Alcedo of Ryme - Blog 67. Aneityum. 20 14.310 S. 169 46.65

Hopefully the last blog before we set sail for New Zealand and the last blog to go to WARC, as Tanna was our last official venue as part of WARC and we are now in Anatoma.Saturday, 16 July, with just 3 other yachts in the bay, we manage to entertain ourselves and keep the sadness of saying goodbye to all our friends and fellow sailors by exploring some of the interior of Tanna with our driver, Johnson and guide, Stanley.Both delightful and informative and we had a lovely day.Sunday was get ready for an unpleasant beat to windward day.Tuesday is definitely the earliest we can leave, so we thought a 50 nm sail to Anatoma would use the time and get us that little bit closer.All bilges inspected, rigging and deck gear checked, water maker run for test of the new part and thermal underwear,. read more...

Alcedo of Ryme - Port Resolution, Tanna. 19.31.48S 169.26.77E

Saturday, 9 July. A lovely morning with about 5 knots of wind, not suitable for a sailing start and getting going on the passage to Tanna with light head winds for at least 24 hours, so we opted out of racing.It was indeed motor sailing on a variety of courses, just trying to keep the boat going at about 6 Knots and less than 2000 rpm.We had Meaerra Nieidaand Aliena for company most of the time, but lost sight of them by morning.After that, it was on/off with the motor, going mostly south of the course and hard on the wind, waiting for the wind to fill in from the SW and then S.We did not really get sailing until Sunday evening and then it was a gradual increase in the SSW wind and a gradual improvement in the direction, until we were making good progress with 2 reefs in the main in big. read more...

Alcedo of Ryme - Blog 65. Musket Cove. 17.46.29S 177.11.59E

Wednesday, 6 July.Spare control unit for water maker arrived and located and on board, hurrah!Take Off family safely on board, bar Jorgen, who is coming later after damage to Take Off fully assessed, fuel tanks filled and we were on our way to Musket Cove at about 11.00.Motored all the way in bright sunshine and apart from the fact that the charted marks bore very little resemblance to the actual marks on the reefs around the entrance to Musket there were no issues.Ship's Boy did a brilliant job of entertaining Alex, the elder of the Take Off children and did her best to reach him as much as possible about navigation during the 2.5 hour trip.It was keel up and a tight squeeze to get Alcedo into the marina itself, with stern to mooring Med style and very little manoeuvring space, but we. read more...

Alcedo of Ryme - Blog 64. Denarau. 17.46.36S 177.22.93E

Sunday 3 July.With the wind beginning to blow up to 17 knots north of east and into the anchorage in Nalauwaki Bay, we had no reason to stay, so pulled up the anchor at 08.45 and set off for Denearu.Once round the corner and heading south and east,passing Toujours Belle going north on the way, we had a great sail in very pleasant conditions until the wind dropped.Then it was a motor into Denarau and a good berth in the marina recently vacated Spirit and in time for a late lunch.After a small siesta, we enjoyed choosing a restaurant for supper, showering in lots of water and planning a day with a rent a car tomorrow.Mearra Nieida were next to us and helped us with our arrival and we were also pleased to see Sophia, Two Fish and Take Off, the latter about to depart for Musket Cove, a. read more...

Alcedo of Ryme - Blog 63. Nacula and Waya Islands

Thursday 30 June.Another lovely day and a short and uneventful motor to Nacula Island just south of Yasawa.Another lovely bay with a very tidy, up together village and another quite brief Sevusevu, this Chief being quite old and apparently quite tired.Then a walk down beach and through the village, meeting the local rugby team in training, while Anthony walked the hills.By afternoon the weather was clouding over and the wind strong enough to discourage a swim, so we watched the children coming home from school from the bigger village in the next bay and walked again in that direction, but avoiding the village as we getting short of Kava.Friday, 1 July.We set off in good time, aiming for a bay on the west coast of Naviti some 17nm away rather than the Blue Lagoon, with very little. read more...