Preparatory to the 2006 season, Rod oversaw a major refit for Raven in New Zealand – repairs, replacements, and add-ons, so that when Mike and I came aboard in January she looked like a brand-new boat! Mike and I soloed on Raven for a month in January/February in New Zealand (late summer there) while Rod vacationed in the Philippines.

When May rolled around, it was time again to depart for Fiji. We had a new crew member aboard, Elize Duggleby-Chouinart, a young Canadian who joined us in New Zealand. Rod and Elize aboard Raven enjoyed several exotic ports that Mike and I were sorry to miss – From New Zealand they sailed past Vanuatu and stopped off iin New Caledonia, then on to Fiji where Mike and I caught up with them again in August.

We enjoyed a wonderful cruise, only three weeks long this time, starting on Fiji’s most western coast and working our way to the country’s most eastern island, Taveuni. And then it was time to consider a change of itinerary.

After two summers in New Zealand (winter in the US), and two winters (again, seasons reversed) in Fijian and Tongan waters, it was time to decide where to venture next. Rod voted to head north through the waters of Oceania, by way of Australia towards Micronesia, with the destinations of myriad tiny Pacific Island nations to tempt us. From there we could continue on to Indonesia, Asia, China and Japan, ultimately almost to the top of the world, crossing the North Pacific, making landfall on the North American coast in Alaska, and finally sailing down the west coast of the United States towards home.

We also gave consideration to navigating to the Mediterranean via Indonesia, across the Indian Ocean and through the Red Sea, in order to spend a couple of seasons cruising in Europe, but decided the insurance company might be reluctant to underwrite an American-flagged yacht in the Red Sea these days.

Ultimately however Mike and I felt it was time to bring Raven a little closer to our own world, where a weekend trip didn’t involve 24 hours or more of jet lag and airport layovers, and where cellphones and internet were a bit more reliable.

So midway through the 2006 cruising season, we made our decision to send Raven to North America – a 7,000 mile journey traveling in the opposite direction of traditional cruising routes.

Taveuni became the logical jumping off point for the journey east. From there Raven aimed for Tonga as the first leg of the trip, but prevailing winds sent her to Samoa instead. From Samoa it was a non-stop sail, nearly 2,000 miles to Bora Bora in French Polynesia, where we joined our well-traveled crew and vessel again late in 2006, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, for a cruise through the Society Islands of French Polynesia.