11/05/2009, Off shore, Passage from Tongatapu to Opua, New Zealand
Well, it is getting cooler. The indoor temperature this morning is 70=B0, and much colder outside. We have definitely left the tropics. The crispy air is without the humidity, and is kind of a nice change. We definitely will be doing a bit of clothing shopping when we get situated as neither of us have much in terms of warm clothes any more. Last night sure was beautiful. The seas were mirror calm and I could see reflections of individual stars in the water. The only ripples on the water was that made by the boat. The phosphorescence was also viewable and looked beautiful through the the clear water. By 2215 local time (1115 UTC) the waning moon lit up the sky. It sure was orange! We are moving along still under power, but with enough wind now to fill the sails. We have about 390 nautical miles left. This afternoon we will be trying to make contact with Opua officials for our second notice of arrival. We have already faxed our pre-arrival paperwork, but they need additional 72 hours of notice of our impending arrival by radio. Every country has its arrival procedures. New Zealand is one of the more progressive on its attempts to keep bio hazards such as unwanted pests and disease out of their country. I don't blame them. They will be going through the boat carefully to make sure we don't accidentally introduce a foreign pest into the country. We had the bottom scrubbed 24 hours before leaving Tonga, so hopefully no slime or barnacles are on the hull. We also sprayed below the floorboards for bugs. I'll do that again today to make sure nothing has survived. We feel lucky that we haven't had any cockroaches or ants on board so far. We sure are looking forward to visiting New Zealand especially after seeing all the beautiful pictures in books and magazines.
| 2009 South Pacific Adventure |
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11/04/2009, Off shore, Passage from Tongatapu to Opua, New Zealand
Still no wind. We are sliding along at 3.5 to 4.0 knots using the engine on very low rpms. The Monitor wind vane steering doesn't work if there is no wind, and with the electronic autopilot broken, we are having to spend a lot of time hand steering. It's actually not a problem in this very calm water. It does keep one of us at the wheel at all times though. We are making progress. We have about 490 miles to go. This still beats getting caught in a low. We are also slowly getting used to the cooler temperatures. It is now 72=B0 inside. The nights are chilly, but the sun is still nice and warm.
| 2009 South Pacific Adventure |
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11/03/2009, Off shore, Passage from Tongatapu to Opua, New Zealand
All is well on this fine Wednesday morning. We have about 580 miles left. This puts us roughly at the half way point. We did the reduce sail drill last night for a dark cloud ahead....ended up being nothing to get in a hurry over. I hated reducing sail when we finally had a bit of wind, but it only lasted for a half hour or so.. We never know what these squalls can bring. Last night, it didn't bring much wind, but we have seen times when we have gone from 0 to 35 in less than a minute so I always take the coward's approach and reduce when I see a potential squall in our path. The full moon sure has brightened our nights.. I love the nights off shore with clear skies. It is just something one doesn't see too much on shore because of all the lights and obstructions to a 360 view.
| 2009 South Pacific Adventure |
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11/02/2009, Off shore, Passage from Tongatapu to Opua, New Zealand
Last night, no wind, so we just slid along in the 3 knot range under power, which we are keeping low to conserve fuel. We are in the middle of a high, and will get these light winds for the next couple of days. Trying to get through them and still have fuel is the challenge because after the calm, lurks the low. All is well on board and hopefully we will get enough wind to move us along. We have 690 miles to go.
| 2009 South Pacific Adventure |
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