Wilderness Cruising | Nautitech Open 40 blog

I thought I'd learned my lesson, but it just will not stick.  Here's some of our tender exploits; jungle river exploration, lost in dingyy, lost the dinghy, rescued the dinghy, rescued another dinghy, caught speeding, soaked, swamped, flooded, starved, flipped on davits, floated away on tide, forgot to tie on, caught dingy painter in dinghy prop, caught dingy painter in yacht prop, hit a reef, hit a reef at night, dinghy drifting, dinghy drift snorkel, towed snorkel, towed boat to harbour, rescued yacht using the dinghy, and more... One of the lessons I thought I learned through all of this is, don't be a hero!  In the Marquesas, Nuku Hiva has the main port for cruisers. There is lots to see on other islands, but the access to town, plus the large protected harbour, means Nuku Hiva is one of the most popular spots for cruisers. The town has a wharf that locals and cruisers use to tie up. It's not uncommon to see 20 dinghies tied up. Sometimes dinghies can be three deep ...

It was a beautiful run to Suwarrow - the Cook Islands. 6 days dead downwind, fair winds and following seas. We kept our spinnaker up for 5 days, only lowering it when we saw the winds pickup to 20kts. The most memorable experience was watching the night sky. So clear and starfilled. I couldn't look at the sky without seeing a shooting star. Suwarrow is a beautiful atoll, 690nm from French Polynesia's (Society Islands); Part of the Cook Islands, and also a nature reserve. It is also a convenient stop on our way West, only 700nm from Tonga. This means we have two six day passages instead of a two week passage. This is much better for timing periods of favorable conditions, the weather forecast which is critically important for small sailing yachts, is much less reliable beyond 6 days.  We had such a good time in Suwarrow. It is a picturesque South Pacific atoll, and only possible by boat. We caught up with friends on the same route, and we enjoyed the hospitality of the two Park...