An illegal stop in Fiji
When we sailed away from Tonga the plan was to sail straight to Tanna in Vanuatu. That did not happen, because the winds abandoned us 20 nm away from the Lau islands (part of Fiji) a full 700 nm away from Vanuatu. Being a bit unorthodox, I decided to put in a highly...
Hanging in Tonga
The trip from Niue to Tonga was a fast one. Our stay on Tonga was almost faster. It basically boiled down to hanging out in Vava'u for a couple of days, before we did a couple of cave dives and then sailed on for Vanuatu. The reason for this sudden increased pace is...
Adventures on Niue
Whales, Speight's, road-tripping, cave-diving, snorkeling, curry and nightclubbing sums up our sensational 2 1/2 days stay on Niue. Talk about a whirlwind tour of the island. We got a premonition that the stop would be mayhem based on me having an awesome Angel of...
A relaxing stay on Palmerston
If you haven't been to Palmerston, don't plan on flying here. The nearest airport is 2 days away on a fast moving motor boat. The normal way to get here is on a supply ship that shows up every 3 - 6 months, the only other contact with the outside World is with...
Partying on Bora Bora
Bora Bora has been amazing. It is a picture perfect island and I understand why many people go here for their honeymoon. When we arrived we found a small bay on To'opua right next to the Hilton Bora Bora Nui hotel, so we had good neighbors. Chad and Bret's birthdays...
Seeing the sights on Moorea
I was very happy to make the short sail to Moorea, because I had heard so many good reports about it. I can honestly say that it delivered in full. What was nice was that Don and Devin on Liquid Courage, as well as Lee on Jargo also made the trip across, so we had...
Tearing it up in Tahiti
After what seemed like way too short a time in the Tuamotos, we sailed to Tahiti. We went there to celebrate Jacob's 30th birthday and to do a crew change. When I say Tahiti most people think of honeymoons. When I think of Tahiti, I think of one long party with great...
Amazing Tuamotos
If you close your eyes and try to picture what paradise would look like, chances are you’ll be imagining Tuamotos. Small islands and atolls covered in sandy beaches and palm trees, surrounded by vibrant coral reefs filled with fish. It is also very easy to have close...
Sailing the Marquesas
When I say that I'm in the Marquesas, most people have no clue where it is. I actually think that very few people would be able to find these islands on a map unless they knew precisely where to look. When I say they are in the South Pacific, part of French Polynesia,...
Crossing the Pacific
When we crossed the Pacific, the longest sail we did was from Galapagos to the Marquesas in French Polynesia. It took us 20 days and 18 hours from when we lifted anchor in San Cristobal to when it was firmly set again 2984 nautical miles later in Angels...
On our way
We have just sailed from Galapagos and are on our way to French Polynesia.You can keep track of our progress by pressing THIS LINK ... or THIS ONE.On the first one I'll try to write every 3 days or so.Next stop French Polynesia!
Amazing Galapagos
The word amazing actually does a poor job at explaining how unbelievable our stay on Galapagos has been. I sit here on anchor just off San Cristobal in Wreck Bay reflecting on the last week and a half and I can really say that I've thoroughly enjoyed my time here....
Galapagos
A quick update from Galapagos, more will follow soon. This was just after first landfall on Galapagos. We have had an amazing time here so far and in the next couple of days I will write more about it and post more pictures. The next one is me chatting up a storm with...
La Playita, Taboga and Las Perlas
I can't explain how good it felt to finally be in the Pacific. Our plan was to be on our way as soon as possible ... That plan kind of backfired, because we ended up spending over 2 weeks getting ready, provisioning and doing small jobs on the boat. La Playita isn't a...
Through the Panama Canal
We were more than finished with Colon when the Canal Autority finally gave us the green light to go through the Canal. We were going together with a small flotilla of boats that they had delayed for a number of days. When I went to settle my bill at Shelter Bay Marina...
Waiting in Colon
The Pacific team is finally united. They arrived on the boat a little after midnight and we proceeded straight into some beer sampling, so that we would know which beer to bring with us into the Pacific. We were in Shelter Bay Marina, about 30 minutes away from Colon...
St. Lucia to Panama
When I last posted an update I was in Mustique with my charter guests. We sailed from Mustique to Bequia and from there all the way to Soufriere on St. Lucia, had an overnight stop there, before we sailed up to Rodney Bay, where the charter ended. The charter...
Grenada to Mustique
We arrived on Grenada after a 93 nautical mile motorsail against wind, waves and current. I attempted sailing at first, but when the current was so strong that I was only able to sail at a whopping 1.5 knots and in a very unfavorable direction, I said "forget it",...
Sailing through Venezuela
The stay on Las Aves was sensational. It had everything a good anchorage should have: A deserted island with a beautiful beach, nice scenery, stunning sunsets and spectacular snorkling. We had made a deal with Ian and Westa, so the first evening we enjoyed a fantastic...
Otto is back
The sun had just dipped under the horizon when Claudia released the mooring lines and I reversed one engine and put the other one forward, spinning us on the spot and turning our aft end to Bonaire. This was to be the big test to see how things would work. We have a...
Progress
I enjoyed my last night alone onboard, before the next day started flat out. I had Claudia joining later in the day and had some things to take care of first, because the following day I would leave Curacao with a charter going to Bonaire and the plan was not to...
Ups and downs
Today is the last day I am alone on board the boat, hopefully for a long time. I'll get back to why later. First I want to look at how my time on Curacao has gone since the last charter was over. When the family of 5 walked ashore, they gave me a few touching farewell...
2nd Charter
The second charter has gone smoothly. After a great little stop on Klein Curacao, we hit Bonaire and ended up staying there for 5 days. My charter guests really enjoyed Bonaire. They rented a car for a couple of days and drove around getting properly familiar with the...
Go West
The decision has been taken. I am not sailing back to Norway ... Not yet anyway ... I take that back. I am still sailing back to Norway, but instead of sailing home in an Easterly direction I'm doing it in a Westerly direction. I'm heading into the Pacific in other...