A Week Aboard S/V Sabado: 3/02/2025 – 3/09/2025 

Hello and happy Sunday! 

Last Sunday, we left Tahuata around 1pm. The forecast showed little to no wind, so we planned an overnight motor to Nuku Hiva because my parents had a flight back to Tahiti later this week. This was my parents’ first overnight trip on Sabado, so we talked through some safety protocols and dug out our extra life jackets. Once outside the anchorage, we realized the wind was funneling between the two islands. We took advantage of it, hoisting our main and jib and shutting off the engine for a few hours. 

We ate a late lunch and enjoyed the sunshine and calm seas. A few hours later, the wind began to die, so we swapped out the jib for our gennaker. Sabado was sailing faster than we expected, and our ETA moved up, putting our arrival before sunrise… 

My parents switched off reading their books and sitting at the helm. We ate dinner together and watched the sunset turn the gennaker bright pink! 

We decided to leave the gennaker up, knowing that we wouldn’t be able to sail in such light winds if we switched back to the jib. We don’t usually fly big headsails overnight, but the seas were calm, and there were no squalls on the horizon, so we felt comfortable with our decision. During my watch shift, I noticed one solid white light up ahead, with a flashing white light below it. I began timing the flashes, trying to identify a pattern. Was there a marker of some sort out here? The only thing I could see on the charts was 40 miles away… I kept an eye on it until we got close enough that I could tell it was moving. I tracked it using our radar before realizing it was a sailboat with no navigation lights- they had their anchor light on and what looked like a headlamp strapped to their boom (the flashing I saw was from the sail occasionally blocking the headlamp). They had no AIS and did not respond on the radio. I woke Ray up as they maneuvered toward us- you never know what someone’s intentions are… We altered course and closely watched them as we passed each other in the darkness. Thankfully, that was the only notable event that night! We furled in the gennaker when the wind died, motoring and periodically sailing using the jib whenever possible. We arrived too early and drifted off the coast of Nuku Hiva, waiting for sunrise before finally anchoring in Taioha’e Bay just as a wet squall passed through. After a shower, nap, and a couple of cups of coffee, the sunshine was back, and we took the dinghy to shore to visit our favorite grocery store and produce market. 

We returned to Sabado with bags of fresh mangoes and passion fruit, some salami, and a few bottles of wine. A couple we had chatted with during a particularly rough passage in December buzzed over in their dinghy- we hadn’t met in person! We invited them aboard, and the six of us chatted in the cockpit for hours. We shared a few drinks, swapped stories, and laughed all afternoon. 

We put Sabado back together the following day: taking down and storing the gennaker, fixing a few things, and tidying up. Ray had a hankering for a Coca-Cola, so he and my dad went ashore to hunt some down. My mom and I baked some fresh bread. The four of us traded our swimsuits for “real clothes” that evening, taking a taxi to the restaurant at the nearby resort. It’s been a while since we’ve eaten something that didn’t come out of our galley! We got cocktails, entrees, and dessert to celebrate Ray’s birthday. We are so lucky to have him in our lives! Cheers to another great year together! ❤️

Wednesday was a local holiday called Missionary Day, so most of the island was shut down. We decided to take the dinghy to shore anyway to stretch our legs. We watched the fisherman clean their catch, marveling at the number of sharks they attracted. 

We walked around the village looking at the tikis, but the heat quickly zapped our energy, and we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing under our bow sun shade on the boat. We rented a car to explore the rest of the island the following day. We took my parents to some of our favorite viewpoints overlooking the water and excitedly watched the manta rays swim around Sabado upon our return. 

We drove them to the airport Friday morning, not realizing how vastly different that drive would be. It was nothing like what we’d seen the day before. We navigated windy roads through the clouds, with lush green forests on either side. 

It took us an hour, and some stretches were more stressful than others, with near 180° switchbacks and thick fog—I was thankful Ray was driving, not me! We were able to sit with my parents while they waited to board the first of three flights they’d have to take to return home. We hugged them extra tight before their departure. We’re so grateful they traveled all this way to visit us, and we are looking forward to seeing them again when we reach New Zealand! 

We made the long drive back and stopped at the grocery store again before returning our rental car and heading back to Sabado. We spent the day yesterday cleaning and rearranging things (there are a few items we like to store in the guest cabin when it’s empty for easier access). We’re considering heading back toward the Society Islands to stage before the cruising season begins, but we’re not seeing a weather window yet, so we’ll take this time to inventory our remaining provisions and plan our route. We’re looking forward to getting moving again! 

I hope you had a great week. ❤️