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Nuku Hiva was the perfect place to immerse ourselves in Marquesan culture. We settled into the bay of Taiohae and got to know the local shops and boulangerie, where we bought daily baguettes and croissants. We spent an unanticipated two weeks here, but loved the chance to get to know the island better. 

The Giant Tiki of Taiohae was a sight to behold. It kept a watchful eye over us at our anchorage, where Charlotte saw dolphins, hammerhead sharks and dragon eels while diving with the dive shop owner. We ate out in various restaurants and got to know a few Marquesan locals and French expats living here. 

Nuku HIva is the largest of the Marquesan islands and the views from its green peaks are spectacular. There are also several impressive archeological sites hidden in its thick forests. 

A small produce market in Taiohae was always filled new and fresh tropical fruits. Our fruit hammock was bursting. We couldn’t get enough of all the French charcuterie and cornichons in the supermarkets Or the dragonfruit smoothies at the snack shop near the chandlery. 

While Val returned to the US on an emergency trip to buy a new windlass motor, Welles took the kids on an epic horseback riding adventure in the highlands of Nuku Hiva. They rode through guava orchards and clouds of monarch butterflies. 

Once the new windlass motor was installed, we were finally able to raise anchor and set sail for the Tuamotu atolls. These islands could not be more different with their dry climate, pale pink sand beaches and coconut palms. These postcard perfect deserted islands are teeming with sharks and marine life. 

Our first week in the Marquesas has been magical. We make landfall in Fatu Hiva, a remote tropical paradise with high volcanic peaks and brilliant green vegetation. Optimystic is the tiny little white speck down in the bay!

The local Marquesans were incredibly warm and hospitable, selling us an abundance of tropical fruits from their gardens and fresh crawfish from their streams. We picked our own bananas, rambutan, papaya, pamplemousse (an enormous local sweet grapefruit), limes and starfruit from trees on the island. 

Our next stop was the small island of Tahuata, which has the only white sand beach in the Marquesas and is known for its manta rays and sharks! The diving has been breathtaking - a wonderland of fish species along with octopi, sharks and manta rays. 

Early this morning, we finally made landfall in French Polynesia. It was a long 28 days of open ocean sailing from Panama. We traveled over 4,200 nautical miles.

The crossing sometimes seemed endless as time became stretchy with nothing but sea and sky in every direction. There were ups and downs. Some of our favorite moments were catching fish, swimming out in the middle of the deepest parts of the ocean and seeing tons of sea birds. 

Our biggest challenges were lightening storms, losing TWO of our sails, losing steerage for 12 hours and the massive waves that tossed us around for weeks on end. Still, it was an epic experience that tested our mental and physical fortitude. And, the sunsets never failed to impress. 

We made it to Panama after a stomach-churning 800 nautical miles of open ocean. There were some ups and downs, but a highlight was catching TWO 100Ibs tunas, that will be feeding us for months.

Our first taste of Panama’s rich history was in Portobelo, the old colonial port where ALL the gold stolen by the Spanish from the New World was loaded onto ships and sent back to Europe. It was a hotbed of piracy and later became the heart of Congo culture as African slaves brought their arts and traditions to Panama.

A few days on land with Val’s family was filled with wildlife encounters, including curious Howler monkeys and a memorable floating breakfast on a crocodile infested lake. 

We sailed to the San Blas Islands, a totally unique archipelago of over 340 islands along the coast of Panama controlled by the indigenous Guna Indians. 

A visit to the Guna Indian villages on the Carti Islands was eye-opening with its labyrinths of traditional reed huts and palm frond roofs. The Guna inhabitants of these islands are among the first be be relocated as environmental refugees because of the rising sea levels. 

The beaches were beautiful and snorkeling was spectacular. There were schools of eagle rays and forests of coral so vast and vibrant that it was hard to believe. 

We returned to Colon in preparation for our Panama Canal crossing and took extra precautions to ready the boat for our Pacific crossing. Optimystic was hauled out of the water for a thorough inspection of her hull and a service of her engines. 

On March 13th we completed our epic crossing of the Panama Canal. It was an experience of a lifetime as we were wedged into the locks with massive container ships and were first-hand witnesses to one of the greatest feats of engineering ever built. 

We made it to the Pacific! After years of planning and the past months of learning on the go, we finally caught our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean from Optimystic’s deck. By the time you read this, we’ll probably be underway and headed to the Marquesas Islands.

Our second week on Bonaire was a fishing bonanza. We caught tuna and mahi mahi and even a queen snapper. 

There was lots more diving along colorful reefs where Val witnessed her very first octopus slinking into its coral den. Charlotte is ALWAYS game for a dive and the best at spotting unique little creatures. 

And then, more fishing! The boys would fish off the dinghy at night or try their hand at snorkel fishing in the afternoons. 

We’re in Bonaire! Starlink is banned here in the Dutch Caribbean, so it’s been a big challenge to stay connected. We left Puerto Rico after scraping our hulls clean. 

Our passage last week was a queasy and teeth-gritting 60 hour experience. The winds howled at up to 30 knots and we saw days of 10-15 foots waves (sometimes higher than our flybridge).

The kids had to wear their life jackets for the entire passage and we also ran our jacklines for extra safety.

We’ve spent this last week exploring the pristine reefs and cactus and salt covered island of Bonaire.

The kids were totally fascinated by the thousands of wild flamingoes wading through the salty ponds. We’ve never seen flamingoes in such vibrant pink colors.

The diving in Bonaire is incredible and the kids are blowing bubbles every day. They even caught sight of the infamous gargantuan green moray eel of Munk’s Haven dive site. At about 8 feet long and the thickness of a heavy-weight wrestler’s thigh, it looks like it came straight out of the Jurassic period. 

We said farewell to Alex and Jason and took over all the work on the boat ourselves. Val and the kids went off into the El Yunque jungle to find the hidden natural water slides of Las Pailas. They were treacherous and terrifying but so much fun! We then zipped over to Palomino Island for a night with the tarpon and pelicans. 

We managed to Tetris all our gear into a single rental vehicle (with Max lying horizontally on top of the luggage). Dodging potholes and iguana roadkill, we eventually made it to the marina where Optimystic welcomed us bathed in moonlight. Our home for the next 12 months. 

We’re now unpacking and settling in for the next few days at our slip in the Puerto del Rey Safe Harbor marina, where we keep company with flotillas of outrageously overpowered Puerto Rican sport fishing boats. Welles flew in this afternoon to find Optimystic in utter chaos. It looked like our bags had exploded over every single surface. Not to worry, order will reign soon enough.

It’s been a grueling week of running mind-numbing errands to stock up the boat. Everyone was relieved when we finally set sail.. 

Master-rigger Alex and electronics/sailing guru Jason are helping us this week, putting up our new sails and getting all the systems running smoothly. 

They’ve got us working hard as we problem-solve and learn the ins and outs of the boat.