We sailed southwest from Fatu Hiva and headed to the Tuamotu Islands, a chain of French Polynesian atolls (tiny reef islands with a lagoon in the middle) where most islands are uninhabited and the tallest thing on the island is a coconut tree. The Tuamotus are known for being dangerous sailing because of their size and lack of altitude (we wouldn’t even see the island until we were practically on top of it), the strong currents and waves that govern the passes in and out of the lagoons, and for their exposure to the wind and waves. This was a navigational and sailing challenge for even the best of sailors! We’d timed our departure to arrive at Manihi during the daylight hours and catch the tide at the right time to enter the pass, but because of the unexpected strong winds we sailed too fast and arrived in the middle of the night. We couldn’t see a thing in the dark and big waves were cresting all around us and on the shore. There was no way we could land safely. Even Plan B – Ahe, the next island 15 miles along – was ruled out because the timing was still wrong and the wind and waves were still too big. We just had to keep on going. Bummer. The best laid plans always manage to go awry when it comes to sailing... somehow our quick overnight 90-mile hop to Manihi ended up being a long bumpy 600-mile sail to Rangiroa.

The Marquesas are the quintessential exotic land far far away. There are maybe a few hundred people on each island, one or two villages, and the requisite church. There’s just one shop and lots of fruit trees. There are ancient petroglyphs, tiki carvings, incredibly tattoed people, and waterfalls streaming through valleys. There are children all around, saying “bon jour” as you pass, and dogs and chickens roaming the streets. Half of the population in French Polynesia is under the age of 15. I guess that when people are well-fed, happy, Catholic, and have lots of time on their hands, they naturally just procreate.

Urios sailed west from the Galapagos on a cloudy windy Sunday afternoon with tanks full of fuel, gallons of drinking water and a ballast of canned food. It was the Vernal Equinox, March 21, 2004, 1:00pm. That’s where we made our first mark on the navigational chart as well as began the countdown to landfall. Given the distance that we were going to cover and the scale, our entire trip didn’t fit on one chart. It would be at least two weeks between our last mark on the Galapagos chart and when we showed up on the chart of French Polynesia.

How long would it would take us to travel the 2,958 miles across the Pacific Ocean to the Marquesas? We had no idea. Depending on how well our navigation strategy panned out (we chose to sail in as straight a line as possible to the Marquesas and put our faith in the Tradewinds rather than sail out of the way to find more wind), it could either be Easter (April 11) or Memorial Day (May 31) or anytime in between! Hiva Oa was definitely just an exotic name and faraway place at this point.

... blue-footed ones, masked ones, and red-footed ones too! I love adorable baby sea lions and even ugly scaly marine iguanas. The Galapagos Islands will do that to you - turn anyone and everyone into a nature lover and a fanatic with a camera.

Martial, Gregory and I boarded Sulidae a couple of days ago for a cruising tour of the Galapagos Islands. The National Park Authorities regulate the tourism to the islands so this is the only way to go to actually see the islands and the animals - on an official boat and with an official guide. Sulidae is a 104-year old Danish wooden sailboat with such character - we felt like we were on a pirate ship! After seeing all the glaringly shiny white cruise ship type boats around the marina that carried anywhere from 20-100 passengers (and mostly retirees it seemed), we were so happy to be on the boat that we were on - nine guests in total, all under the age of 35, a boat with history and character, and a great crew. What a treat to have a guide that tells you about everything you´d want to know about the islands and the animals, to have a chef cooking amazingly yummy fresh meals, to have someone else drive the dinghy, to have no worries about wind and weather, to have someone make your bed each day, and to not have to do dishes! Every day consisted of touring an island, taking pictures, snorkeling, afternoon naps, and great meals around a big table. Gregory, Martial and I all felt like we were on a vacation from our vacation!

A moth fluttered by me during my morning watch... a sure sign that land was near. I looked up and saw the shadow of an island and two sea lions playing in the ocean behind us. I’d just laid eyes on the Galapagos Islands!

We sailed out of Panama with a sense of excitement, of finally getting back to sailing and the open waters again. Panama was as interesting a place as we could have wanted to lay over in for three weeks, but I think we were all a bit eager to get to the next destination and away from painting boats and chasing down rudders. We enjoyed our stay but we were antsy to get going! One of the most interesting things about Panama is that it becomes a natural layover spot for sailboats coming and going to/from both oceans, and you get to meet lots of great people as a result. Mark and Lisa are a young Canadian couple sailing to New Zealand. It’s always nice to meet sailors our age out at sea because sailors under the age of 60 for some reason are somewhat a rare occurrence. We’re hoping to keep up with them and vice versa along the way. Ahhh technology! I’m amazed at how easy it can be with a satellite phone and email – they left for the Galapagos a week before us and we’ve already heard that they caught five fish on the way! Stephen and William are two young guys on their way from Brittany to San Francisco. For you San Franciscoans, keep an eye out for “Folalier” to sail under the Golden Gate sometime in June. They are a couple of fun and crazy Frenchmen (hence the name of their boat?), so no doubt their presence and arrival will be known. “Independence” from the Cayman Islands was on its way back to New York after cruising up to and around Alaska for two years, and “Kiahlana” from Hawaii was just sailing around the world without a plan – they literally didn´t know yet if they were turning left or right when they got out of the harbor. Jorgen, a Swedish sailor on the sailboat “Anna,” has been at sea for 25 years and recommended that we stop over in Las Perlas on our way out of Panama. He told us exactly where to go and the exact coordinates to get there – Isla del Rey, one of his Top Ten anchorages of all time. Given his many years at sea and who knows how many anchorages in amazingly beautiful surroundings, we knew that this was a must-see!

Aaaahhhh Panama. You would have thought that after the exhausting craziness of the last four days and our cumulative sleep deprivation, that we would have just picked a dry shady spot on the boat and crashed. Not the case. First of all, my bed was still wet from the first wave and had become the communal depository of all things damp and stinky. Secondly, it was too blazing hot out. Thirdly, there is usually a lot to do when you first arrive in a new country and port between immigration and checking-in with the yacht club, getting water and electricity, finding a real bathroom, and then taking that extraordinary first shower in 8 days! And finally, there was so much cleaning and drying and fixing and “putting things back” to do that we were ready to get the boat back to normal. Petra and I scrubbed and wiped and disinfected every crevice inside the boat because there seemed to be stale salty water in every crevice inside the boat. The food in our Dry Food locker (pasta, rice, etc.) was floating in murky water. The salt water melted the labels right off the cans in our Canned Food locker. The spices in our Spice cabinet were covered in spilled fish sauce. We ran out of space on the lifelines for all the pillows and coats and clothes and cushions that needed air.

This is a story that I should probably only tell after I´m home so that my mother doesn´t worry that I´ll be sailing for another few months (don´t worry Mom!). But, it´s a pretty vivid memory and was a very intense experience, so I wanted to share it while it was still fresh in my mind. This blog is probably a bit long, and maybe a bit dramatic, but it´s how I remember it happening. So, here it goes...

It’s a bit surreal to think back to what happened to us out there, especially now that we made it safely to Panama. It’s almost like it was a dream, except that it actually happened. By sailing standards it wasn’t the Perfect Storm, it just felt like it...

I waved at the dock with one hand and pulled our bowline free from the mooring with the other... It was Wednesday, February 4th and we were leaving the Caribbean and headed west. There were tears in my eyes as JB waved back from the dock and finally turned away and walked off with his backpack on his back. After three adventurous months at sea, JB was going back to his real world. UNICEF was calling and he would probably be headed to Myanmar (Burma) soon. Selfishly, we would miss his presence and quick wit on Urios, but JB will do great things for children in Myanmar. And now there were just three of us sailing the 1,200 miles across the Caribbean Sea to Panama.

I left a cold New York City on December 29th and headed south to the West Indies, where winter days are blazing hot and sunny and there is no shortage of palm trees and beaches. I walked out of Customs into the Antiguan island sun and there were two tan dashing young French men waiting for me… a sure sign that this would be the start of an amazing experience!

Greetings from somewhere near 15.52N and 61.35W! I’ve been island hopping in the Caribbean for over a month now and could not dream of doing anything but what I’m doing now. New friends, hot sunny blue sky days, beautiful islands, sailing, interesting conversations and funny stories, the pace, and daily life on a sailboat have all exceeded any expectations I may have had. I’m having the time of my life and at this rate I may never get off the boat…

Exactly three months to the day that I got on a plane to Fiji, I was on my way back to Los Angeles. I’ve experienced so much in those 3 months. Lots of people have asked about my favorite thing about the trip so far. I think back to all that has happened and it’s hard to single out one experience that stands out above the rest – everything has been so different and so special in its own way. There were 4 countries, 2200 nautical miles, lots of planes, trains and automobiles, awesome sights, amazing experiences, and a slew of new friends along the way.

If I had to pick out one story that really affected me though, I think it’d be this one: