Author: sailawaysarantium

Cleaning, organizing and tossing odds and ends, and I’m packed and Tony will take me to the airport by boat! My journey home begins!

Last night, I had the pleasure of getting to know SV Ora and its owner Pascal from New Caledonia! Ora is a catamaran, bought in Martinique in the Caribbean. We shared some French Polynesian Rum and exchanged life stories. His story is similar to mine! Different countries, different people, different years, but similar journeys, past, present and future plans! This is what sailing is all about: meeting interesting people in beautiful places!

Today, I’m packed for 6-7 months of traveling; hiking boots, backcountry ski boots and flipflops!

First stop is Rangiroa for one night!

Quick flight to ….

Well signed little town!

Since I was starving I decided to return to the airport as I saw that they had a snack bar and all the other restaurants in town didn’t open until 18.00 and check in was still hours away!

As soon as I sat down, one of the employees came over to enquire about my flight. I said “oh it’s not until tomorrow and I just needed something to eat!”. He said “do you want to go to Tahiti today? Heck yeah! When does it leave?”… “in 45 min”… so now I’m in a pretty nice resort in Papeete with swim up bar, infinity pool and a bottle of wine!!! Nothing Not Nice was not available. Touché!

Best part…

The things I missed.. a bathtub with fresh water!

I was hanging on the beach, when the owner of the boat yard, Alfred, yelled “go fishing?”! I jumped to the opportunity and off we went!

Later on I figured he just wanted someone to do the fishing while he drove the boat in between the reefs! I learnt a few things! They trawl in between the corral reefs to lure the fish out and when they bite, you got to reel in fast, otherwise they go back into the reef and it’s hard to get the fish out with the line caught in the corral. That was lesson number one…

Lesson number two: only catch certain fish in the atoll. The bass here in Apataki has Ciguatera. “Ciguatera Poisoning (CP) is a seafood poisoning highly prevalent in French Polynesia. This illness results from the consumption of seafood contaminated with ciguatoxins (CTXs) produced by Gambierdiscus, a benthic dinoflagellate.” From What I understand is that fish get it from eating food from the corral. We threw two Bass back into the water, as they are “no good” here in Apataki. Alfred also told me that in Tahiti the bass is ok to eat!

I ended up catching ten snappers while Alfred navigated the boat!

In my poor French and Alfred’s poor English, we managed to have a few conversations! Alfred and Pauline came here in the early 2000. This used to be a pearl farm, but Alfred and Pauline turned it into a bit of a agricultural farm. They grow a ton of veggies and fruit to go along with their pigs and chickens.

In 2009 a British sailboat arrived and asked if they could haul their boat up, as they needed to fix their hull, and refuge from cyclone season. Alfred kind of laughed and said no… but there was a seed planted… a boat yard!!! Why not! Now they haul out 50-60 boats a year, many of which are regulars…

This must be a very lucrative business. They also offer a ton of services, plumbing, fiberglassing, painting, just to mention a few. As I’ve mentioned before, their son, Tony, runs the boat yard with 4 workers and Pauline the office. Alfred mostly run the farm!

Anyhow, my time here in the boatyard is almost over. Tony will shuttle me to the airport on Friday to start the journey to Portsmouth and London, via Papeete, Auckland and LA!

Can’t wait to see my daughter and her partner, who just got engaged! Looks like there will be a wedding next August in England💕

…. getting shit done. My bilge pump needed some TLC as it would turn on (great) when needed, but wouldn’t shut off. So i have been manually having to pull the fuse to turn it off. Today I decided to pull up the float switch and the bilge pump to see what the problem was… a real shitty job, as it is far down into the bilge and the metal bar attached to it was fasten behind the raw water strainer. When I finally got it out (with some online help from Kevin, who knows EVERYTHING about Island Packets), I discovered that the float switch (black) was so full of dirt and sludge which was why the float switch was getting stuck and bilge pump not turning off. Another first for me🍾

While poking around in the bilge, I also discovered that the strainer from both showers were completely rusted out, so I detached it and will order a new one.

I also wrapped the bottom of my mast to protect blocks, winches, etc. I am not sure if this is good or bad. I am afraid that water might collect in there instead of just running down and out… I need to think on this some more.

I have been sanding and adding some more coats of Cetol on all the wood, including the cockpit sole. Boat is not looking so tired anymore.

To this …..

And a new day filled with scrubbing and organizing …..items sealed in plastic bags…

… is lovely!

Farm to table Pumpkin Coconut soup with lots of koriander! And the pigs are happy to receive the compost every day!

Now it’s time for a bath in the blue ocean!

Sails are down, folded and stacked! The boat inside is getting crowded! This afternoon I’ll be going through the engine!

Shopping!!!!

I’ve been shopping online for new sails and items needed (and bling) for the boat! “Mack Sails” and “Island Packet Parts” In Florida, are owned by Colin Mack and Travis Blain who are half brothers. Their parents started “Mack Sails” a long time ago and passed down the business to their sons. Colin left “Mack Sails” and started “Island Packet Yacht Parts” after Island Packet stopped building boats, and as a result, parts became difficult to find. Colin is a wealth of information about island Packet Yachts, so I’ve been picking his brain. They are making new sails and putting together a nice package which will be shipped to Apataki for when I get back here in beginning of March!

This place is amazing! The owners Pauline, Alfred and their son Tony, of this boat yard got it all figured out! From, hauling boats, growing an amazing garden, running a coconut farm and raising pigs and chickens. All our compost, we give the pigs and we collect (buy) two eggs a day for breakfast! Alfred runs the tractor (and oversees the haul-out), while two to three workers situate the boat on the trailer. Tony does boat maintenance, weld and repair fiberglass! While Pauline runs the office! Pretty cool place!

And now the work begins…

Sails need to come down, chain inspected and remarked, all safety gear packed away, through holes plugged, top up engine fluids, cover hydro-vane, clean fridge, things away from the walls, lubricate window seals, open all cabinetries and floor boards … I have heard lots of stories about people coming back to boats with a thick layer of mold inside. The boat yard provides a service where they open hatches and portholes x times a week, to get the air flow. I’m considering having them do this.

But I also swim in this lagoon and I have it all to myself!

Oh I almost forgot, I petted a 7 foot long Nurse Shark today, while swimming! They are so tame! They just sit on the sand beside you while you pet their heads! This is why they call them “their dogs”!

Just another regular day at the beach!

… this is always a super stressful event!

It was suppose to take an hour but two hours later we’re still in the water! Yikes! Here is how it went!

Now, a stiff drink!

And look what already arrived for me…

And MIXED EMOTIONS…. I thought I was ready to hit land and to be off the boat. Today, I am not so sure. As I untie the mooring line and look back at some folks’ sail boats, S/Y Sovmorgon (Sweden/Finland) and S/Y Apnea (Germany) and wish I wasn’t done for the season.

Before untying Sarantium, I jumped into the dinghy and headed towards the house on the beach, that belonged to Valentine and Gusto, to say hello and thank them for letting me to squat in their bay for the night. I had read on NOForeignLand that to use their mooring buoy one could either pay $5 or eat at their restaurant for $60. I would have liked the meal, however, I wanted to make slack at Apataki pass this afternoon, so $5 it is! As I pulled up the Valentine welcomes me and we chat. Turns out Valentine is the sister of the two women who had cooked for us on previous two atolls. AND when I told her I was heading to Apataki to haul out she said, “Oh, Toni is my cousin, who owns the boat yard. We have a package for him if you could bring it, that would be lovely”. Small world! She invited me in and showed me their outdoor kitchen and restaurant. Turns out her Swedish flag was in rough shape. Everyone brings their flags to these family restaurants for decoration. And I just happened to have one in my back-pocket. I wrote “S/Y Sarantium and todays date. Gusto fetched the package, which was a water parachute, that is used to bring up something heavy from the ocean floor. We chatted some more and then it was time for me to head back to get ready for my last sail of the season. I told them, I would be back next April/May to eat at their restaurant. What a great start of my last sail of the season!

The sail to Apataki was the typical prevailing Eastern Wind. Again, since I was in no rush to make the 15.00 slack and only had 18 nmiles to go, I raised 3/4 of the main sail and unfurled the Staysail. Sarantium glided through the water at 4-4.5 kn. My best crew member (HydroVane) at the helm.

Four hours later we pulled into Apataki, where children are jumping off the docks, swimming, laughing and all playing together in the water, all ages… like if they have have no social media. They all wave to us! Every atoll is like this!

I left Nanaimo on July 24, 2024!

I untied the docking lines and motored out in Newcastle Channel without solid plans. It was time to leave this part of the world. I wanted more, yet simple, wanted to see the world from a different angle and truly learn about myself, to see what I was capable of.

The following month, I got to know Sarantium, not only how she sailed but also, what systems worked well and which didn’t. I re-did some electrical wiring, continued to replace old equipment and learned how to use the systems. I sailed from Nanaimo to Victoria as well, toured the San Juan Islands. My son, David, hopped on and sailed around Victoria for a couple of days. That was special.

I said good bye to Canada, on September 5th and sailed south with two women as crew, who I had met briefly. We were all excited. As the captain I was nervous as I had never sailed out into the Northwest Pacific Ocean with the intention of NOT coming back.

I was the captain! I was responsible to get us “there” in one piece. Not knowing where “there” was, made me excited but also a bit uneasy. Was it the next port? Was it San Fransisco? L.A? Or, Ensenada, Mexico? Turns out it was Crescent City, an armpit of the USA.

I had a lot to learn, not about sailing necessarily, but being the captain. My preference in leading, is typically a flat style, meaning I ask a lot of questions, share decision making, and am open to suggestions. I tried to make everyone onboard, feel that their opinions and knowledge were valued. What I learned was that people mistake this for being not experienced and not knowing what to do. Today, I am a different captain. I am way more assertive. I call all the shots around safety and in regards to sail change. I plan ahead; reef early and always avoid being overpowered. I do not let others change my mind in this regards. I have also learnt that no one takes better care of the boat than the owner of the boat. And I am the captain of my boat!

As I sit here in one of the most beautiful atoll in French Polynesia, I reflect on the year that went by. The experiences I have had. The places I have seen. The people I have met. Everything is truly amazing.

Today, I snorkeled the most beautiful reef. Tomorrow, I pull anchor to start the sail to Apataki Atoll. Next week I haul up.

What a year! I dreamt, I sold, I retired and I sailed away on Sarantium.

Thank you for reading!

Goodnight…from another piece of paradise.