Sailing Around The World
Adam and Olivia sailing the world on our floating home - A Rival 41.
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Hoofdstukken
- Guernsey To Canary Island · 95 pebbls
- Canary Islands To Caribbean · 89 pebbls
- Sailing Panama To French Polynesia · 58 pebbls
- French Polynesia to Fiji · 9 pebbls
Guernsey To Canary Island
We leave home after almost 2 years of prep! Over the next couple months we’ll sail the north coast of France, Spain, Portugal, and the Canary Islands.
Exploring Jersey
There is still some strong winds funnelling through the channel so we decided to spend a few more days exploring Jersey.
Morning!
Multiple-day sails with just two of us is something we’ve been avoiding as you don’t tend to get too much sleep with our watch system in place…. Add on the fact that we’re trying to stay within 20 meters of depth in order to avoid rudder snacking orcas makes things a whole lot more complicated, with crab pots, boat traffic, and land to avoid! The morning coffees are just that much better though!
Exploring The Mountains
We are now safely tied up in a marina for a few days so we’re making the most of our time and doing some exploring! Today we cycled into the mountains and found a stunning river and some caves!
Street Food Festival
It’s been pretty rainy the last few days, however we managed to sneak out in between the down pours to check out the street food festival. There were tons of stands, live music, and beer!
Sun And Wind!
Today has been a very relaxed sail! Good wind, no swell, and sun! The wind has now died a little but we’re in no rush and it’s flat calm so we’re enjoying some calm sailing, reading, and sun bathing!
New Crew
As we make our way south we’re joined by our two new crew, Ben and Charlotte. A few days exploring before trying to get down the Portuguese coast.
36 Hours In
We’ve now been sailing for 36 hours. We’re hoping to pass Lisbon in the early hours of the morning to escape the worst of some winds coming in. There’s been lots of wind, not much wind, sun, down pours and dolphins!
Life At Sea
A few photos from our crossing from Porto to the Canary Islands. We had 0 knots of wind to 45 knots of wind. Rain and sun. Calm seas and rough seas.
Life On Mars!
After 8 days at sea exploring this barren little volcanic islands was incredible. Surf, freediving, and relaxing!
Mountains And Sunset
We’ve hired a car for a couple days to stock up with food and get some jobs done. We also treated ourself to a day in the mountains for a stunning sunset at the highest point in Gran Canaria.
Canary Islands To Caribbean
We leave the Canary Islands ready for Nanuka’s first Atlantic crossing!
5 Days In
We’ve had a lovely first 5 days of our crossing with consistent winds and relatively calm seas (as much as one can expect mid Atlantic!). We’re getting some stronger winds which are feeding into a bigger system over the next few days which will mean quick sailing, but some very rolly nights!
Leaving Tobago
We’ve now spent a total of 2 months on Tobago but it’s now time to leave on our journey westward. With fresh fish being bought to the boat each morning , friendly people and some of the best snorkelling we’ve seen in the Caribbean we will most certainly miss this little village in the North of Tobago. It will be our first night sail with just the two of us since Biscay!
Aruba Boatyard
A month and a bit at Varadero Boat Yard.
Main jobs included:
- Sanding off copper coat and applying primer and antifoul to the hull
- Repainting the cockpit
- Repainting the decks
- Servicing the engine
Of course we found other issues whilst we were here… including asphaltenes in our diesel tanks, which took Ads about 3 days to scrape out!
Our days involved working online, boat jobs, and trips to Kooymans (hardware store) and Budget Marine (chandlery).
Luckily there was a restaurant at the marina, so we could relax with beers and a cheeky fish and chips once in a while!
Aruba To Panama | Day 2
We’re just rounding Cabo de Vela. One of the more nutritious cape to sail around in the world. There are extremely complex weather systems off the cape making sailing a little more of a challenge, with frequent unpredicted mini-systems bringing with them heavy rain and thunder and strong winds. As a rule of thumb whatever the forecast says you add 15-20 knots for the area surrounding the cape. This turn a lovely 15 knots into a not so lovely 35 knots!
All that said we’ve had a pretty good night. We saw up to 28-30 knots but mostly down wind and with the lightning keeping a little distance.
Yesterday we had a new crew member who is still enjoying the free ride this morning!
Aruba To Panama | Day 3
With an ever changing forecast it makes decisions somewhat more difficult. Our plans to sail directly to Panama came to question today as the end of the week is looking unsettled with widespread thunder. We decided to find out all options and contact the marina in Columbia to find out the complications that would arise if we arrived having our Panama rather than Columbia on our form. Turns out, complicated and potentially even more expensive!
So, we have made a decision to stick north away from the worst of the weather and continue. Although the forecast is for widespread thunder, the cape index is very low meaning the storms are likely to be less intense and frequent. The next few days will tell! Aside from a day spent making decisions, the sailing has been good. We’ve averaged over 6 knots and the seas have started to calm as we leave behind Cabo de Vela.
Aruba To Panama | Day 5
Another day of very light winds. The sea is flat calm and were slowly making way at 2-3 knots. We’re still avoiding any thunder storms. It seems the forecasts can be pretty inaccurate when it comes to electrical storms. We had quite a few squalls to start the day followed by an afternoon of sun. Another bird joined us for a few hours which is always entertaining!
The wind has just started to fill in, we’re now sailing at 5 knots on a beam reach with flat calm winds. Another few hours of making distance west then once the predicted storms south of us fade we will start to head more south.
Aruba To Panama | Day 6
We don’t often turn the motor on to on Nanuka. In fact I could count the hours we’ve motored since leaving Europe on my hands. However we seem to have found ourselves in a patch of sea that hasn’t any wind for a few days when ahead of us has a consistent force 4-5 for the next few days. So we’ve motored for the last 10 hours… but no wind yet!
The sea is now glass with zero swell. We had another bird visitor and liv got out her crochet! Hopefully the next few hours will bring us some wind and we can get the engine off and head south.
Aruba To Panama | Day 8
Another very slow day with little to no wind. The engine got turned off after 22 hours. The wind picked enough to fill the sails and we bobbed along at 2 knots.
We had gone from avoiding squalls to looking forward to the squalls in hope for a 20 minute wind boost. Liv made some cookies in the afternoon which went down a treat and stir fry for tea.
The weather is unsettled again with an almost consistent lightning flash on the horizon. We’ve been lucky enough to avoid any direct hits with an electrical storm do far!
Bocas Del Toro | Exploring The Jungle
After catch up on some much needed sleep we got most of the checking in formalities done and headed onto one of the small islands in the archipelago for an explore. Walking around the small island we discovered thick jungle and empty beaches, quite the contrast from our time in Aruba! We will no head down to the mangroves for some time away from the busy town.
Bocas Del Toro | Surf, Work, Relax
Our days recently have been a lovely mix of surfing, working, and relaxing… in that order! Everyday we have managed to find the perfect routine of an early surf followed by work and then another surf with some very relaxed evenings.
The swell is now small for a few days and liv is desperate for some snorkelling now the water has started to clear so we will head north in the archipelago to find some clear waters and jungle!
Sailing Panama To French Polynesia
We leave the Atlantic Ocean behind us and set sail to the Pacific! With 4000 miles of open water sailing we are excited to see what the next few months throws at us!
Sailing The Pacific | Sharks & Eclipse
We’re now three days into our pacific crossing. The first two days we had great winds and a current current behind us making for some really lovely sailing. Now… as I’m sat here watching an eclipse (see the blurry photo!) it’s two in the morning, gusting 5 knots and what was a current pushing us along is slowly turning to be on the nose. The next three days look much of the same. No wind and some unfavourable current!
We have also had a group of sharks following us for the first few days making fishing near on in impossible but amazing to watch!
Sailing The Pacific | Slow Days
As we make our way through the ITCZ our progress is very slow. We have a mixture of no wind, very light wind, and strong winds when the occasional squall passes through.
At first it was really nice. We had calm seas which meant that even the slightest breeze would fill our sails. The sea state has now become a little more confused which makes for some uncomfortable sailing with banging sails as they struggle to hold their own weight. We have about 209 nautical miles until we reach the steady trades. It’ll definitely feel like a bit of a mile stone when we finally leave the ITCZ.
The Perfect Wave | Surfing The Tuamotus
If you’re reading this in hope to find the location of this wave. The pebbl location is not correct! The wave is in the Tuamotus… but I’ll say no more than that!
This spot is unreal. Perfect barreling waves with very few people to surf them… paradise on earth! We spent a good few days surfing multiple sessions a day. Every time we took our dinghy out to the lineup the wave would blow my mind. A swell which has traveled thousands of miles rises out of thousands of meters of water onto this atoll pass and perks perfectly for 200m down the coral reef.
For a few days we were surfing with our friends on open range and another ozzy mate. But, as always, our plans differed somewhat and we waved them off as they motored out the pass and back into the ocean. It’s not often you hope for more people in the line up, but there’s something about surfing a super shallow coral reef with a ton of sharks around on your own a little lonely! Maybe not a bad problem to have?
Apataki | Anchored In Town
After saying goodbye to our buddy boats we’d been sailing with we had some mixed emotions. Excited to explore new places, but sad to say goodbye to our new friends. As we approach the pass we see a familiar boat on AIS. Open range we’re pulled up to the dock after a tough sail in unpredictable winds. This was a great surprise and we were excited for a few more days with some good company!
We had heard of a mooring in the small pool area just outside of town, and open range confirmed our thoughts. As we approach we saw the tiny gap from the pass leading into the pool with shallow reef sticking out either side. Things were complicated further by the 1-2 knots of current draining out of the atoll. We increased the revs and shot Nanuka into the small pass narrowly missing the reef. Once inside things didn’t improve much, the space was tight and with the angle of the wind it put no more than one to two meters of water behind us before ending up on the reef. The pressure was on to collect the mooring and tie off tightly to keep Nanuka hole free! After a missed attempt due to the ball being too large for our boat hook, we managed to lasso the mooring and get tied off. After our usual checks we turned the engine off, looked around at the immense beauty of the area, and relaxed in what had to be one of the best moorings we’ve ever been on.
We’ve Hauled Out!
It’s been a whirlwind of a couple weeks! We’ve been on the edge of deciding whether to go home for a few months for a good couple weeks now. We really did not want to fly, this is something we both feel quite strongly about especially after being in places that are so badly affected by the causes of climate change. However, due to multiple events happening back home we felt that it was time to bite the bullet and be a little hypocritical!
This meant hauling the boat… something we don’t hugely look forward to due to the extensive job list that follows and the normally very uncomfortable living conditions they boat yards being with them.
That being said, the haul out went very smoothly and Apataki yard is without doubt the most picturesque yard we’ve ever been to!
Long sandy beaches, a nice breeze, and crystal clear waters made for quite an enjoyable time preparing to leave her for a few months!
Next up… trying to organise our long journey home!
Sailing Tuamotus | Back At Anchor
The first couple days at anchor have been very relaxed mixed with a few unexpected boat projects! We went on a 10Nm round trip dinghy mission for our weekly shop. We had somewhat forgotten the price and availability of food here… we will be getting used to eating very basic meals again for the next few months! Along with relaxing, spending huge sums of money in the supermarket and the never ending boat projects we have managed to squeeze a good couple hours of snorkelling in each day which as always in the Tuamotus, has been amazing. Sharks, rays and loads of fish. It’s taken a little bit of getting used to feeling comfortable around so many sharks but until the speargun comes out they all seem relaxed and friendly!
Sailing The Tuamotus | A Storm Inbound
We’ve been tracking a depression coming from the north for over a week now. Yesterday we left our anchorage down south to scope out a few potential spots we’d searched out on Google Satellite Images. It can be tricky finding good anchorages in these atolls due to the charts being completely wrong, deep waters and lack of open sand areas as everywhere is covered on Bombies (large coral heads).
After a 4 hour sail in torrential rain we arrived in the north west of the atoll. After a couple attempts we were happy with our anchor placement tucked in behind a small patch of land and reef. We’d normally dive on the anchor to check it’s dug into clear sand, however due the the heavy rain the water is a little milky today and we’re all too aware of how many sharks are in the water… so hopefully the visibility will clear up later. For now, we will sit tight and get ready for the strong winds on Tuesday.
Sailing Aratika | Sharks And Beach Days
After a few days on a mooring by the pass we moved 6NM to the east of the atoll. With flat calm waters, a clear channel (normally we’re dodging coral heads!) and good wind the sail across the atoll was as good as it gets. There was another mooring bouy to pick up on the other side which again added to the ease of our time in Aratika.
We spent a few days relaxing on the beach and snorkelling one of the craziest drop offs we’ve come across so far. A vertical cliff underwater which drops down from around 8m to 50m. A little disconcerting but truly amazing. The pass was also home to dozens of reef sharks that would spend there time swimming against the current at the bottom of the pass. Both Liv and I agree this is one of our favourite atolls so far.
Sailing Tuamotus | Ahe
After spending a lovely week in Aratika we headed north with our buddy boat, Isla, to Ahe. This was an overnight sail where we saw some very squally weather making for some tiring sailing. We arrived at first light and headed to the North of the atoll to shelter from some winds for a couple days.
Once the wind had blown through we found a spot closer to the pass where we decided to create our own moorings due to there being a lack of sand. Although it was deep, our system worked really well and we had a lovely few days free diving, surfing and relaxing with friends.
After a few days our Australian friends, Matahari, arrived with a large amount of Marlin that they caught on the sail up. This was very welcome as our supplies were dwindling after not having access to a stocked shop for almost 6 weeks!
Sailing Moorea | Hiking, surf & treats!
Our time in Moorea has been very relaxed. Life here is east. We’re anchored next to a fun right hand wave, there’s good snorkelling nearby and to top it off there are some very tasty ice cream and smoothie spots! It’s one of those spots we could happily spend a good few months. There are some incredible hikes nearby which give you panoramic views of the island and as with everywhere in French Polynesia, the locals are friendly. The time has come however to continue west. Our next sail is an overnight to Raiatea. The winds are light and it’s down wind so it could be a rolly 24 hours!
French Polynesia to Fiji
We have checked out of French Polynesia and continue our trip west towards Fiji.
Sailing Maupiti | Hikes and Friends!
We have checked out of French Polynesia after exactly one year! It has been a truly incredible place, and our favourite sailing destination on this trip so far. Maupiti, a tiny islands west of Bora Bora, is our last experience of civilisation befire we set off on a 1000nm sail west which lands us in a tiny island called Niue. We enjoyed a few days of hiking, surfing, and spending time with our friends on Isla.
Sailing Maupiha’a
The most western island in French Polynesia is a tiny Tuamotus style atoll with just three people living there It’s a convenient place to spend some time waiting for a weather window for the 7 day sail west, across the ‘dangerous middle’.
We had bought some provisions for the family living on the small Motu so shortly after our arrival we headed ashore to pass on the gifts. The family welcomed us in with open arms. Over the course of two weeks we shared many meals, crab hunts, and good conversation with the three inhabitants.
As we were about to leave we did one final
Rig check to discover a crack in a fairly crucial part of our rig! Along with some friends we fabricated a repair, however we also managed to source are part in Tahiti which could be sailed to the island by another friend so we made the tough decision to remain safely anchored in the island while the rest of our buddy boats confined west. We did however enjoy a lovely few days of solitude waiting for our part.
Nanuka is now repaired and ready to go for our journey west, a 900nm sail west to a sunken atoll!
Sailing Aitutaki | Pitstop
The middle part of the Pacific is called ‘The Dangerous Middle’ and the last few weeks we have really come to understand why. Our friends got hammered by a system heading west and now it is our turn! We had always planned to skirt by the Cook Islands as a possible port of refugee as there was a system predicted on Monday. The system seems to have intensified with every forecast update. With 90 knot winds predicted there was no real option to keep sailing, so we made a u-turn and sailed 6 hours back to the Cook Islands where we would spend 7 days waiting for some cleaner weather to continue our journey west.
Once we arrived outside the tiny pass into the ‘harbour’ (marina under construction!) we radioed port control and requested permission to enter. We could almost smell the fresh food, coffee shops and little snack shacks that were ready to greet us! Unfortunately permission was not granted. There was a cargo ship positioned 500m offshore loading the cargo onto barges which ferried the goods through the channel into the harbour. Until this operation was done, we would have to heave too and wait. By the time they’d finished the sun was set which made the already challenging pass somewhat more challenging!
After navigating the pass we were greeted by some cruisers to help us med moor to the mud banks which went surprisingly well to say how little control Nanuka has going astern!
A lovely week was had sheltering from the weather, exploring and really making the most of the coffee shops!
Sailing The Dangerous Middle
We left the Cook Islands after 7 enjoyable days. There was a little wind of opportunity to continue west, if we did not take it then we would have been stuck for another 7 days, something we wanted to avoid for multiple reasons!
We knew there was another system brewing on the horizon, not as nasty looking as the previous system and a few days out, so time for a lot to change.
The first 24 hours were spent beating into 20 knots, something Nanuka enjoys more than us! After 30 hours we checked the updated forecast at it appeared the system was going to track further north than originally forecast. We made the decision to run south and head straight to a sunken atoll in the Pacific called Beveridge. Our friends had previously been there so we knew the pass was manageable at night and the holding was good.
After another 24 hours the forecast changed once more with the system passing straight over the top of us. At this point we were convinced we were a magnet for them! If the forecast was correct, when the system intensified we would only have to survive 4-5 hours of it before arriving at Beveridge.
As much as we were praying the forecast to be wrong, sure enough, as soon as the sun set the winds intensified, seas grew and the rain poured. It was hard to judge the true wind speed as our gauge tops out at 30 knots …. But it was easily gusting over mid 40s accompanied by some extremely lively seas.
Fives hours later we furled the small about of head sail we had out and rounded the north end of the reef. This gave a greatly appreciated rest from the heavy seas, but the wind and rain were still brutal. We were debating whether it was safe to attempt to enter the pass of the reef in these conditions, but the thought of continuing on taking full force of the storm for another 10 hours didn’t fill us with joy. We were both soaked through to the skin despite our expensive waterproofs and for the first time in a long time, cold!
Beveridge Reef
After staying awake all night it was a good feeling to see the glow of the sun on the horizon. The rain had eased but the wind was still blowing hard. As we came to see our surroundings it was clear we had plenty of depth and were safely dug in. The sea was uncomfortable with the wind chop, but we were safe and we could rest.
After a very satisfying sleep and lazy day spent eating and relaxing the wind started to ease, the clouds part and the persistent wind chop die down. This was the first time we could appreciate how special this place was. One of the most remote anchorages in the world with nothing but a small slither of reef keeping the ocean swells at bay.
After doing a few repairs we grabbed the paddle board and spent the day snorkelling. The visibility was some of the best we’ve seen and the sea life was incredible. Sharks, rays, loads of fish and turtles. Interestingly all acting quite different to other places we’ve been where they know what a human is! The sharks were very inquisitive and the rays extremely defensive!
We will have another good nights sleep before setting sail to Niue, 150NM away. Hopefully less eventful than our last passage
Sailing Tonga | We found waves!
A big part of the surf for me is to discover and surf empty waves. This week Tonga produced the goods!
We had heard rumours of waves in the Tongan islands and had spent many hours on satakite images scouting out potential spots. It is rarely easy to anchor near good surf and since being in Tonga this has been even more true. The winds have been relentless, blowing 20-30 knots most days. For most of the waves around here they are quite exposed and require calm conditions. After a couple weeks of sheltering in beautiful bays there was a calm in the forecast. We took our moment and put our bets on this one spot we had spoken to a local about. 24 hours later we were anchored off a remote Tongan island with a perfect left hander not far away. The next few days were spent surfing as much as possible. It was a powerful wave breaking over shallow reef, whales breaching outback and yje occasional turtle surfacing for air. Perfection. On what would be the last day of surfing (for me) the swell really stepped it up a notch with solid double over head waves rearing up from the depth of the pacific. On one of the bigger sets I took off in a nasty set and got thrown by the lip into the flats with the lip piling down on top of me. As soon as I surfaced, with the wind blown out my my lungs I knew something wasn’t quite right.
My diagnosing… Bruised ribs / muscles or a minor fracture! No surfing for the next few weeks, but it was a session I will remember forever!
Sailing Fiji | Nawi Marina
The last marina Nanuka spent time in was Shelter Bay in Panama, some 6000 miles back… to say we were excited for Nawi Marina in Fiji was an understatement. Hot showers, pool, swim up bar… we were ready for some luxury living! The marina did not disappoint. We spent 13 relaxed nights, handing out with new and old friends, but also getting lots of work done befire my friend arrives in a couple weeks. The markets here are also incredible.. after over a year in french Polynesia with limited fresh food available it felt so nice to be eating fresh fruit and vegetables everyday. The little things can make a big difference!
Sailing Fiji | Kava and a jam session
Every bay, reef, and beach is owned by a village in Fiji. When entering you are required to find the village and present the chief with kava root. This is a traditional ceremony which then welcomes you into the village. During the ceremony you ask for permission to use there land, whether it’s to snorkel, surf or just go for a hike.
Most of the time you present the kava during the ceremony which is often a quick and relatively informal process. The day we arrived in this village they had just lifted a self-assigned year long fishing ban to help the reefs recover (what the west could learn from this!). Due to this, they were having a day long kava ceremony which we were invited to. We sat with the village elders and over the space of a few hours drank Kava with them. It was amazing to be part of their local traditions.
The next morning we get a knock on the boat from four younger guys from the same village we shared the ceremony with, including the village headman. They gifted us coconuts and we invited them on board for some coffee.
They then asked if we would like to share kava together, so, in the same ceremonial way, we sat aboard the bow of Nanuka having our own kava ceremony. A guitar was bought out, a bucket for a drum, and a maraca from Dominica. One of the guys was a very talented guitarist and singer who treated us to 5 hours of a jam session. It felt quite surreal to be in the middle of nowhere, kava ceremony on the bow, sharing music and stories together. It was also extremely refreshing to see the younger generation of Fijians with values of connection and preservation. A day we won’t forget!
Sailing Kadavu | Reunited with friends
A few days ago our friends in Isla and pinnacle arrived into Fiji. They were in the marina a hundred miles east and were itching to get back out at anchor and get the gang back together. A weather window opened up for us to head south so we all decided to make the 140 mile sail south to Kadavu.
We spent the first 15 hours bearing into wind and waves before easing and making the final down wind run into the archipelago. Once in the calm waters, we dropped anchor, presented our kava to the chief and jumped straight in to swim with some ocean giants - manta rays!
The next week was spent surfing, snorkelling and relaxing with friends.