Crossing an ocean without sails (but with a budget)
Discussion
Currently moored off the main township of Kadavu (Vanisea?), pleasant enough as long as you dont mind being buzzed by the odd small, twin prop passenger plane coming in to the airfield.
Lost a nice fish yesterday to something big as I was reeling it in, just the head and some body left, quickly got some hooks through it and tossed it out. Didnt last long, something took it and snapped my line (above the ss trace I use) - grrrrr.
Struggling to upload some pics at moment, will try again soon
Lost a nice fish yesterday to something big as I was reeling it in, just the head and some body left, quickly got some hooks through it and tossed it out. Didnt last long, something took it and snapped my line (above the ss trace I use) - grrrrr.
Struggling to upload some pics at moment, will try again soon
Our tale will continue - honest .
Currently moored outside Denarau as no berths or moorings available in marina.
Came in a couple of days ago as Vikki who owns/runs Island Cruising Rally had a stopover here on her way to meet rally boats in Tonga, couldnt leave her to drink alone so ..........
Yesterday we checked progress on AIS of a boat from NZ who has goodies onboard for us and they werent far away so we hung round. They have now cleared customs and our goods are being dinghied over shortly.
So, hopefully, by this afternoon our new Starlink system will be up and running.
Those that follow us on FB/Insta will know that I have been busy replacng the coolant pipes on port motor, a considerable amount of swearing was involved !
Currently moored outside Denarau as no berths or moorings available in marina.
Came in a couple of days ago as Vikki who owns/runs Island Cruising Rally had a stopover here on her way to meet rally boats in Tonga, couldnt leave her to drink alone so ..........
Yesterday we checked progress on AIS of a boat from NZ who has goodies onboard for us and they werent far away so we hung round. They have now cleared customs and our goods are being dinghied over shortly.
So, hopefully, by this afternoon our new Starlink system will be up and running.
Those that follow us on FB/Insta will know that I have been busy replacng the coolant pipes on port motor, a considerable amount of swearing was involved !
So the boat mentioned above who brought our Starlink and some other stuff had the worst possible passage from NZ, 8.5 days and they burnt over 1500 litres more than anticipated.
Its an 85'/100 ton twin engined steel launch so we presumed it would just plod through anything. Unfortunatey the forecasts were wrong and they got smashed for at least 6 of the 8 days. Chnaging direction regularly for safety, they lost the gyro stabilisers a couple of times and 2 of the 3 onboard were seasick the whole time.
One of the guys onboard crewed for us when we came out last year and he said that was the best passage (of 3 now) that he had done, he was the one not sick.
Stabilisers seem to give a few issues, the boat that was coming to Tonga with us has pulled out as they cannot get theirs fixed at the moment.
We have had friends onboard for the last 8 days so we will be 'drying out' this week !
Just arrived at Vuda marina for provisioning, refuel and some minor repairs before our departure.
Its an 85'/100 ton twin engined steel launch so we presumed it would just plod through anything. Unfortunatey the forecasts were wrong and they got smashed for at least 6 of the 8 days. Chnaging direction regularly for safety, they lost the gyro stabilisers a couple of times and 2 of the 3 onboard were seasick the whole time.
One of the guys onboard crewed for us when we came out last year and he said that was the best passage (of 3 now) that he had done, he was the one not sick.
Stabilisers seem to give a few issues, the boat that was coming to Tonga with us has pulled out as they cannot get theirs fixed at the moment.
We have had friends onboard for the last 8 days so we will be 'drying out' this week !
Just arrived at Vuda marina for provisioning, refuel and some minor repairs before our departure.
NNK,
Hasn’t Elon Musk recently started sending out threatening emails and notifying people that they are using the mobile version (caravans/motor home) on boats which isn’t allowed and sailors should be using the maritime version instead (at 10x the purchase price and 10x the monthly cost because well all sailors are mega rich)
I follow lady k sailing on youtube and he’s been doing a couple of videos on it. Basically I think the solution is only turn star link on in a marina as it’s close enough to land.
https://youtu.be/VMFxgsuIgEk
https://youtu.be/0xNMbhcOrEk
Love your posts and following along on your journey.
Hasn’t Elon Musk recently started sending out threatening emails and notifying people that they are using the mobile version (caravans/motor home) on boats which isn’t allowed and sailors should be using the maritime version instead (at 10x the purchase price and 10x the monthly cost because well all sailors are mega rich)
I follow lady k sailing on youtube and he’s been doing a couple of videos on it. Basically I think the solution is only turn star link on in a marina as it’s close enough to land.
https://youtu.be/VMFxgsuIgEk
https://youtu.be/0xNMbhcOrEk
Love your posts and following along on your journey.
MB140 said:
NNK,
Hasn’t Elon Musk recently started sending out threatening emails and notifying people that they are using the mobile version (caravans/motor home) on boats which isn’t allowed and sailors should be using the maritime version instead (at 10x the purchase price and 10x the monthly cost because well all sailors are mega rich)
That started a few days after I bought ours, typical, but hasnt come to much. There are prob six owners I know with SL now all working at sea without issue. All are NZ bought, on ROAM plan (199nzd month) and you switch on MOBILE PRIORITY (3.75nzd per GB) when offshore. As Fiji and Tonga are so spread out I'm not sure if we will even need to toggle on the MP plan for our passage.Hasn’t Elon Musk recently started sending out threatening emails and notifying people that they are using the mobile version (caravans/motor home) on boats which isn’t allowed and sailors should be using the maritime version instead (at 10x the purchase price and 10x the monthly cost because well all sailors are mega rich)
Friends that came from NZ with it setup were making video calls, streaming Netflix, etc and used 30GB of MP data so just over 100 bucks.
Our previous offshore satellite system (Iridium Go!) could send texts, emails, make calls and download tiny weather files WHEN IT WORKED !
A 50kb (yes kilobyte) weather file would take approx 30 mins to download, a text email about the same.
We made calls a couple of times and it was like calling Australia on a landline from UK in 1970, DELAYS.
Plus its now 179 usd a month with a 50 usd fee when you use a new SIM.
I cant wait for my wife to agree that SL works offshore and we can get weather updates so the Iridium can be used as a dinghy actor !
We have safely arrived in Tonga (Vava'u).
Currently tied on to the customs dock awaiting officials.
Very uneventful passage, we were going so well the first day thought it woukd be a super quick trip but current and wind changed which slowed us so we backed off to 5kn to avoid entering at night. Perfectly timed our entry with sunrise and saw our first whale !
Currently tied on to the customs dock awaiting officials.
Very uneventful passage, we were going so well the first day thought it woukd be a super quick trip but current and wind changed which slowed us so we backed off to 5kn to avoid entering at night. Perfectly timed our entry with sunrise and saw our first whale !
We woke to rain which cleared up but left us with nearly 100% cloud cover for the day, our battery bank is good (800ah lithiums) but we are power hungry too so around lunchtime I fired up the generator. All good for a couple of hours but suddenly everything AC powered died. I rushed outside to the front of LS where the genset is in the stb front locker, it was still running so what did that mean. I noticed the LCD screen that displays Volts and Hertz was blank and unlit so switched off the power/alternator switch, waited 30 seconds and flicked it back on. The screen lit up and showed 240v at 50Hz – hurrah for me ! As I walked back inside I heard clicks and could tell everything had switched off again so back out to the locker where I completely switched off the genset then went back to inverter/battery power. I knew that the genset wasn’t a proper marine spec unit but it had less than 100hrs on it by this point so thought it cant be anything too serious. An hour later, when it and the locker its in had cooled down, I fired it up again and it ran fine but only for about an hour then the same thing happened – hmm, Google time.
This was the same day we heard from our friends on REAO that they had engine issues and were stuck in a bay about 50 miles away. Craig was messaging me with questions and also to advise what the symptoms were and what he had tried already. He knew my mechanical skills were not great but sometimes just talking to someone about these things is enough to give you a nudge in the right direction. Without his knowledge I was also forwarding his messages to a friend in NZ who previously worked as a mechanic but now sold tractors, their workshop was one of the biggest in the North Island. His top mechanic came back with some ideas to test and also the less encouraging – If its none of those then its going to be really expensive
So S and I had a chat, we either sat at Musket or we motored to Cuvu to try and help out. I didn’t expect to be able to help too much but they might appreciate the moral support of some familiar faces, we had also decided that we would tow them back round if it came to it.
Off we went to Denarau first for provisions, fuel and to try and get a sparky onboard as Google wasn’t playing ball on fixing Hyundai 5500w diesel gensets. All went well except the sparky, no one available at short notice and the guys I spoke to didn’t sound any more qualified than myself (and I hate electrical stuff). Better have a nice Indian meal at Indigo then set off in the morning.
Still a lot of cloud but with the motors running the batteries were coming up slowly, around 10.30am as we came out of the Navula passage into open water the sun came out properly. The sea was calm and a gentle swell was pushing us along.
Today was the day I saw my first big ‘boil up’ in the water, it looked like an acre of water alive with fish. I called to S and she came up to the flybridge for a look, we cant fail here I thought. Sure enough both lines sung out and our routine kicked in, S at the helm bringing us to a halt and me at the rods. This was one of the rare occasions where I had everything ready for fish so the gaff hook was waiting and a bucket of knives/spikes to despatch what we caught. I certainly wasn’t disappointed and the first one I pulled on is still my biggest catch to date. I’ve hooked much bigger marlin, etc but never got them to the boat.
Approx 3pm (low tide) we entered Cuvu harbour through the reef and approached REAO. S and I were wearing capes for that super hero look as we came to their rescue !
We anchored and lowered the dinghy, off we blasted with S stood up and her cape flowing in the wind, of course we did a couple of laps of REAO like this. Once onboard and the hugs and laughing were over Craig broke the news, he had a mechanic onboard just before our arrival who had confirmed our worst suspicions , the motor was f**ked. It’s a five cylinder Kubota tractor motor marinized by a company called Nanni (?) and only had compression in two of those five – uh oh that sounded expensive.
So that was that, we were towing them back round to the west side where the same mechanic had his workshop. They had already chatted about what to do and mechanic was happy for them to buy parts direct from supplier in Australia and he would just carry out the rebuild. His company had a crane truck so once REAO was on the hard in Vuda marina they could poke the crane in the rear and pick up motor, better than dismantling in situ and taking away piece by piece.
We have towed a boat once before, we answered a call from the Coastguard in NZ about a vessel which had lost its steering so at least we had some idea of what to expect. Although there aren’t any reefs to worry about in NZ.
It went without hitch and they even managed to sail some of the way but the wind dropped off as they were about to head through the main passage so we raced (haha, 8kn) out to hook them up again. They had been making calls and sending emails all the way so when we were through the passage they made the call to go to Musket and sit on anchor until the parts arrived. Although we are always prepared to help friends out I did say that we wouldn’t be at their complete disposal for a further tow to Vuda but would be happy to if we were still in the area.
We arrived in the mooring field to airhorns and whistles and were greeted like super heroes in the bar that night.
Our genset was still playing up but luckily the sun was back to normal and taking our batteries to 99% by lunchtime each day again.
It was now March and we were all watching the weather intently, Cyclone Judy had passed over Vanuatu causing some damage and was tracking to Fiji, lucky for us it changed course and went down to NZ. REAO were happy with their anchor setup if something blew through but other boats in the bay were getting nervous. One boat in particular desperately wanted to move from the exposed spot they were in but were unable to as their gearbox was in pieces. This is a 66’ racing sailboat that has been converted to a cruising vessel with the budget of kids paper round (so I was told anyway). The wild Italian skipper buzzed around in his dinghy asking for help with a tow, we weren’t onboard LS at the time so dodged that bullet but when we found out what was happening went to help. By help I mean steer their boat from the stb side by pushing it with our dinghy (Manic Monday). There was another dinghy the other side doing any port shoving and a few at the rear providing propulsion – chaos !
The mooring balls at Musket are normally rated up to 50’ and around 20t I believe so Don, the legend who has lived at Musket for about 20 years onboard his catamaran Coromandel, dove on a couple of them to check they would be suitable for the boat. He confirmed which he thought was best and the boat was tied on.
Hmm, winds were starting to pick up a bit and the direction had their stern directly infront of us, if anything happened we were going to have a 66’ race boat shaped hole LS as they could not start their motor for any avoidance tactics. When it dropped I did go and have a look at the mooring and saw they had used numerous ropes to tie on so, as long as the actual mooring didn’t give way, it was looking pretty safe.
Typical, Cyclone Kevin is making its way for us. Although it looks weaker than the others that have looked like hitting its still going to be capable of a lot of damage. Around 80% cloud cover is making us look at closely at our power consumption as the genset now only makes power for 30 mins at a time with an hours cooling in between. Do we ring Vuda marina and make a run for their cyclone proof area and get a sparky onboard ? I didn’t want to but then a long boat pulled up at our stern and we were handed an official looking letter. It was from the Musket Yacht Club and advised that all swing moorings must be vacated as they were not cyclone proof. Once we had read it the guy who had delivered it said that we could stay but it was now at our own risk as they had told us not to ! Just then his boss turned up in another boat and said he had a spot in Muskets cyclone hole normally reserved for the commercial boats and would we like to use it ? He also confirmed we could plug into the shore power whilst in there so it was a no brainer for us.
With LS tucked away we strolled down to the Island Bar and ordered a bottle of wine, within about 15 minutes the wind had got up so much that everyone was leaving. Drinks were being blown over, hats lost, etc. We told Ziggy behind the bar that we were taking the bottle with us and off we went.
As soon as we were in the cyclone circle there was no wind, its that well protected you could have lit a cigarette without cupping your hands round it. We slept well without a worry and woke to find everything as it had been and that we had only got some of the tail winds as Kevin had changed direction at the last minute – phew.
This was the same day we heard from our friends on REAO that they had engine issues and were stuck in a bay about 50 miles away. Craig was messaging me with questions and also to advise what the symptoms were and what he had tried already. He knew my mechanical skills were not great but sometimes just talking to someone about these things is enough to give you a nudge in the right direction. Without his knowledge I was also forwarding his messages to a friend in NZ who previously worked as a mechanic but now sold tractors, their workshop was one of the biggest in the North Island. His top mechanic came back with some ideas to test and also the less encouraging – If its none of those then its going to be really expensive
So S and I had a chat, we either sat at Musket or we motored to Cuvu to try and help out. I didn’t expect to be able to help too much but they might appreciate the moral support of some familiar faces, we had also decided that we would tow them back round if it came to it.
Off we went to Denarau first for provisions, fuel and to try and get a sparky onboard as Google wasn’t playing ball on fixing Hyundai 5500w diesel gensets. All went well except the sparky, no one available at short notice and the guys I spoke to didn’t sound any more qualified than myself (and I hate electrical stuff). Better have a nice Indian meal at Indigo then set off in the morning.
Still a lot of cloud but with the motors running the batteries were coming up slowly, around 10.30am as we came out of the Navula passage into open water the sun came out properly. The sea was calm and a gentle swell was pushing us along.
Today was the day I saw my first big ‘boil up’ in the water, it looked like an acre of water alive with fish. I called to S and she came up to the flybridge for a look, we cant fail here I thought. Sure enough both lines sung out and our routine kicked in, S at the helm bringing us to a halt and me at the rods. This was one of the rare occasions where I had everything ready for fish so the gaff hook was waiting and a bucket of knives/spikes to despatch what we caught. I certainly wasn’t disappointed and the first one I pulled on is still my biggest catch to date. I’ve hooked much bigger marlin, etc but never got them to the boat.
Approx 3pm (low tide) we entered Cuvu harbour through the reef and approached REAO. S and I were wearing capes for that super hero look as we came to their rescue !
We anchored and lowered the dinghy, off we blasted with S stood up and her cape flowing in the wind, of course we did a couple of laps of REAO like this. Once onboard and the hugs and laughing were over Craig broke the news, he had a mechanic onboard just before our arrival who had confirmed our worst suspicions , the motor was f**ked. It’s a five cylinder Kubota tractor motor marinized by a company called Nanni (?) and only had compression in two of those five – uh oh that sounded expensive.
So that was that, we were towing them back round to the west side where the same mechanic had his workshop. They had already chatted about what to do and mechanic was happy for them to buy parts direct from supplier in Australia and he would just carry out the rebuild. His company had a crane truck so once REAO was on the hard in Vuda marina they could poke the crane in the rear and pick up motor, better than dismantling in situ and taking away piece by piece.
We have towed a boat once before, we answered a call from the Coastguard in NZ about a vessel which had lost its steering so at least we had some idea of what to expect. Although there aren’t any reefs to worry about in NZ.
It went without hitch and they even managed to sail some of the way but the wind dropped off as they were about to head through the main passage so we raced (haha, 8kn) out to hook them up again. They had been making calls and sending emails all the way so when we were through the passage they made the call to go to Musket and sit on anchor until the parts arrived. Although we are always prepared to help friends out I did say that we wouldn’t be at their complete disposal for a further tow to Vuda but would be happy to if we were still in the area.
We arrived in the mooring field to airhorns and whistles and were greeted like super heroes in the bar that night.
Our genset was still playing up but luckily the sun was back to normal and taking our batteries to 99% by lunchtime each day again.
It was now March and we were all watching the weather intently, Cyclone Judy had passed over Vanuatu causing some damage and was tracking to Fiji, lucky for us it changed course and went down to NZ. REAO were happy with their anchor setup if something blew through but other boats in the bay were getting nervous. One boat in particular desperately wanted to move from the exposed spot they were in but were unable to as their gearbox was in pieces. This is a 66’ racing sailboat that has been converted to a cruising vessel with the budget of kids paper round (so I was told anyway). The wild Italian skipper buzzed around in his dinghy asking for help with a tow, we weren’t onboard LS at the time so dodged that bullet but when we found out what was happening went to help. By help I mean steer their boat from the stb side by pushing it with our dinghy (Manic Monday). There was another dinghy the other side doing any port shoving and a few at the rear providing propulsion – chaos !
The mooring balls at Musket are normally rated up to 50’ and around 20t I believe so Don, the legend who has lived at Musket for about 20 years onboard his catamaran Coromandel, dove on a couple of them to check they would be suitable for the boat. He confirmed which he thought was best and the boat was tied on.
Hmm, winds were starting to pick up a bit and the direction had their stern directly infront of us, if anything happened we were going to have a 66’ race boat shaped hole LS as they could not start their motor for any avoidance tactics. When it dropped I did go and have a look at the mooring and saw they had used numerous ropes to tie on so, as long as the actual mooring didn’t give way, it was looking pretty safe.
Typical, Cyclone Kevin is making its way for us. Although it looks weaker than the others that have looked like hitting its still going to be capable of a lot of damage. Around 80% cloud cover is making us look at closely at our power consumption as the genset now only makes power for 30 mins at a time with an hours cooling in between. Do we ring Vuda marina and make a run for their cyclone proof area and get a sparky onboard ? I didn’t want to but then a long boat pulled up at our stern and we were handed an official looking letter. It was from the Musket Yacht Club and advised that all swing moorings must be vacated as they were not cyclone proof. Once we had read it the guy who had delivered it said that we could stay but it was now at our own risk as they had told us not to ! Just then his boss turned up in another boat and said he had a spot in Muskets cyclone hole normally reserved for the commercial boats and would we like to use it ? He also confirmed we could plug into the shore power whilst in there so it was a no brainer for us.
With LS tucked away we strolled down to the Island Bar and ordered a bottle of wine, within about 15 minutes the wind had got up so much that everyone was leaving. Drinks were being blown over, hats lost, etc. We told Ziggy behind the bar that we were taking the bottle with us and off we went.
As soon as we were in the cyclone circle there was no wind, its that well protected you could have lit a cigarette without cupping your hands round it. We slept well without a worry and woke to find everything as it had been and that we had only got some of the tail winds as Kevin had changed direction at the last minute – phew.
Oh no, what have we done !!??
Its freezing in Tonga !!
We have been wearing sweat shirts for the first time in 16 months, its 23C !
OK, so not that cold but when you have been used to a low of 27C for that long its quite a wake up call.
Plus it has been overcast and wet since our arrival, the poor generator has never had such a workout, currently running for 3 or 4 hours a day to keep the battery bank in the 70s %.
More bad weather due over the weekend and the long range forecast not showing any break in the cloud until middle of next week ! Nooooooooo
Oh well, once the weekends winds have gone I might tell my wife that we need to head out for a days fishing to get the battery bank back up to 100%.
She may or may not believe me as she is becoming a lot more knowledgeable about systems onboard and their performance.
Its freezing in Tonga !!
We have been wearing sweat shirts for the first time in 16 months, its 23C !
OK, so not that cold but when you have been used to a low of 27C for that long its quite a wake up call.
Plus it has been overcast and wet since our arrival, the poor generator has never had such a workout, currently running for 3 or 4 hours a day to keep the battery bank in the 70s %.
More bad weather due over the weekend and the long range forecast not showing any break in the cloud until middle of next week ! Nooooooooo
Oh well, once the weekends winds have gone I might tell my wife that we need to head out for a days fishing to get the battery bank back up to 100%.
She may or may not believe me as she is becoming a lot more knowledgeable about systems onboard and their performance.
Loving the vibe here in Vava'u, think we will enjoy our time here.
There is avolunteer marine association who operate a VHF radio channel which, thanks to many repeaters, means everyone can stay in touch in the whole island group.
It does look like a Boulevard of broken dreams though, abandoned resorts and crumbling buildings, Expats trapped in business they cannot sell, etc
Some friends are leaving today heading for Fiji so had a few drinks with them last night.
Tomorrow we are heading to an anchorage where another friend is stuck on a boat awaiting parts then out to track down a Marlin or similar (whilst dodging all the whales with their calves)
There is avolunteer marine association who operate a VHF radio channel which, thanks to many repeaters, means everyone can stay in touch in the whole island group.
It does look like a Boulevard of broken dreams though, abandoned resorts and crumbling buildings, Expats trapped in business they cannot sell, etc
Some friends are leaving today heading for Fiji so had a few drinks with them last night.
Tomorrow we are heading to an anchorage where another friend is stuck on a boat awaiting parts then out to track down a Marlin or similar (whilst dodging all the whales with their calves)
And the crap weather is back with a vengeance !
Poor generator has never seen so much use, hour meter quit when the last AVR melted so not exactly sure of hours but a guesstimate tells me approx 75 have been added since our arrival.
One sunny morning last week I changed oil and fuel filter on it knowing it would be around the 200hr total.
Have been at some lovely anchorages and met some great people but not really done any exploring yet.
Back in Ne'afu harbour as we require fresh vegetables, beer and to collect laundry we left here.
As its Thursday we may as well go to quiz night at The Kraken, not what I hoped to be the highlight of my week !
Poor generator has never seen so much use, hour meter quit when the last AVR melted so not exactly sure of hours but a guesstimate tells me approx 75 have been added since our arrival.
One sunny morning last week I changed oil and fuel filter on it knowing it would be around the 200hr total.
Have been at some lovely anchorages and met some great people but not really done any exploring yet.
Back in Ne'afu harbour as we require fresh vegetables, beer and to collect laundry we left here.
As its Thursday we may as well go to quiz night at The Kraken, not what I hoped to be the highlight of my week !
A wonderful 10 days (without generator use) making new friends , catching up with some from last year and some exploring.
Going to hang around Vava'u for at least the next couple of weeks as one friend is about to be hauled out for a motor rebuild (slid down a huge wave on way to Tonga which forced sea water through exhaust and into stb motor). He is solo sailing, 70yo and riddled with cancer so we are going to try and help him out where we can.
I will continue with actual story at some point soon - honest
Going to hang around Vava'u for at least the next couple of weeks as one friend is about to be hauled out for a motor rebuild (slid down a huge wave on way to Tonga which forced sea water through exhaust and into stb motor). He is solo sailing, 70yo and riddled with cancer so we are going to try and help him out where we can.
I will continue with actual story at some point soon - honest
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