Hello, my name is Brent Burge. I have come to join Peter in Fakarava (FP) and to then help sail to New Zealand.
I am a retired engineer. Taking this trip is an old ambition of mine. I m looking forward to the fun, adventure and great company.
In New Zealand I would say I am a Kiwi. But I have learned people here think I am saying I am a Kiwi Fruit.
The Kiwi is flightless and nocturnal
The Kiwi is the national bird of New Zealand. It is flightless and nocturnal. The female takes 30 days to grow an egg. The egg weighs up to 25% of the mother’s weight. It then takes 80 days for the male to incubate it. Over a 100 years ago, the first modern commercial Kiwi Fruit variety was bred in New Zealand. It was then know as Chinese Gooseberry. For marketing reasons the name was changed to Kiwi Fruit.
Are you perhaps one of the 350 million people visiting reefs? (source).
If you want to do that sustainably, then this is something for you.
Travel off the beaten path
No habitat will change from the bit that you affect as an individual traveller. It changes by the impact of the mass. Then, habitats of birds, fishes and coral, will be damaged and disappear. The cause is called ‘overtourism’. Most people don’t consider overtourism, if they are aware of it anyway.
Often there are no airlines straight to the place off the beaten path. Yes it will cost you a certain quantity of extra time, but you get it back in quality. You can blend in. Perhaps you don’t blend in the place and the people, but they make you feel welcome and you can be part of it all. However, your environmental impact blends in the ecosystem.
And your visit there is a special visit, far more worth the money.
Sailors who want to get off the beaten path for sailors, simply take the remote places that are more difficult to navigate. On the left side we see the wide and deep entry of the island of Fakarava. On the right side the narrow and shallow entry of Manihi. Yes, we were careful to get in, but then we spend two beautiful weeks in Manihi. For 12 days the Ya was the only boat. In Fakarava there are so many yachts, a quick count says about 60 now. There is even a Yacht Service, a pier, a dock, everything. And the obvious poor habitats around it.The government is trying to defend the nature a bit by forbidding a lot. But that is fighting the symptoms. You better spread the yachts over the islands.
Stopping with single use plastic is easy in our Western culture. But once you are on the borders of our culture, in your vacation paradise, it is different. Their culture is often a bit like what we discovered in the seventies, with everything shiny and fast, the cars, the food, the sugarized drinks. And the single use plastics lubricate it all.
Stop using single use plastic – and talk the talk
As a traveller you are a special person in this culture. You are a combination of a tourist, a guest of the country who is smiling and enjoying, and a consumer who has money to spend. If they see you, there is something at stake. You are the one who can allow yourself the response: “Sorry, I don’t do single use plastic.”
Just don’t buy it. Actively ask for the alernatives. Be astonished or show your ‘je ne sais quoi’ look if they can’t answer you and turn your back to the shopkeeper and leave to go to the next one.
If your guesthouse or you B&B gives you a lunch or picknick basket with single use plastic, just give that back and ask for real forks and knives and cups. Show that you are serious, e.g. by saying you don’t mind an extra deposit for it.
Since the local people have just been affected with these materials and the short term happiness the bring, they feel happy. So they look away from the garbage floating in their waters. But you, with your smile, are allowed to ask questions. You are in the only group -the only stakeholder if you want- who can stop single use plastic in time, make the short cut for this people. This is what you can give back.
Pick it up
Once the local people are affected with the western-american habits and lifestyle, you find the impact floating in the water. It doesn not mean that you can do the same. Do the opposite and fish it out of the water and bring it all the way to a bin. The ecological impact is perhaps nothing, but it shows that you are respecting their nature as it is.
For example in Bocas Del Toro, Panama, the Wasteless World Foundation organises a two week clean up of the beach of a small island. Now that it is clean for some years, the islanders themselves change bit by bit and the cleanups are becoming less and less frequent.
Inge has always been a great plastic beachcomber. No bottle or cup is too much for her. But now, she agrees, this one she had to let go. ;-§
There are many travel agencies considering sustainability, but Original Travel is a travel agency taking care of what we do with Mother Earth in all aspects. Vacation? Yes! Damage to Mother Earth? No!
On the website of Original Travel we found “40 Facts and Statistics About Tourism and Sustainability”in a prominent chapter. Are they undermining their own business? No, on the contrairy, they prevent and fight all negative aspects piece by piece in their way of organizing travels.
Here we highlight some of the facts and figures Original Travel has brought forward. They are on economy and ecology. We, as tourists, become aware of our foot print, and we start knowing what to do against it.
An honest, open and courageous step of Original Travel. Follow it.
The economy of the blue tourism
Blue tourism is the main motivator to travel
50% of all tourism is motivated by blue tourism. People love to see and explore the coastal and marine areas and it is often the main motivator to choose their travels. For the American and European continent, it is even 80%.
The marine tourism is a rising market. In 2023 it is doing 70 billion, but in 2030 the market is projected to have risen to 113 billion.
The EU blue economy is fast growing and big
With a annual growth of 20-25 % , and a turnover of 1 trillion now, the blue economy is the future. Did you know that only the wind e nergy production has risen more 300% since 2015!
Coastal tourism is a money generator in Europe
It adds 50 billion Euros on value to the European economy. It creates nearly 2 million jobs across the continent.
The Atlantic and Pacific are the oceans wht the future economical growth
The most harm to the seas was found to be the fishing and aquaculture sector – although in this instance, up to 40% of companies operating in this sphere did at least understand and acknowledge the impact they were having.
In 2035 we may see more plastic than fish.
A small area can never ever cope ecologically with a high concentration of pollution
Next week we go to all solutions, especially how we can change our way of celebrate our vacations and travels.
And we saw something that looked liked coral, moving, in mesmerizing colors of black and blue.
First you see a black curly thing in the water, on a shell.
If you come closer, the camouflage of it is beautiful. check the film here under.
We showed the film to the Manihi people when we were eating in their ‘snack’. They immediately recognised it: Benitiers! It is some kind of clam, typical for the islands, and also, they were going to catch them for their special festive morning meal the next day.
So obviously, we ordered a plate.
We ate it for lunch. It was prepared with coconut and curry and some chives on top. The only thing one shouldn’t eat was the intriguing black lining. So, we didn’t. But the rest we ate with great curiosity and respect.
It was delicious. Something in between an oyster and a snail.
It looks like the whole island is involved in the Saturday night party. Or, actually two parties, because the first dance show is on the Friday night. But the Saturday night show is the highlight. It looks like everyone has cooperated in the spectacles, and the dancers are just a part of it. But, what a part! Enjoy the traditional dances and songs of Manihi and the Tuamotus in the next video.
The island of Manihi (French Polynesia) gives a party. This is part one, the preparation and the first day. All 450 inhabitants work together, every year, for more than a century, to make a great 10 days feast. This is a strong and sustainable community many societies can learn from.
About the excitement of the Parasailor and the lesson, learning from canned food, the climax of the way we went through the pass of Manihi,
Anna and Jaacques, nearly our neiighbours in Makemo, show the copra production for this week.
Makemo for a speed date
Wed Jul 09 2025 , 16 37.691s 143 34.405w
Makemo, just to see it. We saw the village. Did our shopping. Fresh fish! And, even a bigger surprise, rowing back to the Ya, we saw the Free Spirit next to us, with Jean-Luc on board. Jean-Luc was the man who took care for the Ya in Fatu Hiva when the emergency helicopter brought Peter with his broken vertebra to the hospital in Nuku Hiva. A silent hero. Thing fall together. He came for dinner and ate our delicious Poisson Cru, (raw fresh fish, ‘cooked’ in fresh lemon juice.) But, we leave again, going for Manihi, 180 miles to the West North West.
A slow wind and consequently a slow sail ride, zigzagging the ‘bommies’ of the coral. We would get a slow and easy passage through the North West pass. Well, it wasnot. The current was 5 knots and at the end was a whirling water. But is was allright, we got through. We sailed into the night.
The full moon was so bright, we could see everything.
Learning from the Parasailor
Thu Jul 10 2025 15 25.355s 144 55.493w
Predictwind would predict the perfect wind for a beautiful Parasailor day. So this morning at 6 o’clock we were ready. But, the wind was a tiny bit more Northerly and didnot really come from behind. Also the wind was a bit stronger. Anyway, we hoisted it: the sock went up, and the 104 m2 sail opened before our eyes, always a flabbergasting breathtaking beautiful moment. But, indeed, the wind was a bit too strong and we had to sail to the wrong island… Finally we lowered the sail again. After all it was three hour playing with the sails and a learning moment to set the right sails.
We rounded up our playful day with a dinner feast…. Not.
The dinner. If you are not sure if food from a can would be nice, you take a next can, it can only get better you hope. The canned chicken porc tasted like plastic. The chestnut just from the can, massively expensive, was like food just from a can. They surrounded the Frankfurter sausages, which tasted like a well wettened piece of cartboard. The cheese from a carton pack, that you can store uncooled, was perhaps the least bad. It was the first time we left our plates with food on it.
A learning moment to go for fresh food whenever you can get it here.
The first time we did not empty our plates. The boring brownish colour gives an idea how it tasted.
Manihi pass
Fri Jul 11 2025 Manihi
It was still early in the morning when we arrived before the coast of the island Mahini. We saw the pass to go in and the whirly waves related to the outgoing current made clear: we’d better wait. At 11 o’clock we came back. Mwah, better wait a bit more. At 11:30 we came back and the water was beautiful. We went through the pass, just on the slack between outgoing and ingoing current. We have become experienced Tuamotu pass sailors. We were so fond of ourselves, that we just anchored somewher. Let us hope that our anchor is not stuck under a ‘bommie’ piece of coral.
Raroia is a typical atoll. On a vulcano and with the edges still under the sea, coral grows on it till a round ridge is formed.
The pass where you can sail into the Raroia atol is here on the west side. There is only one pass, although there are many ‘false passes’ with coral, rock bottoms or sand banks. Dangerous!
Entering through the pass
This island has many ‘holes’ where the water can get through, and when the waves are big and the tide is high, the tops of the breaking waves even flow into the inner ‘lagoon’. It brings much water into the atoll. After High Water, when it becomes ebb, a lot of water comes streaming out of the little pass on the west side. This means a lot of current against us when we have to get in. The currents can become 6 knots and sometimes even more. And 6 knots is our maximum boat speed!. But it is dangerous to go in by flood, with the current with us. Because the Eastern trade winds come from the other direction. Wind against current gives terribly steep breaking waves, and they easily throw a boat or ship on its side. When we arrived before the pass it was that time. A 13 meter ship tried it enter then, but was simply thrown back by the waves. He went back just before it became dangerous.
So we tried to pick the moment that the flood has slackened and the ebb has not yet started. You clearly could see the waves were a lot calmer, they were not steep anymore. When we came through, it was even calm. Just on the slack moment!
It was exciting to navigate. We anchored near the village. In one of the 50 houses there was even a bit of internet. Gaston and Karin were so friendly that we could use it. Gerard could sell us some vegetables and Favia served us a great Polynesian dinner.
Some hunting, the Kon-Tiki stranding and some antropology
On the East side there is a beautiful anchorage. It is well known as one of the top 15 beaches of the world. Andrew went with some children from another boat for a coconut crab hunt. You do that when it is dark. The big crabs can open coconuts with their bare claws, so it is a cautious work. In an hour they hunted down enough for the barbecue on the beach.
Our view from the Ya on the nice side of the atoll ridge. In the other side, the waves pound on the reefs and beach. There, the Kon-tiki stranded.
In 1947, the Kon-Tiki, a sailing raft, stranded here on the ocean side of the beach, after a 100 days sail-and-float from Peru. This way, the antrolopogist Thor Heyerdahl wanted to prove that the Polynesians had their origin in South America. (By the way, later was found by DNA research that they came from New Zealand and even South East Asia). He and his three fellow researchers landed safely on the island.
Happiness
One fellow antropologist, Bengt Danielsson, stayed for some years on the island and did participating research. In his book Raroia: Happy Island of the South Seas observed, “The Raroian peace stems from the fact that the people have no material anxieties and no other object in life than just to live” (Danielsson, 294).
Andrew also gathered some coconuts. The coconut milk is so nice to drink. A big CHEERS from us!
So, last week, Ya set sail again! On the 24th of June, Ya reached the Tuamotus: the breathtaking island of Raroia. Read on Peter’s and Andrew’s adventures below!
The trip from Nuku Hiva to Raroia:
Thu Jun 19 2025 00:48:00 GMT+0200 (Midden-Europese zomertijd)
Farewell lovely people in Nuku Hiva
Andrew (new crew, see next Sunday’s blog) and me are ready to go. First, it took a little while to get the Iridium working, but from the moment Andrew took over, it was set and done in some hours. Peter has been ill, with an ongoing ear infection. And also because the ship needed more maintenance, all in all it took nearly 3 months before Ya was ready to leave. Perhaps the long stay is also to blame on the nice people here:)
Vai Nui (translation: ‘Endless Water’ , or ‘Ocean’) has become a friend of Inge and me already from the start. Now, when I kissed her goodby, she said goodbye with a pot of her delicious home made jam. Also thanks to Henri, who actually grows al the fruit this jam is made of.
Jef, or Jean Francois, we had een great time with so many chats, about politics and about private things. Pori, so many Sunday mornings we have spent on the Petit Quai making music. Thank you so much for teaching me the Marquesean song “Mamao te Koekoe A Otahi”, I will play and sing it forever. The lady of the Snack always gave me that bit of extra vegetables on my plate, and now I can’t even remember her Marquesean name. Marie-Therese of the fruit and vegetable market, although I am 10 years younger, I always loved our flirting and making jokes!
Now, Andrew and me made the ship ready within half a day. Unbelievable, so quick as everything changes from a boat in a bay to a sailing adventure. It is going so fast because Andrew is so experienced, things on boats don’t take long for him. We will have plenty wind, we will have a great sail this week to the Tuamotus.
Pirate on the high seas?
Fri Jun 20 2025 04:54:00 GMT+0200 (Midden-Europese zomertijd)
Behind us we saw a beautiful , modern and regatta shaped black saisl. A black tower on the water. It was following us. Finally a pirate, after al these years of sailing the world? We called him on with our radio. He answered. The name of his ship is Goose. And we are Ya, which is Chinese for ‘duck’. We are smaller. He is much faster. To stay friends -you never know if he would attack us- Andrew said he would take pictures of his boat. He overtook us in the blink of an eye. Barely enough shutter speed on the camera. He did not attack us. Andrew asked on the radio: “why the black sails?” “Oh, I had to renew them and I wanted to go for the cool pirate look.”
We ate Spaghetti Bolognese.
Squalls
Sat Jun 21 2025 22:14:00 GMT+0200 (Midden-Europese zomertijd)
It started last night, in Peters watch. It appeared to be a weird mix of squalls and the rest of a front passing by. And, often with wind stills. The next morning Andrew took over. A heavy rain squall came. Andrew became soaking wet. So what do you do then? Take a shower. Wash your clothes. Catch some extra water for you-never-know. Peter woke up, and followed this great example. Now, the tradewind has come back and we don’t smell each other (nor ourselves). And we are clean! Today a three course menu. Salade, Greek inspired, white cabbage mix a Provencale, and as a desert a mango, slightly fermented.
Good day
Sun Jun 22 2025 07:19:00 GMT+0200 (Midden-Europese zomertijd)
Yesterday After dinner we sailed pleasantly. A steady tradewind in Andrews evening watch. Time to read a good book. A steady trade wind in Peters night watch. Time to read a good book. The next morning, time for Andrew to throw some fishing lines out. The trade wind continues, the Ya goes straight as she goes. Inge at home helps with the unsolved problem to get the daily message (like this one) on the internet. Peter fixed a hatch cover. Nothing broke down today. The trade wind continues. We ate Russel Faun today, a Scottish dish. A good day.
We got in!
Tue Jun 24 2025 11:25:00 GMT+0200 (Midden-Europese zomertijd)
First try was done by a 13 meter yacht but the waves and current were madness and he went back. 2 hours later it looked much calmer. He tried again and yes. We did the same. But we have one engine damaged. Let’s find out what it is. We are on anchor before the tiny village of Raroia.
I am a retired engineer. My field was electrical and electronics. With a special interest in renewables. I am happy to be traveling on a well equipped sun-, wind- and battery powered boat. Maybe it will inspire me to convert my own sailing boat to fossil free.
With the destination Tuamotus I am looking forward with great anticipation to learn new sailing techniques like: how on earth do we get through those passes? and swim in glass clear water.
