Noon Position 07-Oct-2006

Fiji to Vanuatu
South Pacific Ocean

• 07-Oct-2006
• 19°14.6000"S/170°54.1000"E
• 121nm last 24hrs
• 375nm from Fiji
• 80nm to Vanuatu
• 15-20 knots SW

Sailed last 24 hours! Winds have died down to a manageable level and we are having a great ride today. There is a full moon and we are passing an island, an old volcano, about 6 miles away. We slowed down today as we were not going to make landfall before sunset. So we are going to be anchoring at sunrise under the spewing volcano at Tanna Island.

Tom and Amy

Ron's Notes:
The island they passed is "Futuna Island".

Noon Position 06-Oct-2006

Fiji to Vanuatu
South Pacific Ocean

• 06-Oct-2006
• 18°42.2000"S/172°57.6000"E
• 127nm last 24hrs
• 252nm from Fiji
• 202nm to Vanuatu
• 20-25 knots SW

Aloha,

Much better day today. Good wind and sunshine! We had strong winds all night. We had to motor-sail to keep our course because the winds are from the SW, and that is that way we want to go. At sunrise we were able to turn off the engine. We have averaged 6 to 7 knots all day, right on our course line.

We are out here with about 6 other boats, all heading to Vanuatu. We were the last boat to leave. So we are bringing up the rear. All 6 of us are checking in twice a day with each other on our unofficial "Volcano Net", named by Jim and Emma's son Drake on S/V Blue Sky.

We heard this morning that S/V Sheriaz was going straight to Port Vila. They broke the halyard that holds up their main sail, and they ripped their jib sail. So there are having to motor the rest of the way. Also, S/V Blue Sky is going to Port Vila because they cannot hold this course due to the SW winds. So we will see who actually makes it to Tanna Island!

The only real excitement today is when we got buzzed by a military plane who wanted to check us out. We are not sure what county it was from because it went by so fast that we did not have time to look very close.

Other then that the really cool erupting volcano at Tanna Island, there is something else that I want to check out! There is the "John Frum Cargo Cult" of local islanders that after WWII, converted from Presbyterianism to a Cargo Cult. WWII was fought out here, and many of the locals worked at the American bases on the islands of Vanuatu. They have small red crosses (that look like the red crosses on the American medical tents) painted on their houses, and small American flags on their houses. They are waiting for John Frum to return to their island with cargo planes full of material goods for their village. Should be fun...

More in 24,
Tom and Amy

Notes From Ron:
(1) The "John Frum" cargo cult is one of the last remaining cargo cults that popped up in the South Pacific during WWII. The followers of this cult on Tanna believe that John Frum lives in the active volcano there. Here are two excellent articles about the cult that are worth reading: "The Last Cargo Cult" by Mike Jay (2002), and "In John They Trust" from the Smithsonian Museum (2006). Too bad that Tom and Amy are going to miss the annual "John Frum" day, held on the 15-February.

(2) The Sandpiper is having to pound straight into the wind and waves to get to Tanna from Fiji. That makes for slow progress, a lot of rocking and rolling, and a generally miserable sailing experience. Beating into the wind like this often means having to motor, which just adds to the misery. That is why the Sky Blue gave up and peeled off towards Port Vila.

Noon Position 05-Oct-2006

Fiji to Vanuatu
South Pacific Ocean

• 05-Oct-2006
• 18°14.1000"S/175°8.5000"E
• 109nm last 24hrs
• 124nm from Fiji
• 330nm to Vanuatu
• 20-25 knots SW

Ahoy,

Sailed since 2am when the winds picked up. Have strong winds and rain all afternoon. Winds are right off the bow, and we have been heeled over all day in the rain.

Will write more when we level out...

Tom and Amy

Noon Position 14-Sep-2006

Tonga to Fiji, South Pacific Ocean

• 16°52.3000"S/179°27.6000"W
• 110nm last 24hrs
• 341nm from Tonga
• 70nm to Fiji
• 10-15 knots E
• 3ft E seas

Thursday night and we are still at sea. I knew dropping the hook today was too good to be true. However, we should be in tomorrow morning.

Not much excitment here on the Sandpiper. Tom has read almost 6 books in 5 days, I'm on my 3rd. The passage has been really calm, but I'm looking forward to passages being over and being in one place for a while.

We did have an exciting event last night, just after sunset. We were both in the cockpit talking about the pumice. Then all of sudden the boat slowed down and the water all around us looked like a thick chocolate shake. We turned on the spreader lights to get a better view, and we were surrounded by pumice. Way cool, and a little freaky too!

We'll be in Fiji tomorrow. So it may be a couple of days before you hear from us. Hope all is well with everyone at home.

Love,
Amy and Tom

Note From Ron: Most of the underwater volcanos are actually around Tonga, where Tom & Amy just left. Here is a list of all the Tonga volcanos, of which 8 are submarine (underwater). Tonga sits above the subduction zone where the heavy Pacific Tetonic Plate slides under the lighter Australia Tetonic Plate. This creates the deep Tonga Trench, the spot where the Pacific plate actually disappears under the Australian plate. And it creates the line of volcanos to the west of the trench, in Tonga, where the Pacific Plate is crushed, melted, and shoots back up to the surface through weak cracks in the Australia plate.

The lava that leaks out of these volcanos and vents is quickly cooled by the ocean. It then becomes pumice. It is very light and floats to the surface. The pumice is then pushed west, toward Fiji, by the tradewinds and the ocean currents.

Noon Position 13-Sep-2006

Tonga to Fiji, South Pacific Ocean

• 17°7.3000"S/177°43.7000"W
• 125nm last 24hrs
• 231nm from Tonga
• 160nm to Fiji
• 10-15 knots E
• 3ft E seas

We got the winds back at daybreak this morning and are now back to sailing! Just another day at sea. We anticipate being at our turn point sometime early AM, then entering Nanuku Pass for another 60 miles to Savusavu, Fiji.

We have not seen another boat since leaving Tonga. There should be al lot more traffic once inside Fiji's waters. Will let you know tomorrow how the pass is. And, we should be sipping cold beers by tomorrow night!!

Tom and Amy

Noon Position 12-Sep-2006

Tonga to Fiji, South Pacific Ocean

• 18°2.0000"S/175°45.9000"W
• 90nm last 24hrs
• 107nm from Tonga
• 300nm to Fiji
• 5 knots E
• 1ft E calm seas
  

Wind?? We were able to sail all night. But at 10am we were making only 1 knot. So we have been motoring all day. The winds are supposed to fall back in tomorrow. So maybe it is just for the next 24 hours. If anything, this is the most we have motored in months, so our batteries should get a nice juicy charge up.

We are headed to the town of Savusavu on the island of Vanua Levu on the Northern Fiji Islands. We are going to check in and will then make plans on where we are spending the next 2 weeks after we get better charts in town. There are 322 islands in all of Fiji of which only 100 are inhabited. So there will be lots of places to explore.

There are lots and lots of reefs around Fiji. We are taking a shipping channel in from the north, so our actual mileage to Fiji is off a bit.

There are volcanic islands all over here, as well as many underwater volcanos that are erupting . They release pumice rocks, that float. We have seen and gone through large patches of these all afternoon.

We did hook into a really nice 40 pound Mahi Mahi that Amy is looking up recipes for as I am typing this post.

More in 24,
Tom and Amy

22-Aug-2006 Noon Position

Niue to Tonga
South Pacific Ocean

• 22-Aug-2006
• 18°48.7000"S/171°58.3000"W
• 100nm last 24hrs
• 121nm from Nuie
• 115nm to Tonga
• 10-15 knots SE
• swells 3ft SE

Awwh... this is the type of day they write those sailing songs about. All the sails are up. The winds are nice and steady. We are cruising at a comfortable 5.5 knots and there's hardly any swell at all. Sorry Kelley. This time tomorrow we should be pulling into Tonga! There are a ton of great anchorages in the Vavau group. We are in for a real treat.

Note From Ron: The next day (Aug 23) the Sandpiper will pass over the Tonga Trench, one of the deepest spots on the planet at 35,702 feet. That is over 6.5 miles of water under their hull!

21-Aug-2006 Noon Position

Niue to Tonga
South Pacific Ocean

• 21-Aug-2006
• 19°1.6000"S/170°14.7000"W
• 23nm since 9am
• 23nm from Nuie
• 2143nm to Tonga
• 10-20 knots NE
• swells 10ft NE

Getting ready to leave Nuie Monday morning was a chore. Maybe it was all the partying at the golf course the night before. But we finally left at 9:00am after getting everything stowed. On Monday morning a swell started to roll into the anchorage, so I was glad we were setting off. It is no fun to be rolling around like that. Last week I actually got air sleeping.

We were off in the rain and overcast skies with a double reefed main, taking caution after hearing all the horror stories of the other boaters. Once out, the winds picked up, the rain grew stronger, and the lighting came in. You sure do feel vulnerable when you have this large metal thing sticking out of the water with lighting around you.

The winds were fluky all night. We actually ran the engine for about 2 hours since we were only making 1.5 knots. Two hours later, the wind shifted direction, and we've had smooth sailing ever since.

Bummer note: We lost our solar shower overboard. At least it wasn't one of us. But now we are really going to smell.

14-Aug-2006 Noon Position

French Polynesia to Niue
South Pacific Ocean

• 14-Aug-2006
• 18°54.2000"S/168°18.7000"W
• 113nm in last 24hrs
• 957nm from Bora Bora
• 87nm to Niue
• 15-20 knots NE
• swells 10ft NE

62 miles to go! We brought in the gib last night. This slowed us down enough so we won't be arriving in the middle of the night. We are now looking at around 7:00am, much better.

Tomorrow will be our 9th day at sea. Not bad for an 1100 mile passage on Sandpiper. We are looking forward to Niue. Not quite sure what to expect since our guide book was written before they got hit by a hurricane a few years back. We hear most of the business are still not up and operating. However, Niue does have several caves to go trek through. Should be fun!

One last note about our passage here. Even though it's been a little rolley with the confused seas. We think it's pretty cool we sailed out of the pass from Bora Bora and have been sailing ever since. 'The canvas can do miracles'.

This will be our last entry for the next few days. So not to worry.
love to all,
Amy

Notes from Ron:

• Niue was flattened by Cyclone Heta on 06-January-2004. From Wikipedia:
  

  Cyclone Heta developed in the South Pacific Ocean and reached cyclone-force winds on January 1, 2004. It struck the island of Niue with a much more direct blow on January 6. Heta's eyewall hit Niue almost exactly at the height of the storm's power. It caused extensive property damage throughout the island, and two people were killed. Efforts to rebuild from the storm in Niue lasted almost the entire year of 2004.
  
  Heta caused American Samoa to declare a state of emergency (officially a "Declaration of Emergency" in American Samoan law) on January 7, and even though officially the storm never made landfall there, it necessitated the evacuation of 140 people and was responsible for property damage.
  
  The nation of Tonga was also affected by Heta, as the winds swept away trees that were needed for the country's food supply. However, Tonga did not receive a direct hit or suffer such extensive loss as Niue.

• Here is a good website with lots of photos that will give you an idea of what Tom and Amy will see on Niue.

13-Aug-2006 Noon Position

French Polynesia to Niue
South Pacific Ocean

• 13-Aug-2006
• 18°40.0000"S/166°20.8000"W
• 125nm in last 24hrs
• 844nm from Bora Bora
• 200nm to Niue
• 10-15 knots E
• swells 5ft SE

Ahoy from Team Sandpiper,

Made a few more miles this last 24 hours. The winds are a bit stronger and moving us along at an average of 5 knots. Not sure why, but no matter what time you leave your last destination, you are guaranteed to arrive at your next right after sunset.

We are going to have to slow down a little tomorrow night because we are due to arrive in Niue at 2am on Tuesday. So at noon tomorrow, we are going to decide what to do to slow down. Arriving in a strange harbor at night is not a whole lot of fun, unless you know exactly where you are going.

Today was a great day for Team Sandpiper. We had a big blue Mahi Mahi swimming around the boat today scaring all the flying fish out of the water. One even flew straight into the cockpit! We named him "Blue" (Your My Boy Blue!!). He played with our lures. But I think he knew they what was up. He just bit one and spit it back out to tease us.

Later in the day. three of his Mahi Mahi friends showed up. But I don't think he told them what's up, and they bit both our lures at the same time!! Results; one Mahi Mahi is being cooked up by 1st Mate Amy, and the other bit our lure in half.

We drag 2 heavy lines behind the boat to catch fish. They have heavy shock cords on them to absorb the shock when the fish bite. That way it doesn't rip the hooks out of their mouths. Fishing poles really don't work that well because when we are sailing, we can not stop the boat's forward movement without dropping the sails. So the drag lines make it easy. You just have drag in your "catch of the day".

More in 24,

Tom and Amy

12-Aug-2006 Noon Position

French Polynesia to Niue
South Pacific Ocean

• 12-Aug-2006
• 18°22.9000"S/164°10.9000"W
• 104nm in last 24hrs
• 720nm from Bora Bora
• 324nm to Niue
• 10-15 knots E
• swells 5ft SE

Ahoy,
We passed Palmerson Island at midnight, clearing it by 10 miles. We are making our way to Niue. By our pitiful 24 hour run, you can see that the winds have dropped down. But right at noon, they picked back up to 15-20 knots. If they hold, then we should have a really good run by noon tomorrow.

This run from Bora Bora has been really good. Since we left, the winds have been off the starboard aft quarter, making for really easy sailing. The windvane still amazes me on how well it steers. The windier it is, the better it steers!

Today was also shower day. So Team Sandpiper is smelling pretty sweet.

The farther west we go, the later the sun is setting as well. When we left Bora Bora, it was setting at 5:30pm. Tonight it set at 7pm. I think there is going to be a one hour time change when we arrive in Niue as well.

More in 24.

Tom and Amy

11-Aug-2006 Noon Position

French Polynesia to Niue
South Pacific Ocean

• 11-Aug-2006
• 18°12.4000"S/162°22.1000"W
• 118nm in last 24hrs
• 616nm from Bora Bora
• 428nm to Niue
• 15-20 knots SE
• swells 8ft SE

Ahoy,
Another day slogging around. The winds have held and we are still making good progress. The wind is almost right off the stern, so the jib and staysail are not getting much action. We would be getting a lot more speed if we had a beam reach.

We decided against stopping at Palmerston Island for a couple of reasons. (1) We would have to stop the boat so we could arrive in the morning. (2) The anchorage there is not very good, as it is outside the reef. If there is a wind change while anchored there, then your boat swings into the reef.

But it sounds like a really cool place. The locals look for you through their binoculars. Whoever gets their boat out to you first gets to "adopt" you. Also, everyone is related to original settler, William Masters from Gloucestershire England. He moved out there with his 3 wives in 1862. All the residents on the island are his descendants. And, they only get a supply ship in 4 time a year.

The night sailing has been really good. There was a full moon a couple nights ago, and it really lights up the ocean.

Also, if Cris in Hawaii is reading this, then please email us again on our sailmail account. Your email vanished off our computer and we want to write you back.

More in 24,
Tom and Amy

Notes From Ron:

• beam reach = Wind coming from the side (beam) of the boat.
• You can read more about William Masters and his family on Palmerston Island here, here, here, and here.
• Here is an article from a boat that did stop at Palmerston and was adopted by one of the local families.
  

10-Aug-2006 Noon Position

French Polynesia to Niue
South Pacific Ocean

• 10-Aug-2006
• 17°58.4000"S/160°18.8000"W
• 117nm in last 24hrs
• 497nm from Bora Bora
• 547nm to Niue
• 10-15 knots E
• swells 6ft SE

We are still plugging along. We are just a little slower every day as the trades are slowing down. Today we are averaging 4 knots, which is a huge change from 2 days ago when we were averaging 7.

We might have to skip Palmerson Island, as it looks like we will be there tomorrow night. We do not want to have to heave-to and wait for sunlight to get in. And, as our friend Jim on S/V Blue Sky says, "How are we supposed to get a beer on a Sunday?"

On the islands we have visited so far, the Christian missionaries have done such a great job in converting everyone that you can not do anything on Sunday except go to church. You can not even go for a swim!

We are really looking forward to getting to Nuie as the water their is supposed to be really clear. The island has no rivers, so supposedly you can see the bottom at 200ft!

More in 24,

Tom and Amy

09-Aug-2006 Noon Position

French Polynesia to Niue
South Pacific Ocean

• 09-Aug-2006
• 17°31.4000"S/158°19.1000"W
• 129nm in last 24hrs
• 380nm from Bora Bora
• 664nm to Niue
• 15-20 knotsSE
• swells 8ft SE

Are we there yet???? What day is it? Are we on day 3? Or 4? Does that make it Tuesday? Can you tell I'm a little antsy?

I think it was day one when I made beans and rice for dinner. I wanted to put sour cream on top. But of course the sour cream was at the bottom of the fridge. So after removing everything out of the fridge, bringing myself back upright, swearing 'I hate this', telling Tom "Please don't talk to me for a few minutes.", the sour cream was out of date.

Doing much better since then. I even made a somewhat substantial enchilada dinner last night, minus sour cream.

The weather has been good for us. The winds died down a little last night. So we are averaging 5 knots instead of 6. Yesterday we tied with our record of 140 nautical miles in 24 hours. Today was only 120. This puts us a little ahead of schedule, since we usually figure 100 miles a day. So that's good!

The full moon had been great at night. It is easier to see the giant swells come crashing into the cockpit. It also makes for a little extra reading light. Since being schooled on the Southern Cross in Bora Bora, we watch that go by us throughout the evening too.

If all goes well, and weather permitting, we may stop at the island of Palmerston. Currently we are 252 miles away. So we will keep you updated on that one.

Miss you all. I hope all is well with everyone on solid ground.

Amy

08-Aug-2006 Noon Position

French Polynesia to Niue
South Pacific Ocean

• 08-Aug-2006
• 17°16.3000"S/156°5.4000"W
• 139nm in last 24hrs
• 252nm from Bora Bora
• 792nm to Niue
• 20-25 knotsSE
• swells 8ft SE

Just a short one as we are rolling around a bit as we are running straight downwind. Good 24 houur run. If weather holds, then we will make great time in the next several days.

Got hit by a wave in my face as I was reading a book. Nice.....

Tom and Amy

25-April-2006 Position

9'03.7S/137'46.8W
25-Apr-2006 Noon

• 100nm made good last 24 hours
• 3080 Miles from Z-town
• 99 Miles to Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands
• N 5 knots wind, sunshine and small squalls
• 3ft N swell
• making 6 knots, secured from motor sailing last night at 6pm, sailed at 1-2 knots till 7am, motored 7am on.

Greetings to all. Hopefully, if all goes well, we will be in Hiva Oa after sunrise! We were making good speed motor sailing yesterday afternoon. We shut off the motor and slowly sailed last night at 1-2 knots, as going any faster would have caused us arrive at Hiva Oa at night. We do not want to enter a harbor out here at night.

Our crossing has gone great, and I do not want to jinx us. But after making landfall tomorrow, we have a busy day. I am not sure when the next blog entry will happen. But we will try to get something on here saying we are anchored in Hiva Oa.

Tomorrow we have to set anchor in a small anchorage using a stern anchor that a bunch of other boats are sharing. We have to scrub off all of the barnacles that have grown above the water line on the hull before they stick on for life. Then we finally go ashore to check in and take a real shower!!! There is supposed to be a great place for cheese burgers and ice cold beer, MMMMmmmmmmmm. Guess we will have to wear clothes & sandals for the lst time in a month...

Tom and Amy

24-April-2006 Position

8'11.2S/136'36.5W
24-Apr-2006 Noon

• 125nm made good last 24 hours
• 2980 Miles from Z-town
• 199 Miles to Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands
• N 5 knots wind, sunshine and no squalls
• 5ft N swell
• making 6 knots, motor sailed from 1030am

We had a great 24 hour run with perfect sailing conditions. Last night we were making over 6 knots with the wind right off the port quarter and small swells. We started to motor this morning. The winds had shifted from the north, so we decided we would run the engine to charge up the batteries. Then all the wind just quit!

Lots of stars last night. We even caught a Mahi Mahi at sunset, but decided to let it go, as it was getting dark and we did not want to make a big mess. Guess we are getting spoiled if we are throwing fish back. But that really was the only fish we have caught this trip, except for the one the shark ate. We keep 2 lures in the water every day. So we have been making an attempt to catch something. There is just nothing out here.

The miles are ticking down. We are hoping to make landfall in Hiva Oa at first light Wednesday morning. Not sure if we remember how to furl the sails, as they have been up for the last 3 weeks. Not much exciting news today. Amy is on her second Oprah DVD. She is a Su Doku puzzle genius. I have read every book on the boat. And we are on disk 3 on our Deadwood DVD's.

See you in 24,
Tom and Amy

Translations By Ron:
Port Quarter = Left rear corner.

23-April-2006 Position

6'59.4S/135'14.7W
23-Apr-2006 Noon

• 135nm made good last 24 hours
• 2860 Miles from Z-town
• 318 Miles to Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands
• SE 10-15knots wind, sunshine and no squalls 5ft swell
• Making 5 knots, motor sailed from 11pm to 7am

We are so close!!! It's going to be weird all of a sudden to see land. I can't wait. Everyday someone tells us on The Net how beautiful it is there. I want to see for myself!

We are hiring an agent to help with the check in procedure. This almost guarantees us our 90 day visa. We wouldn't want to screw that up. 90 days isn't really that long of a time when you consider French Polynesia covers such a huge area. The French control the Marquesas, Tuamotus, Austral, and Society Islands. The later is most popular and recognized because of Tahiti and Bora Bora. Just to give you an idea of how big it is, it is at least a 5 day sail just from the Marquesas to the Tuamotus.

Tom took a look at our GRIB files (emailed files showing us where the wind is and how much we can expect). They say it looks like it should be good all the way to Hiva Oa, our first port. We asked another boat today on The Net what time it was there, and it was only 8:30 am. We gained 4.5 hours since leaving Mexico, which makes sense because the sun wasn't setting until 9:00 pm. For some strange reason, the Marquesas is on some half-hour time zone.

One nice thing to come out of the squalls is that we haven't been taking watches. There is nothing you can do when it is raining sideways and winds are gusting. So we both go below. Well lucky for me Tom is relaxed enough now that he doesn't care. Even if it is nice out. So at night we eat dinner, climb into our bunks, and watch movies. Last night was the rest of 'Munich', and an episode of 'Deadwood', Tom's favorite. I also think the watches were starting to get to us. It is really nice to be able to sleep more than 3 hours at a time.

For any of you blog watchers in the Bay area, Tom and I are written up in the latest issue of Latitude 38. I believe it gives a brief description of all the 'Puddle Jumpers'. For everyone else, Latitude 38 is the free sailing magazine for the Bay area. They were the ones that sponsored the Baja Ha-Ha. They also have a web page you can follow. They sometimes fly to the South Pacific and host a party for all of us cruisers to reconnect. So stay tuned.

The ice cream is getting closer. I can almost taste it.

Love to all,
Amy

22-April-2006 Position

5'39.9S/133'52.6W,
22-Apr-2006 Noon

• 140nm made good last 24 hours
• 2726 Miles from Z-town
• 453 Miles to Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands
• SE 25-30 knots wind, no squalls 10ft swell
• making 6 knots, motor sailed from 11pm to 6am.

Ahoy,
Well I think we survived another night of living the "Perfect Storm". We had an overcast day all day yesterday, and another night of winds at 30 knots until 11pm when the wind just all the sudden stopped. We were rolling all over the place with the swells that were left. So another night of motor sailing from 11pm to 6am. A great day of sailing today with lots of sunshine.

I committed one of the greatest sins aboard last night. I left one of the portholes open over the starboard bunk, as it was so hot below. I was rewarded by witnessing blue ocean water pouring in on the bunk as we took a heavy roll. Amy was very pleased that we got to spend the evening pulling every pillow and sheet off the starboard bunk, hanging everything in the cockpit to dry, and leaving me a nice wet mattress to sleep on.

We spent another night watching movies below while Sandpiper drove us along at 6-7.5 knots, giving us our 2nd longest 24 hour run. I still find it weird to be below watching a movie thousands of miles offshore, then going out in the cockpit and looking around.

We also turned back our clocks one hour today because at 7pm, the sun is still high in the sky. This is our second time change since we have left. It should put us close to local time when we get to Hiva Oa.

We are getting closer and closer to Hiva Oa. We have been talking to the boats that have arrived. I think if we get lucky with the winds, we should be there in 4-5 days. We are pulling into Hiva Oa because this is a Port of Entry for French Polynesia. It is where we have to check in with customs and apply for our French visa, that will hopefully give us a 90 day stay.

We are able to chat with the boats behind, in front, and around us over the SSB/Ham radio at noon every day. Our friend Ken, on SV Panache, is single handing his boat. He left Z-town a week after we left. Every time he transmits, his radio makes his boat's autopilot turn his boat in a complete circle. So all we hear from him is "Sandpiper... this is Panache. Oh there is goes again!", as he runs to the cockpit to get his boat back on course. This is all we have heard from him during this trip on several different occasions.

Also... our friends Chris, Kelly, Claire, and a cat, on The Sensei, left a week behind us from Puerta Vallarta and not only being busy sailing and standing watches are home their daughter Claire.

There is another boat, The Maryad, that is about 60 miles from us. They are the parents of friends we met in Puerta Vallarta on SV 'New Dawn". New Dawn just arrived in Hiva Oa. They even have the exact same boat as their parents.

See you in 24,
Tom and Amy

21-April-2006 Position

4'06.5S/132'33.9W
21-Apr-2006 Noon

• 135nm made good last 24 hours
• 2590 Miles from Z-town
• 591 Miles to Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands
• SE 25-30 knots wind, squalls with gusts to 35 knots
• 10ft swell, making 6 knots
• Motor sailed from 1am to 10am.

SQUALLS!!!!!!! We have had rain squalls all night last night. Basically, they are small rain storms that last about 30 minutes. But when they hit, the wind more than doubles!

So last night it rained really hard. Then all the wind stopped at 2 am, then changed directions from the north, just long enough for me to un-reef the main sail, and switch the sails over to the port side. Then after an hour, the wind changed back to the SE. So I had to undo everything I had just done! And, it was raining sideways. So we started the engine and motor sailed all night.

Sandpiper loves to motor sail. The boat really smooths out and steers better. Also, the batteries get charged and we can make water.

At 10am the storms all disappeared and we had a good day of sailing in large swells. When it is raining sideways at night, there really is no reason to be in the cockpit, as you cannot see anything. We just lie below and catch up on sleep.

Today we even caught up on several movies and ran the Puddle Jumpers Net (where all the other boats check in at noon with their weather and positions). Imagine trying to type on a laptop while you are rolling all over the place.

Gotta go.

Tom and Amy

First Mate Amy notes: Amy says I sugar coat the blog entries. Her one word to describe last night was "EXTREME". Lighting, sideways torrential rain, and a near vomit experience. Jimmy Buffet is full of #**#. He never sings about sailing in this stuff!