1994 from New Caledonia to Tonga

July 22, 1994:  Dear Tom,

I just extended our stay at Club Med for another week.  The kids are pleased and excited.  Their big Hobie Regatta is today at 3:00.  The weather improved a little.  My power walk today was more like mountain climbing.  I do over an hour daily.  I met some lovely people.  This is definitely a camp type place with archery, pool games, etc. 

Robbie  made some friends who left today.  I hope more kids his age arrive.  Unfortunately kids are not on “holiday” this time of year.  Robbie’s wind surfing is improving and Randy definitely has the hang of it.  I don’t understand this place.  The equipment is excellent but the building needs help.  Robbie wants you to know he likes it here now, but wants to go home.  Randy says he hopes his Nacra still works.  The boys want you to come join us.  The food is mostly not to my taste but I’m sampling everything.

July 26, 1994:  Dear Tom,

I love hearing from you, keep the faxes coming.  Robbie is windsurfing well.  He can even turn.  I got a silver in archery.  Randy coached me.  Randy and I did the Hobie race together.  It was too windy for Robbie.  We pitch poled.  You won’t believe the huge bruises covering my body.  I was thrown head first into the ocean.  Fortunately my glasses were strapped on tightly and I was wearing a lifejacket.  It happened so quickly.  Randy was thrown onto the mast.  Luckily he landed on his back.  Righting the boat the hull landed on my shoulder. Double ouch!  We took the gold.  The other guys were thrilled to see me so wet.  When we pitch poled the boat must have landed on me – the only explanation for my incredibly huge purple marks.  Archery also left marks.  I’m covered in purple and green.  Robbie went on my power walk with me today.  Randy goes most days.  Robbie has a new pal.  Randy gave sailing lessons to my, Chinese, Malaysian, Australian, doctor friend.  She gave him a New Caledonia t-shirt when she left.  I have new friends for us to visit in Australia when we sail there. 

Robbie’s glasses better show up!  They should have arrived.  The back-up pair he stepped on are barely together.  The good ones were temporarily lost and finally found between the box spring and mattress.  You figure it out.  Robbie is teaching his new friend wind surfing.  I’m off to another archery tournament.  Randy will also enter.  He took 2^nd in windsurfing because the others didn’t round the mark.  Being here a 2^nd week was a good decision.  We all miss you.

August 3, 1994:  Dear Sandy,

I assume you haven’t heard about our crazy summer, so this is a brief summary.  We still aren’t on our boat!  I never should have taken the kids out of school early.  Tom finally went home and the kids and I searched for things to do in the pouring rain.  We almost came home (Tom wanted us to) but then it looked like the boat was almost ready.  I didn’t want to do 27 hours of flying so I took the kids to Club Med New Caledonia for one week.  The boat still wasn’t ready so we stayed in New Caledonia a second week.  The water was freezing, the weather variable, but more fun than New Zealand.  We returned to NZ and the boat was close to completion.  We were going to leave Ready or Not!.  We flew to Tonga and still haven’t heard whether the boat left New Zealand or not.  Tom joined us today.  We were apart a whole month!  That was too long!  I shared a room with the kids for too long.  We are isolated on a little island in Tonga.  Tomorrow we take a boat ride to the “big city” to see a few sights.  It’s Robbie’s birthday tomorrow.  I hope our boat rescues us soon. Today we toured the village on this island.  Quaint.  No electricity or running water.  We spent a long time at the 2 room government school.  It was very interesting.

August 4, 1994 Royal Sunset  Dear mom and dad,

Here we are in Tonga.  Why aren’t you rescuing me when I really need it.  I left my nice warm clothes on the boat foolishly thinking I wouldn’t need them here.  I am SO cold.  We just finished dinner and walked back to our fale in the rain.  At night is when I’m really cold while the days are cool.  Meals here are limited.  Dinner we have a choice of two main courses.  They also offer two starters but no soup or salad.  We are on a little island.  Today we took a boat to the main island to their big city.  We had a driver take us to the basic sights.  Flying foxes (bats) are weird and the blowholes spectacular.  Yesterday, before Tom arrived, the boys and I toured the little village on this island (less than 300 people).  No electricity or running water.  We spent quite a while visiting the two room government school.  We also saw a little of their plantation.  Quaint.  The people are a handsome, happy, smiling people.  They have a very laid-back life style (expect the mosquitoes)!  Our boat didn’t leave Auckland until last night (engine troubles) and they are motoring at 9 ½ knots.  When will they get here?  My guess is we won’t leave Royal Sunset until Tuesday. We got Robbie a large carved wooden mask (God of Oceans) as a birthday present.  He is getting a wonderful collection of woodcarvings.  Randy is holding out for a large mask.  I hope he isn’t disappointed.  It is nice having the family back together again.

My Latest Artwork: Oil paint on canvas with machine stitching.

Each of my works is an oil painting which I then extensively machine stitched.

Picasso in Reflection

Detail of Picasso in Reflection

Picasso's in Stitches

Detail of Picasso's in Stitches

Rothko Rocks Yellow and Green

Detail of Rothko Rocks Yellow and Green

We're off to New Caledonia!

July 15, 1994:  Dear Tom,

Tomorrow morning we’re off on another adventure and another country.  New Caledonia.  It wasn’t on my list before, but it is now.  Club Med Chateau Royal.  I’ve mailed Robbie’s latest broken glasses home.  Please call the company and order another pair of glasses for him.  Two pairs won’t last the summer. 

I’ve included the latest list of things we need for the boat. 

The heater was wonderful last night.  The scotch guarding of the furniture was done.

Things are getting exciting here.  Air France went on strike.  Air New Zealand changed our flight from 7:10 am to 2:45 pm.  We just lost a day in New Caledonia.  I wonder what will happen with our return flight next Saturday.

July 18, 1994: Dear Mom and Dad,

I should have listened to what your travel agent said.  Actually the Club Med New Caledonia would be ok if:  1. The air conditioning was working, or 2 they had screens on the windows.  Need I say more?  Skin so Soft has saved my life.  Robbie’s friends (hungry mosquitoes) are feasting on him.  Sharing a room with 2 boys is not my idea of a good time.  There are lots of water activities for Randy.  He won a sailing regatta today.  He is pleased.  Robbie is being Robbie.

Weather is pleasant here with light rain during my power walk in the morning.  The views are beautiful.  There is plenty of food.  French pancakes for breakfast every morning.  No one should starve.  They have four different styles of restaurants for dinner.  Chinese, French, Italian and basic, which has a different theme each night.  Basic was ok, Italian had excellent pizza, tonight we try Chinese and tomorrow will be French.

The facility is run down and needs a face lift.  Fortunately the boats are in very good condition.  The kids saw a sea snake which is very poisonous.  I’m trying to relax.  There are  Japanese, Australian, and New Zealanders here.  They are not accustomed to American guests.  Everyone wonders why we’re here.  Tomorrow I’m trying my hand at archery and Hobie sailing.  Randy won a sailing race on a Laser.  They also have wind surfers.  Randy has the hang of it and Robbie keeps trying.  Today Randy and I have done archery, sailing and windsurfing.  Robbie did archery and kids club. 

I hope Tom is following up on Robbie’s glasses.

July 20, 1994:  Dear Tom,

It was good hearing from you even if your fax as extremely depressing.  The boys and I were feeling very neglected and forgotten.  It’s kind of like we’d dropped off the face of the earth.  Keep in touch!  We need it.

Why another delay?  Tell me what is happening with the boat.  What have they accomplished?  What’s been done?  How are the tables?

The water is very cold here.  Randy and I went by boat to a little island to snorkel.  It was some of the best snorkeling I have ever done.  It beats Hawaii diving.  The new wetsuit was not warm enough for Randy.  He was colder than I was.  We only brought the new wetsuits to New Caledonia, no hoods, vests, etc.  It is winter here.  Cool and rainy.  It will probably be the same in Tonga and Fiji.

Today the boys won an unofficial Club Med Hobie race.  The beach boys wanted to know if Randy cheated as he had a terrible start and finished way ahead of the others. Friday is the official Hobie race.  I expect the Miller boys to uphold the Miller name.

I met a New Zealander who saw our boat on TV.

When we return to New Zealand what does the crew think of us moving onto the boat?  Or, do we go back to Takapuna? 

Randy is reading Shogun by James Clavell.  Could you bring Taipan and King Rat from home?  He needs more to read.  I’ll take him to a bookstore again when we return to New Zealand.  Meanwhile I am looking into staying another week at Club Med because I can’t imagine what I’m going to do with the boys in New Zealand for so long.

Our New Zealand Adventure Continues.

July 6, 1994

The sun is shining – we’re off in an hour.

July 8, 1994:  Dear Tom,

It was great receiving your fax when we checked back into Takapuna.  We went up to the Bay of Islands and saw some neat sights on our way up and back.  We drove through torrential rains and incredible winds.  Winds in Auckland were 130KPH, 56 knots on the boat.  Windows blew out of a building.  It was a scary drive.  Today we went thru another glowworm cave.  There was a good breeze blowing thru the cave and I was able to make it through without my claustrophobia kicking in. 

Bay of Islands must be beautiful in the summer.  The beaches are thick with clamshells.  We decided not to go to the very tip of the North Island.  It’s too cold and too much driving.

July 10, 1994

The crew doesn’t expect to get to Tonga until August 1^st.  The boys are very disappointed.   I’m not sure what to do with them for the coming weeks.  I guess we’ll know Auckland better than Los Angeles by the time we leave. 

The crew has moved onto the boat but it’s been difficult.  They bought some heaters.  Things still aren’t working right.  At least the rain gives us some idea of where the leaks are.  They don’t think we should move on board yet.  We’ll just be in the way of all the workers.  Still no tables yet, or cushions.  The fabric for the slipcovers was lost in customs (naturally) so more had to be shipped.  The dining chairs are all being repainted to match the table and fabric is being reupholstered.  The water maker isn’t working right.  It makes only 20 gallons per hour instead of 50.  The water doesn’t taste right either.  Membranes were probably damaged while in storage.  The wrong part was received that was needed to fix the heater.  Hopefully the correct part is on its way.  The sail is on schedule.

I can’t decide whether to get a duvet or a heavy wool blanket for our cabin.  It is especially cold and damp up forward in our cabin.  Any preference?  I wish I had an electric blanket, but that isn’t possible.  We put the bedspread on the beds.  They go back Monday for alterations.  The tight cushions in the kid’s cabins are a problem.  The effect is beautiful.  Gerald will see them Monday and will know what to do.  I can’t wait until we get tables on the boat so I can sew again.  It’s fun having control of the T.V. remote but there is nothing worth watching.

Tom, don’t get BBQ things yet!  I may have located the last set in Takapuna. My pasta machine and cook books are nowhere to be found.  There are some strange things missing.  Tell me when you’re ready for my next list.  It’s growing.  Are the old waffle irons at home or also lost?

We are relaxing this weekend.  The kids and I needed time to hang out.  Randy finished reading a couple of books. 

Keep faxing us.  It’s the next best thing to phone calls and it’s fun hearing the news.  We’re going to the movies this afternoon.  The kids are being bums this weekend.  I found two really good (expensive) pans for the boat.  It will be a good splurge.

July 12, 1994   Dear Mom and Dad

We need to make some quick decisions.   I’m thinking of taking the kids to a Club Med – either New Caledonia (is it safe?) or Tahiti that costs more.  Other options:  put the kids on a plane home.  I need to stay here to supervise.  Randy wants to go sailing and doesn’t care where.  Robbie has no desire to go home.  Or, Randy goes home and Robbie stays with me.  Robbie and I could probably move onto the boat by the end of the week.  I can’t do it with both boys.  You could meet us somewhere.  Pick an Island.  It’s been a long time since you’ve been to Tahiti and Bora Bora.  Or we could meet you in Fiji or Australia.  Unfortunately we need to decide quickly.  Some areas of Tahiti are now too polluted to swim in the ocean.  We must be careful.

July 12, 1994 Dear Tom, 

I’ve been calling travel agents.  What do you think of my taking the kids to New Caledonia Club Med?  They have loads of water sports (except scuba diving) and the price is $4423.00, which includes airfare.  Another option is to put the kids on a plane home.  Randy wanted to go home until he heard ideas like Tahiti, etc, but only if the hotel has a sailboat.  Robbie has no desire to go home.  I am very uncomfortable with leaving the boat.  Without the boys I could probably move on board by the end of the week.  I’m ok with the idea of being here until the end of the week, going to the island for 8 days, and returning to New Zealand for the final inspection of the boat.  OR, Randy goes home, and Robbie and I manage.  Maybe he can sleep on the little sofa in our cabin.  There is no way all three of us can move onto the boat.  Is New Caledonia safe??? I really don’t know what to do – stay and send the kids home, all of us go home, Randy goes home alone, Club Med Tahiti or New Caledonia, etc.  HELP!  I feel an owner should be here for the final details. 

Answer quickly!

It’s raining hard here.

Launching a New Boat Continues

June 29, 1994 New Zealand

It’s pretty crazy here.  No one knows from one day to the next what is happening.  We moved off the boat yesterday and back to Takapuna International Motor Lodge.  Tom said…Just take clothes for two days.  Then he shows up at the lodge and informs us we’re going sightseeing thru Sunday.  The boat is 40 feet up in the air.  I have to climb the scaffolding to get our travel clothes.

The people here are so nice, friendly and helpful.

These are the plans as they stand today:  Tom leaves July 4^th for home.  The boat is scheduled to leave New Zealand between July 10^th and July 12^th.  The boys and I leave July 17^th for Tonga.  Tom will arrive July 20^th.  The crew arrives July 2^nd.  I’ll probably spend July 4-5 with them giving Marja (our chief) instructions as to our taste in food and what I would like stocked on the boat.  I’ll then do more sightseeing with the kids.  Maybe we’ll see the boat off though I’m not sure.  I may want some more clothes from the boat.  More sightseeing here on the North Island and then we are off to our next adventure.  We hear Tonga has the best cruising in the Pacific.  The boat will be very comfortable.  The toilets flush with a foot pedal (no more pumping 20 times).

July 5, 1994:  Dear Tom,

You’ve only been gone 24 hours but life continues to be exciting.  I’m at the boat yard searching for my missing items.  Some boxes never did make it to New Zealand.  I’m enclosing a list of things Marja and I would like which we can’t find here.  Take what you want from home.  I’ll bet your mother would pick up the rest for you.

1.     3 bags of clothes pins

2.     Battery operated flour sifter

3.     BBQ tools including a brush.  It’s the wrong time of year here

4.     Electric juicer

5.     Belgian waffle irons

6.     Later we’ll discuss cookbooks that didn’t show up either.

I hope your flight was excellent and all is well at home.  Did escrow close?

p.s. we got 2 chair styles with 2 colors of frames!

July 5, 1994

The adventure continues.  Tomorrow the boys and I leave Takapuna again.  This time we will go up to the Bay of Islands.  It’s too awful staying in Auckland and trying to deal with the boat torn up the way it is.  The workmen are swarming all over the boat.  Nothing stays where it is put.  And everything is filthy!  I thought we were driving tomorrow but a huge storm just hit.  I’m not driving country roads in this pouring rain and wind.  We’ll see what tomorrow brings.  I forgot to send Robbie’s broken glasses home with Tom.  If they can’t be repaired here I’ll mail them home.

I just ordered dining room chairs for the boat.  They sent 2 white and 3 cream-colored chairs.  2 grey seat cushions and 3 white cushions.  I’m struggling to straighten that out.  I went crazy when I found their mistakes in 3 stages.  I never did get what I originally ordered, but was delighted with the white which matches the boat.  I wish the tables could be white as well.  I still haven’t seen the tables, which are being made.

Diane took the boys to the zoo and a museum while Marja and I searched for supplies. 

Rotorua (New Zealand) is always fun.  Bubbling mud, steam everywhere, geysers, boiling water, ice covering the car in the morning, frost that doesn’t thaw all day and bitter cold.  Cold that penetrates to our bones.  We went luging, which was great fun. 

Tom’s driving has become very creative.  He’s decided that he knows more than the locals.  He became a pro at making ‘u’ turns.  Of course asking for help would make things too easy.  Actually (and he’ll never live this down), we decided to go to Raglan and he did ask for directions.  BUT, he knew more than the local innkeeper and went another way.  He found a 50-kilometer unpaved, narrow, winding, twisting road.  Toward the end was an easy hike to a magnificent waterfall.  We watered the bushes, did the hike and finally found Raglan.  The car was covered in mud above the door handles.  We did see rolling hills, sheep, cows and mountains.  At least this time it was still daylight.  If grandma Betty were here she’d say “we’re having an adventure.”  And we certainly did!

People here are nice but the food has been awful.  It seems like everything is fried, creamy and cheesy,   

So far I’m very pleased with our crew Marja and Steve.  Marja is very pleasant, easy to be with, navigates well and is very helpful in trying to help get the boat ready.  I’m driving all over the place.  So long as someone navigates I’m succeeding in driving here.  It’s weird driving on the wrong side of the road.

The boat should be ready by July 112, 1994, but no one thinks the sail will be ready.  When will we leave New Zealand I wonder?

Tom, I had a long talk with Jim S.  We aren’t going to visit them because of 3 dogs, 2 cats and a bird.  Their 100 acres sound wonderful and the kids great.  Oh well.

I went to the boat yard again to search for our missing things.  The books are moldy and everything is damp and filthy.  I cleaned and filled the car with books.  I still can’t find everything.

The rain ended and now it’s just blowing hard.  We will probably leave in the morning.  Continue sending faxes to Takapuna International.  We will return there.

Sailing Back in Time to 1994

Sailing Back in Time

We haven’t always spent our time barging the canals of Europe.  Before discovering barging we were sailors.  Or rather Tom was the sailor and I was the seasick companion.  When Tom and I met I didn’t know I had this problem of seasickness.  I had spent many hours happily sailing small boats with the UCLA sailing club.  I even taught sailing. 

Now it’s December 2014 and rather than call it Spring cleaning I guess it’s winter cleaning and I got a bug to empty out closets and cupboards.  I didn’t get very far because I found letters I had written in 1994 chronicling the saga of finally launching our 92 foot custom sloop Locura after 4 long years and two countries (Thailand and New Zealand) attempting to build it.  But that is a story for another time.  With minor editing I plan on reproducing my correspondence detailing our first season sailing as a family on our yacht Locura designed by Nelson Marek out of San Diego.

We are going back to 1994.  Randy (our eldest son) was 13 years old.  Robbie (our second born) was 10 years old.  Having been promised that our boat would be ready we took our boys out of school early and flew to New Zealand.  My letters were sent by fax when I was able to find one. Here we go! 

June 25, 1994.   New Zealand,  Takapuna International Motor Lodge.

This whole experience is incredible!  The boat will be beautiful if it is ever completed.  Quite a few unfixable errors – we’ll just live with them.  Grey silk sofa is hopefully torn out today.  No tables yet, or bedspreads, or dining chairs, etc.  The part of the boat done correctly has a warm glow.  Many changes were made to the plans.  We are moving onto the unfinished boat today.  We will spend the weekend sailing (it’s called sea trials).  Then back to the motel Sunday night or Monday.  The boat is being pulled out of the water for adjustments.  I’m trying to change our flight to Tonga to July 17^th, hoping Tom will give up going to Vanuatu.  I don’t want to spend a week in Tonga at a hotel with kids without Tom while he flies back home to work.    I’m thinking we should go see the South Island.

We are exhausted!  We’ve had very little sleep and lots of work.  At least we’re healthy!  Everyone is friendly and very helpful.  Randy is excited and loves being around the boat all day.  Robbie is bored and being melodramatic.  He broke his glasses the first day.  His second pair had better last.

The weather is cold and drizzly with some sun at times.  They are dealing with a severe drought here.

I’m doing my best to just go with the flow.  There is only so much I can do.

June 28, 1994 New Zealand

We spent our first weekend on the boat and sailed to Kawau.  We arrived in darkness.  Dawn breaking showed us a lovely area but no time to explore.  I hid in our cabin during the sail and watched my window buried regularly under water.  I wasn’t happy.  The boat was heeled over so far I couldn’t stay in our bed.  What I thought was a stupid, little, narrow sofa in our cabin turned into a lifesaver.  I rolled myself in my hand made fish quilt and waited for the sail to end – all four hours.  The boat handled the weather beautifully and my boys were happy!  I was asking myself what I was doing here. As usual, once we anchored I was happy again and my stomach back in place.

The next morning after rain, hail, and wind (it’s winter here in New Zealand as the seasons are reversed from the United States), we lifted anchor, raised the main sail, and then lowered everything again.  The battens (which give the mail sail shape) had shattered.  It was like an explosion of blue pieces, which everyone was dodging.  I can’t believe what the cost is to re-do the mainsail…again.

We powered back and I was happy.  I sat in the pilothouse with everyone and even managed to fix a snack in the galley.

The pilothouse is wonderful!  That is where our boat life will take place.  It is comfortable with a 360-degree view of the world.  Randy is in heaven and Robbie is managing.  He’s read three books this weekend.  He needs more activity than sitting in the cockpit waiting for the boat to be ready.  Rob our boat designer is here and teaching Randy how to gather data for him this summer using my computer.  It’s a great science project for him.  He follows the men around watching, learning and taking it all in.  This is more than Robbie is interested in.  Robbie likes the sailing and more activity.

I’m sure the boat will be wonderful when it’s finished.  The weather is crisp.  It rains a little, clears for a while, and then rains a little again.  It isn’t a problem for the sights I’d like to see. 

I’m frantically trying to get slipcovers made before the crew totally destroys my beautiful fabric.

June 29, 1994 New Zealand

It’s pretty crazy here.  No one knows from one day to the next what is happening.  We moved off the boat yesterday and back to Takapuna International Motor Lodge.  Tom said…Just take clothes for two days.  Then he shows up at the lodge and informs us we’re going sightseeing thru Sunday.  The boat is 40 feet up in the air.  I have to climb the scaffolding to get our travel clothes.

The people here are so nice, friendly and helpful.

These are the plans as they stand today:  Tom leaves July 4^th for home.  The boat is scheduled to leave New Zealand between July 10^th and July 12^th.  The boys and I leave July 17^th for Tonga.  Tom will arrive July 20^th.  The crew arrives July 2^nd.  I’ll probably spend July 4-5 with them giving Marja (our chief) instructions as to our taste in food and what I would like stocked on the boat.  I’ll then do more sightseeing with the kids.  Maybe we’ll see the boat off though I’m not sure.  I may want some more clothes from the boat.  More sightseeing here on the North Island and then we are off to our next adventure.  We hear Tonga has the best cruising in the Pacific.  The boat will be very comfortable.  The toilets flush with a foot pedal (no more pumping 20 times).