Home, Sweet Home, Sydney Australia!

WOW - it's been a long time since we last updated our blog. Everything after our last port of New Caledonia is a bit of a blur. Here's a quick update on what we've been doing and where we've settled.

After setting off from Isle de Pines in New Caledonia, we pushed through some challenging weather and sea conditions to arrive in Brisbane 6 days later on the eve of Halloween. After completing a relatively painless quarantine and customs exercise, we had minimal time to get Lazy Bones spruced  up as we had several interested buyers wanting to view her immediately - great news for us!

A thorough clean-up had her looking as good as new, which the prospective buyers also thought as it only took 4 weeks from the date we arrived to signing the 'bill of sale'.

It was bitter sweet for us. We had poured everything we had into the past 12 months and loved our time aboard but the lure of life on land called and we were pretty excited about the adventure ahead.

What we're up to now:

Megan is back at work for Cisco in their marketing team and is really enjoying it. She's also back enjoying yoga at her favourite studio and has a renewed love for walking!

Mike has bought another Laser and is back dinghy sailing at the Double Bay Sailing Club, as well as crewing on some 'big boats'.

We have rented a great apartment in our old stomping ground of North Bondi, a 5 minute walk to the beach has us looking at the view above. We feel really lucky to live here. After all of the traveling we've done and all of the places we've visited along the way, we both agree that Sydney offers a truly incredible balance of beach/lifestyle/big city like nowhere else.

Though ... we do already miss our time on Lazy Bones!

New Caledonia - Tres Bon!

After what was arguably one of our worst passages to date with 35 knot winds on the nose and short steep seas, we finally arrived in Ouvea, a commune in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France. It lies about 110nm east of the mainland and was reported to have the nicest beaches in all of the Pacific - we'll be the judges of that!

On our 2 night passage Megan didn't have much enthusiasm for fishing given the winds and sea state but unable to resist the lure, Mike oddly reeled in this squid at dawn.

Our on-board cookbook suggested slicing it into rings, battering it with flour, eggs and seasoning it with sea salt and frying it. We whipped up a quick side of aioli for dipping and served it with fresh lemon for lunch. The result was a bit chewy and could have used a bit more tenderising. We'll know for next time but full points for effort!

Ouvea is not an 'official' port of entry into New Caledonia but since it was 'on the way' to the capital of Noumea we couldn't resist stopping off to enjoy this amazing atoll. We took our chances that the officials wouldn't notice us and anchored here for 4 excellent days of rest and relaxation. Worth every bit of risk. It was AMAZING!

25 kms of uninterrupted, white sand beach. Out of all the beaches we've seen on this trip - Ouvea takes the cake as number 1 for beauty!

  We only saw 3 other boats during our time in Ouvea. A cruiser's paradise.

Ouveau is a very traditional Melanesian island, which is occupied by the indigenous group known as the 'Kanaks'. They are quite insular and are resistant to any exterior influences or change. There is only 1 hotel on the entire island and all water activities are regulated - jet skis and kiteboarding are not permitted anywhere. They want to maintain a peaceful and traditional existence.

Wishing we could stay in the Loyalty Islands for at least another week or two, we had to press on to meet our friends Rob and Nicola who were joining us in Noumea for a week of sailing in the southern islands, followed by our final passage to Brisbane.

Rob Fynn was our private safari guide in Zimbabwe when we hired a catamaran and sailed on Lake Kariba back in July of 2012. View our blog post of Zimbabwe here. Being such a wonderful guy who has lived an incredible life and is a fabulous story teller, we invited him to join us for a portion of our trip.

We began with a fast sail to the Baie of Prony in the far south of Grande Terre. It was an old penal colony with crumbling buildings and evidence of the areas dark past is still present.

Another random solar powered phone booth in the middle of nowhere!

 The old prison.

 The trees were literally growing over the buildings.

 Even the dogs were a little depressed at their surroundings

 The building where convicts were sent for solitary confinement.

We continued to an uninhabited island in the Baie of Prony called Isle Casy. A very small but beautiful island with interesting topography and great walking trails.

The resident dog 'Moose' escorted us on our first walk around the island. After we knew our way he left us to take care of new arrivals. What a host!

 Views out over the Baie de Prony.

Outdoor Jenga!

 We enjoyed sundowners with a beachside fire and new friends on s/v Al Fresco!

 What a boy scout!

Nicola and Rob were wonderful guests and really helped with their share of the cooking and cleaning up. We had great meals and great conversation!

We then sailed to the southern island of Isle de Pines for 4 days of exploring. We anchored in picture perfect Kuto Bay.

View of the outer islands from the look out Pic Nga. Only a 45 minute climb to the top but amazing views of the surrounding lagoon!

This is our final stop before we head off on our 6 day passage to Brisbane, Australia where our sailing trip will come to an end...

Whale Videos - Vava'u, Tonga

These are a few underwater video delights which we took while in Tonga. It's a mixture of swimming with the whales, the audio track of a 'male's whale song' and finally some neat footage of the caves we visited. Enjoy!

This is a video of our swim with a mother, calf and chaperone. It's difficult to get a sense of their sizes but they were huge - at least up to 15m in length. The calf was trying to feed several times near the end of the video.

This calf was so inquisitive - amazing!

This is the audio that I recorded from a male whale which was 15 meters below me. The sound was so strong I could feel it vibrating through my body

These are two videos of my swim in Swallow's Cave - a beautiful place in Vava'u which if you time the afternoon lighting correctly is magnificent!

A 'Whale' of a Time in Tonga!

After another tiring 6 day/night passage from Suwarrow in the Cook Islands, we entered Neiafu Harbour in Tonga after sunset. Thankfully our friends on Chilli Cat and Maloo were on hand to guide us through the narrow channel. After securing a mooring and catching up over a bottle of wine and a few beers we were ready for a full night’s sleep.

The Vavau Group of islands in northern Tonga has built itself a reputation of being one of the premier cruising grounds in the world. With sheltered waters, over 90 anchorages as well as being a breeding ground for humpback whales, we were excited to get out of town and explore!

During the months between June and November hundreds of humpback whales migrate from the cold waters in the Antarctic to breed and calf in the Tongan waters and Vavau is one of only a handful of places in the world where you can get in the water and swim face to face with these giant mammals and we weren't about to miss out. As Sunday is a strictly observed day of Sabbath, tours are not allowed to operate so we decided to make the most of the tourist free waters by taking Lazy Bones out and trying our luck with the whales - and what luck we had! After 45 minutes of cruising along, we spotted a mother, her calf and a large chaperone in the calm waters off one of the islands. Not wasting a minute, Megan suited up and jumped in the dinghy and headed out to see if they would be relaxed enough to let her swim with them... they were!

This calf was so gentle and inquisitive! He/she was about 3 meters long.

The calf was continually diving down and feeding from the mother

We spent all morning with these amazing animals. It was truly the most incredible experiences of the trip so far.

Our friends from Chilli Cat joined us as well.

This is a picture Chilli Cat took from their boat - look how close they come to the boats!

Mike was unable to swim with us due to his perforated eardrum so he was our whale spotter and boat support! 

He did get some amazing pictures from above the water!

Other than swimming with whales, there are loads of interesting snorkeling opportunities in Vavau, including Swallows and Mariner’s cave. In waters too deep to anchor in, Mike waited on the boat while Megan jumped out and explored on her own.

Timing is important to enjoy the caves properly. Luckily all of the tour groups had left and the afternoon sun provided beautiful lighting for the thousands of small fish.

Just as stunning, Mariner’s Cave can only be accessed by diving down and through a large opening. Having Charles and Luca from Chilli Cat on hand, provided some great picture opportunities!

Beautiful, uninhabited islands. We anchored here for a night.

We also spent several days anchored off the small island of Lape, which is home to a village of only 26 people. In an effort to raise money for community projects, the villagers host a Tongan feast every second weekend for all of the yachties in the anchorage.

We were warmly greeted on the wharf with fresh flower leis and the hearty Tongan smile of Coolio – our host for the evening. We spent an hour walking around the island while Coolio gave us explanations of how they live day to day. We met several children, saw the school and the simple methodist church and finished with a coconut husking demonstration. All while dinner was being roasted on an open fire. In addition to the suckling pig, there were numerous local fish dishes and a variety of salads. Plenty of food for all 30 of us!

After waiting in the outer islands for a weather window, we set sail for Savusavu in Fiji, which is approximately 400nm. This was THE best passage we've ever made. Consistent winds of 15-20 knots, calm seas and a lot of bites on the lures kept us happy.

 Our very first yellowfin tuna. This fish has been elusive to us until now and we caught two in one day.

 Poisson cru and sashimi were on the menu for dinner.

Not wanting to disrupt our winning streak, we put out a few more hand lines and were rewarded with this huge sucker. This is the biggest bull mahi mahi we've ever caught and our freezer is now full.

We were sailing in close proximity with friends of ours on Bella Via, who were able to take some great shots of us while underway with our spinnaker flying.

We arrived safely in Fiji after a great 3 day/night sail and are looking forward to the next chapter in our journey. Bula!