South Pacific

Arrival in Guam Monday, March 29, 2110 (Sunday in US) – 1330 Guam Time 13degree22N/144degrees39E 7521nm logged since departing Seattle We arrived in Guam mid-day on Monday. A US Coast Guard Cutter (named The Washington) was patrolling the entrance to Apra Harbor. Don had a conversation with them on the VHF and they asked if they could do a courtesy boarding; we said “yes”. Four young Coast Guard men, with a young woman in command,...

Saturday March 27 (Friday in US) – 0700 GMT 10degrees N/151degrees 23E Wind E25 knots/ Wave NE 2-3 meters Bearing 295M 7521nm logged since departing Seattle We are about halfway to Guam. We departed Pohnpei Thursday morning at 0900 FSM time (GMT + 11hrs/a day later than Seattle). The Naiad heat exchanger is on and doing its job after 3 full flushings of new oil to get the sea water out of the system. All...

Pohnpei, FSM 6-57N/158/12E March 12, 2010 Sometime We Get Lucky Sharry and I pulled into Pohnpei Friday morning at 0900. We had just come in from Kosrae, with 8’-10’ seas on our starboard beam and it was nice to be in the sheltered harbor. We cleared customs in less than an hour, very efficient and professional. (The Marshallese Customs, Immigration and Quarantine could all take lessons from these folks on how to become more efficient.)...

Lelu, Kosrae FSM March 4, 2010 THE ENGINE PROBLEM HAS BEEN SOLVED AND REPAIRED.    THE FIX: The problem with the engine was that there was zero electrical in any of the circuitry in the engine control box. We had full batteries, start and house batteries, the power was getting to the engine control box, but there was no internal power coming past the box breaker. I hit the breaker and it would trip. After...

5degrees19N/163degrees01E March 1, 2010 Distance Traveled to Date: 6258nm We arrived in Kosrae, the easternmost of the Caroline Islands, and a State in the Federated States of Micronesia at 1000 Monday, March 1. Don picked up officials from Immigration and Agriculture in our tender and brought them out to Starr, at anchor off the town of Lelu on the east side of the island. We had completed the necessary procedures to enter the Federated States of...

From Jaliut Atoll, SE Pass, 05degrees51N/169degrees31E To Kosrai, Federated States of Micronesia February 28 – 0200-0500 Starr left the SW Pass of Jaliut Atoll, Marshall Islands at 0945 on the morning of February 27. The sky was overcast and the winds were NE 15knts (on our starboard stern quarter). It was perfect weather to do a 400nm passage (2 days and nights with just Don and I on board), to Kosrae the eastern-most island in...

6-degrees4N/169degrees36E February 25 -1200    Roseanne (who spoke very good English), Sarah, an older woman (who didn’t speak) and two young boys just came out to Starr, at anchor off Imrodji Village on the North end of the Jaliut lagoon, to invite us to come ashore at 1800 (6pm) to be welcomed to the village. We arrived yesterday afternoon at 1500 after a slow and cautious trip from the SE Passage at Jabor, the largest...

February 25 – 1800 We went ashore at 6pm and were met by the wife of the minister of the Protestant Church, the first church built by missionaries in the Marshall Islands (1857). We unloaded some gifts that we had brought for the village and put it all into a wheelbarrow, which the Minister’s wife pushed to the communal gathering area behind the church, and we followed. We were seated in two white plastic chairs...

Jabor, Jaliut Atoll, RMI 5degrees55N/169degrees38E February 23, 2110 Jabor, Jaliut Atoll, a village with a population of 1023 people (including 400 boarding students at the Southern Islands High School) was running out of water; there has been little or no rain for months and everyone was very worried. The town was desperate enough for water that they were ready to ship in desalinated water at $3/gallon from Majuro, 125nm away. I asked Sylvester, the Associate...

Jabor, Jaliut Atoll, RMI 5-55N/169-38E February 22, 2010 When we arrived in Jabor, we had still had our three packages, which had been mailed to Majuro from family in the US, to deliver to the World Teach people in Jaliut. The first person we met upon going ashore was Sylvester Amram, the Associate Mayor. Sylvester promptly took us to the South Islands High School (the only High School in all of the South Islands), where...

Mili Atoll, Marshall Islands 6-degrees29N/171degrees46E February 19, 2110 It is too windy to go to the Village of Milimili; we are unable to deliver the US Mail Mili is an aqua colored lagoon, surrounded by reefs and obstacles, within a large atoll 88nm south of Majuro. The village, 14nm from Acharan Passage is called Milimili. We anchored, tucked within several reefs, off two islands about 7nm from the village. It took us 2 hours after...

Our friends and traveling companions Brian and Mary Alice O'Neill won the Sunday race here in Majuro! See the article here! To look at their web photo album go to:www.picasaweb.google.com/svshibui/hawaii

It’s 3:30 in the afternoon and I am ‘on watch’. The sky is light overcast, the winds are perfect 20knots off our stern, the seas are 1-3 feet with a gentle lull-a-by sway and the autopilot keeps a steady course of 240 degrees. Life is good. This is the 9th day of our 10 day journey from Honolulu to the Marshall Islands. And the only word that comes to mind as I look back on...

Dear friends. A number of days ago I asked for your advice as to whither we shave my head or not. I want to thank all of you for getting back with your input. Having heard from all three of you, the tally is as follows: Two of you voted for the shave One suggested we keep things as is. Thank you for your support. Don Ps. In order to arrive in Majuro with the...

    Passage from Honolulu, Hawaii to Majuro, Marshall Islands February 5 (Seattle)/February 6 (Majuro) Lat/Long-11degrees4N/179degrees33E What do you do all day when Starr is crossing an ocean? Often people ask me this question, in particular my friends who have never made an ocean passage. The days are both the same and varied, and 24hrs. slides by much too quickly. I will describe a “typical day”. My day starts at 0830 when I get up...

Don and Adam, our "grounding man", in Ft. LauderdaleWe flew home from New Zealand on November 14, expecting to enjoy the holidays at home and then return to Auckland on January 10. One of the major lessons that people learn when cruising the world is the necessity to be flexible. We had been pondering the question of "where do we want to cruise next?" all year. We both wanted to continue West to the Mediterranean,...

OWC - the boat returning from a raceOpua: Oct. 23-24 - Time to explore with Ross and Dave before they leave Starr. We rent a car and drive North to Awanui, via Whangaroa and Kerikeri. We stop for lunch at the "world famous" Mangonui Fish Shop and back to Opua by dinner time. Ross and Dave leave the next day to do some touring of the North Island before they head home to Washington State,...

The beautiful and rugged coast of NiueRaro: Oct. 6 - Don and I arrived back in Rarotonga early in the morning on Sunday, accompanied by our passage crew of Ross Miles and Dave Beller who joined us at LAX.. We cruised with Ross on the pivotal voyage down the coast of Mexico and Central America on Zeehaen in March 2000; the trip that convinced Don and I that we wanted to do blue water cruising and...

Don and June at Raina Beach Apartments in RarotongaWell here we are, back in Raro for the third time; Don and I have lots of friends here. One of the first things that we do is search out our friend, June Baudinet. We invite her to dinner on our second night in town and catch up on what's been happening in Raro. In addition to running her business, Raina Trading, she has been busy building...

Sharry, Colin and Manio with Magdalena and SilvaeRaiatea: Sept. 3 - Our neighbors from home, Colin and Manio Radford arrive. Manio is Tahitian and we have been looking forward to spending time with her and Colin in the Society Islands. We chose Raiatea and to visit with them because Raiatea was the ancient religious center of the Polynesian triangle (Hawaii-Easter Island-New Zealand) and they had not been to Raiatea for more than 20 years; and...

Tahiti Farewell withWe spent most of the week in Papeete after Shari left, cleaning Starr and provisioning for the remainder of the trip to New Zealand. We wash down the outside of the boat with vinegar to get rid of the buildup of salt; I polish the stainless, wash windows and clean and don fixes things that broke during our passage, removed the anchor windless check valve, changed oil on both of the generators, fixed...

Sharry and Shari at ToauRotoava, Fakarava: August 18 - We pick up Shari at 1600 at the airport by Novurania. So good to have her with us; our "boating pal". In the morning we take Shari on a tour of Rotoava, snorkel the North Pass and head the over to Toau. On the way we catch two yellowfin tuna, another "double hitter". Shari has cruised with us for years on our Skookum boats in SE Alaska...

Starr at Rangiroa at sunsetRangiroa: August 4 - We arrive back on Starr.August 5 - Before Magne and Laura leave on the noon flight to Tahiti, we go shopping for pearls. They have scoped out the best shops while we were gone and I want to buy some pearls for our friend, Hap Heyden, Captain of Asteria. I would also like to find some nice pearls to give as Christmas presents. There are lots of...

Motu Aito, Manihi and Tila's HomeThe Tuamotu Archipelago: Fakarava, Faiite, Tahanea, Kauehi, Toau, Apataki and Rangiroa Passage to Fakarava: June 7-9 Starr made the three day passage from The Marquees Islands to the Tuamotu Archipelago. The passage was like a time warp; we had incredible starry skies with Jupiter and Venus in the early night sky, the Southern Cross and an upside-down Big Dipper (the North Star is below the horizon). We have our friend, Mike...

MV STARR in HakahauMay 5 - We leave Tahiti at 0930 with Mike and Colleen as our crew. This is their first ocean passage.May 6 - We stop at Rangiroa. Mike and Colleen dive with my French dive instructor, Sebastian. We leave the next morning for Ua Pou.May 10 - We arrived in Hakahau on Ua Pou in the Marquesas Islands and just miss the big Hoe (canoe race). The Party is over and the...

Orams Marine in Auckland2002 was a very good year; Don and I covered 7,800 nautical miles on MV Starr from April to October, with the help of friends on the longer passages. Much to my amazement, I did very well as the only mate, deckhand, stewardess, cook and chief bottlewasher, mostly because Don could be Captain and all of the above as well.Due to business considerations back at home, Don and I weren't able to...

MV ASTERIA in RangiroaDelivery of the OC6 to Hakahau, Ua Pou in The Marquesas Islands The following is an excerpt from an email that we sent to our many friends who have been following the progress of our attempts to secure a new OC 6 for the Canoe Club in Hakahau, Ua Pou in the Marquesas Islands:Ratero's Dream: Canoes for Ua Pou in the Marquesas IslandsSince I last wrote to you, we have made significant...

Auckland, New ZealandStarr was in Auckland, the "City of Sails" from October 24 to April 10, 2002. On the trip South from Russell, we stopped briefly at the Great Barrier Islands. They remind us of Northern California with tree ferns and a lot more rain. We thought that we would get back to this gorgeous and sparsely populated island group in March to do some more cruising, but unfortunately, life in a shipyard is "hell"...

New Zealand: Land of the Long White CloudAo Tea Roa, "the Land of the Long White Cloud". That is what the ancient Polynesian voyagers called New Zealand and that is exactly what it looked like to us as we approached the Northern Island at dawn of the last day of our five day passage from the Kingdom of Tonga to New Zealand. We were less than 40 nm from our final destination of New Zealand...

A freighter passes as we approach New ZealandThis was supposed to be the "scary" passage. I have been worried about this passage ever since we crossing the Pacific from Mexico. We are just West of Australia and the Tasmin Sea, which has a reputation much like that of the Washington and Oregon Coast. The difference is that while the NW coast is almost always stormy with the wind in your face, this patch of the...

Market in Nuku'alofaThe Kingdom of Tonga feels very "foreign". Nuku'alofa feels a little like La Paz in Mexico, with a wide boulevard stretching the length of the waterfront, except everything is in English instead of Spanish. Tonga feels more like a foreign country than anywhere we have traveled so far in the South Pacific. Paul Therioux in The Happy Isles of Oceania says that "Tonga is itself" and this seems true. The people are big...

Transferring fuel on passageA rough passage like the one from Bora Bora to Rarotonga is like being pregnant; after the baby is born and the pain subsides, you forget how bad it was. This passage, on the otherhand, is just about as good as it gets with calm seas, blue sky, sun during the daytime and a sky so full of stars at night that it feels as if you can reach up and touch...

Anchored outside the reef in AitutakiDuring the coarse of our travels this past year, three islands have become very special to us and Aitutaki is one of them. While the island of Aitutaki is very beautiful, it is always the people that engrave an indeliible memory on our hearts. Like Ua Pou in the Marquesas Islands and then Kauehi in the Tuamotu Archipeligo, Aitutaki felt like home from our first day on shore.We arrived the...

Memorial on the waterfront in RarotongaI sent out an email describing our feelings of isolation from friends and family in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attack on the United States. While we were receiving almost daily CNN news reports that described WHAT was happening back home, we felt cut off from understanding HOW those horrific events were effecting the people we loved. I asked: "How have lives changed?" The following is the thoughtful...

Starr at the wharf in Avatiu Harbor, RarotongaDon and I are certainly not "ugly Americans", but we are fairly typical Americans in our inability to speak languages other than English. In our six months of travel in French Polynesia, we never learned to speak French. Our wonderful new friendship with both Pere Joseph and Rataro in Ua Pou and Edward in Kauehi was possible because they both spoke quite good English. What a relief to...

Passage to RaroRough and rolly. Not nice. Six to ten foot waves on the beam, winds gusting to thirty-five knots. Big waves bang against the side of the boat with a loud "crash". For sixty-five hours, 540 nm, when we move about the boat we need always to keep a hand free to hang on. At night in bed, we do a lot of "mattress surfing". In the morning, we wake up with sore toes...

Candace and Geoff DaigleWe arrived at Bora Bora on Sunday, 16 September on a grey and rainy day. We were unable to see the unparelled beauty of Bora Bora; it felt more like Seattle, but a lot warmer. Geoff and Candace leave Starr today to head back to Bainbridge Island. The Tahiti Airport has been closed until today, so they will be able to return home as originally scheduled. They are taking a CD of...

Geoff and Candace DaigleMonday 10th. Something seemed odd. It was 2AM and we'd just finished watching our second movie in the past 8 hours. We relinquished our comfy blankets and had sleepily plunked our way down the plane's stairs to the tarmac where the tropic weather hit us. This was not Seattle. We stood in a slow moving line while a hearty band of ukulele troubadours kept our spirits up with Tahitian music featuring the...

Utaroa, RaiateaFriday morning Illusion and another sailboat move into Haapa Bay. We wondered why no one else moved yesterday afternoon and the sailboats that stayed in Avea Bay probably had a second sloppy night. We are restless and decide to stick our nose out and see how this windy period is affecting the sea beyond the reef. It's not bad and we make the 20 NM passage to Raiatea with the wind on our port...

Ladies coming to churchMoorea is a place that most people only dream about. We anchor in Opunohu Bay on the North side of the island. Mt. Muaroa rises above the bay, very reminiscent of Hakahau on Ua Pou in the Marquesas. In fact, Opunohu Bay is so beautiful that it is what most people think of when they think of the South Pacific. The view at the head of the bay was the backdrop for...

Starr anchored off Marina Taina in TahitiWe flew back to Papeete on 22 August, our 37th wedding anniversary. We didn't arrive in Papeete on the 22nd as planned, however. We were sitting on a Hawaiian Airlines airplane, ready to fly from Honolulu to Papeete but the airplane was making a most horrible grinding noise in the belly of the plane and nobody seemed to be taking any notice. Don isn't a particularly passive person, so...

Start of the canoe race around MooreaWe make the 24 hour passage to Papeete, leaving Tikehau at 0900 on Thursday and entering the lagoon at Papeete at 0830 on Friday. We moor at Marina Taina in the Maeva Beach area south of the airport. Later in the morning we go into Papeete and Don checks Starr into Tahiti with the Harbor Master and then Don, Pete, Cathy and I mess around town for the afternoon....

On one of the motus in the Rangiroa loagoonWe made the three day passage from Fakarova to Rangiroa in the Tuamotus, stopping at Toau and Apataki along the way (see voyage section for the Tuamotus). In Rangiroa our friends Pete and Cathy Trogdon, formerly from Seattle and now living in Annapolis, Maryland joined us on Starr. In Rangiroa, I completed the four open water dives in order to become certified with PADI with Sebastian Bertaut...

Starr at RangiroaThey eat dogs in the Tuamotus, at least in Rotoava, Fakarava. We were told that they eat dogs, but we thought that meant in years long past. No, they eat dogs at the Miss Fakrava Festival. So much for cultural differences. We didn't experience the dog eating, but our Swedish friends on The Wonder Years did, first hand. The story goes like this: Ole and Karin with their sons, Ole Jr. and Nils...

Tuamotu landfall at KauehiWe spend over a week at this village in the Tuamotus. Sunday morning we go to church and record the singing. The music is wonderful; the people of Tearavero sing like angels. We record the music again on the following Sunday and make a cd for our friends here that incorporates the music of both days.While we are in Tearavero we become good friends with Edward and Rosina Temere. More with Edward...

Landfall in the Tuamotu Archipelago, KauehiPassage to Kauehi, Iles de Tuamotu, 522 nautical miles 15.56 South, 145.10Wednesday morning Don and I were drinking our morning latte in the flying bridge, our morning ritual, and discussing life in general. We planned to pull anchor and head off for the 45 nm trip to Fatuiva, but decided instead to begin the three day passage to the Tuamotus. We were ready for a change. Since it would have...

Starr in the crowded harbor oft AtuonaWe leave Tuhuata at 1030 and arrive in the tiny, crowded harbor of Atuona on Hiva Oa at 1400. Most boats traveling from Mexico, Panama or the Galapagos Islands make their initial landing in Atuona. There are thirty other boats in the tiny harbor behind the breakwater and we are really happy that we made our intial landfall in Taiohae on Nuka Hiva. We can barely squeeze a space...

Vollyball in Vaitahu, TahuataIt pours overnight but is beautiful again in the morning. This is how the weather arranges itself in Paradise. We finish our business in Hakahau in the morning: I print photos and Chuck and Carol pick up some carvings from Alfred Hatuuki. Tui delivers our warclub at 1000. We learn that he got up at 0200 in order to finish it for us. We deliver chocolate chip cookies to the boys at...

Starr at Hakahau(Back to our favorite place in the Marquesas and the story continues and gets better: two more Kaikais and another man with a dream. Also Don becomes "an angel" according to Pere Joseph.)When we arrived at Hakahau, we are given a hard time by another boat in the small anchorage behind the breakwater. A guy on an sailboat from England must have been having a "bad hair day" because he tells us that...

There are many more boats at Taiohae on our returnWe flew back to Nuku Hiva, leaving Seattle on Wednesday morning, 23 May. Our good friends Chuck and Carol Worst returned with us. We also bring back with us a new exhaust pipe for Michael and Joanne Grey on destiny. It's a long trip back: five and a half hours from Seattle to Hawaii; a five and a half hour layover in Honolulu; a five and...

View of TaiohaeIn the two hour taxi ride to the airport (18km), Don and I visited with Chris Caldicott, a photo journalist from London. He writes about luxury hotels and other travel experiences, but his favorite work is to travel the world and write about food. He and his wife own a restaurant in London, the World Food Cafe, which is a reflection of this love for food and travel. He was flying home to...

View of TaiohaeWe head back to Taiohae, arriving before noon. When Don goes ashore to sign in with the Gendarmerie, he meets Seattle Yacht Club members, Michael and Joanne Grey on Destiny and invites them to dinner. We enjoy getting to know them.The next Morning we go, first to the Catholic Church at 0800, and then to the Protestant Church at 0930. The Protestant church has a very small congregation and they are very happy...

Starr at HakahauWe leave Ua Huka at 0730 and arrive back in our favorite harbor, on our favorite island in the Marquesas by 1400. We had planned to be back by Friday, anyway, in order to go to the Kaikai for Olivier and Jezebel, so we are just a couple of days earlier than we planned. (Flexibility is the key to enjoying long-distance cruising). When we arrive the 300' Aranui (supply freighter, copra boat and...

No pictures of Hane, so Don launching the kayak rackWe leave Hakahetau at 0600 to head to the island of Ua Huka where we have been told there are many excellent artists. We have been looking forward to seeing "the best museum in the Marquesas", an arboretum of experimental trees and plants, and ride horseback on the track from Hane to Vaipaee.We have a rough passage and when we arrive we check out all three...

Kids swimming at HakahetauAfter Christian and Katherine leave we take Starr to Pascal's village of Hakahetau. Pascal, his girlfriend Sandrine, and his two year old daughter Pootu are all waving to us from tthe quay when we arrive. We go ashore and Pascal gives us a tour of his village. Walking about, we meet Pascal's father, the mayor and almost everyone in the village.Monday morning Don and I launch the dory in order to row...

Starr at HakahauOur favorite place in the Marquesas Islands is Hakahau on the island of Ua Pou. Here, we made many friends. First I will go backwards alittle to the day that the Rabinowitz family left for home, Thursday 19 April. After they headed off to the airport Don and I went ashore to find Jezebel, the wife of the French Gendarme, Olivier. When Don had checked Starr into Ua Pou, she had offered to...

Neil, Beth, Chad & Cole in HanavaveOur travels with the Rabinowitz family, from Nuku Hiva to Fatu Hiva, Tahuata and Hiva Oa, ending in Ua PouDonna and I shop for fresh veggies in the morning in Taiohae. In the afternoon, Rob and Donna go to the internet connection in town to pick up their personal emails.. We aren't sure when Neil Rabinowitz, Beth, Chad (treize ans) and Cole (huit ans) are going to arrive. Late...

View of TaihoeDon, Rob and Donna all go ashore to look for Tommoe, a friend of Rose Corser, to gather more fruit. I was sick last night, so I stay on board to recover. I am very disappointed; I am reading Typee by Herman Melville and this is the Valley of Taipaivai where the story took place. However, since we are expecting guests tomorrow I decide to take it easy and recuperate. They return two...

The Aranui entering Anaho Bay (with Starr)The Arunui left Sunday night, so we have the bay to ourselves again. Rob and Donna don diving gear and wash the bottom of the boat, which gathers 'growies' quickly in the warm 86 degree tropical water. When they are finished, I try out my diving gear. The last time I did scuba diving was in the Caribbean in 1976 and my skills are a little rusty. I took...

The men of Hatiheu play boules on SundayAnaho bay is a quiet, peaceful place until Sunday morning when the Aranui arrives. We have gone ashore to take a hike over the ridge to Hatiheu Village in the bay to the West, when the huge white supply freighter arrives and fills the anchorage. We continue our hike as the long boat brings ashore the passengers and perhaps picks up copra to take to Tahiti. It takes...

We returned to Taiohae yesterday afternoon in order to be able to go to the Saturday morning market, which takes place at 0430 on the quay. Marquesians are early risers, but why so early? The fishermen come in early with the night catch and do not fish on Sunday and people come to the quay to buy their fish for the weekend. Others bring vegetables and fried bread to sell from the tailgate of their...

Daniel with fruit for usDaniel has been living in Hakatea, aka Daniel's Bay, for most of his life. He and his wife, Antoinette are the friends of yachting folk from all parts of the world. We went ashore to say "hello" and to search Daniel's Log Books for the July 15, 1978 entry of Charles and Patty Hathaway, who sailed here so many years ago on Tiare with family and friends. We found their entry...

We left Taohae for Hakatea (Daniel's Bay), Thursday April 5. We spent the afternoon hiking to 900' high Vaipo Falls, the tallest waterfall in the Marquesas Islands. We began our trek by taking the'"rubber duck" over to the neighboring Hakaui Bay, crossed the sandbar at the river mouth and tied off to a tree at the river's edge. A handsome young man in his early twenties, who introduced himself as Augustine the Prince, pointed the...

View of TaiohaeWe had originally planned to leave Taiohae today, to spend a few days in Hakatea, also known as Daniel's Bay, but decided to stay an extra day in order to have new acquaintances from a Norwegian sailboat to dinner. Arve Johannson, owner of S/Y Hildring, and his friend Egil Mollekleiv both speak excellent English and seemed like interesting people to get to know. Little did we know how interesting. Arve and his wife...

View of TaiohaeTuesday we finish our "Official Business" of checking into French Polynesia. After missing the "open hours" yesterday, we go to the Post Office first thing in the morning, buy the stamp for 55PF and mail "The Official Letter" to Papeete. It isn't really "first thing" because we have to wait until after a tropical downpour, which here go by the misnomer of "rain showers". We then go back to the Gendarmarie office, and...

Don and ladies picking fruitDon and I head up to the hotel Monday morning at 0800 to meet with Ismael, the bartender. We met Ismael Saturday night, when we ate dinner at the hotel. Marianne, the wife of the chef, who is also the restaurant manager and our waitress for the evening, had made arrangements for Ismael to take us up into the hills to gather fruit of all kinds. She told us that there...

Church is outWe were up by 0630 on Sunday morning, but it didn't seem that early. We had left out clocks on Los Cabos time for our passage and arriving in Nuku Hiva changed them to two and a half hours earlier (a total of 3 ½ hrs. earlier than Seattle, standard time). Church at 0800 was delightful. There are two churches in the village, one Catholic and one Protestant. We went to the Catholic...

Starr at HakahauKaoha Nui from Nuku Hiva,We made landfall on Saturday, March 31, at about 1600. We had increased the rpm of the boat from 1200 to 1300, which increased our boat speed from about 7 knots to 7.5+knots. This enabled us to arrive on Saturday afternoon, instead of after dark, a much more pleasant experience. We wanted to get a good night's rest so we could go to church on Sunday morning. We go...

This is what it is all aboutHello to you all.Today is Day 6 and we are now 1082nm miles from Los Cabos. It is difficult to write a journal entry; the seas have been seas and every time I sit down to write, my stomach becomes queasy. The skies are mostly cloudy, with the sun coming out in the afternoon. Seas are 6-8 foot swell and building with spindrift. Each day it has gotten warmer....

Sunset in MexicoSunny Mexico. We spent a month on the coast of mainland Mexico, with family joining us for Christmas and New Year in Barra de Navidad.

Another day in ParadiseStarr left Seattle on November 11 on its way to Mexico for some shake-down cruising before heading across the Pacific to French Polynesia. We had to stop in for two weeks San Diego to repair our bow thruster and arrived in Cabos San Lucas December 1.