Get Lost On Purpose

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Jammin with the pig – P.I.G. FM Radio Vava’u

We’re wrapping up our time here in Vava’u. Planning to leave Neiafu today and start heading south to the capital city of Nuku’alofa. Margie’s out shopping somewhere and I’m working on the computer and rockin out to PIG fm, the local radio station run by a Canadian ex-pat. For most of the day, it’s one of those massive collections of music shuffling on a Mac in the studio but in the morning and sometimes in the evenings Greg rolls in and DJ’s. We’ve heard everything from the Footloose soundtrack to Fergie to Louis Armstrong to Tom Petty. It’s quite an interesting mix.

If you haven’t seen the Sale page for the boat, you gotta check it out. As you may have noticed, our blog post dropped off the past couple of weeks. It seemed everytime I sat down with the computer I was editing photos or writing stuff for the page or listing Dosia on a bunch of “selling sites.” Now that’s all done and we can get back to cruising!

The plan is to island hop our way south to Tongatapu, the southern island group in Tonga. That means a few illegal stops in the Ha’apai group since I checked out with Customs here and said we were going the whole way down. Oh well. We’ll be in the Nuku’alofa area for a week or so and then we’ll be off for the big sail to New Zealand. It’s potentially a nasty little passage and requires close monitoring of the weather systems moving off Australia and the Tasman Sea. We’re not sure when we’ll leave on the passage since we may get stuck waiting several more weeks for a good window. If all goes well, we’ll join a rally of boats departing on Halloween, the day after the party at Big Mama’s Yacht Club. Not sure why they planned a rally departure the day after a party.

We’ve said goodbye to our many friends here in Vava’u. It’s a very interesting place and I want to sit down and write a nice long blog post about it. But for now, the engine is running…Marge is back…and we’re off!

October 20, 2009
Diapers on Dosia (?)

Drew came back to the boat from the store the other day with a package of extra large diapers. The menstrual gods were raining cramps upon me at the time so I knew there was nothing I had to tell him. Was there something he had to tell me? Was I in the dark this entire time and somehow he’d hidden that he was in fact a replica of the fella back home who I believe is currently pregnant with his second child? For those of us who didn’t have the pleasure to know Drew as an infant child, he was a fat-tay!!! Ten pounds, ten ounces at birth so if he did in fact have something to tell me then that would explain the extra large size part. Lucky for us both the diapers were to soak up a little grease spill in the bilge. My boyfriend is in deed all man. Whew, thank heavens : )

Lots and lots of boat projects going on. The water line on the boat continues to rise daily as we rid Dosia of the clutter she’s accumulated over the past five years. We sent all we could spare food, clothing, and tool wise to the victims of the quake and tsunami in American Samoa. Tsunami warnings are becoming quite common these days and while we’ve avoided any potential dangers here thus far, it’s still scary and causing increasing eagerness to head south. We said farewell to another couple of cruising yachts just this morning and watched as they pointed their bows westward to navigate the few miles of calm waterways that separate the islands here all the way to the wide open waters that would eventually carry them southwest 1100 miles to New Zealand. We bid them safe seas and will tune into the single side ban each morning and afternoon to do checkins. Our family of friends on Zen made landfall in New Zealand this morning. We were so happy to know that their journey was a safe one while mildly jealous that they are already done with a trip that most still in the harbor here are loathing. I continue to try and motivate my attitude of the coming passage in a more positive direction. Sometimes it is quite hard when you hear those around you saying how brutal it can be. I know that in Drew’s hands I am in good, safe care and I trust him 100%. This will, however, be my longest length of time at sea (roughly 8 to 10 days) and I am having a hard time getting myself amped up for it. As most sailors will tell you, the passages are often just a means to an end, a way to get from here to there, and very few actually enjoy them. Im just gonna have to put my big gal panties on and suck it up. It will be my last passage for years to come so the least I can do is try my best to enjoy it. I do have two nights in the Sky Tower hotel in downtown Auckland to look forward to so I’ll just keep that tucked safely in the front of my mind when Drew wakes me up for yet another night watch in cold temps.

In any spare time we can find away from boat projects we mosy our way out to a nearby anchorage and relish the peace and quiet. Shortbus’ return has made getting around so much easier. We were anchored in Port Maurelle just last week and took her a few football field lengths around the corner to Swallows Cave and then to deserted beaches so I could do some last effort shell collecting. We’ll continue to work on Dosia everyday until Drew says we’re done and then will test her out after her “diet” to see if the loss of weight affects her performance. Drew thinks she’ll be in top condition and is anxious to see how well she moves on the trip south. By all means, if a little weight loss will get us there quicker then what else do I need to get rid of? I’m willing to make sacrifices as long as it has nothing to do with my footwear!

October 9, 2009
Tsunami in Samoa and Tonga 2009

2009 Tsunami Damage-Latest Death Toll is 150 and Rising

A story fresh off the AP covers the latest news on the tsunami that hit American and Western Samoa and Tonga on Sept 30, two days ago, while this brief article from Latitude 38 covers several cruiser’s experiences around the Pacific. Sitting here in Neiafu, Tonga we didn’t experience much; only a small rise and fall of a few feet in water depth. There was a lot of misinformation going on in the harbor. One boat would come on the radio and announce that they just witnessed a 30 foot drop in water while seconds later, a boat no more than 500 yards away would say they just dropped 2 ft.   Meanwhile I’m sitting on one of the moorings closest to shore watching the water rise and fall maybe 1.5 ft, covering and uncovering a tire on the beach a few times. Several boats only a few miles from here did see some crazy tidal shifts and standing waves. A couple of boats dragged across the reefs, while others dropped their entire anchor chain to quickly escape to deeper water.

We managed to escape the bad parts although the epicenter was only 250 miles north of here. As peaceful as it seemed here in the harbor, the chatter on the VHF and SSB kept reminding us how different it was for others out here. Thanks to everyone who checked up on us through email or on facebook.

The past several days have been nothing but work for me. The cockpit lockers are getting a complete makeover and now they’re so organized I’ve convinced myself they need a paintjob. Yesterday, I did a complete engine fluids changeout, changed the belt, reorganized all the wiring, adjusted the transmission, and decided that if I’m painting the lockers, may as well paint in there too.   Today, I took apart the entire top end of the outboard for a thorough cleaning and inspection. The carb needed some work and I replaced the spark plugs, but other than that the engine is in great shape. I can’t explain how nice it is to have the Short Bus back!

Meanwhile, Margie found the benefits of third world dentistry. Two days ago, she tagged along Neiafu’s dentist and spent the afternoon teaching the importance of proper dental care to Tongan children. The next day, she visited that same American trained dentist and had a filling replaced and a complete cleaning for $30US. Now she has a lead on free crownwork from the Mormon dentists down in Nuku’alofa on our way to New Zealand!

Speaking of New Zealand, our second family on Zen left this morning. We sure will miss those guys. They had to leave early since Zen is coming out of the water for a huge refit including a new paintjob. They are moving ashore in Whangarei while the work is completed. Everyone else around here is starting to think about the weather too. As for us, Marge and I begin looking at windows in 10 days! Chances are, we’ll still wait around till the end of the month, but if a really good opportunity pops up, we seriously have to consider taking it.

For all those who have emailed me about the sale of Dosia, I’m working as hard as legally allowed here in Tonga to get the page finished. I decided on pricing and the equipment list is building as I clean and organize the entire boat.   There’s a ton more photos coming in the next few days. I promise to get back to each and every one of you! Thanks for your interest!

October 1, 2009
Okay…now we can believe it!

September 26, 2009