SIGHTINGS more about the
For many sailors, the dream of bluewater cruising is a paradox: When they're young, fit and overflowing with wanderlust, they may have the time, but not the means to pursue their cruising dreams. Decades later, when they have a suitable boat and an ample cruising kitty, they may no longer have the energy and agility to handle the rigors of offshore sailing. But Hawaiians Thor and Tanya Temme of Kauai are exceptions to both scenarios. Not only did they get 'out there' while still in their 20s, but they made another cruising foray while in their 30s with their son Tristan, then 7, and daughter Sienna, then 4. Today Thor and Tanya are in their mid-40s, the kids are 15 and 12, and the family has cast off their docklines yet again — this time aboard their newly purchased Aikane 56 cat Manu Kai, Having crossed from Hanalei Bay, Kauai, to the mainland last summer — only two months after sealing the deal — the family is now enjoying cruising along the mainland coast of Mexico. Thor and Tanya are experienced enough not to etch their plans in stone, but Plan A is Then in their mid-20s, Tanya and Thor to continue south to Costa Rica and struck a pose during our 2001 Pacific perhaps through the Panama Canal Puddle Jump Sendoff Party. to the Caribbean — although they admit there's a chance that fond memories of their 2001 Pacific Puddle Jump crossing to French Polynesia aboard their lightweight, 45-ft tri Meshach could seduce them into retracing that route with the kids. On that 2001 trip the wide-eyed young couple clocked the fastest crossing in the Puddle Jump fleet: 3,000 miles in 16 days. You might say that slick, sexy Manu Kai — one of only two cats built to this design — is a 'super-sized' upgrade of the couple's original ride. Although fast and stable offshore, Meshach Meshach's living space was confined to her narrow center hull. By comparison, Manu Kai is absolutely cavernous. "Before, the kids had their own bunks in the galley area," explains Tanya. "But now they each have their own cabin. Before we went cruising in 2009, Thor converted Meshach Meshach's nav station to create Sienna's bunk. Now that she's a teenager, we joke that if we were to cruise again on Meshach we'd have to cut holes in the galley for her legs because she is so tall." On their first cruise, Thor and Tanya spent two seasons in Mexico before crossing to French Polynesia. While in Tahiti, she became pregnant with Tristan, which put the brakes on the couple's lust for voyaging until 2009, when the family crossed to California to do the 2009 Baja Ha-Ha rally. In preparation they completed an exhaustive four-year refit of Meshach. Thor vividly recalls, "I stripped her down to the bare hull; gutted the whole boat: all electrical, plumbing, everything! So I know her really well. She is kind of like a family member to us." (So yes, they still own her.) "The biggest takeaways from our Ha-Ha experience," explains Tanya, "were connecting with the other families we met and the friendships that we have maintained through all the years." As they cruise south this season, they'll be keeping their antennas out for other 'kid boats' to interact with. We love seeing cruiser kids who are truly engaged in the cruising life and love watersports as much as their parents. When we caught up with the Temmes last month in Nuevo Vallarta's Paradise Village Marina, they were about to head out to the Punta de Mita anchorage near the mouth of Banderas Bay so the whole family could ride some continued on outside column of next sightings page
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Latitude 38
• April, 2018
You'll find a comprehensive color glossy boat show guide between pages 74 and 75 of this issue, but here are the basics: The Pacific Sail & Power Boat Show will run from Thursday, April 19, through Sunday the 22nd. For the third consecutive year, you'll find boats in the water at Marina Bay Yacht Harbor. A short, scenic stroll along the water following a paved walkway peppered with historic displays will get you to the boats on land and the Craneway Pavilion, the location of the
ALL PHOTOS LATITUDE / ANDY
ALL PHOTOS LATITUDE / ANDY
a super-sized do-over