Kiribati (pronounced Kiribas) is an independent Republic within the Commonwealth of Nations.  It gained its independence in July of 1979.  Kiribati is located 360nm from the Marshall Islands, 1100nm from Fiji, and 900nm from the Solomon Islands.

This country has 33 coral atolls divided among three island groups: the Gilbert Islands, the Phoenix Islands, and the Line Islands.

Kiribati is the only country in the world that is located in all four hemispheres.  It crosses the international dateline and the equator.

Approximately, 110,000 people call Kiribati home with more than half of those people living on Tarawa.  21 of the 33 islands are inhabited and are mostly located in the Gilbert group.  

These 33 atolls are spread out over 1 million square miles of ocean.  The average height for the islands is a mere 4m tall.

We only planned to stay in Kiribati for a few days.  Afterward headed to Funafuti, Tuvalu and then on to Fiji.

Passage to Kiribati

Sugar Shack departed from the Majuro anchorage at 1600 on a nice sunny day.  We anticipated a 3.5 day passage covering 363nm.  What we did not really consider was the 2.5 hour sail inside the Majuro lagoon to get to the pass.  We also did not really consider the fact that we had to go all the way around the Majuro atoll to get to the rum line.  So the overall trip was a little longer in miles but shorter in time.

• Total time travelled:  63 hours
• Total miles travelled: 415nm
• Average Speed: 6.5kts and max speed 11.6kts
• Motoring / Motorsailing time: 18 hours

The first 45 hours provided great wind and boat speed.  However, the wind died down to 5-6kts forcing us to motor the last 18 hours.  But, overall a decent passage.

What broke?

It is not unusual for something to tear or break during passage.  On this trip, we lost the steering gear box on Starboard.  Yikes!  Lucky for us, auto pilot was still working and we have use of the port steering.  We will have to wait to be at anchor to evaluate the damage.

We also noticed that the bearings in the roller furler will need to be replaced (we just did this in NZ 1.5 years ago).  It is still functional but will have to be babied.

Formalities

Upon entry into Kiribati waters, we hoisted our “Q” flag and hailed Tarawa Radio on VHF 16.  The official who took our call organized Customs, Immigration, and Bio Security to come onboard.  It took us about 45 minutes to complete the paperwork and show them around the boat before we became welcomed into their country.

Short Stay

We had a very short stay in Kiribati.  However, we were able to sail over to Bikenbeu where we cleaned the waterline and enjoyed the pretty scenery.  We then headed back to Tarawa so we could do a WWII tour (see next blog) and clear out of the country.

All in all we stayed for 2.5 days.  Short time, but enlightening.

Interesting sites on Kiribati:

• Visit Kiribati: www.kiribatitourism.gov.ki/kiribati-experiences/culture-island-explore/
• Kiribati Tourism: www.kiribatitourism.gov.ki/kiribati-experiences/culture-island-explore/

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  We sailed to Kiribati from 4/8-4/11.

Be sure to read about our last days in Majuro.