Our sailing home takes us, Scott and Kathy Erwin to travel the world one island at a time. Come along on this adventure to learn, or join Kathy’s Yoga, and explore and see the world.
Staying in the biggest Marina in the Southern Hemisphere has its benefits! Views Galore! Parties Galore! Everyone on holiday for the month.
Us cruisers from Mexico having fun for New Years in Auckland New Zealand last night. We get to recover today and watch California celebrate at 9:00 tonight. Strange world. Strange time zones. The kids here are all on their 2 month summer vacation, picking berries and going swimming! Walking around the city I noticed the new architecture, clean streets and laid back attitude. Liking New Zealand a lot!
Maybe a bit too much fun! Pictured in this post is Michele and Michael on Elvira, the boat with the pole, and it is actually for sale now. Joanne and Scott on Fundango and Candice and Jason on Deguello.
Hi folks! This is the tour we promised everyone. We are sitting in an Auckland Marina, enjoying the lively city. We are busy fitting the boat for our needs. We had to learn to drive on the left side of the road, with our rental car, 😵💫. New Zealand is beautiful so far.
We have been doing a few boat jobs, have some bits of fun in the big city, and a ton of shopping. Kalea had some basics, but not the full Monty. Thank goodness Amazon Australia has most of what we need, they ship to NZ too.
So we were walking around Westhaven marina yesterday and dropped in a local Yacht Club for glass of wine. I looked up and said Holy Moley, I looked around again searching for the name of the Club and it was the “Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron”. LOL
Right above our heads on the balcony was the Americas Cup!!!! Too fun and so random. The club walls were covered in hundreds of years of sailing history and trophies. The New Zealand folk take sailing very seriously and we were amazed how open the club was and how much the community is involved. We had a very welcoming visit with a few of the members and one invited us back to see the Sail GP races here next month from the club restaurant. Yup, gunna do that, after the holidays!
WE DID IT! 🤪😳😃😂. We are again boat owners!!!! SV Kalea is officially ours! We had a few stops and starts but the deal finally went through today. This boat we have drooled over for 4 months, 2011 Outremer 49. A big thank you to Grant and Sam that are helping make the transition smooth. They are local New Zealanders, from South Africa. They sail from NZ to Fiji every sailing season to surf and live the life, in the fast lane!
Now to explore New Zealand in style…
Kalea means “happy” or “joy” in Hawaiian. Well, we sure are that! Keep pinching ourselves. We actually got lucky and found our great cruising friends who sailed all the way from Mexico with us on our last boat, Sea Bella. They were out here in Auckland for the day! They helped us celebrate our day and new life in NZ for the season.
From left, Kathy, Addicus, Adam, Scott, Jason, Candice, Ingrid.
Now, back to the new boat to finish off our contract, hand over the keys and discuss boat systems, processes, survey… all good! Better yet, all done and official.
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About 35 years ago, my brothers and I started an annual tradition of a California wilderness backpacking trip up in the Sierra Mountains. ☀️ We have enjoyed so many experiences up at the alpine lakes, granite slabs, amazing colors, vast views, great talks and the yummiest S’mores ever.
As soon as our children were old enough, we introduced them to this amazing hobby. Most of the kids love it and continue on these annual trips with each other. So Cool. 🤗 Very special for me to have shared this love of nature with my family. Dinkey Wilderness was our choice this trip just a week ago. We had a creative afternoon of Andrew Goldsworthy.
And of course my yoga practice
😁😁 I can’t thank my friends and family enough for such an amazing birthday!! I loved and appreciated all of it! Such amazing people in my life, I am blessed for you all! 🥰🥰
My day was filled with family, hugs, games, flowers, pizza, cakes, cookies, dogs and the best of all…LOVE! ❤️❤️
Happy National Daughters Day! 🥰🥰 It is celebrated every year on Sept. 25. It is a day to celebrate the great gift of daughters, and the relationships we share with them. 🥰🥰So, I have tons to be grateful for this day! My daughter Montana is a pure GIFT in my life! And.. I got to spend 2 weeks with her, WAHOO! 🥰🥰
Morro Bay Beach Ride was FABULOUS! A totally terrific time, back in the saddle again!! I can’t thank my good friend Penny Crawford enough for sharing her beautiful horses with me for the day in Morro Bay! Now that I got my fix, I am ready to start thinking about boat life again in another month.
Adventuring up in Seattle after a terrific week visiting family in Santa Cruz, California. Below Kathy and Mom (Sue Krevitt) find a yummy spot for a lunch date. It’s so super being with my parents and extended family doing a few special hikes, Redwoods Yoga, hot tubs, and yummy dinners. We went out necessary clothes shopping, since everything we had was a bit salty and sun bleached.
Up in Seattle, we visited our great boater friends we met in Mexico; Dean and Gaby. They hosted us on their 72 foot motor yacht (for sale, btw). We were so lucky to have 10 great, sunny, beautiful days with them cruising around the San Juan Islands.
Two weeks back in the States and we are slowly getting use to “American” habits. -Taking a shower with as much water as we used to use in a week -phone and internet service available 24/7/365 -meat selection that would feed a whole village for a month -ability not only to buy basic vegetables but also genetically altered veg like brokiflower. -the need for shoes other than our trusty flip-flops -blankets, sheets, blue jeans and sweatshirts oh my. -pasty white skin again. Where’s my tan!!???
We also had an amazing week in Washington with Dean and Gaby on Ave Marina (we met them in Mexico and made quick friends). Kathy and I were invited to speak at the Seattle boat show and we then headed north to the San Juan’s.
We loved the variety of boats and great food both served up by an amazing cook Gaby and nice meals out in the city(s). Seattle and Tacoma. We also got to spend some time with Nashun Robinson which we also know from Mexico. It’s just amazing how many new friends we have all over the world now. The San Juan’s are beautiful but very different than other cruising grounds. No swimming for sure and the cruisers typically don’t relate with each other (🤷) but there is stunning scenery and flat calm waters. Nice to be crew for a while and not the captain. 🙂
Yes! You too can enjoy the cruising life on Ave Marina as she is for sale. Dean and Gaby are looking forward to building a house in Montana and looking for the next boat……(maybe a bit smaller).
We attended the Boat Show here, did a talk about our World Sailing Adventure and explored the big city. We motored up to the San Juan’s, Victoria and Sucia Island, Friday and Roche Harbors. A bit cold and rainy though a few days, but very fun and beautiful.
(For those following our boat buying story, we are hopeful for the boat we have been looking at in NZ, in December, stay tuned)
I am having fun with my new hobby, it’s a distraction while we wait for our next big sailing adventure. I recently had a fun interview with CanvasRebel, a personal interest online magazine. Tom, the editor who contacted me, was interested particularly in my newly hatched Yoga pursuit. When he found out that Scott and I were also on a big sailing adventure, he said to tie it all together. Kind of a fun recap, article below . 😊
Transform your mental health and inner body, only 3-4 days a week. Just Pick a class and enjoy gentle poses, easy flows, and healthy Hatha movements.
Yoga around the World combines a FREE online yoga class in magical travel destinations. Try the above online session and you will feel like you’re at a yoga retreat in Fiji.
I have been hooked on yoga for 20 years, and last year got certified to teach. Many friends say I have that special touch.
1. In the morning, set aside a quiet time and place for just you
2. wear comfy clothing and lay out a towel or yoga mat
3. focus on your physical and mental health by turning off all interruptions and notifications
4. place your phone or tablet on a shelf facing your mat
5. open my FREE channel and pick a destination
6. escape with me into a gentle yoga experience
I usually include a special feature, a truly magical Savasana resting experience at the very end. Let the serenity of drone photography transport you to stunning, remote locations—picture the white sands of French Polynesia, the towering redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the awesome granite cliffs of the Sierras, and so much more. Take your practice to the next level while discovering the world’s most beautiful, peaceful places—all from the comfort of your home.
Thank you for joining me, yoga is such a healthy lifestyle activity. I encourage you to practice regularly to keep your flexibility, strength and inner peace.
There are so many differences in cruising catamarans. A few hours of surfing the net for boats for sale can hurt the brain. As much as we have been “beach cat” sailors, mono hull cruisers and have been cruising with a multitude of great catamarans…..this is difficult. Above is Nirvana, a 50 foot voyage catamaran for sale in Fiji. Our friends let us cruise her for 6 weeks while they visited the states. Very comfy, slow cruiser with tons of space. Too much for us though. Our son Derek got to come to Fiji for a week and really enjoyed it.
But, everything is a sacrifice. What do we mean by that? Fast performance cats are typically not as comfortable as heavier slower boats like Nirvana. Not only are the super comfortable boats slow, but most of the time they don’t sail well. (Angle on the wind, slow, and can be noisy)
KALEA
Fast lightweight boats can sail really well but need expensive sails, don’t have as much room for big beds, couches, and water toys. One or our friends even ditched the water heater to keep the boat light. (Lol, you know who you are). Fast comfortable boats are typically more expensive….(Think Gun, HH). Finding a boat you want to live on and sail on is a balance of your priorities and $$$$s. We don’t want slow. We really like our big couches and we have a good budget for the boat, but we still want to eat well. And then there is alway “what does this boat need” and “where is it”. Sheesh….this might take some time.
This weeks boat (brand/designers) all are in consideration. Not all of them are fast. Not all of them are comfortable. But, they do prompt conversations…..and ultimately…..negotiations.
We have been exploring just a bit of Fiji, mostly hanging out with our special cruising friends from Mexico, all here in Musket Cove. Many of these cruisers are now ending their journeys. This happens to non circumnavigators. We will miss them greatly, hoping our paths will cross again! But, we did explore this special island country while we were on our friend’s boat Nirvana.
We cruised up to the beautiful and remote Yasawas, when Kathy’s son Derek came to visit. There are 15 words in the Fijian language meaning Heaven and ‘Yasawa’ is one. The Yasawa Islands are a chain of 20 volcanic islands located in the western part of Fiji. Strung along with reef and volcanic islands. The people are very friendly, they will go out of there way to wave from afar or holler “Bula!” from down the way. We learned the hard way that there is a local etiquette that should be observed.
All visitors are expected to not wear hats, ladies should be well covered and most importantly everyone pays a courtesy visit to the islands chief, bearing a gift of Kava root, which he makes into a drink called Yagona. They claim it slightly intoxicating, but we didn’t feel anything.
We were so busy socializing in Musket Cove, we visited 4 Fiji islands; main island Viti Levu, Malalo, then Waya, and then Naviti to swim in the warm, coral waters.
We hope to make it back here for sure. The highlight of course was our week with Derek, just great energy. So helpful, an amazing cook, and having family here is a treat!! Who is next? Wait… we need a boat first, lol.
Exploring Vava’u, Tonga by sailboat offers an exhilarating blend of busy adventure and relaxation. 🌴 We alternated between relaxing in anchorages and lively town experiences, seizing opportunities to sell our unneeded items, like our spare outboard, spare compressor and even our extra pork (just ask in the comments). Photographing our sweet Sea Bella for sale (now sold to a family from Alaska!) and marveling at the majestic flying foxes, we found joy in every moment. The busy Saturday market added a touch of color and warmth to our journey, with new hats, shells and a trivet. Our biggest and last task was clearing out of the country and fueling up. This was a 4 hour job, since the fuel arrives on a truck from afar and needs to be called in a day ahead. Cruisers either pull up to a gas dock (sometimes a sketchy dock like this one) or vote for hauling it in Jerry cans. We typically try to sail to anchorages, but here in Tonga, we found a maze of little islands to go around, as you see in our tracks. We would sail a bit then turn, finding the wind at our nose (for the non sailor friends, one cannot sail into the wind).
Our town experiences were quite opposite to French Polynesia, as we ate out many days since the food and prices were great. Yoga continues to be a hit, on a dock, barge or under a giant Banyan tree. Overall, Tonga enchanted us, and we eagerly anticipate our next visit on a catamaran!
Howdy from Fiji! We are in the lower Island Vet Letu is massive!
We are in Fiji in a marina now and life is pretty busy! We have many plates being juggled at the moment. But, the short of it is, yes we are under contract to sell Sea Bella. Bittersweet for sure but definitely the right move, timing, location…The new owners are a young family from Alaska who want to continue our path and head west! They are keeping her name!! Strange though, they won’t be coming down till next May. We need to strip the boat and store everything below for cyclone season.
If all goes well, we move off Sea Bella about July 20, with suitcases in hand and move on to babysit a 54 foot catamaran for 8 weeks-Nirvana. We can cruise around Fiji, and Derek visits us then too! Living on a cat will be a change, fun and very weird as we will feel homeless. A good trial run for us as well.
We then will fly to Ca, mid September, readjust, breathe and continue the process of selling a house in Atascadero (listed yesterday) and searching for a catamaran in Virginia (if all goes well). A real 3 ring circus!
If we find the perfect boat, hahaha, then we will cruise the Caribbean , San Blas, then through the Panama Canal, head through some new places in southern French Polynesian and back to where we left off, just a year or 2 later. Haha! Is that a lap and a half around the globe? 🌎
Our World Adventure 