On August 12th, 2009, we sailed to Momi Bay near the Navula pass (Viti Levu) to anchor for the night. During the night a gale blew up and blew hard from the NE for two days. When it quit, the wind went around to the SE and we made sail for Majuro in the Marshall Islands, 1783 nautical miles north. We sailed NNE to near Funafuti then changed course to NNW to stay away from all the atolls in Kiribati. Once across the equator, we sailed direct for Majuro.

 

On the whole, the passage was one of the best we’ve ever had. We were able to carry full sail most of the time. The days were usually clear and we enjoyed warm starry nights with a waxing moon that became full as we neared our destination. Dolphins visited nearly every day and spent hours playing around the boat. We watched a pod of about 20 pilot whales pass us north of Funafuti.

 

But, no passage this long is ever perfect. We had to cross the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ), which is an awful place. For six days we endured violent squalls, hours of drenching downpours, seemingly endless calms and dark, gloomy skies. We made sail changes 24 hours a day to capture every capful of wind we could in order to escape the place. Finally, we were rewarded with a beautiful clear northeaster that carried us all the way to Majuro. There was some squally weather the two days before landfall, but at least there was steady wind.

 

After 21 days at sea, we spotted our destination, entered the pass (in a rain squall) and tacked the 12 miles up the Majuro lagoon to Uliga, the main town. We don’t like to use the engine if we can avoid it, and in this case we were able to sail the entire distance, from Momi anchorage to the mooring in Majuro, without the engine (thanks to Larry & Spike for helping us that last distance). So it was particularly fulfilling to finally furl our sails and hit the bunk in the calm water of the lagoon.

 

So far we have met some really wonderful, helpful people on other boats and among the local Marshallese.