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October 28th We thought we had seen every navigational hazard imaginable on this trip, but when just outside Penuba Island, another surprise awaited us when we read on the chart “Danger. Minefield. Restricted area”. The area covered a five mile wide area and there was a recommended very narrow channel right down the middle for boats. This is when you

October 10th, 2018 The south east trades that have brought us faithfully this far, have now disappeared and we have entered the north west monsoon (rainy) season. This brings thunder storms and torrential rain and no steady wind to sail by.  We are now in the South China Sea, and from here on it will be less sailing and a

October 4th The large island of Borneo is divided into 3 countries, Malaysia, Brunei and the Indonesian area of Kalimantan which comprises 73% of the island. We were headed for Kumai, a large city situated 15 miles up the Kumai River in south Kalimantan. We had a good overnight sail to the delta entrance to the Kumai River, but we

K0MODO ISLANDS September 7th.  We sailed to Rinka Island, one of the Komodo Islands in Indonesia, home of the famous Komodo Dragons. Our cruising guide mentioned that the dragons are the most active and scary early in the morning so we  were ashore by 0600 hrs. These dragons are not in captivity, they are not fed by the wardens on

On leaving the anchorage at Banda a large humpback whale swam up to Mai Tai, did a full, slow 360 degree roll just metres from the boat as if to wish us a safe passage to our next destination. Very special. BURU ISLAND Our 2-night, 3-day passage to Buru Island, was uneventful but we were on constant watch for the

TUAL to BANDA NAIRA Our short visit in Tual, Indonesia, was mostly taken up with the country check-in process.  After the officials were satisfied we were issued the final gold embossed, stamped certificate allowing us to continue cruising their waters. Meanwhile we hired a local agent to assist us with buying diesel. There are no fuel docks so we had

“The cruising life is not always a leisurely Sunday afternoon, but it is Never a Monday morning” We arrived safely in Indonesia after 18 days at sea, 2520 nautical miles, 1 ocean (Pacific), 3 seas (Tasman Sea, Coral Sea, Arafura Sea), and the Torres Strait.  No Dramas, no breakages, nothing fallen off. Fantastic passage.  Boat and crew all well and

WEDNESDAY 27TH JUNE Yesterday was freezing cold and stormy in the Bay of Islands. I thought this was the winterless north! We joined the crews of 2 other yachts at customs, also checking out today. At the fuel dock we topped up with 60litres of fuel and at 1100 we motored out of the Bay of Islands to begin our

Lane: Well sometimes, no matter what you do, things just don’t want to fall into place. That is what happened to us as some of you noticed on the FindShip app. We had finally checked out of New Zealand and were so happy and excited to be on our way. The winds were favourable and we were speeding along the

We were so lucky to have had our problems with the prop and engine while we were still in New Zealand waters! What a mess it would been if we were somewhere in Asia or Sri Lanka. We were able to haul Mai Tai out at the boat yard in Opua two days after we arrived in the Bay of