DailyLog16

Daily Log Page 16

24 May 2007 Anchor down at Pana Bobai Ana Island, Louisiade Archipelago. Caught a mystery fish on the way through the pass. Had 2 other strikes which had to be ono or walu, 'cause the teeth took lots of skirt! We think the one we caught is a coral trout. The meat looks good so tonight it will be fish tacos! Arrived late last night and hove to for several hours to allow the sun to rise high enough in the sky to see the reef coming in and to let the tide bottom out and go slack since there is a 4-5 knot current coming out. A small, local sailing canoe with the name of "I'm So Glad" sailed out from the beach shortly after we arrived and said "no crocodiles here so can swim anywhere". Gotta get some rest now. Will do logs for the longer passages and not day hops around the islands unless something really interesting happens. All for now R

9 June 2007 After over 2 weeks in the Louisiade Archipelago, we're on passage to Gizo, Solomon Islands. Position at 00:00 11deg 10 min S, 153 deg 23 minE. 280 miles from Our last anchorage to our waypoint outside Ghizo Island. The spelling of the island has an "H" and the town doesn't..go figure. 270 miles to go now. Perfect sailing conditions (which we waited for) with 10-12 knots of wind at 50 degrees apparent. Smooth seas and we're making 6.5 knots boat speed. The Calvados Group within the Louisiades are ideal for cruising, as there is a 100 mile long barrier reef around the whole lot. Each island has it's own reef and thus very protected anchorages. The people are very nice and polite. We traded all sorts of stuff off the boat for fresh fruits and veggies and even a spear made of ebony and a great helmet shell. It would be easy to cruise these island for months if desired, but we're on a mission to get home. We do feel that we saw quite a bit (7 islands) and got a good feel for the place. We are by no means the best fisherman, but we caught 3 nice fish while there and ate it almost every day. There seems to be an abundance, and the people only catch what they can eat that day. Should be in Gizo Monday for check-in and get settled. Our buddy Mark from Sydney is flying up for a while to hang out with us and do some scuba diving. Aloha to all. R

10 June 2007 Movin' right along. Covered 142 miles in last 24 hours. Actually could have done more, but we don't like to push it too much overnight. The comfort level goes way up when we slow her down a bit. Git 'er done! We also don't want to arrive too early tomorrow morning as there will be some eyeball navigation required through the reefs and with the low sun in your eyes you can't see it. Position at 00:00Z 09deg 40min S, 155deg 16min E. We've been averaging 6 knots with the SE wind still forward of the beam at an apparent angle of 60-80deg. We're really hoping for these light 10-15 knot breezes most of the way home which makes our easting so much more tolerable. This is the first time in months that we haven't had much current to contend with and it's great to be back out in the open ocean. We had a frigate bird land on out masthead last evening just as the sun was setting. They like to rest at night, but we try to fend them off because our masthead weather instruments up there are very sensitive and costly. He only stayed for a while and no apparent damages. Kelly spotted a few waterspouts which luckily remained just below the clouds and didn't reach the ocean surface. They were behind us anyway, but always bring more drama to the scene than we need. Caw! R

11 June 2007 Anchor down in Gizo at noon local time! Had a great sail last night until a squall hit with torrential rains and left us with no wind. Had to motor the rest of the night until just before dawn when we got a bit of wind back. Arrived with drizzle and heavy overcast, but easy to see the approach. Got the dinghy set up and went to shore where we tied to "PT 109" Restaurant and Yacht Club. It's named after President Kennedy's famous boat which was sunk here. Walked to Immigration and Customs down a very muddy and trash strewn street. Not sure if it was the tsunami here or if it's always like this. The place is busy with a large market and lots of people in the street. The Quarantine guy could not be found, and there are 3 other boats trying to complete their formalities but supposedly he'll be back tomorrow. The joys of third world bureaucracy! Not sure how long we're gonna stay here, but surely long enough for a few dives on the WWII wrecks, and trade for some carvings. We're still itchy to keep moving east before the winter trades get stronger in July and August. More Later R

27 June 2007 After 2 weeks in the Western Province of the Solomons, we're on our way to Santa Ana Island and perhaps continue on to Santa Cruz depending on the wind angle. We've been waiting for a northerly whilst cruising in a SE direction through the islands with our buddy Mark from Sydney who has been on board for the last 2 weeks. Its been a combo of fun and work but we've enjoyed the challenges. Lots of boat projects, hauling diesel etc. Did some great scuba dives and visited Kennedy Island. 275 miles to Port Mary on Santa Ana should take us 2 days. We caught 4 barracudas so far and they are very good. No ciguatera in this part of the islands. Position 00:00Z 08deg 53minS, 158deg 23minE. We've got light NE winds and motorsailing with full jib and main doing 6.5 knots on a course of 122 true. Big ground swell coming from the Tasman, so folks in Hawaii look for a South swell next week! There have been a series of deep lows hitting Australia's east coast and they give us northerlies ahead of the troughs. We use these to make our easting and it's working nicely. Caw!R

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