As I sit here tucked into a marina on the other side of the world, ready to celebrate New Years Eve almost a full day ahead of our friends and family, I can’t help but think what an amazing year 2024 has been.   We have been to so many amazing places, while facing big challenges.  In 2024, we sailed roughly 9000 miles, starting with some further exploration of Mexico before crossing the Pacific Ocean to explore French Polynesia, Tonga and now Fiji.

When we started making this big plan to go sailing years ago, we had a direct plan as far as Mexico – the rest – an ocean crossing and exploring distant islands – really seemed so far out of reach it didn’t seem real.    Somehow, we did make it real.

The following is a brief recap of the highlights of 2024.

1.            Cruising the Baja – we started this year by cruising down the Baja peninsula, after nearly 3 months in the boat yard in Puerto Penasco.   Truly, being free of the yard was a gift in of itself, but our favorite stops on the way down the peninsula this time were probably Santa Rosalia, Isla Coronado and Isla San Francisco.   Having already explored Santa Rosalia on our way up the peninsula last year, we still managed to find lots of new spots to explore and enjoyed our time getting back into the cruising mentality.   Isla San Francisco gave us the opportunity for some hiking and some visiting and Isla Coronado gave us some excellent anchorages and the chance to explore an abandoned salt mine.     While it wasn’t always warm in winter on the Baja, the ever-changing beauty makes it some of our favorite cruising.

2.            Seeing the Blue Footed Boobies at Isla Isabella –  seeing the blue footed boobies has always been such a dream for me and in all of our bouncing  back and forth across the sea, we were not able to stop in at Isla Isabella until this last crossing.   We were so grateful to be able to stop in for the day and see not only the boobies but also frigates by the thousands.   Our stop was brief (the anchorage was frankly a bit scary so I was not sad to not spend a night there) but we made the most of our time and I finally got to see the characters that are the blue footed boobies.   My only regret was that we were too early for any fledglings to have hatched – there were lots of ornery mamas sitting on nests (many of them square in the middle of the path!) but no babies.   This was truly a bucket list moment for me and I was so happy to be able to tick it off!

3.            La Cruz cruisers gatherings – La Cruz has an amazing cruisers community and the local sailmaker makes it even better by holding weekly meetings for people getting ready to depart across the ocean.   During these Friday meetings, we had presentations put on by representatives from Fiji and New Zealand as well as information sessions on weather, the coast guard, passage planning and all other manner of topics.   It was a great opportunity to discuss weather windows as they started to approach.   The sail loft has a library of charts and they arranged for copies to be made for all who needed them.   In addition to the weekly meetings, La Cruz has some great restaurants which allowed for some fun nights out with fellow cruisers – both those headed out at the same time as us and with those we would be leaving in our wake.   I believe that being with this group of likeminded and supportive sailors gave us a bit more motivation and confidence to ready for the crossing.

4.            Crossing the Pacific – what an epic feat that was.   Our first big jump across the Pacific was challenging in so many ways but also gave us so many moments of beauty and wonder.   Realizing we had only made it 1/3 of the way across the Pacific when we arrived in French Polynesia was a good reminder of how truly vast the Pacific is.   We crossed the equator for the first time on this trip – turning us from Pollywogs to Shellbacks – to be safe we made a tribute to Neptune and then reveled in our new status! The idea of crossing the ocean had been so daunting – I am not sure we really understood what we were taking on – but we felt such a great sense of accomplishment in achieving that goal!

5.            Landfall in Hiva Oa – that first sighting of the lush and magical land of Hiva Ova was so breathtaking.   As we approached land, we could smell the earth – an incredible thing after more than 30 days at sea – and we could see the everchanging colors of green towering over us.  It was such a truly breathtaking moment.   Sadly, the anchorage at Hiva Oa was a true nightmare but that first glimpse of land was still such a treasure!

6.            Fatu Hiva – if you google the Marquesas, you are likely to see a picture of The Bay of Virgins at Fatu Hiva – the magical, mystical beauty of this bay is unparalleled.  This was one of our bucket list items for the Marquesas – it was gloomy and drizzly and the anchorage is so deep that someone dragging was a daily event – and even so, it was pure magic!

7.            South Pass Snorkel – Fakarava – Fakarava was our only atoll and on its own it was amazing.  The water was crystal clear, the community was lovely and the fact of being anchored inside of a reef was just simply cool.   But for Owen, being able to do a drift snorkel through the south pass was a dream come true – he saw multitudes of fish and sharks as he drifted through on the current – truly another bucket list item!

8.            Moorea  – Moorea was far and away our favorite spot in the Society Islands.   Combining the imposing beauty of the Marquesas with the flat, calm waters of an atoll, Moorea was truly the best of both worlds.   We anchored in Cook’s Bay, giving us easy access to town and stunning beauty.  Our tour of the Island, made even better by doing so with friends, gave us a look at all of the beauty of the Island.  Everywhere we went we were greeted with a smile.   It was heartbreaking to sail away from Moorea – given more time, we would definitely have stayed longer!

9.            Maupihaa – this was a totally unplanned stop that gave us one of our best experiences.   It is stunningly beautiful and the locals that we met (just a couple of the very few people who live there) were lovely.   We had the experience of being “trapped” with a number of other boats and that gave us the chance to meet many more fellow cruisers.   With a potluck, a sing along, a walk of the atoll and simply stunning scenery in all directions, it was truly a stop to be remembered!

10.         Tonga – Tonga stole our hearts and was our favorite stop of all.   We so enjoyed our two months in the magical Kingdom and would have stayed longer if the seasonal weather had not pushed us along.   The people of Neiafu, both locals and expats alike were wonderful and the anchorages were calm, peaceful and beautiful – as close to sailing at home as we experienced anywhere!   Even with a full blog post on Tonga, I don’t think we managed to explain how much or why we loved Tonga but suffice to say we have left a piece of ourselves there and hope to be able to return.

We are in Fiji now and loving it as well – though we have only seen the marina and Savusavu so far!   I look forward to much more exploring here next year, before we have to start the long trek home – 2025 should have some pretty epic moments as well!!

Wishing everyone the happiest of New Years and reminding you to chase your dreams – it is so worth it!!