We caught the 08.30 Spit Bridge opening to sail only 4 nm across to Watsons Bay. We're very excited to be well positioned to watch the start of the Sydney- Hobart Race as it passes by. With the forecast of NE winds of 20-25 kt, some records may be broken on this year's race. Can't believe we're here to see the actual start which is something that Di's Auntie Brenda has in the past sent videos of. All very well on board.

Happy Christmas from Maunie! We're in Middle Harbour, near Cammeray, on a mooring belonging to friends we met Vanuatu. Yesterday saw us tick off that iconic sailing moment - going under the Sydney Harbour Bridge - and today we'll enjoy the warm sunshine.

This morning we dragged ourselves out of stunning Pittwater; we say this as Sue and Ian have been wonderful hosts during our stay, we've met some great people and experienced the fabulous Woody Point Yacht Club Wed night race as assistant race officers (this is a club for 'sailors with a drinking problem' and the constitution says 'we welcome members from all walks of life - we even welcome ladies and Kiwis'!) So we headed south in the direction of Sydney, flying the Irish Flag spinnaker most of the 20 nm. We arrived at Manly where we've previously caught the ferry and anchored among several boats we know. We did some final provisioning in town and finished the day off with a glass or two in The Four Pines micro brewery where Graham was delighted to down a glass of hand-pulled, non-fizzy real ale (the first since the UK!)

We have fallen on our feet! Sue and Ian, whom we met in Vanuatu when they were guests aboard Sel Citron, have lent us their mooring off Newport at the southern end of Pittwater. Wonderfully generous of them and it is a brilliant spot!

Getting here this afternoon involved a very entertaining beat in rather un-entertaining drizzle and cool 19 degrees - very much like summer sailing in Galloway, to be honest, and quite a refreshing change from all that hot sultry weather last week

We will base ourselves here for a week or so to explore the delights of Sydney by bus and to recce suitable anchorages there for Maunie over Christmas and NYE.

=20 Our first disappointing coastal sail in Australia today - the forecast was for strong winds to start then 15 to 20 knots from the NE but we got very light breezes and had to motor-sail for all but 2 hours of the 12 hour passage. To add to the disappointment we had a substantial colony of flies and butterflies blow off shore and join us. Swatting the flies kept us busy, until Di swatted with too much enthusiasm and broke the fly-swat (a posh telescopic one at that!). The regular dolphin escorts were much more welcome.

We did consider diverting into Newcastle but are pleased that we carried on now that we are on a visitors' mooring in the stunningly beautiful America Bay, close to Pittwater. The wind has swung around to the SE as forecast but we're well sheltered under high wooded cliffs.

We left safely through the bar at Tuncurry-Forster at 0730 and enjoyed another epic sail mainly under Parasailor (aka The Big Blue Monster). Our destination was the spectacular Port Stephens which covers a larger area than Sydney Harbour and offers an abundance of stunning bays, rivers and beaches to explore; we'll have to plan our itinerary carefully to fit in all the spots before moving on. We negotiated another shallow river past oyster beds to our anchorage off Winda Woppa. Our exploration tomorrow will be mainly aboard Dinghy McDingface; can't wait to try the delicious Myall River prawns as recommended by Kerry. All very well aboard.

An excellent sail yesterday to Forster, spinnaker flying most of the way until we swapped it for the foresail to slow down a bit (to get the tide right for the bar entrance). The entrance was a bit frisky - we got the tide right but the 20 knot NE wind and waves made it a bit bumpy.

We decided to anchor as the wooden landing-stage berths on the Tuncurry side of the river would have had the wind pressing us onto them. However as the tide ebbed, we found ourselves in an eddy which pushed us close to the sandbank and we had to do a spot of re-anchoring at 23.30!

Heading further south to Port Stephens (45nm) this morning.

Arrived safely at Camden Haven at 07.00 after a 145nm passage that had a bit of everything - 4 hours of great sailing with the Parasailor, an increasingly brisk night with poled out yankee and main, rain, lightning, passing ships and dolphins playing in our bow wave.

The navigation was a little challenging as we had to take into account favourable (flood tide) conditions at both river entrances, whilst watching the forecast updates for the timing of the northerly winds to suddenly go southerly. The fantastically-helpful East Coast Current gave us a boost of up to 2.5 knots at times so we arrived just after dawn to catch the last of the flood tide and just as the wind began to change direction - perfect!

We're on a free visitors mooring in the river so will inflate the dinghy to explore ashore later. We may be here a couple of nights, waiting for the northerly winds to return.

An overnight stop at the very nice and wonderfully-sheltered Yamba Marina and we're about to head south down the coast for Camden Haven, 150nm away. Timings for favourable conditions at both river bars and the relatively short window of northerly winds before they turn SE tomorrow morning make the navigation planning interesting but the south-going coastal current should give us a decent boost.

On the new pontoon at the village of Ulmarra, a couple of hours further up the Clarence River. The village is full of old wooden houses and the hotel did a very nice lunch. It's hot though - high 30's so thank goodness for a breeze across the water and sunshades rigged over the cabin top.

This will probably be the limit of our inland exploration as we need to return to the southbound sailing; we will probably go back through the Harwood Bridge on Tuesday and, weather permitting, be back on the ocean waves on Wednesday.

The temptation to stop all the traffic on the main east coast Pacific Highway was just too much for us so yesterday we came through the lifting bridge at Harwood and up the mighty Clarence River. The bridge lift involves making an arrangement 24 hours in advance and the operator travels 80km to do the honours. 3 boats went through together and we anchored off the lovely little town of Maclean.

The river is navigable for masted vessels up to Grafton so we'll explore upstream to there but the (free) public pontoon at Maclean has just been vacated so we may go alongside (max 24 hours allowed) for water, provisions and some walking.

Anchored at Iluka at the mouth of the Clarence River. An 'interesting' 110nm overnight passage from the Gold Coast as we had several electrical storms coming out from the coast and bringing 180 degree wind shifts and some amazing lightning displays. The BOM live radar feed on the internet was very useful to judge what was coming and we managed to keep clear of the sparks.

Arrived at 06.30 local time as the fishing fleet was heading in for the beginning of the flood; the bar was very calm. There are a couple of boats we know, Skellum and Taranui, anchored here among a dozen or so visiting yachts.

Anchored in the Marine Stadium anchorage, just south of the Seaway at Southport. This is better known as Bums' Bay as boats tend to live here (though there's technically a 7-day maximum stay, which is sometimes enforced).

The ‘small world’ nature of sailing was once again illustrated when we met the boats Ginelli and Calista (both last seen at Oyster Resort in Santo in September) and Acrux (who we met only via the SSB last season), all anchored here. It’s a great sheltered anchorage though the incessant helicopters, obviously doing joy rides for the Asian tourists, get pretty annoying in the daytime. We’re looking forward to heading somewhere a little less busy!

A few more shore jobs in the next couple of days then we hope to be heading south....

After our relaunch at The Boat Works on Monday following a fantastic but sweltering lift out, we'd anchored off for the final repair on our Generator. Thankfully that was successfully completed yesterday so we've motored/ sailed out to Tipplers Passage where we plan to explore ashore before it gets too busy at the weekend.

Arrived at The Boat Works this afternoon ready for a lift out of Maunie tomorrow through until Monday (bottom scrub, anti foul touch up, generator repair and lots of other jobs on the list) . So far we've seen a very slick operation and excellent customer service. This morning saw more navigation through very tidal, narrow and shallow channels with a touch on the bottom at 1.8 metres; Maunie soon moved off and we considered it preparation for her bottom scrub. After a lunch stop at Tipplers Passage, we sailed/ motored past the pretentious and broadly taste free mansions lining the Gold Coast canal network.

After a fantastic, action-packed long weekend based in RQYS, Manly, we set sail again this morning south across Moreton Bay. Our average speed was 7 kts with just the main and yankee across the bay. We enjoyed navigating through the well marked channels that run among the islands. After a lunch stop anchored off Lamb Island we set off once again under sail with depths averaging 5 metres and continued the wildlife theme by anchoring off Kangaroo Island.

A great sail from Scarborough to Manly, crossing the busy and narrow shipping channel into the Port of Brisbane. We called up VTS control and dodged various ships including the incoming Warship, Darwin. Now happily settled in the section of the marina at Manly belonging to the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. We'll be based here for four days to enjoy some city life and catch up with more 'yachtie' friends, Steve & Michelle from Citrus Tart. All well aboard

In Scarborough Marina for a night after a gentle motorsail down the coast from Mooloolaba. Very pleasant and the navigation between the sand bars of Moreton Bay keeps you busy!

=20 Safely in to the Wharf Marina at Mooloolaba after an uneventful crossing of Wide Bay Bar on time at 0800. After that we were quickly under full sail followed by the flying of the Irish Flag just an hour later. When the wind dropped we did have to motor sail briefly but from midday we happily flew along the coast under main, spinnaker and stay-sail with an average of 7 knots. Whilst nothing jumped on our fishing line, we did spot three whales breaching about 3/4 nm away and then we were joined by a pod of spinner dolphins as we approached Mooloolaba. Great to catch up with Rod & Mary from 'Sheer Tenacity' for drinks once we were in as well as wave at various other boats that we've met over the past week or so (it's a small world out here!). All very well aboard.

Anchored in Pelican Bay, inside Inskip Point. Apparently the conditions to cross the Wide Bay Bar were as good as they get today so we hope they will be just as good in the morning - we are heading for Mooloolaba, some 55nm further south, so will leave at 6.30am.

A brunch stop at Garry's Anchorage, Fraser Island, heading south. The anchorage is behind Stewart Island but we learned that the northern entrance to the channel is shallower than it shows on the chart - we touched the bottom even at HW so aborted that and came in the southern channel. Moving on to Pelican Bay.

After a week of R and R, boat work and re-provisioning in Bundaberg, we left this morning to travel south, inside Fraser Island. There are lots of sandbanks to catch the unwary and we had 2 knots of current with us as we approached Great Sandy Straight on the rising tide but the novelty of accurate charts and navigation buoys in all the right places made it easy.

We anchored just as the sun set and are well placed to leave just before the 08.00 high water in the morning to take us through the shallowest section of the channel which is just 0.4m deep at the lowest low tide. We will anchor tomorrow near the southern tip of Fraser Island to able to exit Wide Bay Bar (not to be messed with!) at the optimal state of tide on Saturday morning.

=20 Arrived safely at Port Bundaberg Marina, Queensland. The breeze picked up again this morning so we re-hoisted the Parasailor at 07.00 and had an increasingly sporty ride towards Bundaberg - it was blowing 20 knots when we finally wrestled the sail to the deck.

We have completed formalities with Border Force (Immigration and Customs) which all went smoothly; the officers were very welcoming and friendly. We are now waiting for the bio-security / quarantine inspection but the wait allowed us to cook the last of our bacon and egg for butties of the same name.

Only after this final inspection will we be allowed to go ashore and explore. The marina's quite a way out of town so we suspect the introduction to Australia will be gradual, which is just as well after the past 10 days!=20 All well aboard, we are very happy to have arrived.

=20 After the previous night's squalls, we had a very pleasant sail yesterday. The wind gradually backed to ENE and reduced to 15 knots so the Parasailor was hoisted at 17.00 and carried through the night - a real magic carpet ride at around 6.5 knots of boat speed. At 04.00 however the wind dropped to 8 knots from dead astern and there was a danger of the sail wrapping itself on the rigging so we dropped it and are now motoring the final 30 miles to Bundaberg.

All well aboard and we are looking forward to dawn revealing the imposing foothills of Bundaberg. Oh, apparently there aren't any, it's flat sugar cane growing land so the first mate tells me. Whatever, we should be blowing the froth off the top of a few cold ones by the barbie this arvo.

=20 Last night's increasing wind and seas saw Maunie well reefed down, allowing her to take the rain squalls with gusts of 40+ knot winds in her stride. Conditions have eased this morning so hoping for a steadier 180 nm approach to Bundaberg (ETA Monday morning). All well on board.

=20 Departed Chesterfield Reef at 10.30am yesterday. After a very gentle motor across a calm sea, the breeze arrived at 22.00 and we have had good sailing since, the wind backing almost easterly so we are now broad reaching. Slightly rolly but otherwise all well aboard

=20 Moved anchorages yesterday to the eastern side of the lagoon. This one is a little rolly but is close to islands with yet more species of birds, plus turtles and reef sharks (another boat, Muneera, reported Tiger sharks here when they were gutting fish yesterday).

Departing today for Bundaberg - ETA Monday afternoon to arrive ahead of a trough approaching there on Monday night. Amelie 4 and Muneera also leaving today. We=E2=80=99ll be sorry to leave this magical place.

=20 Still in Chesterfield Reef. Wow, what a place! Dinghied to an island on the reef to photograph thousands of terns, boobies, frigate birds and others we don't know nesting then had two turtles mating only 5 metres from the dinghy as we paddled back towards Maunie. Wow!

This is the southern tip of Chesterfield reef and a good spot to anchor

=20 We arrived in Chesterfield Reef this morning after a fast (for us!) and often slightly lumpy 4 day passage from Luganville. There was a slight sting in the tail after we hove-to just outside the reef in about 10 knots for a couple of hours to wait for the light. At 8.00am, after a brief rain squall, the wind came in at a steady 22-24 knots from the south; David at Gulf Harbour said that a 'surprise' low had popped up out of the trough just south of New Cal. Anyway, that made for a very wet beat down into the southern tip of the lagoon, which was far from calm, and we are now anchored in brilliant turquoise water just 5m deep (how weird is that in the middle of the ocean?) at the very southern tip. There's still a half metre wind chop but it's not bothering us, we'll sleep through anything. All is very well aboard.

=20 After a beautiful sunny day, making good progress yesterday, we have been hove to since 0415, 12 nm outside of Chesterfield Reef. Awaiting good light to enter the passage. All well aboard.

=20 The wind has dropped overnight and with it, thankfully, the swell so our progress is a little slower (and the annoying adverse current has returned) but a lot more comfortable. Blue sky dotted with small clouds so the sun is coming! The spinnaker should make an appearance today if these conditions remain. ETA Chesterfield Reef is tomorrow around dawn.

=20 Another grey day but a glimpse of brightness behind the clouds. Sea conditions continue to be a tad uncomfy but we're making good progress.

=20 Wind: 24 kts SE, 80% cloud cover, 1.5 metre swell.

The roller coaster ride continues but Maunie is galloping along. Winnie, the windpilot is doing a fine job and we've both got used to the conditions. All well aboard.

have 1kt of adverse current but no doubt they are enjoying the speedy conditions

=20 A good but bumpy first night on passage with 25kt SE and 2m swell. We've had almost 1.5 knots of adverse current since evening but are making good boat speed of around 7 knots. All well aboard.

Back at Luganville. Our attempt to clear out yesterday was thwarted by it being Constitution Day, a public holiday, so we'll be at the Customs offices at 07.30 this morning. Departing mid-morning, all being well, to catch the last of the west going tide down the Segond Channel.

ETA Chesterfield Reef is Monday 10th

Anchored off Oyster Island resort with Sel Citron. Leaving at HW (08.00) this morning to go to Luganville for final re-provisioning and to clear out.

Planning to leave tomorrow (Thurs), ETA Chesterfield Reef Monday 10th

Back at the Beachfront anchorage after a lovely spinnaker sail from the east end of Aore Island.

We were planning to leave for Bundaberg tomorrow but the wind looks a little light on Tuesday / Wednesday for this heavy boat so now looking to depart Thursday (better timing for the swift tides in the west end of the Segond Channel too). We'll move somewhere more picturesque in the morning to enjoy the bonus days in Vanuatu

=20 At the lovely Ratua Island resort - great meal last night at the resort. Spending the weekend getting the boat ready for the passage to Australia; hoping to clear out on Monday morning.

Luganville

Test YIT update No 2 from the poolside, Beachfront Resort

=20 Test YIT update; resting by the pool at Beachfront Resort

Back in Luganville, Beachside anchorage in the calmest conditions - Graham jumped over the side yesterday to snorkel Million Dollar Point as we passed it. This is where the US military dumped Jeeps, bulldozers, trucks and all manner of hardware at the end of the war - an amazing dive site now. Looks as though it'll be a hot day for carrying jerry cans of diesel and bags of shopping!

=20 In Surundu Bay, Santo. Beautiful morning, glassy calm water.

Still anchored at the lovely Port Olry =E2=80=93 crystal clear water and a beautiful spot. The village was celebrating Samna Day for the past few days =E2=80=93 lots of football and music. Planning to move back to Luganville tomorrow.

A lovely sail from Luganville to Oyster Island - beating out of the Segond Channel then a nice reach northwards. The inner pass into the anchorage lagoon is interesting - just 40cm under our keel (2.3m of water and hour and a half before HW) - but the anchorage off Oyster Island Resort is a mangrove-fringed spot of calmness. Will have to check out the cocktail bar later.

Anchored off Beachfront - a slightly choppy anchorage but good holding (just as well, as this is a lee shore). Off to watch the NZ All Whites U20 football team vs. Solomon Islands this lunchtime in Luganville.

Weather is cloudy with 15kts SE wind

Back in the anchorage off the Beachfront Resort at Luganville - and about to go ashore with a big bag of laundry and then on to the market. Thankfully our 22lb Wahoo is now filleted and in the freezer so we'll just need to get some of the local beef - Santo Meat Packers sell big cuts so we'll share a full fillet with another boat here.

Just about to weigh anchor in Vanihe Bay to sail to Luganville. Shame to leave such a tranquil, beautiful place but we need some shops!

We are anchored once again in the tranquil Vanihe Bay on the NE tip of Ambae, hoping that our return trip will include much less rain so that we can explore this beautiful anchorage tomorrow. Sel Citron and Field Trip are our neighbours. Our sail across from Pentecost was a broad reach taking just under four hours. The bonus occurred as we were about to wind in our fishing line before entering the anchorage; we hooked a 22 lb wahoo. Sadly in the process we lost our gaff but at least we didn't lose the fish.

We are anchored once again in the tranquil Vanihe Bay on the NE tip of Ambae, hoping that our return trip will include much less rain so that we can explore this beautiful anchorage tomorrow. Sel Citron and Field Trip are our neighbours. Our sail across from Pentecost was a broad reach taking just under four hours. The bonus occurred as we were about to wind in our fishing line before entering the anchorage; we hooked a 22 lb wahoo. Sadly, in the process we lost our gaff but at least we didn't lose the fish.

Anchored of Bwatnapne village, Pentecost, having left Ambrym this morning. Raining most of the way, with poor visibility at times, and 25-28 knots SE wind between Ambrym and Pentecost with 1.5m waves. Glad to have it behind us rather than bashing into it!

We did stop at Wali Bay en route but the swell was rolling into it so it wasn't comfy - our final anchorage is better but not entirely free of roll so a stern anchor will probably be deployed to keep is pointing into the swell

Torrential day yesterday but the ROM dance was spectacular. Still raining, 1014, less than 5NNE

In Nopul anchorage, Anbrym. Seconf day of the Back to My Roots Festival was also excellent, though we were glad of the advice to take an umbrella. The final day today features the Rom masked dance (unique to Ambrym) – are we likely to see the rain clear away for it?

In Nopul anchorage, Anbrym. First day of the Back to My Roots Festival was excellent, going back for more today!.

Return to the Roots festival sis not start yesterday but will start today! Hopefully!

In Nopul anchorage, Anbrym. Another fun (but rather bouncy) beat down from Pentecost yesterday in 20 –25 knots SE. We are with Sel Citron, Quickstar and Bright Angel in this anchorage, with another 6 yachts visible at Ranon, a couple of miles to the south. All gathering for the Back to My Roots Festival.

In Loltong Bay, Pentecost. A fun (but very wet) beat down from Ambae yesterday in 20 –25 knots SE. Met up with Sel Citron en route (they were in Asanvari, Maewo) and just the two of us anchored here. Hope the weather will left enough to let us explore ashore today

Anchored in Vanihe Bay, Ambae after a good close reach sail across from Luganville. Planning to head down to Loltong Bay on Pentecost tomorrow. Rain is topping up our water tanks. All well aboard as we listen to the bats.

on their way out of Luganville

Back on a mooring at Aore Island, Luganville for the airport run this afternoon. Looks as though we’ll have to wait for weather for the passage to Ambrym for the festival as a trough is heading our way.

Off the very smart, French-owned, Ratua Private Island Resort. Had an expensive but delicious meal ashore last night with brilliant entertainment from The Bamboo Band. The resort has two moorings (pink buoys) which are free of charge – they prefer yacht to use these to prevent damage to the sea grass and coral. Lots of turtles around us.

We sadly say goodbye to Laura on Monday when she flies on the (weekly) direct flight from Luganville to Brisbane. We’d then like to head back to Ambrym (departing Tuesday) for the Back to My Roots festival so will we listening with interest to the weather forecasts for next week.

We moved over to a mooring off the north coast of Aore Island yesterday as a weather front crossing offered the risk of squally conditions. Heavy rain burst during the night but otherwise it's calm.

Thanks to Patricia's recommendation, we went to the abattoir yesterday to buy some great-looking beef mince and steak!

Anchored off the Beachfront Resort at Luganville, Espirito Santo. Arrived here yesterday so enjoyed our first restaurant meal on 3 weeks - lovely! A busy day of laundry, provisioning and refuelling ahead.

se side of malekula. wanting to head to Luganville

After spending yesterday in Banam Bay which included a walk ashore where we were greeted by very friendly villagers and taken to meet Chief Graham in Fartapo, we decided to move further up the coast this morning. Sailing in company with Sel Citron, we managed a fabulous hour and a half of flying the Parasailor before the wind died. We're anchored in Crab Bay in 8 metres of murky water, 15 metres off the beach. Apart from being a little hot, all well aboard.

In Banam Bay where we were welcomed this afternoon by more than 20 Spinner Dolphins leaping 2m clear of the water around us! We’ll head ashore in the morning to meet the locals and to get an explanation of the loud human yelps, cries and whistles from the shore after dark. Herding cattle at night or some kind of Kustom dance????

Arrived in Banam Bay this afternoon - lovely sheltered spot and we had 20+ Spinner Dolphins performing around us for an hour, doing amazing, spinning flips a full 2m out of the water. Will go ashore in the morning to say hello to the villagers.

In Port Sandwich where there is said to live a large hungry shark who isn’t averse to the odd human snack. So, despite the heat, no swimming today! The short passage up from Uliveo island was a motor-sail in a light SE breeze; we enjoyed our time there but it was a busy few days so it is good to be able to relax a little.

Anchored in Port Sandwich, Malekula where there is said to be a hungry shark that's not adverse to the odd human snack. Shame, because it's warm and a swim would be nice.

After a very enjoyable and busy 6 days in Ulevio Island, we had a gentle motor-sail up the coast in 7 knots of SE wind and we are happy just to relax and catch up on a bit of world news - there's reasonable internet access via Digicel here

Meskylenes, SE Malakula

Anchored in a very sheltered lagoon off Lutes Village on the west side of Uliveo Island, Malakula. The entrance through the reef was a bit bum-clenchy (narrow and only 4m depth) but the anchorage is deep (17m) and clear. About to go ashore to say hello to the locals.

In Gaspard Bay. After a calm day yesterday, watching 6 dugong around us, last night turned gusty with a couple of rain squalls. The anchorage remains free of any swell but the wind funnels down it.

This morning we started with the plan to motor a short distance to the East Lagoon anchorage off Uliveo (16 deg 32.17 S, 167 deg 50.20 E). We had intended to meet the Chief and headmaster, Jack. This was described as a 10 metre anchorage in the Rocket Guide but we aborted when we found a 2.1 metre depth with rolly conditions. Everything happens for a reason as we instead dropped our anchor in 8 metres at the beautiful Gaspard Bay. We were greeted by two dugongs who have regularly surfaced and then waved their tails as they dived back down. No internet so photos will have to follow. All very happy and well aboard.

Anchored at the Meskylenes off SE side of Malekula

Motor-sailed over from Ambrym this morning in a light 8 knot SSE breeze (and surrounded by a super-pod of dolphins) and navigated up the eastern channel into the Maskelyne Islands where the current was running at nearly 2 knots against us, even though we arrived an hour after local low tide. Anchored in the lovely and very well-protected bay to the west of Awei island. Lots of outrigger canoes, including several under sail, around us.

leaving Ranon today for Malekula/ Meskylenes

Ambrym approx coords of anchorage

In Ranon Bay, Ambrym, off to the Fanla Festival today

In Lamen Bay, Epi, sailing to Ranon Bay, Ambrym, today

Anchored in Lamen Bay, Epi after a brilliant Parasailor sail up from Emae (leaving with an escort of a dozen dolphins) in 20-24 kts SE - pretty much at hull speed the whole time and only one broach when a big wave kicked Maunie's arse! The anchorage is calm and we've had a couple of really big Green Turtles close to us but there's no sign of the resident Dugong yet. We've had a walk ashore and tomorrow move up to Ambrym.

Anchored in Sulua Bay on the West coast of Emae. The bay is wide so ample room for Maunie between two catamarans. Today's passage began with motoring due to wind shadow from land; when the wind arrived we had white sails flying and then the Irish flag giving us good speeds. Sadly another day of no fish on the hook. We look forward to doing more island spotting on our way up to Epi tomorrow.

Anchored in Esema Bay, Havannah Harbour. Beautifully flat water but a nice cooling breeze after a lovely sail up the coast from Port Vila; it was good to be on the move again after 6 nights in the big city. Heading off early in the morning to Epi (about 65nm).

Port Vila

We weighed anchor in Ponamlas Bay at 0340 this morning and set sail for the 74 nm across to Port Vila on the Island of Efate. The wind was astern of us but sadly always a little too strong to fly the Parasailor. We completed the passage under white sails, tying up to mooring no. 6 at 1540. It was great to chat to old cruising friends on Pacific Highway, Bruce and Laura, as they departed Port Vila. It was even better to celebrate with Kate and Paul, on Iolea with a bottle of Champagne, recognising that we'd sailed in tandem all the way from New Zealand. Cheers! All very well aboard.

An 03.00 alarm call and we left the anchorage at 03.40, sailing in company with Iolea for Port Vila on Efate. Good sailing but wind's right on our stern again so goose-winged and rolling a little. All well aboard, looking forward to the bright lights and internet in PV!

on route Erromango to Port Vila Efate

a less exposed anchorage and in fact quite pleasant - Erromango

A very pleasant two hour coastal sail this morning saw us arrive in Ponamias Bay on the North coast of Erromango. Anchored in 10 metres of crystal clear water with the beautiful bay to ourselves. We spent an hour or so experimenting with a stern anchor to reduce the slight roll from a few gentle waves that curled into the bay. Seems to have been successful and we're hoping for a better night's sleep. All very happy aboard.

A fabulous sail from Tanna with the Parasailor flying all the way. Only down side was the failure to land the fish that we hooked (and it was a big one!) A rolly night in Dillons Bay anchorage on the west side of Erromango (our third island in Vanuatu) so planning to explore up the coast this morning.

the rip up the mountain last night was in great conditions. Awesome. Off today to Erromango. P Resolution is a bit choppy.

Anchored in Port Resolution (just a long, shallow bay) in Tanna, with 9 other boats here (several flying Q flags having arrived from New Caledonia). We had a great sail yesterday with the Parasailor all the way, racing against Iolea. Going to do the Mt Yasur volcano tour this evening, so we hope the skies will remain clear for us – it is an expensive trip (about £60 each) but a once in a lifetime opportunity...

about 10 boats in Port Resolution Tanna

On passage from Aneityum to Port Resolution, Tanna, ETA 15.00 Lovely sailing with the Parasailor, in company with Iolea and Bright Angel after a rolly night in the anchorage as the front went over and the wind went from NNE to SSE.

off to Tanna today

Still in Aneityum but loving it - excellent snorkelling, good walking and very friendly people. 6 boats here, all waiting for a front to cross us tonight to bring a return to SSE winds for the next passage up to Tanna (a day-sail away).

Can see Bright Angel entering the Aneityum anchorage

Arrived safely in Aneityum, with a minor drama of a fouled headsail furler requiring Graham to scale the mast in 25 knots to clear a wrapped spinnaker halyard. However, we are delighted to be stationary for the first time in a week!

Feels as though we are on the home straight now - 130nm to go to Aneityum and we have a lovely 0.7 knot favourable current pushing us along. Good sailing through the night, though we put in two reefs in the main when it blew up to 25 knots. Still bumpy and rolly so off-watch sleep is hard to get.

Current speed puts our ETA in the early hours of Monday morning. If the sky is clear to allow the full moon to light our way into the bay, we'll attempt a night-time arrival but if there's any doubt we'll hove-to until dawn. Looking forward to still waters!

Yesterday saw the flying of the Parasailor before we erred on the cautious side and returned to full white sails when the wind increased. Yesterday afternoon we had the excitement of three to four whales less than 20m away from Maunie as they headed south. A drop in winds saw some motoring over night. Finally temperatures are increasing with the sea state calming so all well aboard.

Good sailing yesterday but with some rain squalls. Sailed into upper level trough last night so wind died and we started motoring at 0430 NZST. Hoping for the return of the breeze later today. All well aboard.

Good sailing but pretty rolly downwind. A few rain squalls last night saw winds up to 30 kts and seas build to 3m +. Will go back to goose-winged sails this morning (even more rolly) for a better course towards Vanuatu but we're hoping the wind to go more SE or ESE so that should improve things. All well aboard

The second day has seen us start to settle in to life on board. We kept ourselves busy deciding to sail with the yankee and pole but then switched to the Irish Flag spinnaker; unfortunately this suffered a wine glass wrap and was swiftly dropped. We called off flying the Parasailor again due to too much wind. All these efforts were rewarded with a delicious Lasagne! Yes, it’s still slightly rolly but all very well on board.

A good start to the passage. Left Opua at 10.30 yesterday and flew the spinnaker until 17.00 when it all became a bit too sporting for that kind of bravado. Rolly downwind sailing but all very well on board.

Hurrah! Cleared out of customs and we'll be leaving in 30 minutes.

Well the weather had a couple of final kinks to throw at us so we now depart Monday 13th (13 is a lucky number, right?). Window looks breezy but good.

Hunkered down in the marina with the wind whistling in the rigging. NZ Metservice forecast gives 40kt gusting 50kt NE tonight, with rain and big seas out there so we are very happy to be here just at the moment! Friday or (more likely) Saturday looks like our opportunity to escape the cold. All digits firmly crossed.

Great to talk to Lionel and Irene on Kiapa by phone today - they are bearing up as well as can be expected in the 30+ degrees and clear waters of Fiji.

Don't think we've ever seen the barometer so high - 1032hPA. A fantastic sunset last night and calm and sunny this morning - a bonus for those of us still waiting to sail north.

Hoping that there may be window for us later in the week - Thursday, perhaps? So we're heading back into Opua to celebrate Kerry's (from Sel Citron) birthday today then we'll be back into the routine of staring at the weather forecasts.

Broken out of the marina, hurrah, as the blue sky arrived this morning. A cracking sail in cold S 20-25 knots and now anchored in Paroanui Bay. About to brave the water to swim to see how much has adhered to the hull and prop in the past couple of weeks - the fouling in Opua has been really high this year, probably related to all the dredging activities for the marina extension.

Nice to be back sailing again, even if it isn't on passage to Vanuatu.

Our team name in the OCC Quiz night (we came an honourable 3rd) was The Patient Mariners. Still waiting on weather after a tussle with Australian bureaucracy over visitors visas prevented us from joining a small exodus yesterday. The Big Fat High approaching NZ this weekend, together with a low off N Queensland means we will continue to be patient and go cruising in the Bay of Islands for a few days!

Still in Opua Marina, awaiting that elusive weather window to head for Vanuatu. The weather has been pretty impressive here this week with fronts and troughs rolling in one after the other - if you don't like the weather at any particular moment, wait five minutes and it changes! We have quite enjoyed watching it all coming from the comfort of the pilot house, with the fan heater running occasionally but the waiting is beginning to drag.

Another big gale heading our way at the weekend then, we hope, a window next Tuesday or Wednesday. Watching the forecast models intently! Meanwhile, getting on with things that were in the to-do-in-the-tropics section of the boat-work lists and tonight there is the Opua Cruising Club quiz to keep our grey matter ticking over.

We have been able to hear a few boats on the Southern Cross Net but it is pretty noisy in the marina. Hoping that there will be a few people still on the net when we finally leave.

Anchored in Urapukapuka Bay after waving Kiapa off on the start of their passage to Fiji this morning. Beautiful but windless day in the Bay of Islands but we had a large pod of Bottlenose dolphins to play with en route to the anchorage.

Back on our Opua mooring after a busy and expensive day yesterday. After trying every option (including fitting another course computer of the same vintage) we had a new autopilot fitted - this one comes complete with a fancy colour display and a much better solid-state compass. Brief trials in the afternoon were successful so we will go sailing today (once the fog lifts!) to give Constance II a proper work-out.

Meanwhile, quite a few boats left Opua yesterday and more will go over the next few days - the weather window looks as though there'll be too much motoring for our tastes so we wait for a big gale to come through next Thursday then see how things look after that.

In Otaio Bay, Urapukapuka Island, after a short and gentle sail yesterday. Boat jobs and baking, plus planning recipes for the passage. Weather still incredibly settled (some heavy rain overnight but still no wind) so we’re enjoying the Bay of Islands.

In Twin Lagoon Bay, Roberton Island in very calm conditions. Lovely to be back out in the Bay of Islands – there are too many yachties discussing weather forecasts and fretting about visa expiry dates in Opua! Here we’ve had a swim in clear (and not too cold) water and enjoyed a walk ashore.

We’re in no rush to leave NZ, which is just as well because the forecasts for a passage to the tropics doesn’t look great at the moment and we have just discovered that Constance our autopilot has lost her sense of direction. She’s a game old girl but needs some expensive transplants so the cruising fund is about to take an unwelcome battering.

Back on our mooring in Opua after a bouncy but fun sail up the coast yesterday. One huge rogue wave hit us and drenched the helmswoman but otherwise it was a very good trip.

In Admirals Bay, Whangaruru after a very entertaining 12 hour, 74nm sail from Great Barrier. Wind just aft of the beam and 25-28 kts at first, moving astern and moderating during the day to allow us to fly some more colourful sailcloth.

Highlight of the passage was the arrival of about 30 dolphins - a 'superpod' according to our resident marine biologist who tells us that normal pods number no more than 8 or 9, so this was a gathering of several of them - who played with us for about 30 minutes. Magical!

Anchored in Smokehouse Bay in Port Fitzroy, Great Barrier Island after a good sail up the west coast - a bit chilly, though, so we're looking forward to returning to the Tropics! Smokehouse Bay is usually full of boats over the summer but today there are just five of us. Off to explore ashore this afternoon then a hideously early start tomorrow to sail northwards to the Bay of Islands before the wind turns northerly on Sunday.

Anchored in Shoal Bay, Tryphena Harbour, Great Barrier Island after a gentle downwind sail - two periods of Parasailing interspersed with motoring. We arrived at 15.00 and rowed ashore to explore; with typical Barrier friendliness we were almost immediately given a lift to the excellent Irish Pub in Tryphena village and perched in the back of a pickup truck on the way home. Love this place! Tomorrow we'll sail up to Port Fitzroy.

Beautiful day with flat calm seas to motor round from Oneroa to Man o' War Bay for an awesome wine tasting and platter lunch in the garden. Two key moments of the day featured the launch of Dingy McDingface, our new Zodiac tender and the first sighting of a Blue Penguin for Laura.

A very entertaining sail out from Auckland in 30 knots of wind - perfect conditions for our niece Laura to remember her helming skills. She's joined Maunie to sail up to Vanuatu in May.

Anchored off Little Oneroa beach in Waiheke and pleased to report that the wind has calmed to southerly 10 knots this evening.

Anchored in Oneroa Bay, Waiheke Island, after a couple of nights in Fairway Bay marina (and a great evening with Kerry & Damian aboard Sel Citron). We'll stay around Waiheke over the weekend and then head into Auckland on Monday.

A cracking day which began at 04.00 when we weighed anchor from Urupukapuka Bay to take advantage of the NWerly. Sadly it never quite managed to reach the forecasted 15 knots but we grabbed every chance we could to fly the Parasailor. Bonus visit from eight dolphins who posed for a GoPro video shoot (both above and below water). Anchored in North Cove, Kawau Island, just as it got dark.

On the mooring and it's a particularly wet kind of day. So we're studying charts and planning the trip to Vanuatu... More immediately, we're heading south towards Auckland for a couple of weeks - the forecast suggests we'll have favourable NW winds on Tuesday and Wednesday so we'll set off Tuesday morning and have an overnight anchorage en route.

Three relaxing nights anchored here in bright sunshine, calm winds and flat water (except for when the tourist trip boats go past with their stories over the PA systems). A verdant and bird-song accompanied walk ashore on Moturua Island provided a lovely break from a few boat jobs; the deck hatch over the galley has yielded to combined pressure and is now removed for drying out and then re-sealing to solve the deck leak.

Anchored in Matauwhi Bay close to the town of Russell. 35-40 knot NE winds plus heavy rain forecast for the next two days so we hope that the water will be a bit calmer here than on the mooring in Opua (where wind against tide can kick up quite a chop). Lovely lunch in the Duke of Marlborough yesterday, hunkered down with a list of indoor jobs for the next two days.

Arrived in Awaawaroa or Pipi Bay after a lovely hour's sail from Deep Water Cove. Sadly, visibility wasn't as good as we'd hoped to check out the dive site. Took advantage of sea breeze in the late afternoon to head back in the direction of Opua. Sharing the beautiful anchorage with five other boats.

A spectacular sail out to Deep Water Cove in bonus winds as the sea breeze came in. The Cove is the site of HMNZS Canterbury, a popular dive spot so we're looking forward to looking down through the clear water tomorrow. We share the anchorage with five other boats nicely spaced out. Bright sunshine - perfect!

Back in the Bay of Islands after motor-sailing south yesterday in a rolly, 2m swell. Met two boats last seen in Fulaga en route - Domino (Jean-Pierre and Marie) and Oyaragh (Callum and Jess). Small world!

Heading back to Opua tonight.

Anchored off Milford Island / Wairopo Island in Whangaroa Harbour, a beautiful and well-sheltered spot. Fantastic spinnaker reaches from the Cavelli Islands in bright sunshine and 15 knot easterly.

The swell builds up at the relatively-narrow harbour entrance, particularly on an ebb tide. Wouldn't want to attempt it in a strong NE'ly.

Anchored in Papatara Bay (aka Horseshoe Bay), Motukawanui Island in the Cavelli Islands after an excellent spinnaker run up the coast in bright sunshine. A beautiful, rugged bit of coastline.

Anchored off the Veronica Channel for a great bbq with Peter and Angela ashore last night. Heading north to the Cavelli Islands today in glorious sunshine.

Back on the mooring in Opua after a lovely overnight sail from Fairway Bay, Gulf Harbour, on Sunday. Here to get our aft fridge fixed, we hope, then the rugged coast north of here begs exploration.

After a very enjoyable month of city life in Auckland, we are back out sailing. Anchored out in Huruhi Bay off the village of Surfdale on Waiheke, just 100m from Citrus Tart (Steve & Michelle), last seen in Fulaga. Planning a walk ashore today.

We aim to start heading north towards Opua at the weekend once brisk northerly winds forecast for Friday swing round to the SW as a front crosses North Island.