Surprising Niue

We arrived yesterday and picked up a mooring ball. It is always so nice to enjoy the stillness and silence after sailing. Niue is full of surprises. The first one being the water. We can see the bottom which is 30m below! The water is clearer than crystal. Really amazing. Before we went to sleep, we heard few whales blowing quite close. Yes, we are in a special place.

We started the day by a short dinghy ride to follow 10 dolphins for 10 minutes. Then with our bikes, we went to discover the Northern side of the island. As Niue is a raised coral island, there are lots of curious and magnificent caves to discover and explore. We went to Avaika and Palaha Caves. The kids loved them and decided they wanted to live in one of them! We also went to Limu Pool with its clear turquoise water. Really beautiful (photos will follow when we have connection again).

We were welcomed warmly by everybody, the limestone offers spectacular landscapes and after a day here we are just curious to go and discover some more of this surprising island.

Trois baleines

We saw three whales yesterday swimming close (50m) by! Just amazing!

Fantastique! Trois baleines sont venues nous rendre vsite hier en fin de journee. Si proches. Imposantes et langoureuses. Nous sommes encore sous le charme de cet instant magique que nous a offert le Pacifique.

Whales spotted, near Nuie

Whales were spotted a few meters from Merlin yesterday afternoon. We were having our pizza dinner and we saw about three huge whales just behind Merlin. It was amazing. Of course as soon as we got the camera out they played hide and seek so we only have a splash to show you. This was about 100NM from Nuie.

Nuie is one of the smallest countries and one for the largest coral islands. The diving is meant to be really good so I am looking forwarded to checking it out. Some of the guides say that one can hear the whales when one sleeps at night, which should be fun.

Yesterday the seas became lumpy again with swells from three directions. Fortunately the sea calmed down a little last night, this was jsut to make sure that we really enjoy the anchorage. It is now 5:37am and we are now just 30NM from Nuie and are looking forward to getting there.

Current position 18deg 49.60'S and 169deg 23.53'W



How to be a hero on board (for short passages)

As soon as you have your sea legs, become the queen of the galley.

Day 1: bake some fresh bread for breakfast. Serve warm with Nutella.

Day 2: prepare some delicious crepes. The "classic" stays on Merlin the favorite (sugar+cinnamon+lemon juice)

Day 3: brave the heat and prepare some lasagnas - ask some help from the skipper as it makes the dish a real team work and will taste even better.

Day 3: The skipper being confident enough bakes some cookies

Day 4: Offer chicken or pizza for dinner ...knowing that you have 3 hours of mixing, rising and baking as the pizza is always the winner.

However, Clever Clea asked for a "chicken pizza"

Important rule: try to plan right and arrive on day 5 as you'll be exhausted from all this cooking.

18deg 39S - 167 deg 43W - ETA at Niue: Wed around lunch time



A mi-chemin

17deg 25S - 161deg 56W (18:45GMT). 7 nds - Vent E-NE 15nds

Ca y est le nombre de miles parcourus est superieur au nombre de miles a parcourir. Cela est toujours un bon stimulant pour le reste de la navigation. Fierement, Merlin avance jour et nuit, nous emportant vers Niue. Nous profitons pleinement des nuits de pleine lune, qui nous aide a prendre bien soin du spi (le symetrique). La mer s'est un peu calmee. Les creux ont diminue et la houle est plus reguliere. De bonnes conditions pour poursuivre la tradition des crepes a bord le dimanche - meme si notre cuisiniere preferee n'est plus la pour les faire.