Cruising.
Hello friends!
It’s been a minute since we’ve landed in your inbox. Life is full and I often struggle to find the time and space I need to reflect and write. That being said, you can always catch up on our shenanigans over on Insta, which I keep pretty up to date. Just visit our profile (@sailingpurejoy) and click through the Highlights, which are organised by country or island.
If you are interested in a fuller version of the story of our adventures over the last 6 weeks, grab yourself your beverage of choice and settle in. Or, hit play on the audio version of this while commuting!
So, we left off in the middle of our biggest passage of the whole expedition - crossing The Pacific Ocean from The Galapagos Islands to the Marquesa Islands. (Roughly 3,000 nautical miles.)
On the whole, the passage itself was pretty smooth! We did have to take down our jib (smaller triangle sail at the front of the boat) only a couple of days into the journey as we spotted some of the panels coming apart at the seams. Luckily though, we’ve got a lot of foresail options and in the end it was our Wingaker (big pretty parachute-like sail) that carried us most of the way. We dodged most of the squalls. We made bread and cookies and friendship bracelets. We had virtual scavenger hunts and book clubs and schoolwork. We celebrated the half-way mark with a full crew dance routine to ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’. And eventually, we spotted land. The two memories that will stick in our minds forever about completing this passage:
1) The SMELL of land after 18 days of only water. Imagine what the colour green smells like and add a little sprinkle of tropical flowers. That scent wafted our way at least 30 miles out from land and grew stronger as we approached.
2) Our friends on Misfit (a fellow ‘Kid Boat’) came out on their dingy to greet us as we approached the anchorage. In the pitch black and rain, they flew a flag they had made, whooped and yelled, played Elliot’s favourite song on the loud speaker (Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen), and helped us to find a good spot to anchor. This is one of the best examples I could share of the camaraderie that has formed between the boats in this rally. It really is one of my favourite aspects of this whole expedition.
The morning after that warm welcome, we woke up to breathtaking mountains surrounding us, with whispy clouds playing in their peaks. While this view would become the norm over the next couple of weeks, our wide-eyed wonder never receded.
After a bit of rest and celebration and restocking supplies and fuel, we left the island where we’d made landfall (Hiva Oa) and went on to explore the Marquesan islands of Tahuata, Fatu Hiva and Oa Pou. We made incredible memories on ALL of them - hikes, waterfalls, having meals in ‘restaurants’ located in the dining rooms or garages of local guides, beach bbq’s with friends and simply marveling at landscapes unlike we’d ever seen before.
After Oa Pou, it was time to make our way to the Tuomotus Islands, which are actually a grouping of atolls. (Islands in the shape of rings filled with crystal clear aqua blue water.) This really felt surreal - to be on our way to visiting these incredibly remote (most islands have a population of a couple hundred) and unique islands - places we’d only seen pictures of and probably wouldn’t dream of visiting if not for this crazy idea to sail around the world.
What’s cool and also a bit daunting about atolls is that you have to time your entry/exit the atoll just right, otherwise you may find yourself swept into the rocks by the powerful tides. Our first entry into an atoll was in Raoria, and it was a bit ‘sporty’ as they say in sailing but man was it worth it.
This is where we first got truly acquainted with the Black Tip Reef Shark. With crystal clear aqua waters around us, we could see them EVERYWHERE. It’s where we felt like we were snorkeling in an aquarium for the first time. We met up with the other boats for beach bbq’s at the ‘Twin Palms Beach Club’ - a spot on the beach where sailors previous to us had decorated two palm trees by the shoreline with some buoys, flags and a sign indicating it as such. Raoria is where I went up the mast for the first time, which was scary and spectacular!
The other thing about atolls is that on the inside of the ‘ring’, you need to navigate VERY carefully because clumps of coral reef (a.k.a. bommies) are dotted throughout the inside of the atoll. Run into one of these, and you could have a serious problem on your hands…maybe you know where this story is going.
While leaving our anchorage in Raoria, heading towards exiting the atoll, we managed to find a bommie with our starboard rudder. After hearing a loud, expensive-sounding ‘CRUNCH’, I ran to the back of the boat to find our rudder - which normally is pointed down toward the sea floor - sticking straight out behind us. This was one of those low, scary moments you find in yachting. The questions start forming in rapid succession:
How bad is it? (Not great.)
Are we taking on water? (No, thankfully.)
How on earth are we going to get this fixed while we are in the middle of NOWHERE? (We were able to jerry-rig it back into its appropriate position for the time being and carefully move on, knowing that serious replacement and repairs would be needed sooner rather than later.).
Will this affect our ability to carry on with the World ARC? (Potentially, but with some luck in getting the right parts and service in Tahiti, we were okay to carry on as planned.)
From there, we limped to the next atoll on our way to Tahiti, Makemo. Elliot learned to knee board off the back of Misfit’s dingy and we hosted a kids movie night aboard Pure Joy.
And then it was on to Fakarava, where David and I scuba dived to see the ‘Wall of Sharks’, which is exactly how it sounds! The snorkeling was just as impressive - we took our dighy to the pass where you enter/exit the atoll and drift with the current past a crazy vibrant selection of fish and sealife. We had easter on the beach amongst, sharks, fish and friends, complete with an easter egg scavenger hunt that left all the kids on a sugar high. We visited a pearl farm where you could pick any oyster you liked an if there was a pearl inside, you got to keep it. We went home with two!
Then…our watermaker gave up entirely. We’d be struggling with it for a quite some time but had always be able to resurrect it. Not this time. Despite the fact that we’d had many capable fellow sailors over to attempt to assess and fix it, we found ourselves in the unenviable position of not having the ability to make fresh water from sea water. The pull toward Tahiti was pretty unresistable, now. Then, just for funsies, our icemaker and separately, our fridge/freezer electric cooler also broke. With hampered ability to steer, no ability to make water and quickly dwindling ability to keep food fresh, it was time to go.
Misfit, once again to the rescue, made enough water to fill our tanks so that we’d have plenty to make the passage to Tahiti, and then we were off.
While making a beeline for the marina in Papeete (Tahiti’s capital city), David organised a myriad of specialists to come to the boat for repairs. And that’s what we spent the next week on in Tahiti - sail repairs, the watermaker, the fridge/freezer, the icemaker, the rudder, and more! Pure Joy needed a bit of TLC and we would make sure she got it. We also managed to give ourselves the same with 2 nights in a hotel. Elliot loved the pool and we loved the long hot showers and fluffy towels.
After returning to the boat, we greeted PJ - a friend and crew member from our Atlantic crossing in 2023 - back to Pure Joy. We carried on with repairs and all kinds of shopping (provisions, clothes, boat parts, you name it!) and we sprinkled in some surfing lessons for Elliot.
When we had completed all of the mission-critical repairs, we shoved off the dock and into a short exploration of the Society Islands. I have to admit, we weren’t terribly sad to leave Tahiti behind. While the urban hustle and bustle had its upside (being able to find almost anything we needed - I even got a haircut!) it was a shock to the system and we wanted to be exploring the more remote parts of French Polynesia. I felt my shoulders drop from my ears as we looked at Tahiti behind us. It’s much prettier from afar than close up.
Our week of grind was rewarded though, as we pulled into what I believe - no I’ll go ahead and say it - into my favourite anchorage of the trip so far. David found a stunning, tiny anchorage on the island of Mo’orea that had us marveling at how clear the water was. We had so much fun here - swimming with the rays (!), exploring an underwater Tiki garden, paddle boarding and playing with water toys. And I spent a good deal of time just marveling at how much we could see below us and around us, just standing on our boat.
The Marquesas had dramatic mountains. The Tuamotos had crystal clear water. Apparently, the Society Islands had BOTH. And here we were, with each other, a working water-maker and rudder, a million memories from 4 months at sea and tons of adventure stretched out in front of us. A lot feels significant on this expedition, but some moments are more meaningful than others and this was one of them.
And this feeling carried on into Huahine, another incredible island. Elliot explored a shipwreck with new friends from neighbouring boats. The three of us e-biked the entirety of the 2 joined islands and found maybe our favourite snorkeling spot yet. We happy-houred with other World ARC boats at the local yacht club and had AMAZING burgers at Izzy’s. (I had the Hot Mama Burger, obvs.) And the grocery store on Huahine was unexpectedly huge (by our current standards!) and well-stocked. Nothing puts me in a better mood than that these days!
After 3 nights in Huahine, it was time to pull up the hook and head to Bora Bora, where our next World ARC rendezvouz would take place. We were heading there a couple of days early though because David and I had a treat in store for each other - 2 nights ALONE, off the boat, at the Four Seasons.
We arrived in Bora Bora and picked up Martin - another crew/friend from Atlantic crossing days, and we are lucky to have him crewing a few legs of the circumnavigation with us. We then found a spot near our hotel to anchor, and the next morning, PJ took David and I over to the Four Seasons in our dinghy and we entered into a world of next-level R&R.
Over-the-water bungalow. Long, hot showers - I must have taken 8 of them. Bubble baths. Excellent service, food and cocktails. All the shadow of the peaks of Bora Bora. This was a HUGE treat for us, and we enjoyed every moment. Massive thanks to our favourite travel advisor Dawn Voyage for helping us to secure a great deal and some extra perks on this top-notch ‘couple’s vacation from the expedition’ possible! And big thanks to Zena, Martin and PJ for looking after Elliot in our absence!
We returned to Pure Joy feeling refreshed, and it was good thing! We jumped right back into life with the World ARC by joining all of the other boats near the Bora Bora Yacht Club. We hadn’t seen many of the boats for several weeks, so it was fun to reunite to share stories, drinks and meals. And then of course there was all the usual admin - customs and immigration paperwork and appointments, Skipper Briefing, provisioning and fueling.
It was a bittersweet few days because we were also saying goodbye to our friends on Misfit. It had been their plan from the start to part ways with the World ARC in Bora Bora, in favour of spending more time in French Polynesia before moving on. One can hardly blame them, it’s such a magical part of the world. But all the kid boats - there are 7 of us - have grown quite close over the last months. And Dave, Liz, Leia (9) and Julian (8) on Misfit had been a huge part of that. Misfit is the boat with ALL the toys and a crew that’s ALWAYS jumping in to help whenever anyone needs it. We made tons of incredible memories together and weather a storm or two together as well. So it’s no wonder that saying goodbye to them felt like a closing of a really meaningful chapter. We had one last party on their boat, where we shared a video montage of some of our favourite memories from the ‘Misfit Era’ of the World ARC and the kids recited some funny and touching poems. Then the guitars and keyboard came out and, as had become tradition, a singalong ensued. (What we lacked in talent, we made up for in vigor!). The next day, Misfit saw all of us off from the start line of the next leg and passed the World ARC Kids Boat flag to Pure Joy. We’ll be flying it with pride in every anchorage from here on out and wishing our friends on Misfit fair winds, wherever they may take them.
Were’ now underway to Nuie, which is the smallest island country in the world. Well…when I started typing this, that is where we were headed. Hot off the press, we’ve just decided to hang a bit of a right in order to avoid some pretty serious waves and wind. We’ll be skipping Nuie on this go-around and head to American Samoa for a couple of days instead, before heading on to Tonga. We were all bracing ourselves for the big seas but when we realised that there was another option, we decided to take it. After all, we’ve got a LOT more of this expedition to go. If we can save the boat some undue stress and give ourselves a more pleasant experience without sacrificing too much time exploring incredible places, we’re going to do that.
Okay, so that’s WHAT we’ve been doing, but HOW are we doing? This newsletter feels more conducive for some real talk than IG for some reason, so here are a few personal observations:
Elliot continues to thrive. Still not a huge fan of school work, but he’s doing well despite that fact. I’ve seen his confidence grow - making new friends instantaneously, learning fun new songs on his ukulele (I’ll try to post more of this!) and trying new things like knee boarding. He’s grown up SO MUCH. Looking at photos from when we started just 5 months ago, he seemed so little and fragile. Now he’s fully feral and determined to explore, thankfully still with a heart of gold and all the tiny human emotions that go with that.
David continues to be unflappable and able to spin 10 plates at a time. And in the midst of the chaos, we stop frequently to say to each other, ‘Can you believe were doing this? I mean who goes to TONGA? Who gets to sail their own boat there?’ It’s hard and crazy and hard-to-belive, and it’s our incredible reality.
I’m learning that nothing is unsolveable. (Maybe David’s mindset is rubbing off!) It will cost money, time, hard work or some combination of all three. AND - we’ll figure it out. I’ve probably mentioned about 50% of the challenges we’ve run into on this trip. Things are always breaking on a boat. And people are going through their own big emotions and phases on a trip of a lifetime like this. Yet, we keep figuring it out and we keep going. We keep going if I’m stressed about it. And we keep going if I’m not. So perhaps I can choose the latter more often.
Speaking of, I’m more relaxed about provisioning because I’m getting the hang of it. I’ve accepted that wherever we are going, we may or may not find what we want. Which means that carefully constructed meal plans are fairly pointless. I focus on buying fresh fruits, vegetables and eggs basically whenever I see them, as they are always in short supply in these remote islands. We have enough rice and pasta on board to feed us for 2 more circumnavigations, I think. So when in a grocery store, I’m looking to restock protein, cheese and tinned/frozen goods. Bread used to stress me out - critical for PB&J’s but (Elliot’s lifeblood) hard to find, expensive, full of preservatives (and tastes like it!) or goes off immediately. But we now have a little breadmaker on board and that’s a game-changer!
There’s only one resolution to crew niggles. Talk about it. We’ve seen issues across the fleet - I’m certain there is no boat without some kind of misalignment, issue or frustration amongst the crew. And I’m also certain that there are no ‘good guys’ or ‘bad guys’ in these situations. It’s super easy to keep frustrations to yourself or resort to passive aggressive solutions. From what I’m observing though, in these tight quarters, they won’t resolve until you get them out in the open and everyone makes their expectations clear.
Time. Is. FLYING. There are really hard moments and phases. But on the whole, I cannot believe how fast the days and weeks are going by.
Okay, that’s probably PLENTY for now! I am definitely going to TRY to write these more often so they can be shorter…but can’t make any promises!
Sending big love from Pure Joy in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean,
Joy, David & Elliot
Next up: American Samoa and Tonga