This site documents the journey of Bill Morris and Sharon Bennett in 2023 on their 43 foot Catana catamaran named Turtlebones – starting in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and crossing the South Pacific.
We left the dock in Puerto Vallarta on the morning of April 5, 2023. Distance to first landfall was 3,048 nautical miles.
After 21 days at sea, we arrived on April 26 at Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands. We spent three weeks exploring the beautiful and interesting Marquesas – Hiva Oa, Tahuata, Ua Pau and Nuku Hiva.
We then set out on an exquisite three-day passage to the Tuamotu Archipelago and spent four weeks enjoying the serenity of the peaceful lagoons in Fakarava and Toau.
From there, it was a 2-day passage to Tahiti where we spent a month exploring the Society Islands. It was lovely to share the experience with daughter Sarah who joined us for two weeks in Tahiti and Moorea.
Leaving the Society Islands, we made a six-day passage to Suwarrow, a national park island in the northern Cook Islands, where we spent a memorable week.
From Suwarrow, it was a five-day passage to the tiny island nation of Niue where we stayed for a week and shared the Alofi Bay anchorage with breeding humpback whales.
A short two-day passage brought us to the Vava’u island group in the Kingdom of Tonga. We are here in Neiafu and heading out soon to explore some of the many beautiful secluded anchorages of Vava’u.
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I marvel at Turtlebones. This amazing assemblage of technologies that has enabled Sharon and me to sail across the immense Pacific Ocean in relative safety and comfort. While she may have been built in France using modern high-tech various materials, the foundational DNA of her design, is uniquely Polynesian. As are all multihulled vessels –…
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We don’t have a lot of time here in New Zealand. We fly home on September 30 – can’t wait to get home to be with family and friends after so many months away. But in the meantime, we’ll make the most of our last few days here. Easy to do in this beautiful…
