Sunday, 6 May (Day 5)

Day 4 was another productive work day:

Dingy fully functional. 

Sails rigged.

Bilge pumps fixed and tested. 

Anchor Windlass fixed and tested.

More stores & provisions brought on & stored. 

Radar tested.

And more, I'm sure... 

This morning we had a hearty breakfast of potatoes & eggs and papaya. And started getting ready to leave the dock!!

clearing shore power and water, taking ashore our rubbish,

Securing the dingy

Securing the decks and hatches 

Checking instruments 

Checking the steering AGAIN!

Checking the weather. 

And finally leaving the dock before 9 am. 

Currently, we are tied up at the fuel dock in town with nearly fuel tanks of hopefully excellelent quality fuel..   The guys went to do what may or may not be our final shopping trip. (Probably not, we intend to go to the island of Tahiti, city Papete, for last port)

And we pulled off the dock without incident in a nice 10 kn headwind about 1045 am

 Bora Bora bound!!!

Day 2-3 @ the Marina on Raiatea.

She floats! 

The engines run! 

The rudders & steering system work (so far).

We have a main sail.

Things are looking good.

We splashed the boat before midday on day 2 and now sit at the dock in the marina. The launch went smoothly, Jeff drove well, we had coaching and line handling assistance from the workers. 

In the afternoon on day 2 Jeff and the local sailmaker, Henrique, went over to the sail loft at the nearby "moorings" charter facility to sort through their inventory of used and damaged sails for something suitable. And they found one! It's a pretty good fit. The sailmaker made whatever necessary repairs and modifications, and rigged it up today (day 3). 

Meanwhile, Jeff has been spending way too many hours working on the 20hp Honda outboard for the dingy, with little success and less enjoyment. Torsten and I have been chipping away at provisioning and the high priority work scope. 

It is now our intention to put in one more work day and then set sail Sunday morning for nearby Bora Bora. 

The island, the water, the sky are all beautiful.  The night sky is stunning.. I am really looking forward to the night sky at sea. And hopefully doing some snorkeling in the near future. 

La Orana! Aloha!

We made it! The 207 point return plan worked!  LOL

The days of travel, while not grueling, did at times seem interminable.  We triumphed over all the obstacles in our path. (... so far.)  Some of the hurdles were bureaucratic, some were expensive,  some were painful; like saying goodbye, or like nasal swabs. (Cringe)

We met up with our wonderful crew mate, Torsten, in Los Angeles. And spent some of those endless waiting hours talking story and getting better acquainted.  

Upon arrival at the boat yard in Raiatea, we were pleased to see the new rudders, but a tad disappointed at how easy it was to see them... we had hoped that they would have splashed the boat before we arrived. However, she still sits "on the hard." We were also very disappointed to find that they had not removed, inspected, repaired, rerigged the Main Sail as we had asked.  That's going to cost us some time. But we like to believe that "everything happens for a reason" so we will just take these obstacles in stride like the others.

It is awfully nice to be back in Fr. Polynesia and onboard our Hiva Oa. 

Pura Vida! as they say in Costa Rica.

April 25, 2021

A test email update as we prepare to launch once again.  We've been in temporary suspension since our first attempt in November/December 2020 to take possession of Hiva Oa and make the trans-equatorial passage from Tahiti to Hawaii. 

With the countdown clock at just 10 days before our latest scheduled departure (after many cancelled flights and temporary border closures), we finally  received official guidelines for entering Tahiti during this stage of the Covid pandemic: vaccinated travelers from the US are permitted with a comprehensive testing protocol but unvaccinated travelers (including people under 16 years old) are required to quarantine at the government facility for 10 days.  Jeff and I have received vaccinations our children are not yet eligible, as there is no approved dosage for young persons yet.

  Jeff and I considered the options of further postponement 1) of delaying our travel, or 2) subjecting ourselves to Tahitian quarantine, or arranging a  separate travel plan for Olivia and Camila.  We reached out to Jeff's sister Kristen and her family, and they lovingly invited the girls to stay with them in Oklahoma until we return with Hiva Oa. 

Again, as we have so many times this year, we pivot and restart from a new position.  

Spring Break Sail Trip & Olivias 10th bday

 

 

Olivia's birthday is during the school calendar spring break this year. Jeff took some time off work, and we headed out on a sailing trip.  The weather is flukey this time of year and we changed our plans right up until the last minute seeing which way the wind would blow us. :)

Turned out to be another Maui trip.

 

Jeff posted a video of the trip on his facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/jeff.ruoss/videos/10156148628165903/

 

We left Sand Island Ke'ehi Small Boat Harbor on Tuesday morning headed to Manele Bay, Lanai.

 

 

It was a little rough in the Kiawe channel (as expected) and we decided to spend a mostly sunny day relaxing on the shore on Lanai.  The girls and I spent several fascinating hours staring into tide pools. (but I didn't bring my camera... sorry)

 

On Thursday, Olivia's 10th !!! birthday, we headed over to Maui, with plans to spend the afternoon & night at a beach resort... what a treat!

 

 

The winds were light and the boat speed was appropriate for trolling along the coast.  We didn't hook up this time, but it was fun nonetheless. Thanks, Dad for the great rig!

The girls spent a great day in the amazing resort pools, taking warm showers, watching movies in bed, and even a game of night-time lazer tag down on the lawn.

 

 

 

Friday forecast was for light winds, Saturday was for rain & frontal winds. So we left Lahaina, Maui early on Friday planning to make it all the way back (90 miles) back to O'ahu by dark. (And we did!!)

 

We got to see lots of humpback whale activity on our way between the islands.  most of the spouts and display activity happens closer to shore (which I found a little surprising) but out in the open (where we were sailing) we saw mothers with their calves and the daddy-guardian-escort.

 

 

in between the islands we could even hear them! it was amazing!

 

on the adjacent dock in Lanai we met another couple and their guests who had come over on their live-aboard cruiser from Honolulu. They also planned to return to O'ahu on Friday, and we actually crossed paths out in the channel!

 

I took this picture of them.

 

 and they sent this picture of us.

 

 

 

Camila asked Jeff why their boat rocked SO MUCH...

 haha, kid! That's why your dad chose a multi-hull!! LOL

 

Both girls spent time steering the boat, and helping out with the sailing -- we've all come a long way learning how to sail this sweet KaiMana in these waters.

 

Happy double digits to this beautiful big girl!

 



Febuary and March

 

Some miscellaneous fun from Feb & March

 

 

Emily got in a couple hikes with her mama-neighbor-friends

 

 

 

We participate in the monthly 808 Clean-Up at our local beach park

 

 

and hang around after...

 

Camila started spring soccer...

 

Olivia joined Girls on the Run & is training a couple times a week for a 5K in April at another elementary school in town.  This is my view while she runs laps in the rain. 

 

 

or we hang out at the local dog park. 

 

The girls get to chat with K & M sometimes. Look at these beautiful friends!

 

and play at the park with new friends

 

Olivia is still writing stories to share and for herself

 

 

 

and messing with Jupiter.

awww... so happy!!

 

 

 



Lemon Sharks Spring Soccer Picture Day

Jeff volunteered to coach Camila's AYSO soccer team again this season. These girls are a great team and we are all so lucky to have Kristine co-coaching. They are building skills, and having a great time. (and as of today, half-way through the season, they are undefeated!! whoop-whoop!)

 

Camila really loves having her Daddy out there playing with her.

 

Here's why we chose AYSO: Jeff's coaching t-shirt sums it up!

 

ALL players play

All parents cheer

the referees ref

and the coaches coach

 

We love spending our time with these fun girls and their families!