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Sam’s Aboard

by steve, on December 21st, 2010 (Marquesa, New Zealand, Scream)

Shortly after 6am we took off in the car to drive to Auckland International Airport. We’d been given warnings of the traffic so we gave ourselves plenty of time to get there. Despite plenty of traffic we were still nearly an hour early so we stopped for breakfast and a shop before entering the airport.

Sam duly came through and we had hugs all round despite Sam suffering (read reeking) from sitting in airplanes for over a day. Now further motivated to get the shower working on the boat we stopped at a few DIY/garden centers on the way to see if we could find a regulator/pressure reducer so solve the over pressure problem we have from the dock water. We had no luck.

On the way back we also detoured to the small village of M*** where we stopped for fish and chips. The day had turned out to be exceptionally dry and warm which was a very nice change from all the rain we’ve been having recently.

After lunch we headed back to Whangarei. On the way I received two calls, one from the chandlery to say the new grill burner has arrived and one from the garden center to say our regulator had arrived. We stopped first at the latter. Ben and Sam chose to walk through the town back to the boat from there. We then picked up the burner and returned to the boat to find Ben and Sam already there.

The water and grill were soon fixed and we spent the rest of the afternoon chatting. We were invited over to Scream for beers which we did and met Dave from Marquesas there too. He’s arrived recently and will be here for a few months. Scream will be leaving today.

Today we’ll be doing some shopping for Sam and probably go and see the new Tron movie.

Category: Marquesa, New Zealand, Scream | Here is my comment

A busy day

by steve, on December 20th, 2010 (New Zealand, Scream)

We got quite a lot done today and had a very pleasant surprise.

The mornings started with a big clean up and some fixing. My first chore was to fix the toilet that Sam will be using. We’ve had a replacement pump for months but as noone has been using that head I’ve never got round to fixing the one that’s leaking. This will be the last of the original pumps that I’m replacing with the lock down ones – much better.

That done I tackled the grill which was filthy and not running as strong as it used to. It took me a while to clean the grills and to figure out how to disassemble the pieces so I could get at and remove the burner. Being able to access information online got me to the point where I could apply force to the right place and remove the various pieces.

Once they were all clean I was off to find parts. First stop was the Burnsco chandler where I was able to order a new burner which should arrive before Xmas. They didn’t have a pressure regulator for the dock water but pointed me towards a garden center that might.

I then visited the stainless steel place next door to talk about options for making a new helm seat. They wanted to look at pics on line but this ran into difficulties as their computer was running really slow. I fixed that for them and me made some progress but ended up with a few more things to think about and do.

Then it was off to the electrical shop to see if they had the float switch I need for the shower sump. Didn’t make a lot of progress here but I have their card and now need to refind the part online and call them to try and get it ordered in.

Nearby was the propane place so I filled a tank that had run out recently and then it was on to the garden center. They didn’t have the regulator but, again, were able to order some in. Hopefully by Xmas too.

While at the garden center I received a call from Ben to inform me that our friend Dick (Sam’s godfather) had shown up as they were passing through. They figured stopping for lunch here would be a good idea so they would have less hastle on Xmas day when they’re also due to visit. I dropped the last thing on my list to get back to the boat to say hello. In the end we had over a couple of hours together which was nice.

With time running out I was able to sort out one further item which was to acquire the Beachmaster wheels for our dinghy that we wanted. Once Ben has left, hauling the dinghy up and down tide affected beaches will be a chore for Helen and I so some decent wheel are essential. The boat that sells them is here in the marina although on the other side of the river. It only took about 10 mins to pick them up.

This evening Steve and Darusha from Scream popped by to invite us over tomorrow. We ended up inviting them in and chatting.

In between all of this Ben and I have been challenging ourselves with problems from the Project Euler website. The problems (requiring math and some computational skills to solve) are somewhat tricky but immensely rewarding to solve. I’ve nailed 13 so far but lost some hair over problem 29.

Sam is well on his way. We received a message from it from LA airport between flights. Up early tomorrow to get to Auckland airport to meet him.

Category: New Zealand, Scream | Here is my comment

Whangarei

by steve, on December 16th, 2010 (Emily Grace, Jenny, Leu Cat, New Zealand, Scream, Sea Mist)

The weather continued to be miserable. We also got a call from Whangarei marina letting us know a slot on the dock was coming available Friday afternoon. We didn’t get off the boat on Thursday and waking up this morning (Friday) we saw the mountain we wanted to climb shrouded in cloud. Our minds were made up. One hour after low tide we headed up river and here we are in Whangarei.

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We overtook Scream on the way up the river who turned out to be anchored one bay away. We saw John on Sea Mist at Riverside Marina close to town. We all waved. He called to see if we were interested in a dinner at a nearby hotel on Xmas eve. We were so that was sorted even before we were tied to the dock.

Docking was tight but the wind was blowing us slightly onto the dock which allowed me to be totally cool and let the boat drive right into it’s place nudging the motors to keep us in place. This was in front of a ton of people all around the dock and restaurant which overlooks us. The audience can make or break you – this time I wasn’t beaten.

On the dock we soon ran into Laura from Jenny, Kim from Emily Grace and Mary Margaret from Leu Cat. Nothing changes. Here we are 15 miles up river and we’re still bumping into old friends. Should be a good time here. We also recognised a lot of other boats that crossed the Pacific this year. Hopefully we’ll meet all these in good time.

We’re now hooked up to internet and water (in that order) and sorted out our stay at the office. Tonight we’re off for a curry, if the rain stops.

Category: Emily Grace, Jenny, Leu Cat, New Zealand, Scream, Sea Mist | Here is my comment

Arrived in Ha’ano

by KC2RIY, on October 18th, 2010 (At Sea, Scream, Tonga)

During the morning I visited Scream to lend Darusha my eBook where I had made annotations on her book. She is a science fiction writer and I’ve just finished reading her three books, the final one that she’s only just finished. She had welcomed my feedback on typos so my visit was to share these with her. I really enjoyed reading her books – particularly as it’s the first time I’ve read an author I knew personally. If you’re interested in them her books are published under the name ‘M Darusha Wehm’.

With light winds forecast overnight we (I) decided to leave before dusk. Good job we did as the anchor chain had fouled on some coral heads at 60ft. We only got out by sending Ben down with scuba gear on to untangle the chain from three coral heads. With that behind us we were still able to make it out of the bay and through the pass before it got dark.

And then the fun began. As soon as our radar was able to peer beyond the bay we’d been in we saw rain clouds all around us but mainly off to our starboard and slightly ahead. The winds were still very light so we motored to give us time to assess. We learned that although the wind was blowing from our port, the weather systems were moving from right to left. We dodged the first path of rain welcoming the increased wind on it’s far side. We raised the sails and killed the motor and sailed through the night. On my 8-11pm shift I ran into another rainstorm 6-8 miles across which I could not avoid. I reefed the main and plunged into it. This was to be the worst rain I’ve ever sailed through. While I stayed moderately dry in the cockpit I was still getting wet from the rain curling in over the bimini so I spent the latter half of my shift inside the cabin going outside to check the radar every 10 minutes.

The rains subsided before I handed over to Helen but both she and Ben experienced similar weather during their shifts. A very wet night. I began my 5am shift by noticing that Sea Mist were on our tail making a lot of speed. I contacted them on the VHF to learn they were motor-sailing with the same destination as us in mind. We had a brief chat and continued on our way.

Helen woke early and I asked her to cover me as I was tired having had very little sleep during my time off. I managed a short nap before the winds fell and Helen woke me to start motoring. The rest was uneventful. We’ve anchored in a beautiful spot of of Ha’ano. The water is beautifully clear with some interesting reefs nearby. After we’ve rested we’ve plenty to do.

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Category: At Sea, Scream, Tonga | Here is my comment

Not a lot

by KC2RIY, on October 17th, 2010 (Scream, Tonga)

Another day of doing fairly little which is in keeping with Tongan tradition for Sundays. Ben and I did go for a snorkel outside of the pass and in the evening we visited Darusha and Steven aboard Scream for dinner. There we were introduced to the card game “Fluxx” which we enjoyed immensely. We rounded off the evening with a heated argument (largely among the Southwoods) about the nature of free will. That’s what you get from too little to do and perhaps a tad too much rum.

It’s getting likely that we’ll be heading south within the next 24 hours. Winds are currently light and getting lighter so we may even leave before dark for a very slow passage.

Category: Scream, Tonga | Here is my comment
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