The South Pacific

March 3, 2022. 0700 on a brilliantly clear morning in Marina Papagayo. Gargoyle’s new rig glistened in the morning sun and her solar panels pumped power into her newly replaced house bank. Our first crew to join Gargoyle for a passage, Ron from Sydney, British Columbia has joined us in the last twenty-four hours and stands by to receive lines. Topped up with 322 liters of diesel, Carla tosses the lines to Ron and depart Marina Papagayo, our home for the past three months. Our next stop will Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas. French Polynesia and the South Pacific await.

Using the fast blowing Papagayo winds to launch us on our journey, we quickly make 1,000 NM offshore with nothing more significant than a few overcooked chocolate chip cookies courtesy of the captain.  Then day eight dawns and we have our first taste of what can go wrong on a month long passage. Our trusty Watermaker starts as usual but 20 minutes in we get a salinity alarm. Our water coming off the membrane is exceeding the set limit of 750 PPM. After a quick look through the manual, we determine that the WHO has set a guideline that water up to 1000 PPM is potable, so we adjust our computer control to allow water up to 848 ppm to be diverted into our water tank. For now, that silences the alarm and assures us that we’ll have at least 150 gallons of fresh water to drink for the next few weeks. This also means no more freshwater showers, dish washing, etc. Back to the basics.

Having bandaged the Watermaker, we relax and take our afternoon deck walk to make certain everything topsides is good. And it’s not. We find that our gennaker halyard when installed was run improperly and crosses our toping lift halyard before it enters the mast on its way up. We’ve never noticed this before as we have rarely used our gennaker but this trip we depend on it. Unfortunately, it’s hard to not notice the loud sawing noise as the halyard, being moved by the heavy rocking of the boat, saws right thru itself of the other halyard.  Dropping it quickly to sort out the issue we also find our halyard badly worn at the top as well after only 48 hours of use. Yes, that is what chaff guard is for and no, we don’t have any aboard. We leave the gennaker down and pole out the genoa while we work to improvise a chaff guard from old dyneema we have aboard.

We know these things tend to come in three’s (ask Kevin about the day he broke his leg if you aren’t a believer) and as nightfall came upon us we realized number three was staring us in the face. The sunset was directly ahead of us which meant that for the prime solar gathering hours of the day our big sails had been completely shading the solar panels and failing to top off our house bank. To add injury to insult the winds had dropped and our speeds of less than five knots meant our Hydrogenerator was reduced to a trickle charger at best at a worst a drogue as its drag slowed us by another half knot.  Yes, we could run our diesel to spin our big Balmar alternator for a power top up. The issue though was now we were burning pressure diesel for power with over 2,400 nm to go.

Day nine dawned sunny and clear again though with no better winds. After a fast start out of the gate, the wind gods were determined to keep us in the Northern Pacific for a while longer. Note that we had timed our start with a weather window that promised good winds for a week, the length of most usable forecasts. Unfortunately, the normal trade winds had failed to fill in as they had done historically and we were forced to slowly move westward, waiting for a chance to move south beyond the ITCZ or doldrums and pick up the much hoped for trades. As we spent nearly two weeks averaging less than 100 nm a day, our only consolation was that even the mighty Oyster World Rally was becalmed 600 nm to our south.

After nearly two weeks bobbing around in the north pacific we finally downloaded the forecast we had been looking for. We quickly confirmed the forecast trade winds to our south with our weather router Trevor and then fired up our engine to make a 390nm run south to catch a brief weather window. Miss it and we would have to wait for another to form so we had better be at point X in 48 hours or plan to bob around indefinitely. So, for two days we burned our precious diesel fuel and sprinted to catch the front edge of the front that should propel us the remaining distance. PredictWind and Trevor both had us reaching the wind around 2200 hours however at 2100 hours the winds appeared and quickly built to 15 knots. Kevin unfurled the sails and Gargoyle leapt toward her destination on the long awaited trades.

A week quickly passed as the winds blew consistently night and day. We ate up the miles in 150 nm days and were conserved fuel as we entered the southern hemisphere and began to dream of landfall. Sadly, our winds decided to desert us just a few hundred miles shy of our goal. With diesel now in short supply we reverted to a slow four knot sail towards the Marquesas. Our goal wasn’t to sail the remainder of the way though. It was to sail within 100 nm, our remaining range under power, at which point we would motor in the last day. Finally, 30 days and 4,000 nm after departing Costa Rica, Gargoyle had arrived in French Polynesia and the Southern Pacific.

We spent two weeks in Nuku Hiva exploring the island before saying goodbye to our crew member Ron. After 30 days at sea, it was a nice break to anchor and explore however all the anchorages on Nuku Hiva were packed with early season arrivals, so we decided to head further south and west. Setting a course for Fakarava in the Tuamoto islands, a famed set of atolls, we left the crowds in search of open seas.

Winds were light for our passage of over 550 NM but with beautiful clear skies it was a dream passage. Five days after departing Nuku Hiva’ Daniel Bay, we found ourselves lined up to enter the North Pass of Fakarava. Watching the tides closely we made an easy entry and an hour later we found ourselves anchored in what can only be described as paradise.

Fakarava is a low lying atoll with a maximum elevation less than our masthead. Palm trees and beaches lined the atoll which was only a few hundred meters wide in most places. With a population of less than 900, the atoll is well serviced with a protected dinghy dock, restaurants and markets. We spent several weeks between the north and south passes exploring the crystal clear waters and diving with its most abundant residents, the sharks.

Now we’ve seen sharks in most places where we’ve been, and we always enjoy these amazing creatures, but you’ve not seen sharks until you dive the waters of Fakarava. The southern pass is famous for it’s shark dive, which features what is estimated to be 700 sharks lying at rest while the swift current oxygenates their gills. If you’ve never floated above and thru large numbers of ocean predators then we would highly recommend you add Fakarava to your bucket list. Unforgettable.

Finally, it was time to move on as were meeting a friend in Tahiti for a week of diving in the Society Islands. An early morning passage out the south passage and two days of easy sailing later and we were tied up to the famed Marina Papeete, just steps from the busy downtown core of Tahiti’ largest city. After three years away from civilization, the joys of fine French wine and dining can’t be over emphasized. Not to mention great marine services. A Spectra technician was finally able to determine that our Watermaker membrane was failing and made quick work of a replacement. We were now back to full strength and though we love Papeete it was time to be off to host our latest visitor.

We headed out for a week on Tahiti’ beautiful neighbor, Moorea. A short 20 nm sail away, Moorea defies words in its beauty. There we spent long  days doing exactly what we had came for, diving, drinking and dining. Moorea is the ideal spot for all with fine restaurants fand bars all just a short dinghy ride from the anchorage. And the diving was great as the dive boat picked us at our anchorage each morning, making for a perfect stay.

Finally, it was time to return to Papeete to drop of our friend and prepare Gargoyle and the cats to be left alone. It had already been six months and it was time to fly home again to see the parents. With our friend off to the airport, we needed to get a few things lined up. Such as someone to cat sit on Gargoyle as well as watch the boat. Using Facebook, Carla located a local pet house sitter that was up for watching the two furry crewmembers on a sailboat and we booked flights home.

Three weeks later and several kilos heavy we were back and ready to continue our travels across the South Pacific. With the famed Society Islands just an overnight sail away, we headed west towards what has been described as the Pacific’s most beautiful island. While beautiful, we do have to disagree with “most beautiful”. In our book, that title must go to Mo’orea!

That said, Bora Bora did prove to be an easy place to settle into with mandatory moorage fields that were quite well maintained. The Bora Bora Yacht club and Bloody Mary’s provided welcome places for food and drink while readily available provisions, tours and snorkeling spots made this a great place to unwind and recharge.  Too quickly though it was time to check out as our time in French Polynesia had come to an end and our 90 visas were expiring. Net up, Fiji!

1,800NM west, Bora Bora to Fiji is a major passage though seems small after making the run out to the Marquesas. Keep in mind that 1,800NM is your typical Atlantic crossing from Bermuda to the Azores. So, we went into this one prepared for a challenge, knowing it could be a treacherous run. Famed sailing author Jimmy Cornell had the best words of caution for us, calling out the portion between Tonga and Fiji as “…having a reputation as the being the most hazardous of the South Pacific….confirmed by the number of cruising boats that were lost in these waters.”

Two weeks later, having weathered gale force winds, five meter plus seas and having given Gargoyle and her crew a good workout, we made our way into Vuda Marina, Viti Levu, Fiji to lick our wounds and reprovision. We then spent two weeks with our Norwegian family exploring the Mamanuca Island group.

This group, one of nine that make up Fiji, are known for being the site of many movies and tv programs. Blue Lagoon, Survivor and the movie Castaway are but a few of movies that have filmed on the beautiful beaches of these low lying islands. We were able to become lifetime members of the Musket Cove Yacht Club, snorkel with enormous manta rays the size of king-size mattresses and explore a series of caves that included one crazy underwater entrance that no one will soon forget.

Now we are back in the marina repairing all the damage we did on the last passage. with minor damage to our genoa, a torn mainsail, a lost intake ripped off the stern by a large wave and two lost Kindles, washed overboard by a wave that overtook us and filled our cockpit. Not bad results in hindsight!

In addition to the repairs, we plan to take advantage of the skilled labor available here to complete our annual service such as new bottom paint, engine service and the like. With amazing hospitality and onsite accommodations while your boat is on the hard for work, it is hard to imagine a better place for getting work completed. 

October 24, 2022, after a nine-day passage from Fiji, we motored into Opua and the Bay of Islands Marina. Our South Pacific Journey was over, and we were now set to weather cyclone season in what we had believed would be out of the path of the southern hemisphere’s worst weather. Little did we know how wrong that would prove.

Over the course of the New Zealand summer, we would see gale after gale blow through, forcing us to be constantly aware of the nearest sheltered anchorage or marina. In addition, we would see not one, but two devastating cyclones strike the North Island. Whilst Gargoyle would weather both without issue, our hearts and prayers went out to those on land that weren’t so lucky.

In between the storms we sailed the eastern coast along with its islands as well as toured the North Island extensively by car. In addition, we made our annual Christmas trip home, leaving Gargoyle in Auckland and the furry crew in a beautiful cattery that they were loath to leave upon our return. But now it was decision time. What to do next?

Decision Time

To understand our next step, we must journey back to 2017, when we first decided to spend the next chapter of our lives at sea. We had never intended to circumnavigate but had rather wanted to hit the high points. Alaska, Central America, the Caribbean, and the Mediterranean. COVID was the big disrupter for us as for everyone else and that meant not one but two failed plans to sail to the Mediterranean. However, it also meant an amazing season spent in Nicaragua, a chance to visit the Galapagos Islands in near isolation and an unplanned but exceptional sail across the world’s largest ocean.

Our original plan was for three years as that was the length of time our marina would allow us to cruise. In light of COVID, we were provided with a one-year extension however the clock was ticking and unless we wished to give up our shares in the downtown Vancouver marina, we needed to have Gargoyle home by May 31, 2023. By choosing to sail the Pacific for a season, that meant a hard upwind sail back to the East, passing back through French Polynesia, The Line Islands, Hawaii, and a last leg to Vancouver. Doable, as proven by other friends from our marina returning the previous year from New Zealand but did we really want to return to our old life?

As Anthony Bourdain said "It seems that the more places I see and experience, the bigger I realize the world to be. The more I become aware of, the more I realize how relatively little I know of it, how many places I have still to go, how much more there is to learn." This sums up our feeing. We still have so much to learn.

So, in December of 2022 we provided notice to the marina of our intent to surrender our shares. Now we were officially nomads, with no place to return our beloved Gargoyle. We were at the far opposite end of the world from where we still wished to be, the Mediterranean, and we had a very challenging sail to get there. Doable? Absolutely. But it meant a long sail through Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and across the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. The challenge here for us wasn’t the sailing however, it was the distance we would be from home and family.

When one decides to sail away, there are a great many wonderful things that you discover. But one that you don’t hear as much written about is what you give up. You give up time with nearly all of your friends and family. You abandon the responsibility of being near enough to care for sick relatives and you put yourselves in a position where only a few can afford to take the time and spend the money to come see you. In other words, you isolate yourself from the real world and those responsibilities. Yes, others in the family will step up and shoulder those responsibilities but that also comes at a cost to those relationships.

One would think New Zealand is remote but consider the Indian Ocean. We would be looking at travel times of 48 hours with significant costs if last minute travel needed to be booked. Having been sidelined during several family health issues back home whilst we were in the remote islands of the Pacific, we decided that we simply couldn’t be that far from home going forward.

Now the decision came down to sell or ship. We could sell Gargoyle in New Zealand and buy another boat in the Mediterranean or we could put Gargoyle on a transport and ship her. Either option would come with a significant cost in terms of money and inconvenience but that was where we found ourselves. Our decision? Sell Gargoyle.

We proceeded to list Gargoyle with an Auckland broker we had met in Fiji and agreed to leave her on the docks with them to help with a fast sale. So, with that in mind we headed off in our rental car with thirty days planned in Airbnb’s around the North Island. At this point, serendipity or fate decided to step .The first potential buyers were alarmed by cracks in our bilge skim coat, an issue we’ve had since we purchased her, and not a serious issue. Nonetheless, panic ensued.

We ended up having to haul Gargoyle and have her inspected; while out, have that poorly done factory skim coat replaced. $8,000 later (nothing is cheap on a 50’ boat), Gargoyle was back in the water with a bilge worthy of a new Baltic Yacht, yet we had now missed most of the selling season. At the time our Plan B was to continue to sail West, as shipping was so very expensive. So, with time to depart fast approaching, we went to the Auckland boat show for a diversion.

There, as we walked about the tents full of new gadgets, we happened upon the booth for Sevenstar Yacht Transport. Carla joking asked if they had any good deals for us and serendipity came to our rescue. It seems that New Zealand had sold two patrol ships to Ireland, and they were scheduled to depart in two weeks time. If we could be ready, they just had enough room to squeeze her aboard and as long as we could debark in Ireland, along with the other ships, they could give us a huge discount. After a few discussions, we were ready with a new plan and on April 9.2023, we loaded Gargoyle on the yacht transport ship Happy Dynamic, bound for Cork Ireland.

As the ship wouldn’t arrive in Ireland until May 15th, we spent a month in a BnB with the furry crew before departing for Ireland via Amsterdam. Once the cats were officially EU citizens, we were off to explore Northern Europe.