We had so many wonderful experiences during our 3 months in New Zealand that we have split it into two videos. This first video is of our time in the North Island. We celebrated birthdays, New Year’s Eve in Auckland, Christmas on Kawau Island and American Thanksgiving in Whangarei. Family and friends flew across the globe to share with us an appreciation of New Zealand’s natural beauty and friendly people.
At the end of our time in New Zealand we packaged Lyrae up and shipped her home to Orcas Island. The Miller 6 flew home February 2025 to catch a good ski season in the Pacific Northwest. The kids are back in school and we are very happy and busy with music, sports, dance and community. We wish you well in the holiday season and hope you enjoy this latest video that the kids have edited. Hopefully part 22 of the South Island will not take another year to edit!
Our 2026 adventure will take us to Nepal for the entire month of April to celebrate a milestone birthday for Mike! Sierra is excited to create some video logs of that adventure to document a project she is working with Forrest, Coral and Aurora on to give school supplies to children in the villages that we will pass through.
John, Eunice and Marshall flew all the way from Maine!“School photos” from fall 2024We stayed at Pinnacles Hut, Coromandel, for our final night in New Zealand.
The final stop on our Trans-Pacific adventure before making our way to New Zealand was Fiji. What an incredibly welcoming place! When you arrive at a new anchorage or island group, you present a gift to the village chief as a polite way of asking for permission to come ashore and experience the beauty. Our experience highlights included impromptu chess games with villagers, swimming with manta rays, camping in the mountainous interior, singing with local villagers, and Forrest and Sierra getting PADI Scuba certified. We loved every minute of our time in Fiji and found it hard to fit the highlights into a 10 minute video. Sierra worked hard on these edits to keep it as short as possible! We sailed through Fiji during September and October of 2024.
Forrest and Sierra snuggles on deck during our passage from Tonga to FijiMy night watch buddies during passage from Tonga to Fiji as we threaded our way through the Lau Group at midnight. We returned to the Lau 2 weeks later after checking in at Savusavu.Heading ashore with our visiting friends Jon and Sue at a new anchorage in the Lau Group for sevusevu, where we meet the village chief and ask for permission to visit the island.Forrest and Sierra completed their PADI book learning, tests, and required dives in time for us all to do several dives together on Rainbow Reef and White Wall. Their course was all the same material as an adult would be required but their depth is just limited to 42 feet until they are a little older.Lau group, Vanua Balavu Island, had some incredible hiking and views. We anchored for several days in those beautiful islands below.Overlooking Sawa-I-Lau Caves in the Yasawas.The three of us anchored at this wonderful spot 37 years previously, in 1987! It was so fun to revisit these locations with John and Eunice.Savoring the views overlooking Namosi Highlands Eco Lodge
Sierra edited our videos of the sea turtle encounter in Mexico last year to submit in the “documentary” category of a Girl Scouts film festival in February 2025. She had help from Aurora, Coral and Forrest.
We spent a month in Tonga in July and August 2024. Highlights included observing many mother and baby humpback whales, meeting the local people, making new friends on other sailboats and exploring the caves.
School is a big part of our life on the boat. So far we have completed 1st and 4th grade and when making this video we are half way through 2nd and 5th grades. Thankfully the kids have a great attitude most of the time and we get through a lot of material. Some days are more challenging than others and there never seems to be enough space to spread out for an art project or a pencil sharpener that works. Imagine trying to practice piano, be on a zoom call or take a math test when your sibling is practicing trumpet in the same room! But we figure it out by taking turns or using headphones. We really enjoy mixing it up and doing work in a local coffee shop or public library.
WE WENT DIVING WITH SHARKS! We held on to an anchored line just outside a shark frenzy. Our guide took out fish food (fish heads) from a trashcan and hand fed the sharks and remora that swarmed him. We watched for about 15 minutes and then the guide stuffed his pockets so the tiny remoras would swim around us for the rest of the dive. We even fed a moray eel by hand!
We spent about 3 weeks in the societies of French Polynesia during June 2024 and our time included hiking, zip lines, land travel, visits from USA friends, and hauling out for a new bottom paint job.
In May 2024 we explored the Tuamotus Archipelago of French Polynesia. What an amazing experience to snorkel in such a remote setting and share time with new friends. We visited Raroia, Tahanea, Fakarava and Toau atolls.
Highlights included windsurfing and octopus encounters in Raroia, drift snorkeling the passes of Tahanea, diving and snorkeling with hundreds of sharks in Fakarava, and riding on other peoples boats for day passages.
After 17 days of sailing from Mexico, we made landfall in Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia.
Part 14: Marquesas by the kids!
We were welcomed by fragrant smells of flowers and ripe mango. The lush green cliffs turn into gushing waterfalls when the rain showers come. These are usually a welcome change to the otherwise baking sun. One of my favorite memories of our time in this remote island group was when I got stranded at the town soccer field/ playground in a 2 hour torrential downpour and the kids and I got in a line and jogged the 30 minutes back to the dinghy, laughing and giggling the whole way. They are like my own little cross country team!
We visited four islands, Hiva Oa, Fatu Hiva, Tahuata and Nuku Hiva. This video shows the highlights of our three weeks of exploring.
Landfall at daybreak after 17 days at sea
Hiva Oa, Atuona: check in with the gendarme, provision fresh stuff, guided all day tour with Yoan with Kaoha Excursions (https://www.kaohaexcursion.com/) to I’ipona cultural site in Puama’u, Gauguin Museum, lunch out, ice cream!
This small bag of trash was all we had after 17 days at sea.
Fatu Hiva, Hanavave: anchoring a challenge and dragging boats, windy, 1 hour hike to Vaieenui Waterfall and swimming hole, 1 hour hike up steep single lane switchback road to viewpoint, soccer ashore.
Hanavave Bay or also called “Bay of Virgins” in 2024Hanavave Bay in 1987 with sv Harmony
Tahuata, Hanamoenoa: great water clarity, manta rays, snorkeling, beach play, no village just other cruising boats, had a water taxi deliver us fresh produce and eggs, finally met up with SV Impossible and SV Terikah!
Hanamoenoa
Tahuata, Hapatoni: day stop, hike along road to Vaitahu for views of the boat in the bay.
Hapatoni
Tahuata, Vaitahu: sleepy town, ate ashore, sketchy dinghy access at a surgy pier.
Nuku Hiva, Anaho: snorkeling in murky water but there are corals, fish and another octopus. Hike over the ridge to Hatiehu town, cold drinks, ice cream and restaurant lunch. Hike east to beautiful and exposed Haatuatua beach with lots of fishing and plastic trash including a dFAD (floating aggregation device) beacon. Kids and adults playing on wind and foil toys for numerous days!
These are the visible microplastics that we found in 1 square foot of Haatuatua beach
Nuku Hiva, Taiohae: we provisioned for the next 6 weeks, topped off diesel tanks with 18 jerry cans (almost 100 gallons), bought Coral a pareo, and rented a car for a full day driving tour of the interior and Controleur Bay.
100 gallons of diesel and mikes workout for the day
Nuku Hiva, Daniel’s Bay: a spectacular setting with lush cliffs surrounding the anchorage and along the hike to Vaipo waterfall. Walked an ancient stone path and passed many tikis and stone platforms.
We are enjoying our final days in the Tuamotus and it has been so wonderful! We have visited Raroia, Tahanea and Fakarava Atolls. The kids will make a video but we are a little behind and I just wanted to share this snippet from just one amazing 24 hour period at the south pass of Fakarava Atoll. It’s called “the wall of sharks” and no joke, it is an unbelievable coral canyon filled with lazy swimming gray, black tip, white tip and some lemon sharks. I never thought I could enjoy a dive like this, but wow, it was incredible. The fish and water clarity on the edges of the pass were also spectacular and the kids are happy and excited to be exploring it all.
As I write this post we are sailing away from the Marquesas. Our next stop will be in the Tuamotus where we hope to do lots of snorkeling and beach combing.
Our last two days in the marquesas were packed full of adventure on the island of Nuku Hiva with the first being an all day driving tour of the island and the second a 12km hike to a beautiful waterfall in Daniel’s Bay.
I was excited to search for the places photographed by my parents in 1987 and found some! I’m surprised by how much has remained the same: the main town of Taioha’e has not expanded much and the bays look the same (more crowded with cruising boats though).
The main town of Taioha’e, Nuku Hiva. Top 1987, bottom 2024.
Differences include more of the island being accessible by narrow and steep roads that connect the villages: everyone owns a 4WD truck here. And, unfortunately, there are so many cruisers coming through here, we are clearly a source of income and maybe even a nuisance. Imagine a balanced community for 9-10 months of the year and then suddenly thousands of cruising boats arrive that want to buy 10 dozen eggs each and buy fancy cheese and meats and go eat pizza. It’s hard to support that fluctuating demand. It reminds me of our community on Orcas Island and how it changes in summer.
A church in Ho’oumi, Nuka Hiva. Left 1987 with my dad, right 2024
Our final stop in the Marquesas was Daniel’s Bay, Nuku Hiva. Wow what a spectacular place with volcanic cliffs dropping into the valley. We walked with our friends off sv Impossible to a waterfall that I hiked to as a child. We even found a tiki that I posed with back in 1987, it hadn’t budged!
Daniels Bay tiki. Top 1987 with my friends Jason and Marc. Below 2024 with Forrest, Aurora, Sierra and CoralWe made it all the way to Vaipo waterfall! (You can’t see the waterfall from this end part but there are great views during the hike)
1987 left and 2024 to right. Interesting the forest of pine now on the ridge that was not there before.
We did a wonderful hike today to a remote beach that faces west. It catches a lot of ocean a trash. From fishing boats a lot of it is, but also from irresponsibly discarded anthropogenic sources. Fishing boats are not throwing legos in the ocean people. We can all made a difference. Reduce your consumption of plastic.
These are the microplastics that I picked out of this 1’ x 1’ square area of the beach. These are just the pieces I can easily see with my eye, between surges of ocean where crabs frolic in the foam and children run from the waves.
It has ben six weeks since we rescued four olive ridley turtles from the Pacific Ocean nearby Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. My siblings and I have worked hard to raise money to donate to a turtle foundation in Puerto Vallarta called Encampamento Tortuguero La Boca de Tomates. We chose this organization because it is located close to where our encounter occurred and local residents recommended it. We have raised almost $600 dollars so far and still have bracelets and earrings if you’re interested in joining our community of support! 100% of the money you donate will go to the “Turtle camp.” Thank you!
We made a video that people watched to learn the story about the trapped turtles. You can watch it here. We made earrings and bracelets from the long line that the turtles were tangled in and sold them to people who could help share the story.
Our primary goal was to help raise awareness about how fishing long lines can tangle boats and animals. We hope that the money donated to La Boca de Tomates will help new young turtles have a safe and healthy life. Fun fact: Olive ridley turtles can live up to 50 years old! We learned a lot about turtles from our experience that day when we rescued the 4 olive ridleys. We appreciated that they were calm when my mom was removing the line and hooks and so happy that they swam away safely and energetically.
I am also working to earn a Girl Scouts of America Bronze Award by creating a video capturing our encounter, making jewelry to sell, and sharing our story with the people that we meet. My team for the Bronze Award includes my two younger Girl Scout Brownie sisters, Aurora and Coral, and my twin brother, Forrest, who is a Boy Scout of America Webelo.
Maybe you can help the turtles and other sea creatures by sharing this story also?
i love snorkeling with my mom. I like seeing all the creatures. They make me happy. I like diving down and seeing them. Then I go back to our boat and identify them. I like having hot chocolate after I go snorkeling, it makes me warm up. Then I hang up my gear so I’m ready for the next time I go snorkeling. It makes me happy 😊 🤿.
Guinea fowl puffer fish!Guinea fowl puffer fish Porcupine fish My mom and I  Sunflower SeastarGreen turtle Parrot fish Dolphin 
We spent a little over 2 months exploring the Sea of Cortez, Baja Sur Mexico between Isla Espiritu and Bahia Conception. We encountered fewer kid boats than we had expected, so we ended up gravitating to where we had made friends or where there were homeschooling RV families like Bahia Conception. Lots of great hiking, beaches, big wind and short choppy seas, and my favorite part: snorkeling with Coral. Every single anchorage she just begged to go and explore and was always so excited regardless of the conditions or the frigid water temps. We always found something memorable to document in the science journal. Her favorite find was a guinea fowl puffer fish.
Our first day of passage was Easter Sunday! We made little bunnies out of marshmallows and decorated them with hard candies. We motored and sailed 165 miles the first day.
I found this “decorate your peep” kit at the La Comer supermarket in Puerto Vallarta.
The second day was April Fools day. We posted a joke on the internet that some people believed because dad did such a good job writing the description. We also sent a video prank to John and Eunice grandparents saying our water maker broke and had to return to Mexico which was a little mean and we apologized after.
On April 2 we had big waves coming from many directions and it was the most uncomfortable day we have had on the boat yet. We spent most of the day listening to Percy Jackson book 4. We went 188 miles on the 3rd day and we got our first goody bag that had candy and toys in it!
Our paper chart where we plot our position every 24 hours. We also put on it the eclipse path of totality for April 8. We probably won’t be in the path of totality but it’s fun to see how close we will get.
Since the start at La Cruz we have sailed over 500 miles which made me feel proud and happy that we will soon be away from the confused seas of the Sea of Cortez.
We are marking how many miles we do every day. The marquesas are about 3000 miles from Mexico.
We have had amazing food because my mom has provisioned just right. We were able buy a mini fridge in Mexico that is extra storage for fresh things for the first few days.
Did you know that rock formations take hundreds to thousands of years to form. In fact we just went to a rock formation of sandstone.sandstone is a rock made out of sand.it forms by having layer after layer.and then something like a river flows threw it and watches it away.and then the water stops and it leaves a giant crack in the rock. And then that sand dries and over hundreds of years it becomes rock and that is how sandstone is made. We climbed the sandstone. It was tricky to climb. because the sand on top of the rock was loose.because some o the sand did not get wet means it is still loose another way is the sand from the beach.which one is it.it is actually a trick question because it is both.but this one particularly was a sandstone that was made by sand blowing layer after layer.and then turned into stone.
There were two typse of sandstone where there was a smooth and a jaggid.the jagged sandstone was like an overhang except it was really spikey and it hurts if you hit it.i know that because i hit my hand on it and it hurt.and the smooth sandstone feels nice when you rub your hand on it and why the smooth sandstone is smooth is because the water went threw it.and since we are in mexico it means it barely ever rian`s. but when it did that rock got a lot of water to make it a rock.
Sandstone is amazing. These are just some cool facts about sandstone. I wrote this paragraph dedicated to my mother, a geologist.
Smooth sandstone At the top of a trail above the anchorage at Los Gatos
UPDATE! Thank you for your support! Kids have chosen a local turtle education / rescue place to give some of your donations! It’s called campamento tortuguero boca de tomates. To make direct donations to them you can PayPal nakawe.ac@gmail.com. Don’t forget to tell us if you’d like earrings or a bracelet! Hand deliver sometime during the next year would be ideal but shipping is a possibility. They are great conversation starters to help raise awareness.
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The kids made this video of four turtles that we encountered tangled in a fishing gear ball of trash. We were about 60 miles north of Punta Mita/Sayulita/La Cruz/Puerto Vallarta. We were able to remove the hooks and line from all turtles and they all seemed to be strong when they swam off. It took about 30 minutes to untangle them and thankfully the conditions were very calm and we just drifted with engines off while carefully dealing with the mess.
We believe they were Olive Ridley turtles. We saw many (~50?) this day swimming in the ocean as we motored past. I am learning that one of the challenges turtles are facing is that sea temperature is connected to if they are female or male and the warmer oceans is producing too many females for the populations to balanced appropriately.
Aurora, Coral, Forrest and Sierra are making some earrings and keychains out of the ball of hooks and line that we removed from the sea. We are planning to visit some local sea turtle sanctuary/ non-profits to learn more about these creatures and the kids hope to donate some of their savings and any profits from their creations to help support conservation efforts in the local area.
Mike and I were in a daze after the experience. It was thrilling to be helping these creatures in such a tangible and immediate way, yet we were saddened by the reality of how frequent this accident happens. We are grateful that the kids were able to participate and feel the euphoria of helping these innocent creatures. We hope that this video might inspire you to donate to your local organizations and seek opportunities to volunteer.
Hello my name is sierra I am 9 years old. I am excited to go on this adventure.
I am glad that my mom is teaching me we are learning a lot Building a tower that would stand up in an earthquake out of toothpicks and marshmallows.Me jumping off a sand dune on a remote island.
And if we want a break from the boat trip we can just leave the boat at a marina. Like when we went to Disneyland and I went on the incredicoaster for the first time and then went on it three more times.
Me on the incredicoaster
We were also part of the Baja-haha rally where boats get together and race down part of the coast of Mexico. There were about 7 other boats with kids.
I learned how to start, stop, and drive our dingy. (we’re planing)
Mom says we can only have an engine that has the same number as how old her youngest child is.
We write cards for our friends pretty often because we miss them a lot.
We had our birthday in Bahia Conception, Mexico. We turned 7 and celebrated by inviting over some other boat friends and we ate cake and had the best birthday! 🥳 Enjoy this video that we made about this fun day!
Meet the Millers 