Jacana's yarns

Sailing west about from Melbourne, Australia.

26 October 2011 | Bundaberg, QLD
04 October 2011 | On passage to Bundaberg, Australia
01 October 2011 | On passage to Bundaberg, Australia
26 September 2011 | On passage to Bundaberg, Australia
20 September 2011 | Port Vila, Vanuatu
10 September 2011 | Port Vila, Vanuatu
09 September 2011 | Port Vila, Vanuatu
08 September 2011 | On Passage to Port Vila
05 September 2011 | On Passage to Port Vila
02 September 2011 | Fiji
01 September 2011 | Lautoka, Fiji
18 August 2011 | Suva, Fiji
02 August 2011 | Suva, Fiji
24 July 2011 | On Passage to Suva, Fiji
21 July 2011 | On Passage to Suva, Fiji
17 July 2011 | Neiafu, Tonga
28 June 2011 | On Passage to Tonga
27 June 2011 | On Passage to Tonga

Anchored Suva Harbour

24 July 2011 | On Passage to Suva, Fiji
Yo and Dan Hellier
Passage to Fiji
This was a trying passage.
We had a few days of light weather - pleasant passage making but bedeviled by malfunctions.

All on one day:
• The new seal on the the waterpump that had been repaired in Moorea, suddenly started leaking badly.
Yo had bought a new pump in Oz. We changed the pump at sea and had surprisingly little problems removing the pulley from the old pump and affixing it to the new.

• Then, we had a leak into the engine bilge.
We tightened the stern gland. The leak continued. Eventually, on the hidden side of the engine we discovered a u-shaped metal pipe had been vibrating for years, against the side of the engine. Probably many years ago it had been badly installed by a mechanic.
We cut a length of hose and affixed it with a worm hose clip on the precise leaking point. Victory, but had to grease the arm to get into the confined space.

• Then the toilet lost suction. We had a back up plan. Out with the anchor wash hose. You simply pump seawater in with the hose while pumping out of the toilet.

A tropical trough had quickened up. We knew that by the 4th day we would face a strong nor' wester, smack on the nose.

Instead of sticking to Jimmy Cornell's recommended route we angled north and on dusk glided through the Oneata passage, with 2 steaks on the BBQ.


In our opinion this passage is perfectly safe. It cuts miles off the Cornell route, and in our case gave us 57 miles northing.
Once inside we angled rapidly to the north in the lee of the reefs and Lakemba island. It was a magic close reach in flat water.
From then on the wind kept increasing and backing. We close reached for many hours.
By the next afternoon, it was nearly hard on and a steady 25 and gusting to 30.

For the first time in our 33,000 odd mile world cruise, we decided to hove to and have a comfy dinner and sleep.
Jacana hove to well, with 2 reefs and a backed staysail, staying in her slick, and drifting to leeward at about 2 knots.
After 5 hours the slugs and bolt rope pulled out of the track. A bit of slick work saw the main down safely. We continued on under the staysail.


Our roller reefing system furls around the boom. The sail is flat and the shape comes from a Dacron insert, that slides into a metal track, and on the other has a plastic track to take the bolt rope. The bolt rope pulled from this plastic track.


At dawn we raised the main again. After an hour it blew out of the track again. No more main for this passage. We'll have to deal with this once we get to Suva.

Without a main it was a slow frustrating 30 hours to Suva, with the wind remaining on the nose for 20 of those hours.
Eventually the wind disappeared, the seas became as flat as a shit carter's hat, and we could motor direct to Suva, entering the well lit passage at 2100 hours and dropping the hook into top holding mud in the quarantine anchorage, adjacent to the Royal Suva Yacht Club.
Out with the tinnies, and pop the cork on a bottle of red and then bed. Now feeling ready to receive the Fiji customs and immigration welcoming committee. Everyone is most efficient. The Suva Yacht club was up early on the VHF organising those of us who needed clearance.
Already written our job list for the next 2 weeks. Who says you don't work your way around the world on a yacht?
Comments
Vessel Name: Jacana Of Melbourne
Vessel Make/Model: Northshore 46
Hailing Port: Melbourne Australia
Crew: Dan & Yolanda Hellier
About: Departed Melbourne April 2003. We have now finished our circumnavigation. Thought we might cruise down the east coast of Oz for a while
Jacana Of Melbourne's Photos - Main
21 Photos
Created 28 October 2011
14 Photos
Created 27 August 2011
6 Photos
Created 17 July 2011
6 Photos
Created 28 April 2011
32 Photos
Created 17 March 2011
There are over 900 species of birds in Panama and 400 of them are in our jungle backyard at ShelterBay marina
21 Photos
Created 20 December 2010
Regular visits to Oz allow us to travel via new countries and catch up with mates and family
1 Photo | 1 Sub-Album
Created 13 November 2010
4 Photos
Created 26 July 2010
18% of all species of birds in the world occur in Colombia
5 Photos
Created 20 June 2010
14 Photos
Created 7 April 2010
We joined the people on the street for Emancipation Day, and the festivities of Carnival. With other yachties we took Jessie James' tours to Asa Wright Bird Reserve, the Caroni Swamp, Nariva and the pitch lake.
17 Photos
Created 30 March 2010
Trinidad & Tobago have the greatest number of species of birds per sq kilometer than any other country in the world...about 460 odd species.
22 Photos
Created 9 March 2010