Hi Fred:
I started reading your postings today, starting with the trip down to Panama. Great reading!
Talk about surprised, though, when I realized that your latest post was from Pago Pago today. My wife and I live here, so if you need help with anything, e.g. transportation, give me a call and we will be glad to help.
Jim R
cell #252-1167
Fenix in Panama
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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Bill - Dulcie
- Posts: 21
- Joined: Feb 5th, '05, 17:08
- Location: CD - 28 FBC - Diesel - "Dulcinea" - Deltaville, VA
Bill - Dulcie
A minor correction: St. John's is in Newfoundland. St. John is in New Brunswick. I was born there.
Live and learn
Thanks Bill and Phil,
St. John, USVI
St. John's, Newfoundland
Saint John, New Brunswick
Got it (for the moment).
St. John, USVI
St. John's, Newfoundland
Saint John, New Brunswick
Got it (for the moment).
Sail on,
Jack
CD28 Sea Belle
Hailport - Rockland, ME
There are old sailors and bold sailors, but there are no old, bold sailors.
Reef early and often. It's easier to shake out a reef when one is bored than it is to tuck one in when one is scared.
When your only tool is a hammer, all your problems look like nails.
Jack
CD28 Sea Belle
Hailport - Rockland, ME
There are old sailors and bold sailors, but there are no old, bold sailors.
Reef early and often. It's easier to shake out a reef when one is bored than it is to tuck one in when one is scared.
When your only tool is a hammer, all your problems look like nails.
-
fenixrises
- Posts: 450
- Joined: Feb 13th, '05, 08:01
- Location: SunShine S2 11c
- Contact:
Fenix in Niue
Hi all,
The trip from Am Samoa to Niue was uneventful. We started out from Pago Pago harbor on Monday with a light breeze that slowly died out. By Tuesday morning the wind was gone and I fired up the trusty ol' Volvo. For the next two days we powered south.
Early Thursday a light wind came up from the northeast. For only the second time on the trip I was able to set the asym spin with the staysail poled out to strb for helm balance.
We arrived in Alofi Bay on the west side of Niue about 4 in the afternoon. The bay is quite deep and difficult for anchoring. One enterprising fellow on Niue set out a number of moorings. The moorings are first rate. I picked one and tied up.
I did not launch the dingy but watched the weather instead. We came into the bay under a NNW wind of about 10-12 knots. Not a good sign. The wind chop at first was not too bad. But the wind was increasing and so were the swells.
Alofi Bay is just that, a bay. And wide open to anthing from the west. Just before sunset I dropped the mooring and headed out of the bay to the south. For the rest of the evening and on through the night Fenix and I were chased off to the ENE by a small nasty westerly.
On Friday morning conditions moderated and I headed back towards Niue. We made it back to the north side of the island late in the morning. The wind was still from the SW so I continued to hide-out on the north side, lying hove-to under a single reefed main. As we drifted off to the east again I saw what looked like a bouy off the NE part of the island.
Indeed it was a bouy, a solitary mooring bouy. I tied up to it and spent a peaceful night waiting for the wind to swing back to the SE. By sunrise the weather was co-operating once more so I headed back to Alofi Bay.
Originally I planned to depart on Thursday but the weather forecast is for 25-35 knot SE winds followed by a small westerly. So Fenix and I will remain until the weekend before departing for Tonga.
Niue is rather an unusual island. Like all the islands in the south Pacific its origins are volcanic. As the volcanic caldera forms and rises from the seabed this creates islands that are all made from cooled lava and geologically quite young. The Marquisas are a good example.
In geological time the caldera slowly sinks back into the seabed. As this happens coral slowly grows around the perimeter. If the coral grows as fast as the island sinks the coral forms an encircling reef. The now slowly shrinking lava island remains for a time inside the encircling reef. The Society and Hawaian groups are examples.
As the old volcano continues to sink all that is left is the fringing reef with a lagoon inside. Then every once in a while something unusual happens. The old sunken lava dome is given a push from below. This raises the coral reef and creates an island of almost solid coral well above sea level. That is Niue's geological history. It is a very old island and its closest neighbors are hundreds of mile away. It is now like a coral mesa with an elevation of about 300'.
The island was devastated a couple of years ago by a big cyclone and much of the damage can still be seen in abandoned buildings and uprooted trees. But the 1,200 or so Niueans continue to happily live on their small island.
Keith, a retired school principal from NZ, now is active in the Niue yacht club. Unfortunatly the yacht club itself was destroyed in the cyclone. Keith has been quite helpful to the yachties and me as well. He has helped me with Weather reports and diesel. And gave me a quick guided tour of the island.
Take care,
Fred
The trip from Am Samoa to Niue was uneventful. We started out from Pago Pago harbor on Monday with a light breeze that slowly died out. By Tuesday morning the wind was gone and I fired up the trusty ol' Volvo. For the next two days we powered south.
Early Thursday a light wind came up from the northeast. For only the second time on the trip I was able to set the asym spin with the staysail poled out to strb for helm balance.
We arrived in Alofi Bay on the west side of Niue about 4 in the afternoon. The bay is quite deep and difficult for anchoring. One enterprising fellow on Niue set out a number of moorings. The moorings are first rate. I picked one and tied up.
I did not launch the dingy but watched the weather instead. We came into the bay under a NNW wind of about 10-12 knots. Not a good sign. The wind chop at first was not too bad. But the wind was increasing and so were the swells.
Alofi Bay is just that, a bay. And wide open to anthing from the west. Just before sunset I dropped the mooring and headed out of the bay to the south. For the rest of the evening and on through the night Fenix and I were chased off to the ENE by a small nasty westerly.
On Friday morning conditions moderated and I headed back towards Niue. We made it back to the north side of the island late in the morning. The wind was still from the SW so I continued to hide-out on the north side, lying hove-to under a single reefed main. As we drifted off to the east again I saw what looked like a bouy off the NE part of the island.
Indeed it was a bouy, a solitary mooring bouy. I tied up to it and spent a peaceful night waiting for the wind to swing back to the SE. By sunrise the weather was co-operating once more so I headed back to Alofi Bay.
Originally I planned to depart on Thursday but the weather forecast is for 25-35 knot SE winds followed by a small westerly. So Fenix and I will remain until the weekend before departing for Tonga.
Niue is rather an unusual island. Like all the islands in the south Pacific its origins are volcanic. As the volcanic caldera forms and rises from the seabed this creates islands that are all made from cooled lava and geologically quite young. The Marquisas are a good example.
In geological time the caldera slowly sinks back into the seabed. As this happens coral slowly grows around the perimeter. If the coral grows as fast as the island sinks the coral forms an encircling reef. The now slowly shrinking lava island remains for a time inside the encircling reef. The Society and Hawaian groups are examples.
As the old volcano continues to sink all that is left is the fringing reef with a lagoon inside. Then every once in a while something unusual happens. The old sunken lava dome is given a push from below. This raises the coral reef and creates an island of almost solid coral well above sea level. That is Niue's geological history. It is a very old island and its closest neighbors are hundreds of mile away. It is now like a coral mesa with an elevation of about 300'.
The island was devastated a couple of years ago by a big cyclone and much of the damage can still be seen in abandoned buildings and uprooted trees. But the 1,200 or so Niueans continue to happily live on their small island.
Keith, a retired school principal from NZ, now is active in the Niue yacht club. Unfortunatly the yacht club itself was destroyed in the cyclone. Keith has been quite helpful to the yachties and me as well. He has helped me with Weather reports and diesel. And gave me a quick guided tour of the island.
Take care,
Fred
You should always have an odd number of holes in your boat!
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Warren Kaplan
- Posts: 1147
- Joined: Feb 5th, '05, 11:44
- Location: Former owner of Sine Qua Non CD27 #166 1980 Oyster Bay Harbor, NY Member # 317
Hey Fred,
Love what you are doing. I've been following your threads since the beginning dreaming of when I get to do that. My parents have a CD28, but I'm still in college. All in due time I guess.
Sad to see Freedom like that, something that you put so much hard work and time into that someone else goes and wrecks. I've been restoring cars for years and know how I would feel if one of mine ended up in a similar state.
Good luck with your journey and as always, appreciate the updates. I don't know how many of us are living through you, but I know its a pretty good number.
Greg
Love what you are doing. I've been following your threads since the beginning dreaming of when I get to do that. My parents have a CD28, but I'm still in college. All in due time I guess.
Sad to see Freedom like that, something that you put so much hard work and time into that someone else goes and wrecks. I've been restoring cars for years and know how I would feel if one of mine ended up in a similar state.
Good luck with your journey and as always, appreciate the updates. I don't know how many of us are living through you, but I know its a pretty good number.
Greg
Greg Falk
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fenixrises
- Posts: 450
- Joined: Feb 13th, '05, 08:01
- Location: SunShine S2 11c
- Contact:
Fenix in Vava'u Tonga
Hi all,
Had a good sail from Niue to Tonga. It was only about 230 miles. I left on Saturday morning and sailed for two days but arrived on Tuesday three days later...??? Hey wait a minute someone stole a day from me... do I get a refund?, where do I apply?... or was it "Alien Abduction"?...
Anyway the first day was pretty boisterous after getting out of the lee of Niue. 25-30 knot SE winds and the seas built up to about 10 feet. But the weather was fair, not stormy, just windy. By the next morning things calmed down and it was back to that old boring tradewinds sailing.
On the first day I had an opportunity to tie a reef in my genoa, first time I have done this. Using the reefed genoa sheeted off the end of the main boom and the staysail poled out turned out to be a great combination. The reefed genoa is about the same size as the s'sail so helm balance was easy.
By day two the wind went more east and eased so we were near DDW and making good time. Arrived near the north end of Vava'u about midnight so jusy dropped the genny, removed the pole and drifted along with backed s'sail through the rest of the night.
By sunrise Vava'u was easily visible to the south and my next waypoint about 13 miles away. Reset the genoa brought the s'sail over to str'b and set the double reefed main. Off we went. Around 11 am we were tied up to the customs dock and started checking in. That's when I discovered someone stole a day from me. Tonga is about 174 west long. but operates on New Zealands date.
That night I went to the Vava'u Yacht club and was treated to my first drink for free, by the bar. Its a tradition here. l took the ship's cook out to dinner at the club's dinner and he enjoyed a wonderful grilled chicken meal.
Tonight many are going to a "Tonga Feast". The first to be held since the morning period for the recently deceased King.
Plan to be here for about 2 weeks, maybe a bit more. Today there's going to be a stategy session at the yacht club for cruisers heading to NZ.
Take care,
Fred
Had a good sail from Niue to Tonga. It was only about 230 miles. I left on Saturday morning and sailed for two days but arrived on Tuesday three days later...??? Hey wait a minute someone stole a day from me... do I get a refund?, where do I apply?... or was it "Alien Abduction"?...
Anyway the first day was pretty boisterous after getting out of the lee of Niue. 25-30 knot SE winds and the seas built up to about 10 feet. But the weather was fair, not stormy, just windy. By the next morning things calmed down and it was back to that old boring tradewinds sailing.
On the first day I had an opportunity to tie a reef in my genoa, first time I have done this. Using the reefed genoa sheeted off the end of the main boom and the staysail poled out turned out to be a great combination. The reefed genoa is about the same size as the s'sail so helm balance was easy.
By day two the wind went more east and eased so we were near DDW and making good time. Arrived near the north end of Vava'u about midnight so jusy dropped the genny, removed the pole and drifted along with backed s'sail through the rest of the night.
By sunrise Vava'u was easily visible to the south and my next waypoint about 13 miles away. Reset the genoa brought the s'sail over to str'b and set the double reefed main. Off we went. Around 11 am we were tied up to the customs dock and started checking in. That's when I discovered someone stole a day from me. Tonga is about 174 west long. but operates on New Zealands date.
That night I went to the Vava'u Yacht club and was treated to my first drink for free, by the bar. Its a tradition here. l took the ship's cook out to dinner at the club's dinner and he enjoyed a wonderful grilled chicken meal.
Tonight many are going to a "Tonga Feast". The first to be held since the morning period for the recently deceased King.
Plan to be here for about 2 weeks, maybe a bit more. Today there's going to be a stategy session at the yacht club for cruisers heading to NZ.
Take care,
Fred
You should always have an odd number of holes in your boat!
-
Neil Gordon
- Posts: 4367
- Joined: Feb 5th, '05, 17:25
- Location: s/v LIQUIDITY, CD28. We sail from Marina Bay on Boston Harbor. Try us on channel 9.
- Contact:
Re: Fenix in Vava'u Tonga
Nice sailing and welcome to the Domain of the Golden Dragon. At least you didn't lose your birthday.fenixrises wrote:Hey wait a minute someone stole a day from me...
Fair winds, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167
Boston, MA
CDSOA member #698
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167
Boston, MA
CDSOA member #698
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Warren Kaplan
- Posts: 1147
- Joined: Feb 5th, '05, 11:44
- Location: Former owner of Sine Qua Non CD27 #166 1980 Oyster Bay Harbor, NY Member # 317
-
fenixrises
- Posts: 450
- Joined: Feb 13th, '05, 08:01
- Location: SunShine S2 11c
- Contact:
Fenix in Tonga Part2
Hi all,
The "Tonga Feast" was great. About 30 yachties showed up. There were many locals there with a variety of handycrafts. Carvings in wood and bone, tapa cloth and hand woven baskets were all for sale at good prices.
After a chance to see the trade goods we all slowly congragated to a long covered hut near the beach. A couple of local musicians were playing Tongan music. After most all were settled the dancing started. Numerous youngsters performed. Small donations for school supplies were encouraged. The children were delightful with big smiling faces and made up with enthusiasm what they may have lacked in talent.
After the show the food was served. It was brought out on four long hand woven trays then set on the ground in front of us. A short prayer of thanks and then we all dove in. No plates, no utensils allowed. Eat with you fingers was the rule. Everything from fresh watermelon and bananas to wonderful fish, crab, pork, chicken and salads were available. We all gorged.
Then stuffed and a bit sleepy, it was about 9 PM, we hopped in our vans or taxis and headed back to the yacht club or some folks just got in their dingys a had a short trip out to their boats anchored in the adjoining bay.
A great fun filled night and reasonable for $15 a head.
The wind is up again in the area blowing in the 25 knot range so the anchorage is a bit lumpy. There are around 150 boats scatterd throughout the Tongan archipelago. Many are headed to NZ sometime in the next 2-4 weeks. Quite a few are already there or underway. Fiji is undergoing a similar inundation and preparation frenzy.
I will be here till sometime in the begining of Nov. The is a full moon on the 5th so sailing a bit before and after gives moonlit nights for the trip to NZ.
Just after I left Niue another boat departed. He passed me around noon in a 40 something foot trimaran. We each took advantage of the passing to get pictures of each others boats under sail. Now I have a whole bunch of great pics of Fenix sailing along in the 25-30 knot trades.
Another treat on the morning of departure was the visit in Alofi Bay by a mother humpback whale and her calf. They swam within about 100 yards of me and Fenix while we were still on the mooring. WOW that was a wonderful sight at 6AM. I even managed to get a couple of short videos.
Take care,
Fred
The "Tonga Feast" was great. About 30 yachties showed up. There were many locals there with a variety of handycrafts. Carvings in wood and bone, tapa cloth and hand woven baskets were all for sale at good prices.
After a chance to see the trade goods we all slowly congragated to a long covered hut near the beach. A couple of local musicians were playing Tongan music. After most all were settled the dancing started. Numerous youngsters performed. Small donations for school supplies were encouraged. The children were delightful with big smiling faces and made up with enthusiasm what they may have lacked in talent.
After the show the food was served. It was brought out on four long hand woven trays then set on the ground in front of us. A short prayer of thanks and then we all dove in. No plates, no utensils allowed. Eat with you fingers was the rule. Everything from fresh watermelon and bananas to wonderful fish, crab, pork, chicken and salads were available. We all gorged.
Then stuffed and a bit sleepy, it was about 9 PM, we hopped in our vans or taxis and headed back to the yacht club or some folks just got in their dingys a had a short trip out to their boats anchored in the adjoining bay.
A great fun filled night and reasonable for $15 a head.
The wind is up again in the area blowing in the 25 knot range so the anchorage is a bit lumpy. There are around 150 boats scatterd throughout the Tongan archipelago. Many are headed to NZ sometime in the next 2-4 weeks. Quite a few are already there or underway. Fiji is undergoing a similar inundation and preparation frenzy.
I will be here till sometime in the begining of Nov. The is a full moon on the 5th so sailing a bit before and after gives moonlit nights for the trip to NZ.
Just after I left Niue another boat departed. He passed me around noon in a 40 something foot trimaran. We each took advantage of the passing to get pictures of each others boats under sail. Now I have a whole bunch of great pics of Fenix sailing along in the 25-30 knot trades.
Another treat on the morning of departure was the visit in Alofi Bay by a mother humpback whale and her calf. They swam within about 100 yards of me and Fenix while we were still on the mooring. WOW that was a wonderful sight at 6AM. I even managed to get a couple of short videos.
Take care,
Fred
You should always have an odd number of holes in your boat!
-
Zeida
- Posts: 600
- Joined: May 27th, '05, 07:10
- Location: 1982 CD33 "Bandolera II" Hull #73Key Biscayne-Miami, Florida
- Contact:
HI FRED... just wanted to let you know that your friend, Al, the Circumnavegator, in his Nor'Sea 27 just arrived safe and sound in California. He was featured in the nightly news tonight, and I saw him, still in his boat, both of them looking great. He is the one promoting organ transplants.
Zeida
CDSOA Member
CDSOA Member
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fenixrises
- Posts: 450
- Joined: Feb 13th, '05, 08:01
- Location: SunShine S2 11c
- Contact:
Fenix in Tonga Part3
Hi all,
Thanks Zeida for the heads up on AL. I last spoke with him by ham radio when he was about 350 miles from Calif. coast. Good to know he made safe and sound.
After kicking around here in Tonga a bit I have decided to go to Fiji next. Should be leaving later this week. After visiting Fiji for a while will then continue to NZ.
The general idea seems to be head to NZ but not until the end of Nov. and even early Dec is OK as long as there are no nasties on the horizon. Leaving earlier means a good chance of catching a winter storm down south and it is still cold in NZ. Summer doesn't officially start 'til Dec 21.
Therefore I will continue to laze about enjoying the tropics while I can. The last couple of days here have been windy, cloudy and rainy. So haven't done any sightseeing.
I generally make a quick trip to the Vava'u yacht club, about 200 yards away, sometime in late afternoon. While there swap stories and tales with the other yachties and down a cold one or two. The club has an excellent kitchen and very good food.
Had a chance to see my Fenix under sail pics. They are now on my comp. A couple of really good shots. Amazing to see the boat completly hidden by a wave in one pic and then riding high in another.
Next check-in probably from Suva, Fiji.
Take care,
Fred
Thanks Zeida for the heads up on AL. I last spoke with him by ham radio when he was about 350 miles from Calif. coast. Good to know he made safe and sound.
After kicking around here in Tonga a bit I have decided to go to Fiji next. Should be leaving later this week. After visiting Fiji for a while will then continue to NZ.
The general idea seems to be head to NZ but not until the end of Nov. and even early Dec is OK as long as there are no nasties on the horizon. Leaving earlier means a good chance of catching a winter storm down south and it is still cold in NZ. Summer doesn't officially start 'til Dec 21.
Therefore I will continue to laze about enjoying the tropics while I can. The last couple of days here have been windy, cloudy and rainy. So haven't done any sightseeing.
I generally make a quick trip to the Vava'u yacht club, about 200 yards away, sometime in late afternoon. While there swap stories and tales with the other yachties and down a cold one or two. The club has an excellent kitchen and very good food.
Had a chance to see my Fenix under sail pics. They are now on my comp. A couple of really good shots. Amazing to see the boat completly hidden by a wave in one pic and then riding high in another.
Next check-in probably from Suva, Fiji.
Take care,
Fred
You should always have an odd number of holes in your boat!
-
fenixrises
- Posts: 450
- Joined: Feb 13th, '05, 08:01
- Location: SunShine S2 11c
- Contact:
Fenix in Suva, Fiji + one pic
Hi all,
Arrived in Suva after a pleasant 4 day sail from Vava'u. There wasn't much sunshine but the trades were good. We arrived too soon so had to spent the last night going as slow as I could so as to reach Suva harbor in the daylight.
Check in was easy and I am still learning where everything is around the area. The Royal Suva yacht club is one the gathering places for cruisers. A fun palce with good bar and eating.
The best food deals seem to be in town at the "Food Court". This is similar to the food courts in shoping malls stateside. A wide variety and great prices.
Weather here has been very cloudy and rainy for a number of weeks according to reports and continues since my arrival.
There are many cruisers here, making their final plans for the "Big Passage Down South" to NZ.
I have uploaded some more new pics to the web site. Here is one I think all will enjoy.
<a href="http://www.sbastro.com/FeNIX/images/FenixBG.jpg"><img width="540" src="http://www.sbastro.com/FeNIX/images/FenixBG.jpg"></a>
Fenix sailing west from Niue to Tonga. Under Genoa and Staysail in 25-30 knot trades she's making 6+ knots in 8'-10' seas. Shortly after this pic was taken I reefed the Genoa for the fist time. Control was better and speed remained.
Even though I'm on a direct hook up with my comp the connection is not fast enough for uploading the videos.
Take care,
Fred
Arrived in Suva after a pleasant 4 day sail from Vava'u. There wasn't much sunshine but the trades were good. We arrived too soon so had to spent the last night going as slow as I could so as to reach Suva harbor in the daylight.
Check in was easy and I am still learning where everything is around the area. The Royal Suva yacht club is one the gathering places for cruisers. A fun palce with good bar and eating.
The best food deals seem to be in town at the "Food Court". This is similar to the food courts in shoping malls stateside. A wide variety and great prices.
Weather here has been very cloudy and rainy for a number of weeks according to reports and continues since my arrival.
There are many cruisers here, making their final plans for the "Big Passage Down South" to NZ.
I have uploaded some more new pics to the web site. Here is one I think all will enjoy.
<a href="http://www.sbastro.com/FeNIX/images/FenixBG.jpg"><img width="540" src="http://www.sbastro.com/FeNIX/images/FenixBG.jpg"></a>
Fenix sailing west from Niue to Tonga. Under Genoa and Staysail in 25-30 knot trades she's making 6+ knots in 8'-10' seas. Shortly after this pic was taken I reefed the Genoa for the fist time. Control was better and speed remained.
Even though I'm on a direct hook up with my comp the connection is not fast enough for uploading the videos.
Take care,
Fred
You should always have an odd number of holes in your boat!
-
tartansailor
- Posts: 1527
- Joined: Aug 30th, '05, 13:55
- Location: CD25, Renaissance, Milton, DE
What A Great Pic!
That would make a great screen saver for the 28' crowd.
Fare thee well.
Dick
Fare thee well.
Dick
Viam Inveniam Aut Faciam
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blueridgebuilder
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Oct 28th, '06, 17:21