Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Sweet homecoming
Chris and I are gearing up to return to Apataki next week, and after last week's snowy conditions in Tahoe, it can't come soon enough! It's been a whirlwind visit back to the States. A month in Michigan, and six weeks in Tahoe wasn't enough time to see and do everything we wanted to...but we're pumped to return to our home on the water. We'll spend about 10 weeks sailing in the Tuamotu's, with no agenda, other than to enjoy ourselves to the fullest.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Nana Namaste
Immediately after dropping off Nichole and Adam at the Papeete airport, our Maui friends arrived and another entertaining escapade began. We had a 32-hour, 180-mile sail from Tahiti to Rangiroa in the Tuamotus, with seven people onboard - Rusty and Kim, their daughters Cassidy and Jesse, and Kim's mother Lynne. It was quite an experience for the
The swell from the south reached 11-13 feet, and the current in the pass entrance clocked up to 5.5 knots. We had to run the motor at full speed to make 1 knot of progress and an hour passed to travel 1 mile.
We dropped the hook and settled into Tiputa, breaking out all the toys and setting up the full awnings.
The pass drift diving was phenomenal, and we took full advantage of the 150-200+ feet of visibility. The reefs are amazing, and the sea is absolutely teeming with life. Rusty, Chris and I have been taking turns breathing underwater and driving the boat. We've spotted giant Napoleon fish, eagle rays, manta rays, dolphins, thousands of fish, and of course...hundreds of gray sharks at the corner of the pass, where they gather during the incoming tide to feed.
The kids loved wakeboarding behind the dinghy, as well as snorkeling, kayaking and paddleboarding. Kim, Jesse and Cassie did some scuba diving in very shallow water and enjoyed the sensation.
We hauled anchor and sailed east to motu Mahitu, where we found a long, picturesque sandy beach and turquoise-blue waters. The beachcombing has been very successful, and we're all loaded with incredible shells.
On Tuesday, we motored six miles into the lagoon to motu Nao Nao. The coral island was littered with cowries and surrounded by beautiful coral heads. The rest of the crew snorkeled, while Rusty, Cassie and I dove in shallow waters. We found a huge octopus tucked in a rock, as well as eagle rays and blacktip reef sharks.
We spent the next couple days hiding from a southeast wind at motu Tapuaa. We met the uncle and nephew whose family has owned and worked the motu for generations drying coconuts. Vaki took us for an awesome stroll on the coral rocks and sandy patches on the ocean side of the motu. He has an amazing eye for discovering perfectly polished shells.
Our Maui friends flew home and we packed up the boat for a tough upwind beat to Apataki. It took us 24 hours to go 80-miles, including tacking up the lagoon to reach the protected side of the atoll and the boatyard.
After almost two days of organizing food, packing up toys, cleaning, and preparing the boat, we hauled her Tuesday morning. There was 20-22 knots of wind blowing in the anchorage, but their motu is perfectly positioned and the winds dropped to less than 10 knots at the haulout ramp. We had a small problem with the fit of the hydraulic trailer on the hull, but the Lau family worked hard to correct it. Everything turned out fine, and Namaste is nesting in her new home. It's amazing to have that service at this remote location, and we're thrilled to have the boat in the Tuamotus upon our October return.
On July 20th, we said goodbye to friends and flew from Apataki to Tahiti. After a spectacular day lounging at our good friends oceanside house, we took the red-eye to Los Angeles and then home to Tahoe.
We've had the most spectacular seven months on the boat, and it feels a little disorientating to leave our floating home. It's such a simplistic and beautiful life to live for us, and we cherish our times at these incredible, remote locations. We are of course, super excited to rejoin the world and reconnect with our family and friends, who we've missed so much. It's true - absence does make the heart grow fonder.
We spent a whirlwind five days in Tahoe, and are currently in Charlevoix, Michigan completing our awesome trifecta for the year! As always, more to come...
The swell from the south reached 11-13 feet, and the current in the pass entrance clocked up to 5.5 knots. We had to run the motor at full speed to make 1 knot of progress and an hour passed to travel 1 mile.
We dropped the hook and settled into Tiputa, breaking out all the toys and setting up the full awnings.
The pass drift diving was phenomenal, and we took full advantage of the 150-200+ feet of visibility. The reefs are amazing, and the sea is absolutely teeming with life. Rusty, Chris and I have been taking turns breathing underwater and driving the boat. We've spotted giant Napoleon fish, eagle rays, manta rays, dolphins, thousands of fish, and of course...hundreds of gray sharks at the corner of the pass, where they gather during the incoming tide to feed.
The kids loved wakeboarding behind the dinghy, as well as snorkeling, kayaking and paddleboarding. Kim, Jesse and Cassie did some scuba diving in very shallow water and enjoyed the sensation.
We hauled anchor and sailed east to motu Mahitu, where we found a long, picturesque sandy beach and turquoise-blue waters. The beachcombing has been very successful, and we're all loaded with incredible shells.
On Tuesday, we motored six miles into the lagoon to motu Nao Nao. The coral island was littered with cowries and surrounded by beautiful coral heads. The rest of the crew snorkeled, while Rusty, Cassie and I dove in shallow waters. We found a huge octopus tucked in a rock, as well as eagle rays and blacktip reef sharks.
We spent the next couple days hiding from a southeast wind at motu Tapuaa. We met the uncle and nephew whose family has owned and worked the motu for generations drying coconuts. Vaki took us for an awesome stroll on the coral rocks and sandy patches on the ocean side of the motu. He has an amazing eye for discovering perfectly polished shells.
Our Maui friends flew home and we packed up the boat for a tough upwind beat to Apataki. It took us 24 hours to go 80-miles, including tacking up the lagoon to reach the protected side of the atoll and the boatyard.
After almost two days of organizing food, packing up toys, cleaning, and preparing the boat, we hauled her Tuesday morning. There was 20-22 knots of wind blowing in the anchorage, but their motu is perfectly positioned and the winds dropped to less than 10 knots at the haulout ramp. We had a small problem with the fit of the hydraulic trailer on the hull, but the Lau family worked hard to correct it. Everything turned out fine, and Namaste is nesting in her new home. It's amazing to have that service at this remote location, and we're thrilled to have the boat in the Tuamotus upon our October return.
On July 20th, we said goodbye to friends and flew from Apataki to Tahiti. After a spectacular day lounging at our good friends oceanside house, we took the red-eye to Los Angeles and then home to Tahoe.
We've had the most spectacular seven months on the boat, and it feels a little disorientating to leave our floating home. It's such a simplistic and beautiful life to live for us, and we cherish our times at these incredible, remote locations. We are of course, super excited to rejoin the world and reconnect with our family and friends, who we've missed so much. It's true - absence does make the heart grow fonder.
We spent a whirlwind five days in Tahoe, and are currently in Charlevoix, Michigan completing our awesome trifecta for the year! As always, more to come...
Friday, July 8, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Namaste on the move
We've had an amazing month in Moorea and Tahiti, filled with new friends, old friends and family.
The California Catt's, including Uncle Larry, Aunt Ellen, and cousins Emily and the "other Chris Catt" - or junior as we liked to call him on the boat - spent a week with us in Moorea in mid-June. There was a massive mixup and mistake on our part that left the Catt's cabbing all over Tahiti to find us upon their arrival. We spent our days jumping off the rope swing, kayaking, paddleboarding, snorkeling, and just playing around. The dolphins visited us in the dinghy and Larry, who's an amazing photographer, documented their trip. It was fantastic to have some family time, and we were sorry to see them go.
We returned to Tahiti, saw the Catt's off, and began completing a few boat projects. Our French friends, Gilles and Suzanne, kept us busy with BBQ's, diving and hanging out with the locals. They've been an awesome addition to our Tahiti time, and we're so stoked to have met them.
We dove with them near our anchorage at Maeva Beach and spotted a massive sleeping shark, several blacktip reef sharks, and schools of jacks. We took Gilles' big dinghy and we ended up breaking down on our way back, with a 10-12 foot swell pushing us into the reef. Luckily, we had Macgyver on board and he had us up and running after a 1/2 hour of some serious paddling.
Our best friend from Tahoe Nichole, and her boyfriend Adam, joined us on June 22 for 10 days, which included my birthday! We chilled out in Pointe Venus for the first few days of their trip. Chris and Adam took full advantage of the windy conditions to kiteboard, and Chris was a patient instructor to the newbie. Our days were filled with beach volleyball, paddling and swimming.
We hauled anchor the morning of my birthday and enjoyed a picture-perfect sail to Moorea, where we joined forces with Gilles and Suzanne who sailed over for the weekend. We had a beautiful dinner of salmon torte, courtesy of Gilles, panko-macadamia nut fish, and broiled polenta with mushrooms.
The following morning Chris and I dove with Gilles and Suzanne outside the pass, near motu Fareone. The spot is famous for shark feedings, and the blacktips showed up en masse upon the dinghy arrival. It was quite a show. Unfortunately, we didn't find any alive coral, but there were schools of striped jack fish.
We spent the rest of the week anchored near Opunohu Bay, and enjoyed spectacular weather, diving, paddling and a new sport that Adam introduced us to - slack line! I'm sure many of you have heard of it, but it was pretty new to us. You simply fasten a 1" webbing strap between two coconut trees on the beach and start learning how to balance. Adam is amazing, doing handstands, jumps, and practically running across the narrow lash. Needless to stay the other boater kids and locals were excited to give it a go and we had some good times on the white-sand beach. The sunset photo shoots were phenomenal!
After a good kiteboard session, we stopped off at stingray world and snorkeled with what has to be the friendliest rays in the world. They are extremely accustomed to people, mostly due to the daily feedings, and they approached us fearlessly. The spot is typically full of tourists, but we hit it at sunset and had the place all to ourselves.
We also taught them how to dive, and they took to it like fish in the water. Both were incredibly comfortable and we were able to do four different dives in and around the bay, including an old wreck near the pass, and two adventures outside the pass at the canyons. We spotted hundreds of fish at the wreck, including blue-stripped snapper, titan triggerfish, butterfly fish, peacock rockcod, and whitecheek surgeonfish to name a few. Outside the pass, we spotted turtles, moray eels, and a few blacktips.
It was awesome to have my girl, and meet her man, whom we adored, and a piece of home to fill my heart here in French Polynesia.
It was so great that apparently the gods felt I needed one more day. After a lively night out with all our friends, we arrived at the airport the following morning to learn their flight had been canceled due to a pilot strike! The flight was rescheduled for later that evening, leaving us with no turnaround time before our friends from Maui arrived. But all is well on board after a hectic first night and day with Rusty and Kim, their kids, Jessie and Cassidy, as well as Kim's mom Lynne. We prepped the boat for our big sail back to the Tuamotus, filled the fridges with goodies and we'll be sailing out Monday morning, Chris' birthday. Happy 4th of July!
The California Catt's, including Uncle Larry, Aunt Ellen, and cousins Emily and the "other Chris Catt" - or junior as we liked to call him on the boat - spent a week with us in Moorea in mid-June. There was a massive mixup and mistake on our part that left the Catt's cabbing all over Tahiti to find us upon their arrival. We spent our days jumping off the rope swing, kayaking, paddleboarding, snorkeling, and just playing around. The dolphins visited us in the dinghy and Larry, who's an amazing photographer, documented their trip. It was fantastic to have some family time, and we were sorry to see them go.
We returned to Tahiti, saw the Catt's off, and began completing a few boat projects. Our French friends, Gilles and Suzanne, kept us busy with BBQ's, diving and hanging out with the locals. They've been an awesome addition to our Tahiti time, and we're so stoked to have met them.
We dove with them near our anchorage at Maeva Beach and spotted a massive sleeping shark, several blacktip reef sharks, and schools of jacks. We took Gilles' big dinghy and we ended up breaking down on our way back, with a 10-12 foot swell pushing us into the reef. Luckily, we had Macgyver on board and he had us up and running after a 1/2 hour of some serious paddling.
Our best friend from Tahoe Nichole, and her boyfriend Adam, joined us on June 22 for 10 days, which included my birthday! We chilled out in Pointe Venus for the first few days of their trip. Chris and Adam took full advantage of the windy conditions to kiteboard, and Chris was a patient instructor to the newbie. Our days were filled with beach volleyball, paddling and swimming.
We hauled anchor the morning of my birthday and enjoyed a picture-perfect sail to Moorea, where we joined forces with Gilles and Suzanne who sailed over for the weekend. We had a beautiful dinner of salmon torte, courtesy of Gilles, panko-macadamia nut fish, and broiled polenta with mushrooms.
The following morning Chris and I dove with Gilles and Suzanne outside the pass, near motu Fareone. The spot is famous for shark feedings, and the blacktips showed up en masse upon the dinghy arrival. It was quite a show. Unfortunately, we didn't find any alive coral, but there were schools of striped jack fish.
We spent the rest of the week anchored near Opunohu Bay, and enjoyed spectacular weather, diving, paddling and a new sport that Adam introduced us to - slack line! I'm sure many of you have heard of it, but it was pretty new to us. You simply fasten a 1" webbing strap between two coconut trees on the beach and start learning how to balance. Adam is amazing, doing handstands, jumps, and practically running across the narrow lash. Needless to stay the other boater kids and locals were excited to give it a go and we had some good times on the white-sand beach. The sunset photo shoots were phenomenal!
After a good kiteboard session, we stopped off at stingray world and snorkeled with what has to be the friendliest rays in the world. They are extremely accustomed to people, mostly due to the daily feedings, and they approached us fearlessly. The spot is typically full of tourists, but we hit it at sunset and had the place all to ourselves.
We also taught them how to dive, and they took to it like fish in the water. Both were incredibly comfortable and we were able to do four different dives in and around the bay, including an old wreck near the pass, and two adventures outside the pass at the canyons. We spotted hundreds of fish at the wreck, including blue-stripped snapper, titan triggerfish, butterfly fish, peacock rockcod, and whitecheek surgeonfish to name a few. Outside the pass, we spotted turtles, moray eels, and a few blacktips.
It was awesome to have my girl, and meet her man, whom we adored, and a piece of home to fill my heart here in French Polynesia.
It was so great that apparently the gods felt I needed one more day. After a lively night out with all our friends, we arrived at the airport the following morning to learn their flight had been canceled due to a pilot strike! The flight was rescheduled for later that evening, leaving us with no turnaround time before our friends from Maui arrived. But all is well on board after a hectic first night and day with Rusty and Kim, their kids, Jessie and Cassidy, as well as Kim's mom Lynne. We prepped the boat for our big sail back to the Tuamotus, filled the fridges with goodies and we'll be sailing out Monday morning, Chris' birthday. Happy 4th of July!
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