Dale Winson

Papeete, Tahiti - Fixing Broken Stuff - June 22

It’s been a couple of weeks since my last update! I start writing a post, then I don’t quite get it done. Sorry!  Ill do an update now on why we are in Tahiti earlier than planned, then I’ll post about our last atoll, Toau. On June

Fakarava Atoll, North and South - June 6

Fakarava has been named an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and is the second largest atoll in the Tuamotus. It is one of the most visited atolls in the South Pacific.  Fakarava is most known for its underwater beauty, and SCUBA divers come from all over the world to dive its pristine

Tahenea – Our Favorite Atoll so Far – May 30

We arrived at Tahenea on Monday May 27 and we have been in awe ever since we arrived!  Tahenea is an uninhabited atoll and a nature reserve and it is absolutely gorgeous.  It has palm tree lined beaches and crystal clear water. The water is so clear you can easily

Yukky Weather in Paradise – May 24

We are on day 6 of not great weather.  The last few days we have had strong winds, in the 20 knot range, with some gusts into the 30s.  Winds this strong cause the boat to swing from side to side on our anchor, and they also create quite a

Raroia – May 18th

This place is why I sailed 3,000 miles!  When you look around, you wonder, is this real life??!! Everyone has their idea of beauty, whether it’s the mountains, dessert, ocean, etc.  Well, this is my idea of beauty! Sooooo GRATEFUL to have made it here.  If you have

We Made it to Raroia!

After 2.5 days at sea, we entered the pass at Raroia at 6:30 am this morning.  The last night was rough with 20 kn of wind and confused seas.  We had to slow the boat down so as not to arrive too early at the pass, so we

Happy Mother’s Day! Less than 100 Miles to Go!

Dawn got to celebrate her Mother's Day with me out at sea.  I am so grateful for her willingness and support in making this dream happen.  She never complains about difficult situations, she just stays focused on solutions for making things better.  I love you Dawn! Danielle was

Tuamotus, Here We Come! – Friday May 10th

After spending nearly 3 weeks in the Marquesas, at 4pm today we departed the island of Ua-Pou and set a course for the Raroia atoll in the Tuamotus Archipelago. This is our first long passage with just the 3 of us on board, me, Danielle and Dawn (plus Catalina!) So

The Last 4 Days...

We’ve had a lot happen over the last 4 days.  First I picked up Dawn at the airport on Niku Hiva. The last time I saw Dawn was 3 weeks prior when we pushed the boat off the dock in Newport Beach.  So crazy.  David left on the next

Nuku Hiva – 2nd Day on LAND!

First, sorry for my delayed posting.  I know it’s been a few days.  It has been a bit overwhelming getting settled and rested after that major journey.  I do plan to post regular updates to this site as we continue to experience life in this remote and beautiful part

LAND HO!!

We made it! We first picked up land on our radar around 4 am Pacific time, 1:30am local. The sun came up around 6am local, and we got our first visual glimpse of LAND! And what an amazing and beautiful place that laid before us. Catalina could not take

We are less than 100 miles away!

We are still on track to arrive at sunrise.  We continue to slow the boat down with two reefs in the main and a jib furled to about ½ size.  Going to fast will get us there in the pitch dark, and we don't want that. Everyone onboard is

Only 24 Hours To Go!!

At 8 am this morning we had 160 nautical miles to go to Nuku Hiva, Marquesas.  We plan to arrive there at sunrise on Sunday morning, which is 5am local time and 8am Pacific time. We actually had to slow the boat down last night so we would not arrive

Come Sail to the South Pacific with US!

Sunny skies, consistent warm trade winds, brilliant blue ocean with gentle rolling swells, easy sailing under a full spinnaker, dolphins swimming alongside the boat, star filled nights…Live the DREAM! Well, it finally happened.  We have lived the promise of the brochure. We had near PERFECT conditions today. We shut

We Crossed the Equator!

This was a HUGE personal achievement for me. Its been a dream for soooo long, and was quite emotional for me really. King Neptune showed up and everyone paid homage to him as we went from being Polliwogs (those who have not sailed across the equator) to Shellbacks (those who

Day 14 Photos...MAGIC!

It was a beautiful and relaxing day. We sailed much of the morning in a warm gentle breeze, and then had to turn on the engine when the wind died almost completely. It is like a LAKE out here. So calm. So nice to not be rolling and bouncing around

A Calm, Peaceful, Beautiful Night…FINALLY!

The wind and seas started to calm down yesterday.  During the afternoon, the wind got very light, and we even ran our engine for a couple of hours due to lack of wind.  In the early evening the wind came back up and we started sailing again. It was a

BIG Wind. BIG Waves. Day 13

Yesterday afternoon things got a bit spicy! We had a LOT more wind than what was forecasted.  I have found that in general the wind has been higher than forecasted by 30 to 50%.  Mother nature’s real version of the wind does not quite resemble the neat little wind

Life on board - Day 12

The last couple of days we had very consistent conditions. Fairly steady winds, usually in the 15 to 18 knot range with gradual increases to the low 20s.  Things were so predicable we decided on Friday night to not reef the main and go with full main and jib.  This

Next Stop…The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

Now that we have made it past the halfway point, the next milestone is crossing through the Intertropical Convergence Zone, where the North East and South East trade winds meet. The ITCZ is a place of spotty wind, or no wind, and thunderstorms and squalls. It looks like we should

Photos for Day 11

So why am I doing this??

We are just past the half way point to the Marquesas, so it seems like a good time to try and explain why I am out here doing the somewhat crazy thing. Why am I doing this? It seems like a simple enough question, with a simple answer, such as,

Ooopppsss I did it again!!

Another accidental gybe. 100% my fault this time. And I broke stuff as well. UUUGGGGHHHH. I hate admitting it and writing this. But it happened. We were getting ready to put the spinnaker up and had rolled up our jib so we only had a reefed mainsail up. David was

Back by popular demand - PHOTOS!

1,000 Miles from Nowhere...

Have you ever been 1,000 miles from nowhere? Well, that is where we are. There actually are not many places on Earth where you can be more than 1,000 miles from any land. The middle of the Pacific is one of these places. Yes, it is a little