Farewell Fiji, Ahoy Vanuatu!

The past two weeks have been a mixture of boat work, sailing, unexpected adventures, and more waves than we would have liked. We made some major upgrades to Tauha, had a few moments that got our hearts racing, sailed another 550 nautical miles across the Pacific, and finally reached our next country: Vanuatu! Sounds like a pretty successful two weeks, right? Well, yes. But as usual, not all things go quite according to plan. Between turning our boat into a floating paint shop, electrical workshop, woodworking shop, and sewing studio, nearly drifting onto a sandbank, dealing with an engine that once again refused to cooperate, and spending several days rolling from side to side in an anchorage, we certainly had our fair share of excitement. But let's start where we left off: still in Fiji, surrounded by boat projects, and determined to finally get moving again.

One More Week in Fiji… Just One More!

After spending an entire week working on Tauha, we made the very reasonable decision to stay for another week. After all, we had already started so many projects that it seemed silly not to finish the major ones before heading out to sea again. At the very top of our list was the autopilot. If you've been following our adventures, you probably know that our autopilot has been giving us trouble for quite some time (which is shown in the pictures below). And since hand-steering a boat across an ocean for days on end isn't exactly our favorite hobby, getting it working again was a pretty high priority. When Alex took the hydraulic system apart, he discovered that not only were the o-rings damaged, as we had thought earlier, but also that the piston had developed small cavities in its surface. That might not sound particularly dramatic, but it was a problem. Whenever the seals moved across those damaged areas, they wouldn't seal properly and would eventually become damaged themselves again. Not exactly what you want in a hydraulic system that is supposed to steer your boat. We considered several possible solutions, Alex asked around at different shops on shore, and eventually came to the conclusion that the only reasonable option was to have a new piston made. Unfortunately, that's not something you can just pick up at the nearest marine store. So Alex took the dinghy ashore, visited different workshops, collected quotes, and finally found a place that could make the replacement. While he was busy dealing with hydraulic pistons, I decided it was time to tackle a project of my own. And not a small one.

Welcome to Tauha's Floating Sewing Factory

Our dodger desperately needed replacing. For those who aren't familiar with sailing terminology, the dodger is the protective cover at the front of the cockpit that shields us from wind, waves, and spray. Basically, it's the thing that makes sitting outside in bad weather at least somewhat bearable. Ours had definitely seen better days. The windows had become so cloudy that we could not see through them anymore, one had already broken, and the whole structure was slowly falling apart. Luckily, Alex's parents had brought us all the materials we needed to make a new one, and during our trip to Germany, I had brought back a sewing machine. So we had everything we needed. Well, almost everything. There was just one tiny detail: I didn't really know how to sew. Okay, that's not entirely true. I had sewn a little as a child with my grandma. Although, if we're being honest, she probably did most of the actual sewing. And apparently, I had decided that the perfect beginner projects would be a new lazy bag, a dodger, and spray covers. You know, just some simple little things to practice on. The week before, I had already started with the lazy bag, which is the large fabric cover attached to the boom that catches and protects the mainsail when we lower it. Now it was time to finish the dodger and spray covers. Of course, none of these projects involved nice, thin, easy-to-handle fabrics. Instead, I was working with thick, heavy-duty marine materials that even my sewing machine sometimes struggled to get through. And then there was the question of space. Have you ever tried to lay out, measure, and cut several meters of fabric inside a sailboat? Let me tell you, it's not ideal. There simply isn't enough flat space anywhere on board to spread everything out properly. Working outside wasn't much better because we had strong winds, and trying to keep large pieces of fabric in place while the wind is determined to carry them away is a challenge of its own. Somehow, we managed. Before long, the entire boat had turned into a sewing workshop. Fabric was everywhere, tools were scattered around, and every available surface became part of the production line. My personal favorite was sewing on our bed. Because the boat was moving in the waves, I ended up standing on one foot to balance myself while using the other foot to operate the sewing machine pedal. I'm pretty sure that's not how they teach sewing classes. Another challenge was cutting and sealing the fabric edges and making holes for the fasteners. Normally, you would use a hot knife for this, which melts the synthetic fabric as it cuts and prevents it from fraying. We didn't have one. But we did have a soldering iron. And as it turns out, that worked surprisingly well! It wasn't the most elegant solution, but when you're living on a boat in the middle of the Pacific, improvisation is practically a required skill. After an entire week of measuring, cutting, sewing, undoing stitches, sewing again, frustration, occasional anger, and some very satisfying moments, it was finally done. We had a brand-new dodger! With clear windows! Windows we could actually see through! It might sound like a small thing, but after months of staring through cloudy plastic, being able to look forward from the cockpit again felt like a luxury. The lazy bag was finished as well, making it much easier to lower and stow the mainsail while protecting it from UV damage. And, as a bonus, it looks much nicer too. Tauha did develop from the bright Pacific blue, to an elegant marine blue.The spray covers were also done. There are still several sewing projects I'd like to tackle in the future, but for now, I was more than happy to put the sewing machine away. And I have to admit, I was pretty proud of how everything turned out. But don't just take my word for it. Have a look at the pictures below and see for yourselves!

A Battery, a Bus Ride, and a Very Strong Husband

While I was busy turning Tauha into a sewing factory, Alex continued working on the autopilot. Eventually, the new piston and gaskets were ready, and he was able to reinstall everything. That was a huge step forward, even though the autopilot would still have a few surprises waiting for us. He also worked through a seemingly endless list of smaller repairs and improvements around the boat.

One of the bigger remaining projects was adding another battery to our electrical system. I already mentioned a bit of that battery journey last week, but I decided to tell the story here in full. Our power supply had been okay, but not great. And if we were finally going to have a working autopilot again, we wanted enough battery capacity to actually use it regularly. So one day, we hopped onto a local bus and headed into the city center. The ride was bumpy, entertaining, and exactly what you would expect from a local bus adventure in Fiji. Once in town, we walked around searching for a store that could sell us the right battery. Eventually, we found one: a 150 Ah gel battery that would fit perfectly into our existing system. Excellent! We decided to buy it, but before picking it up, we continued exploring the city. We had an amusing encounter in a local art store, grabbed something to eat, and visited the local market to stock up on fresh vegetables. The market was huge, with a much better selection and significantly lower prices than the little stores near the marina. We definitely wished we had gone there more often! Eventually, we returned to the battery shop. The employee asked which car we had so he could help us load the battery. "We're taking the bus," we explained. He looked at us. Then at the battery. Then back at us. Apparently, transporting a roughly 70-kilogram battery on a public bus wasn't something he encountered every day. "You're taking that on the bus?" Alex shrugged. "Sure. I can carry it." The employee didn't seem entirely convinced, but to his credit, they kindly helped us transport the battery to the bus station. Getting back to the boat turned into another little adventure. Our first bus broke down, leaving us waiting quite a while for a replacement. When the next bus finally arrived, it was already pretty crowded, but somehow we managed to squeeze ourselves and our enormous battery inside. The driver was fantastic. He shifted gears with his entire arm, throwing it back and forth with great enthusiasm, while music played that sounded to us like American pop songs reimagined in Bollywood style.

It was quite the experience. Eventually, we made it back to Tauha, battery and all. Now we just had to install it. What could possibly go wrong?

The Day Our Anchor Decided to Go for a Walk

Installing the new battery required Alex to disconnect and remove the existing batteries temporarily. Meanwhile, I was working on another project that didn't require electricity. Armed with a file, I was spending hours slowly enlarging a hole through the cockpit fiberglass to fit a new depth display instrument we had recently acquired. Very exciting work, I know.

It was a windy day, and the anchorage was a little wavy, but nothing particularly unusual. At least, not at first. Suddenly, the boat began rocking much more strongly from side to side. I stopped filing. Something felt wrong. I looked around and realized that Tauha was sitting sideways to the wind. That was strange. Normally, when you're anchored, the anchor keeps the bow pointing more or less into the wind and waves. But we were no longer pointing in the right direction. "Alex?" I called down into the battery hole. We both had the same unpleasant suspicion. Alex rushed to the bow to check the anchor while I stayed in the cockpit, pulling up charts. And sure enough… We were dragging anchor. I immediately pulled up our electronic charts. Behind us was a sandbank. And we were only about 60 meters away from it. That's not a lot of distance when your 44-foot sailboat is drifting backward in strong wind. Under normal circumstances, the solution would be simple: start the engine, motor forward, and reset the anchor. Except there was one tiny problem. We had no batteries connected. No batteries meant no electrical power. No electrical power meant no engine starter. And no engine meant we were drifting toward a sandbank with very few options. Suddenly, our relaxing afternoon of boat projects became considerably more exciting. Alex immediately started reconnecting one of the batteries as fast as he could. I kept watching the chart, checking how much distance we had left. 40 meters. Getting closer. I had already decided that if we reached about 30 meters, I would release more anchor chain and hope it would catch and hold us long enough to avoid grounding. Meanwhile, Alex was still wrestling with the electrical connections. Finally, the battery was connected. He turned the key. And the engine started immediately. Thank goodness! We were able to motor away from the sandbank and reanchor in a safer spot, farther away from the shallow water. This time, we put out plenty of anchor chain.

And thankfully, it held. Other boats in the anchorage had experienced similar problems with their anchors dragging that day, so at least we weren't the only ones. Still, it was a pretty good reminder that even sitting at anchor doesn't necessarily mean you're safe from surprises. And perhaps disconnecting every single battery while anchored in strong wind isn't something we'd like to repeat anytime soon.

Finally Ready to Leave Fiji

After all that excitement, we continued working through our list. The new dodger was finished. The lazy bag and spray covers were done. The additional battery was installed. The autopilot was repaired, at least for the moment. We had replaced and painted wooden parts, installed Starlink in a permanent position, and mounted and configured our new depth sounder display. Plus, we had completed countless other small jobs that had been waiting for attention. There is always something to fix or improve on a boat, and honestly, I don't think the list will ever be completely empty. But eventually, you have to decide that you've done enough. And we had reached that point. It was time to leave Fiji.

On Sunday, we went ashore one last time to take care of all the usual pre-departure tasks. We got rid of our trash, filled up our water supplies, did laundry, and enjoyed one final wonderful shower with continuously running water. I know that probably doesn't sound particularly exciting to anyone living in a house, but when you're used to conserving every drop of water on a boat, a long shower without worrying about the tank level is pretty amazing. We also bought more groceries, went out to a restaurant, and ran into some of our sailing friends. That gave us a chance to say goodbye, as everyone was preparing to head off in different directions. Finally, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset from shore before heading back to Tauha. Our time in Fiji had come to an end. And the next adventure was waiting.

The Great Fiji Exodus

Monday morning, we sailed over to another marina to complete our official checkout procedures. And apparently, we weren't the only ones planning to leave. More than 31 boats were checking out from that port alone! With cyclone season approaching, sailors throughout the region were preparing to move on. Most were heading toward Australia, some were sailing to New Caledonia, and a few, like us, were bound for Vanuatu. It was a busy morning. Luckily, the checkout process itself went smoothly. We were able to fill up our propane tanks, complete the paperwork, and get everything ready. The only real delay was the sheer number of boats trying to leave at the same time. But by around noon, we were finally done. We hoisted the sails. And just like that, we were on our way!

550 Nautical Miles to Vanuatu

We didn't head straight out through the reef. Instead, we decided to spend a little more time sailing in the sheltered waters around Fiji rather than using the engine unnecessarily. And what a wonderful afternoon it was. The sun was shining, the sea was almost flat, and we had a beautiful, steady 12 knots of wind. It was one of those sailing days that reminds you why you do all of this in the first place. No engine noise. No crashing waves. Just Tauha gliding through the water under sail. And to make the day even better, Alex caught his first giant trevally! Not only was it exciting to catch a new kind of fish, but it also meant we had fresh food for the passage. And it turned out to be delicious.

As night approached, we finally passed through the reef surrounding Fiji and headed back out into the open Pacific. Ahead of us lay approximately 550 nautical miles to Vanuatu. We had a steady wind from behind, and Tauha was making excellent progress. Our new AIS display was also proving useful. For those unfamiliar with AIS, it's a system that allows us to see other vessels broadcasting their positions, courses, and speeds. We could see several other sailboats making the same crossing, and over the next few days, we would encounter some of them again.

It's always fun to know that there are other sailors out there, somewhere beyond the horizon, making their way across the same stretch of ocean.

During one night, a container ship passed about two nautical miles from us. That was probably our most exciting traffic encounter. Otherwise, the first part of the passage was wonderfully uneventful. The wind was good, we were moving fast, and everything seemed to be going according to plan. Well, almost everything. Remember that autopilot we had spent so much time repairing? It had apparently decided that it wasn't quite finished causing trouble. This time, it started leaking from a different location. So despite all our efforts in Fiji, we still couldn't properly use it.

Which meant more hand-steering. Again. Oh well. At least the sailing conditions were good. Until the final two days. Those were rainy. Very rainy.

And sitting outside in the cockpit, steering for hours while rain pours down on you, is not exactly the romantic sailing experience people imagine when they think about crossing the Pacific. But we kept going. And by Friday, we were right on schedule. We expected to arrive at our destination around 2 p.m. Perfect timing. Or so we thought.

The Engine Strikes Again

As we approached Vanuatu and rounded the island toward our destination, the wind began to die. No problem, we thought. We would just start the engine and motor the final stretch into the anchorage. Except the engine had other ideas. Once again, it refused to circulate cooling water properly. If you've been following our blog for a while, you probably remember that we've had this problem before. More than once. Usually, we can get the cooling system working again fairly quickly. But this time, none of our usual tricks helped. There we were, rolling around in the waves, with the island's steep cliffs getting closer and closer while the clock kept ticking. Not exactly the ideal place to start troubleshooting an engine.

We tried one thing after another. Still no cooling water. The minutes passed. Then more minutes. Eventually, after about an hour and a half, we finally found the problem. The impeller had broken. A small piece of rubber had separated from it, traveled farther down the cooling-water system, and lodged itself in the line, blocking the flow. Once we discovered the obstruction, we could finally get the cooling system working again.

What a relief! Unfortunately, our carefully planned arrival time was now history. We were still able to reach the anchorage before 4 p.m., but apparently, that was already too late. Because, well...Island time.

Welcome to Vanuatu! Now Please Wait.

We dropped anchor in a beautiful bay, surrounded by the dramatic scenery of Vanuatu. After several days at sea, it felt wonderful to finally arrive.

There was just one problem. Nobody was there to check us into the country. We tried calling on VHF Channel 16. No answer. We tried email. Nothing. Apparently, everyone had already gone home for the day. So there we were, officially arrived in Vanuatu but not yet cleared into the country. And because we hadn't completed the formalities, we couldn't simply go ashore and start exploring. We just had to wait. Unfortunately, the anchorage wasn't particularly well protected from the swell. The boat was rolling. And rolling. And rolling. From one side to the other. Then back again. And again. We felt like we were trapped inside a giant smoothie blender, being shaken from side to side endlessly. During a passage, the sails often provide some stabilizing force, making the boat's motion a little more manageable. But sitting at anchor with waves coming from the side? That's a different story. Tauha rocked continuously, and after days of sailing and hand-steering, I was more than ready for a break.

A proper break. Preferably one that involved the boat staying somewhat still. But that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. We hoped we could check in the following morning. Except it was Saturday. And nobody was working. Sunday? Also no. Surely Monday, then? Well, as it turned out, Monday was Vanuatu's Independence Day holiday. Which meant… You guessed it. Nobody was working. So our arrival on Friday afternoon turned into several days of sitting aboard Tauha, rocking back and forth, waiting for the offices to reopen. We finally managed to complete our clearance on Tuesday. Four days after arriving. Welcome to Vanuatu! At least the scenery was beautiful.

When in Doubt, Do More Boat Work

Since we couldn't go ashore and exploring was off the table, we did what we apparently do best. More boat work. Alex went back to the autopilot. Again. This time, he finally managed to fix the remaining leak. And here's a little spoiler: on our next passage, we were actually able to use it!

Yes, really! After all the problems, repairs, and hours of hand-steering, that felt like a major victory. Meanwhile, I decided to tackle some of the smaller cosmetic projects around the boat. One of those was restoring the shiny brass appearance of our windows. That turned out to be a much bigger job than I had anticipated. Apparently, making old metal look shiny again requires a ridiculous amount of polishing. Who would have thought? I also installed some better lights and worked on a few other improvements to make Tauha look a little nicer. After spending so much time fixing things that are broken, it's actually quite satisfying to work on something simply because you want the boat to look good. Little by little, Tauha is becoming more and more the boat we want her to be. Although I'm pretty sure she'll always find new ways to keep us busy.

A Change of Plans: More Time for Indonesia!

During our unexpected days aboard in Vanuatu, we also finally found the time to sit down and have a serious conversation about our future route. As you know, our sailing plans have changed several times already. That's simply part of traveling by sailboat. You can plan as much as you want, but the weather, seasons, boat repairs, and unexpected delays often have their own opinions. And lately, time had been slipping away faster than we would have liked. According to our previous schedule, we would only have had about one and a half months to sail through Indonesia before continuing toward the Indian Ocean. And the more we thought about it, the less that made sense. Indonesia is enormous.

It's made up of thousands of islands, with incredible wildlife, remote anchorages, fascinating cultures, beautiful reefs, and so many places we would love to explore. Trying to rush through all of that in six weeks would mean skipping most of what makes the country so special. And that isn't really why we're doing this trip. We don't want to sail around the world just to say we've sailed around the world. We want to experience the places along the way. Spend time in remote island groups. Explore nature. Meet people. Discover different cultures. And occasionally have enough time to simply enjoy being somewhere without immediately having to prepare for the next passage. So we made a decision. We're changing our plans again!

Instead of rushing through Indonesia this season, we now plan to stay there until the next sailing season. That will give us several additional months to explore the country properly, visit more of its incredible islands, and hopefully experience some of the places we've been dreaming about. We then plan to cross the southern Indian Ocean around the middle of next year. It's a pretty significant change from our previous route, but one that we're really excited about. We've already applied for our Indonesian visa, and for now, that's the new plan. Of course, as always, we'll see what happens. If there's one thing sailing has taught us, it's that plans are best written in pencil. Preferably with a very large eraser nearby.

Finally, Back on Track!

Looking back, the past two weeks have been quite something. We spent countless hours repairing and upgrading Tauha, transformed the boat into a sewing workshop, carried a giant battery through Fiji on a local bus, nearly drifted onto a sandbank, and finally sailed another 550 nautical miles across the Pacific. We caught a delicious fish, hand-steered through pouring rain, battled another engine problem, and arrived in a beautiful new country. Only to spend the next four days rolling around at anchor, waiting to be allowed ashore. And somewhere in between all of that, we even managed to fix the autopilot. Hopefully for good this time! With so much work, sailing, and constant movement, finding a quiet moment to sit down, with the laptop and write a blog post has been nearly impossible. Even when we weren't busy working, the rolling of the boat made staring at a screen rather unpleasant. Which is why this post is arriving a little later than usual. But now we're finally back on track! And the good news is that the next chapter of our adventure is already waiting. Because once we were finally allowed ashore, Vanuatu turned out to be an incredible place. From breathtaking nature and fascinating cultural experiences to some wonderful encounters with animals, we have so much to tell you. But those stories will have to wait until next week's post. For now, we're simply happy to have made it to another country, to have completed some major improvements on Tauha, and to finally be able to look forward to exploring instead of just fixing things. Although, knowing our boat, I'm sure the next project is already waiting around the corner.

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