Monthly Archives: June 2022

Fiji Bound Day #02

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Gorgeous day, still light winds and moderate seas. Super comfortable sailing. At day break, time to hoist the downwind sail. We were really close to dead down wind so we used our smallest spinnaker 125m2, still about 1000 sq feet of sail cloth. Without a squall one on the horizon the spinnaker danced and pulled Sugar Shack along in the right direction all day long.

Today the GPSs on board started freaking out, more exactly couldn’t pick up a GPS position. Maybe there are too many starlink satellites in the sky and obstructing the GPS signals? 🙂 There are countless devices with GPS positioning on board. From hand helps to VHF to AIS. Lots of GPS receivers. Also the iridium go! satellite tracker has a device, and if you look at our track lately it looks like we are drawing crazy star patterns with the boat, and going every which direction. So far, I think we are still going in the right direction. :). The magnetic compass still says so. Seems better now, at least onboard, not sure what our predict wind track looks like, but I bet it’s amazing.

As darkness approached, decision time. Fly the spinnaker in the dark or drop back to white sails. We let it fly for a while, then the when the wind threatened to increase we swapped back to white working sails. Slowed down but still a very comfortable night.

Closing in on the 1500 miles to go mark, should break that barrier in a coupe of hours.

All well on board.

[tag Live,Passage,underway]

Sugar Shack has left the Bora Bora, next stop Fiji

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Off to the wild blue and beyond. After 3 great years, time has come to move on. Well we “could” stay but we would have to import the boat into French Polynesia so next stop Fiji.

The weather is going to be light at least at the beginning and wants us to go some 300 miles out of our way to keep the wind flowing. Started down that road, but quickly wanted to tick off some of those 1600+ miles it will take to arrive in Fiji. That is without the extra 300 the weather models suggested we take.

First night is in the books, it was a nice and calm-ish run til the winds got really light and the swell/waves made the sails make a lot of racket. No worries in the morning day light we will fix that and switch out the sails for more appropriate for downwind action. Only a couple of squalls in the night gave us good fun to pick up boat speed in the right direction and only 1 of the 4 actually drizzled on the boat.

Had a nice BBQ chicken enchiladas and rice that would give “Rockin Ruthann’s” from Maudies in Austin a run for the money.

Started with 1664 miles to go as the crow flies, almost like a Flight from Austin to Chicago, only the flight takes 3 hours, it will take us about 2 weeks.

Bora Bora the quintessential exotic location

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Our last night in French Polynesia would be remiss without yet one more trip to Bora Bora on the way out. Since the weather isn’t really matching what the forecasts are calling for we may postpone the departure yet again.

If not we will be under way at sea for about 2 weeks, nothing but water and wind and whatever the weather brings. Here is hoping its nice weather.

We have a nice sail over today, and were rewarded again with beautiful clear waters and a view of the Bora Bora mountain.

I think Bora Bora is one of those quintessential places we have all built up in our minds and the super exotic. Now that we have that covered, Pago Pago next? Or perhaps Bali? We will be sailing past Pago Pago on the way to Fiji, but with the Covid stuff, not 100% we are allowed to stop. One more thing to check while we have internet.