Fakarava pictures, video, and story by Brian and Susie Schoepf I was a little hesitant to spend 10 days on a boat with my brother, sister-in-law and husband. What do I pack? What will we eat? What will we do? Will I be seasick? The list of questions goes on and on but were all … Continue reading Schoepfs in Fakarava!
The boatyard in Paradise
We started our adventure last January in the Koehler boatyard in the San Diego where we repainted Akela's bottom and rebuilt all of the rigging. Since then, Akela has survived storms, giant waves, and even running into a hidden coral reef in Raroia with very few problems. The damage from the reef appeared to be … Continue reading The boatyard in Paradise
Living the Good Life
Max and I have been living on Akela for over half a year now and we have gotten used to it. So, you may be wondering, “What’s it like?” This blog is my attempt to answer that question. But keep in mind, that the response comes from my perspective. Somebody with background and interests other … Continue reading Living the Good Life
Rarioa
After 4 days of living in a compartment pitching randomly in every direction, knowing what Jim meant by he had bruises on top of bruises, learning how to carefully think out ahead of time how to move 4 feet in the cabin without getting hurt. Now the sailboat rests in a tranquil paradise of this … Continue reading Rarioa
Tahuata
We spent over a week on Tahuata Island, which is just to the south of Hiva Oa. Tahuata is small, with about 27 square miles, and mountainous, and only 700 people live there. We stayed at three places on the western side of the island. Our first stop was Hanamoenoa Bay which is the … Continue reading Tahuata
Technical problems
I have found it difficult to keep the blog how I want it. I seldom have access to internet, but I can upload files by satellite. I can easily upload text blogs with a single image. The system chokes and fails in different ways if I try to upload more images. So, I’m going to … Continue reading Technical problems
Drip,..
Drip, drip, drip… We make Hapatoni Bay, Tahuata Island late in the afternoon. There is still enough light to swim with mask and snorkel to look at the fish and check on the anchor. The anchor is buried nicely in a sandy spot, but there are some big rocks I’m worried about. If the boat … Continue reading Drip,..
Hanamenu Bay
Atuona was interesting. We got fresh baguettes and a slab of tuna at the local gas station. We played frisbee on a well-kept soccer field right off the beach where the breeze gave a steady lift to the disc. We even went to the local Friday night music event at the tin roof, open air … Continue reading Hanamenu Bay
Repairs and refitting
Jim, Max and Tony are taking 2 weeks for boat maintenance and installation of new hardware. This is a big and expensive undertaking because many things on the boat are big, specialized, and must be extra-durable. Some of the major jobs are: Clean, sand and paint the bottom with toxic paint that annoys barnacles that … Continue reading Repairs and refitting
Posting by email
Check it out. I can post blogs by email. This entry was created and uploaded by writing an email and sending it to the SailAkela site. I will need to do this while we’re off the grid because the satellite connection has limited bandwidth. I can easily send text and I can choose a few … Continue reading Posting by email