Extra Photos

The long walk... 250 steps from berth(slip) to land!

Solo steering... via TillerPilot

Old boats...

Karuhiruhi (Cormorants) ladies waiting...

Easting fromWangamumu at sunrise

Good speed on a broad reach in 10-12kts

Rainbow welcome home to Opua

home again, naturally

The last couple of days have been full of adventure as I finally got to do some real coastal sailing - unfortunately the weather and time conspired against my original plan to go north to Whangaroa harbour, but plan B worked!

Yesterday (Thursday) morning I set off motoring on a windless day - after two days of wild and freezing weather.  About 15 of the remaining "Cruisers" who had spent the summer in NZ also decided the weather patterns looked the most promising for the trek north to Tonga/Fiji and  I joined a procession heading due North out of the BoI.  All were motoring as there wasn't a breath of wind until about mid-morning when the promised SW kicked in.  By this time most of the others were disappearing over the horison and I, reluctantly headed in a more easterly direction.

Cape Brett looked promising as I reached across in a strengthening breeze on a flat sea.  Kalai was relishing the conditions and I was consistently over 6.5 kts and into the 7's in about 10-12kts of breeze.

I got out to the cape in no time and I thought... may as well keep going. I'd had in the back of my mind to visit Wangamumu harbour, a tiny key-hole down the coast.  So I snuck in between Cape Brett and Piercy Island...and straight into the washing machine of conflicting seas and left over swells from the previous day's storm. 4m swells and 2m waves from different directions meant I was struggling to make headway and eventually cranked the engine to through.  Meanwhile the wind had increased to 20-25 kts and was coming from SSW (where i needed to go!).  After 20 mins of bashing into it and trying to reduce sail at the same time (which I discovered is not as easy on your own!), I decided to drop the sails and motor.  By this stage it was late in the afternoon and I still had 8-10km to go.   Fortunately the Navionics GPS software on the tablet was giving me a course to steer, because the harbour entrance was hard to differentiate from the rest of the coastline.

The new prop worked wonders and I ran at 2600rpm making 6.5 kts into the wind and waves, entering the harbour around 5 pm.  A couple of other boats and a Fishing vessel still meant plenty of room to anchor about 200m off the western shoreline.  The SW wind continued to blow all night ensuring a restless night filled with noises that sounded for all the world like the wire stays pinging.  I checked a couple of times and couldn't see anything... I found out the next morning it had been the anchor warp catching on the side of the anchor roller as the boat swung in the wind.

Left at dawn, blown out of the east facing entrance into a gorgeous sunrise and a flat sea.  Kalai was sneaking a gentle 4-5 kts in, when I checked the anenometer, 6-7 kts of breeze.  Not bad, as they say!  The Tiller pilot got a fair bit of use this trip and it makes solo sailing much easier - "herbie" steers a much straighter line than I can - but I reckon I can pick the wind-shifts better than he can!

Round the outside of Piercy this time in 12-3 kts of slowly dying breeze - fantastic sailing conditions and really pleased how well she sails.  Even managed to do some fine-tuning of sails trialed against the GPS SOG (Speed over Ground) to see what settings work best in different conditions.  Caught and past a couple of other yachts - I think Kalai might have a good turn of speed (in the right hands, he modestly muses...)

Breeze continued to fade as I made stovetop coffee on the fly and then headed into a little bay behind Russell for a late lunch and to wait for the tide to turn.  Seeing as it runs at more than a knot it makes quite a differnece on the run up the estuary to Opua.

Cruised gently into the marina at 5pm after two days and over 100kms of great SAILING!!!

 A hot shower and Lamb Shanks at the local - then pack tonight for an early Naked Bus to Auckland in the morning.  Will post some more photos when I get home - the internet connection here is a little slow!

Winter arrives...

News reports today speak of snowfalls shutting down major roads in Dunedin, schools closed all day.  Heavy snowfalls in North Island and 'soft hail' falling in Wellington, 20cm snow at Ruapehu... while in the winterless north we have had a high of 10C and squally showers interspersed with alternating briefly blue skies and black clouds.

Glad I worked hard yesterday and ticked off the last of my list of jobs - managed to get all the outside painting and touch up finished of the Toplac (White) and Interdeck (Grey). In the morning I had walked through the old, overgrown and disused railway track out to the main road to visit the Industrial estate and the Hardware store for some disposable brushes and roller.  Gorse was starting to grow between sleepers and I crossed over a small bridge with a torrent rushing from adjacent mud-flats joining the outgoing tide.    It turned out a brilliantly sunny late-autumn day and made for a pleasant 50min return trip.

Big tides of around 3m mean strong currents in the estuary and even through the marina.  Last night strong winds kept us rock and rolling - hope all the ropes stay strong!

Forecast today for Cape Brett was for 40 gusting 50 knots with very rough seas - good day to be in the marina.  Did a load of washing this morning after breakfast at the cafe then arranged for the marine engineers to come down first thing Wed. to check the engine alignment now that the engine and drive-train has had a run.  It does look like the resonant vibration is traceable to the hollow stainless rudder, which is no big deal.  The engine itself and prop feel pretty smooth.

Hoping to get away sometime tomorrow for an overnight somewhere in the Bay - will see how the weather plays out but they are predicting conditions to ease through the rest of the week.

Am going to try one of my freeze-dried meals tonight and see what they are like...

I have enjoyed the quiet space of the last few days and have even slept well in my forward berth, waking with the dawn's light through the hatch... might have to set the alarm tomorrow to make sure I'm up when Will, my friendly marine mechanic, arrives about 8 am!

Sailing at last...

Great day yesterday as I headed out for some sea trials, leaving the berth for the first time on my own was easier than I had imagined.  New prop makes maneuvering much easier and I was able to reverse and turn with no problems.  After a really wet Saturday (50mm and strong NW winds that had us rocking all night), Sunday promised better with the rain clearing and wind turning SW.  Trialed the engine at a variety of revs including up to maximum - at which point we created a huge stern wave and not much more speed than 2/3 revs.  Can even throttle back to 12-1400 rpm and still do 5 kts.  A few rattles still present, but reckon it may well be the stainless steel rudder resonating as the prop wash hits it.

Not much breeze so motored around Tapeka Pt with the Tiller Pilot on and met some 4-5m swells and without any wind continued around to Roberton island where I anchored for a celebratory lunch.  Little NW breeze 4-5kts filled in so slowly sailed off the anchor and around the island,  Dark clouds and rain to the SE so continued sailing gently at 3-4kts back to Tapeka pt.then started the engine and cruised home.

I was a little anxious about docking on my own but all went smoothly and Kalai stopped on a dime and I was able to step off and tie up - my system worked!  It could conceivably be more of an issue in adverse conditions, but not as difficult as I thought it might have been.  Cooked up a big pot of Green Thai Chicken Curry ( though not in the pressure cooker!) and have enough for lunch and another dinner

Today promises to be fine, again with light winds, so will try and get the hatch painting finished and get that re-fitted.  If the breeze fills in I may head down harbour for another sail as another front is due tomorrow with 30-35 kt winds and hail ( ah, the lovely NZ weather patterns rival Melbourne's changeable climate!).  Wed - Saturday is looking fine though I will be back on the Naked Bus early Friday morning to head home Firday night.  I have the Treadmaster non-skid to fix, but may leave that until another time to glue down (need a few fine days and warmer weather)

Prop Happy:)

Been a busy couple of days but at last we are making progress and are scheduled to be lifted back into the water tomorrow morning - yeehah!  I've gradually been ticking off the list of tasks I gave myself, and even though Wednesday was pretty wet still managed to get some inside jobs done.

Today was a cracker day with clear skies and low 20's and I have been painting a variety of things, including hatches with Interdeck non-skid paint and the best news came with the arrival of our new Gori prop (From Denmark via Melbourne... go figure!). My new BFF James from Lowes Marine arrived at 1030 to fit prop to newly installed shaft and remote stern gland lubrication system I picked up in Dandenong!  I managed to acquire some NZ invented 'Prop-speed' coating (special anti-foul) from a friend to apply to prop and shaft.  Normally this has to applied by an "agent" for $200 but there are ways and means... Seemed a shame to cover up a nice shiny bronze/alloy work of art that way, but I've seen the boats which have had prop-speed applied lifted out with almost no growth on the props.  So we shall see!

Barrington arrived back up mid-afternoon with a few more supplies including some meat for dinner courtesy of the delightful Ruby.  I managed to pick up some fresh vegies from a lovely Maori couple who had brought a van-load of fruit and veges all the way down from Kaitaia - fresh corn cobs, Kumura and mandarins.

I spent the last couple of hours of daylight up and down a ladder scraping and sanding the teak rubbing strip that some 'Caravaners' had varnished - which then grew mould and peeled...  knocked off at 5 and went down to our local, the Opua Cruising Club for a well-earned cold one. 

Be really nice to be back in the water tomorrow - after a week on 'the hard' I miss the gentle rhythms of being afloat... One of the shots above shows my front door ladder with adjacent ablutions (used by all and sundry at all hours of day and night, with accompanying security light activation and door slams!  Some things I won't miss.

Plan is to launch at 1030 and sea-trial new prop with James... watch this space!

More photos...

Paihia and Russel...

Barrington has spent a day with me on Kalai as we eagerly await the arrival of the remaining piece in the puzzle - the prop (which I am now informed is coming via Australia - aren't we all?).  Barry and I have completed the touching up of anti-foul, tightening of the stern bollards with a special extension bar I had brought with me, and an attempted tightening of the keel bolts which required several trips back and forwards to separate engineering shops to locate a special 1 1/2 inch socket with a 400mm extension... don't ask!

Still have a number of painting and repair jobs to do, but decided to take a day off today and hitched a ride into Paihia with BM as he headed home.  Nice to have just a few tourists around and lovely late autumn sunshine (as you can see above!). Coffee on the art decor seats on Paihia wharf, then caught the $12 return Russel ferry and walked up flagstaff hill - first time in over 40 years, i reckon!

Photos are of Russell and Paihia townships from the top of the hill.  Would have been a nice day for a sail...

Walked back to Opua via the coastal walkway - 10-12 kms of up and down and clambering over oyster-encrusted rocky shores, then along mangrove-rich boardwalks and even through an almost-deserted camping ground.

Finally back to Opua and I see an instantly recognizable old friend, Tony Dalbeth, walking toward me on the hard-stand.  Tony had been part of the crew at Marten Marine when I first worked there in the mid-70's during school and uni holidays and again in 1983 for six months. We'd seen each other once in the early 90's out on the water but not since then.  So we wandered over to the cafe for late lunch and compared notes of life journeys since the 'old days.' They now live in Kerikeri and have two teenage boys.  Tony has been involved in America's cups and Sydney-Hobarts over the years and still dabbles in things marine (he was, and probably still is, one of NZ's best hands-on boat builders and was involved with a lot of the innovative developments over the years which characterized the NZ boat industry)

I'm sitting typing tonight in my home away from home perched 4m in the air 'on the hard', eating a late dinner from the pot a la BJ style - rice, carrots and left over pasta sauce with a glass of Australian Shiraz...13 C outside and still 16 C inside, though will get colder later...

Disappointing that the prop is now not arriving until Thursday, but I at least should get more of my job-list ticked off.  My mate, Canny Caston, has done his back and is unlikely to join me sailing - might be some solo miles coming up with the weather forecast to be improving next week.  Hope to get up the coast to Whangaroa Harbour, but we shall see how the prop flies!

Sunshine and Showers

Up early yesterday morning to catch the Naked Bus to Opua.  You can see a photo below from the Harbour Bridge looking out towards Rangitoto.  Enjoyed the night with Roger and Ryoko and catching up on their news.  Roger has changed jobs and is much happier now to be working with Hot Cycles in St Heliers. Less stress and fewer long days.  They head off to Japan for a holiday in later this year in July.

Arrived at the top of Opua hill in the 25 seater bus in torrential rain... no choice but to walk down the 1km hill dragging 25kg bag, backpack and camera trying to hold the folding umbrella against the strong Nor Westerly   Then a short 800m along the foreshore to find Kalai handily located next to the ablution block with a rickety aluminium ladder lashed to the stern quarter.  Dragging the aforementioned bag up a 4m ladder  in the rain was interesting.  Got to the top and pulled out the key to unlock the padlock - wrong key!  Aaagghh!!! Back down the ladder thinking and praying about contingency plans - looked again at the key chain and the padlock key had magically appeared from behind the other one???  WHAT THE?

Got inside the boat and things were a bit of a mess from the engineers working on the drivetrain - cleaned up, hung up wet clothes and unpacked bags - a few wet clothes but no big deal.

Went and had a long chat to Lowes Marine people who have been working on the boat and it looks like the new prop should arrive next Tuesday and hopefully we'll be back in the water soon after.  Wandered up the road to the General Store, which is actually quite reasonable and stocks a good range of stuff, then back to the Cafe for their world-famous seafood chowder about 4 pm for lunch!  Needless to say the rain had stopped soon after I arrived... not coldW, but overcast and showery.  

Woke early this morning and scooted down to the General Store for some of their fresh-baked sourdough bread which, as they say, was good on toast!  The first shot below was soon after dawn looking North from the boatyards... weather has improved as the day went on to a brilliant warm (23 C) afternoon, though it started raining again around 9 pm as I was coming home from the OCC after watching the Crusaders belts the Blues in Christchurch.

I did manage to get a few of my jobs done today and after a constructive visit to Alan at Legge's Boatbuilders came away with a borrowed extension lead (to charge the batteries), some newfangled epoxy primer and 2 litres of free anti-foul to patch the hull.

Opua is a very interesting little corner of the world, with all kinds of people from all over the world.  A young guy pitched his tent this morning alongside the boat to dry it out.  He has come from the US and just cycled 4500kms around NZ and his goal is to cycle and sail around the world.  So he is looking for work here and then has arranged to take his gear on a yacht heading to Tonga and then will head west to PNG and on to China...  Some of the 'Cruisers' (Yachties who cruise around the world) have already left for Polynesia, others will leave in the next week or two, still others have returned home and left their boats with 4-sale signs on them - had enough, I guess?

Looks like a wet day again tomorrow, but clearing Mon/Tue so I should get the rest of the outside work done.  PTL the washboards I made fit perfectly and this afternoon I successfully glued the brackets for the scuppers in place.  If it clears I might walk into Paihia in the afternoon - a gentle 12km up and down journey!

Across the ditch...

About to have my last meeting for a couple of weeks as I head over to NZ tomorrow morning for a bit of combined mistress maintenance (Kalai) and relaxation.  Pity the weather has decided to become Winter this week with heavy rain forecast for Friday in the Shaky Isles...

Hope to do some reading, reflection and writing while I am there.  A good chance I will be able to go 'Coastal' later next week if the work on the yacht is completed.  New prop is due to be fitted on Tuesday and then should be able to get her back in the water.

Am taking a fair amount of gear over including some new washboards and fittings for replacement scuppers - hoping my measurements are accurate!

Am also taking my beloved Olympus camera to try and practice what I have learned these past couple of months in the photography course - hopefully we shall both stay dry.

Must go and put the dinner on - sausage casserole sounds like the right kind of comfort food on this wintry night.