Author: kerrizane

Dear Friends & Family,
We\’re about 1/2 way to the East Australian Coast and are still motoring in now calm seas and very light winds.
This will all change by this afternoon!

A strong northerly flow will begin around dark tonight and continue for the next 48 hours and strengthen.
This is likely due to the next south westerly coming north from the Bass Strait between Tasmania and mainland Australia.
This phenomenon is what the racers often experience in the Sydney to Horbart Yacht Race that will begin the day after Christmas and it can be a real fright.s

As such, the winds in front of \”the front\”, will begin to build and predictions are for northerly gusts to 35 knots between Newcastle and Sydney.
We\’ll make the final call late today, but currently are hedging our bets by heading toward Newcastle (65 miles north of Sydney Harbour). This will save about 10 hours of exposure to most severe winds.

We expect winds to 25 knots this evening and if we head to Newcastle to check in (alternate) we\’ll miss the 35 knot winds further south toward Sydney.
This may require us to sit in Newcastle for several days waiting the oncoming south westerly front which would be right on our nose!

Last night the seas calmed considerably and the predominant southerly swell is down to 2 meters. Yesterday, we actually saw a few isolated 4 meter (15 foot swells). Without wind of course, it\’s just the big \”up and down\”.

COMMENT: Beach House – En Route – Lord Howe Island – East Coast Australia – possibly divert to Newcastle – decision later today.
TIME: 2016/12/11 19:39
LATITUDE: 32-21.78S
LONGITUDE: 156-17.48E
COURSE: 262T
SPEED: 6.6
MARINE: YES
WIND_SPEED: 4
WIND_DIR: SE
SWELL_DIR: S
SWELL_HT: 2.0M
SWELL_PER: 9
CLOUDS: 35%
VISIBILITY: 30
BARO: 1023.1
AIR_TEMP: 22.2C

02 December 2016 (+11 UTC – Eastern Hemisphere)
Dear Friends and Family,
We have have arrived after an almost exactly 4 day trip.
Yesterday and last evening, the seas were calm with a 2.5 meter (8 foot) and 1.5 meter (5 foot) swell from two different directions, but flat seas.
We motored the last 28 hours as we\’ve had very little wind.

The island is picture postcard stunning. Google Lord Howe Island for some nice aerial views.
The inner lagoon here is very shallow and we were led in by the local Harbour Police boat which was very nice.
We delayed sending this update to see what would transpire with the local Border Patrol and Customs folks. They told us by email that essentially, we wouldn\’t be allowed to do much….Shhh!! Good news…they said \”have a nice time\” and we had a lovely day ashore.

Their concern is that someone trying to enter the country illegally could come on a boat and then just catch the daily flight back to the mainland and not have gone through immigration (who are not here). As such, they looked at my passport, (they know I have a visa) and Nikki has an Aussie passport, so all is well.
Glad that worked out okay! More on this later when we\’re on the mainland.

For now, all is well and we had a lovely dinner ashore and got a little wifi to boot! They have NO mobile phones on this island and it is a bit strange to see people using a phone booth! (kiosk).

We\’re watching with Bob McDavit for the next weather window which may be mid week? The trip is 425 miles and should take about 2 1/2 days to Sydney!

Tomorrow, we\’ll do some touring and we\’ve rented some bikes. We might even do some of the big hikes. Think climbing the mountain at Bora Bora! Yikes!
KIT,
Scott and Nikki

COMMENT: Beach House – MOORED – Lord Howe Island, Australia
TIME: 2016/12/02 00:36
LATITUDE: 31-31.42S
LONGITUDE: 159-03.05E
MARINE: NO
WIND_SPEED: 10
WIND_DIR: NW
CLOUDS: 15%
VISIBILITY: 40
BARO: 1015
AIR_TEMP: 26.7C

30 November 2016 (+11 UTC)

Dear Friends and Family,
Just as we were preparing this report, we\’ve \”seen\” what we believe is a cargo vessel on our AIS system. He\’s going 20 knots and the opposite direction about 15 miles to our left. This is the only vessel we\’ve seen on the trip and I\’m actually a bit surprised to see even one!

We\’ve just hit the half way point and conditions are finally settling down a bit. The first day was really a bit rough and yesterday started to calm.
The big low to our north has moved east and we\’re in generally pleasant high pressure conditions with scattered fair weather cumulus clouds now.
We\’ve also \”headed up\” about 10 degrees, but still a bit shy of our direct course due to lumpy seas.

We suspect the winds will remain as they are for the next 24 hours and then likely quit! (or get very light). The next \”system\” will then be off to our west and give us building northerly\’s as we get to Lord Howe – we hope by just after noon on Friday.

The islanders we understand are Seventh Day Adventists and will essentially be closed on Saturday. We\’d like to get checked in before then.
Still a bit boistrous, but condtions improving.
I saw another very quick, \”Amadon Light\” (morning green flash) today. The horizon was crystal clear.
KIT,
Scott and Nikki

COMMENT: Beach House – EN ROUTE – Isle Amedee – New Caledonia – Lord Howe Island, Australia

TIME: 2016/11/29 21:55
LATITUDE: 26-29.47S
LONGITUDE: 162-10.25E
COURSE: 222T
SPEED: 6.9
MARINE: YES
WIND_SPEED: 18
WIND_DIR: SE
WAVE_HT: 0.3M
WAVE_PER: 7
SWELL_DIR: S
SWELL_HT: 2.9M
SWELL_PER: 9
CLOUDS: 65%
VISIBILITY: 15
BARO: 1011.1
AIR_TEMP: 25.0C

27 November 2016 (+11 UTC)
Dear Friends and Family,
We\’ve moved another 17 miles further south than yesterday and are ready to go tomorrow morning for our journey to Lord Howe Island.
Conditions will be a bit blustery the first 24-36 hours and then should steadily decrease with winds expected from the East.
As we\’re starting to depart the tropics, the weather systems will be more about High\’s and Low\’s as they are in the mid latitudes of the USA and Europe – the southern latitudes of Australia and New Zealand. As such, a bit more challenging weather wise.
We\’re taking along Kiwi \”Weather Guru Extrodinaire\”, Bob McDavit (no pressure Bob!) on this voyage and we\’ll be getting daily updates.
Bob assisted me in 2011 when I departed Auckland, NZ for Tonga. He got it right then and it looks good now…:-)

The trip should take approximately 5 days and 4 nights to cover the roughly 700 nautical miles. This will be our second longest voyage of the season.

We hear that the scenery of Lord Howe Island is spectacular, a bit like the Bora Bora of the Western Pacific. AND…It\’s Australia Mate!
We\’ll keep you all posted with our daily updates which will be in the \”arvo\” for our Aussie and Kiwi friends and before most of you get out of bed in the USA. Mid afternoon tea for our friends in the UK and Europe…:-)

We had a nice day trip here and climbed the 170 foot Amedee Light House, commissioned by Napolean III and opened in 1862.

Next update from \”en route\”..
Cheers and KIT!
Scott and Nikki

COMMENT: Beach House – MOORED – Isle Amedee – New Caledonia
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2016/11/27 03:28
LATITUDE: 22-28.54S
LONGITUDE: 166-27.90E
MARINE: NO
WIND_SPEED: 22
WIND_DIR: ESE
CLOUDS: 100%
VISIBILITY: 4
BARO: 1010.5
TREND: -1
AIR_TEMP: 26.7C

12 November 2016 (+11 UTC) Eastern Hemisphere
Dear Friends and Family,

We had a fabulous time seeing the very active volcano, Mt. Yasur which means mountain of God the local language.
Sulphur, Steam and Ash were billowing constantly in addition to the red hot lava we could see after dark.
We got some really good photos and we\’ll post (hopefully!?) in New Caledonia.

We also went to see the \”Cargo Cult\” of John Phrum (the actual spelling vs. Frum which is usually seen). The entire experience was literally in the dark, but we were enlightened as to what it is all about. There are 14-17 villages on Tanna and the entire island of Aniwa just off Tanna, all believe in the prophesy of John Phrum. What we really learned is that it\’s entirely different that we were led to believe. John Phrum is actually, not a religion. The local religion is called Kastom or Kustom or Custom depending on who you ask.

It is most interesting to see how the US Military has a huge part in this and that the American Flag, the US Navy Flag and the Marine Corps Flag are held in the highest possible esteem. The US Flag has been risen daily in these villages since 1942!

They were most interested to know about the recent US Elections and who the new US President was. They all loved President Obama and wanted to know why he wasn\’t going to be President any longer? I explained to them that US Presidents could only serve for 8 years and then they understood that it was \”the law\”….:-)

John Phrum is said to have come to the islanders in 1938 as a \”spirit\”. He is not, nor ever was \”an American\”. When he appears to the elders in their visions (after a large portion of very strong Kava!), he is said to take the embodiment of looking like a Tanna Islander. He is said to have told the village elders (the current generations Grandfathers) that a great nation, \”America\”, would come to help them. Right at the time of this vision, the Colonial Govt. imprisoned 17 of the Grandfathers for their unwillingness to convert to the Christian Church and cease the practice of \”Kustom\”.

Indeed and quite ironically, WW2 broke out and \”America\” showed up as John Phrum prophesied. When the US Troops arrived and rounded up the last of the Japanese, (something they were also happy about), they also told the locals that practicing \”Kustom\” was perfectly fine and then worked to eventually help get the Grandfathers out of jail! This was done by US service personnel who were of course in uniform. As such, the locals believed in the prophesy of John Phrum and believe that he will return as a man (Messiah?) and the the Americans will one day return and help build their nation. There\’s lots more to it and I\’ll try and do it justice on the main Ship\’s Blog at a later date. Just know that the Stars and Stripes will live forever on the island of Tanna and the entire experience was beyond fascinating.

We were going to head off to New Caledonia today, but the weather was a bit uncooperative. We decided since we were underway, to come to the southern most island, Anatom and anchor for the night. The winds will shift back to the normal trade winds later tonight as a very weak low dissipates and we\’ll be off for the day-night-day sail to Noumea, New Caledonia.
KIT,
Scott and Nikki

COMMENT: Beach House – Anchored – Anelghowhat Bay, Anatom – Vanuatu
AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2016/11/12 04:37
LATITUDE: 20-14.18S
LONGITUDE: 169-46.67E
MARINE: NO
WIND_SPEED: 9
WIND_DIR: W
CLOUDS: 80%
VISIBILITY: 15
BARO: 1010.9
AIR_TEMP: 30.0C

09 November 2016 (+12 UTC Eastern Hemisphere)

Dear Friends and Family,
We had a lovely easy sail all today and last night. We expect more of the same tonight.
The nice current push we\’ve had, around 1-1.5 knots has given us a very nice day\’s run of 194 nm.
As such, we\’re ahead of schedule and will most likely have to slow down later to insure we arrive no sooner than first light tomorrow morning.

Our electronic charts of the area are a bit sketchy with no detail in this rarely visited, out of the way harbor.
Of note, it can sometimes experience volcanic ash from the very active volcano, Mt. Yasar, only just a few miles away.

No matter who your choice is, it\’s election day in the USA and to all our friends, good luck!…:-)

We\’ll drop a position report when settled for our expected 1-2 day stay in the land of \”John Frumm\”.
\”John Frumm\” as in, \”Hi, I\’m John From America\”. This is the land of the cargo cults, created during WW2.
That\’s a whole different story, but for now, just google it. More later….

Cheers,
Scott and Nikki
COMMENT: Beach House – En Route – Fiji to Port Resolution, Tanna Island – Vanuatu

AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2016/11/09 04:01
LATITUDE: 19-00.49S
LONGITUDE: 171-03.70E
COURSE: 250T
SPEED: 7.7
MARINE: YES
WIND_SPEED: 16
WIND_DIR: ESE
WAVE_HT: 0.2M
WAVE_PER: 6
SWELL_DIR: SSE
SWELL_HT: 1.7M
SWELL_PER: 6
CLOUDS: 80%
VISIBILITY: 15
BARO: 1014.3
AIR_TEMP: 28.3C
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07 November 2016 (+12 on UTC)

Dear Friends and Family,
We checked out of Vuda Point, an hours journey north of Port Denerau, 5 days ago and slowly worked our way through the Mamanuca and Yasawa Islands of Fiji. These are the two most Western groups of the chain and along with the Lau (most Eastern group) are the most remote. However, this is the area where most of the tourists who go further a field tend to visit; mostly by ferry. The trip is usually only several hours for the high speed boats and departs from Port Denerau. A few days before we left the main island of Viti Levu, we rented a car and drove 3 hours each way to Suva, the nations Capitol. Photos will indeed follow.

Our first stop after departing Vuda Point, was Musket Cove on Malololailai where we spent the night. Just before we left we caught up with friends Rijnhardt and Lisa Keets of \”Enchanter\” and Johnnie Sernberg of \”Laros\”. His lovely wife Debs is still back in Australia and will join him when he arrives in NZ in a month or so.
After our visit ashore as \”party island\” aka: Musket Cove, we left the next morning for the island of Monuriki which is where the film \”Castaway\” with Tom Hanks was made. We brought our own version of \”Wilson\” and took lots of photos. Yes, we will eventually post the photo blogs!

En route to our next stop, the island of Waya, we were stopped by Fijian Customs and Immigration who were on a small dive boat. They had been following us (apparently) all day! When they came aboard, they asked if we knew a \”Mr. Bushman\”, that would be Scott Bushman and was he aboard? We told them no and that no and that no one had been aboard since we left Vuda Point. They further said, that the someone at Musket Cove had reported that he had come aboard our boat! We told them in no uncertain terms that no one had come aboard our boat. They asked why we had stopped at Mana Island? We told them we hadn\’t and showed them the track off our chart plotter which clearly showed that we had gone past Mana Island en route to Monuriki. We did however speak to some friends there on the radio (s/v Tactical Directions – Tony and Karen). I asked who Mr. Bushman was and was told that it was a matter of \”National Interest\”. Eventually, they seemed to think they were on a wild \”Bushman\” chase and departed, this after they thoroughly looked through the boat, our passports and papers. They went back toward Musket Cove and we continued en route to our next stop at Waya-Sewa where we spent the night. Glad they didn\’t seem interested in where we were going, as technically, we\’d checked out! The problem is, to see the \”outer islands\” and return to Vuda Point would be an extra 125 miles of travel and cost us two days. The Bushman story will just have to remain a mystery!

We next went up to the island of Nanuya-Sewa where I had departed Fiji from 5 years earlier with Anja Cierceski. Here, we met up with recent acquaintances Alan and Patricia off sailing cat, \”Nauti Nauti\” from Wisconsin. The four of us had dinner ashore as it was Nikki\’s birthday! I surprised her with a pearl necklace she loved when we were in Papeete and she was thrilled. I\’d been hearing about how she longed for that necklace for the last several months and successfully looked sheepish and bit my tongue for weeks!…:-)

Our next stop would be the \”Blue Lagoon\”, also famous for the film by the same name starring Brooke Shields. Here, at the island of Sawa-I-Lau is a lovely grotto with a pool inside the mountain. With a short underwater swim, I was able to enter the \”spitting cave\” and the two chambers of the \”Pregnancy Cave\”. More on those in the photo blog. Nikki took a pass on the swim and had a lovely walk about the island.

Our last stop would be Champagne Beach where the film, \”Contact\” with Jody Foster was filmed. If you recall the ethereal \”off world\” scene on the beach where she spoke with the Alien played by David S(?) sorry I can\’t remember his last name – this was that beach.

As Nikki and I were a bit tired, we spent an extra day and departed this morning in a steady rain for the island of Tanna where we will try and do a visit to one of the worlds most active volcanos. You can walk right up to within 100 yards of the boiling lava. Of course, photos will be posted (eventually!). The www.svbeachhouse.com homepage has one shot of this in the splash screen – lava shooting up from September of 2011.

For now, we\’ve just checked in to the Pacific SeaFarers\’ Amateur Radio Net and are motoring along for the expected 3 day trip to Resolution Bay. We hope to be under sail within the next several hours as the wind is expected to fill in from the SE.

We\’ll only be there one or two days before heading off to New Caledonia. The season is getting old and technically, the Cyclone (Hurricane) season here has begun.
The further Southwest we get, the generally less of an issue that should be.
KIT,
Scott and Nikki

COMMENT: Beach House – En Route – Champagne Beach, Yasawa Island Fiji to Port Resolution, Tanna Island, Vanuatu
AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2016/11/07 03:40
LATITUDE: 16-55.54S
LONGITUDE: 176-52.62E
COURSE: 249T
SPEED: 6.1
MARINE: YES
WIND_SPEED: 7
WIND_DIR: SE
SWELL_DIR: NE
SWELL_HT: 0.5M
SWELL_PER: 7
CLOUDS: 100%
VISIBILITY: 25
BARO: 1012.4
TREND: -1
AIR_TEMP: 28.3C
————————————————-
Do not push the \”reply\” button to respond to this
message if that includes the text of this original
message in your response. Messages are sent over a
very low-speed radio link.

The most concise way to reply is to send a NEW message
to: WDB5638@sailmail.com
If you DO use your reply button, be sure to delete
the original message text and these instructions
from your reply.

Replies should not contain attachments and should be
less than 5 kBytes (2 text pages) in length.

This email was delivered by an HF private coast station
in the Maritime Mobile Radio Service, operated by the
SailMail Association, a non-profit association of yacht
owners. For more information on this service or on the
SailMail Association, please see the web site at:
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