of the houses [at 19 07.3W, 178 35.6S for any followers]. Any other cruisers can write us for the record of GPS locations we are keeping.

On with the entry formalities to the village.

We came ashore with our Kava bouquet and were brought to the Chief and his assistant did the job of laying it at his feet and formally chanting our arrival and welcome, complete with responses from the gathering of folks...now he allows us stay in his anchorage, swim, fish and wander around. They read our permit letter in Fijian while we sat on hand woven matts with crossed legs.

Another fellow pounded our gift of Kava inside an old WW II artillery shell and then we had had a sevesevu [kava drinking] ceremony where we got to drink this funky stuff with all the group. We'd tried it in Tonga...looks and tastes like dishwater and makes your lips and mouth numb but makes you not care too much!!! [Like 2-3 glasses of wine]. After we drink the whole contents of each coconut half-shell cup we are to clap 3 times and they say something like bula bula [but not here...that's only for a high Chief]...like 3 cheers for the new guys!!! Apparently they really welcome us "Yachties" as we are called in these old British empire places like here.

We were given a village tour of the church [altar rail decorated with tools carved by the chief himself], gardens of cassava and kumara, and met a wood carver who carves dolphins very well [are buying 2]. They are having an island church conference today, Tuesday, so we are going fishing and we will give them some gifts and change anchorages tomorrow. There is a low pressure system passing us late in the week, so we won't leave the security here until Saturday.

Pictures coming in a few weeks when we get to Savusavu. They don't even have electricity here. The supply ship comes only every month or two. The store here is smaller than an average USA middle class pantry!! Wish we had brought more gifts now. We have about 5 more islands to cover.

Lynn and Chuck on CYAN.

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Arrived in Suva, Fiji

2008-05-27T16:36:00.000-07:00

We were unable to send an email to the blog due to harbor interference so we finally got an internet hook-up to send this message after it quit raining.

We finally got into Suva, Fiji on Thurs, May 22 after waiting out still another front...this time a warm front with a blast of northern winds that deflected us from our port. The most miserable part of the voyage was having swell on the beam all the way. Folks who went ahead of us and motored thru the 2 days of soft wind early in the voyage got in 3 days before we did. We decided to be purists and not use the motor this time but now we wonder about that decision.

We have wandered around Suva, shopped for trinkets and found nice folks, good cheap food, information on Fiji at the Museum and a nice Anglican Church service on Sunday. After we see some friends coming in a few days, we will take off for island hopping and anchoring out.

Here is a lovely shot of Chuck and his Cannibal Fork. This is a special fork they have traditionally used here only to eat human flesh. By doing this they felt as though they completely wiped out their enemy and killed even his spirit.

Also here is the little bird that visited us 500 from shore while on our voyage.
More coming future ports.

Blow by blow....

2008-05-17T14:19:00.000-07:00

After having several nice even days of weather with only the annoying swell to keep things flying, we ran into a stationary front. This got our attention for almost 24 hours..AND THAT WAS ENUF!!! It was mostly overnight that the winds got up to 35 knots steady for long periods...that about 40mph ....then slumped to 27-30 with wild, confused seas. We got chucked all around the boat and slept little. I gotta say that the Podcast stories I downloaded for our wonderful Ipod that Geoff and Marla gave us, were great to keep our minds off the howling wind.

We didn't have any breakage around the boat...just a few more bruises. It's so funny to make coffee by pouring water into a cup placed on the gimbaled stovetop...keep having to aim within the moving rim. This was all not dangerous, just inconvenient and trying on patience having to hold on and brace ourselves with each step.

We did have a darling little land bird come and visit to rest since we were a good 500+ miles from any land. I will post photos when we get to Suva, Fiji and go to an internet cafe. Chuck got him to sit on his finger and gave him some corn chip crumbs. It looks like we will get in about Thurs, May 22 so we are more than half way averaging 100 miles a day. We could go faster but we have to use smaller sails for the windvane to control the boat efficiently. And it also allows for a more comfortable ride than blasting as fast as we can.

Passages are just the price we pay to be able to bring our adventuresome vessel and home to the wonderful areas of the world we so enjoy exploring. When passages go well, all is just wonderful but when they become challenging, it becomes tedious and tense. A big thing for Lynn is to have some moon during her watch....Chuck loves the black, inky night so he can watch the stars. It's incredible how dark an overcast, moonless morning can be. The waves come wildly and you can't tell what the sea looks like. Sometimes it's just as well not to know!!!

Hopefully we will get into seas settled enough to use some new fishing lures. We could catch them now but who wants to clean fish one handed and hold on with the other!!!

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So far, so good...Classic weather window!!!

2008-05-12T17:12:00.000-07:00

The weather window we left in, last Sunday, was said to have been "Classic"...meaning it was so good...having enough "wind oomph" from the west and south to carry all the boats that left for Fiji and Tonga to the eastern trade winds about 300-400 miles north. Mainly it didn't have northern winds that are miserable to drive into....blam, blam, whomph!

The only discomfort we got was in the first 36 hours with western wind and eastern swells....boosch, right on the beam...back and forth. It was like trying to sleep in a big tumble dryer. We got more than a few bruises. Lynn got tossed from the cockpit seat right into the floor on her backside, the galley rearranged itself and we were so glad to have those fixed meals!!!

Now in the third day with 850 miles to go we have nice steady but soft 12 knot ESE wind and only a small swell....just right for some "rock us to sleep" movement. We are not breaking any speed records...we were the last boat to leave the dock. Chuck accidentally inflated his automatic life vest and we were trying to install a new co2 cartridge but it never got working again so if he uses it he will just have to blow it up with the mouth pump backup straw.

Our navigation lights stopped working and we checked them before leaving when they worked fine...probably wiring corrosion...since the bow and mast lights all died at the same time. We do have a stern light and foredeck mast lights but we will keep a good lookout for other boats and ships. A big freighter from NZ passed right through the fleet of boats on the first night.

Position is 175.14 E, 32.06 S

Crew is finally sleeping well and listening to all the podcasts we downloaded.

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Great Weather take off for Fiji

2008-05-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

We left Opua NZ along with about 20 other boats on Sunday here, but Saturday in US, at 1:30 in the afternoon. We had light winds, 8-10 and only a mild roll in the sea. Most seasoned NZ sailors said it was the best weather window in years so we will see what kind of luck we have.

Lynn fixed at least 6 meals and got them frozen and the voyage has gone smoothly so far. In case folks wonder we have chicken zucchini noodles, tuna and noodles, chili, and beef veggie soup....along with fresh pumpkin pie and loads of Cadbury Crunchy bars we bought with the last of out NZ money. Chuck got addicted to Crunchy bars while here and has to have one every night....and he even gained weight....yeah! He will drop it as easily as usual...lucky metabolism thing!!! We rarely miss a happy hour...ya gotta have priorities!!!

Just for interest our watch schedule is ...Chuck sleeps 7pm-12, Lynn sleeps 12-5am, then Chuck for 2 hours until Radio net check-ins at 7-9am, then Lynn sleeps 2 hours [and she is really ready by then] and we each try to catch a nap. This works out well for us. Of course when the weather gets worked up we make exceptions but that's only occasionally. We are thinking positively here!!!

We will check in with another blog in a day or so....depending on something interesting happening.

4pm location 35 05 S and 174 11 E, still well in sight of land.

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Photos of northbound trip

2008-05-04T16:33:00.000-07:00

This shows where we were

Sailing north in a round-about way

2008-05-02T20:19:00.000-07:00

We left our home-in-NZ marina, Gulf Harbour, the last friday in April...just over a week ago. We sailed SW to Waiheke Island near Auckland, to visit Mike and Christine who we met while touring south island. They showed us around and we visited beautiful vineyards and had dinner after having them out to the boat for a drink.

There was a front coming in so early Sat morning we headed for the security of Great Barrier Island where they chopped up all the huge kauri trees [like redwoods] for English ships over 100 years ago. There must be over 100 coves to anchor in all around this amazingly picturesque location. We just sat out the weather for 2 days in a cove of our own off Fitzroy Bay.

We tried making some headway north but got less than halfway. The 2nd of 4 weather systems in a week came in so we ducked into The Nook 6 miles up the Whangarei River for 2 more days. Next we tried to head north again to try to get to Bay of Islands. That's where all the cruisers are waiting for the right weather to check out.

We only motored 15 miles and the weather whipped up again so we ducked way deep up into Whangaruru Bay overnight and tried to head north again in the morning but only went another 8 miles before the winds started whipping around the cliffs and we ducked into Whangamumu Cove for a wonderful anchorage well protected by cliffs. It all ended up being too little wind or too much rain and wind, always on the nose!!!

I will add a film clip of this astoundingly lush Whangamumu Cove to the Youtube site soon. There are the remains of an old whaling station there, on a creek with a waterfall, to explore. There were rusting boilers still in place where 100 whalers boiled down the fat into oil. Lynn was ready to move there but the government owns it all as parkland and there are no houses.

On Sat May 3 we left serene Whangamumu to head motoring into wind and waves around Cape Brett [big rock with hole in it] towards Bay of Islands to anchor in Russell, reputed to be an old rowdy and sinful whaling port. We'll see how much energy we have left for getting rowdy!!! Mostly we need to dump trash...or rubbish as we now call it here in NZ, do laundry and get some more food while waiting for the right weather window to head to Fiji. Also try to go to church one more time. Religion comes easily when facing the ocean passages!!!

We will post a message here as to when we sail out of NZ...2-3 weeks...and will ask for prayers from the "belivers" who read our posts. It's still storm season and once in a while they still have cyclones in May and June if the water hasn't cooled enough and it's cooling slowly this season.

What took us 3 easy days to sail in Nov has taken 8 days to motor now in the fall weather.....which is ALWAYS changing. AND WE LISTEN TO WEATHER PREDICTIONS FOR THEIR ENTERTAINMENT VALUE!!! They are never right!!! Even the NZ weather folks say they can't guess further than 2 days ahead.

Lynn and Chuck on CYAN

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Getting ready to go

2008-04-18T14:22:00.000-07:00

We are tying up all the lose ends getting ready to leave Gulf Harbour Marina in Auckland to head north to where we check out of NZ in Opua. We will sit there with a whole bunch of others boats waiting for the right weather to shoot out north to Fiji. We will have to leave on the tail of a high pressure system in about 30 knots of wind to get the boost we need and that's hard....to go out into a blow.

We have got the website up to date and loaded some movies all about our great NZ visit. We have downloaded loads of music for the Ipod and 188 Podcasts to enjoy also. They help us stay awake on passages. Fear of boredom???

We plan to use this as our diary and net log cuz we can email updates right from our SSB radio while we are on the ocean.

Please pray that there IS NOT a cyclone this year in May, like there very occasionally can be. We don't want that. We just got new sails!!! And we don't test the life raft cuz we did not get it repacked as we were supposed to!!!

We will keep posting here
Lynn and Chuck

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January Outing...Fishing and Camping

2008-01-30T22:06:00.000-08:00

Second week in Jan we took off again back to Tongarero National Park area with Marilyn and Ray, cruiser friends. Chuck and Ray enjoyed a try at flyfishing...see the movie clip at the Utube site below. No fish but still had fun!

Also see the one of Lynn/Lexxy being miserable in the cold also on Utube.

Camping in old age is humbling. What in the world are we doing sleeping on the cold hard ground??? We are sooo sore in the morning but we do save money and the scenery is wonderful. We also meet great folks and get to take beautiful hikes....so as long as there are sleeping pills we will camp!!!

We especially enjoyed staying in Te Urewa National Park way up in the mountains. There were great waterfall hikes but we didn't have the right clothes and got quite colld.

After hiking we stopped at Rotorua to scout out the town that smells like sulfer from all the volcanic vents in the earth.

Holidays on CYAN

2008-01-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

They weren't much to speak of!!!

We stripped the exterior teak with a scraper and heat gun...well Chuck did that work. Then we taped in preparation to add 3 coats of varnish-like Cetol finish and sat and waited for the weather to clear for 2 whole weeks. There is quite a variety of weather from rainy to windy to stormy and finally it clears for a short while and we see the sun!!
So... just after Christmas we got enuf nice sunshine dry the sanded wood and we got to coat the teak and one of our most dreaded jobs is caught up for at least 6 months. WHEW!!!
We spent Christmas Day and dinner with Jeff and Linda, a local couple we got to know. They included us with their family in celebration and now we havr folks to visit when we travel to the South Island of NZ during the month of March.
For New Years we camped in the back of the station wagon at Waipu village where they had the 137th annual Highland Scottish Games. The town was founded in the mid 1800's by over 900 Scots who finally settled there after trying Australia and Nova Scotia.
We learned to do Scottish country dancing with the locals at a ceilidh or evening of dancing, food, drink and music for New Years Eve.

On New Years Day we watched the traditional highland games, the marching pipe bands, folk dancers, saw the longhaired cattle and clan exhibitions.

There was the caber toss competition but Chuck was too late to sign up...ahhhh!!! These guys are twice his size. He did join the Scotch tasting trials, tho!
Looks like he came in second!!!

Fixing the Genset (again)

2007-12-17T22:22:00.001-08:00

Generator trouble (hard to start) SOOOOOO, today's exercise is moving the genset fuel boost pump from the starboard lazarette to a location nearer to the main fuel cell. It seems that the pump pushes more efficiently than it sucks, and it has been having trouble sucking the fuel the 12 feet from the fuel cell. SO, I spent most of my day in my office (the lazarette, like the basement of the boat). The good news, the generator still runs after the fix. We will see in coming days if it runs better than it did before my fix.

Chuck

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CYAN in New Zealand

2007-12-17T13:06:00.000-08:00

What are we doing

here in Auckland, NZ?

We are busy discovering the wonders of this beautiful country. Of course, we are also busy

doing repairs on CYAN and updating maintenance.

We try to take short trips to the countryside in the Toyota station wagon we bought. We plan to save money, sometimes, and sleep in the back in camping areas...called Freedom Camping here. Then we can afford a nice B&B from time to time.

We have set aside March to explore the diverse South Island in New Zealand. We plan to bring the new inflatable kayak [with clear panels to see into the water] so we can enjoy the ice cold waterways!!!

We will use this blog for updates, informal ramblings, exciting news...stuff like that. More casual than our regular record on the website.

We also want to hear back from readers that are friend or those who discover us here....even if it's just a short comment.

Now...back to work refinishing the teak!!! WOW...what fun!!! Actually we think it's some of the most tedious work on the boat. Maybe another cup of coffee first!!!