Weather Helmed

an adventure in renewing the spirit and living the dream…on a sailboat

Weather Helmed

To Future Cruisers: Plan better than we have…

August 10th, 2010 · 4 Comments · Fellow Cruisers, French Polynesia, Oh Crap., Our Route, Passages, Stupid Ideas, Tonga

I can’t believe I’m writing this, but we are going to be doing ANOTHER LONG PASSAGE.  What is the deal?!?!  Most people who do this cruising thing try to keep the long passages to the minimum.  But, not us! Oh no, we like to just GO.  We have barely been sailing for 6 months and we have done a 9 day passage, a 25 day passage, a 5 day passage and now we are on the verge of a 10-15 day passage (if we’re lucky).   We knew that we left on the crossing a little later than most, and we knew we were front-loading our time here in Fr. Polynesia, and when we told some friends to meet us in Fiji in mid-September, it seemed totally reasonable… but  now I’m looking at the calendar and, 1700 miles in a month?!?!!?!  What were we thinking?!?!?!?!  and yes, yes, yes, we know that we’re going to be missing out on some things along the way.  But all those people who are ahead of us? They missed out on stuff HERE, so ha.

Whatever.  It is what it is.

So, our tentative plans are to leave Huahine tomorrow, as long as the weather looks ok, with the ultimate destination being Tonga.  If things work out, we would like to maybe stop and say hello to the folks on Palmerston Atoll and/or camp out in the middle of the ocean on the particularly cool Beveridge Reef. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll see some humpback whales along the way.  Apparently they migrate to Niue and Tonga between July and October and, um, snorkeling with a giant whale would be pretty sweet. Of course, we never see any wildlife while we’re sailing, so I’m not getting my hopes up, but you can include the whale sightings in your prayers for us 😉

And please do pray for us if you are the praying sort.  The weather in the southern latitudes can get a little dicey sometimes and these last few months, there’s been front after front after front moving through, which just means lots of wind, lots of rain, and sometimes unpredictable wind shifts that can wreak havoc on your rig.  But, we’ll be fine, I’m sure, though we do appreciate – and need! – all the good thoughts and prayers 🙂

Much to our parents’ dismay, we probably will not be in contact with the world again until we reach either Niue (if we stop there) or Tonga.  So, depending on wind and weather and what stops we make, it could be anywhere from 15 – 25 days, I guess, before we are back online.

Oy.

I think I’m probably the one must disappointed by that.

So, once again, we’ll see all of you on the flip side!

Love, Karen

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4 Comments so far ↓

  • Tracey

    Good luck!
    From a future cruiser. 🙂

  • MOM

    I will be praying for favorable winds and no storms. I’m sure you will get to see some whales along the way, too. I Will look forward to hearing from you when you can get back in contact with the world. Love to you, Matt & Jon,
    MOM

  • Audra

    You will be in my prayers as well. May the winds and waves treat you all with ease and mercy.

  • behan

    Karen! How do I not have an email address for you? We’re leaving for Fiji in a couple of hours. I passed “Tonga tips” 🙂 for you via Delos and Ghost… they got in yesterday as well… look for them! Then, email me (sail at sv-totem dot com) and tell me how to reach you, OK? We have a spa day in Fiji to plan…

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