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Back in the USSA

Shari and I have taken a brief sabbatical from cruising. We are back in Seattle until April of next year (2007). We can be reached at "sharidicks@yahoo.com","ddshari@msn.com", "bobulona@hotmail.com" or by phone at 206-999-6200. Happy and Healthy New Year to you all!

Denis and Shari

update from FIJI

Update from FIJI July 10, 2005 Definitely past due for an update As far as the NZ trip --- We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in New Zealand, but were only able to check out a small portion of NZ’s north island. We took our first road trip towards the famous surfing spot, Raglan, on the west coast. A town we both could see living in some time. A beautiful bay with excellent long lefts, good windsurfing when the wind comes up, and a small friendly town with a great energy. We spent a few days there surfing and checking out the area. From there, we drove down to the Waitomo Caves where we met our good friends Rick & Corbie for a blackwater rafting trip through the caves. These caves are remarkable for the glow worms which hang from the cave roof and give off a florescent green glow. We kept our boat in Tauranga, and took several short trips to coastal sites, as well as to Auckland to visit with friends who decided to stay and work, making NZ home for a while. In early March Shari had to return back to the states to help out her mom for a couple of months, and Denis took advantage of the time to get some important boat projects done. We plan on going back to NZ next season especially to explore NZ’s south island. Bobulona arrived in the tropical paradise of Fiji after a drama free passage (thank goodness!) on June 2, manned by Denis, Harvey, and Les. Anne and Shari had flown ahead to get a head start on checking out Fiji for the group. They stayed in a low key “backpackers” resort on the south (gold) coast of Viti Levu, called The Beachhouse. A great piece of waterfront property with access to swimming, kayaking and snorkeling right outside their bure. They indulged in water activities, eating fresh coconuts off the trees, lounging in hammocks under the palm trees, and kava ceremonies in the evening. They took a jungle hike up to a waterfall, led by Judah, a local Fijian guru of medicinal plants, who taught us about the great variety of plants and flowers and their traditional uses for healing. As well, they visited the towns of Sigatoka and Nadi, and enjoyed a scenic drive to Suva, where they met up with the guys in Suva Harbor. In Suva, after clearing customs, we stopped into the Royal Suva Yacht Club for a token drink to toast the safe passage. We visited the SuvaMuseum and learned more about Fiji’s history. At the local market we stocked up on fruits & veggies, as well as a supply of kava root to offer the local village chiefs for sevusevu (sevusevu is a gift offering to request permission to visit their island. From Suva, we headed west towards Beqa Lagoon, famous for diving and surfing at Frigates pass. At the surf camp on Yanuca Island, we were treated to a traditional Fijian fire walking ceremony and a great traditional Fijian dinner. After 10 days of primarily cloudy weather, we decided to head west for the sun. We made one stop at Vunatiu Bay, where we explored the beaches and collected young green coconuts for their tasty milk and sweet meat. Our next stop was Musket Cove in the Mamanuka group. A very cruiser friendly resort. We did a variety of snorkeling and diving trips, and were privy to spectacular views of colorful soft coral & new varieties of fish. It Is easy to get the hook stuck in the mud there due the numerous cruisers to meet at the BBQ’s and share stories with. Within a short dinghy ride or about a hour by Bobulona is the world famous surf breaks of Tavarua and Namotu Islands. Unfortunately, the breaks are owned by the resorts and are off limits to people other than guests except for Saturday morning when the groups turn over. We have made it out there twice. The wind kicked up enough for some windsurfing a few days during our stay there. The tricky part was rigging the sails and getting them into the water and attached to the boards with the wind and waves bouncing the boat around. We are now heading around the northern coast of Viti Levu to the island of Nananu-I-Ra. The windsurfing is supposed to be great due to the exposure to the SE tradewinds. We will probably be there for 2-3 weeks or until our arms are stretched to their limits. The diving is reported to be quite excellent in this area. We will send an update after our visit there. Moce for now Denis and Shari

Bobulona's adventures continued.....

Bobulona left Tonga on November 10, and with 1 short stop in Minerva Reef. Minerva Reef consist of two small atolls (reefs) that are barely above water at low tide. You can anchor inside them and be protected from prevailing seas mostly but not from the wind. It is pretty wild being anchored out in middle of the ocean in calm water with no sight of land. We had a great sail and landed in Opua Marina, on the northeast coast of New Zealand on November 22nd, in time to celebrate Denis' birthday. Perfect timing - the day after our arrival it started blowing 40-50 knots! During our brief stay in Opua we took a road trip down to Whangarei,  taking the Coast Road, and got a small taste of the spectacular NZ countryside seen from the car (a novel way for us to travel). Wherever you gazed seemed to be a feast for the eyes!

After 10 days of touring around the Opua - Bay of Islands area, we got back aboard Bobulona and took 4 days to sail down toTauranga, where we are currently berthed. We love our new digs here. Tauranga is a beautiful area with access to the mountains, and a short distance to miles of beautiful beaches, which are playgrounds for surfing, windsurfing and long beach walks.  You can even ride your bikes on the beach at low tide!

We  were only in New Zealand for the couple weeks  before we headed back to the States for the holidays. We went to Florida to spend time with family and then on back to Seattle to visit with friends and tend to business.  We had intentions of doing some skiing while in Washington, and even had a weekend trip planned to Whistler. However, this was an unusually warm winter with very little snow, so we were only able to ski 2 days. Overall we had a great time catching up with friends as well as doing some shopping for the boat.

It is now February 18, we are back in New Zealand and Denis has just finished the "modifications" on our new campervan. We have unloaded all of our toys off Bobulona, so we will be off tomorrow on a road trip (surfing safari), around the south part of the North Island. There should be some great stories in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned for the next update. Ciao for now.