Stressful Situation - Actually Many At Once
09 November 2014 | At Sea - Day Nine to New Zealand
Yesterday the wind finally shifted to the east and we were able to stop the motor and start sailing again. It wasn't fast but it didn't need to be. We figured that for every hour we sailed the more fuel was still available to us in the end. We figured we had 30 engine hours left, plenty. We slipped along nicely at 4-5 knots as the sun got lower in the sky. Don finally got lucky and hooked up a fish, a nice big eye tuna. We made gin and tonics and sat together on the starboard side sharing a nice intimate moment, enjoying the gorgeous sunset and the awesome beauty of nature. We toasted the five great years we've spent cruising. I haven't shared it with everyone but we have listed 'Buena Vista' for sale with a broker here in Opua. We did that almost a month ago and knew we just had to get her back to New Zealand, clean her up and let her go. Last night was so beautiful that we questioned that decision again. We had a bite to eat and when it got dark the wind died after we had sailed without the engine for 6 hours. Don went to bed and I started her up and motored slowly into the darkness toward our destination which was I think about 50 miles away. No problemo. Until about 30 miles from Opua the engine sputtered and then died. Holy Crap! No wind, no fuel, nobody around, dark and very lonely out there. My heart sank and Don was just beside himself. I felt very fearful. How often do we feel real fear in the twenty first century. I found myself shaking all over and panting...that's the best I can describe it. Not pretty. To be in this predicament with a big storm coming in a day or so...well...I feel like I damaged my psyche??? We put up all sail and I tried to get the boat moving and for a while could only sail in a circle. We saw another boat close to us on AIS and called out to him on VHF, no answer. We hoped it was because his radio was turned off so we got out a spotlight and also used the airhorn. No response. I thought of shooting off a flare but Don didn't like that idea. We called out to 'Huck' because we knew he was behind us and had mentioned on the net to Don that he had hardly used any of his fuel. I know...reaching for straws. We heard some VHF chatter, lots of boats are converging on Opua from Fiji, Tonga, and New Caledonia right now, taking cover before the storm on Tuesday. We called and talked to several of them. Remember this is all happening in the middle of the night. And while they would like to help, many were sorry they couldn't because they either were running out of fuel themselves or they just couldn't physically get it out of their boat's big tanks. Just then, a bit of wind hit my face and then it became a little breeze and we were off! I charted a course on Open CPN, a plan of attack to try and sail into the Bay of Islands and then maybe get someone to bring us out some fuel there. We did four big tacks of about 5 miles each, slowly moving toward the goal. Too slowly though. I realized that it could take all day to tack our way into the big bay and my heart sunk...panting and shaking again. Anyway, the wind started to die and I knew we were in real trouble. Right now I want to take you back three years, to Mexico. We met our good friends Karen and Jim on 'Sockdolager' at Espirito Santo, an island group off of La Paz on the Baja Peninsula. The night that we met them we also met their friend Craig from Seattle on the sailboat 'Luckness'. Back to the present, Karen emailed me a week or two ago and told me to keep an eye out for 'Luckness' because he was in Tongo getting ready to sail to New Zealand. Well, today in my despair and fear, I clicked on the AIS target list and oh my god...one of the targets is 'Luckness' and he is just 10 miles to the northeast of where we are now. Total headrush...how could that be? I asked Don to get on the radio and call him. He remembered us and we remembered him. Then Don asked if he had any spare diesel. Craig replied that he had hardly used any on the passage from Tonga and we could have the three jerry jugs he keeps on deck. OMG, could it be that we are saved? We continued on our course and Craig plotted a path to where we were. As he approached, we turned into the wind and dropped our sails. We put the dinghy in the water and then put the outboard motor on the dinghy. We were very lucky that it was calm conditions. A bit bumpy but not too bad. Don dinghied over to 'Luckness' and picked up the fuel cans. He brought them back to 'Buena Vista' and poured it all into our starboard tank. Then we tried starting her up, nothing. We tried again, nothing. Don is cussing and getting worked up. Too worked up to think clearly so I tried to calm him down so he could get into the engine compartment and figure out what the problem was. Craig stood by, circling 'Buena Vista' as I tried to keep him informed as to what progress Don was making. He told me the next thing was for him to try and tow us in, which he would do if it came to that. But he preferred to wait around for Don to fix the problem. Everyone knows that towing is wrought with problems. Don tried and tried. It seems that the fuel tank is below the Racor filter and the fuel lift pump was having trouble moving the fuel upwards. I guess it works better if the fuel tank is slightly above the filter, gravity helps the process alot. Now it's noon and we're realizing that if we don't get started towing soon, if will be late by the time we get in. We are now ten miles outside the bay and Opua Marina is about 10 miles or more inside the big bay. He and Don set up the tow line, 'Luckness' with a bridle out the back and Don's double towline looped around the bridle and cleated onto to 'Buena Vista', one line in each side cleat up front. It was scary watching the looped line move back and forth around Craig's wind vane steering unit. It's the most important piece of gear on an ocean going cruising yacht. I prayed that the tow line would not wrap around the vane and do serious and expensive damage. But Craig did not flinch. He is an amazing person, down to earth and kind and you get the feeling that he would do anything for you. Boy are we lucky he was there. Well, after about an hour of slow towing, Don finally had me start up the engine for the tenth time and it started!! I wanted to cry tears of relief as the boys untied the tow line and we motored side by side into the Bay of Islands and on to Opua. Welcome to New Zealand! I'm glad that day is over. I'm also pretty certain that my sailing days are over too.