mellorsatsea

BLUE WATER OCEAN CRUISING YACHT

mellorsatsea — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 14:13:23 -0700

BLUE WATER OCEAN CRUISING YACHT

NORSEMAN 447 CENTER COCKPIT CUTTER

Please see Blue Water Yacht...

SOUTH ISLAND NEW ZEALAND part two

mellorsatsea — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:43:22 -0700

Oamaru was an unexpected treat. From Lonely Planet, “The architecture is a mosaic of styles from Gothic revival to neoclassical ...

SOUTH ISLAND NEW ZEALAND part one

mellorsatsea — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 02:55:31 -0700

We came back from 7 weeks touring on New Zealand's South Island and we were greeted back to a ...

Franz Josef Glacier by Claire

mellorsatsea — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 01:06:26 -0700

Have you ever walked on a glacier? Well I have, on the Franz Josef Glacier in the south island of ...

FARMSTAY

mellorsatsea — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 21:06:43 -0800

FARM STAY

The crew of Sensei was curious for more exposure to New Zealand life, so we joined ...

HIGHLAND GAMES

mellorsatsea — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 17:24:35 -0800

Before I left Mexico, a friend gave me an historical fiction novel titled Outlander*. I had no idea ...

CHRISTMAS IN NEW ZEALAND

mellorsatsea — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 10:40:20 -0800

Christmas in New Zealand

by Claire Mellor

I have had Christmases in lots of places before, but ...

THE LAST BLUE WATER

mellorsatsea — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 15:34:04 -0800

THE LAST BLUE WATER

We arrived in Opua several weeks ago. Our departure from Tonga was delayed due ...

TURMOIL AND TRADEWINDS

mellorsatsea — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 13:57:20 -0800

TURMOIL AND TRADEWINDS-TONGA TO NEW ZEALAND

November 15 – December 10

None of the palangies (white people) on the ...

PANGIAMOTU ISLAND

mellorsatsea — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 14:06:53 -0800

PANGIAMOTUISLAND by Claire Mellor

Have you ever slept in a grass hut in Tonga? ...

KELEFESIA

mellorsatsea — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 14:23:39 -0800

Kelefesia was magical, the most ideal anchorage in Ha'apai in my opinion. The island has striated limestone cliffs topped ...

TONGA: HA'APAI

mellorsatsea — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 14:16:47 -0700

The Ha’apai Group, Tonga

October 19, 2006

Our eight hour passage from Vava’u (northern Tongan group) to the central ...

TONGAN FEAST

mellorsatsea — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 16:22:01 -0700

TONGAN FEAST

The Kingdom of Tonga is the only Polynesian country never to be colonized by a major world ...

TONGA, VAVA'U

mellorsatsea — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 16:19:04 -0700

TONGA Vava’u

After sailing for hundreds of miles between small harbors offering limited shelter, Vava’u is a great relief....

NIUE

mellorsatsea — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 15:18:24 -0700

NIUE

Niue (NEW-way) is a single island 8 miles by 10 miles, one of the world’s smallest self governing ...

CRUISER FRIENDS' WEBSITES

mellorsatsea — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 17:19:20 -0700

For you web surfers who hunger for more cruising stories, please check out a few friend's sites: Tom and Amy on sandpiper38.blogspot.com and Jim, Emma, Phoebe and Drake on www.thevoyageofbluesky.com. We have been traveling with a wide variety of boat people. The friendship of fellow cruisers really enhances our new experiences. Check them out!

roulottes

mellorsatsea — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:11:58 -0700

THE ROULOTTES

Oops! Late posting of June 26

My preoccupation with and love of good food has been severely challenged while visiting in French Polynesia. The cheap food is basically anything white, and the colorful stuff that I crave like salad fixings and vegetables are prohibitively pricey. Generally, a mediocre restaurant dinner costs $28 per entrée, side salads are a la carte. Imagine my delight and surprise when we discovered the night roulettes (full service mobile restaurants) that gather side by side along waterfront at the Quai d’honneur in downtown Papeete just after dark.

These ‘pop-up’ restaurants serve everything from savory filled crepes, grilled steaks, seafood, chow mein and Greek gyros, to banana splits and whipped cream topped Belgian waffles. The size of a newspaper truck, they carry the driver, chefs and waiters, foldup tables and stackable stools, all the food and drinks and the charcoal grills and menu boards and outdoor lighting. Inside, is a complete kitchen with counters and sinks, refrigerators, pizza ovens and cabinets containing the dishes, cups, pans, silverware and kitchen utensils needed for the evening. Bright lights illuminate the kitchens and twinkle lights add to the cheerful ambience once the heavy duty cords are plugged into electrical posts in the square.

We chose a table at a creperie. My whole wheat crepe was filled with bacon, spinach, eggs, camembert cheese and mushrooms. Chris ordered a Roquefort and walnut crepe that was killer! The dinner crepes came with a large green salad!! We shared an order of hot, fresh frites (French fries) and Claire inhaled her banana and chocolate crepe in practically one breath. Alcohol is not served, so we had sodas. Our entire bill was less than $30 and I was more than happily satisfied.

By one a.m. the roulettes are gone, the square is cleaned and falls quiet until the cruise ship tourists gather for their assigned tour busses the next morning.

We’ll try another truck tonight, and most likely, bring our own beverages!

kelley

NIGHT WATCH

mellorsatsea — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 16:25:44 -0700

NIGHT WATCH by Claire

            One night on our way to Rarotonga, my dad and I were looking at the stars. We were trying to find the Southern Cross. While my dad was in the middle of relaxing, I yelled “Daddy look, a ship!” He was so startled he thought we were going to hit a boulder.

            My dad and I tried to decide where the ship was headed. W tried to call the ship on channel 16. Then we tried channels 13, 14, 15 but he didn’t answer.

            Since he didn’t answer we decided to look him up on the radar. We found the ship. So we plotted his range and bearing, which means you plot down how far away he is and where he’s headed. My dad thought he was headed for us.

            While my dad was fixing the steering wheel or, as we cruisers call it, the helm, I heard something on the radio. I yelled “Daddy, there’s someone on the radio!” My dad called him back. It was the ship. We asked the cruise ship his name and where he was headed. He was going 11 knots, passing our port and his name was the Tahitian Princess. He was going to Bora Bora.

            The Cruise Ship was lit up with fascinating bright, white lights. It looked like a sparkling princess to me! I felt nervous when it passed us, but it was super fun plotting him on the radar. I shall always remember this time.

RAROTONGA

mellorsatsea — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 16:20:14 -0700

RAROTONGA

Cook Islands

August 10-14

After four days sailing with a mixed bag of sea conditions, we arrived in ...

Bora Bora

mellorsatsea — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 18:16:56 -0700

BORA BORA

We finished our tour of French Polynesia with a visit to one of the most exotic islands ...

Moorea and Huahine

mellorsatsea — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 17:14:56 -0700

MOOREA AND HUAHINE

July 10-July 22

We enjoyed up a gorgeous week in Moorea with our buds, Tom and ...

Papeete

mellorsatsea — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 17:13:21 -0700

PAPEETE

June 29-July 10

Our 14 day stay in the Capital of French Polynesia was about 10 days longer ...

PHOTOS!PHOTOS!PHOTOS!

mellorsatsea — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 15:55:17 -0700

July 5, 2006

Arue, Tahiti

Hi all!

Happy July 4th and best summer greetings from the crew of Sensei. I'm sitting in the shade with a cold one at the Tahiti Yacht Club. France just made it to the finals in the World Cup and the joint is jumpin' in a celubrious mode. I, on the other hand, have been working diligently, adding lots of photos to the picture column of the blogsite. Check us out!

This week and next is the HUGE Tahitian cultural festival called 'Heiva', with native dance competitions, firewalking, chanting and outrigger canoe races. We are looking forward to catching some of the events before we head over to Captain Cook's Bay on the island of Moorea.

Last night we dined at a roadside "roulette" (aka roachcoach) outside of the yacht club gates. Our grilled steaks and chicken with heaps of hot fries and a vegetable salad were absolutely the best $$ deal in all of French Polynesia. The food was hot and edible, music was loud and to Claire's liking, and the scenery was, well, rushing by at 50 mph.

In comparison to the Marquesas and Tuamotos, the city of Papette on Tahiti, is very cosmopolitan, complete with traffic jams, litter and homeless people. On the other hand, wireless internet and marine parts are available, as well as large, airconditoned grocery stores, the likes of which I haven't seen since Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I wandered the aisles in a contented daze as I oggled the refrigerated expanse of GREEN produce and international varieties of meats and cheeses. I suffered from shock and awe at an entire wall of french wines and outrageously priced liquor. Chris and Claire headed straight for the bakery, bagging fistfulls of creampuffs and filled croissants. It's unlikely that we'll see provisions like this for a long time so we are splurging a bit, despite the asronomical prices of everything.

We'll write about the festival soon....

Au revoir!

kelley

RANGIROA

mellorsatsea — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 10:43:15 -0700

Rangiroa, Tuamotus

June 19

The crew of Sensei enjoyed another stellar day with our newest boat friends, Renee and ...

SNORKELING by Claire

mellorsatsea — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 17:19:36 -0700

SNORKELING

By Claire

One day we went snorkeling on a little island in the atoll of Rangiroa. It was ...

SLEEPOVER WITH LIDY

mellorsatsea — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 17:22:36 -0700

SLEEPOVER IN THE TUAMOTOS

Two days ago I had a sleepover with a nurse named Lydie who works on ...

JUNE 6

mellorsatsea — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 17:23:52 -0700

JUNE 6 – 13

KAUEHI, TUAMOTOS

Although we thoroughly enjoyed our tour of the Marquesas, it was time to ...

MARQUESAS

mellorsatsea — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 10:45:53 -0700

Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia
June 4

We are currently half way through our 4 day sail from the Marquesas ...

HORSEBACK RIDING IN THE MARQUESAS

mellorsatsea — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 10:47:13 -0700

HORSEBACK RIDING IN THE MARQUESAS
By Claire

Two days ago my mom called a lady for my dad and I ...

MAY 13

mellorsatsea — Mon, 15 May 2006 17:37:11 -0700

May 13

Fatu Hiva, Hanavave Bay (Bay of Virgins), Marquesas

I’m nursing a cocktail in the cockpit ...