Monday, May 12, 2008

Last Departure...by boat

After a wonderful stay in Vava'u we are preparing to set sail for New Caledonia. Steve and Stephanie left for New Zealand on the 7th of May and recent weather has not been so good for heading West. We saw some spectacular coral here in Vava'u and overall Tonga is the best that we have seen. Neiafu is the small capital city that is young and vibrant.
Stephanie and I waxed the hull before she left so that was quite an undertaking; we needed a flat anchorage, but with enough wind to keep us slightly under boiling temperature. The other work that has to be done will happen in New Caledonia before she goes on the market. We have not yet done a passage with only three people so this next sail will be a new experience. It should take about a week to nine days, depending. I had my birthday here in Vava'u and I simply could not believe that a whole year has gone by. But we ate a lot of good food and did some wonderful snorkeling. After being in the marine environment for so long it is amazing how much I am craving to swim in fresh water (i.e. Lake Tahoe). We'll see how quickly my wishes come true.

We are leaving here right at the beginning of both whale and cruising seasons. Apparently the best time for whale watching is also the busiest for boats. It has been nice coming West early, albeit weather risk. There are fewer boats and it is hard to imagine how busy this harbor gets by August and September. Now our trip is coming to a real close. All we have left to do is work on the boat, which can be fairly hard in this heat. There is always water that's awaiting you though. I really can't wait to see the Golden Gate again.

Giovanni

1 comment:

Stephen said...

Giovanni, well we´ll try this again.Grrrrrrrrrr. apparently I wasn´t signed up or whatever..
Anyway I have finally found this lovely blog you set up. I first met your Father with the rest of the Super Saarmans back in the 1970´s en Isla de Pascua.. It was a time in my life whose days, months and years that followed I will always treasure having met and known such a wonderful and united family..Such things are very, very rare in those days even more so now in the 21st century. I am writing this from the middle of South America in Paraguay. I am so stoked, I just got a phone message from your grandfather Paul. Tried calling but was in a meeting with your Uncle Steven. Hopefully in the next couple of days I will be able to get back in touch with the family. Especially I look forward to meeting ´¨you¨´ with all the great fotos you´ve put up, and I´m sure you have many, many more. Please send my saludos to your father and mother whom I hope to meet later this year when I visit California after an absence of more than 20+ yrs. Such is life when one lives in the mountains of Peru..
Cheers to all
Stephen Danaher

sdanaher123@hotmail.com