After a night of squalls and lightning—thankfully, no dramatic winds, just gusts in the 30s—I was woken by the sound of a spinning fishing reel and the excited shouts of some very eager boys! We landed a huge Mahi Mahi, which we devoured that night and stretched out into three more meals.

By 10:00 (UTC-8), the rain clouds had finally parted enough for us to call “land ho!” Slowly but surely, we circled the islands, skirting their outer reef, which, by the way, had some of the clearest water I’ve ever seen. After a bit of a battering from the waves at 14:00 (UTC-9), we dropped anchor after 20 days and 5 hours at sea!

The emotions were high—pride, relief, and joy. I’m so proud of all of us—Mark, the boys, us as a couple, and as a family. What an accomplishment! Not only did we make it, but we made it here happy—which is saying a lot. Just this morning, Joe had said that while he was happy to arrive, he would’ve happily done another 20 days at sea right then and there!

Sure, there were moments when our motivation dipped, but those were short-lived. Never did we regret sailing without extra crew—it gave us the freedom to change destinations on a whim, something we couldn’t have done otherwise.

For years, we’ve dreamed of crossing the ocean like this… and now, it’s done! And it’s an incredibly cherished memory.

And now, we’re here, at a place that feels like the end of the world—an island with both pine trees andcoconut palms. We went ashore to clear in with the gendarmerie, where we were warmly greeted by a group of kids who immediately invited our boys into their play. The entire community welcomed us with smiles, as if to silently acknowledge that we’d made it.

A little tired, we took a short walk (surprisingly, the legs weren’t as wobbly as expected), found some Tim-Tams at the local shop, and headed back to the boat. We had a delicious dinner and went to bed early, no night watch required!

If you’ve made it through 21 days of my rambling, a huge congratulations to you! And a massive thank you for all your encouraging comments along the way! It’s meant the world to know you were following us, keeping an eye out, and cheering us on. During those long, lonely hours with no boats in sight for miles, your support made all the difference.

Now, we’ll take a few days to rest and recharge. Some time in the next couple of weeks setting off again on our next leg to the Tuamotos and beyond! The big milestone’s behind us, but there’s still a so much ocean out there to explore! Stay tuned, there’s more to come.