11/12/2009, Half Moon Bay
We cleared in at customs and it was nice to see them very efficient at their job. We moved off the customs dock and to a berth at the marina. It was certainly nice to be still for a while. We were tired but were able to make contact with the appropriate people to get the boat back to A1 condition. All services are available at Opua for boat repairs and as most of the boats had not yet arrived, we were able to get attended to in a speedy manner. We eventually got the Robertson autopilot fixed after finding out parts had not been available for the last 10 years. We had the Furuno autopilot processor taken out and sent to Auckland. We had the boom fitted from Reef-rite and a start on the sails. The plan was to have them fitted at Auckland when we got there. We had the refrigeration and freezer systems checked and bought back on line. Of course this meant we could now buy food and it bought an end to the eating out at the yacht club. We had the rigging fixed and a complete check done. All of this was done in less than 2 weeks as well as some parts ordered and delivered. This was also the first time since buying the boat that we had workman actually come and do work on the boat. But it was all jobs that we had put off or needed someone with just a little more knowledge and tools than what we had. We decided to wait till we got to Waikawa before we haul to check the bottom. Brian and Kathy from the good ship Tarun came up from Auckland to spend the day with us and took us driving around to orient us to the area. While on Opua, we rented a car for a couple of days and got to do some sight seeing. We spent a day in Whangarei and had lunch with the good folk from Zen. We also did a very patriotic thing and visited Waitangi house and grounds. It is a beautiful location and was free to New Zealanders which made it even more enjoyable. We took Sally and Geoff from Grace along with us for the second day and spent the day catching up on some shopping and sight seeing. The Bay of Islands certainly lives up to its reputation and the there is plenty of NZ history here to steep oneself in. As the repairs were getting completed, we knew we must move on but it was certainly hard to leave some great friends and a beautiful location. The weather could of been kinder but then it is New Zealand and if we didn't like the weather, we just had to wait. We left after 11 days minus a main sail but everything else working and in good shape. We motored sailed down to Marsden Point in a light wind day and anchored opposite the refinery in Urquarts Bay. It was very pleasant and out of the way of the big shipping traffic. We moved on the next morning to Sandspit as a southerly was forecast. This was an area where we had done our RYA training and knew it well. There is a bar over the entrance but we had enough clearance at half to high tide. We had to do tidal calculations, something we hadn't done for a while. We docked at the pier and were lucky enough to get the visitors buoy for a few days. We spent some time here, hitching in to town for the labor day. We met up John from Mahurangi Tech on Tuesday. He was one of our sailing instructors on our RYA course. We then moved that afternoon to Kawau Island and spent the night at Mansion House Bay. It was another idyllic spot, out of the wind. We them motor sailed down to Waiheke Island where we were to catch up with another friend of ours. We anchored in Onera Bay on the North side, hoping to get out of the southerly but the wind still blew. We were definitely out of the swell so all was calm on board. We had dinner with Jill and went back to the boat. Just when we thought we had nothing else to do, the generator decided not to start. Paul spent the morning fixing the generator and the bilge pump that empties the shower. This particular pump is always giving us grief and will be changed when we get to Waikawa. We also heard that the sails would not be ready for another 3 weeks and we were not happy. So it was few phone calls later and with any luck, we can have the main in a few days and Doyle's will deliver the Genoa to Waikawa. We didn't want to be faced with motoring all the way to Waikawa. Needless to say, this has certainly put a damper on things as we wanted to spend as little time in Auckland as possible. We will wait out at Waikawa till the sails are sorted. in the meanwhile, we will spend some more time with Jill and explore Waiheke Island.
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Comments [1]
Nice job with great colour coordination.
10/23/2009, New Zealand, Opua
We started out from Tongatapu on a pleasant day with little wind but that didn't worry us at this time. We once again were enthralled with the lack of channel markers and range markers. We had to weave our way between several reefs but we finally made it to the pass out without brushing against any errant coral heads. We headed toward Minerva Reef with the intention of stopping if needed. We had rolly seas for the 1st 2 days but it was calmed down by day 3. We got to within 10 miles of Minerva and after looking at the weather, decided that it looked good enough to continue on. We were in the company of about 6 other boats. 2 of these boats had weather routers so we felt we had made a good decision. We ran into a front that was only about 6 hours of 30 - 35 knot winds but the seas remained up to about 4m for the next 12 hours or so. By day 4 the seas had calmed a little and we were able to cook a meal. I had made a lasagna prior to passage and froze the portions in preparation for those days that it would be difficult to prepare food. Day 5 dawned with a calm sea as we watched the weather forecast for a low developing off NZ. We were motoring and were constantly redoing the fuel calculations to ensure we had enough for the last days into NZ. Evening of Day 5 bought some increased winds as we prepared for the low. Our weather information was also telling us that the low was deepening (becoming worse) more than was predicted and it was going to be more of a blow. We reefed the sails as much as possible and made sure the storm jib and drogue were out ready to go. Day 6 dawned with increased winds as we kept cruising along. We were doing ok at this time and were making good speeds. Into the evening, the seas became progressively bigger and this is what we feel contributed to the failure of our spare auto pilot. We then were forced to hand steer as the winds increased and the seas became eye openers. We decided to drop all sails and just kept a small piece of jib out the front. Of course, it is always at night time that everything goes wrong. We decided to heave to but we saw another ship on the horizon and as we were bobbing about in the water, it kept getting closer and closer. We then had to motor on out of the area so we motored toward out destination at a around 2 to 3 knots till daylight. This took us well away from the other vessel that we were convinced did no even see us. This was after we put on all the lights we could to light up the sails. It was also this night that we heard an almightily bang on the deck and realized one of the inner shrouds had broken at the deck fitting. This was really annoying as it was relatively new rigging(2007). Paul had to get out on deck to secure it as it pummeled the deck. Come daylight and the winds were 35-40k and the seas up to 8m, we decided we had enough and just stopped in the water. we decided to lay ahull for 24 hours and at the very least get some sleep. Paul secured the broken shroud a little more tighter to cut down the movement in the mast; we changed out the hydraulic drive for the auto pilot, thinking, it was the cause of the broken autopilot and causing some very uncharacteristic mushy steering. Both of these chores took some time as it is very difficult to get around when occasionally the boat just starts to roll as we occasionally get broad sided by what we describe as a freight train coming through. Once we had effected the repairs as best we could and ate a little food, we shut up all the hatches and went to bed. We were able to sleep on and off. We did put a call out to Maritime NZ to get them to alert all ships in the area that we were not moving. After the previous night's near collision, we were incredibly mindful of other ships in the area. We also kept intermittent lookouts through the night. The wind abated some in the wee hours of the morning, but we stayed till first light. Morning came and the wind had died down and the seas were down to about 4m. We knew we should have just enough fuel to get home. We were also able to motor sail a little with the genoa out on the same side as the broken shroud but the wind died enough for us to put the sail away. We started up the engine and made way. We were about 48 hours out and we were faced with hand steering all this way. Our steering was not the best but could maintain an heading with some speed on. We also knew the seas would get smaller as we progressed. We got into a routine of hour on and hour off for steering and getting rest when we could. The last 24 hours we were talking to some other boats just ahead of us and they were having problems with not enough fuel. We knew we had enough so offered to drop fuel off if the needed it. We started to make plans to do so when a super yacht came up behind us on the way to Auckland, we asked if they may be able to drop off some fuel to a yacht ahead of us that was totally dry. They very nicely agreed to do so and it saved us having to go our of our way. It became a time issue for us in the end, because we were hand steering and were constantly sleep deprived. we kept radio contact with another boat that were unsure if they had enough but they were on the same path as us so we agreed that if we passed then we would drop off fuel. They did make it into port with 1 gallon to spare. Very close. We finally arrived 0800 at the end of day 10 and tied up at the Opua Quarantine dock. It was certainly a very welcome sight as we cruised through the Bay of Islands to see land. We cleared customs and finally were able to get into a slip so we could put our heads on a pillow that wasn't moving around underneath out heads. It was a good trip except the breakage's made it more arduous than it normally is and it certainly gives another boring story to tell. We made 1066 miles in 10 days, motor sailed 1160 miles, used 156 gallons diesel, motored 152 hours. We are now spending some time in Opua to get used to ground walking and to get some repairs made to enable us to move on with a safe boat again.
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10/02/2009, Tongatapu
We arrived at Tongatapu Island around 3 pm after a very calm passage with no wind and no sea state to speak of. We had to once again negotiate a channel through the reefs with most of the channel markers gone and a chart that is not accurate. We thought that being a major port for the area it might have a few more amenities than the outer islands but it seems it is no different. We decided not to anchor in the town of Nuku'alofa but to hang out in the anchorage beside Pangaimotu Island. There is a very low key backpacker style resort on the this island and the owners welcome cruisers with a menu of services that they offer. We did partake in the restaurant for the first night as it gives me a night off from having to think what to cook. It has a very "pirate" atmosphere and outlooks over the bay so was very enjoyable. We decided to stay and make use of the discounted ferry services for cruisers to town. We could take the dinghy the 1.2 miles to town but decided that this was the safest bet as it would mean leaving the dinghy in an unsecured area in town. We took the ferry the next day to town to clear in and it was easy once we found the right place to go. It was here we were told about the tsunami warning and realized that we were stuck where we are. We spoke to the port officials and they were unconcerned for Tongatapu. They reported there had been a tidal surge in Ha'apai so it was past us. We then progressed into town and had a look at the markets. These were closing as the warning got out. Some were going home to their families and some went down to the beach to watch for the tsunami. Little did they know it had been and gone around this island with no effect. It was interesting though to see the ones going to the beach to watch. No wonder people die in tsunami's. We were to go to the bank and exchange some money but even that was closed. There was nothing for it but to go back to the boat. We caught the ferry back to the resort and as we chatted to the owners, we found out more information about the earthquake and tsunami. We discovered that the island of Niuatoputapu, where we had spent some time, had been devastated by the tsunami with loss of life and injuries. Ana (from the resort) was collecting items to send to them so once again we went through the boat and cleaned out some of our supplies that we would not be needing. The French navy was sending a boat to the island the next day with supplies for the islanders. We were listening on several nets and so far have not heard of any cruisers that had boat damage. Most were trying to do what they could for the locals in the areas they were in. We were at the same time trying to assess the weather for our passage to NZ. We went into town again the next day and cleared out as the weather was looking good for the trip to Minerva Reef. We were talking with others boats leaving at the same time. It is nice to hear that others see the same thing we do in the weather maps. We also have some wonderful friends that keep us up to date with weather and this we truly need as when at sea we have no access to some of thee really amazing weather information. So was ending our wonderful season in the Pacific paradise. It has been a great time and we certainly have a very different view of the pacific islands and a very different understanding of how they live and cope with what mother nature sends to them.
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