Leu Cat « Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

Musket Cove

by steve, on August 9th, 2011 (Dreamcaper, Fiji, Leu Cat)

The last couple of hours of our passage were spent motoring in increasingly lighter air. We radioed in and secured a mooring ball in advance of learning where best to anchor. With four of us in the dinghy we didn’t want to be too far away from shore so the mooring ball seemed the best option for now.

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We were soon ashore to register ourselves here at Musket Cove. I felt like we’re back in the Caribbean. Manicured marinas, resorts, boat loads of tourists and not so clear waters. This is not the Fiji we’ve grown to love over the last few months. There are merits. I’m sure we’ll get used to it. I make it sound bad. It’s not. It’s quite beautiful. It’s just a bit of a culture shock.

We were soon registered and, having made earlier calls, found out Anne and John’s delayed luggage was arriving before midday. We decided to have lunch at the coffee bar while we waited for the ferry to arrive. Arrive it did and Anne and John’s luggage was duly collected.

After lunch we returned to the boat and so began Xmas with the unpacking of our goodies. Bilge pumps don’t sound exciting but in the right circumstances they can be. During the unpack we each had a beer. This was our undoing as we all conked out for an hour or two.

Later, Anne and John took the kayak to explore. While they were out I had our dive tanks filled and topped up the dinghy fuel. While I was out and about I bumped into Steve and Portia from Dreamcaper (not seen since Tahiti last year) aboard Leu Cat (not seen since New Zealand). It was nice to have a chat and quick catch up.

In the evening we went for the curry buffet at the resort bistro. It was pretty good but not the best. With all we could eat we ate all we could and were quite replete by the time we headed back to Dignity.

Although before 9pm we were all pooped. Our bunks beckoned for a sleepful but hot and sweaty night.

This morning I have begun the job of uploading our recent photos. I haven’t finished and I won’t be able to get round to putting the albums into previous posts just yet. For now, you can find the recent uploads on our photos page.

Last day in Whangarei

by KC2RIY, on April 19th, 2011 (Albatross III, Attitude, Blue Penguin, Boree, Callisto, Division II, El Regalo, Imagine, Jackster, Leu Cat, Marquesa, New Zealand, Proximity, Sail Away, Scream, Sea Mist, Sidewinder, Tahina, True Companions, Zephyrus)

What a day. We started the day with one last wash. The genset started ok but not with the zest we know it can with a good power supply. It’s battery was getting tired. A quick decision was made and it was off to the battery store to buy and then install a new battery. When I moved the original battery I tucked it way out of the way which meant pulling loads of stuff out of the generator compartment and then squeezing myself into a very tight place to work. Glad we did that as the genset starts perfectly now.

Next task was to head for Opua to sell the car back to Phil from Cars for Cruisers. I had an agreement with Rob and Ruth from Albatross III to head up to Opua too and give me a ride back. Just before leaving we bumped into a young lady from the NE US whose on a traveling trip and was looking for passage up to Fiji. We offered to take her up to Opua and back to investigate things there and learn a bit more about making what she was trying to do work.

On arriving in Opua I let Lauren off to explore the area and agreed to meet up at the Fish and Chip shop at noon where I’d promised to buy lunch for everyone for helping out. The deal with Phil went through smoothly and soon I was walking away with a cashable check.

While waiting for Lauren to show up I bumped into Andy from Zephyrus which was a pleasant surprise. We chatted for a while and I asked about people looking for crew. He had a good lead and shared it with Lauren when she found us. About 12:30 Rob and Ruth turned up having seen some friends. Unfortunately the Fish and Chip shop in Opua had closed down so we headed off to Pahia for the banks and shops there. Half way there I realize I’d left my GPS unit somewhere so we headed back finding it with Phil.

Leaving the others to look around I first went to Westpac to cash the check using my passport to prove my identity. She had to call Phil to verify the check was ok to cash and he approved with the caveat I owed him a GPS unit. She found the explanation of his remark quite funny. My next stop was the ANZ bank to deposit most the cash keeping enough to pay for our new kayak.

With all the financials handled I found the others and bought all Fish and Chips on the waterfront which turned out to be overfilling but delicious.

Rob took us north out of Pahia for a different route back to Whangarei. A few miles out of town I realized I didn’t have our folder containing our boat papers and passports. Not again. So back into town we went. I checked first at the Westpac. The teller grinned hugely and went to the safe to retrieve my passport. I found the folder in the ANZ where I’d left it. Where was my head???? I checked to make sure it was still in the right place physically. I think my brain had already set sail.

No more mishaps beset us as we traveled back to Whangarei. Rob helped me collect the kayak which we placed on the boat. Helen had spent the day making a clean boat immaculate for the evening’s party. By now there was not much time left. I performed a few small jobs around the boat before showering and soon after folks began to show.

All in all we had the pleasure of welcoming the crew from Albatross III, Attitude, Blue Penguin, Boree, Callisto, Clara Katherine, Division II, El Regalo, Imagine, Jackster, Leu Cat, Marquesa, Proximity, Sail Away, Scream, Sea Mist, Sidewinder, Stray Kitty, Tahina, True Companions and Tyee along with one or two marina neighbours. That was about forty people at once. It was a great test of our through hulls as we were down about 6-9 inches in the water. We didn’t sink.

This morning we woke fairly early and after doing last minute internetty things we dropped of our key to the shower block and headed out. As we headed down the river the winds were light and behind us. And cold. We motored on batteries alone for about 30 mins before turning on the generator. Near the river mouth we caught sight of True Companions ahead of us and called them on the radio to greet them.

As we rounded the heads we hit a dead patch and used the opportunity to raise the new main. We crossed our fingers hoping for wind as we really wanted to see how our new sails would perform. We didn’t have to wait too long and soon we were in winds that were to vary between 10-20 knots as we headed up the coast. We were gobsmacked by the improved boat performance. Before the boat speed would fade below about 12 knots under main and jib. Now she was achieving above 1/2 wind speed all the way down to 9 knots on the beam. We’ve never seen it so good.

We have found a couple of issues. The reef points on the new main are higher up than before and now the 1st reef only has a turn of spare line at the winch which is not enough to reef on the fly. We also have new modes of vibration on the luff of the main which we need to figure out how to handle. Apart from that everything seems to be in amazing shape. It feels like we have a new boat.

Our original plan had us making our way up the coast in smaller steps. With reduced wind tomorrow and nasty northeasterlies forecast for Friday we’re aiming to cover as much distance as we can today and complete the trip to the Bay of Islands tomorrow where we can find shelter from any type of wind. Our goal for today is the Whangamumu Bay which we visited last November.

We’ve now settled into a pleasant sail up the coast putting on and taking off our warm clothes as the sun goes in and out. We have about a knot of counter current but we’re doing well against it. We even have a line out for fish but nothing caught yet. We’ve shed the land life and are back on the water.

On the water

by steve, on April 16th, 2011 (Albatross III, Callisto, Leu Cat, New Zealand)

It’s nice to be back on the water with the sound of fish occasionally leaping out of the water. Mind you, we have no inclination to go swimming as it’s still just as murky in the river here. I reckon the fish jump merely to see where they’re going.

The countdown clock is set. Our minds are set on leaving Whangarei on Wednesday and playing it by ear as to where we’ll end up. High tide is at 9am local time so we can leave in the morning and have the benefit of the ebb to go down river. If the weather permits we’ll start heading up the coast.

All is set for Tuesday and selling the car. We’ve agreed with Phil from Cars for Cruisers to sell the car back to him on Tuesday with the chance of a loaner should we later make it to Opua and need to go into town to provision. That saves leaving the car in Opua and having to rush things at the last minute. It also helps Phil out which we don’t mind as he’s been so helpful.

Although Saturday was more relaxed than life (if you can call it that) in the yard we did manage some boat work before the bad weather set in.

After one last check of the shaft seals (all good) I reinstalled the final two house batteries. I then transferred 30 gallons of diesel purchased in the Galapagos to our main tanks. We now have enough diesel to motor to Opua if we had to (don’t want to though) where we’ll fill up with duty free fuel after clearing out.

Then we installed the 1st and 2nd reef lines running them up the boom. When they were last removed we drew through two smaller lines which we’d use to bring the reefing lines. Perhaps due to rushing to avoid bad weather coming in we managed to lose both lines in the boom necessitating using a fish line to put them back in place. This is not so hard as such but somehow the fish line always finds a way to weave in and out of the other lines inside the boom so that once the light line is in place a certain amount of keyhole surgery is required through the end of the boom to untangle them.

Next was a SSB email check. Particularly when anchored/moored in towns this can require patience as local interference and band availability can conspire against each other. Not this time. I obtained a connection to the Wellington winlink station first time and my test email went through. It is interesting to note that the unusual recent two year extended minimum in the solar cycle is now over and flux (I think that’s the right word) has shot up. I understand this bodes well for us as this will improve communications at sea.

With a new balance of power established Helen opened up on the dirt focusing on the inside of the boat allowing the anticipated rain to begin the exterior onslaught. We did a short run in the car to pick up cleaning materials from the chandlers across the river and to drop off a memory stick to the Callistos. On the way back we drove to look at some sea kayaks. We’ve often been envious of others and have been considering one for a while. There was one in the store with a little ding in it resulting in a small discount from a pretty high starting price. It’s a two person lightweight kayak which (we were told) is excellent for one man surfing. I say one ‘man’ in this case as this aspect has appeal to half the Dignity crew. Decision is yet to be made on this.

With the weather turning grim I dropped off Helen at the local supermarket for some near term provisioning while I parked the car and lugged all our old sails from the car to the boat. They have a bit of life left in them so they could act as spares. Alternatively we may just give them to the Pacific islanders which I think is better than throwing them away. A living can be made out of an old sail that we would otherwise throw away. It’s worth hanging onto them just for that reason alone.

In the afternoon I was presented with the problem of naming the metal tube with a 180 bend that sits just before the mast allowing cabling to come from within the boat without water penetration. I asked the Leu Cats and Albatross IIIs with no result bar getting a spare Vodaphone USB modem from Rob on Albatross III. That saves us picking one up in Fiji. Thanks to them for that.

Before really settling down my final accomplishment was to renew our EPIRB registration which is due every two years.

In the evening Steve and Darusha from Scream came for dinner after which we played a few games of Fluxx. Having played and enjoyed the game aboard Scream up in Tonga I’d ordered a few packs. I must have been inebriated when I did so as I ended up with 7 differently themed packs with one extra duplicate pack. We played all 7 packs separately and 2 of the favourites again: Martian and Pirates.

Back in the Town Basin

by steve, on April 15th, 2011 (Leu Cat, New Zealand, Sea Mist, Tahina)

Splashing / launching went well. With the Tahina’s (including ex-crew Paul who we’d met in Kelefesia) and Sea Mist’s looking on we were trailered down the ramp into the water. We sat there while I went through my checklist. Of particular focus was all our through hulls, particularly the genset water exhaust. I’ve done a fair bit of plumbing in my time and I have to confess, as far as I can recall, I have yet to have a leak on a pipe connection. This was not the time to blaze new trails.

Everything worked fine. I gave the ok and lines were thrown aboard and we back out into the river. The tide was already ebbing but the river was flat. I don’t have any written records of past performance but our speed through the water was significantly better than we’ve ever seen before. One would hope so having had the bottom painted, the props tuned, the couplings changed and the motors realigned. This makes us all the more eager to see how things have improved with our new, larger headsail and roach improved main.

We edged into the marina as light was falling and tied off to the dock. I was not given permission to crack a beer until I’d connected up to the water supply. We dined lavishly on fried egg sandwiches and a glass of wine before heading to the showers. I took a brutal scrubbing brush to tackle the yard grime embedded into my feet. I think I’ll need to grow new skin before by feet fully return to their proper colour.

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So does that mean we can now relax for a bit. Not really. Helen’s genetically encoded war on dirt is poised for full expression. With the infinite battalions of yard dust out of the picture a new balance can and will be obtained. I have one final round of shaft seal inspections to perform and then I have to put in place the final two batteries. We’ll transfer our the remaining diesel in our cans to the main tanks to give us the chance of deferring a fuel stop until we can buy duty free. There are other things to do. I’m just not thinking about them right now.

A little further ahead we plan to take the car up to Opua on Tuesday. The Tahina’s have offered us the use of their car for the day. The plan is we’ll drive to Opua in convoy with the Leu’s and return in the one car. On Wednesday we’ll head down the river and on Thursday perform sea trials with the new sails and perform checks on the water maker. From then on it’s either up the coast to the Bay of Islands or straight up to Fiji depending on the weather patterns. Ironically there’s a chance of a weather window to Fiji 3-4 days from now but that may be just a little too soon for us. I’ll be watching this one closely.

For now, here again is the photo album containing a snapshot of a subset of what we’ve been up to.

3rd Tuesday on the hard

by steve, on April 12th, 2011 (Callisto, Emily Grace, Leu Cat, New Zealand, Tyee)

With the work list dwindling you’d think we’d be having less to do. It doesn’t seem to be working out that way :

I remove temporary batteries I hooked up sitting over the starboard shaft access ready for the techs planned visit.
I made my (hopefully) last trip up the mast to file down the epoxy I’d applied to the oversized countersunk holes.
The engine tech arrived and told us the second shaft seal was now not expected to arrive from overseas until late May and suggested we try and order one from the US. I nearly tore his head off. We then came up with the idea of using the new one and the best of the old ones which is still pretty good.
I cleaned and sanded the prop shafts one more time.
The engine tech ran into a new problem as the newly machined couplings had been machined in error and needed some more work. Despite all this, all is expected to be complete on this front by Wednesday.
Replaced a bent clip on the dinghy hauling lines.
Inventoried genset oil to determine how much more to buy in.
Stored around 14 boxes of wine away from the world.
Laid out storm anchor. This is one of those jobs we should have done a long time ago. We’ve had a second hand para anchor and a brand new set of bridles/lines for nearly two years and we’ve never taken them out of the bags to inspect them, let alone test them at sea. We removed both sets of lines from the bags and worked out how we would set them from the boat at sea. We removed the parachute from it’s bag and found it intact but covered in mould. We hoisted it up the mast for a couple of hours in the afternoon to dry out. It will have to go up there again today. Also spent ages trying to untangle the lines to the parachute. It’s better but not complete.
Collected our finished windows. I took them round to Leu Cat who are considering doing the same project. They were quite impressed. There I picked up our two clamshell scoops which had arrived from the US. Back at the boat Helen was delighted. We put them into the window frames and checked them out through the plastic still wrapping the boat. They looked good but we really need to see them with the plastic off.
Bottom painting progressed. Second primer followed by first coat of anti-foul went on.

During the day it was nice to meet John and Lucy from Tyee who’ve just returned from Canada. Their boat has been in the yard while they’ve been home. With envy we saw Emily Grace splash/launch.

In the evening it was a pleasure to eat out with Mike and Anne from Callisto at our preferred curry house in Whangarei. Like us, they like their curries hot so we were able to share five dishes amongst the four of us. Delicious.

The weather forecast for the rest of the week remains good and all signs point towards a Friday afternoon launch for us. Today the second layer of anti-foul goes on as will a third application on all our leading edges. The engine tech should have our prop shafts reconnected and we may even have the hull clean started. A lot to do yet but it all looks doable.

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3rd Tuesday on the hard