Wow. Changes, changes, changes… and life goes on…

Just before departing the Bay of Islands to head north for Vanuatu, we received word that Grandma White (Nat’s mother, Molly White) was very ill back home in Maine. The weather window to head north was closing, and decisions needed to be made quick. We immediately put Nat on a plane back to the US to be with his mother, and dear friends of ours on the sailing vessel Empire were gracious enough to take our crew (Nathaniel, Wally, and Sandra — who had already been waiting for proper weather with us for around a month, and who’s vacations were quickly ticking away) aboard with six hours notice to sail the 1,000 miles north to Fiji. And Betsy and Josh stayed put tending to the boat and awaiting instructions as to whether or not to fly home to be with Molly.

Five days later, Betsy and Josh are still waiting in Opua (and Josh is picking up extra shifts working at the local restaurant), trying to stay warm while the winter chills are setting in. And Nat is at home, very happy to be with his family in this difficult moment. In the last few days, Molly has undergone an emergency experimental surgery that doctors were hoping would help her rare form of cancer subside. The good news is that the surgery was successful, and she is recovering well. All our love and thoughts are with her and the family back home as they battle this beast with amazing strength and courage. 

With all luck, Nat will fly back to NZ in about a week, once Molly gets settled in for her recovery period — and Bahati will sail north to the islands once again. 

We have been in daily contact with our comrades on Empire (sailing north to Fiji with our crew) and Nordic (sailing east, against the winds, back to Tahiti) through the SSB radio — and though each boat has fought 50+ knot winds at one time or another, all is well aboard both vessels.

A lot is up in the air at this stage, and the seasonal weather window — between the South Pacific Cyclone Season, and the winter gales coming out of the Tasman Sea and the Southern Ocean — is closing fast. But it appears as though Bahati will make it north against the odds.

Stay tuned…

much love from Bahati’s faithful crew -