As we worked our way westward through Indonesia we found ourselves approaching Komodo National Park, home of the Komodo Dragons. I was feeling pretty skeptical about this. If you had asked me at age 10 to name the greatest mall, planet, comedian, and lizard, I would have answered: West Edmonton, Planet Pluto, Bill Cosby and the Komodo Dragon. So… Let’s get this over with. We were pretty exhausted when we dropped our anchor in Komodo Bay after a 48 hour…
Mandolyn has arrived in Indonesia! After 4 days at sea, we arrived feeling snackish. Ever since leaving Mexico we’ve been trying to recapture the glory of affordable and delicious cuisine. Indonesia held promise, but before we could begin our search we’d need permission from the biosecurity department to go ashore. Around 11am on the day we arrived we picked up a team of health officers in our dinghy and brought them aboard Mandolyn for an inspection. I need to mention…
In 2016 we had a 31 foot sailboat named Sonrisa, and a home built plywood dinghy named Willis. At age 5 West made the following observation to Sarah, which we recorded for posterity: “Mom, Sonrisa and Willis are like you and me. A big lady, and a little boy.” How things have changed! West is now taller than Sarah. Sonrisa and Willis have been replaced by Mandolyn and Portimer. Mandolyn is beautiful and strong, she’s carried us halfway around the…
After 10 days at sea, Mandolyn has arrived in Australia! Do you come from a land down under? My sister Erika has often warned me: “Never take your kids to Australia. They’ll be lured in by those sexy Australians, and you’ll never see them again.” Where women glow and men chunder I think my kids are young enough that we don’t have to worry just yet, but I’m familiar with the threat. In my twenties I lost three friends to…
We sailed to Vanuatu! We entered the harbour just after midnight on May 23 and dropped our anchor by moonlight. It was the next morning before we got a look at our surroundings. The day was grey and drizzling. Thermal vents around the shoreline spouted plumes of steam which clung to the lush slopes above. Fishermen in crude dugout canoes paddled slowly around the bay. My passage-fuzzy brain took a while to process all of this. Where are…
On May 3 we arrived in New Caledonia, a French territory in Melanesia. We docked in the capital city of Noumea on a Friday afternoon, cleared customs, and walked into town in search of french baking. We were pretty excited to get back to a country that takes the baguette seriously. This whole country is shaped like a baguette, so our expectations were high. Most of the shops were closed on that first Friday evening, but we found a 24…
They say that sailing out from New Zealand is easier than sailing in, but it’s still intimidating. As we contemplated our passage to Vanuatu, Sarah experienced her usual pre passage weather anxiety, while I struggled with my personal phobia of never seeing affordable cheese again. With each provisioning run to the grocery store I’d ask her nervously, “Maybe we should get one more brick, just in case?” She would respond by ignoring me while staring at weather models on her…
Yikes, 4 months in New Zealand and no blog posts. Let’s get right down to business and address some frequently asked questions: Do they have bacon bits in New Zealand? No, there are no bacon bits here. But what do people put on their perogies!? Brace yourself… There are no perogies here either. !!? How’s the pie situation? Robust! Pies are plentiful, affordable and delicious. They’re mostly filled with meat, so you need to be thoughtful when choosing an ice…
Twenty years ago Sarah and I sailed from Fiji to New Zealand aboard the hundred foot tall ship Alvei. We knew nothing about sailing and nothing about this passage. By the time we got to New Zealand I felt like Ferdinand Magellan. Shortly after arriving we described our accomplishment to some other sailors on the docks. “You took 21 days!?”, they exclaimed in disbelief. Aye matey! We beamed like old sea dogs. Is that… pretty fast? It turns out 21…
“Bula!” On a dirt road in the Fijian countryside, we all freeze. Where’d that come from? A bula must not go unacknowledged. There… waaaay over there, across a field, is a construction worker with his arm raised in greeting. “Bula!”, we shout back with a wave. Fijians are the most salutationary people that we have encountered. We’ve received a bula out of dense jungle with no identifiable source to be seen. And a wild cheering bula from an entire busload…