Sailing Ziganka - Circumnavigation

We made it to our first atoll! It was quite a bumpy ride from Rapa Nui to Les Gambiers. Either we had to much or to little wind, and most of the time it came from the wrong direction. So instead of 12 days it took us a whooping 21 days. But thanks to Starlink and our new friends @sailingsongster, @sailing.awa and @longjohnsilver4195, with whom we formed a flotilla, we were not bored. As you can imagine we were quite excited once our feet finally touched land again. After checking in, we walked through the town of Rikitea to find some veggies. The friendly locals gifted us oranges and grapefruits. Already the next day we had to fire up our engine again to go around the corner to hide from stronger winds. Here we’re enjoying life at anchor with our new Dutch friends, get to explore the island and make friends with more locals. Thank you Manu for welcoming us to your beautiful home, feeding us with coconuts and passion fruit. #rikitea #ilesdesgambiers #gambiers #tuamotus #frenchpolynesia #pacifc #pacificcrossing #pacificposse #pacificsailing #sailingpacific #reinke #sailing #sailingaroundtheworld #circumnavigation #travelingaroundtheworld

Behind the scenes - Boat Life: Before you embark on your journey to sail around the world people will tell you that boat life will not only be white beaches, turquoise water and beautiful sunsets. You probably won’t believe them, but let me tell you: you will always underestimate how much work a boat actually is. When we were in Cartagena, we decided to do a major electricity, solar, battery upgrade. Oh boy, did we underestimated the amount of work we had to put into this! Other people take a year off cruising to get a job like this done, we did it in about 6 weeks. Looking at the video, it not only takes me back to what has been one of the hardest times for us so far, but it also shows how much we accomplished in such a short amount of time. And let me tell you: it was so worth it! Every penny we spent, every tear we shed and every drop of sweat! Totally worth it! I’m incredibly proud of us! #refit #cartagena #manzanillomarinaclub #boatlife #boatrefit #solararch #lifepo4 #lithiumbatteries #boatchaos #electricwork #solarpenals #solarupgrade #power #reinke #circumnavigation #sailingaroundtheworld #colombia

We’re out on the ocean for almost 3 weeks now. The passage from Rapa Nui to Pitcairn is not really going according to plan. First hick up: due to the weather we’re not going to Pitcairn anymore! It is late in the season and a lot of low pressure systems are coming up to the latitudes of Rapa Nui and Pitcairn. In this hemisphere we’re approaching winter. We’re now heading directly to the Gambiers islands. With us are three other Dutch boats who embarked on their journey from Patagonia. So at least we’re not completely alone. However, the last couple of weeks we had to deal with lots of changing weather. The first two days we had perfect sailing conditions. But since then it’s been either too much or too little wind and/or from the wrong direction. Three nights we took down all our sails and just floated - this was a first for us. We miss the trade winds! But at least we’re blessed now with a beautiful full moon that turns the night into day. Just look at this beautiful moonrise! #sailingaroundtheworld #sailing #circumnavigation #liveaboards #reinke #travelingaroundtheworld #overnightsail #moonrise #fullmoon #nightsail #southpacificocean #pacifc #pacificposse

We’re on our last days in Rapa Nui. We’ve been waiting for the depression system to pass by so that we can set sail again. Next stop: Pitcairn! However, it’s not easy to leave this beautiful island Rapa Nui. We had an amazing time here: hiking, eating out, talking to people and just taking in the atmosphere. We will never forget the unique landscape, the crystal clear water with visibility of up to 50m and of course the impressive Moai statues that can be found all over the island. Thanks for having us, Rapa Nui.🗿 #anakena #rapanui #hotuiti #moai #easterisland #sailing #pacificposse #circumnavigation #sailingaroundtheworld #sailboat #cliffs #pacificocean #pacificcrossing #southpacificocean #chile #hangaroa #reinke #hiking #clearwater

Just some pictures of Rapa Nui. I have no words for the beauty of this Island! 🗿 #rapanui #hotuiti #moai #easterisland #sailing #pacificposse #circumnavigation #sailingaroundtheworld #sailboat #cliffs #pacificocean #pacificcrossing #southpacificocean #chile #hangaroa

We made it! Rapa Nui, you beautiful island! After 31 days and 2950 nm we finally drop the anchor right in front of the famous Maoi statues. The landscape is so different from everything that we have seen in the last 2 years. The rough cliffs on the east coast of Rapa Nui remind us of the British coast, whereas the green fields and gentle hills remind us of New Zealand. The statues, made from crumbling volcanic rock are unique to the island and highlight the landscape in a majestic way. After the reception ceremony, which involved at least 7 people from customs, immigration and the health department, we took our sea legs for a little walk to look at the Moai up close!🗿 #rapanui #hotuiti #moai #easterisland #sailing #pacificposse #circumnavigation #sailingaroundtheworld #sailboat #cliffs #pacificocean #pacificcrossing #southpacificocean #chile #hangaroa

Come sail to Rapa Nui with us! A couple of days ago we found wind and are on a direct course to Rapa Nui. This day has been very strange with varying sailing conditions. Moderate 16 knots of wind in the morning, gusting up to 30 knots without any foreseeable reason - no squalls, or clouds, just a very blue sky. Then dropping down again, to barely enough wind to get us through the building waves. Wind directions also changed every hour by 40degree. We had some rain, we had some sun and also the most beautiful rainbow. 🌈 #sailingaroundtheworld #pacificsailing #pacificcrossing #rapanui #easterisland #pacificocean #southpacificocean #southpacific #sailing #reinke #oceanposse #circumnavigation #liveaboard #sailboat #overnightsail #longpassage

Happy birthday to my beautiful boyfriend, captain and partner in crime! 🎉 Years ago, you told me about this crazy idea to sail around the world. Today, I know to take your ideas seriously. When you are passionate about something you make it come true. That’s why we now get to celebrate your birthday at sea. 200 miles away from Galapagos. We will forever remember this birthday as the day that we crossed the equator. It was such a beautiful day and I can’t wait to explore the South Pacific with you! #happybirthday #equatorcrossing #equatorceremony #sailingaroundtheworld #sailing #reinke #circumnavigation #southpacificocean #pacific #sailboat #liveaboard #lifeonpassage #overnightsail

We’re getting closer to Galapagos. The booby birds want to show us the way. Unfortunately, our passage is not smooth sailing. The last couple of days we experienced a strong current pushing us north. On top of it, the wind is dying and we have to motor again. So we decided to motor south in hopes to catch the current that will push us west. And when the wind picks up on Sunday again, we will hopefully make it further down to the trade winds. But the prospect of listening to this engine noise for the next 40 hours is not very uplifting. #oceansailing #pacificcrossing #pacificsailing #sailing #reinke #tradewinds #galapagos #bird #boobybird #circumnavigation #sailingaroundtheworld #lifeonpassage #overnightsail #sailboat

So apparently, the helicopter we saw earlier today belongs to a tuna fishing boat and must have spotted some tuna right in front of us. So the finish boat went and put their net out a couple of miles west of us. We didn’t think about it anymore until I spot some black buoys on the horizon. That’s when Stig and I spend 20 minutes in the cockpit to keep watch on those buoys and even adjust course, so that we would go around the last visible buoy. We realized to late, that it wasn’t the last buoy, but one in line of many. We ended up with the fishing line with nasty hooks around one of our two keels. How do we get it off? We lost our boat hook months ago, while trying to tie to a mooring. First we thought about building a boat hook out of our paddle and some kitchen tools. Then we decided, if we‘d furl in the genoa to reduce speed, it would be safe enough for Stig to jump in and at least have a look at it under water. Luckily for us it was an easy fix and it took Stig no longer then two minutes to get the line off our keel and himself back onboard. How would you have solved this problem? How many more lines do you think we’ll find in the pacific? 😡 #circumnavigation #sailingaroundtheworld #pacific #pacificcrossing #pacificsailing #tunafishing #fishingindustry #helicopter #bluewatersailing #oceansailing #reinke #fishingline