Knot Yet departed San Francisco in September 1997, destined for San Diego, with several stops along the way.  In October we joined over 100 other boats in the Baja Ha Ha, a “race” from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas.  After a week of Cabo madness, we departed for Mazatlan, where the boat stayed until the following February.  February through April were spent on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, with stops at Isla Isabella, Puerto Vallarta, Tenacatita, Barra de Navidad, Manzanillo, Lazaro Cardenas, Ixtapa/Zijuatenejo and Acapulco.

The longest leg of the voyage began on May 3, 1998, when we departed for Nuka Hiva in the Marquesas, French Polynesia.  The trip took 23 ½ days, which was due in large part to the skill of my one crew, Robert Cleveland, who extracted every bit of performance available from our gennaker (a large headsail) in the relatively light winds. 

The rolly anchorage and rainy weather were a bit of a disappointment after that long journey, so we departed the Marquesas after only a few days.  After stopping at Ahe, an atoll in the Tuamotu Islands, we continued Rangiroa, we were rewarded with turquoise waters, sandy beaches, a resort with fine French food, and surfing for Robert.  We spent a week in Rangiroa, then departed for the Society Islands. During this passage, we experienced the worst weather of the trip, with 35-knot winds and large seas “on the nose”.  Our first landfall was Moorea, rather than the intended Tahiti, but we did proceed to Tahiti the next day.  French Polynesia was beautiful, but quite expensive.  A hamburger, fries and a Coke could easily cost $10! I spent five weeks in Tahiti, during which time my partner, Dean, and good friend, Gale, visited me. Other islands visited in the Society Islands included Moorea (again), Huahine, Raitea, Taha’a and Bora Bora.  Total time spent in French Polynesia was three months.

Jay and Phoebe from Australia joined Knot Yet in Huahine.  Four days after departing Bora Bora we arrived at Rarotonga in the Cook Islands.  The Cook Islands were uniformly loved by cruisers for the same reasons:  low prices and English-speaking residents who were very welcoming to “yachties”.  I celebrated my 60^th birthday there in the company of many friends.  David from New Zealand joined Knot Yet in the Cook Islands, for a total complement of  four.

One week later we departed for Niue, “The Rock of Polynesia”.  Niue is a raised coral atoll, which looms about 30 feet above the water.  The island contained very interesting eroded limestone formations at the shoreline and a number of caves on the island.  This was another place which was very welcoming to the yachties. 

The next destination was the Vavau Group of islands in the Kingdom of Tonga.  Once inside the island group the sailing was ideal:  flat water and good winds.  The area was somewhat reminiscent of the San Juan Islands, but with palm trees instead of pines.  One of the more unusual sights in Tonga were pigs sniffing out food on the reefs and low tide and walking down the main streets of the village at any time!  The people mostly had a subsistence existence, depending on fishing and agriculture to support themselves.  Jay and Phoebe left Knot Yet in Tonga, and Tony from Ecuador joined David and myself for the next passage.

The final leg of the year was from Tonga to Fiji, a four-day trip.  I had mentioned to friends that the boat had enough range to motor the entire distance, but I hadn’t hoped to do that.  However, because of the light winds we motored almost the entire distance.  The up-side was there were no wind-induced waves, so that it was almost the calmest of all of the passages.  After several days in Suva, the capital of Fiji, we departed for Vuda Point on the western shore of the principal island, Viti Levu.  The boat remained in dry storage at Vuda Point from November 1998 until the following May, while I traveled to the US and New Zealand. 

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