New Zealand, Great Barrier Islands – by Gary Dawson

New Zealand
Great Barrier Isl.

It feels like a lot has transpired since I last wrote. I spent 4 days at Great Barrier Isl.. It is in essence a wilderness Isl. with many beautiful bays and anchorages. At this time of year I was one of a very few number of boats out there. I did [...]

Life in the U.S. – Mike and Marnie

As you know Mike and I have been in the States the last several weeks.  We’ve enjoyed seeing family and friends.  We’ve attended football games and hockey games.  We even managed a surprise birthday party for Mike in November!!!! We also made it back to Key Largo, FL to spend a wonderful Thanksgiving with Mike’s family.   We [...]

New Zealand – by Gary Dawson

New Zealand
Moments In Time
Its hard to describe the beauty of what I am looking at right now. I left Opua and went to a little uninhabited Island about 2 hours away called Motuarohia. Captain Cook dropped anchor here Nov.29 1769. I and another boat are the only ones in the bay. The sun is setting [...]

New Zealand, Landfall – by Gary Dawson & Colby Lawrence

After 7 days and 1100miles of Ocean, we made landfall in Opua New Zealand (latitude 35 19’ S, Long. 174 07’E). That is 5000 miles south of Charlevoix, MI. Colby will tell you about the passage.
Now that I am here I am a little apprehensive. First off we are coming from were the temperature has [...]

Happy Thanksgiving – Gary, Nicole & Colby

I want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving. We all certainly have a lot to be thankful for. May we all get a chance in life to share our blessings with others.
Nicole, Colby and myself will celebrate at Sea as we are still 300 miles from New Zealand. We are going to have [...]

Goodbye Lovely Tonga- by Gary Dawson & Nicole

Goodbye Lovely
Tonga
Tonga is most certainly the undiscovered paradise of the Pacific. It has to be one of the least known and yet best cruising area that I have come across. We all have heard of Tahiti, Bora Bora and Fiji, but Tonga, is it an Island or what??? This is an amazing place. Hundreds of [...]

Tonga – Week 3

We have had a great time sailing around Tonga again. From Nuku’alofa to the Vava’u group in the north. We will stop at few new Islands in the middle Ha’apai group on the way back. It has been fun sailing with Nicole and Colby. Nicole is the navigator and takes it pretty seriously as one [...]

Tonga – by Gary Dawson

Dates 
 
If you remember, the date was rescheduled for Monday night. So, Monday night I went back to where she worked/lived at 6 pm. She was there and I asked her if she still wanted to go out. She said yes, but a girl friend was going also and I figured what the heck the more [...]

Tonga Week 2 – by Gary Dawson

We departed the Vava’u Islands in Tonga last Sunday on our way to Nukualofa in Tonga, about 170 miles South West. Our first stop enroute was the Island of Ofolanga. It was a completely deserted Island with a beautiful beach miles long. Upon arriving we made BBQ chicken with my moms potato salad receipt and [...]

Whale Tales – by Mike Dawson

By now most readers have read about our great extraordinary swim with the whales in Huahene seeing the baby with the mother with in just meters of touching them. The quest continues as we travel these great waters of the Pacific. When arriving in Neiafu Tonga a small Island, we decided to check out the [...]