Bula Bula Fiji
I dare say it’s been too long since I’ve written a blog post, but there’s no time like the present. I woke up early, dried up last night's rain, and put up a pot of coffee. The wind is up…
Fiji Bound
“Can you anchor in the middle of the ocean?” is the question land-dwelling friends and family ask us most often. For six years, our answer has been a definitive “No.” But after visiting Minerva Reef, a tiny pit stop on…
Getting Ready to Sail Away
Seven weeks have flown by since we visited Jacqui and Phil at their bach, and I’m wondering: where did the time go? I could swear we were riding a tractor along the beach in Rangiputa yesterday. Perhaps it feels that…
The Ladies
My mother-in-law, Elaine, and my Aunt Rita—a.k.a. “the ladies”—arrived from the States in tip-top shape, albeit minus one suitcase. Their missing luggage launched us into Queenstown with an immediate mission: gear up with raincoats, socks, and other essentials at our…
Trampers?
Tramper noun 1. a person who tramps 2. New Zealand, a person who walks long distances, often over rough terrain, for recreation If you day-hike for ten days in a row, does that make you an official New Zealand tramper?…
The Stories are Waiting for Us
Biblical. That’s the best word to describe living on a boat in this kind of weather. It’s been raining hard for four days and nights—but it feels like forty. Everything (and I do mean everything) is wet: the new sheepskin…
North to Cavalli Islands and Whangaroa Bay
When your Kiwi friends tell you not to miss the Cavalli Islands and Whangaroa Bay, you listen. So we detoured north to go south. From our time in this region, there are two things I want to remember forever—and one…
It’s Good
It’s official—our TikTok channel, if we ever had one (which we won’t), would be called Ice Cream Around the World. The name works for us because, first and foremost, we have so much content. Just this week, we sampled frozen…
I’ve Missed You
Hi, it’s me. Sorry I haven’t called. It’s so unlike us not to talk at least five times a week. I have so much to tell you. First, I’ve missed you. I hope you’re warm and comfortable where you are…
E aroha ana ahau ki a koe
Week 1 We were full of energy and happy to be back. Gerty was not even a little worse for wear, so we immediately got to work preparing her for our passage to New Zealand. She splashed within twenty-four hours…
Pétanque Boules
If I were Queen of France for a day, I would toss aside my cumbersome gown in Paris, don my royal sweats, and summon my favorite companions to a countryside château for a game of pétanque. There, amid the vineyards,…
The Luxury of Time
Gerty is resting in the Raiatea boatyard, waiting patiently for her captains to return.“Soon,” I whispered this morning. The word came out in a fog as my breath touched the cold Maine air. Then it floated upward through the autumn…












