Aztec Dream Sold They say the two best times in boat ownership are the day you purchase and the day you sell. In some cases, that might be true, but not for us. We decided to sell Aztec Dream at the height of our enjoyment of her and the lifestyle, in order to preserve fondly, the amazing memories of a lifetime. Thank you to Drew and the team at Orakei Marine Brokers. We wish Hugh many years ..read more

Auckland Just a few final bits and bobs left to do and our time fettling Azzy in Opua will have been very productive and we will start sailing South towards Auckland. Aztec Dream is certainly looking very smart indeed and our broker at Orakei Marine has a number of viewing appointments lined up once we arrive in Auckland. A big thanks to our New Zealand blog followers ..read more

Tonga Although we spent some time in Tonga, a great deal of it was spent having a clear out of old clothes and a general Spring Clean on board Azzy. The clothes, those that were still decent enough to wear, were passed on to a local charity with various other 'Treasures of the Bilge'. Just rewinding for a moment, we probably should mention the clearing in process to Tonga, as it is a ..read more

Maupiti to Tonga via Niue We timed our exit through the pass at Maupiti to coincide with slack water and made the exit without any issues. Just after we cleared the last channel marker, we spotted two sperm whale flukes nearby, always an impressive sight. For the next few days the winds were light and variable, and progress was made under sail, motor sailing and sometimes motoring. Our ..read more

Maupiti Maupiti lies approximately 30nm to the west of Bora Bora and is known as Bora Bora's little sister. The small island is surrounded by 5 motus (islets) and a lagoon with colours ranging from lapis lazuli to turquoise. The coral gardens are also packed with colourful fish. To enter Maupiti by boat, you must enter through the very narrow Onoiau Pass on the south of the island ..read more

Bora Bora From Taha'a you can easily see Bora Bora due to its twin peaks. We had a lovely downwind sail in the company of Making Memories. We headed for the Teavanui Pass on the west coast which was roughly 25nm away. Once through the pass, we headed to Povai Bay, home of the infamous Bloody Marys bar and restaurant. The bay is extremely deep and we found ourselves anchoring in 22 ..read more

Taha'a The Islands of Taha'a and Ra'iatea are around 25nm from Huahine. Due to unfavourable reports of unfriendly local fishermen cutting the anchor chains of visiting cruisers at anchor in Ra'iatea, we decided to bypass that island and just visit Taha'a.  Taha’a in the foreground with Bora Bora in the distance We made our way to Hurepiti Bay on the west coast as we had ..read more

Huahine We left the anchorage in Opunohu Bay in Moorea at 4pm to make the 17 hour passage to Fare Bay in Huahine. This would ensure we would arrive at our destination in daylight. We weren't the only ones making use of the good weather window. Making Memories and around 16 other boats left Moorea too. Our chartplotter screen was very busy with AIS targets! The passage was fairly ..read more

Moorea Moorea is approximately 20 miles from Tahiti and is simply spectacular. The scenery is on par with that found in the Marquesas.  We left the anchorage at Marina Taina in Tahiti around 8am and made our way to Papeete Passe. This time round we were not held up as we passed the airport runway, and we were lucky to once again spot a pod of dolphins in the pass. No matter how many ..read more

Marquesan tattoo symbols and their meanings I (Lynne) had never before contemplated getting a tattoo, but when I saw some of the Marquesan designs on tattoos fellow yachties were having done in the Marquesas, I changed my mind. They were so intricate and classy. Each tattoo is unique as it is tailor made to tell your story. In Polynesian culture, tattoos are a way of showing everyone how you ..read more