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Happy New Year 2025!

Posted on by by Posted in Australia, Greetings, South Pacific

Sugarcane Fields in Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia

The New Year has started! While most cruisers returned home, we chose to stay quiet and enjoy a peaceful holiday season in the Bundaberg Marina.

On New Year’s Day, we had the pleasure of meeting two sailors from Japan. They had sailed directly from Japan and cleared the Australian Border Force (Immigration and Customs) in Bundaberg, Australia. Their nonstop journey covered a 3,300 nautical miles and took them 29 days.

Tomorrow, they plan to sail from Bundaberg to Melbourne, covering another 1,200 nautical miles—a journey that might take around 10 days.

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Sugarcane, Macadamia Nuts, and Melon Farms in Bundaberg, Australia

Posted on by by Posted in Australia, Boat Projects, Pacific Islands

A Joey (Baby Kangaroo) in a Pouch of Mom at Cania Gorge Big4 Holiday Park, Queensland, Australia

Bundaberg resembles an inland farming town in Florida. It is summer here, with very hot and humid weather. The sun is intense, but frequent winds provide some cooling relief. We try to avoid being outdoors during the peak sunny hours.

The sugarcane fields stretch endlessly across the horizon. Cane trains run through the town, transporting the harvest from farms to sugar factories and ports. The soil here is fertile, supporting extensive macadamia nut farms, potato fields, and melon farms, which we’ve seen so far.

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Sailing from New Zealand to Australia (Part 3 – Arrived)

Posted on by by Posted in Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Sailings, South Pacific

Tracking Map from Whangarei, New Zealand to Bundaberg, Australia (November 7 to 20, 2024)

(November 13 to 20, 2024). We arrived in Bundaberg, Australia, after sailing 1,600 nautical miles, 13 days. The last part of the journey was a bit stressful, mainly due to the wind direction coming directly from behind us. Despite this challenge, this trip was the best among our long passages.

We hardly slept during the final days but worked diligently on arrival requirements, focusing on cleaning and organizing the boat and managing food restrictions. I prepared the restricted items as follows:

–Raw rice → Cooked rice

–Ham → John ate it for breakfast,

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Sailing from New Zealand to Australia – Autopilot Problem and Engine Issue

Posted on by by Posted in Australia, Boat Projects, Boating Tips from Bad Bunny John, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Sailings, South Pacific

Tracking Map on GPS: Green (Autopilot Driving), Red (Hand Steering while Troubleshooting), Yellow (More Hand Steering during Diagnosis), Blue (Hove-To = Boat In Park)

(Written by John) Famous last words ” I have an idea, let me try this”

During my normal watch period of 8 until 2 I decided to try and manual steer the boat for an experiment to see if we could get more downwind performance. I turned the autopilot off and tried to manually steer us downwind while easing off the Genoa sheet and letting it billow out in front of the boat.

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Sailing from New Zealand to Australia (Part 2)

Posted on by by Posted in Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Sailings, South Pacific

My Best Friend “Auto Pilot” Navigating in the Coral Sea

(November 9 to 13, 2024) “The Coral Sea is the body of water east of the Great Barrier Reef, bounded by Papua New Guinea to the north, the Tasman Front to the south, and the west Pacific island chains of the Solomons, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the east.” (Source: https://eatlas.org.au)

We’ve been sailing in the Coral Sea, currently about 300 miles south of New Caledonia.”

Our total sailing distance over the past six days is about 750 nautical miles (nms),

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Sailing from New Zealand to Australia (Part 1)

Posted on by by Posted in New Zealand, Sailings, South Pacific

Sailing with Jib Sail, Stay Sail, and Main Sail in the Tasman Sea

(November 7 to 9, 2024) Starlink has been a game-changer! Having high-speed internet at sea feels unreal, making it easy to access real-time weather forecasts and update my blog on time.

Before we departed, we met with Customs and Immigration Officers at Marsden Cove Marina. Passports no longer get departure stamps, but we received clearance documents for our first port of entry in Australia. One of the officers even shared the latest U.S. election results with us.

After not sailing for the last ten months,

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Good Bye to New Zealand

Posted on by by Posted in Boat Projects, New Zealand, Sailings, South Pacific

We moved the newly purchased New Zealand Dinghy up on the deck for a long journey. Our cat Happy is ready for sailing. Port Nikau Main Wharf, Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand

We left Whangarei Town and arrived at Marsden Cove Marina yesterday for our customs clearance. This morning, we’re scheduled to meet with the Customs Officer. Once cleared, we have four hours to depart New Zealand and are not allowed to stop anywhere else within the country.

Two days ago, we took our cats to a Biosecurity-approved veterinarian in Whangarei to begin the pet export process to Australia.

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Pictures from Whangarei Maritime Festival 2024

Posted on by by Posted in New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Sailings

Helicopter Sea Rescue Demo, Whangarei Maritime Festival, North Island, New Zealand

New Zealand Navy RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat), Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand

Whangarei Maritime Festival, North Island, New Zealand

Whangarei Maritime Festival, Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand

Whangarei Maritime Festival, Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand

Boat Storage Houses, Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand

Whangarei Marina Office, Whangarei Maritime Festival, Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand

Whangarei Maritime Festival, Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand

Whangarei Maritime Festival, Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand

Whangarei Maritime Festival, Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand

Lavender Flowers in Whangarei,…

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Daily Bus Tour to Cape Reinga and 90 Mile Beach, New Zealand

Posted on by by Posted in Boat Projects, New Zealand, Sailings, South Pacific

Tour Bus on 90 Mile Beach, North Island, New Zealand

Spring Fever is here! Local schools are closed for two weeks for Spring break, and we’re enjoying more sunny days with fewer rainy ones. More flowers are starting to bloom.

When we first arrived in New Zealand, we planned to stay for six months, but it turned into a year. During that time, We’ve experienced all four seasons. The year-round pleasant weather, clean air, abundant fresh water, and stunning landscapes, and untouched nature are more reasons that we continuously like New Zealand.

New Zealand’s sailing team won the last two “America’s Cup” competitions and are currently competing in the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona,

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Starlink and Its Mount Installation on “Sailboat Bad Bunny”

Posted on by by Posted in Boat Projects, Boating Tips from Bad Bunny John, New Zealand, Sailings

Starlink Antenna after Cutting the Bottom

“High Speed Internet Around the World”! This has been a game-changer for sailors Worldwide.

It was just four years ago when we first heard about Starlink. At that time, we didn’t believe this technology would become available so quick for sailors. However, when we arrived in New Zealand, we ordered a Starlink system and have been using it ever since.

At sea, having access to weather forecast information is critical, and Starlink has been a tremendous help. We absolutely love it! Go Elon Musk!!!

Finding the right installation spot on a sailboat proved to be a bit of a challenge.

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