11/25/2008, Opua, New Zealand
The "Hamster", ready to see New Zealand.
Hey Everyone,
Little Wing made it! She sailed 10,000 miles from Seattle through the South Pacific Isles to New Zealand. Sorry we didn't write a journal entry last week when we arrived, but we were overwhelmed by the experience and understandably distracted. The last 48 hours of our passage was a real test. Just 120 miles from landfall and we encountered SW winds right on the nose. Little Wing valiantly short tacked into 25 knot winds and steep chop. We would have taken it easy if we weren't so close to our goal. Little Wing could "smell the barn" and crashed to windward with gusto. We arrived last Wednesday (Nov. 19) in Opua, a cool little sailing town in the Bay of Islands. It was a special day to make landfall since it was also Kay's birthday. We cleared in with friendly customs and immigration officers who supplied a gift basket for entering yachties, nice. Once officially in we called our good friend Doug Schmuck. Doug is an ex-pat who single handed his BCC here in the late 80's. Doug quickly grew roots, he married the sweetest Kiwi we know, Helen, and bought himself a boatyard (Doug's Opua Boatyard). It's quite possible Doug is the happiest guy on earth. Little Wing was guided over to a hefty mooring ball in front of the boat yard where she rested for the first time in 9 months. Kay and I were equally guided to Doug and Helen's farm, "The Schmuckarosa", where we were treated to hot showers and a big warm bed...it was heaven.
The next night we all went to the Opua Cruising Club to catch up with our cruising comrades and swapped stories about our passage from Tonga. We all decided that if cruising across the Pacific is like getting an advanced degree in sailing, the the final exam was the last leg to New Zealand. In Tonga, we all prepared diligently. We checked our boats and equipment, swapped weather information and shared our labor. Now we were here safely, basking in our accomplishments. The atmosphere that night was electric. The wine wasn't too bad either.
Kay and I decided that the best way to see this beautiful country in the short amount of time we have was by car. You can buy a used vehicle here "cheap as chips" as the Kiwis say and Kay and I did. We found a low mileage '93 Nissan Caravan for $2000 US. We spent a day outfitting it as a camper and are now ready to "land yacht" the north and south islands. The Caravan had "HAM" mysteriously lettered on the tailgate, perhaps because the last owner was a ham radio enthusiast, so we named the rig "The Hamster"...of course! Doug and Helen offered to store the Hamster while we are back in the States and they can go on surfing safaris whenever they like; win- win.
So we did it! We sailed across the Pacific. We had some real tests along the way. But with determination, a little luck and a lot of wonderful people...we did it. Being here in New Zealand has made it worth the effort. Kay and I have been here before, dropped in from the sky, but somehow sailing here makes this place more beautiful. We intend to keep up with our journal updates despite the fact that we are now land yachting. This is, after all, still part of our sailing journey. Love to all our friends and family. You can stop worrying now, Mom, we made it.
Craig and Kay Crew of The Hamster
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Comments [7]
11/13/2008, Underway Tonga to New Zealand
Hello Hello,
We are half way to New Zealand....550 miles out. The light north east winds of the last few days have given way to south-south east winds. Although we hate beating to windward, the seas are small so it's relatively easy going. This morning we crossed the international dateline. Yahoo! Everything on Little Wing is fine. Kay and I are so excited to get to NZ and see old friends. Much of our discussion has to do with what we're going to eat and drink...emphasis on the latter...especially the excellent New Zealand wine. We are also thinking about our future now that we see the end of this trip. In late January we are putting Little Wing on a transport ship back to the States. She will be shipped to Florida. From there we will sail her up the coast to the Chesapeake Bay. At that point we have to make a decision as to wether we should sell her or not. We love Little Wing dearly and we've been through so much with her, but we're thinking a larger boat is inevitable. No need to make all the decisions immediately, however.
So we should make landfall in five days at our current rate. Much is on our horizon literally and figuratively. For that Kay and I are truly happy.
Craig
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11/11/2008, Underway Tonga to New Zealand
Hello All,
Our second day out and still light winds. Little Wing has been ghosting along at 3 to 4 knots with all her light air sails flying. The seas are flat calm which makes the lack of wind tolerable. As I write this, the wind has increased a bit and we are speeding up... I hope it stays. Although the wind has been fickle, the sailing is fine. Last night, the almost full moon reflected off the mirror smooth water lighting up the night so much you could read without a light. I pulled out my iPod and re-discovered the beauty of U2's "The Joshua Tree". Listening to the last four songs on that album, gliding along in moonlit south Pacific waters, is something I'll never forget. I highly recommend it.
So Kay and I are settling into "passage mode". Our patterns of sleeping, eating, and standing watch are becoming second nature once again. It looks like it will take over 10 days to reach New Zealand at our current speed. If the passage remains this easy, we wouldn't mind at all.
Craig
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11/10/2008, Underway Tonga to New Zealand
Hi Everyone,
Just a quickie to let you all know that Kay and I set off on the last offshore leg of our Pacific crossing. We have been waiting for two weeks for a decent "weather window" and it looks like we found it. As I type this I can see Tonga slipping behind our stern as the sun sets. Although we are very excited to reach New Zealand, we can't help but feel sad that the tropical part of our journey is over.
Opua, New Zealand, our landfall, is currently 988 miles to the southwest. We hope to complete this passage in less than 10 days, but the weather on this leg can be less than accommodating. We will be crossing the international dateline (180 degrees longitude) and officially be in "tomorrow" (although Tonga is at 175 east, they cheat and simply declare they are a day ahead...something about being the first country to see the new year, etc.). We will also be sailing out of the equatorial trades and into considerably colder weather. New Zealand is well into it's spring, but the southern ocean temperatures keep it chilly into summer.
So hello to all our friends and family, we hope to see you soon. Hello to Mrs. Corbin's fifth and sixth grade classes...we hope your tracking us!
Love to all, Craig and Kay
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Don and Becky
11/04/2008, Tongatapu, Tonga
Hey Everyone,
This'll be short. Kay and I are in the southern most island group in Tonga. We are anchored off a motu near the town of Nuku'alofa on the island of Tongatapu. There is a huge glut of cruising boats anchored here waiting for the right weather to make the leap to New Zealand. Ashore, a bar called "Big Mammas" keeps all the sailors happy and together swapping stories about weather and gear. One week ago, Kay and I decided to leave from here instead of Vava'u. Because of this, we shorten the trip to NZ by two days and get to see one more fabulous place in Tonga.
We've spent the last few days getting ready. All our "summer" clothes have been packed away and the cold weather clothes taken out of moth balls for the first time in nine months. Even though we are going into the southern hemisphere's summer, it's still early in the season and cold offshore. Little Wing is ready and able for her last leg; 1, 000 miles to Opua on the north island of New Zealand. We have been diligently checking the weather and planning our route south. The mast is strong despite our efforts to destroy it. We joke that if crossing the Pacific is like getting an advanced degree in offshore sailing, then this leg is like the final exam. This will be the second longest run of the trip, the longest leg being the first from San Diego to the Marquesas. Despite the fact that that leg was three times longer, it was all down wind. This leg, unfortunately, will have a lot of windward sailing which can be much harder. But as I said, we're ready.
So we check out of the country tomorrow and wait for the right weather window. We will be doing our "offshore update schedule" once we depart. This means position reports every 24 hours and a journal update every 48. Love to all our friends and family. We're almost there!
Crew of Little Wing Malo!
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Douglas , S/V Calliste , Singapore
10/22/2008, Vava'u, Tonga
Hi Everyone!
It's true that time goes by quickly when you're having fun. The last four weeks have been full of sailing in flat, protected waters, sharing remote anchorages with good friends, swimming with humpback whales and enjoying good beer and wine in some wonderful local establishments. But now, the mood is starting to change here in Tonga as many yachts are preparing to leave for New Zealand.
Craig and I realized today that we have been here for a month. Since arriving we have met up with many of our cruising friends from the passage to-date and have made many new ones. A highlight of our visit has been our adventure swimming with the humpback whales. I have to admit, I was terrified at first, but could not resist the once in a life-time opportunity. We left bright and early with our friends Lin and Larry and two other couples (one from Sweden and one from Tasmania) on board a Beluga Diving aluminum motor cat along with our two Tongan guides. One stayed at the helm while the other swam with us in the water. After leaving the harbor it took about an hour of searching before a mother and calf were spotted on the north side of the Vava'u Group. The mother was nursing her 12 foot long, three week old calf. They would both come to the surface to breathe and then gradually descend to a depth of about forty feet to nurse. We were able to swim above and watch them rise up and down over the course of about three hours. I spent about twenty minutes swimming with the group of four other divers; but, Craig was in the water the whole time. He just couldn't get enough. These animals are spectacular. Since the water was perfectly clear, we could see the calf nursing from our position at the surface. As the calf began to come back to the surface, the mother would follow. She was enormous. It was amazing how close we were and how comfortable they were with us. Check out our pictures from the day in our latest album.
Of all the island groups we have visited, the Vava'u Group in Tonga has been the most cruiser friendly. The town of Neiafu has a variety of restaurants and bars, a cool yacht club which hosts a Friday afternoon race and many shops, bakeries etc. for buying provisions. The people are incredibly friendly. Last week, Craig and I had the opportunity to go to a Kava ceremony which is a tradition in many of the South Pacific Islands. Kava is the powder from the root of the kava plant. It is mixed with water and served in small coconut bowls. The drink tastes a bit like a cold herbal tea, but leaves you with a slight numbing sensation in your mouth and in a very mellow mood. Three Tongan musicians played traditional music as we all sat in a large circle on an intricately woven mat. The combination of the Kava, the music and the atmosphere allowed for a very memorable evening.
Our experiences have been numerous and we will definitely return here some day. However, the weather is starting to change and pretty soon we must be moving on to New Zealand. We plan to leave from here for the 1,100 mile passage sometime after the first of November. In the meantime we are preparing "Little Wing" and saying our good byes to Friends until we meet again in the Bay of Islands on the North Island of New Zealand.
Hope all is well with all of you. We are looking forward to seeing family and friends back home after the first of the year.
Love,
Kay and Craig
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