South Pacific Sailing

When I left the USA back in April there were 3 big things that I had hoped to accomplish on this trip:  live in Thailand, learn to surf in Bali, and the one thing I wanted to do more than anything… sail the South Pacific islands. 

As many of you already know, I have found my boat!  

When you start searching on the internet, there are actually a lot of options and great websites dedicated to helping boat owners and potential crew find each other.  It’s just a matter of finding the right fit.  There are crew positions where you actually get paid to work (typically on mega-yachts where you work for a very wealthy family – but it’s just that… work) and then there are crew positions where you pay to be on the boat (typically on sailboats and you are basically there to help the captain sail, explore and share in the experience, and have a lot of fun).  This is exactly what I was looking for….

The boat I have decided to sail aboard is a 58-foot sailboat currently in Cairns, Australia. 

Schooner Seawanhaka

The owner (Bill) is a former District Attorney from Oregon and he has been sailing for over 20 years.  He left the USA in 2004 and has been sailing his boat in the South Pacific ever since.  His long term plan is to eventually sail the boat around the world.   He’s hoping to have about 3-4 crew along for the journey and one of the crew could possibly be this girl from Cairns who is a dive instructor!  Bill is very active and says that we will be doing a lot of swimming, snorkeling, diving, hiking, cycling (foldable bikes on board), exploring, and interacting with local villagers.   Right up my alley :)

 Captain Bill

The leg of his journey that I will join begins on the Great Barrier Reef.  From there the plan is to sail to the islands of Papua New Guinea, cross the equator into the many islands of Micronesia, including Palau (my dream destination and one of the most remote and best dive locations in the world), head back down towards the “Spice Islands” of Indonesia, and finally around May 2011 he plans to dock in Darwin, Australia. 

Palau

Depending on how much fun I am having, I have the option to stay on the boat until we dock in Darwin.  That would be about 9 months of sailing and exploring places and cultures most people have never even heard of.   I can’t think of anything better :) 

Currently the boat is going through a major overhaul in Australia and Bill hopes that it will be ready to sail in August.  So at the end of June I will be heading over to Bali, Indonesia with hopes of finally learning how to surf and will be in that region until the boat departs from Australia sometime in August.