Monday December 8 2014
The boss left us a day early so we could get a head start on the passage. This passage is not expected to be easy since we will have the current, swell and wind against us and we must be conservative with our fuel. We ended up taking about 700 something liters but at the moment we are using both engines at a mid to high RPM and we are only making 3-3.5 knots….not cool….its been rainy and wet and bumpy so far…but hopefully that clears up at least for a day so I can do some laundry and dry out all our cushions and carpets.
Some things we experienced in New Britain…We also spent time in New Ireland
This village had just had a huge party the night before so they were cleaning up a bit but they showed us their shell money. Those big round things by the pole are covered in tiny shells woven on the circle. They use them to buy women for marriages!
We paid someone to drive us around to the villages and we stumbled upon an engagement party otherwise known as the Bride Prize. The bride to be hides out in a house and the husband has to come and find her. His whole family comes dancing down the street while her family waits at their home. They put up a money tree in the yard and people start putting gifts on it so the bride can sell the gifts for money later. There’s also a pig they can sell for money and food that was donated like rice and fruits.
There is the bride in the blue dress sitting with her momma
I was told they sell the pig for money…instead of eating it…craziness!! 
They put baskets and stuff like that on the money tree so the couple can sell the items
Brides side of the fam
She shared her umbrella with me
All the men are hanging out in one spot while people dance and do the money tree
My camera flips forward so you can see yourself while taking a photo and this lady loved it!
Rabaul in the background. The volcano erupted I think in 94 and the town was destroyed so they moved everything over to Kokopo which is where we stayed
They call this the hot springs but its definitely not the kind you swim in…..more like boil eggs in….
One of the day trips the Ropopo resort offers is a stop of this aussie cemetery
Sad to see some of them don’t even have names
We stayed in Kalili Harbour but getting in was tricky. We sailed all day long and finally made it in around 4:30pm but the chart was off by about a mile so we had to guess where to go to get into the narrow channel and where to drop the hook. It was a little nerve racking but Ty wasn’t worried
and I am hanging on for dear life
Part of New Ireland.
Wednesday December 10 2014
Whales!!! We saw huge whales today!! Its been very calm with hardly any wind so we are motor sailing and we have been cleaning the boat and doing laundry all day. Boring I know but then we had whales come up in front and behind the boat! close enough to get your heart pumping but they went around us 
wow……stuff like this never gets old.
Thursday December 11 2014
We just sailed across the equator for the 2nd time!!! The first time it was around 4am and we were on our delivery from cape town to Nice. This time it was around 4pm from PNG to Palau. We sipped a celebratory drink and we are making good time at the moment
All the zeros mean we are at the equator
That’s not apple juice….
Our little gecko we kidnapped from Liapari in Solomons is still with us! That means he has been eating lots of spiders and bugs!
Our sunset was amazing last night and got even better after the sun went down…
Monday December 15 2014
Wow its about 1am and I just came on watch an hour ago. This is one of those nights that makes the whole “sailing thru a typhoon” thing worth it! We have been beat up and wet the past couple days and nights because of the cyclone that just passed north of us. It was good wind but it carried us north when we needed to go west so now we are able to head west and be downwind which is the most comfortable point of sail for us. But anyway! The night! There must be some kind of meteor shower or something going on right now cuz I have seen like 2 shooting stars every minute for the past hour!!!! Some are small but a few of them have been super bright green with a tail behind them!! boom boom boom one after another after another and then the moon…looking like a ghost ship rose 30 minutes ago…it was getting so bright I thought the sun was coming up but then I remembered it was only midnight so yeah … that’s how bright the half moon is right now. this might be a little cheezy but when I see a shooting star I feel like it’s the Big Man sayin don’t worry I havent forgotten about ya…always makes me feel better. We are about half way right now and the heavy weather has passed and took all our wind but its almost time for the spinnaker so no worries! light winds just downwind and strong enough to fly the chute. I also just found a couple of good ole texas country songs that I used to listen to on my iphone! been a great night so far
Sunday December 21 2014
We made it in yesterday! everything we read said the charts are way off but they were spot on. We docked at the Q dock and got all checked in and then we came over to Sams dive shop where he has a bunch of mooring in front of his place. We are leaving the boat here while we fly home so it should be really protected and safe. This place is soooo pretty! There is nothing but coral under our boat and crystal clear water. We picked up a mooring and then backed the boat up against a rock wall that has a line tied off to it to keep us from swinging around. I cannot wait to get out and dive here. There are like 25 different dive spots and they are all supposed to be the most beautiful dive spots in the world!
It’s not always so pretty out….
Palau reminds me of Tonga where there are just like huge rocks coming out of the water
Just coming into Palau….Land!!!!!!
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