Bluebird

Day 188: thank you and good night

November 24, 2022

Miriam here, likely speaking on behalf of everyone as we’re all quite busy and I am rather fond of blogging… I write to you from a beautiful, sunny morning...

Smooth sailing at home.

November 19, 2022

Jennie here: Whoop Whoop! We have Bluebird home and happy. Thanks so much to Bill on Sequin who took us out on his boat to greet the intrepid travelers, was...

day 188: so close and yet…

November 19, 2022

Naomi here, Well here we finally are slowly easing our way up the cook strait , which in fact we have been doing for, just about 24 hours now. Not having a...

day 185: are we there yet?

November 16, 2022

Miriam: A brilliantly sunny afternoon and we are rolling along at a respectable clip of 7 ish knots with some solid 17 ish knot northeasterlies behind us....

day 183

November 14, 2022

Miriam: Night is falling on Tuhua: the Kaka are screeching as they fly overhead, the Tui ringing their echoing bell tones in the canopy, the gulls nattering...

day 182: eat it!

November 14, 2022

Naomi here Today was our mayor island day, Jamie started it off by taking off very early to spearfish and came home with his surface fish containment unit...

day 181

November 13, 2022

Naomi here We hunkered down, there was wind, there was rain, it was wet, it was cold, it was miserable. There was hot pools on shore and we couldn’t even...

days 178~180: Oppo saves the day

November 11, 2022

Miriam: Today is a pouring rain, howling wind sort of day and we are completely hunkered down at anchor in Mt. Maunganui. A barely going above decks sort of...

day 177: neoprene queen

November 8, 2022

Jamie (finally): There’s been a lot of talk (from me) about fish pies and carbonara. But after sailing upwind for 8 hours and diving amongst the kelp beds...

day 176- still no carbonara

November 8, 2022

Miriam: Today was an early start, springing into action at first light to rally down to Great Mercury Island. It was a crashing bashing soaking wet sort of...

day 175: Barrier Gold

November 7, 2022

Miriam: What a grand day this has been. We spent a quiet morning in deference to a still sleeping, likely migraine stricken Naomi and then the rest of us set...

day 174: PFGBI

November 6, 2022

Miriam: Whoops, my spelling error meant our last blog got lost in the ethers for a few days. Ironic seeing as it was my rally cry to the continuing blog. And...

day 170: islands for days

November 5, 2022

Miriam: Perhaps continuing to blog is anti climactic, our followers perhaps imagining the journey is essentially over now that Bluebird is safely back in NZ....

day 169: kaha why

November 1, 2022

Miriam: What an absolutely wonderful welcome to NZ we have had. John and Lynette hosted us with the utmost generosity and we thoroughly enjoyed remembering...

day 168: a new dawn

October 30, 2022

Naomi here, Trying to write some words before I descend into unconsciousness … yesterday we finally arrived to New Zealand !! Coming into opua just as...

They're back!!

October 29, 2022

Bluebird

day 166: nek minnit , enzed

October 29, 2022

Naomi here, We are creeping ever closer to New Zealand, tonight is even chillier than it’s ever been before, and looking to be another night of hand...

day 165: rainbow or rain bro?

October 27, 2022

Jamie here, this morning I woke up and came outside to be greeted by a cheerful Matt hand steering and a beautiful sunny morning. The temperature is so nice...

day 164:

October 26, 2022

Miriam here, tucked into bed and nearly asleep at the late hour of 7 pm. That’s the price one pays for dawn watch I suppose, sunrises traded for sleep...

day 163: a tin full of tarts

October 25, 2022

Jamie here, Wendy the windvane is going well and conditions have calmed somewhat. I live treat to treat now. Sweet coffee, chips, fried noodles. Before...

day 162: rip, shit and bust

October 24, 2022

Jamie- today passed by relatively uneventful all things considered. It was an incredibly wet watch, getting soaked by waves every few minutes. I considered...

day 161: return of the swamp

October 24, 2022

Miriam: Now I understand the difference between a downwind and an upwind passage. Downwind might be fast paced, a little wet, big wind, some exhilarating...

day 159+160 : riding for rohan

October 22, 2022

Jamie here, this morning we officially checked out of Fiji and nervously waited at the fuel dock for it to open while surrounded by other impatient boats...

Bluebird's flying again!

October 22, 2022

They’re off! Expected passage of 7-8 days to Opua, NZ. Miriam was good to send some photos of their time in Fiji when they were in wifi range yesterday....

day 158:

October 21, 2022

Miriam: This evening finds us anchored at Denarau Island in blissfully still, quiet waters. The sunset was spectacular, a full sky event reflecting rose in...

day 157:

October 20, 2022

Naomi here, A very hot day yesterday, I missed most of the dance party/yarn unravelling/cake scoffing party by going snorkeling with Magnus and Jap in which...

day 156: strangers in the night

October 19, 2022

Miriam: Hmmm, today. A bit of a liminal one for me as I went without contacts as I have a little eye irritation to heal (and broke my glasses right before...

day 155- swim to the light

October 18, 2022

Naomi here, we are running low on provisions and fresh water but we are still finding more reasons to stay in Waya, we have moved across the bay to the...

day 152-154: losing count

October 17, 2022

Jamie here, despite not exactly having a full schedule, bluebird has still fallen off the blog wagon. So hello we are back online. We’ve been mincing around...

day 160: the curse of the leifinator

October 14, 2022

Jamie here, It has been raining on and off all day here which is great as they’re just coming out of a drought. The others went for a hike in the rain while...

day 150: the skeleton quay

October 13, 2022

Jamie here,this morning we moved to a sheltered area on the other side of our isthmus. We anchored and bought sevu sevu to the chief. We were then shown...

day 149: voldemorts demise

October 12, 2022

Jamie here, This morning we left our musket cove anchorage and cruised to waya island. Despite having the fishing lure out amongst feeding fish we still...

day 148: Happy Fiji Day!

October 10, 2022

Miriam: The full moon rose huge and golden over Malolo Lailai Island as the sunset faded in lemon and rose behind heavy grey clouds low on the horizon. An...

day 146 + 147: return of the son of cloudbreak

October 10, 2022

Miriam: Night has fallen and the stars of the anchor lights, gently swaying atop each mast, are the only stars beneath a cloud covered sky. The day began...

Some visuals

October 10, 2022

Jamie’s an old salt now. While reef fish identification is worked on. Having a shower Bluebird style Farewell to Robin :( Time for a surf!! Run-ins with the...

day 145: from wave to grave and back again: a hobbits tale

October 8, 2022

Jamie here. Today we were awoken by our surfing friend Magnus who took us in his dinghy out to cloudbreak for another sesh on the waves. Great morning and...

day 144: corned beef on mash

October 7, 2022

Miriam: We escaped! Finally Vuda Point is behind us and we are anchored out at Cloudbreak, a surf break in Malolo Pass. A morning of a few last errands and...

day 141 - 143: maximus, commodus or proximo?

October 5, 2022

Hello Jamie: the purgatory in vuda point marina is beginning to take hold. Although we have done very well with our food water fuel restock, the dodger which...

days 139-141

October 2, 2022

Bula vinaka ! Naomi here Well we made it to vuda point, we sailed all night from Kadavu, made it in to cloudbreak by daybreak…. Exhausted from our night of...

day 138: screefing the reef

September 29, 2022

Robin here via proxy, She loved snorkelling in the trenches today, a major highlight. Some hanging out with sweet little white tipped reef sharks happened....

Dravuni photos

September 29, 2022

Cool fresh coconut after a hot walk The salu salu presentation Bad light but sheer joy The halo! Love this shot :)

day 136 & 137: i cassavan’t eat any more

September 28, 2022

Miriam here, What a full and lovely couple of days we’ve had! Dravuni Island has been idyllic, a true paradise. I have accepted an invitation to be a sister...

Kadavu and Dravuni photos

September 27, 2022

The good news is that Bluebird seems to still have wifi access, as far as I can tell by magic. So we should have a few stashes of photos to come. First off...

day 135: is samsung best known for their vacuums?

September 26, 2022

Miriam: The sunset is muted peach through layers of grey clouds on the horizon. We are anchored at Dravuni Island in front of the beachfront village, a very...

day 134: lets talk about mums fungus

September 25, 2022

Jamie here: Today we woke to a blue sky day, the sun was shining. Last night there was a massive rain event. It rained heavily for three hours on bluebird...

day 133: man or grove?

September 25, 2022

Jamie here: Today we slept in somewhat and drank sweet coffee. What a life. We found a small path through the forest to the village and gave our sevu sevu....

day 132: the old man and the sea

September 23, 2022

Miriam here, We write to you tonight from our anchorage at Kadavu Island near Nigoro Pass. The near shore is thick with mangroves and someone loud and...

More photos!

September 23, 2022

Jennie: Jamie had some spare wifi he bought so I’ve got some more visuals through from Miriam and Robin as they sail towards Kadavu today. Miriams shots from...

day 131 so many birds after me

September 23, 2022

Jamie here: Today we settled into our new anchorage by sleeping in and going snorkelling! After my promise to the friendly school children to meet them after...

Suva Shots

September 21, 2022

The crew have sent in some photos! Well, not Naomi who had been waiting for Robin to bring her a new phone to replace her dead one and the new one turned out...