Category Archives: Uncategorized

Sunday 11/16/2014 22 28.580 S 177 01.436 E http://maps.google.com/?z=7&t=k&q=loc:22%2028.580S%20177%2001.436E Posting by Barb: Winds did lighten up but we have managed to sail with our 160. And it was a beautiful sail with an average speed of about 5.5 knots. There has been very little swell so it was smooth sailing. Becky has been sunning in her bikini all day and Denny was on deck serving us platters of fresh veggies, cheese, salami and olives and then for dessert chocolate ice cream. So life is very very good here on landfall. P.S. We would love to go fishing but have too much meat to finish before landing in NZ.

Sunday 11/16/2014 21 29.833 S 177 13.399 E http://maps.google.com/?z=7&t=k&q=loc:21%2029.833S%20177%2013.399E Posting by Dennis We are sailing along doing really well. We did about 150 miles yesterday. We were on a beat in a 1 to 2 meter sea, with winds in the low twenties. So it was fairly choppy to say the least. Both Barb and Becky were not feeling good at all. but today the winds are lighter and we will be motoring soon I am sure. So life is good here on landfall. ————————————————- Do not push the “reply” button to respond to this message if that includes the text of this original message in your response. Messages are sent over a very low-speed radio link. The most concise way to reply is to send a NEW message If you DO use your reply button, be sure to delete the original message text and these instructions from your reply. Replies should not contain attachments and should be less than 5 kBytes (2 text pages) in length. This email was delivered by an HF private coast station in the Maritime Mobile Radio Service, operated by the SailMail Association, a non-profit association of yacht owners. For more information on this service or on the SailMail Association, please see the web site at: http://www.sailmail.com

Dennis reported to Ella via telephone that the single sideband radio aboard Landfall is ailing.  That prevents him from posting to this blog except on a WiFi connection, which is a rare beast in Fiji.  So there will be no postings for some time, and we’re not to worry.

The report is that Becky successfully joined the boat in Fiji and is doing well.  The boat is in Fiji now.  They’ll try to get the radio squared away while still in Fiji.

— Bill M.

July 27, 2014 – July 30, 2014

17 16.693 S 177 06.235 E

http://maps.google.com/?z=7&t=k&q=loc:17%2016.693S%20177%2006.235E

Posting by Barb:

As we got closer to our planned anchorage we realized we were going to have to make alternate plans. The hillside near the bay were we wanted to go was ablaze and the black soot was everywhere. It would not be a good to place to go. The soot was already peppering the deck. It must have been a controlled fire gone out of control. We thought that it may have been the locals burning the brush to prepare it for their vegetable plantations. But we later learned that they also use fire to scare out the wild pigs which they trap and spear. Well I am pretty sure the large fire roasted many a pig on the hillside.

We ended up anchored just outside the Octopus resort. We were able to go on shore and sit at the bar, enjoy the beach and have a dinner as long as we left our credit card at the office. We did have the $50 three course dinner which included Calamari appetizer, Wahu for the main meal and banana cake with ice cream for dessert. It was another disappointment with a mass meal production taste. Most of the people at the resort were young families with small children and mainly from NZ. We shared our dinner table with a single dad and his young son who were from Brussels. I asked him to speak Dutch to me as I can understand the language (my parents are Dutch) but I found it difficult to interpret his version of Dutch.

People arrive at the resort by Helicopter, the large commercial catamaran ferry called the Yasawa flyer, or by sea plane that simply land and take off among the anchored sailboats.

Of course we had to do another lookout hike. We opted to go without a recommended hike and ended up going through lots of Cassava plantations, scorched land and 7 feet high grassy terrain. The topography of the land was beautiful and it reminded us a lot of the Marquesan Islands. We snorkeled a little and  the reef looked healthy but there wasn’t a large variety of reef fish.

We are realizing that anchoring in Fiji means picking a bay where the land protects the boat from the wind. The bay will depend on the direction of the wind for the day and this could change throughout the day. But there is nothing to protect us from the rolling of the boat especially when the wind holds us a beam to the waves. Dennis will sleep through anything but I end up moving out to the salon and read myself to sleep as I fight the left and then right shoulder roll.  After 3 days of enjoying the resort it was time for our next anchorage and this time we were looking for an escape from the resorts!

Thursday 19/6/2014 20:00 22 23.248 S 178 06.598 E http://maps.google.com/?z=7&t=k&q=loc:22%2023.248S%20178%2006.598E Sailing to Fiji Posting by Dennis We have had a lot of wind these last couple of days. We sailed most of today running down wind in 25 to 35 knots. We did most of it with only a double reefed main. To top it all off we now seem to have a leak in our fuel tank so every couple of hours I have to sponge up the diesel that has leaked into the boat, what a mess. So I know what we will be doing when we get to Fiji. I just hope it does not get any worse before we get there. It is never a dull moment here on Landfall. I should be able to patch it and then have a new tank made when we get back to New Zealand. The list just keeps growing. But we are doing well despite all of this. We should be at anchor late Sunday and be able to check in on Monday. Barb made a great pumpkin soup yesterday and tonight we had chicken pot pies. Life is good!

Tuesday 17/6/2014 06:00 26 19.540 S 178 09.285 E http://maps.google.com/?z=7&t=k&q=loc:26%2019.540S%20178%2009.285E Sailing to Fiji Posting by Dennis We have had a hard night of out here. The wind is not all that strong but it is on the nose and changes direction all the time so you have to constantly be out adjusting things. We have about 600 miles to go but it is slow going when our VMG (velocity made good) is only around 3 knots. Then earlier this morning there was a large bang and one of the bails on the boom had broken so we had to drop the main and make a new one out of line that will have to last us until we get back to New Zealand. Other than that we have been just hanging on for the ride!!

Sunday 15/6/2014 20:30 28 46.708 S 178 15.193 E http://maps.google.com/?z=7&t=k&q=loc:28%2046.708S%20178%2015.193E Sailing to Fiji Posting by Barb I have figured out that it takes about three days for me to re-adjust to being out in the water, getting my sense of balance and getting used to a schedule of frequent naps versus a long night’s sleep. Even the appetite is not the same. We seem to eat more often but smaller meals or more snacks. So I am finally coming around and feeling more like myself. Dennis on the other hand seems to be happiest when he is out on the water and doesn’t seem to need that adjustment time. We have had a range of wind in the last 24 hours from 10 knots to gusting 30 knots. Last night was a squally night which kept Dennis up for most of the night and I slept on and off through most of it thanks to the 2 Gravol tablets that I decided to take. Today was a beautiful day with warmer, steady 15 – 20 knot winds and calm seas so it was a great sail. WE even spotted a beautiful Albatross flying near the boat!! And tonight is promising to be a beautiful clear night with continuing 15 knot winds and slowly inching at 4-5 knots. It should make for a good night’s sleep for both of us!! Dennis and I would like to wish our Dads a very Happy Father’s Day!!!

Saturday 14/6/2014 01:30 32 21.477 S 176 19.720 E http://maps.google.com/?z=7&t=k&q=loc:32%2021.477S%20176%2019.720E Sailing to Fiji Posting by Dennis We are off! IT took a while but we are finally on our way. We left yesterday around 10 am. So we motored out with very little wind into pretty big rollers which made for a not so comfortable ride. After a few hours we were able to start sailing and the wind continued to build as well as the seas. We spent most of yesterday in on and of rain, twelve foot seas and twenty to thirty knot winds. We did really well speed wise doing over seven knots most of the day. Barb was sea sick doing her projectile vomiting over the side. Once we were out here a while she got better. It feels so great to be out on the water again. The moon is so bright that Barb saw a rainbow a little while ago. The winds and seas have calmed down now and we are moving nicely along at six knots.

Posting by Barb:

We have been ready and waiting  at Riverside Drive Marina for the last two weeks for a weather window to take us to Fiji.  It has just been one low after another moving thru. So it appears that we finally have a little weather window to go!! It will be a push to get far enough North in the next 3-4 days to avoid an uncomfortable ride with the wind on the nose. We will do it!!

We love New Zealand and the people here so we will be back in November-December.

Fiji here we come!!