Safely arrived in Tonga! - but where did Sunday go???

Hello everyone

 

This is just to correct our mistake yesterday we have actually safely arrived in Tonga...who picked up on it???.  Our friends on the boat Seazen arrived this morning, so all three boats cruising in convoy have all survived the passage from Niue. 

 

We've been pretty clumsy and seemed to have lost a day, Sunday 27th May 2012 will never happen for us!  we jumped to Monday 28th May and are now 12 hours in front of the UK, after passing the international date line just before reaching Tonga.  As we have always been chasing UK time, it will take a while before we get used to being ahead.

 

Love to all at home!  we are about to go explore the Kingdom of Tonga!

 

Ocean Lady!

 

 

 

 

Safe arrival in Niue

Dear all,

 

We had a great time in Niue but had to leave due to adverse weather. The anchorage is open to the west and we had the choice of staying and hoping that the weather would not have a westerly component in it or run. We opted to run. If we had stayed and were then forced to leave the wind direction was likely to be unfavourable for the voyage to Tonga.

 

We are now in Neiafu the main port of the Vava'u group in the Kingdom of Tonga. The weather was "fruity" to say the least! Some of the worst seas we have ever experienced. 59 knots of breeze apparent on the wind instrument! Large 7-8m breaking waves. The cockpit was filled regularly by big greenies and the storm staysail was used in anger for the first time ever!

 

Jeff on Sea Falke was in transit with us but Seazen opted to stay, probably the best option for a 43ft Catamaran. They are on there way now so hoping to meet them in a day or so.

Niue was amazingly friendly, the "yacht club" make a very special effort for visiting yachtsmen. We were met on the wharf by the Commodore of the yacht club Keith who showed us how to use the crane to remove the dinghy from the water. The swell is such that you cannot just tie the dinghy alongside.

 

Our stay included a tour around the island visiting the chasms and arches, sea snakes - four times more poisonous than a cobra but they are not able to open their mouths wide enough to bite a human – We didn't take any chances!! Meeting up with some of the World ARC boats and enjoying a great BBQ put on by the yacht club.

 

It was a shame to leave because of the weather, but grateful that the weather remained stable enough to stay for a few days.

 

Love to all,

Ocean Lady

 

Leaving for Tonga in the morning

Hello Everyone
 
After a fantatsic stay in Niue we leave for Tonga in the morning. 
 
We will update on our stay in Niue when we have more time (we need to sleep as we leave early in the morning) but here are some photos from our previous stops that are long overdue!
 
Mostly from our stay in Aitutaki.
 
Love to all at home
 
xx
 
 

Rain !!

Hi everyone,

We're having a choppy, rainy crossing similar to the English Channel. We all dressed for dinner ( in waterproofs!)

Our position is 19 00S, 168 45W having done 507 miles and hope to arrive in Niue tomorrow morning.

Hope all is well,

 

Ocean Lady

Overcast but making progress in the right direction

Dear all,

 

We are making good progress towards Niue the weather has been mixed, overcast and rain, squalls, headwinds, no wind etc!! You name it we've had it!! We currently have 20 knots from the East and after sending this email we are going to set up the twin headsails.

The seas have been very confused making life a little more uncomfortable on board.

Yesterdays noon position was 19 20S, 161 45W

Our current position at 0930 18/5/2012 is 19 25S, 163 31W

 

Approximately 360 miles to go!

 

Hope everybody at home is well,

Lots of love,

Ocean Lady

Fair well Aitutaki its been fantastic

Dear all,
This is how the guide book describes Aitutaki,
"Aitutaki has a special sense of magic and tranquillity. The island's vast
lagoon is reknowned as one of the world's most beautiful, with crystal clear
turquoise waters and dazzling white sandy beaches. Aitutaki's scenic
splendour arises from its unique formation, which is part volcanic and part
coral atoll. " – every part true.

We all went to the Sunday church service, which happened to be Mothering
Sunday, the singing from the men and women truly came from their hearts,
emotional to see, and fantastic to be a part of it. – even if the service
was half in Cook Island Maori!!!
The cultural dancing and shows put on by the Cook Island voyaging society
were amazing. Seven 75 foot catamarans sailed into the tiny harbour, crewed
by 16 people from places such as Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia, each
with their own message about looking after the world and haka dance. An
event that happens every 20 years, so perfect timing and a privileged to
witness. The prime minster of the cook islands was here speaking to his
people the Aitutaki people put on a feast for everyone which we jumped right
in on!!!

We are setting sail tomorrow on the morning high water for the small country
of Nuie which should take around 7 days.

Our current position is

18 degrees 54 South
160 degrees 24 West

Lots of love,

Ocean Lady

Welcome to Aitutaki

Dear all,

 

Sorry for the lack of contact not only have we been having fun but also struggling with computers, internet access and phones!!!

Bora bora was amazing, relaxing, a sexy honeymooners paradise.

We experienced fantastic snorkling, a great BBQ on Seazen to see Tony’s last night, the welcoming Bora Bora yacht club which served the biggest steaks Stu had come across.

 

The trip from Bora Bora to Aitutaki was varied. The weather information we have been getting has been varied in quality. We had 2 days of good and strong winds then plenty of motoring.

 

The entrance to Aitutaki is tiny, a man made cut out created by the Americans during the second world war. After anchoring outside waiting for the tide we are now tied up stern to in a small harbour. Last night we met up with Seazen and Sea Falke in a local bar and had a crazy night out with the locals. Today we have explored the island which is beautiful.

 

Tomorrow the locals have a big celebration to welcome the Cook Island Voyaging Boats which have sailed across from Bora Bora, everybody has been talking about the celebrations so we are hoping for a good one!!

 

We will let you know how it goes before we push off to Nuie in a few days time.

 

Lots of Love,

Ocean Lady

Leaving Bora Bora

Dear all,

 

We’ve had an amazing time here in Bora Bora, photos to follow. We are leaving now for the Island of Atutaki in the Cook Islands sailing in company with Sea Falke and Seazen. Hope everybody at home is well.

 

Love Ocean Lady

We have arrived in Bora Bora!

Hello Everyone

 

Since our last post we have continued our tour of the Society Islands.  Our stay in Moorea was short as the weather was not great and we wanted to head towards where we thought the weather would improve.  Laura and Stu took a walk through from Cooks bay to Opunohu Bay (although we didn’t quite reach the next bay) and the Islands reminded us a lot of the Marquesas with tall dramatic volcanic mountains covered in flourishing green fauna.

 

We then took an overnight passage (roughly 100 miles) to Raiatea and Tahaa.  We were pretty unlucky with the weather over night, we were expecting to have to motor with no wind, but we were greeted with strong tail winds reaching gale force and torrential rain all night long! Thankfully the weather picked up and we picked up a mooring buoy outside the Hibiscus Hotel (which was free for the night!) after a quick swim and snorkel we had a nice evening at the bar with Jeff and Tony (Sea Falke) and Andrea and Glen (Seazen) alongside a turtle farm.   The following day we had great fun snorkelling, dodging the coral with the dingy and admiring the beautiful fish, we then hosted happy hour onboard Ocean Lady. 

Happy hour on Ocean Lady

Leaving Tahaa for Bora Bora, here you can see Bora Bora in the background

 

We have now arrived after a lovely 30 mile sail in the beautiful sun in Bora Bora, one of the most beautiful Islands in the world!  The views are breathtaking, the water clear blue and very inviting.  There are plenty of honeymoon huts perched along the side of the beaches, one night would surely burn a whole in your wallet!  We have just returned from a delicious meal at Bora Bora yacht club with the folks of Seazen and Sea Falke, and have planned to go exploring the beautiful island tomorrow.

 

 

Bora Bora from the sea, you can just about make out the reef surrounding the island

 

Meal out tonight at Bora Bora Yacht club, worth every penny

 

Hope everyone at home is well!

 

Ocean Lady