Rick and Robin began fulfilling their lifelong dream of sailing around the world after buying their Norseman 430 from me in 2000. Since their years aboard "Endangered Species", they have since 
enjoyed various exotic locations and have made plenty of great friends along the way. Here's an excerpt from their latest travels:
It's been a while since we sent out an update of what's new and where we are. We are in our sixth month since leaving the Panama Canal. And let me say the trip has been an ADVENTURE! We have traveled over 7,000 miles. This passage is usually called the "milk run" but, it was a "cottage cheese" run this year. I am so personal thankful to have had a third crew member/FRIEND on board with us to tackle those miles. John has been such an asset for Rick and me. Especially since I have been plagued with seasickness most of the trip. The medicine worked well but the side affects and the feeling of being on a drug takes it toll after so many miles and days at sea. But, over all it's been good and always better than a day at work!
I wanted let you guys know we are still alive and well. Only 1,600 more miles to New Zealand!! We hope everyone is doing well. From those we haven't heard from in a while, drop us a line and let us know what's new in your lives. We miss you all.
We arrived here in VaVa'u Tonga on Monday August 14. Lat. 18:39S and Long. 173:58W. This area is the northeast corner of the Kingdom of Tonga. We left Niue on Saturday morning at 12am. The trip was about 275 miles. During that time we crossed the international date line. It was pretty neat to change your watch/calendar and say "ok, now it's Monday instead of Sunday". The timing was great since we didn't want to arrive in Tonga during the weekend because it's much harder to deal with Customs and Immigrations in some countries during the weekend and most countries charge additional fees.
The last three weeks have been eventful. We loved Rarotonga but the weather continued to be poor with lots of rain. The harbor was a NIGHTMARE. It's very, very small. About the side of the Davis Islands seaplane basin. And this is their only port. So large supply ships, fishing, etc. also share the space and there is NO dock. There is only the wharf/seawall around the port. You have to drop your anchor and then tie 100-200 foot lines from your boat to the wharf. Then when a boat wants to leave, everybody around them has to move. This means you have to untie your lines, pull up your anchor, move, and then reset everything. This goes on every DAY, which usually ties up your whole morning or afternoon! Plus, since the weather was bad several of us big boats need to have a second anchor out to the side of the boat to insure we didn't move side ways. The real kicker is that if the winds blow from the north, everybody has to leave the harbor under the orders of the Harbor master. This is due to such a high sea states which builds up inside making it very unsafe. We had wireless internet on the boat there. So, all day long Rick was checking the weather. We had to be ready to leave at a minute notice. This went on for five days! Mentally it was so draining. I had to wear a seasick patch the whole time we where in port, which was a total of nine days! The weather was too rough to leave for another island. Plus the next safe harbor was 580 miles away with no actual harbor. Then getting to shore was another whole nightmare. You had to drag your dinghy up a rocky beach or have it tied off the concrete seawall with it bouncing up and down with all the wave action. Our friends on S/V Wind Pony got a 6 inch slice in the front of their dinghy. They are still trying to get it fixed. That's a whole other story. The day Dick's dinghy got the whole we decided it was time to leave. We made the 580 mile, 4 day, and three night passage to Niue.
Once we arrived in Niue we were given the gift of an anchorage of tying to a mooring ball in crystal clear, CALM water. We arrived around 5 pm. I sat in the cockpit and drank half a bottle of wine while watching the sunset. I was so relieved to get to a place that the boat was not moving. After reviewing our lasted three weeks, I realized that I had been on the seasickness patches for 16 days on and off. I started using them in Bora Bora when we tried to leave the first time to Rarotonga but had to turn back due to engine trouble. I am feeling so much better now. I have also been trying another seasickness medicine which is used in Europe. I got it in the Caribbean. I use it on short passages and it does not affect my eye sight. It seems to work well in nice or moderate sea conditions. But, for heavy weather the patch is still the best.
We loved Niue. It's is also a one, small island country like Rarotonga. It's is aided and protected by New Zealand. It looks like a big flat rock which stands about 100 feet off the water with lush greenery every where. They where hit by a category five hurricane in January 2004. They had waves come up over the hundred foot cliff and inland 600 feet. The waves took out whole houses. The people were very friendly. Rick joined the Niue Yacht Club which no longer has any clubhouse or facilities. They where all destroyed in the hurricane. We went on a cave exploring trip. We did a two tank dive and got to see under water caverns and sea snakes. Sea snakes are the big diving attraction in Niue. Rick got some good underwater pictures of them. We stayed for a week and then moved on to Tonga.
We are just now starting to settle in Tonga. It seems like another neat country. We look forward to exploring it. We will be here for several weeks before heading to Fiji.
Until next time......Hopefully smooth sailing!
Robin
For those of us who live vicariously through our cruising buddies, letters like these are a great way to feel like we’re taking part in the adventure. Thank you Rick and Robin!!
If you would like to SHARE YOUR CRUISING STORIES with your fellow cruisers, send me an email...and don't forget to post your coordinates!
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