We have arrived at Palmerston Atoll! If there ever was a middle of nowhere, this is it.
We are tied to a mooring at the edge of a precipitous reef.
We sailed 650 miles in 5 days and 30 minutes. Definitely a memorable passage.
The anchorage is in the lee of Palmerston Island, but is a little rolly due to the swell wrapping in from the south.
S 18*02.9'
W 163*11.6'
I can't wait to meet the locals tomorrow. Everyone on this atoll for the last 200 years is no more distantly related than first cousins.
I'm glad we chose to come this way. Our friends on a more northerly route are having struggles at Suwarrow Atoll.
Bugs, sharks, high winds, fouled anchors. I'm cool with all that except bugs that can abide high winds.
All is well
Martin
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Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
smooth sailing
Ok we're past the heavy stuff for now. For you weather geeks we sailed across the "South Pacific Convergence Zone" It took three days. Almost constant squalls and rain with 20-25 knot wind.
Wind is back down to 12-15 knots and partly cloudy.
It's 75 degrees here which feels cold compared to the 83 day and night for the past 3 months.
1530 local 0230 UTC
S 17*42.5'
W 161*05.8'
We should arrive at Palmerston tomorrow around 1pm.
Read up on John Marsters / Palmerston Atoll if you're interested.
It sounds like an episode of the X Files to me.
Martin
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Wind is back down to 12-15 knots and partly cloudy.
It's 75 degrees here which feels cold compared to the 83 day and night for the past 3 months.
1530 local 0230 UTC
S 17*42.5'
W 161*05.8'
We should arrive at Palmerston tomorrow around 1pm.
Read up on John Marsters / Palmerston Atoll if you're interested.
It sounds like an episode of the X Files to me.
Martin
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position report july 28
Big wind and waves through last night and today.
Pau Hana and crew are handling it well.
Some radio interference on 8173 kHz prevented us from communicating the daily radio net.
About 24-28 hours to Palmerston Atoll.
Currently 0845 local, 1845 UTC
S 17*37'
W 160*13.7'
Speed 7 knots
Wind 20 knots
Waves 3m
525 miles covered
170 nm to Palmerston
550 nm to Niue
790 nm to Vava'u
Martin
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Pau Hana and crew are handling it well.
Some radio interference on 8173 kHz prevented us from communicating the daily radio net.
About 24-28 hours to Palmerston Atoll.
Currently 0845 local, 1845 UTC
S 17*37'
W 160*13.7'
Speed 7 knots
Wind 20 knots
Waves 3m
525 miles covered
170 nm to Palmerston
550 nm to Niue
790 nm to Vava'u
Martin
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Monday, July 27, 2015
another time zone
Luckily the gps knows what time it is. We just crossed into a different time zone.
We're about on the same longitude as Hawaii.
I'm almost ready for a real fishing rod. My hand line setup isn't adequate for any but the smallest fish.
The fish I hooked last night was big. It pulled hard, swam towards the boat, and then pulled really hard, snapping my 80 lb. line no problem. I don't really want to catch huge fish, I just need a drag device so the line doesn't come under such a shock load. Perhaps if my hooks were weaker than my line I could choose a hook that would break off before I loose my lures. Now there is some poor fish swimming around with 100' of 80# monofilament trailing from it's lip.
Today has continued overcast skies and periodic rain. Winds are variable between 15-20 knots.
We're almost done with day three and have crossed about 130 miles.
July 27 2240 UTC, 1140 local time
17*18.3' S
157*54.8' W
Speed 6.8 knots
Course 250* M
Nap Time
Martin
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We're about on the same longitude as Hawaii.
I'm almost ready for a real fishing rod. My hand line setup isn't adequate for any but the smallest fish.
The fish I hooked last night was big. It pulled hard, swam towards the boat, and then pulled really hard, snapping my 80 lb. line no problem. I don't really want to catch huge fish, I just need a drag device so the line doesn't come under such a shock load. Perhaps if my hooks were weaker than my line I could choose a hook that would break off before I loose my lures. Now there is some poor fish swimming around with 100' of 80# monofilament trailing from it's lip.
Today has continued overcast skies and periodic rain. Winds are variable between 15-20 knots.
We're almost done with day three and have crossed about 130 miles.
July 27 2240 UTC, 1140 local time
17*18.3' S
157*54.8' W
Speed 6.8 knots
Course 250* M
Nap Time
Martin
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Sunday, July 26, 2015
all day, all night.
Day two has been more productive than yesterday. 125 miles for the last 24 hours.
No other boats seen. The daily radio forum keeps us informed of what our peers are up to.
One of our friends had their autopilot fail and is having to hand steer with only two people aboard a 38' catamaran. Exhausting, especially in the 25 knots of wind they're having a few days ahead of us.
We've got total cloud cover and about 15 knots of wind. It's nice to have a break from the sun.
I've been reading up on Tonga and am eager to visit.
At 1530 local, 0130 UTC
S 16*58.8'
W 155*39.8'
Speed 6 knots
Course 250* magnetic
All is well
Martin
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No other boats seen. The daily radio forum keeps us informed of what our peers are up to.
One of our friends had their autopilot fail and is having to hand steer with only two people aboard a 38' catamaran. Exhausting, especially in the 25 knots of wind they're having a few days ahead of us.
We've got total cloud cover and about 15 knots of wind. It's nice to have a break from the sun.
I've been reading up on Tonga and am eager to visit.
At 1530 local, 0130 UTC
S 16*58.8'
W 155*39.8'
Speed 6 knots
Course 250* magnetic
All is well
Martin
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Saturday, July 25, 2015
Martin E Johnson you must go now!
So we left French Polynesia on day 90 of our 90 day visa.
We are en route to Vava'u Tonga (1300nm) with possible intermediate stops at Palmerston Atoll (670nm) and Niue 1050nm.)
Our first 24 hours was a little lumpy and not too windy. We covered only 98 miles which is low for us. Luckily the wind is picking up and the weather is looking good. The El Nino condition is making the weather more variable than usual. It's a solid El Nino event so snowfall in North America should be good this winter.
It's partly cloudy and 80 degrees F with about 12 knots of wind.
Current Position:
S 16*49.4'
W 153*31.6'
Speed 5.5 knots
Course 245* magnetic
Martin
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We are en route to Vava'u Tonga (1300nm) with possible intermediate stops at Palmerston Atoll (670nm) and Niue 1050nm.)
Our first 24 hours was a little lumpy and not too windy. We covered only 98 miles which is low for us. Luckily the wind is picking up and the weather is looking good. The El Nino condition is making the weather more variable than usual. It's a solid El Nino event so snowfall in North America should be good this winter.
It's partly cloudy and 80 degrees F with about 12 knots of wind.
Current Position:
S 16*49.4'
W 153*31.6'
Speed 5.5 knots
Course 245* magnetic
Martin
----------
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Martin E Johnson you must go now!
So we left French Polynesia on day 90 of our 90 day visa.
We are en route to Vava'u Tonga (1300nm) with possible intermediate stops at Palmerston Atoll (670nm) and Niue 1050nm.)
Our first 24 hours was a little lumpy and not too windy. We covered only 98 miles which is low for us. Luckily the wind is picking up and the weather is looking good. The El Nino condition is making the weather more variable than usual. It's a solid El Nino event so snowfall in North America should be good this winter.
It's partly cloudy and 80 degrees F with about 12 knots of wind.
Current Position:
S 16*49.4'
W 153*31.6'
Speed 5.5 knots
Course 245* magnetic
Martin
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
We are en route to Vava'u Tonga (1300nm) with possible intermediate stops at Palmerston Atoll (670nm) and Niue 1050nm.)
Our first 24 hours was a little lumpy and not too windy. We covered only 98 miles which is low for us. Luckily the wind is picking up and the weather is looking good. The El Nino condition is making the weather more variable than usual. It's a solid El Nino event so snowfall in North America should be good this winter.
It's partly cloudy and 80 degrees F with about 12 knots of wind.
Current Position:
S 16*49.4'
W 153*31.6'
Speed 5.5 knots
Course 245* magnetic
Martin
----------
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Thursday, July 23, 2015
Society Islands
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| Pulling into Bora Bora on Tuesday we had 15+ kts of wind, a great sail to a gorgeous island. |
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| We did a drift snorkel through a coral lagoon on a small motu off of Tahaa. Great visibility, good current, coral and reef fishes everywhere. |
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| Unidentified floating object |
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| Coral and blue blennies |
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| More brilliant clams like we saw in the Tuamotus. |
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| View of Moorea, sailing over from Tahiti last week. The Society Islands are volcanic islands with a fringing coral reef surrounding them. Ocean on the outside, calm lagoon water on the inside. Just mind the pass going in and out! |
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| Awesome surf wave off Raiatea, there were only 2 locals in the line up. |
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| One kilo of live prawns from Moorea came with the instructions "just pop off their heads and boil 'em up!" Mart was in charge of that one- and they were delicious. |
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Bora Bora!
Yesterday we had a great sail from Raiatea to Bora Bora. After a 24 hour process of getting our propane tank filled, we had 15 knots of wind and clear skies to sail the 30 miles to Bora Bora. Exiting Raiatea we were escorted by more than a dozen dolphins, one of which did a full front flip in the air! Upon entering Bora Bora's lagoon we watched surfers catch waves to the south of the pass. With only a few days remaining of our 90 day visa, we have to clear out of French Polynesia on the 24th. The conditions look favorable for our 1300nm passage to Vava'u, Tonga. We will have possible intermediate stops at Palmerston Atoll where everyone is descendant of one man, William Marsters, and Niue, where there should be humpback whales waiting to swim with us. Neither of these islands have all-weather anchorages, so stopping will depend on settled conditions.
We are currently anchored at:
S 16*31'
W 151*46.4'
Martin
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We are currently anchored at:
S 16*31'
W 151*46.4'
Martin
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Sunday, July 12, 2015
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Pape'ete
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| Middle of nowhere, Tikehau |
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| kayak trip |
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| leaving Tikehau, heading to Tahiti |
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| Pond right next to Teahupoo surf break, there were no big waves on the day we went down |
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| July 4th celebration, Tahiti style
We're finishing up our final projects in Tahiti and hoping to sail to Moorea tomorrow. We've got a new GoPro on board and are eager to get some underwater footage. Pape'ete has been great, with real supermarkets, a Mac store, and even an L'Occitane shop. It's also noisy, chaotic and expensive. So, boat loaded, back to the idyllic Pacific isles we go.
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