Category Archives: Travel

Some claim the Lau Group to be one of the top cruising grounds on a circumnavigation, and we’re not inclined to disagree. Even though we are still only halfway on our own global spin, we believe this place to be … Continue reading →

Traditional drumming signals the beginning of the school day. With the exception of the giggling, singing voices of the children in the boat passing Qi an hour earlier, you wouldn’t believe this huge bay was home to so many young … Continue reading →

I can’t believe the cruising season for 2016 has nearly come to an end. We have enjoyed Tonga, Samoa, Wallis and now Fiji. Once again, we hope to return to Fiji. We’ve been here for two months and still have … Continue reading →

A reef enclosed island with several crater lakes and the remains of a 3000 year old fort was given the name Wallis by an English navigator, Samuel Wallis. Its partner island Futuna is some 300km to the south, giving the … Continue reading →

S.O.S. or Smiles of Samoa I highly recommend a journey to Samoa. We have never encountered people more willing to share their culture and being so organised to do so. Even a couple of near death experiences didn’t alter our … Continue reading →

Dancing with the first mate seems to be about a biannual event but last night as we were enticed across the road from the marina by the sounds of a Samoan band, that frequency might be on the increase. Unable … Continue reading →

Qi is the name given to the life force in Chinese. It is pronounced ‘Chi’ as in Tai Chi. It is also the name of our boat. There is always a bit of magic happening on our boat but that’s … Continue reading →

Having a birthday on a Sunday in Tonga means no swimming, no paddling, no drinking, no fun, just rest. But we did have a much appreciated visit from Emma and Owen off Dulcinea, a kiwi boat, bearing gifts of pineapple … Continue reading →

We left Nuku’alofa expecting good winds for a northerly sail and we weren’t disappointed. We had one of our quickest and consistent sails ever. Qi was making the most of her freshly painted underside and tuned rig. We arrived at … Continue reading →

Having a relatively clear social calendar, we stayed on in Nuku’alofa for the celebrations of the Tongan Queen Mother’s 90th birthday at Big Mamma’s yacht club. Extra furnishings and shade were put in place for the royal appointment. The Tongan … Continue reading →