- 17/06/2025
ALMA Class Globe 580 / 2025 - Le navigateur solitaire Josh Kali Homebuild 5,8 m autour du monde - #MGR2025 Étape 2 Semaine 11 M...
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00:00Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada
00:30Yeah, no pressure, no rush. I've just been enjoying the cruise. I think I might have touched the tiller for all of 10 minutes in this passage.
00:39Yeah, that's pretty good. What sort of weather have you been getting and what sort of sail combinations have you been using?
00:46I've just been main and jib. I've had pretty much perfect wind and perfect swell for the entire trip.
00:55It's been two weeks of sunny skies and 15 knots of breeze right on the quarter and winds following.
01:04So, yeah, it's been lovely. Everybody else had squalls and thunderstorms and they had, you know, I got, yesterday was the worst.
01:12I got becalmed for about 12 hours. So I wasn't able, there was a little bit of breeze coming out of the west.
01:20So I couldn't go west at all. All I could do was sail due north or due south.
01:23So I kind of just sailed back and forth right next to the line on the chart plotter there and just to kind of keep everything nice and straight.
01:29But for the most part, it's been absolutely perfect. We were perfectly clear nights, you know, no squalls to worry about.
01:35I mean, I say that now and of course I'll probably have some tonight.
01:38But, yeah, just, you know, endless stars and the moon just started getting full.
01:45So it's been bright and it's been lovely. It's been really nice.
01:48I haven't had to do much of anything, really.
01:51Yeah, so just main and jib. I did put the finnaker up for a little while on one day when it was sea wind.
01:55But it was, like, such light wind that it couldn't even fill it.
01:59So that was for a couple hours and then I took it back down.
02:03So, yeah, I've been doing pretty, oh, you know, 10, 115 miles a day.
02:08I think I've averaged, you know, it's 1,450 miles total.
02:13And I should hopefully be there within a day or two.
02:16So that's about 14 days. That's a little over 100 miles.
02:18I'm happy with that just for not having to do anything.
02:21Yeah, and a light weather passage as well.
02:23So that's very effective.
02:26Of course, little boats are good in light winds as long as you don't have a sloppy sea to knock you back.
02:33Yeah, exactly. No, the sea is, I mean, there's been a couple days when it was, there was a big swell.
02:38But, I mean, out of two weeks, maybe two or three, maybe three days for the most part.
02:43The worst I encountered was coming right out of Papi 18th.
02:45And, yeah, I left, it was on sea.
02:49It was like, well, maybe not that much, but, you know, 20, maybe gusting 25.
02:55And as I was rounding Morea there, around the north side of Morea, that was great.
02:59And it was a full-on squall for, you know, four or five hours.
03:05It was raining pretty hard and blowing right up the chuff.
03:09So I was running before it, and it was a pretty big swell.
03:15But the little boat took it great.
03:17You know, I would come out, and I would have to jive the boat because it didn't necessarily want to go perfectly straight.
03:22And I was kind of trying to, obviously, avoid the island.
03:24So I would just come out and jive over to one side and go that way for a little while, and then an hour later, jive it back over to the other side.
03:31But, yeah, it handled it perfectly.
03:34That was about the worst I got.
03:36Yeah, so you would have been getting plenty of sleep and cooking up some great meals, et cetera?
03:43Yeah, yeah, exactly.
03:44I just didn't relax.
03:45I'm watching movies.
03:46I had a couple that I downloaded on the iPhone.
03:48And, yeah, I've been making, I had some fish tacos, and I did salmon chalmine one night, and obviously a lot of spaghetti because that's my favorite.
04:00And, yeah, just soaking it up.
04:03I, you know, I've been mostly, I'll stay inside during the day because it's so hot and sunny, and then I'll come out and hang out at night and watch the stars and stuff.
04:13So it's been lovely.
04:16You've been doing a bit of ukulele playing?
04:19I'm sorry?
04:20Have you played your ukulele in this passage?
04:23Yeah, yeah, definitely.
04:25Yeah, obviously that.
04:26But, like I said, I only know, like, five songs, so I'm kind of, like, tired of those five songs.
04:30I gotta, in PG, I gotta see if I can't find, like, a songbook or something so I can learn some new songs.
04:36I've got those five mastered, though.
04:39Yeah.
04:40I could maybe find you one here somewhere.
04:44Yeah, perhaps.
04:44But, yeah, that's, so I'm, I've been, just, yeah, enjoying the ride, really.
04:51Yeah, good.
04:53And, um, the bytes, uh, not giving you any trouble?
04:55No, everything's great today.
04:59I don't think my batteries got full today just because it was overcast all day, so today will be the first day that I didn't get a full charge.
05:05But, otherwise, I've been, uh, getting a full charge on the batteries every day, and, um, I was having some trouble with my chart potter.
05:13Like, the GPS kept losing signal.
05:14Like, I don't know if there's just not as many, like, Garmin network satellites in this area, but, uh, I have two, there's two ways that it can get the GPS.
05:24I have a GPS antenna on the roof, which is, like, the more accurate, but it also has a, the chart potter has an onboard GPS antenna, so.
05:30It was just the rooftop one that was losing the signal, and then I would just switch over to the chart potter, and then, and, and then I would switch back an hour later, and everything was fine.
05:39That was just fine.
05:40Other than that, everything's been absolutely great.
05:43The little wind vane has been steering like a champion, um, pretty much dead on course.
05:47I've kind of gotten the hang of, of fine-tuning it, at least, uh, with the main and the jib.
05:53Um, and so, yeah, I haven't had to do much.
05:56Just come out and make an adjustment every hour or two, whenever the wind kind of backs or veers one way or the other, you know, subtle changes and that sort of thing.
06:05So, you're carrying, you've been carrying a full main and the jib?
06:10Yeah, full main and the jib, and, uh, well, it depends, you know.
06:13Uh, I'd say probably one-third, uh, full and one, and full jib, and then one-third, you know, reef down and, and the reef down jib.
06:22There was a couple days when it was pretty greasy, so, uh, I was able to keep, maintain my speed, um, with, you know, two reefs in, and then I just, as needed.
06:31Right now, I got one reef in, uh, because I was rounding up a little bit.
06:35You know, it wasn't, um, you know, uncomfortable, or it wasn't peeling over excessively or anything, but it just didn't want to hold the course.
06:42I just kept trying to round up, so I just tried to reef, just so it could keep going nice and straight.
06:47But, yeah, and, and so I'll, uh, I would, because the wind was pretty much, it was kind of right on the corner, or sometimes, you know, downwind.
06:57So I would, uh, if the boat wanted to go, you know, more downwind, I would, I would, uh, pull it out.
07:03And if the boat wanted to go kind of more of a beam reach, I would just put the, tack and tack the jib over onto the other side.
07:08I'm interested to know when you, uh, tuck a reef in like that, when it starts to round up, does the boat slow down at all, or do you think that maybe, uh, um, it, uh, helps to balance it out and keeps your speed up?
07:22Yeah, it, well, and that's kind of what I watch for, you know, like if I put the, if it's rounding up, and I feel like, ah, maybe I should put in a reef, and I go ahead and do it, and then I lose like, you know, three quarters of a knot or something, then I'll shake it back out.
07:38But for the most part, it, I, I kind of have the, I have the feel of when it wants a reef, uh, and, and it won't slow it down any, you know, it's kind of like, it's at the point where it can't take, it doesn't want to take any more.
07:54And so, by flattening the boat out, and by staying more on course, you know, better VMG, uh, I actually ended up being a little quicker, so.
08:02Yeah, it's kind of got the hang of that.
08:05So, yeah, no, to, to answer your question, typically no, uh, I'll put the reef in at the moment when it wants to, and it, and it doesn't really slow down.
08:13I, I, I, I had the fall main up, like I said, and I was, I was doing five, uh, five and a half, and I was, you know, dropping down into, you know, four, four, uh, low fours, 4.3 or something like that.
08:26So, I put the reef in, and now I'm doing, uh, 4.8, you know, between four and a half and five.
08:32So, yeah, yeah, right on the money.
08:35Yeah, I guess, um, you know, uh, there's, the only way it could go faster would be to hand steer, and, uh, it's not much point, uh, unless you want to try and, uh, start pushing really, really hard.
08:48Uh, but, uh, you seem to be in the groove, eh?
08:53Yeah, exactly.
08:54And then I did the math, you know, I thought, oh, if I put up the spinnaker, and if I hand steer, and if I push myself, I might, I'm obviously not going to catch anybody, and I might have arrived, like, one day sooner, you know, in 14 days, if I could do, you know, 120 miles a day instead of 110, or, or 125, or 130 even miles a day instead of 110.
09:13That puts me, like, eh, maybe 180 to 200 miles ahead, and I wasn't racing any weather.
09:19I was watching the forecast, um, I might have been able to avoid being in the column yesterday for a few hours if I had been a few months, you know, 100 miles or so ahead, but, uh, at the same time, you know, I'm kind of still trying to just preserve the rig, and preserve the spinnakers, uh, use the white sails as much as I can, because they're just more durable.
09:40Yeah, there's been some discussion, uh, recently, not just in the fleet, but, uh, in the cruising community generally, about the psychological impact of having Stylink on board.
09:54Obviously, some positive, uh, aspects to it, uh, for weather and connection to friends, and depends on, on your personality and what you want to do, but, um, other people have been saying that maybe, uh, it takes something away as well, because you lose that, uh, that, uh, connectedness, uh, with the universe or with, uh, uh, with the ocean.
10:19How do you feel about that?
10:20Yeah, it's funny that you ask that, because I was thinking about that, as a matter of fact, like, just, and kind of everything that I've done, like, you know, as far as this adventure goes, and in the mountains and stuff, I always had such a limited budget that I never was able to have, like, the cutting-edge technology.
10:36I always kind of had to adopt the mindset of, like, what worked for people in the past can still work for me today, and just kind of live without, you know, and I do feel like that gives you more of a connection to your environment.
10:50And I think that it kind of forces you, uh, kind of to be more present, you know, um, but at the same time, in this world, you know, I, I almost lament not having it, because I can't make all the updates and posts that people want to see, all the followers want to see how I'm doing.
11:08And, you know, everybody, you know, Shannon, my sister, she always tells me about, oh, someone posted an update about this, and someone posted an update about that, and, you know, I kind of feel like, uh, in order to do this successfully, you have to stay commit, connected to, to your community, to your followers.
11:29And I feel like they don't get as much, uh, you know, bang for their buck from me, because I, I don't post as much content.
11:37So, it's kind of a two-edged sword, you know, I kind of feel both things.
11:40I, I prefer not having it.
11:42I mean, the Iridium Go, I'm able to text, you know, uh, Kathy, my team manager, my partner, every day, and my dad, and, and Shannon, my sister.
11:50Um, and if I'm able to stay in touch, I text with Jasmine, and Adam, and Dan, and, and we've got our WhatsApp group, and I can keep up on all that, so, because I'm, you know, checking Facebook, or scrolling on Instagram, doesn't really, um, bother me any, I don't feel any less connected.
12:08I'm still able to communicate just fine.
12:10So, yeah, I kind of see both sides of it.
12:12Yeah, and of course, it, uh, it uses up a lot of power as well, if you start using it a fair bit, although Ertin seems to have found a pretty good way of managing his, uh, power.
12:25He uses his stylinx quite a lot, and yet he doesn't ever have any troubles with electricity.
12:31He's, um, but he doesn't switch anything on, except for the stylinx.
12:35He has all of his electronics switched off most of the time, and, uh, he's, he, he alternates between sailing.
12:42Like Mortessia, and, uh, sailing like the, a 21st century, uh, um, sailor, he, when he switches his stylinx off, he's just there, he just sails on a, on a compass course, and does dead reckoning.
12:57Yeah, that's funny.
12:58I, uh, I thought about that, too.
12:59I was like, well, you know, if I had the stylinx, I would be worried about power consumption, and, and, and the way I run the boat now, I don't have to worry about anything.
13:07I just, I run the charpotter all the time, I run the AIS all the time, um, I charge my phone, I charge my Bluetooth speaker, I charge whatever it wants to charge, the iridium thing, you know.
13:18I, I never have any concern for power consumption, and I'm pretty, I'm able to be pretty relaxed about it.
13:24Yeah, I think about that, too.
13:25Like, oh, you know, there's that, that aspect of it.
13:28And it's, uh, it's, it's quite expensive, uh, as an ocean, uh, if you've got the, um, styling for the, for ocean, I've forgotten what they call it now, but, um, that particular, uh, um, program is, uh, is not cheap.
13:45Right, and then I, I, I would, you know, cause I considered getting it in Panama, like everybody else did, but, um, I, I was like, well, I mean, I could afford it if I canceled the iridium, but the iridium is pretty, like, rock solid.
14:02Like, that thing, it, it just works.
14:04And so I would be hesitant to, like, abandon something that I know works or something that, I mean, I guess the Starlink works, too, but it, you know, it, the iridium's got its own battery, so, and it, it, as long as you don't, uh, hammer on it, it lasts pretty well.
14:20So it's kind of like, uh, I, I struggled with, with, uh, give up what I know.
14:26So I wouldn't be able to have maintained both.
14:27I would have had to cancel one to keep, to get the other, and I know what I have works.
14:32So it was kind of, uh, I was reluctant in that regard, as well.
14:37Yeah.
14:37And Kathy, she didn't want me to get.
14:39Sorry?
14:39She didn't want me.
14:41Kathy didn't want me to get the Starlink, because she's, like, uh, in protest of Elon Musk and how he's trying to take over our country and all that.
14:48So she was like, don't give him your money.
14:52Yeah, well, that's, that's a very much a, a personal choice, isn't it?
14:56And you have to decide what to do, and I do understand her position.
15:00Yeah, absolutely.
15:02And I don't have Starlink either.
15:04It would be convenient for me, uh, because on this coast, uh, there's quite significant patches of the coast that have poor internet connection.
15:13So for the duration of this race, I'm, I'm limited as to where, uh, where I'm going to take the boat.
15:20Um, but, uh, there's a number of reasons why I haven't got Starlink and won't get it.
15:25It's mostly financial.
15:27Um, but I'm glad that I don't have to make the moral choice either.
15:31Uh, but, uh...
15:33Right.
15:33It's, uh, and the other thing is, you know, I, I do like, uh, being, being off-grid.
15:43Yeah, exactly.
15:45And I grew up in that era, like you did, uh, with the mountains and things.
15:49I grew up, uh, sailing with nothing.
15:51I didn't even have, had no two-way radio of any description.
15:55I had a little, um, uh, tiny little transistor radio with dry-cell batteries in it.
16:00And at three o'clock in the morning, I could get WWV time signals to check the rate of my watch for my sexting navigation.
16:08But there was absolutely no way of communicating with the outside world.
16:12And I once got stuck, uh, got back on for 15 days, uh, just up, uh, near the Solomon Islands.
16:18And by the time I came ashore, all my friends were going nuts.
16:22My family never knew where I was, so it didn't really matter.
16:25But my friends were going nuts because they thought I'd disappeared somewhere.
16:29But I told you, I thought we were going to make a search for you.
16:32And I got quite cross.
16:33I said, where would you start, for one thing?
16:36And the other thing is, you know, I wouldn't want you to come searching for me.
16:40And never do that again.
16:41So, uh, I hope, um, you know, it's a different philosophy.
16:47Yeah, absolutely.
16:48And I think it's kind of sad the way that, uh, it's going now, where basically you, like,
16:52you have to do it for social media.
16:55And you, like, have to, you know, like, people expect that to where social media is what drives the,
17:01I don't want to say the sport, but kind of the cutting edge of sailing and cutting edge of a lot of sports,
17:06you know, is driven by social media content where people only do it for the gram.
17:11They only do it so that they can post about it.
17:13They don't do it just for the simple reward of having done it.
17:16Yeah, there's definitely been a bit of a change in the culture.
17:19Um, also, when people got into port and wrote stories in yachting magazines and wrote their,
17:26and wrote their books like Mutesa, et cetera, there was a lot of interest in them.
17:31But now that interest has been diluted or diffused, uh, by the extensive coverage, uh, on the internet.
17:40Yeah, absolutely.
17:42And it's hard to tell yourself, you know, it's like, anybody that wants to, you know,
17:47like, as far as, like, partner sponsors and like that, like,
17:50they're basically looking at your social media following and your content creation.
17:54That's like, they don't care about, like, your actual achievement.
17:57When it comes to something like the mini globe race, unfortunately,
18:03that's very much a part of the game is to produce that content.
18:08Um, so it's just for finding a balance.
18:11I think if you are taking videos, um, at sea,
18:17then you give them to, uh, Don McIntyre afterwards
18:20so that there is that record that can go into the film
18:22and little posts can be put up when you're in port,
18:26that's, that's a reasonable balance, I think.
18:28I think that, uh, does, uh, bring it back to having an acceptable level of communication.
18:37But it certainly is all about communication now.
18:41Yep, absolutely.
18:43So how are you going with your videos?
18:45Do you make some?
18:47Um, I haven't taken as much just because I haven't done anything interesting.
18:51Like, all I would have is video of me laying in bed.
18:56You'll have to be more inventive.
19:00I'd have to put on a shirt, you know,
19:02because I never wear clothes anymore.
19:04So it's like, um, I haven't had as much.
19:08I've tried to make more, like, quality, uh, content,
19:12you know, just filming beautiful sunsets
19:13and kind of the boat kind of steering itself
19:15in, in, uh, varying conditions and that sort of thing.
19:18Just, I mean, because honestly, it's like,
19:21I would have a hundred videos that are exactly the same.
19:25You know, and, you know, I like to shoot the videos.
19:27I like to capture the different angles and stuff.
19:29So I've been kind of exploring more
19:31with going up on the bow with the camera
19:33and shooting backwards
19:34and kind of standing up on the boom
19:36and trying to get a little bit better angle
19:38and just trying to make it a little more unique
19:40rather than just a video of me
19:43sitting in the cockpit or talking about.
19:46Do you have mounts for the camera
19:48so that you can mount it in certain places
19:50and show your reef in the mainsail
19:51and show, show you pulling out the poop and stuff?
19:54Because those are the sorts of action shots
19:55that seem to attract interest, I think.
20:00Yeah, yeah.
20:01I got the clamp for the GoPro
20:02so I can clamp it on all over the place.
20:04Like, I got two different cameras
20:05so I can shoot multiple angles
20:07and I got the windmuff and everything
20:08so I can pop by
20:09and, uh, capture without too much wind noise.
20:12So, yeah, I mean, that's not all I can do.
20:17Yeah, no way.
20:18That's, um, that's all good.
20:20Um, so, um, you've got three days to go.
20:23I guess you'd be looking forward to getting in?
20:27Yeah, yeah.
20:28Well, right now, Charplotter says 194 miles
20:32to the channel.
20:33I'm going to Vavale.
20:35Oh, yeah.
20:35I was going to ask you where you were going, yeah.
20:39It just seems like it's easier to get into.
20:41I was kind of worried about getting into Pangaei.
20:43I don't know.
20:43Without a proper engine,
20:44there's a lot of stuff that you can hit.
20:46There's a lot of stuff to hit in there.
20:48Um, but Vavale is pretty straightforward.
20:50You just go over the top of the island
20:52and you just hook around
20:52and you go up the channel
20:53and it's a lot,
20:55it reminds me a lot of home,
20:57uh, negotiating like this one island, so.
21:00Everyone who's been at Vavale
21:01has been having a whale of a time.
21:03In fact, they've been so enjoying themselves so much
21:06that I had difficulty getting
21:08any of them to call me today.
21:11Oh, jeez.
21:13Well, you can see.
21:14You can always rely on me.
21:15I'm excited to call every time.
21:17Yeah, thanks.
21:17Yeah, Jasmine called.
21:18We spoke for a few minutes,
21:20but she was on,
21:21I think it was her boat,
21:22the one of the boats,
21:23she was on with all the other guys
21:25and they were going off to a beach
21:26to do something
21:27and she was the only one of them
21:29that called.
21:30Uh, the others all too busy
21:31having a good time.
21:32And Rena called
21:33about three hours after he left Pangaei
21:36and Dan Turner called
21:39and he was,
21:41we had a very brief conversation
21:42because he was busy
21:43and he was about to,
21:45uh, clear customs
21:46and get ready to leave tomorrow.
21:48But all the others were out partying
21:50and having a great time
21:51around the island.
21:51Yeah, that's,
21:55that's the one thing
21:55that's,
21:56thanks about being so far behind
21:57is I miss out on the group.
21:58I mean, that's why I,
21:59part of why I did this event
22:01was the camaraderie,
22:03uh,
22:03so to see everybody
22:04having a good time.
22:05I'm glad they're having a good time,
22:06but, you know,
22:07you're going to get a little FOMO
22:08if you feel like you're missing out
22:09a little bit.
22:09Yeah.
22:11Hopefully when you leave Fiji,
22:12you'll be,
22:13you know,
22:14restarting the clock
22:15and it'll all leave together
22:16and, um,
22:17hopefully you'll start
22:18arriving in ports
22:19with the other,
22:20with the others.
22:21And in Tahiti,
22:23we were all together for,
22:25you know,
22:26I got to see pretty much everybody.
22:27So I was happy with that.
22:29Oh, good.
22:29The chart flowers
22:30are about 94 miles
22:34to the,
22:35to the channel.
22:36So I'm thinking
22:3740 hours
22:39or something like that.
22:40Yeah, well,
22:41some of them,
22:41some of them will still be there.
22:43Jasmine will still be there
22:44and, um,
22:45a few of the others
22:46will be there
22:47for another couple of days or so.
22:49So you'll have a bit of a party.
22:51Yeah.
22:52And,
22:52and the chart,
22:53the,
22:53another reason I wanted to go
22:54to Vavau
22:55is that it's my chart fodder.
22:56It has,
22:57um,
22:58you can like,
22:59uh,
23:00select certain things
23:02like
23:02Neafal Harbor,
23:03for example,
23:04that has,
23:04um,
23:05reviews
23:05that other,
23:06you know,
23:07cruising,
23:07uh,
23:08kippers have left
23:09or things that they've found.
23:11and,
23:12uh,
23:13one of them says
23:13that it's his absolute favorite place
23:15in the whole South Pacific
23:16and a couple other ones
23:18say that it's absolutely
23:19not to be missed.
23:20So,
23:20um,
23:21I was looking forward to it.
23:23There's a couple of small islands
23:24that are,
23:25uh,
23:25anchorages that are really nearby,
23:27just like,
23:27you know,
23:28less than three miles
23:29or within five miles
23:30of the harbor,
23:32uh,
23:32where they say it's like,
23:33you know,
23:33you've got the whole island
23:34to yourself
23:35and it's white sand beaches
23:36and beautiful blue water
23:37and coral
23:38and everything that you want.
23:39when you go,
23:40uh,
23:40yeah,
23:41just,
23:41um,
23:42just,
23:42just outside the sound
23:43or the channel,
23:44you know,
23:45um,
23:45uh,
23:46Don McAdide's been calling it
23:47a fjord,
23:48but it's probably not quite a fjord,
23:49but it's like a fjord.
23:51It's just narrow channel,
23:52steep hills on both sides.
23:53As you say,
23:54it's a bit like,
23:55uh,
23:55a bit like,
23:56uh,
23:57the Pacific Northwest,
23:58but as you get out of that
24:00to the South,
24:00there's a whole little
24:01scattering of islands there.
24:03Um,
24:04I did hear the other day,
24:05I think it was Don once again
24:06who mentioned that they,
24:08most of those villages
24:09now charge you a small fee
24:11to anchor off their islands
24:13because they're using them
24:15for conservation.
24:16That's what I,
24:17and like,
24:18if you,
24:18if you,
24:19some of those anchorages
24:20on the turf part
24:21of the reviewer said
24:22that a local came
24:23and got like $10 Tongan
24:25or something like that
24:26from every boat
24:27that was anchored there
24:28for the day
24:28or something like that,
24:29so it's not,
24:30it's not outrageous.
24:31They're using it to,
24:33they're not,
24:33uh,
24:34using it to party with,
24:35they're using it to,
24:36uh,
24:36regenerate the coral
24:38and,
24:38uh,
24:39and the land and stuff,
24:40so it's,
24:41uh,
24:41it's an environmental levy,
24:42basically.
24:44Yeah,
24:44I support it,
24:45I,
24:45completely.
24:47And they also,
24:48Tongans are brilliant people,
24:49very friendly,
24:51love to eat,
24:52yeah,
24:53it's a good place
24:53to,
24:54uh,
24:54have a feast
24:55and a party.
24:59So,
24:59I'm sure you'll have
25:00a great time there.
25:01Yeah,
25:03good,
25:03I'm looking forward to it.
25:04And when I was younger
25:05and I was fishing for Tuna
25:06off the coast of Hawaii,
25:07I worked with some Tongans
25:08and I,
25:09I always wanted to go there
25:10because they were,
25:11like you said,
25:11just great people.
25:13Yeah,
25:14I've never been to Tonga
25:15like you.
25:16I've got a number
25:17of Tongan friends
25:17and they've,
25:18uh,
25:19um,
25:19always had,
25:20uh,
25:20great time
25:21whenever I catch up with them.
25:25Anyway,
25:26I should let you go
25:26and get back to,
25:27uh,
25:28lazing around in your bunk.
25:29I won't,
25:29I won't pretend
25:31that you're going to be
25:31out there trimming
25:32the sails.
25:34But,
25:34uh,
25:34I was like,
25:37oh man,
25:38I haven't been outside
25:38all day.
25:39I had a reason
25:40to come out here
25:40and sit outside
25:41so the phone
25:41could get a signal.
25:43Yeah,
25:43that's good.
25:44There was,
25:44there was a little bit
25:45of wind there before,
25:46but it's,
25:46uh,
25:47died off now
25:47because,
25:48uh,
25:48there's no wind,
25:49uh,
25:50um,
25:51interference at the moment.
25:52Yeah,
25:54it's probably,
25:55I don't know,
25:5513 to 15 knots
25:57or something like that.
25:57It's blowing all right.
25:58Yeah.
25:59What's the sea state like?
26:02Um,
26:02it's probably,
26:04I'd say moderate,
26:05you know,
26:05it's like,
26:06um,
26:07maybe like,
26:09uh,
26:10one meter swell.
26:11The waves are pretty small.
26:12Okay.
26:13Most barely,
26:13like,
26:14going down.
26:15Yeah,
26:16that sounds delightful.
26:17Yeah,
26:19a meter,
26:19a meter and a half,
26:20right on the quarter.
26:21Uh,
26:22there's no big,
26:22like,
26:23um,
26:23it's all just wind waves.
26:24There's no big,
26:25uh,
26:26uh,
26:26ocean swell.
26:27So,
26:28uh,
26:28it's all,
26:28it's all just kind of going,
26:30we're just going along together.
26:31And it's all,
26:32uh,
26:32fair winds.
26:33No rain?
26:36I'm sorry?
26:37You haven't had any rain?
26:42Oh,
26:43did I lose you?
26:44Oh,
26:44yeah,
26:44have you had any rain?
26:47Um,
26:47barely.
26:48There was one night,
26:49so the first night,
26:50even Papa,
26:51I just said,
26:52that was pretty rough.
26:53It rained pretty hard.
26:54And there was,
26:56I want to say,
26:58one day where I had a swell.
27:01And then,
27:02um,
27:03last night it rained a little bit.
27:05But that was it.
27:07No,
27:07hardly any.
27:08Yeah.
27:09Well,
27:10it sounds like a delightful passage
27:11and hopefully,
27:12uh,
27:13to leg on to,
27:14uh,
27:15um,
27:15Fiji,
27:16or Fiji Khandi as well.
27:18Because as you would have known,
27:19the,
27:20uh,
27:20the potential for heavy weather
27:22between,
27:23uh,
27:23Tahiti and Tonga is quite high
27:25and nobody's had a gale.
27:27There's been a few,
27:28uh,
27:29squalls and there's been a few,
27:30uh,
27:31bouncy waves and things.
27:33But,
27:33you know,
27:34it's been fairly moderate
27:35compared to what,
27:36what it can do.
27:38I know.
27:39I was actually really,
27:40I don't want to say worried
27:41about this,
27:42uh,
27:42passage,
27:42but I was definitely,
27:44you know,
27:44not concerned,
27:45but I was,
27:47I was,
27:48it was heads up,
27:49you know,
27:49before I left.
27:50I,
27:50I was studying the forecast
27:52pretty closely
27:52and kind of paying attention
27:53to what other people
27:54were,
27:54were encountering
27:55and I was fully expecting
27:57to get,
27:58uh,
27:59you know,
27:59a handful
27:59or to,
28:00to get the full experience.
28:01But honestly,
28:03it's magic.
28:04I didn't just say anything.
28:05I don't want to curse myself
28:06right at the end here.
28:07But,
28:08um,
28:08you know,
28:08I was like,
28:09I won't tell anybody
28:10how great of a time I had
28:11because they all have,
28:11they all got their lucky.
28:12Poor Gary,
28:13poor Gary's just drifting around
28:15in circles out there
28:16like the doldrums part too.
28:18So I feel really bad.
28:19Yeah.
28:19Um,
28:19I had been chatting with him.
28:21Yeah.
28:21He's been having a hard go.
28:22Yeah.
28:23And,
28:24uh,
28:24and of course he's under
28:25a lot of pressure
28:25to try and get to Fiji in time
28:27because he's already
28:28got a flight booked.
28:30Yeah,
28:31he wants to meet his wife.
28:32She arrives on the 27th.
28:33But,
28:33I mean,
28:35I think he's still got time.
28:36Yeah,
28:36he was planning to go back to Sydney.
28:38I don't know if he's changed
28:38his mind now,
28:39but he was going to go back
28:40to Sydney briefly,
28:41um,
28:42uh,
28:43you know,
28:44to do a few things
28:46and then come back
28:48around the 19th of,
28:49uh,
28:50July.
28:50Um,
28:50so,
28:51um,
28:52not sure whether that's
28:53still on schedule.
28:53The last time I spoke to him,
28:54he said he had,
28:55he'd booked a flight,
28:56um,
28:57to Sydney,
28:57but I think he,
28:58you know,
28:59could have cancelled that.
29:00Yeah,
29:00yeah.
29:01That was what he said too.
29:02That was his primary motivation
29:03for,
29:04uh,
29:04skipping Tonga
29:05was to make his flight home
29:06because he had to,
29:07he said he needed a medical procedure
29:08or something on his eyes.
29:10I'm not really sure.
29:10I won't speak to that,
29:11but,
29:12um,
29:12I know that he was,
29:14he was worried about making it in time,
29:15but he's got,
29:16he's got,
29:17you know,
29:1720 days still
29:19or something like that,
29:20so I think he'll be all right.
29:22Yeah,
29:22good.
29:22Well,
29:22we wish him all,
29:23wish him all the best
29:24and,
29:24um,
29:25I wish you all the best as well
29:26and great talking to you as usual
29:28and,
29:29um,
29:30I'll be flying into,
29:31uh,
29:32uh,
29:32Vooda Point,
29:33uh,
29:33on the 19th of July,
29:35so I'll see you then.
29:37Uh,
29:38okay,
29:38yeah,
29:39I was going to,
29:39I guess that's,
29:41that's,
29:42is that two weeks?
29:43That's less than two weeks,
29:43right?
29:44That's 10 days.
29:45Uh,
29:45so,
29:46yeah,
29:46the 19th of July,
29:47I'm going on the 19th of July,
29:49so that's,
29:49that's next time.
29:51Um,
29:51so in two weeks time,
29:52you might still be at sea,
29:53uh,
29:54you might have,
29:55uh,
29:56arrived in Tonga
29:57and spent your eight days there
29:58and you'd probably be
29:59halfway to Fiji or something,
30:01so we'll speak next time,
30:03uh,
30:03as you're approaching Fiji
30:04with a bit of luck.
30:07All right,
30:07that sounds pretty good,
30:08Graham.
30:09Yeah.
30:09Pleasure as always
30:10and take care.
30:11Thank you very much for the call.
30:12Bye.
30:14Okay,
30:14goodbye.