They were supposed to sail with us to Singapore, but we only got as far as Darwin… Maybe that’s for the better though, because coming from the Canadian arctic region they might not have been able to cope with real tropic temperatures. Suffice to say that the ice cream consumption on this boat has never been this high before.
Although to keep things simple here in the Pacific we refer to each other as husband and wife, we aren’t actually married yet. Rolf decided it was time to make us honest people again and proposed. Off course Boukje said yes. So now we are very happy to announce: we’re engaged to be married! Hurray!
Being in Australia and all, we thought the best way to spend Rolfs birthday would be by cuddling a koala. So we spend the afternoon in the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and met all Australia’s cutest (and weirdest looking) animals. Read the rest of this entry »
After spending several weeks in Tuvalu (more on our stay there on another day…), we decided to look for some more adventurous travelling. Instead of going to Kiribati, we thought of spending the rest of the cyclone season in the Solomon Islands. However, this would be a 1200 miles long passage with a not-so-reliable engine due to bad fuel from Tahiti and in the middle of the cyclone season. This meant looking at lots of rain, unsteady winds and potentially rough seas. Suffice to say, we were not really looking forward to doing this by ourselves…
Read the rest of this entry »
We’ve arrived on Funafuti, the main island and capital of Tuvalu. It’s really nice to be able to go to shops and out for dinner. (don’t expect too much of this though…)
We also have a local phone number for as long as we are here. You can call us between 0900 and 2100 local time. Since we’re on +12 hours UTC this means for the Netherlands that we can be reached between 22.00 and 10.00. The telephone number is +688 901468.
We’d love to hear from you!
Even in paradise there are good days, better days and very special days. As Monday was my birthday, Rolf made it an extra special day. It all started with breakfast in bed (well actually cake in bed) and a boat full of balloons and flowers. Followed by lunch in Papeete in lovely Café Verde (highly recommended if you ever get to Tahiti). After that I finally got my surprise: a visit to the Deep Nature Spa where we received a Bora Bora deep blue massages which “includes a moisturizing effleurage applied using marine purses, relaxation techniques and Polynesian know-how” and an accompanying facial. After three hours we were indeed deeply relaxed! And not up to the fancy dinner Rolf had planned as the grand birthday finale. So we ended up going home and having a real McDonalds birthday party with French fries and a strawberry milkshake. A perfect ending to a perfect day. Read the rest of this entry »
Yesterday we waved goodbye to Matty and Arent, as they set sail on their new boat. They’ll be helping deliver the catamaran to Australia. Their first stop however is Raiatea for some repairs. So we’ll probably catch up with them there, as we are hoping to leave Tahiti in a few days as well. We wish them both a very good trip and thank them for all the help and fun on board.
Goodbye and thanks for all the fish!
As of Sunday evening the 15 of august the Helena has been a non-smoking boat. I know you probably won’t believe me if you have ever met any of the men on this boat, but it was a mutual and voluntary decision to quit. Okay, I must admit that I did pressure Rolf into it, but after about 6 months of me nagging about it he was quite ready to give up. Arent and Matty however quit because they wanted to themselves.
Although it sounded to me like a good plan for them to be able to do this together, it unfortunately doesn’t really seem to work that way. Read the rest of this entry »
We would like to present you the newest trend in Pacific hairstyling. Here you see Rolf & Arent Brink showing what from now on will be known as the Bald Brinkie. Only available at Boukje’s Hairsalon on the back of the Helena. (The necklaces are a parting gift from our Manihi family)
