Sat Phone Number: 8816-3158-3783

November 12, 2009 
Wow is it great to be in Palau. God Bless America!! Yes, it's an independent
country, but a billion dollars in aid over the last 10 years have made this
place just like pulling into Honolulu, but better.

You know a place is going to be good when the few other boats that are
already here greet you with beer for the adults and juice for the kids. Yes,
we are going to like it here!

We've been on longer crossings, harder, faster and costlier crossings, but
our crossing from Kavieng PNG was the slowest; average speed 3.4 kts. or
about the rate you would walk. Our 1,300 trip took more than 16 days. We
often thought if only we could push, thank God for short memories and
amazing landfalls.

The highlights, so far, are the the outstanding beauty, the warm greetings
all the familiar products we have not seen in nearly two years: Reeces
peanut butter cups, bacon and syrup! Then there is clean water, no malaria
and the update from the police chief "No reported crime on yachts in the two
years I've been here". Ah, yes, time to relax, we're going to like it here.

Upon arrival it was like Christmas for our soon to be birthday girl who had
20 letters and packages waiting for her. The hard part is she is allowed to
look at them, but not open them until the 16th, quite a task for an almost 8
year old.

We have now sailed 12,500 miles this year. Which makes us think the next
2,000 won't be too bad. What a year! The captain and crew are all well on
board and full of smiles as we watched the sunset for the first time in 17
days when no one had to be on watch and we were able to walk from one end to
the boat to the other with out using the grab rails.

On December 23rd 2007 we crossed the equator and started using the southern
cross as our point of reference for our subsequent 110 overnight sails. Two
days ago, Polaris appeared on the horizon for the first time right where it
belonged, just 6 degrees off the horizon. Seeing the worlds greatest
navigation point again brought on a wonderful sense of familiarity, kind of
like the feeling of coming home and seeing all your favorite things right
where they are suppose to be.

We've lost sight of the Southern Cross, but my oh my have we had some time
to look at it see it high in the sky on those dark nights. That mesmerizing
constellation that comes with the lyrics: "You understand now why you've
came this way...", Yes, we do understand and our time in the south really is
"as big as the promise of the coming day" and we have some amazing days to
come.

Love from all of us happily secure at anchor in Koror, Palau

Glenn, Pam Linzi & MeiLing .

November 6, 2009 
Ten days and the winds have not filled in yet, lots of motoring which has gotten us 2 large Mahi mahi and 1 Wahoo. We are well fed, but going very slow.

Average speed has been 3.5 kts. so far. Today the rollers are filling in from the north making for an uncomfortable ride. Hoping for more wind tomorrow. Also, we are changing course for the island of Yap. (try and find that one on a map).

Currently 400 miles out and if all goes well we will have our first stop on our non stop run to Palau. Planning on a very short stop, beer, fuel, ice cream and go.

November 3, 2009 
The numbers tell the story. Traveled distance from Kavieng 560 miles. Miles toward Palau 320, our track looks like the EKG of a Starbucks addict. For the first 7 days out it has been an erratic path of trying to use as much wind as possible all while the equatorial current continues to push us away. Then to top it off forgetting ones anniversary, with no viable excuse...yet.

Looking at diverting to the island of Yap for more fuel, will make that decision right after I find a good excuse for forgetting our 12th anniversary, again.

All's well on board

November 1, 2009 
Wow is the ocean big!!

Over the past 48 hours we drifted east for 28 miles. This morning we gave in to the use of the engine trying and find some wind. Swam all day yesterday, which was very fun. After 6 days we've only made 350 miles and 200 of them are under motor which means we only have 300 miles left on the motor. There are two typhoons to the west sucking all the air out of here making it a real mill pond. The only thing moving is the equatorial current which is going the wrong way for us. Wind has to return soon, right?

October 31, 2009 
Two time shell backs! This is the second time we have sailed across the equator. Tradition states all aboard must be awake and have a shot of rum. An offering to King Neptune is also required instead of giving him one of the girls we threw him a shot too. After four days of drifting it was pretty hard to put the rum bottle back.

It is a math game now. We are 850 miles from Palau, 760 miles from Yap, we have enough fuel to motor for about 350 more miles. So we drift and wait for wind, go swimming, sleep and the girls gets lots of school work done. We are moving out of email range so getting weather is quite difficult too, not that there is much we could do about it. Yesterday we traveled 66 miles and burned 11 gallons of that precious fuel. Please send good thoughts for more wind.

October 29, 2009 
Third day underway and we are on pace to have our longest passage ever! The doldrums have entered the ITCZ and we are painfully slow. New Guinea was one of the most amazing countries we've ever been too. The natural environment on a different scale. Spending time in the city you see this is a place that is not in harmony. For us, it is nice to be away to let our minor cuts and scrapes heal. It seems nothing heals while near land. For now we will sit and wait for wind to come and the girls will get lots of school while we drift along. Stay tuned for more updates...

October 21, 2009

Red Thread Sailing has a new Blog! For recent updates and more info, see redthreadsailing.blogspot.com

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May 16th, 2009

On the way back to our boat from filling the propane tanks in Papeete, a pilot for Tahiti Nui gave us a ride to the boat. He told us that Tahiti has the lowest visitor return rate of any vacation destination in the world. The experience and the costs does not seem to be worth a repeat trip. After staying in the Society Islands for 26 days we can add four more people to the list of who will not return.

Passages are so quickly forgotten with the excitement of arriving in a new place and country. The four day trip to Rarotonga, Cook Islands was a fast one which turned into a hard one. 25 - 30 knots of wind on the nose for the last 20 hours. Quickly the memories of not being able to eat or move for more than two days were put aside as we tied up to the government dock. A beautiful lush island and locals stopping by asking how our trip was and how long we will stay (there is so much to do here, we hear). The free tie up, free water and amazing farmers market make this one gigantic step in the right direction of where we want to be.

The list of places that are said to be too difficult to get to or anchor at continues to be our guide of where to go. With only one other boat here, we have no doubt we will find new friends, have great experiences in a place most people can not find and be in a amazing place. Now, who knows where Niue is?

April 26th, 2009

On March 13th, we entered French Polynesia. Trying to describe this place is as difficult as any place we have been. The following is a 'guys' analogy of coming to the most coveted sailing ground in the world.

Coming to Tahiti is kind of like taking the prettiest, most popular girl to the prom. There was that girl in high school that the entire male class wanted to date. Coming into French Polynesia is like being the guy who got the big kahuna, a date with this prime catch for prom. The fact is you didn't really like this girl and you had nothing in common, but the bragging rights, the pictures and the sense of accomplishment made this one date a crowning moment. There was no way that expectations this high could ever be met.

There you are all dressed up with the best looking girl on your arm, the camera full of film and many back up rolls. Before a hair falls out of place and despite the excitement you realize that you and this dream date are not communicating, there are no sparks and you get the feeling that you have nothing in common. This thought is put out of your mind; talking isn't important, sparks, who needs sparks when you have pictures, with 'Miss Hottie'. Oh how this one night was going to change everything! Eventually the reminder of the costs comes to mind, the limo, the restaurant, the tux, but you hold out hope for the 'after prom'.

By the time you get the bill, the shock of this experience is starting to set in. There is something about paying in cash that always makes things seem more expensive. Assessing the value of your date, you look at this rare beauty and realize that she might as well be speaking a foreign language. There are no sparks or connection, only the realization that the fading hype, and the original hope, were better than the experience. The scariest feeling comes across as all that hard earned cash leaves the table. As the slightest feeling of regret comes over you, you remember after prom is next, now that will make it all worth while.

At the after prom you find your date aloof and a bit rude as she starts flirting with other guys, which surprisingly does not bother you. The problem with the most popular, prettiest girl is she knows she is. You look at the clock and decide it's time to move on to something or someone else as does your date. For years to come there were those perfect pictures of the that less than perfect experience, but the status gained amongst your piers and hey, they didn't need to know the 'real' story. Just let the pictures speak for themselves and, what the pictures don't show, Ahem!!!, can become the stuff of legend or at least encouraged imagination.

Tahiti is beautiful and 'she' knows it. The culture here is not a welcoming one, they require bonds to ensure you don't fall in love and stay. It is real let down from feeling so connected in Latin America to where we are told that we aren't saying 'Bonjour' correctly. Now what was the reason we came here? Oh that's right, it's beautiful, seductive and what was the other reason? The pictures! Yeah, the pictures are great! French Polynesia is the prettiest girl, we did it! It's late in the evening and we are looking at our watch. The cash is paid and the realization sets in that there is no after prom. It's time to move on. Thank God we have all the pictures, and despite the let down I'm going to tell everyone I (we) scored!!!

April 11th, 2009
What were we thinking?!

Four days ago we got an email from some friends and they signed off "We have lots of beds when you need them". MeiMei asked what this meant, as all emails are read aloud. We explained that we had a place to stay when we return home. MeiMei asked if she could play with their toys, her eyes lit up as I said, "I'm sure you will be able to play with all their toys". Five minutes later MeiMei returned to the cabin with her backpack, PJ's, favorite stuffed animal and announced that she was ready to go.

Today we pulled into Papeete, we were all tired and decided to let someone else feed us. The walk along the street found two restaurants that had an average cost of $20 per item. Low and behold Linzi spotted a McDonald's. You would have thought we had found the holy grail. "Please can we go there, Please!...". Our $30 hamburgers, Mc Nuggets and fries came with the warmest accolades we've ever heard, "Mom and Dad you are the best!... This is the most fun we've ever had". For two hours we sat with our super sized Sprite and watched two girls have the "The best day ever!" as we sat wondering what the hell we were doing.

The trip, the dream, the accomplishments of crossing most of the Pacific were no match for the golden arches. It was a hot day so we went back to the boat to snorkel along the inside the barrier reef after getting dried off and watching the sunset over Moorea the question came, "Can we go to McDonald's tomorrow too?" A quick speech about where we were and how un-special McDonald's is led to the off hand comment of. Maybe we should just turn north and go to Hawaii and head home.

"Really Dad, Hawaii, Oh that would be great, Yeah, I want to go too", chimed in MeiMei as Pam and I sat in total disbelief about what the hell we were doing here

April 11th, 2009
Long before the boat was purchased, the idea of sailing into Tahiti was there. On December 1, 2007 we left Panama for the Galapagos, our only tropical island landfall, until today. After sailing 23k miles we've again crossed the tropic of Capricorn and Tahiti looms on the horizon. An island we almost choose to skip, there is just no way this place can live up to the expectations. The scantily clad women rowing out to greet the boat(in the movies they are all in their early 20's and all fit for the Victoria's Secret catalog), the greeting party and lei's that await all the guests, the luau's and of course David Crosby's song Southern Cross "...and the downhill run to Papeete". This is the stuff that stays in the minds of all who hope to sail the Pacific someday.

So much is different. First we are sailing hard into the wind to get there, the night arrival and instead of a greeting party, customs is waiting for our arrival where we'll have to pay a $5K bond to ensure we leave. Tahiti's reputation for being expensive is well deserved. The cost of living here is the highest in the entire south Pacific. Well it sure looked great in the movies and it was fun to think about. With very low expectations we look forward to getting the boat fixed and refueled. We think we already have visited the best of French Polynesia with our 20 days in the Austral Islands, but you never know where a surprise will come from.

On April 11th late in the evening the radar made the Land ho and now we need to wait for the sun before crossing the reef. Who knows what awaits..

April 3rd, 2009
We are in Tubuai in the Austral's. If you don't know where this place is you are not alone. It is way off the beaten path. It has been a great change for us, but I think we will have to go to Papeete to get some new parts. We are still very proficient at breaking things that are hard to replace.

We are well ahead of the crowd to French Polynesia so we are enjoying lots of solitude and should continue, but we'll be checking out of here before too long.

I think we will start looking at going to the Cook Islands soon, but it is a 4 day sail to Papeete. I'll let you know where we are going as soon as we figure it out.

March 23rd, 2009
Serendipity
Shortly before our arrival at Pitcairn the bow pulpit along with other things were broken in a passing squall. When we pulled into Gambier the boat behind us had a welding machine! Some people carry amazing tools, but this is the first person I had ever met who had a welding machine. Two days later the life lines were back up and the pulpit has never been so strong..

Gambier is a beautiful set of islands. After our repairs we found remote beaches, clear water and seclusion, Also arriving during mango season was a great benefit as we stuffed ourselves with so many mango's that the girls won't eat any more of them.

The route is taking us to the Austral Islands south of Tahiti. We are getting here early in hopes of avoiding what looks to be one busiest seasons for boats traveling to French Polynesia. If all goes well we will land at Raivavae on the 25th of March, just in time to prepare for Pam's birthday. The crossing has been slow, but the seas are calm. Really looking forward to being an anchor. Already 4,000 miles under the keel since we left Chile.

March 16th, 2009
Land Ho!
Mangareva in Gambier Islands of French Polynesia on Friday the 13th. A perfect sailing day. A beam reach and 8.5 kts all the way to the reef entrance. On the other side of the reef excellent anchoring and the first calm anchorage since Valvidiva 60 days ago! The first 6 hours of continual sleep for two months, this really felt good! The good sleep was a teaser, making us all more tired than we were before. With three good nights now we are feeling great.

It would be very hard to beat the hospitality we found in Pitcairn, but on our first walk through town we were given a bag of mango's, 3 breadfruit and avocado's. After learning Spanish for 9 months we feel lost again trying to speak French. It's more like playing charades than speaking. Can not get that n or nasal sound that is so prominent in French. I think we will just keep smiling and saying Bonjour! and Merci as the boat fills with mango's.

We are very fortunate to have found a welder. The bow pulpit broke off when we were coming in. The whisker pole needs replacing and the other items that broke in our squall 12 days ago will be waiting in Papeete when we arrive there in about three weeks. Two months at sea means lots of work on the boat so we will be very busy getting the boat back in order before we head out on another 1,000 mile voyage in a week or so.

March 11th, 2009
We set sail for the Gambier Islands today (March 11th), we leave Pitcairn with so much. The generosity, kindness and warmth of the people here is unbelievable. Special thanks to Brenda & Mike Christian and Simon and Shirley Young for taking such great care of us during our 4 days. Pitcairn is remote, but those here really want to be here and share what they have, we were taken in and shown an amazing time that will stay with us long after the boat is gone and we are back doing something other than sailing.

What most people don't know about Pitcairn is, it's beauty. Tropical and dramatic. A place where fruit grows so abundantly that your daily fill of vitamin C is just a few feet away, our day of fishing got our family fish for a week. A place where coming ashore is an adventure and you need a local guide to do it who will come at your beckon call. This is what we all hope for when we leave the docks a greeting where much of the town comes to the dock and even more come to see you go. A place that is full of history, but here there is no time like that of right now. Pitcairn is a place of how we would like to live, you have to work, but you always have time and it's easy to loose track of what day it is. Simplicity done very well.

The intensity of immersing with people for 4 -5 days leaves us with tears, again. Once again blown away by people of yet another culture who take us in, take care of us and leave us better off. WOW!!!

March 8th, 2009
Arrived At Pitcairn!
It is so amazing here. The reception, the people the place, the history it just goes on and on. We are sitting in Bounty Bay right now so kind of cool to be in the same resting spot as the Bounty. I hope we don't have the same outcome. I've been very nice to the crew so they don't get any ideas.

March 6th, 2009
On the evening of March 5th we were 145 miles away from our anchorage at Pitcairn. Pam has just announced that this was the best passage we had ever done. We were maintaining 7 kts and rocking gently. A squall came through creating a torrential downpour. A shit of wind snapped the whisker pole as the boat rounded up putting the wind on the wrong side of the mainsail. A loud bang sounded as the preventer broke which sent the stanchion and tackle flying across the boat and missing the captain. The head sail turned into an hour glass on the forestay which is an uncontrollable sail, pushing the boat over more than 30 degrees. The night was slow and rolly, no sleep. The new knowledge that we will not make it to Pitcairn in day light and also two days later than we thought.

Dark, rain, flying broken parts and wind make this a journey long easy days, punctuated by moments of sheer terror. On the morning of March 6th the head sail was put back up and we are underway again tacking downwind. We will still attempt to land at Pitcairn, but now it seems a bit less exciting as we assess the damage. All are OK, just very tired.

February 11th, 2009
Return to Easter Island successful! February 8th at 11:10pm 2,312 mile journey with a stop in Robinson Crusoe taking 20. 5 days. Four days of being totally becalmed and the last two days of going super fast. Everyone is resting and getting ready to revisit this amazing place. Land Ho!

In short, all is good aboard, we are so exhausted right now. I'm not sure why, but getting sleep seems to be so elusive. Just need a good four hours and I'd be a different person. Pretty whipped right now. Kids are doing great and are also sleeping really well.

February 25th, 2009
Our tracking system is up and working on it's own site. see below for more information.

February 5th, 2009
There is a new update for the position tracking. Old users need to download he new file for Google Earth. Download here.

February 3, 2009
Totally becalmed! Less than 2 kts of wind reporting and motoring for the past 48 hours we had to shut down the engine to drift while we wait for the wind. Currently 463 miles from Easter Island only 25 - 30 gallons of fuel left. Come on wind!

January 28, 2009
1,048 miles gone since leaving Valdivia on January 19th. We started off making record time and have slowed down considerable traveling straight down wind for the sixth straight day. Depending on weather we expect landfall on Easter Island February 6th. Only 1,200 more miles to go. Also lost two fish, none landed yet. Here fishy, fishy!

January 27, 2009
We are about 1000 miles into our trip to Easter Island and about 1250 left to go. We will have a fast passage tonight, but it looks like a big high pressure will slow us down in the next few days.

January 2, 2009
We'll we've been out about a week and we are now getting ready for another gale to come through. We'll spend the next two days looking for a good spot to sit this next one out. Looking at 40+ and lots of rain, should be exciting. Shortly after that we'll be headed back to Valdivia weather permitting.

January 1, 2009
Brisk Breezes from the south put us at anchor for a few days. Instead of pounding into the wind we are waiting for the wind to change direction. So far all systems working well. We are still hoping for a run to San Rafael.

December 30, 2008
Ending on a high note:
The emotion of leaving Puerto Montt with our customs clearance and zarpe has been quelled by the calm, uneventfulness of our passage south. What a paradox! On one hand nothing has changed; the operation of the boat, the schooling of the girls, checking weather, maps and, of course, checking the anchor. Life outside Puerto Montt is what one would think of Patagonia: beautiful unspoiled scenery, volcanos dotting the shoreline with penguins and dolphins following the boat. Just like it was last March.

On the other hand, everything is different. There is a strange feeling that no time has passed and much time has passed. Both true and both not true. It’s only 80 miles of the 14k miles planned for the coming year; but it’s a good start.

Tomorrow is New Years Eve and I think we all have a lot to reflect on about 2008, what a year!

December 28, 2008
On December 28, 2008 the Red Thread is cleared to leave the docks in Puerto Montt, this comes 8 months, 3 weeks and 1 day after we hit the rocks in Seno Galo.

Next port of call: Chiloe Island and back to Seno Galo for a reunion with our friend Benjamin.

"Stupid risks make life worth living."
- Homer Simpson

December 27, 2008
Zarpe! On April 15th The Red Thread was given a provisional zarpe for transit to Puerto Montt with the stipulation that radio checks in would be no less than every six hours. During this time the propeller broke and I arrived in Puerto Montt two days after the provisional zarpe had expired. Upon arrival at Club Nautico with the Armada on board while we were towed in the Red Thread was thus deemed “Unseaworthy” due, in part, to our inability to transit in the time allowed.

On December 27th with all items fixed and documented we received our zarpe to operate the Red Thread within Chilean waters! After being brought up on charges seeing the captain’s name as Glenn Maddox well it was only a two page document, but it brought tears to our eyes.