Wilderness Cruising | Nautitech Open 40 blog

6th March - 2 years ago Fung and I left Panama for the Marquesas, a 3800nm sail that took us 30days. We did not know what to expect from this long passage, but we had lots of adventure, and even met new friends. One Booby bird joined us as crew for several days, and even helped on watches and sail changes. Fung put together this vid of the fun with our Pacific crew. https://youtu.be/jNK3Z6kAwYk Read our Pacific Crossing 2019 Passage Log here We couldn't imagine that we would wind-up in New Zealand, or that we would still be here onboard Wilderness 2 years later.

October 29, 2019 12:43 PM Day 0 Good progress - all is well, the winds, gust, and waves are all as expected so far, matching up exactly with the ECMF model. Wilderness 19 36.07S 176 02.19E October 30, 2019 Day 1 Winds are now from the South, still matching the euro model. We are heading 247 deg. VMG only 3-4 kts despite 6's and 7's GPS. October 31, 2019 10:02 AM Day 2 Winds back to SE - gusts over 32. Lucky we chose the right reefs. Waves not so kind. We're not on the "milk run" anymore. Wilderness 22 57.56S 172 51.13E November 1, 2019 Day 3 Winds still SE, but are lighter avg. 20kts. Euro model still seems the best. Speeds 6-7. Daily avg. around 140nm. Should be another 5 days to NZ which wouldmean we get in before the nextlow. November 2, 2019 10:11 AM Day 4 This is a lumpy passage - a bit like being stuck on a "pirate ship" fairground ride for eight days. Very different from most of our sailing in the Pacific. We are about half way. Both of us are fee...

The night before our departure for Fiji we went out for drinks with fellow cruisers. Despite seeing they had arrived in Tonga weeks earlier, we hadn't had a chance to catch up. All our earlier plans were a washout for one reason or another. We enjoyed a great evening and were introduced to more cruisers. It was a real party atmosphere in the Tonga main (and only) wine bar . The local DJ was playing some awful 60s and 70s music, but the crowd really enjoyed it anyway. Must remember rule #1 NO drinking the night before setting off on passage. I wasn't feeling great the next morning, but we had an early checkout appointment with Customs and Immigration. I struggled up and got to the customs wharf. It turned out we were not the only ones to have spotted a good weather window, so there was already a queue of boats circling the wharf, even some of the cruisers we met last night. We tied up alongside another boat - also checking out.  Good job we were up early, 30 minutes later even ...

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...

  French Polynesia,    August 9, 2019 6:15 AM I have been thinking of my late grandparent Jean Hewland. The news of her death reached me in Bora Bora, one day before our intended departure for Suwarrow.  Chasing a dream is not easy and not always what you thought it would be, there is a human cost, but it would not be possible without a supporting partner.  Gordon and Jean Helwand supported each other and followed their dreams. They raised five daughters, and retired to a farm in the South African wilderness where they continued to live their dream. Gordon and Jean were each inspirational role models. They lived by Grace and by Faith.

French Polynesia,    June 4, 2019 8:59 AM Wilderness 14 58.01S 147 38.15E We have had an excellent time in French Poly so far. We spent 1 month in Marquesas, and 1 month in Tuamotus, we are just about to leave Rangiroa for Tahiti and the Society Islands, this is only a 200 nm hop. Conditions look good so we are heading out right now. Tuamotus scared us from all the reports we read about the dangers of anchoring in coral, swinging 180deg onto a reef due to passing squalls, and not forgetting the tricky timing of the current in the passes. In reality though we took all of these in our stride, and perhaps we were also lucky, the only squall that caught us by surprise was also the one time we took a mooring. We have enjoyed diving the passes, the and under water life, each time we move diving the anchor is such a joy. We've done well in Tuamotus, checking out so many remote and quiet spots only reachable by boat. Our favorite atoll was ...

March 2, 2019 5:33 AM Wilderness Lat+08.909700 Lon-079.524100 GPS test March 5, 2019 2:05 AM Wilderness Lat 08.484216 Lon-079.943450  Day 0 Vista Mar - Boat and crew getting ready to Jump! March 5, 2019 2:25 AM Wilderness Lat 06.577850 Lon-081.010583 Day 0 Amazing first day. Perfect timing with Spinnaker and then 2nd reef before sunset, sea state perfect! Saw our second red tide by day. By night, no moon - bioluminescence in our wake looks like something out of start trek. Doing 10 kts some dolphins came to play and they lit up as well. March 6, 2019 2:50 AM Wilderness Lat 05.184033 Lon-082.766616 Day 1 Slow day sail in light 10 kt winds. We left the 2nd reef in as stronger wind was forecast. a good decision as after sunset the winds picked up to 20 gusts to 28kts. Wave direction and pitch still good, but increased height and spacing. Lots of stars visible by night. March 7, 2019 5:18 AM Wilderness Lat 04.284250 Lon-084.812033 Day 2 Freezer switch...