Walkabout - And then there were 2...

S18:25 E174:34There has been a lot of radio silence on our blog updates over the last few weeks.It has been a busy time on Walkabout, as we said goodbye to Tom and Bron in Tonga, and then 2 days later welcomed the Gammons x5.I think they probably felt that they had been mis-sold the South Pacific.The first 10 days of their venture was cool, cloudy and very wet at times.Not to mention - very windy.Our passage from Tonga to Lau (Fiji) was tough for everyone.Strong winds, big seas, rain and cold.It felt like the G’s regular summer trip to Cornwall, not the South Seas of the Pacific.On the bright side, everyone remained upbeat, no one was sea sick, which was pretty amazing given the conditions.During the second half of the G’s trip the weather improved, and we headed to Savusavu and then on. read more...

Walkabout - The Day That Never Was

S18:35 W173:52After crossing the equator a couple of months back, we have now crossed another of those invisible lines that straddle the earth - The International Date Line!!In theory, if the Greenwich Meridian (0 degrees of longitude) is the foundation of measuring time, then the international date line should be at 180 degrees West (or East - depends which way you are heading).But the IDL is not a straight line.It zig zags down through the Pacific, tip toeing its way through all sorts of national and political interests along the way.So after some research we discovered that between Niue and Tonga, the IDL is at 172 degrees 30 Minutes West.Celebrations were hastily organised, and at 19.51 last night we crossed the line. Advisedly, I say 'last night', as who knows what day it was!So. read more...

Walkabout - About to lose a day...

S19:19 W171:35We are back on passage on our way to Tonga after an incredible 3 days in Niue. We arrived in Niue in the evening on Friday 7th July in darkness and picked up a mooring buoy with all of the other arc boats who had arrived at various points throughout the day on Friday. After successfully mooring up with the help of Escapade and Northstar in their dingy, we enjoyed our arrival beer with some Pringles and then had the delight of a full nights sleep without any night shifts to get up for - what a novelty! From then on we had a completely jam packed time on Niue without a spare minute but we loved every part. We began by using the crane to lift the dingy onto the dock the next morning which was a new experience for us all but we soon found a routine for it… after checking in to. read more...

Walkabout - Day 7 - We have company!

S18:53 W163:38After four days of not seeing a sole, at 1300 yesterday, we have the best of company join us for our last few days at sea. Mary Doll just pinged up on AIS on the chart plotter and soon after they did, Letitia and Derek called up on the VHF and we all heard a loud HORAY when we answered! It was great and brought huge smiles from us all.Its now 0745 the following day, our arrival day in Nuie and Escapade of London have also just pinged up on AIS so now we are three. It is so good to have company on the water, it feels slightly more comforting knowing there are others nearby, you may not be able to visibly see them but you can call up them up and say hello, and keep an eye on the AIS, check out their speed, bearing and direction in comparison to you. Yesterday was a good. read more...

Walkabout - Another Day for Fishing

S18:37 W165:52The morning shift consists of two important things, getting the blog written but more importantly getting the fishing lines in. We haven’t has much success since the Mahi that we caught on the first day, we did have two bites yesterday at the same time so Andrew was woken up to try and pull them both in. No sooner had he made it up here and started to bring the Genoa in to slow us down both fish decided they didn’t want to be dinner that evening. Gratefully they left both of our lures behind and swam off. We haven’t yet managed to land a double catch at the same time, although it is a goal. It has been quite a slow night aboard Walkabout as the wind has gradually died over the night. We have had sails crashing and banging a little as the wind dropped below 9 knots.. read more...