This morning we saw the familiar sight of palm trees on the horizon reassuring us that the earth is not flat and everything is where it is supposed to be. Penrhyn (Tongareva to the Cook Islanders), is a large atoll with a population of around 200 and has Free Association status with New Zealand.…

We spent ten days in Penrhyn and enjoyed the smooth water of the lagoon anchored off the eastern motus. We socialized with islanders and cruisers alike making new friends from around the globe. We will post a separate Report on Penrhyn.   Yesterday Kurt went ashore at Omoka village to get outward clearance papers…

We caught a small wahoo yesterday. Also known as ono in Hawaiian, it was so sneaky that it took all the line off the reel to the bitter end before we noticed it was on. By then it had drowned and was quite a drag to reel in (we did not slow the boat).…

After a rude but brief 30 kn rain squall this morning our conditions have settled in to a nice 17 kn trade wind with Interlude beam reaching at 9 kn. We sailed thru more Korean fishing activity but only as indicated by AIS signals from the boat and net. Any more than a few…

This morning a really big fish broke our 80lb test line and took a good lure and steel leader. We are now fishing with the rod and reel again but also a 300 lb hand line on one of our power winches. Katie hopes Kurt doesn’t take on Captain Ahab tendencies. On June 14,…

Its Tonga time! Last night we decided to do an early hyperspace jump over the dateline and change the ships time and date to Tonga (UTC +13). A friend tracking our progress asked: “Are you sure you are not missing out [on] a chance to visit places in the pacific you may never see…

With our increasing latitude, temperatures are finally cooling off and we may even start wearing clothes! The sea temp reads 82F (down from 88F). Winds have been nice trades (15 – 20 kn) and no squalls or lightning for about a day. This from Sailingbird’s Guide to the Kingdom of Tonga on approaching the…

After more broad reaching with genoa and full main, we timed our landfall in the Vavau Goup perfectly at sunrise. We had company with the flagship of the Oyster Rally the 90 ft  ‘Satori II’ showing on AIS for most of the night. We were sailing at 9 knots with a couple of jibes…