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Cowabunga 2013-2014

September 17, 2014
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Tahiti to Tonga… A Video

A video put together by Jono of our last couple months aboard S/Y Cowabunga

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sailingcowabunga

The big one… the Pacific Crossing. It’s time t

The big one… the Pacific Crossing.
It’s time to say goodbye to the Galápagos Islands and continue our journey towards Australia.

At 2900nm (5400km) It’s one of the largest stretches of ocean a sailor will come across. How long does it take? That’s the great unknown… but somewhere between 16 and 21 days, if we have no major issues. The last two times I’ve done it, we’ve come in on 17 days, so that’s the benchmark.

Thanks to the wonders of Starlink, we will endeavour to send daily updates from the middle of the ocean. Good, bag and ugly.
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#sailing #lagoon450 #sailinglife #sailingwithkids #sailingfamily #sailinginstagram #pacificocean #pacific #oceancrossing #yacht

The Galápagos Islands is probably one of the most

The Galápagos Islands is probably one of the most unique places on earth…

It’s a bit of an expensive, bureaucratic process to get a cruising permit to visit. However, it is most certainly worth the effort.
The interactions the boys have had with the different types of wildlife will no doubt be lifelong memories.

This is my fourth visit to the islands. Twice previously on boats (2011, 2014) and once as a backpacker way back in 2009. Each time very different to the last.
I have no doubt that we will be back again in the future on the next Cowabunga!
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#galapagos #ocean #pacific #wildlife #sailing #lagoon450 #sailinglife #sailingwithkids #sailingfamily #sailinginstagram

These cheeky little guys were happily cruising aro

These cheeky little guys were happily cruising around the boat most of the day…

What a treat for me and the boys to share a morning swim with them.
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#penguins #penguinsofinstagram #galapagos #ocean #pacificocean #pacific

Swimming with the Galapagos Sea Lions is not only

Swimming with the Galapagos Sea Lions is not only encouraged, it is one of the major tourist attractions of the island chain…

These juvenile pups, are extremely inquisitive, playful and well behaved. We had been observing them over the last week playing with all sorts of different items under our boat. Plastic bottles, dead fish, rope, even a deal eel.

One of the boys beach toys really sparked their attention. A curious pup played with it for 10 minutes. Once realising the boys were getting out of the water, it casually swam over and placed it gently in my hand. Just like your golden retriever at home…
Amazing animals and experience.
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#animal #galapagos #ocean #pacificocean #sealion #sealionsofinstagram #sealife #fish #sea #sailing #lagoon450 #sailinglife #sailingwithkids #sailingfamily #sailinginstagram

First thing we do once reaching the Galapagos, is

First thing we do once reaching the Galapagos, is build our sea lion defences to prevent them from getting on board and making a smelly mess….

This guy managed to infiltrate @sailing.orea best efforts and made himself at home on the comfy lounges on the cockpit. Can’t blame him…
After a little protest, he is ushered back into the water by a towel waving Gav…

It’s highly entertaining for the kids, especially when it’s someone else’s boat 😂.

The sea lions have claimed the bottom step of our boat. It’s a trade off we’re willing to accept.
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#galapagos #sealion #animal #ocean #pacificocean #sealife #sea #sailing #lagoon450 #sailinglife #sailingwithkids #sailingfamily #sailinginstagram @mitch_a_miller

We’re back in the southern hemisphere! We manage

We’re back in the southern hemisphere!
We managed to cover the 870nm from Panama to Galapagos in just over 5.5 days. Last time it took us nearly 7.5!
We had almost perfect weather and favourable currents and only motored about 18 hours in total.

We will spend 2-3 weeks here in the Galapagos before setting off on the 3000nm journey across the Pacific to French Polynesia!
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#equator #linecrossing #pollywog #shellback #sailing #lagoon450 #sailinglife #sailingwithkids #sailingfamily #sailinginstagram #sailingadventure #pacific #pacificocean #galapagos
@mitch_a_miller

Goodbye Atlantic Ocean. Hello Pacific Ocean… It

Goodbye Atlantic Ocean. Hello Pacific Ocean…

It is a bittersweet moment leaving the Caribbean Sea behind. We have traversed it up and down over the last 16 months, enjoying some truly wonderful countries and people 🇹🇹 🇬🇩 🇻🇨🇲🇶🇱🇨🇬🇵🇦🇬🇸🇽🇦🇮🇻🇬🇧🇸

But dipping our toes in the Pacific, marks the start of the long crossing ahead.

The Canal transit was fairly straightforward. We were lucky enough to transit by ourselves without other boats tied to us.

Is it expensive to cross? - No, considering the alternative (Cape Horn). All in all, about US$3000.
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#panama #panamacity #panamacanal #canaldepanama #caribbean #atlanticocean #pacificocean #ocean #canal #sailing #lagoon450 #sailinglife #sailingwithkids #sailingfamily #sailinginstagram #sailingadventure #caribbean
@mitch_a_miller @rorymcneill @caitybucko @navierastanleys.a

They sure have some growing to do…. and they don

They sure have some growing to do…. and they don’t make wings any smaller than this neither.

But give it a few years and they should be showing dad up!
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#wingfoil #wingfoiling #wingfoildaily #startemyoung #teachthemyoung #foiltheworld #foiling

The San Blas Islands, Panama 🇵🇦… We had no

The San Blas Islands, Panama 🇵🇦…
We had no plans to visit these islands this time around,
but the weather gods forced us to leave Bahamas early.

With time to kill, we spent a week in San Blas visiting some of our old stomping grounds from many moons ago.

A lot has changed. The islands have become a lot more touristy, and my forehead has a lot more wrinkles.
Not Bucko though. Ageing like fine wine!
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#panama #sanblas #memorylane #flashback

One of life’s greatest mysteries…. What’s on

One of life’s greatest mysteries…. What’s on the other end of the line!!

Big fish create big problems while sailing, so we never target bill fish like Marlin and Sailfish for that reason. Especially when it’s this rough…. But sometimes you just can’t avoid them!
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#fishing #marlin #sailfish #billfish #ocean #fish #lure #sailing #lagoon450 #sailinglife #sailingwithkids #sailingfamily #sailinginstagram #sailingadventure #caribbean

Yep… after 15 months floating up and down the Ca

Yep… after 15 months floating up and down the Caribbean Sea, we are finally heading towards home.

First we have to transit the Panama Canal, then we saved the best for last, the Pacific Ocean.

Lots and lots of sailing over the next 8 months, but the places we have to look forward to include the following.
- Galápagos Islands
- French Polynesia (Tahiti)
- Cook Islands
- Tonga
- Fiji
- Vanuatu
- New Caledonia

This will be my third Pacific Crossing. Caitlin’s second and the boys first!
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#bahamas #australia #sailing #lagoon450 #sailinglife #sailingwithkids #sailingfamily #sailinginstagram #sailingadventure #caribbean #pacific #pacificocean #panama

The three most important things on a sailing boat:

The three most important things on a sailing boat:
- the water stays outside the boat
- the rig stays in the air
- rudders
The rest are luxuries we can survive without.

Before we leave Bahamas, I do an obligatory rig check.
This involves Bucko grinding me to the top of the mast (with the help of an electric winch).

Cowabunga has 3 main wires holding the mast up, called standing rigging. These are 16mm, 19 strand stainless wire with a breaking load of over 18,000kg each. If one of these fail, we lose the rig over the side and all hell breaks loose.

I check to ensure each of those 19 strands are in tact at the terminal. Broken strands are a definite sign your rigging is over due for replacement.

On top of that, I check all the sheaves, tangs, halyards, wind instrument, masthead lights, furler etc are in good shape.

Luckily, the rigging is only 7 years old and everything appears to be in excellent shape!

Am I afraid of heights - No
Am I afraid of Bucko dropping me - Absolutely!
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#rigging #rigcheck #sailing #boatmaintenance #bahamas #boat #caribbean #mast

The cut between Big Major and @fowlcay resort is a

The cut between Big Major and @fowlcay resort is a little shortcut to get between the majors.

The current rips through here at a thousand knots and it is lined with rocks both sides.

But I love a good shortcut, and much to Bucko’s disgust, we took Cowabunga through here on a not so leisurely cruise.
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#bahamas #exumas #sailing #passage #pigbeach #shortcut

Always quick to jump on board, what do you think i

Always quick to jump on board, what do you think is Kyans favourite?
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#kitesurf #wingfoil #bahamas #travel #kite #kitesurfers

There’s not many places in the world where you c

There’s not many places in the world where you can happily sail along in clear flat water with a couple feet of water under your keels…

The Great Bahama Bank is a vast area where depths rarely reach 10 metres. But once you sail off the “edge”, depths quickly drop to thousands of metres.
Pelagics roam this area, and this is the hotspot to catch Mahi, Tuna, Wahoo, Marlin etc.
We will be sailing off this edge in a few days with plans to stock the freezer!
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#bahamas #travel #ocean #exuma #sailing #lagoon450 #sailinglife #sailingwithkids #sailingfamily #sailinginstagram #sailingadventure #caribbean #fishing

How did we even get there?… We’ve finally mad

How did we even get there?…

We’ve finally made it to the Exumas land and sea park. It’s the first established marine park in the Carib dating back to 1958.
And it shows… The water, beaches and reefs are spectacular in the area. With plenty of places like this to explore.
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#bahamas #exumas #caribbean #travel #ocean #cave #drone

The famous Pig Beach in the Exumas, The Bahamas 🇧🇸

No one knows exactly how they got here. But some say they were dropped here by pirates who had intentions to come back and cook them.

Another scenario is they survived a ship wreck and swam to shore…

Whatever the case, they are pretty well behaved and provide a good source of entertainment for the kids. Just don’t get between them and their food.
They are also excellent swimmers!
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#bahamas #exumas #pigbeach #swimmingpigs #pig #peppapig #travel @sanssoucisailing

Spiny lobster has become one of our staples over t

Spiny lobster has become one of our staples over the last few months…
They are easy enough to find and catch if you put in little time and effort. And of course they taste amazing.
There’s many different ways to catch them, with the most popular in The Bahamas a pole spear or tickle stick and net.
I like to use a snare which I made out of electrical conduit and fishing line, as I find this the most selective and productive. I don’t take the females, even if they don’t have eggs (which are forbidden).
The largest ones dont taste any good either, so they get left alone to fight another day!
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#bahamas #lobster #spearfishing #fishing #lobsters #reef #ocean #fish #sailing #hunter

I wish we could stay forever… but the fridge is

I wish we could stay forever… but the fridge is empty (apart from fish, lobster, beer), and the boys are hungry…

So tomorrow we leave this paradise for the “big smoke” of Georgetown. It will be our first visit to a supermarket in a month. It’s going to be horrendously expensive, but you gotta pay to play!
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#bahamas #carribean #paradise #travelling #drone #beach #ocean #travel #sailing @lagooncatamarans

@caitybucko dodging stingrays in the Bahamas… Ho

@caitybucko dodging stingrays in the Bahamas…
How many did you spot?
Could you dream up a more picturesque kite beach?
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#bahamas #kitesurf #kitesurfing #kitesurfbeach #kiteboarding #stingray

I know the voiceover is corny as hell… but I gen

I know the voiceover is corny as hell… but I genuinely believe when we look back on moments like these in 1, 10 or 30 years time, we will no doubt remember just how special they were.
And let’s hope they don’t grow too fast. My arms can’t take much more of this!
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#wingfoiling #wingfoil #foiltheworld #foiling #wingfoildaily #bahamas #sandyisland #caribbean #tomandteddy #sailing #fatherson
@oceanrodeo @armstrongfoils @naishfoiling @tomandteddy @wingfoildaily

He may be slow, and rough… but by god, he’s ch

He may be slow, and rough… but by god, he’s cheap!
Fitting into small spaces to access things is best done by the smallest crew members on board. And if they misbehave, I can just lock them in the closet…😂
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#handyman #diy #sailing #sailinglife #sailingwithkids #sailingfamily #sailinginstagram #sailingadventure #caribbean

Castle Island is our first stop after clearing int

Castle Island is our first stop after clearing into the Bahamas… and how’s the colour of the water!
This long abandoned lighthouse dates back to 1867 and there’s also a wreck of a Belizean freighter which ran aground many years ago carrying a load of shoes!
Awesome place to cruise around and explore for the day.
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#bahamas #caribbean #lighthouse #shipwreck #shark #bluewater #ocean #sailing
@sanssoucisailing

It’s 530nm from the BVIs to the Bahamas and this

It’s 530nm from the BVIs to the Bahamas and this was our longest leg yet on this boat.
Overall it was excellent. We had beautiful sailing conditions for the majority and only had to motor the last couple of hours when the wind shutdown.
The boat handled everything that was thrown at it and so did its crew.
For those wondering, we sail the boat around the clock. Aiming for a 3 hours on/off rotation during the night.
Do we get a lot of sleep? - No.
Do we get enough sleep to survive? - Yes
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#sailing #lagoon450 #sailinglife #sailingwithkids #sailingfamily #sailinginstagram #sailingadventure #caribbean #virginislands #bahamas #fishing #mahimahi #ocean #starlink #spacexlaunch

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