Liward

etemp by ahsan

A truly unique opportunity! We are selling our beautiful 1985 Hans Christian 48T. "Liward" has been imported to French Polynesia with the duty paid, so she can sail in these beautiful islands as long as desired. Please visit http://www.hanschristian48forsale.c...

In November 2024, we returned Liward to her normal spot in the marina in Tahiti and hopped on an easy 5 hour flight to New Zealand. We spent 3+ weeks exploring the north and south islands and had a blast, drove about 1200 miles. The people are so friendly, the...

Our 2024 sailing season lasted from May through November. After a few weeks of boat work in the marina in **Tahit** i, we made our first stop on the island of **Moorea** just 20 + miles away. Then we sailed east for two nights to the Tuamotu atolls spending ti...

Our 2023 Season was from the beginning of May through late November. We spent 5 weeks in Marina Taina doing some big projects including varnish. Then made the short sail to Moorea, our happy place. It took a few weeks but finally the wind was favorable and we...

In 2022, we managed to have our resident cards renewed, so we can once again stay in Polynesia as long as we like. This years season was from May through November. We did a major haulout on Liward and then visited the island of Moorea. After checking all our s...

In 2021 Polynesia was still dealing with COVID. So flights were limited and visitors were restricted. Plus we were not able to renew our resident cards and new VISAs were not being issued. That meant that we could only visit the islands for 90 days. We arrived...

COVID had a profound affect on the whole world. For us, we just had to change our normal schedule of splitting time equally between Polynesia and Florida. Instead, we spent January thru August in Florida. When flights opened back up to Tahiti, we flew back to...

Our 2019 sailing season was planned for April thru October. The schedule included a haul out for new bottom paint, sailing to the Cooks Islands for a new custom's permit for the boat, and sailing back east to the Polynesian Society Islands. But in cruising, th...

In 2018, we had some major projects to finish on Liward so we spent a lot of time in Marina Taina in Tahiti. Once those projects were completed, it was time to explore the beautiful islands. First stop was Moorea, which is only a 24 mile sail away. Then off to...

We love everything Polynesian so why not visit Easter Island which is the southeast corner of the Polynesian Triangle! By plane that is! So we decided to take a 787 and visit Rapa Nui, otherwise known as Easter Island, _Isla de Pascua_ _,_ l'ile de Paques _,_...

Thought we'd put up a few pictures to cover our time in the USA September 2017 thru March 2018. It helps us remember what we've been up to!

We are way behind on our updates so this is a really long one. It covers our 2017 sailing season in French Polynesia. We completed a haul out in Tahiti, spent a few days relaxing in Moorea, sailed to the Tuamotus and visited Fakarava, Tahanea, Toau, Tikehau an...

This update covers a lot of ground, from late July 2016 to April 2017. We apologize for being so behind! We keep up the website to share our experiences with friends and family, but also as a reminder to ourselves. We like to organize our best pictures and wri...

We've done a lot of sailing so it's time for an update. In April, May, and June we visited some of our favorite islands in French Polynesia: Moorea, Huahine, Bora Bora and Raiatea! Mid-way thru June we sailed 540 nautical miles to the island of Rarotonga, Cook...

After 5 nice months in Florida we flew back to Liward in mid March. She was sitting in Marina Taina, Tahiti right where we left her and looked good. We've spent 4 weeks doing some pretty big boat projects and now we are ready to go sailing. But the weather has...

This update covers July and August with 5 weeks spent in Huahine, 4 days in Raiatea, 3 days in Bora Bora and 10 days in Maupiti.

Our last update covered our first week in Fakarava in the Tuamotu Islands of French Polynesia. We spent two more weeks visiting four different anchorages in this beautiful atoll. Then we sailed overnight to the Tahanea Atoll and spent two weeks there. Next we...

We flew back to Tahiti on April 9 after 6 fun months in Florida. We found Liward looking really good in Marina Taina. Heifara took excellent care of her. We had a few projects to complete. One was the engine that would not keep its prime. After a couple of tri...

We thought we'd post an update to catch up on where we are. This one will cover hauling out Liward, some more fun in Tahiti and time back in Florida. So we want to wish everyone the best for 2015. Thanks for checking in. We return to the boat in Tahiti in Marc...

We've spent the last 6 weeks visiting the islands of Raiatea, Tahaa, and Bora Bora. These islands are very close to each other which makes for easy sailing. A picture, taken from the International Space Station shows the three islands from top to bottom: Bora...

We have spent the last 2 weeks enjoying the Heiva in Huahine. Huahine is an island about 90 miles from Tahiti. The population is about 6000 and it is really unspoiled. Heiva is a celebration that happens every July for about 3 weeks. It is sort of like an isla...

This update will cover our time in Moorea and Huahine. Two islands that are similar but also different. We also have a new plan. French Polynesia has just changed the law which allows foreign boats to stay for 3 years without paying import duty. So we are goin...

We spent 7 great months in Florida while we qualified for a new long stay French Polynesia Visa. After much paperwork we were approved! So in April we returned to Liward where she was docked in Marina Taina, Tahiti. Emma took wonderful care of her and she look...

Our last update covered the Tuamotus and had us arriving in Moorea. Well, we've covered a lot of miles since then! Right now we are in Florida. But we made that trip by plane. We spent a week in beautiful Moorea, and then sailed the 24 miles to Tahiti where we...

We have internet once again so it's time for an update. This update covers the Tuamotu Islands. These islands are very different from the Marquesas because they are coral atolls. Which means they are a ring of very low islets surrounded by a reef with a large...

We've really had a great time visiting five islands in the Marquesas over the last four weeks. Fatu HIva, Hiva Oa, Tuahata, Oa Pou, and Nuka Hiva. Now that's a mouthful. We've seen beautiful scenery and met some wonderful people. So here's a few pictures to gi...

We did it! We have crossed the pacific. This update will cover our passage and our arrival in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. This has been a dream of ours for a very long time. And now we are here!

We've spent the last 7 weeks visiting four islands in the Galapagos. We are convinced that this is truly a magical place where the animal life "owns the place"! The humans do their best to fit in with the smallest impact as possible. The Galapagos has 12 islan...

We are in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador! Truly amazing and very exciting for us. We remember studying these islands in elementary school, seeing picture in the National Geographic magazine and now Liward is anchored in Wreck Bay on the island of San Cristob...

Yes Liward has transited the Panama Canal and is now floating in the Pacific. Wonderful friends Tom and Sue, and Kari and Jerry flew in to experience the Canal with us and be our line handlers. Here's a picture of all of us on the bow of Liward and ready to be...

**Finally!!!**.....we are ready to head through the Panama Canal! We have all the equipment back on the boat, we've been out for a test sail, and we are stocked up with enough groceries to last for months! Our canal transit scheduled for next week. Very dear f...

**Sea-Sun's Greetings from Lili and Steve!**

Well, we are still in the same place as we were for the last website update, but we have been busy! Big news is that Steve had a new surfboard made here in Panama which is an exact replica of his favorite 1970's style pintail. We'll show you some pictures of t...

Again, we have let way too much time lapse between website updates. We really appreciate you continuing to check in. These last few months have been happy and sad. We'll try to give you a quick update. We spent December and January in Florida and Steve returne...

It's been six months since we've made an update to the website so we are way overdue. This update won't be filled with beautiful pictures of clear water and palm tree islands but you'll find out what we've been up to. In the last six months we've made three tr...

Hello all, and so sorry that this update was so long in coming! This entry covers May thru July so three months worth of fun! We are still in Panama on the Caribbean side, and continue to explore new areas. There is just so much to see here. We stayed in Bocas...

On January 7, we arrived in Bocas del Toro after a great two night sail from the San Blas Islands. Bocas del Toro is a group of eight major islands located on the Caribbean side of Panama and very close to the Costa Rican boarder. Christopher Columbus discover...

We are having some horrible weather in the San Blas islands of Panama! So we are taking advantage of being stuck inside the boat and making a quick update to the website. It's a challenge to get a good enough internet connection thru the cell phone but time is...

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We've spent the last 18 months exploring the Caribbean side of beautiful Panama. This country is very diverse and there's lots to see. So after installing the new generator in August, we left Liward in the marina, and rented a four wheel drive for a four week...

Here's a quick update before we leave the boat for a three week driving trip to explore Panama. When we last made an update we were in the island of Providencia, Colombia. We spent a few more weeks there and it is truly one of our favorites…..but then we seem...

We've drug ourselves away from the beautiful islands of Kuna Yala, San Blas in Panama and have sailed to the island of Providencia. Actually, our 90 day immigration ran out in Panama so we had to go somewhere to renew! Providencia is about 200 miles off the co...

In March, we returned to the San Blas Islands of Panama. The San Blas are on the Caribbean side of Panama and home to the Kuna Indians. These people have preserved their culture and traditions. We really enjoyed this area last year and plan to spend two months...

We've spent the last four weeks having a great time in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Bocas is only about 30 miles from the Costa Rican border on the Caribbean side. It's a super laid back town located on one of six densely forested islands. It really reminds us of t...

We've got Liward back in the water and she is ready to go! We are really looking forward to getting back to sailing again. We plan to head to Bocas del Toro which is an overnight sail. Hopefully we'll have small seas and good wind since we haven't been at sea...

**After some difficulty, we finally have an update with photos! Hope you enjoy it! Sorry to those who visited while we were having problems. ** Yes, it's been way too long since our last update. We sure appreciate all of you who visit our website and we want t...

Time flies when you are having fun! We've spent 3 months in Kuna Yala and have decided we could spend a lot more time! This is a great place for us. Beautiful islands, a friendly community of other sailors, crystal clear water, and an awesome culture. And most...

We sailed from Cartagena, Colombia on February 4 after a wonderful 7 weeks there. Our first stop was the beautiful Rosario Islands which are just 24 miles away, but a whole other world! After spending a short week there we made the passage west to Panama, Cent...

This update will cover a lot of ground, about 500 miles worth. This, in Liward sailing miles, is a long time. We started December in the Dutch island of Curacao. Our plan was for a quick visit just long enough to stock up at the great grocery stores, but, as u...

Bon Bini - that's Welcome! in the creole Papiamentu dialect of Bonaire. We made the 418 nm sail from Vieques Puerto Rico to Bonaire and arrived in 78 hours. We've spent a week in Bonaire enjoying their beautiful water. The island is very different from the oth...

Que Pasa ………the Spanish Virgins After a few weeks of putting the boat back together, surfing, and enjoying new friends we finally said "adios" to the big island of Puerto Rico. We have really enjoyed being here. It was a great place to leave the boat while we...

It's been over three months since we've updated the website, so we have a lot of catching up to do! In May we were in Sint Marteen with a plan to head west to Puerto Rico to take on spares at the great marine store and make a quick flight back to Florida to vi...

Since we will be leaving the eastern Caribbean soon, we wanted to visit some of the spots we've missed. During the last two years we've sailed by the islands of Barbuda, Nevis, and Saba a few times, often tacking right offshore, but we've never stopped. All th...

We`ve been bit by the racing bug! We raced a little in 2007 and wanted to experience the racing thrill again. And of course the parties aren`t bad either! This is a completely different kind of sailing than we are use to on Liward Things are moving fast and ev...

We had a nice 13 hour overnight sail from St.Barths to Anegada in the British Virgin Islands. This island is very different than the other islands in the Caribbean since it is only 28 feet above sea level at its highest point and home to only about 300 people....

We sailed into St.Barths before Christmas and we are still here! Named after Columbus's brother, the Isle de St. Barthelemy is part of the French West Indies, in the northeastern corner of the Caribbean. It is small, only a little more than eight square miles....

This update is definitely very late in coming. We had to go through a whole bunch of photos to select the ones to include. And we had trouble, so there are alot! On November 26 we sailed from Barbados to St. Lucia. We had a good overnight sail of about 100 nau...

As always happens, our boatyard work in Grenada took longer than we planned. So we got the boat back in the water and had to immediately sail east to Barbados. Of course the conditions were not great with 6-8 feet with 20-30 knot winds. And yes, the wind was f...

We are spending this hurricane season in Grenada again this year. We have been here for 2 months and we`ve been busy! Two tropical storms have threatened, but did not cause any problem. We still get prepared, none the less. Dean passed about 180 miles north of...

We left St. Lucia and did a little island hopping to Bequia, Mustique, Carriacou, and wound up in Grenada. All these islands are within a 9 hour sail of each other. Bequia has a pretty good mexican food restaurant which is run by a couple of Californians. We w...

We have fallen in love with St. Lucia! This island has all the right ingredients: several good protected anchorages, great music, colorful culture, hiking trails, rainforests, nice groceries, and not to mention, a few good surf spots. We sailed in just in time...

When Columbus discovered Dominica he described it to Queen Isabella by crumpling a piece of paper to show its terrain. It has valleys, gorges, and volcanic peaks that are covered in lush green vegetation. It claims 365 rivers, 29 waterfalls, and 8 volcanic pea...

It’s past time for a new update! We ended up staying in Antigua for over 5 weeks. We tied up Liward in a marina for a week so Steve could make a quick trip back to Florida. His father was the guest speaker at the University of South Florida – Lakeland Campus g...

We sailed from St. Barths to Antigua just in time for the 20th anniversary Classic Yacht Regatta. What an event! Over 60 classic traditional style yachts all in one place. And we were lucky to crew for four days aboard the beautiful Nordwind! So here’s some gr...

Every year St. Barth’s holds the Bucket Regatta, a race for sailing yachts over 100 feet in length. So we planned to be there! It was three great days of beautiful boats. And we were lucky enough to get to crew aboard one of the yachts on Sunday. Being around...

Anguilla was on our list of places to visit, but when we heard that Jimmy Buffett was doing a charity concert there we set a course! The concert was held at the Dune Preserve with only 3500 tickets available. We haven’t entered an update since February so here...

We didn`t get to spend much time in the Virgin Islands on our trip south because hurricane season was approaching. But we`ve returned. Our friends Kari and Jerry flew in to meet us for a much anticipated visit. We loved the BVI. This area has awesome sailing,...

It`s time to do an entry totally dedicated to surfing. So for you surf hounds, have at it. And if you are not interested in surfing at all, just skip this one! After two more awesome swells we`ve updated this entry to include surfing in the British Virgin Isla...

We are back on the move after a quick haul-out, fast trip by air to the U.S./Argentina/Uruguay,and a quiet hurricane season We had a beautiful 3 day and night sail north to St. Barths. St. Barths is part of the French West Indies and a beautiful island. With o...

Every four years the sailing fraternity, Brotherhood of the Coast(BOC), gathers for a World Zafarancho. This year it was in Argentina and Uruguay. We really enjoyed catching up with old firends and meeting new ones. So we hauled Liward out of the water for a n...

We are taking a little intermission and heading back to the U.S. for a few days. We`ll feel like fish out of water since we`ve been gone 6 months. How about driving on the right side, fast food, and television! Then we catch a flight to Argentina and Uruguay w...

Steve has been surfing in Barbados for over 30 years, and has always dreamed of visiting in his own boat. So here we are. We had a great sail from Tobago and tied up in a really nice marina, since we knew we`d be running around the island alot. Barados is the...

We’ve spent a week in Tobago, the furthest south and east that we’ve been so far. Tobago is one of the more out of the way Caribbean islands, so we wanted to check it out. We had a great overnight sail from Bequia, clearing customs in Charlottesville, Tobago....

Currently we are anchored in the beautiful Tobago Cays which are part of a group of islands called the Grenadines. These islands are completely deserted so we brought everything we need. In the last two weeks we’ve celebrated Steve’s birthday and our 26th wedd...

We`ve decided to stay here in the Grenada area for hurricanse season and purchased an additional rider from our insurance company to allow us to do so. We`ve taken a few weeks to do some maintenance on Liward since we hadn`t done anything since we left Florida...

We’ve returned to Grenada for our first Carnival and our first visitors. Carnival is 5 days of non-stop fun with a Calypso show, Panarama steel drum competition, Soca contest, Jouvert, Parade of Costumes, and Parade of Bands. The whole island shuts down to par...

We took a little sail about 40 miles north of Grenada to a little island called Carriacou(pronounced Carry-A-Coo). We wanted to see the wooden boat regatta and participate in the yacht activities which raise money for the local school children. Carriacou`s pop...

We are now in Grenada and only 90 miles from Trinidad. We feel comfortable that if anything tropical pop`s up, we can get to Trinidad quickly, as required by our insurance, . Grenada is a wonderful island which grows all kinds of spices and the flowering red i...

Now we`ve arrived in Martinique which is part of the Windward Islands. We are getting further south and within short striking distance of Trinidad which is required for our insurance during hurricane season. The weather has not been cooperating so we decided t...

Another unplanned stop and we are anchored off the village of Deshaies on the island of Guadeloupe. This just happens to be where we came on our honeymoon 25 years ago, making a surprise hop on a charter sailboat and Voila’! We were hooked! Guadeloupe is one o...

On leaving the British Virgin Islands, we made another unplanned stop in the island of St. Christopher, commonly known as St. Kitts. We came in at night and anchored in a nice little cove just at dark. While listening to local FM radio the next morning we hear...

After 6 days and 4 hours at sea we are now in the British Virgin Islands. The British Virgin Islands consist of three main islands with about 22,000 people: Jost Van Dyke(500), Tortola(15,000), and Virgin Gorda(3000). It is a huge charter boat area with 1000`s...

Two days into the passage from the Abacos, we decided to make an unplanned stop in San Salvador. The winds were not cooperating so we motored more than we liked. So we decided to make a fuel stop and are we ever glad. Steve had surfed here over 25 years ago. S...

We are tuned in! We have been lucky enough to be asked by Carson Cooper of Radio Margaritaville to phone in reports as we sail. Radio Margaritaville can be heard on Sirius Satellite channel 31 and also on the internet at www.radiomargaritaville.com. We give re...

After way too long it is finally time to leave. Our plan is to depart West Palm Beach for the Bahamas and spend just a few days there. Then we`ll head east into the Atlantic until we can turn south for the Virgin Islands. That should be about a 9 day voyage. W...

After way too long and way too many projects, We are done! Or at least as done as we`ll ever be. We`ve taken a 3 week test trip down to the Keys and everything worked great! So, after a few more projects we are ready to set sail. We`ll keep updating the websit...

We never expected to take so long to get all the boat projects done, but we are really enjoying south Florida. So we thought we`d share a few pictures of what we`ve been doing besides working on the boat.

Once we arrived in West Palm Beach we immediately started the boat projects. The list is long including: new teak decks, bow thruster, rewiring the whole boat, watermaker, granite counter tops, new rigging, rewiring the mast, new exhaust valves. The list seems...

After four going away parties, it is finally time to say good-by to Texas. We decided to take a long leisurely sail down the Texas coast to Port Aransas prior to making the Gulf crossing. The plan is to relax in Port Aransas, have one more going away party and...