Category Archives: Marshall Islands

Voyage Back to Civilization

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It was time to make the voyage back to civilization.  We were running low on gasoline and provisions after being away for four months. 

The boat was anchored in Alinginae in the Ratak Island Chain.   To get back to Majuro wee have to sail east.  The tradewinds come from the east making this a challenging crossing.

Sugar Shack can sail pretty close to the wind.  We dropped our dagger boards and trimmed the sails.  This allowed us to point close to the wind (38-40 degrees).  Most boats can only point 45-60 degrees. 

In order to sail back to Majuro we needed the tradewinds to shift from East to North East.  

Photo below:

  • The green arrow shows the easterly tradewinds.
  • The blue arrow shows the NE winds.  We can use the NE winds to get back to Majuro. 
  • The black line shows our rumb line from Alinginae to Majuro.

Predicted Forecast and Route

Matt watched the weather forecast for several weeks.   A weather window appeared at the end of January. 

Predict Wind (source for weather) showed a 2.5 day passage with winds at 15-18kts from NE and swell at 2-2.5 meters.

The Passage

It took us two hours to motor-sail across the Alinginae lagoon.  

This beautiful rainbow came out as we left Alinginae.  …As if Alinginae was saying “thank you for your visit.”

Our first six hours at sea were extremely uncomfortable!  The swell wrapped around Alinginae and came from several directions.  The seas became more consistent once we cleared the atoll.

The sun provided a beautiful sunrise on day 2. The waves crashed all over the boat making it a salty mess. We had 2″ of salt all over the boat.

We set the sails, turned the engines off and settled into a groove.

The boat speed averaged 9kts during a 12-hour period.  This was incredible!

What Broke?

The lazy jacks broke in the middle of the night.   This line holds the sail bag which stows the main sail. 

We had one reef in the main sail.  The remaining portion of the main was tucked into the sail bag.  When the line broke, the sail bag fell down and the extra main sail tumbled out.

Matt tied the line to our flag halyard – as a temporary fix.  Then he stuffed the non-working main sail back into the bag.  This work was done in three meters (over 12′) seas and at night.<p>

The forecast showed a direct course from Alinginae to Majuro.  However, we made two tacks after the wind shifted. 

The top red, skinny line is our track back to Majuro. We tacked and headed away from our destination.  After two hours, we tacked again and had a direct path to Majuro. 

The wind direction is displayed on the wind instrument below.  As you can see, we were “pinching” tight into the wind to hold our course. 

Passage Details

  • Travel Time:  2 days and 6 hours
  • Distance Travelled:  412 nm
  • Average Speed: 7.2kts
  • Max Speed: 12.5kts
  • Engine Hours: 4 (inside both lagoons)

Overall, the passage was pretty decent.    The trip was fast, I did not get sea sick, and nothing major broke.

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events.  We made this passage at the end of February 2025.

Did you check out the post on living off the grid for 4 months?

The Abundant Treasures of Alinginae

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We had so much fun exploring the outer islands of Alinginae. We walked 10 islands and found some great treasures.

The first island we visited was Ucchuwanen Island.  Our friend told us he found lots of glass floats here.  We ended walking over 5 miles, searching through the bush, rocks, and debris.

We found one 6” float, one rolling pin, and 9 various sizes of small floats.  It was a big haul out for us!  Read about the origin of glass floats in our blog “Rare Japanese Glass Floats.”

Animal Treasures

A large coconut crab hid inside a dead tree stump. 

These coconut crabs taste absolutely delicious.  However, we let this one live despite our desire to have him for dinner.

A log of birds, bird nests, and babies can be found on several islands. 

I love this fuzzy baby bird.  His mama sat on him to keep him warm and happy.

Remnants of a whale washed ashore on the windward side of the island.  It was a heartbreaking find.  The head, jawbone, ribs, vertebras, and jaw were laying on the beach.

Whale carcass on Alinginae

Whale carcass on Alinginae

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events. 

We visited Alinginae in late January.  Our last blog post has a lot of gorgeous photos of Alinginae’s waters.

The Blues of Alinginae

The Blue Hues of Alinginae

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Alinginae is a relatively small, uninhabited atoll. There are only 25 islands that total 2.8 square kilometers (1.1 sq. mile) that enclose a lagoon of about 105 square kilometers (40.91 sq. miles). Its location has the atoll positioned east to west making it hard for cruisers to go there as there is not much protection from the tradewinds.  We  were the 4th boat to visit the atoll in 6 years.  A true pleasure and adventure for us.

Only yachties get to visit this pristine atoll as there is no other way to get here.

Ailinginae supports habitats and species that are otherwise vanishing from earth. At present Ailinginae’s continued protection is essential for the survival of many species and habitats and related natural and cultural values in the Marshall Islands.

In Route to Alinginae

Our sail from Rongelap to Alinginae was gorgeous!   During the passage, we had 1-1.5-meter seas coming from aft of the boat.  The winds were a modest 15-17kts making this a downwind sail.  We put our large parasail (170 sq meters).  She is such a pretty sail!

A strange thing happened about half way through our passage.  A number of birds circled the boat looking for lunch.  But one strange bird got tired and landed on the boat.  In the past, several birds have landed on the boat and rested.  But they usually land on the life lines or the bow peaks.  Today’s silly bird landed on the mouth of our spinnaker.  He only stayed for 10-minutes.

We arrived Alinginae after a 6-hour sail, dropped the hook and enjoyed a stunning sunset.

Sugar Shack anchored at Bokoryuren Island.  We take the dinghy 3 miles in each direction to explore more islands.

We were the 4th boat to visit Alinginae over the past 6 years. Can you believe that?  This atoll is difficult to get to.  But it is really pretty!

Beautiful Blue Hues

The color of Alinginae’s lagoon are a variety of blue hues.  Simply breathtaking!

The islands are lush and teaming with wildlife.

Our blog runs 4-6 weeks behind actual events. 

We stayed in Alinginae during the last part of January 2025. 

Don’t miss out on the beautiful sunsets and sunrises of Rongelap – read our last blog post.