Apologies for the quiet spell. Lots going on here, but not much blog fodder.
Ho ho ho! It's Christmas Day here in Mooloolaba, Australia. We're the first ones in the world to celebrate (cause of the date line and time zone and stuff).
We're making an effort nonetheless. Last night we enjoyed our big Christmas dinner. We had duck and cake. There was a bowl of green stuff on the table too, but I managed to ignore that in favor of a second helping of cake. Santa came by in his speedboat last
night and left a pile of presents under our decorated artificial house plant. All the stores here were out of Christmas trees when we looked. Since they don't have real ones, the fake ones sell out early apparently.
Now that all the presents are open, we're heading across the street from the marina to the beach for some surfing (Annabelle got a new pink bodyboard).
Light wind all night, we doused all canvas and motored.
Lots of traffic starting at 2300, requiring multiple course changes.
We're abreast of Cape Moreton now and only have fishing boats around
us as the sun is coming up. Next challenge is navigating all of the
shoals as we move into Moreton Bay. Then we will be in the major
shipping channel which will undoubtedly be very busy. Will send an
update tonight after final arrival.
That is all.
Wind has been light. Motoring all day. Sea has gotten a little calmer,
so things are more comfortable.
We're switching watches around tonight so I will do 9-12 and 3-6 so
I'll be up on the approach to Cape Moreton.
That is all.
Wind lightened and backed overnight so we didn't make great time. This
morning it is dead astern and light, so we're motoring with the main
up (which is doing nothing but slatting around...).
Things are still pretty uneventful. No traffic spotted yet.
Sea is becoming a little rougher and a lot more confused, so we're
rocking and rolling a bit.
We expect tonight to be tough because of all the traffic. We may need
to put the other engine on today to keep to our timetable. It will
take us about 6 hours to get from Cape Moreton to the Customs Dock,
and we want to get there early enough to avoid overtime fees. Did I
already say all of this in a previous email?
Thanks to our friends the Smiths, Patrick has given me a shortcut that
avoids a very lengthy tour around the banks in Moreton Bay, shaving at
least 3 hours off our trip.
That is all.
Motored all morning and then the wind picked up around 1500 this
afternoon. We're starting to have to put the brakes on a little bit,
otherwise we will arrive in the dark. We have a full main up and the
genoa is reefed in to cut our speed down.
Sea was relatively calm today. Austin was more seasick than me, for
once! We went through a big squall but only got a few drops of rain.
No traffic sighted so far on the trip, but we expect tomorrow night to
be very busy as we approach Brisbane.
Everything is going well, but we are anxious to arrive.
That is all.
Wind fell steadily overnight and is now down to 7 knots true and near
zero apparent. Motoring with Stbd motor turning for 7 knots but making
6.5-6.8 due to current. No need to rush now, or we will get to the
entrance of the bay in the dark, which will be dangerous.
It's getting warmer, even though we are heading further south. Sea is
relatively calm with a 1-2 foot swell running out of the SSE.
Otherwise things are uneventful. Just the way we like it.
3-hour watches are working out well. We trade off sleeping during the
day as well.
Nothing else to report.
That is all.
Wind has been falling steadily all day. We motored here and there for
a couple of hours.
Flew the spinnaker for 2 hours and then lost it. During a luff it tore
down the whole shoulder, zzzzzzzttt. It went in the water but Austin
and I managed to pull it out before it shrimped or got caught in the
rudders. Not a big deal.
Right now we're doing 9 knots with 11 knots of apparent wind. We have
about a 4 knot current helping us along, so no complaints. The sea is
quite flat and comfortable. The wind is still dying down, so I fear
some mototring will be necessary tonight in order for us to keep our
schedule.
Austin is reheating curry for dinner.
Things have been slow on board. Biggest challenge has been fighting
the sunburns. Austin baked the top of his feet and one knee... I look
like a lobster in the face, despite lots of sunscreen.
That is all.
Wind came down and backed a little al night with the lightest it's
been now. Hoping will pick up again as the sun comes up.
Little bumpy, but otherwise OK. Austin and I did 3 hour watches which
are easier to endure, but the sleep is tougher.
Will check in again tonight.
That is all.
Excellent day of sailing with almost 10 knots average boat speed. We
have 20 knots apparent wind at 110º off port.
Mostly sunny, although a bit cool. This will be the first crossing
where I gain weight. Austin is cooking 3 major meals a day. Roast
chicken and potatoes in the oven now. Although if I keep typing much
longer, I won't be eating my share...
Sea has been beautiful with waves the color and shape of a Hokusai
painting. If we can keep this up tomorrow, we will have no problem
arriving in time for a clearance on the 16th.
That is all.
We are anchored at L'arégnère Island near the Passe de Dumbéa and we
are nearly ready to leave for Brisbane. Winds are forecast as
favorable for the first 2 days and then are supposed to weaken.
Austin and I will be leaving right after breakfast. There is a nice
panettone waiting on the counter.
So far it's a beautiful dawn and the wind is starting to pick up
already. We're expecting 25kts over the port quarter all day today, so
we should be making good time.
That is all.
Logistics continue to be complex, so try to keep up. Austin and I are aboard the boat in Noumea. We're getting ready to sail to Brisbane, Australia in a few days. Sophie and the kids are in Noosa, just north of Brisbane, waiting for our arrival. They are staying in a fabulous beach house that our friends the Smiths have very kindly offered up for the sojourn. They continue to spoil us with repeated and lavish favors. Diana is still in Sydney and will be joining Sophie in Noosa at the end of the week.
The crossing to Brisbane should take about 4 1/2 days and the weather is looking pretty good, at least for the first half of the 810 nautical mile trip. We may have to motor towards the end. Once we get to Australia we have a lot of figuring out to do, first being where to spend the holidays. We plan to make our way down to Sydney during January and spend some time checking out that city which everyone, to a person, has said is just phenomenal.
We arrived in London last Saturday afternoon on the Eurostar, and Sophie's cousin picked us up with her driver in a silver Mercedes. For those of you that haven't been paying too much attention, we flew from New Caledonia to London at the behest of the 
United Nations International Maritime Organization to receive a medal for the rescue we did in Fiji last year.
dozens of different delicacies, mostly in the form of tiny little sandwiches with the bread crusts cut off. These are offered in all-you-can-eat fashion and followed by scones and clotted cream, so by the end we waddled back to the hotel and passed out for the night.
It was quite a treat for me to visit Trafalgar Square, an homage to one of the greatest seafarers ever. That evening we met with Lindsey and Ian from Maritime New Zealand to go over the details of the ceremony on Monday night. They gave us a wonderful welcome and took us out to a great little Spanish restaurant for tapas.
Monday was the big event at IMO headquarters just on the other side of the Thames. We arrived at 4:30 in the afternoon and waited in a hall while the Assembly was finishing up their business for the day. At 6:00 they shuffled us into the assembly room and we realized just how big of a deal this was. There were about 500 delegates from 126 different countries, a large stage with a podium, video cameras and a gaggle of phot
ographers, with a battery of translators behind plate glass above the room. They were there to present the awards for Exceptional Bravery at Sea and a series of certificates to all of the navies that have sent warships to the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia to fight piracy. 
Aside from us, the front row was populated by admirals and CO's from around the world in full livery. They first presented letters of commendation and certificates to various crews of merchant and military ships for exceptional acts of bravery. 
Then our turn was up for the medal and they actually read a long account of the rescue we performed. Secretary-General Mitropoulos invited us up on stage and we shook hands with all of the dignitaries there. 
Mr. Mitropoulos was very generous in his praise and even asked me permission if he could kiss my wife. Once we received our medal I said a few words of thanks, especially for New Zealand–who nominated us for the award and sponsored our trip to London– and the NZ RCC which had been so critically helpful during the rescue, and we took our seats.
The second medal was given to AST2 Abram Heller, a US Coast Guard rescue swimmer who saved 8 people in harrowing conditions off the coast of Alaska. During a severe winter storm.
On Tuesday night we were invited to the U.S. Coast Guard's reception aboard the HQS Wellington, a beautiful restored ship moored in the Thames. Again we met some very interesting folks, including the Commandant of the USCG who, we found out, went to high school in my neighborhood.
Last week we landed in Paris after a 22 hour trip from San Francisco. The extra fun-time was spent changing airports in London during a 4 hour layover, taking a packed train through Paris' less glamorous neighborhoods and finishing off with a taxi ride to Sophies' cousins' apartment. 
We had a wonderful welcome "chez les Tallepieds" who have a beautiful apartment with a close-up view of the Eiffel Tower.
One night we had a particularly eclectic gathering in the Tallepied's living room which included a fashion agent, aerospace engineer, IT consultant, photographer and lighting designer, fashion strategist/guru, and the two of us straight out of the sub-tropics. 
At some point in the evening we realized that Sophie would be the first woman to receive the IMO's award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea, and the notion took off like wildfire. It was still early and the number of empty wine bottles didn't yet outnumber the people in the 
room, but suddenly everyone was yelling and fussing about the best way to get this important news out. 
Within minutes the French wire services were on the phone, press releases were being typed and finessed, and personal networks were being worked. Not sure anything came of the effort, but it was a lot of fun and a bit impressive to see all of these professionals, a couple of them at the top of their game in the Paris creative/fashion scene, go to work on a problem. Almost made me want to go back to work.
On Saturday morning we took the Eurostar to London. What a way to travel! Much more comfortable than a plane, and door-to-door, much faster.
We're back in Noumea from our trip to Vanuatu. It's nice to be back in a marina surrounded by civilization. We must be getting soft. The rest of our trip was exciting, with visits to some wonderful villages, no more fish despite lots of effort, and head winds the whole time, so lot's of slamming into it and lots of motoring, rain, blech.
We left off our story with our arrival in Tanna Island in the southern
end of Vanuatu's island chain. We did indeed make the 4X4 trek to the
town on the other side of the island to clear customs and immigration.
It took about 2 hours each way. The standard mode of transport is 4wd
pickup trucks, and everyone rides in the bed in back. There's a little
wooden bench that surrounds the inside of the bed and everyone sits on
that and holds on where possible. We shared the truck with half a
dozen of the villagers from Port Resolution who were going into town
for market day. There was beautiful scenery along the road and we
passed many pretty, very well kept villages. The only downside was the
pouring rain. Luckily we grabbed raincoats as we left the boat, but
the soaking we got was thorough and by the time we arrived at Lenakel,
were all shivering violently. Checking in was easy and we had a couple
of hours to kill before the truck headed back to Port Resolution. We
found a family cooking on a small fire in a hut and asked them if we
could huddle by the fire to warm up.
Sophie got to ride in the cab with the 2 kids on the way back and I
got to enjoy some more rain in the back. We made lots of stops on the
way back. the locals would stop to buy vegetables from the villagers
selling them by the roadside. They told me they do this in order to
spread out the wealth of Port Resolution's village since they have
more money than the mountain villages thanks to the income from the
yachties. When we got back to the boat we made hot chocolate and all 4
of us cuddled in bed and watched Star Trek IV. You know, the one about
the whales. The kids got a big kick out of seeing the Monterey Bay
Aquarium where they'd just spent several days during our last visit to
the States.
The next evening we took the same pickup truck up to the volcano with
another family of yachties that had just arrived in the bay. It was a
45 minute trip up to the top of the mountain. The last 15 minutes of
steep, rutted road we were surrounded by a lunar landscape with no
plants or animals, just black rocks and sand. Once arrived at the
"parking lot" where there were several other pickups from the various
tiny "resorts" on the island, our driver got out, pointed to the top
of the crater and said "go Left, eh? Not Right. Left is good. I will
wait here in da truck." There were no railings, guides, signs, or
waivers to sign. Now this is the way to visit an active volcano. There
was a 10 minute walk up to the edge of the crater and then we could
see down into the bowels of the beast. It was still daylight, but we
could see a deep red glow down there. After about 10 minutes of
waiting, there was big BANG! and lava shot up into the sky right in
front of us. We'd been told to watch the rocks shooting up and coming
back down, and to get out of the way if one was coming towards you.
Huh. No kidding? The wind was howling, and was blowing the molten
boulders away from us, mostly, so we felt pretty safe. Except Massimo.
His two big fears in life are spiders and volcanoes, so he was
terrified. After three or four eruptions–which really were quite
impressive–Massimo screamed, That's it!! I'm out of here! So Sophie
took him back down to the truck. Annabelle stayed with me and we
waited until dark and headed down after seeing several more dramatic
eruptions. A couple of times we had boulders hurled over our heads and
landing less than a hundred yards from us. When we were on the rim, we
were only 60 or 70 yards from the center of the crater where the lava
was coming from. Massimo still talks about his experience daily.
From Tanna, we needed to make our way north to Espiritu Santo island
to meet our good friends' daughter Coralie and her boyfriend who would
stay with us all the way back to New Cledonia. On the way we had to
stop at Port Vila (the administrative center of Vanuatu and it's
largest town) to finish clearance formalities. We did a long day of
motoring and sailing towards Erromango where we planned on breaking up
the trip. About 2 hours out of Erromango, under full sail and going
8.5 knots, one of the fishing reels sang out. We slowed the boat down
a little bit by taking in the genoa, but with the min up we were still
doing better than 6 knots. The reel kept screaming, even with maximum
drag, and pretty soon there was barely any line left on it. I could
see a fish jumping out of the water several hundred yards behind us,
but I couldn't slow the line down. The reel was literally smoking and
smelled of burning oil. I clamped down on the spool with my thumbs and
finally the line gave way, sending me flying backwards on my butt.
About 15 minutes later the second reel rang and this time we made a
bigger effort to slow the boat down. The problem is that to do that
quickly can be a challenge for 2 people, but I was busy with the
fishing pole, so Sophie had to do most of the work. We managed to slow
the boat and an hour later we had a beautiful striped marlin gaffed
and tied to the transom. We gave it to the village at Erromango and
they were VERY happy.
We spent a couple of days at Port Vila, the capitol and main town in
Vanuatu. We found it very charming and enjoyed smoothies and internet
at the Numbawan Café (which took us a while to find since everyone
told us to look for the "Number One Cafe"...).
After Vila we visited Epi and the East Coast of Malekula on the way to
Espiritu Santo to pick up our friends.
More updates soon, hopefully.
But first, let me rewind and catch up where I last left off.
I believe I was drenched in gasoline from trying to fix the outboard's
carburetor, throwing a tantrum out of frustration with Sophie looking
on mildly annoyed and the children hiding in case they somehow became
responsible for my difficulties. Actually Massimo is becoming helpful
as he learns the names for various tools and hands them to me, saving
trips up and down the transoms and in and out of the dinghy.
So the problem turned out to be a cracked float and a damaged little
rubber boot, both parts of the carburetor. I wasn't able to fix both
adequately. I think the main problem, since carburetors function
through a combination of 20% engineering and 80% voodoo, was that I
wasn't wearing any chicken feet around my neck while attempting the
repairs. Anyway, once we realized on-board repairs were not possible
and required spares, Sophie and I went through the options together.
The outboard is important to us. Without it we can't get ashore easily
(or at all in some places), can't go diving, exploring, etc. It's like
not having a car all of a sudden. We could either have parts flown in
from Australia or the US (there are no Honda distributors in New
Caledonia), but that would take at least a week with customs, etc. We
could spend a month in Vanuatu without an outboard, but it would be a
real pity to miss out on a lot the visit has to offer. The last option
was to pull out all the stops and get a new outboard. The challenge
wasn't just the money, but how to get an engine quickly without
delaying our trip too long. There was bad weather coming and we needed
to be in Port Vila by the weekend to take shelter. We decided it would
be worth trying to get an engine quickly and leaving immediately
afterwards in late morning.
I called my good friend Jean Paul who owns, among other things, the
Yamaha dealership in New Caledonia. It was 5:00 in the afternoon
(businesses are closed), he said he'd look into what was in stock and
asked where we were. I told him the bay we were in–which was somewhat
remote–and he had no idea where that was, despite being born and
raised here. That gives you an idea of just how remote the location
was. I told him we could move the boat to Yaté, where there is a road.
Ten minutes later Jean Paul calls back and says he has the motor we
want in stock (a Yamaha 25hp 2-stroke Enduro–the good kind, extra-
tough, that they only sell in developing countries). He could have one
of his guys drive it down to Yaté by 0900H the next morning with a
full tank of premixed gas. We could worry about the paperwork, etc.
when we got back from Vanuatu. Wow. How's that for service?! Call a
business after closing, and have an engine delivered 1 hour after
opening the next morning in a remote area. I'm sure that if we were
too remote to reach by road, Jean Paul would have had the motor
delivered by helicopter. I'm not joking. (As an aside, Jean Paul just
called me on the Sat Phone to tell me that there's another tsunami
warning. Apparently a volcano just exploded in Northern Vanuatu. So
far so good here...)
By 11:00 we were ready to head out to sea. We were in a rush because
we wanted to get to Tanna before dark the next day and the wind was
not going to be favorable. We started by motoring with calm seas and
very little wind. Now I'll let Sophie tell the story of the crossing
since it was even tougher on her than on me (which is unusual).
Well, let's say that it was one of the most miserable crossings - even
if it was a short one - for me and for the kids. The first day and
night went well but when we woke up the next morning, the sea was all
messed up and the boat had transformed in a washing machine!! The wind
had turned to be right on our nose and it was stronger than
forecasted, blowing up to 20 knots. Not a big deal but combined with
waves coming from everywhere, it was not fun. For the first time since
we started our trip, Massimo complained of being seasick and then
Annabelle and I felt the same way. I was still able to perform my
"duties" but that was painful. What kept me going was to thinking
about the house will have when we come back to live on land! It is
like when you deliver your second child: you keep asking yourself why
you wanted to have another kid when you knew how painful it could be
during the delivery..... never mind, you go through the pain because
at the end you know that it is worth it. Same thing for sailing.
We "survived" and we are now all super happy to be anchored in such a
beautiful place. We got our reward.
Tomorrow we will take a 6-hour round trip via 4X4 to the "town" on the
other side of the island to clear immigration. We're also planning to
visit the volcano here. It is apparently one of the only places in the
world where you can walk right up to an active volcano and peer into
it's lava-filled core. You just need to watch out when it erupts not
to get hit by one of the boulders coming back down.
In the meantime I've been trying to fix the stupid outboard. I found a
crack in the little float in the carburetor, which caused it to fill
up with fuel, which made it not float anymore. That causes the whole
carburetor to flood with fuel, etc. etc. I fixed it by filling it with
an epoxy/ultralight filler mixture and then painted over that with a
special epoxy paint which is supposed to resist fuels (after initial
inspection though, I am doubtful). After putting it all together this
afternoon, the outboard seemed to run pretty well with only a little
fuel seeping out.
We mounted an expedition to the beach and half way there the engine
starts to sputter and cough. We turned around and ran at 1/4 throttle
where it seemed to be happy. Got back to the boat and tore it all
apart again. The infamous little float is empty, but I noticed a
little rubber boot on the carb that was cracked open and that's
probably where the fuel was coming out. I've reached the end of my
patience and instead of doing the manly thing and coming up with
(another) "duct tape and spit" solution, I threw down my tools and
sent an email to my friend in Noumea who owns the Yamaha dealership,
and asked him for a quote on a new motor. Parts for Hondas are not
available in New Caledonia and certainly not in Vanuatu.
Once my tantrum wears off, hopefully I'll find a more sensible
solution. For now I'll return to my pouting. Sophie is being very
tolerant and the kids are a couple notches quieter than usual, fearful
for their lives.
That's today's update.
-MC
We had a good motor-sail with the wind pretty much on the nose for 4
hours. The wind was light though and the water was flat since the wind
was coming from the shore. The weather reports showed that the wind
would be northerly for the next several days, which meant dead against
us on the way to Vanuatu, so we'd have to hang out for a bit before
leaving.
We made it to Port Boisé around 3 in the afternoon. Just as I turned
off the wind to head into the pass, my favorite Big Orange Cup blew
over and rolled down the transom steps into the water. It didn't sink
right away, so I made a lop around where it went in, but the water was
way too rough to see it. I bought that cup in Mexico and, with it's
brother Big Blue Cup which went overboard in New Zealand, it has been
key to my happiness on board. I hate drinking out of small glasses and
I can never get enough to drink unless I have a big cup that I use
throughout the day. Big Orange Cu was probably about 750ml and did its
duty serving up everything from hot ramen noodles, to my daily morning
tea. This morning I wandered around the galley, despondent, not
knowing what to have my tea in. So I found Big Measuring Cup. It has a
1 Liter capacity and a nice handle. It's a little too wide and tapers
outward too much to make it practical for long-term service, but it
will do until I find a replacement in Vanuatu. I think developing
countries have the best plastic tableware since it needs to be
inexpensive but last a long time.
This morning I have to keep trying to fix the outboard. We wanted to
go ashore yesterday, put the motor wouldn't start. I opened it up and
noticed that when I pumped the fuel bulb, gas would squirt out of the
carburettor. This is a bad thing. After disassembling it and putting
it back together 3 times, I finally tried to seal one of the gaskets
with RTV and let it dry overnight. On the positive side, I got to wash
both my hands and forearms in gasoline, so I know they're REALLY clean
now...
Today it's a beautiful day. The northerly breeze is still running, but
we might move to another anchorage a little further up the coast. From
there it's about 220 miles to Tanna, our first landfall in Vanuatu. We
should be able to do this with only one night at sea if the wind is
right. Looks like it will turn southerly on Tuesday, so we plan on
leaving early in the morning then.
Our new satellite system is working wonderfully. I'll write that up
later since a couple of you have asked me for more details. The only
hitch I've had so far is not being able to hook it up with our on-
board WiFi which would allow all the computers to access it and get
email, including my iPhone. How cool would that be, to read email on
an iPhone in the middle of the ocean? The real advantage being that it
compresses email to use less bandwidth, which means it costs us less
to use.
That's it for now. Have a great Sunday (or Saturday, depending on
where you are).
-MC