Two Ferries, Two Tracks, Too Tired!

Having achieved a reasonable stopping point in the interminable task that is the ongoing maintenance of a sailing vessel, I decided that some exercise would be order.  Not being known for discretion in this particular area, I challenged myself to do the big circuit from Opua to Russell/Paihia return.  

So, after breakfast and then the obligatory Marine cafe hit, I wandered down to the General Store to start the journey via Vehicular Ferry.

(I thought a shot of my floating office helps to convey the ambience as I sit typing tonight...)



These ferries run every ten minutes all day until 10 pm, the 5 min trip connecting Okiato Point with Opua.   These are the same ferries with which I play Russian Roulette when exiting the marina - there are two of the blighters and they sneak up on you, usually when you are distracted with pulling in fenders or adjusting throttles! They only travel at 5- 7 knots and are relatively harmless... still, I shouldn't complain - $1 for a pedestrian isn't bad!


Exiting the ferry, I walked up the steep hill (which came to be a recurring theme for the day...) and plunged down towards the beginning of the track proper - with signs accompanying.  My special friend (Suunto watch), promised to inform me of my pace, time taken and distance covered, so I set my face steadfastly toward Russell...

The track meandered sedately along a grassy path and then through dappled arched vistas of quite delightful purview... How hard is this, I thought (as it turned out - this was a somewhat premature perspective)

 The track began to climb through some beautiful native bush which I almost appreciated between gasping breaths (just finding some form, you understand).  Pausing to adjust several errant shoelaces enabled me to gain a second wind and pick up the pace again. Up and down, up and down... how many different ways of tackling a hill can they find...?

 Bursting out on the next ridge opened up a vista of delight - oyster farms!  These are the real McCoy - and unlike the oysters growing in abundance next to my vessel on the pier, these are able  to be legally harvested and sold to aficionados of the swallow-and-smack-lips-in-satisfaction brigade.

What goes up...  plunges very steeply down  in this case.  Still, well constructed stairs beats sliding down through the 'cutty grass' on ones backside like when we were kids, eh?

 Yet more board-walks led to the...

 BIG OYSTER!

Followed by more board-walks across the mangroves...












Till we eventually neared Russell after a mere 2.5 hours and came upon the the... "What were they thinking...?" Tree...

I can only presume that the occupants had a fetish for china... or is this the real NZ Tea tree?

 Finally arrived at the picturesque town of Russell, focal point of early European settlement in to Aotearoa...



I was resting the weary legs at the local watering hole with some lightly battered, freshly caught snapper... and then this bird turns up, demanding attention - time to go, I reckon and headed toward the "Waitere" ferry to Paihia.

Great old boat, one of the originals and still going - single screw, wooden seats and does about 6-7 knots flat out - with the 30 kt Northerlies today she was rocking and rolling across the estuary, even dipping the gunwhales in at one stage! 

Feeling a little footsore after nearly three hours of tramping (i.e bush walking ) I headed south again around the coastal walkway back to Opua... Paihia is full of US and Brit backpackers - nuff said!

Just a short hour and a half later I was glad to sight E-pier, take off the shoes and relax - a good day and some great memories. Nearly 20kms and over four hours of relaxing-on-boat-fat-burning exercise!!!

Lighted, Netted and Floored...

Good to be back in Opua and have a nice hot shower!  Water temperatures down the coast varied from 13-15 deg, a little chilly for swimming just yet.  

Canny and I worked on some more lighting installation, installing new touch sensitive 12v led's over the galley and fridge which are really bright and low power consumption.  Meanwhile we figured out how to best fit the storage nets I had had made for the front berth using a combination of sanctified common sense, kayaking nous  and kiwi ingenuity...

 

Today was yet another gorgeous sunny day, but no sailing as I was trying to get the last of my jobs list completed: interrupted only by the obligatory morning coffee at the Marina Cafe!

I pulled the roll of tredmaster non-skid decking I had ordered back in May but hadn't had time to fit.  Careful measuring and improvisation using a panel from the quarter-berth as a straight edge still resulted in some interesting moments.  The vague recollections regarding installation methodology surfaced at strategic times... but perhaps the most interesting came when my first very well mixed batch of thickened epoxy got very hot and extremely sticky very quickly! I wondered whether I had inadvertently mixed what we used to call in the old boat-building days a "hot brew!" Evasive action saw me whacking the first sheet in place and frantically digging the smoking brew out of the plastic cup before instantaneous combustion was achieved.  Suffice it to say the next brew was a little more sedate in "going off."  In hindsight, it was probably a combination of warm day and hot surface that accelerated the reaction.  I'm pleased with the end result, even if it meant a little fiddling to compensate for the too rapid adhesion of the first section and it becoming permanently fixed a few mm south of where I intended. The odd shape and dimensions of the cockpit floor meant I had to use four sections to cover the area, but its not too bad! Even had a piece left over to fit in front of the main hatch.

Decided tonight was Club night so wandered down to the Bistro to watch the Wed night races and ended up chatting and sharing a drink with Mike and Grimmy, two of the locals.  Grimmy is now an H&S inspector, but worked in the construction industry and helped build the Opua Marina, while Mike started as a school teacher and turned his hand to building. They reassured me, as we were discussing the recent America's Cup and the narrow win of the Australia Trimaran over the local favourite Vodaphone NZ in the recent Auckland to Russell Coastal Classic, that I didn't have too much of an Aussie accent, eh mate!

Evidently  the above yacht made it across the Tasman in three days which was probably just as well as accommodation I'm told was a little limited... the crew I'm reliably informed, are now sleeping somewhere ashore...

Sailed the four winds...

Dawn came this morning clear and still, with just a gentle zephyr ruffling the deep waters of Whangamumu harbour...

Today turned out to be our most ambitious sail in some interesting conditions... we ghosted up the coast in a dying SE breeze, barely making it through the gap between Cape Brett and Piercy Island before the wind died and we started the diesel (known as "The Barrington"), and hooked up "Bruce" the Tiller Pilot so we could enjoy the view unfettered by such mundane tasks as steering the vessel!

As I was relaxing on the foredeck, I had a sense of deja view as a large fluke hoved into view. Several weeks ago, while out kayaking at Queenscliff, I had followed a Southern Right whale out toward Port Phillip heads and this fluke was no coincidence!  As the tail fin disappeared I yelled out to the first mate "Whale Ahoy! 10 m off the starboard bow! Get the camera!!!"  (or words to that effect!).  

A dorsal fin appeared, which then lazily followed us for some time, sometimes disappearing and then resurfacing, seemingly at a leisurely pace.  It is probably that this was a basking shark, the second largest fish species, a plankton eating, non-threatening creature that feeds on the surface and grows up to 12 m long... we're not sure how big this version was, but stayed a respectful distance clear...

The breeze began to fill in as we headed west from the Cape, trying to avoid the many tourist vessels that visit the famous Hole in the Rock and promise their clients that dolphins will appear at some stage...

The breeze meanwhile continued to fill in from the NW (not SW as predicted and promised!) and soon we were smoking along at 6-7 kts on a tight reach past Urupukapuka island toward the KeriKeri inlet.

It was such a nice day and we had plenty of time with a great sailing breeze (13-15 kts by now), that we elected to head up to KeriKeri.  Past the rolling green hills and beautiful bays we tightened up hard on the wind to lay the marks up the harbour channel.

Continuing on past the new Marina, we headed toward the narrow channel that wound its way right up to the Old Stone Store and Kemp's house, two of the earliest buildings constructed by the first settlers.  I can remember going there when I was in Form 2 (about 12 yo) and meeting an elderly Miss Kemp, descendent of the original Mr Kemp.  

The depth gauge was reading 1.1m under the keel (we draw 1.5m) and the tide had just turned to flow out... so, unsure of what the prospects were for navigating the channel on a falling tide, we turned and set sail for home. By now the wind had shifted to the West and we hoisted sail to slide through the Kent passage and up the channel to Opua.  Right on the promontory guarding the passage is this gorgeous property - we decided that it was the perfect retirement home with private beach and boathouse to boot!

By now the wind was SW and 12-15 kts again and with full main and genoa set we sped up the estuary toward Paihia.  Bemused, we noticed that several of the yachts out toward Tapeka point several hundred metres away, were going just as well as we were... but on the opposite tack!  Sure enough a minute later our good breeze died and filled in again from almost the opposite Easterly direction!  Needless to say that too soon died and "Barrington" was fired up for the final few miles home.  By the time we arrived at the marina we had covered 67 kms and spent 9.5 enjoyable hours sailing in winds from every direction of the compass... the final challenge  was manoeuvring into the berth with a SW breeze and tidal flow collaborating to make stopping in time a tricky business.  An agile first mate and judicious application of full astern allowed some tired sailors to breathe a sigh of relief. 'Home' again after four days of brilliant sailing and relaxing, all in the typically fine early summer weather here in the Tropical North!

Panarama, Pa and Paul

Woke early (even before the birds?)to a beautiful morning in Whangaruru, having arrived there last night and anchoring in the upper reaches of the harbour, near Bland Bay.

Such a nice morning, we decided to go ashore and explore.  According to the local tourism blurb..."Bland bay is an undiscovered piece of Northland Paradise with a huge reputation for great fishing, diving and recreational water sports.
 - 65kms north of Whangarei, 30kms south of Russell
- Fishing and diving at your doorstep

Evidently this area is of particular significance to Ngatiwai, who are the tangata whenua (Local tribe).  Uhimoanariki, the first ancestor of Ngapuhi, named this place "Whangaruru" while sailing up the coast. Legend has it that iIt took Puhi a long time to find a good sheltered place to settle, so when he did he named it "Whangaruru" Whanga (to wait), ruru (to shelter), or alternatively the sheltered harbour.  There are a number of Pa's (fortified Maori settlements) like this one we climbed just outside the cluster of holiday homes. You can see the ridges that were made for the fortifications on the right side of the hill.

Decided to head further down the coast to Teal Bay after contacting an old buddy, Paul Mcintosh who was up at the family bach for the weekend. Tried to find a suitable anchorage within the bay in several locations, but were either on a lee shore where we would be reluctant to leave the yacht unattended, or we couldn't find good holding.  The wind was gusting up over 15 kts but we eventually found shelter near an almost completed multi-million dollar house being built by, according to the locals,  a Russian millionaire who had purchased the local farm for $15mill in order to get access to the beach-side property.  It was great to catch up with Paul and Christine, there with their oldest daughter, Alice.  Paul and I were part of the legendary Balunatix, infamous as much for their practical jokes as their singing prowess and mastery of the well-known "Dead-Ants" antics - well before 'planking' became popular!

We headed back to the boat late afternoon in the ever-reliable rubber ducky with the little 2.5 Merc doing a splendid job on the 2 kms leg across to the other side of the bay.  The wind was predicted to back from the NW into the South, so we decided to head up the coast to one of my favourite anchorages, Whangamumu.  A deep enclosed harbour which is a safe anchorage in almost any wind direction. Some of the yachts were expected to hold up there on their way back after completing the Coastal Classic race from Auckland to Russell the previous Friday.  We had seen some of the stragglers on our way down from the Cape.

Unfortunately the wind stayed very light and stubbornly in our faces so we ended up motoring most of the way  on the 13 nautical miles back up the coast.  The new prop and serviced engine are going really well, with 2300rpm giving us 5.6-5.8 kts.  We tried a range of revs to see what worked the best - with 2900rpm pushing us to our theoretical hull speed of 6.8 knots.  Throttling back to 2200-2300 is however, a lot more economical!

We set up way-points on the marine GPS as we expected to arrive on dusk and the entrance to Whangamumu is quite narrow and long, with jagged rocks either side about 100m apart.

About half a dozen boats already anchored still left plenty of room and we cooked a late dinner of steak and pasta to top off another great day.

Going Coastal with Canny

As I sit in the cockpit in the upper reaches of of Whangaruru supping a good NZ Pinot Noir with the smell of Thai Green Chicken curry wafting from the galley... life is good!

Yesterday my old sailing buddy, Brian (Canny) Caston and I set off from Opua for a bit of coastal exploration.  We had intended to get around Cape Brett and head down the coast but 25 gusting 35 knots of NW meant that it was a little like a washing machine and, not being in a hurry, we detoured to Awaawaroa (Pipi) Bay for the night till the front blew through. Went ashore in this gorgeous bay and bushcrashed along the ridge (so Canny could get cell coverage!) - the necessities of the modern electronic sailor!

Gradually ticking off my maintenance list - scraped, sanded and refinished the tiller while Canny rewired all the flourescent fittings to work on my new led energy efficient tubes. The old ballast system had to be disconnected but they now work great.

The SW front disappeared overnight and we were up bright and early to get some other jobs done (after some nice poached eggs on Vogels toast). Replaced the solar ventilator (which fortunately fitted into the same screw holes and did a few other little things before setting off toward Cape Brett in a gentle NW breeze.  We saw some of the Coastal Classic yachts which had raced up from Auckland on Friday to finish at Russell.  A few of the smaller yachts were still finishing and the big boys were already motoring flat out back south.

The breeze stayed in the north all day and we had a brilliant relaxed broad reach from the cape down the coast, averaging 4-5 kts in 8-10 knots of wind.  Must get a light air sail sometime...

Decided to continue on to Whangaruru, arriving a little after 5pm and motored deep into the harbour anchoring in 2.5m at nearly low tide.  A great day!

Canny taking his ease!

Cape Brett Lighthouse

Sunset in Whangaruru

Sailing and an overnighter...

Great patch of weather in the Winterless North (I hear it has been raining in Melbourne) - too good to sit around the dock contemplating my list of jobs.  Last time I spent 15 days here I sailed on three of them and the rest of the time was spent either on the hard or waiting for the storm fronts to pass.  

So Carpe Diem, as they say, and yesterday afternoon I set with a beautiful Northwester up my date (Kiwi for wind from behind!)

Making 6-7.5 kts on  a broad reach through to Tapeka point then eased sheets and cruised through behind Roberton Island and with a fading breeze dropped the pick in Waipiro bay... Still a breeze blowing through the gap in the hills, but gradually calmed down as the day faded.

Tiller Pilot steers great - allows careful skippers to take photos from up forward! No drama at over 7 knots on a calm sea...

 Beautiful sunset ...
...and only moored boats in sight - aahh the serenity!

This morning, no doubt to the singular amazement of close family members,  I was up early and under way by 0700 with a cup of char and a zephyr to steer by I ghosted out past Urupukapuka and through the last of the islands, close-hauling out toward Cape Brett before tacking back in a building Northerly breeze., 

B

 Under a cloudy sky the breeze strengthened to near 20 kts and I even wound in the Genoa (albeit briefly)a few turns to ease the strain - my newly mounted inclinometer in the cockpit had us on a tight reach at 15-20 deg most of the way back to Tapeka Point, then sheets eased and powered up the estuary on a flooding spring tide.

Home, showered, shaved and shampooed to await the arrival of Canny Caston tonight bringing more gear and edible supplies for our Labour Weekend expedition.

I've already sailed more than the whole of the last trip over - must have my priorities right this time, I reckon.  Jobs can wait for rainy days!!! 

Sailed, shopped and re-connected

Up early this morning I saw young James the Marine Mechanic outside his new business "JB Marine" which he recently took over.  They did the bulk of the work on Kalai the past couple of times.  James just got married so we had a yarn for a while and then I wandered down to the General Store to get some breakfast, lunch and dinner supplies.  

Unfortunately the Tall ships left yesterday for Auckland, was disappointed not to have have seen the seven sailing vessels which had raced here from Sydney last week. Several were here in Opua n Sunday for people to have a look through...

Back to the Dianes's cafe for a delicious strong flat white - she showed  me the beans they use from an Auckland company "Roasted expresso" which had won some awards - sure tasted good!  Over to Cater Marine for a couple of bits for the hose so I can fill the water tanks on my own.  Filled tanks and then did a couple of the jobs I had planned, but it looks like some of the tasks need an extra pair of hands - might wait for Canny arriving later in the week.

Such a gorgeous day, my plans to just mooch around were abandoned and I quickly organised sheets and lines and cast off around 2pm - the new prop sure has a little more bite in reverse, but poor Kalai's bottom is a little cretinous with growth from sitting for a few months...

Turned on the Suunto to track progress and it seems pretty accurate.  The motor and prop sound a lot better now and we were making over 6 kts at 2300rpm with a lot less vibration than before.

I thought I was seeing Barry's old boat, Masumi, coming toward me - close, but no cigar! Still, it was the same paint scheme on the old H28!











Brilliant day for the para-gliding company towing two, no doubt delighted, clients through the brilliant spring sunshine.

Lo and behold, one of the tall ships was still anchored off Russell - amazingly beautiful craft...

I was going to pull out the Genoa and head back... but it was such a beautiful sailing breeze I couldn't resist tacking over toward Paihia and then, what the heck, may as well put up the mainsail and managed a couple of beats back toward Tapeka Point before the wind dropped.  The tide was just starting to turn so I dropped the main and pottered along under headsail for half an hour with a light northerly breeze and making 1-2 kts. Put the Tiller Pilot on and relaxed on the stern seat with a cold one and some Kettle Chips... tough life!

All of a sudden the wind switched around to the south-west and kicked up to 15-20kts so was able to have a great beat straight up the estuary under just head-sail making 5-6 kts right thrugh to the marina.

Brilliant day-sail with a finely engineered chicken pasta dish for tea washed down with a Taylor's Shiraz.  Should sleep well tonight!

Arrived and at 'Home'

I'm sipping on a glass of Shiraz listening to Sibelius on the Exogear waterproof speakers connected via bluetooth from the newly arrived ship-based ruggedised laptop having connected the new Wifi Antenna  which has improved the network connection immensely for us far-end-of-the dock-dwellers.. I can't imagine why various family members thought that most of my 28kg of checked luggage was gadget related?

An early start today but a nice flight on Emirates 380 Airbus - I managed to book seat 43C, and must remember that particular row in future.  Right at the front of the lower level with heaps of leg-room without the designation of an 'exit' row.

Caught the shuttle into town straight away after a long wait at the baggage carousel - Over 500 passengers' bags take a while to unload, I guess.

Stopped at my favourite cafe in the arcade near the bottom of Queen street, then sorted out bank cards and phone card issues and thought I would see if anyone was at home at Roger and Ryoko's place.  Sure enough the windows were open and Uncle Roger was in residence... Good to catch up, have a cold drink and a piece of his famously delicious home-made raisin toast.

Beautiful day in Auckland with fluffy white clouds, blue sky and sea breeze.  They have had heaps of wind as we have in Melbourne recently, so this was one out of the box. Forecast looks pretty promising for this week at least...

Said farewell to Rog and over to the Naked Bus terminal at 5pm where 'Jonno' my driver from the last trip was waiting.  I said: "Heavy Bag, mate!" and he said with  chuckle "Ohh if its more than 20kg that's another HUNDRED BUCKS! You can load it yourself then... it needs to go right at the back 'cause you're last off!"
At least this was a full size bus with decent seats - unlike the last time in a 14 seater van!

It's a nice relaxed trip up, taking just over three hours for the 225kms.  I managed to track the journey on the gps watch so knew how far we had to go at various points.  Jonno dropped me at the top of Opua hill as the last light of the day faded and I hauled bag, backpack and camera down the long hill (no street lights here, mate!) and along to E pier.

Everything looks OK on Kalai and I'll just need to drop along to the General Store in the morning to pick up some of their freshly baked sourdough and a few other supplies.

It's good to be back!  Might even sneak out for a sail in the next couple of days if the weather is as good as it is supposed to be.

Time for some sleep - 10:25 pm in Melbourne, but 12:25 am here...

Readying to go...

2yr old Samuel

A busy weekend with a wedding (Karl and Laura) most of Saturday in a delightful part of Victoria (Macedon ranges) at the Bringalbit Retreat.  Then a Church Forum this morning and our beloved grandson Samuel's second birthday this afternoon at Yarra Glenn with friends and family.

Nearly finished packing tonight for my October NZ visit to visit(in probably this order) Kalai the Yacht, Barry and Ruby (in-laws), Whangaroa Harbour and perhaps the Poor Knights Islands, Roger and Ryoko in Auckland.

I leave on the early Emirates flight which gets me in to Auckland at 1345 local time, catch the shuttle into the city, visit the bank to activate the new credit/debit cards and then catch the 17:15 Naked Bus to Opua Hill, walk down the hill admiring the sunset and towing my heavy bag... along the marina foreshore and out E pier to E63 (home of Kalai) arriving about 9pm Monday evening.

Hope to get a few maintenance jobs done (yes, I have a list!) and then 'Canny' Caston is arriving Thursday night for a bit of serious coastal exploring over the next 4-5 days.

Must get to bed and get a few hours sleep before the early morning dash to Tullamarine...

SkipperG