Gryphon, Part II

And so here we are. New Zealand. We started talking about this trip a long time ago and actually formed the intent to come here back in September 2009. It's still a bit surreal that we're finally here and it's even more unreal that we arrived after such a beautiful 7-day passage. No dramas, as they say here.

We left the BVI in early February - the 4th I think - of this year, sailing down to Trinidad & Tobago before crossing the Caribbean to Panama. We did the Canal transit in early May, then a couple weeks later started the long journey across the Pacific. Our arrival in Tonga back in October marked the close of our tropical cruising: even though the trip to NZ did take us a bit further west, it really took us much further south and out of the tropics.

We traveled 10350 nautical miles since leaving the BVI in February. The bulk of those miles occurred on voyages of 24 hours or more: we spent 65 days (and nights) underway this season. Our average cruising speed was about 6.5 kts for around 160 nm/day. Counting the BVI and NZ, we visited 13 different countries along the way. We put about 550 hours on our 24 year old Volvo diesel engine, half of which was probably just making electricity. Assuming a burn rate of .65 gallons per hour however, we find that our sailboat only gets about 29 miles to the gallon - much worse than the old Camry, by the way. So much for going green.

This is the last blog entry, though a few more photos may show up soon. But, otherwise, this blog will just quietly fade away in February 2011 when our subscription with sailblogs.com expires.

Thanks for following along; we've enjoyed your comments along the way

Fair winds, everyone.

Jeff & Raine
Opua, Bay of Islands
New Zealand

On 4 knots of wind we ghosted into the Bay Of Islands in the early morning. Bad fuel in the diesel tank has us nursing the engine along. But at sunrise, We're only 6 miles from the dock in Opua and we're motoring in slowly.

It's stunningly beautiful here. What a thrill to be back!

Yesterday was another day of tradewinds sailing. Easterlies around 15 knots for most of the day. The seas set down from the day before and it was great sailing. During the night the wind faded away and so now we're motor sailing. Seems the wind has veered to the SSW - precisely on our nose. Wind speed is 8-14, up and down, so it's lumpy at times but generally pretty nice.

The autopilot is up to its old tricks, drinking hydraulic oil like beer on a Friday night. We are really happy that Leslie is with us this trip. If she wasn't, then Raine and I would be doing watch and watch, handsteering the whole way. This way, we all get decent periods of rest in between our tricks at the wheel.

Oh, since it's also part of the long saga, I should mention the mainsail too: it has some new patches and repairs on it. We've given up trying to keep it looking pretty: the latest repairs were done with duct tape. I think this sail will win the "most loved" award when we land in NZ.

Friends that waited in Tonga an extra day or two are now getting the stuffing knocked out of them about 300-400 miles north of here. They said in an email 25-35 knots, gusting higher with 3-4 meter seas right on the beam. Can't be pleasant, even for the big boats.

231 miles to go. Figure, Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

And again, more of the same. Emphasis on more - more wind, more waves. Yesterday was a repeat of Day 2. Last night the wind came up to about 20-22 and seems to be staying there. It has gone more east than southeast, so at least they're beam seas or slightly aft. Still, they're up around 8 ft now. When you also consider that the water temperature is down around 65F, you know it's a little chilly each time we get splashed at the helm. So it goes. Forecast is another 24 hours like this.

514 miles to go.

More of the same and no complaints! SE winds 12-18 knots and we're making 6-7 towards NZ. Our original thought to stop at the Minerva Reefs and been replaced by the excitement of heading straight to NZ. Importantly, the weather for arrival next week is looking okay right now. It can all change, but the longer we linger, the more likely it is to deteriorate. So we'll keep moving.

After a very brief stay in Nuku'alofa, we're underway again. This leg is Tonga to NZ and it's the last leg of our current adventure as we expect to stay in NZ for a while.

Today we left with SSE winds around 12 knots and we've had pretty consistent conditions - sometime S'ly sometimes SE, generally 11-15 knots. We're close reaching under a reefed main and a #3 90% jib. Conditions are nice and it's a sunny day with scattered clouds. Forecast is for lighter winds Thursday and then stronger winds, more easterly on Friday-Saturday. It's 997 miles to Opua, NZ!

Did I introduce Leslie? Leslie is onboard as third crew. She's been sailing longer than us and has tons of offshore experience. The boat she was on from San Diego to Tonga was sold in Tonga so she was looking for a ride south. We're very happy to have her along.