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by steve, on April 8th, 2011 ( Attitude, Boree, Callisto, El Regalo, Imagine, Leu Cat, New Zealand, Proximity, Scream, Tahina) The weather this week has been very alternating. Every other day we have variable weather and on the alternate days we have a consistently good day. Yesterday was a consistently good day. Confused? Because we had an afternoon event planned we had a shortened work day but we still made progress :
- Sanded all the gelcoat touch ups
- Replaced temporary split pin at top of mast
- Added a layer of varnish to the shower sill
- Picked up new code zero halyard
- Replaced old main halyard (which was in the code zero halyard’s position) with new code zero halyard
- Assembled gooseneck twice. First time I thought I had it on the boom upside down but I discovered I was wrong about this after removing it.
- Installed new main sheet
- Reattached sail bag
- 80% inflated dinghy (which was returned from having handle/rollock reattached)
- Filed off ridges from inside boom in order to install new sheave for outhaul/third reef
On the external projects more progress was made than anticipated. The dinghy arrived. The anchor roller strengthening is now complete. The chain chute is complete. The props / shafts were returned from having a hole drilled and pin inserted. The new sheave was cut. Our window inserts are now expected early next week and I postponed the forestay work to Monday.
I actually had a little time to study a few Euler problems and have now developed a strategy to solve one of them which I’ll implement over the weekend. It’s interesting going back to them as at first they all look far too complicated to solve but sooner or later dormant brain cells wake up from their slumber and go to work.
Around 2:30pm we broke for the day and cleaned up for our afternoon out. The town of Whangarei was putting on a farewell seminar/show for the cruisers who’ve spent time (and presumably quite a lot of money) here in the town – particularly on services to their ocean battered boats. First was a very impressive traditional Maori challenge, far better than the one we saw at the Maori experience in Rotorua.
Next we had a half hour lecture by weather guru Bob McDavitt. For those that don’t know him, he puts out an excellent cruising forecast each Sunday that makes a relevant read every Sunday. As such he practically received a heroes welcome by the cruisers as a result of this service. He does offer professional guidance / route planning to those that wish it. His half hour brief was very informative. He confirmed the weather scenario for leaving north that I’m now already anticipating. More importantly he helped us understand the broader context for the weather patterns and their near term impact. We’re in what’s called a declining La Nina situation which historically extends the cyclone season. Thus the general recommendation is not to leave until May. This fits our general plan which was to be ready by the third week in April and to take the first available weather window. That window should now appear early May. This extra time allows us the opportunity to flex our new wings (once installed) with a sail, perhaps, up to Opua before we leave.
Next was the BBQ which was a fine feast. I thought I was taking a little of everything but my plate ended up piled high. Having had a light and early lunch I was famished and polished off the lot.
Finally we were given a cultural Maori performance by a national competition winning local singing group. Again – far better than the ones we’ve seen at tourist attractions. We are lucky to have the opportunity in our lives to go cruising and further privileged to be given such joyful, harmonious and passionate performances.
We were not alone for this farewell presentation. We sat amongst old friends from the ‘class of ’10’ puddle jumpers : Attitude, Boree, Callisto, El Regallo, Imagine, Leu Cat, Proximity, Scream & Tahina. There were plenty of others there too and the sad thing is was our need to catch up with old friends prevented us from really making any new.
Being in the company of so many friends and having the Polynesian dancing and singing going on made most, if not all, of us keen to start our crossing and get back out into the wonders of the South Pacific. Just got to get the boat work finished !!!!!
We finished the evening by inviting Frank and Karen over to a messy Dignity to share a bottle of wine. Almost like being back out on the water. Except for the gentle rocking. The slapping of waves. The warm nights. The beautiful beaches. The great snorkeling. No yard dust. Not having to pee in a bucket. Ok – so not quite so similar but we’re on our way soon.
ADDED LATER: All too easy. Euler problem nailed. Off to work.
Back in the States now and it’s time to reflect. It’s been an awesome experience but it’s hard to sum up 6 months of travel in a single post. You can read the individual adventures I’ve gotten up to since arriving in Tahiti in the blog itself so I’m just going to talk about a couple highlights and my general feelings of the whole trip.
Highlights:
Being with the family – Since I didn’t see them too much leading up to their departure it was great to be with my parents for 6 months. I am lucky that I have family relations that I can spend more than a weekend with without going insane. Will definitely miss my mum’s curry.
Cruisers – Everyone I met cruising were all really interesting, had great stories and came from so many different backgrounds. The fact that someone is willing to live in a confined space and travel on water for years virtually guarantees awesomeness in some regard. I’ve made some good friends and I hope to see them again in the future. I’d like to thank Dave again from Leu Cat for the Cubans and Manhattans at sunset.
Environment and adventures – Almost everything New Zealand; Glow worm caves, Tandem Sky Diving (although I have to do it solo now), Tongariro Alpine passage, Geothermal sites and pretty much every walk. Just a stunning place. The 3 islands that stick out most in my mind are Bora Bora (landscape), Palmerston (culture) and Nuie (landscape). I also really enjoyed spear hunting fish while snorkeling. I like to think I’m semi-decent at it now.
Downsides:
The only downside, which in all honesty wasn’t much of a problem, was not having people of the same social age. I got urges to see my friends once in a while but the cruising community is full of laughs and fun so I never felt alone.
Lessons learned:
You can have great adventures no matter who you are. Even more ingrained is the fact that the world is extremely beautiful and there is still diversity to be found.
How I’ve changed:
I’ve become even more patient. Currently I can’t watch general TV, I feel like I’m wasting my time.
I am very grateful to my parents for giving me this fantastic opportunity to see the world from a different perspective. Now it’s up to me to create my own adventure in life.
We’re hoping to be out of here by Wednesday. Our ferry to the south island is the following Monday and we’d like to take our time getting down to Wellington. We’ve also had a gracious invitation from some NZers near Napier to stay with them on Friday and Saturday which we’re aiming to make. So. There’s no time to rest. This is going to be one of those project list blogs …..
First order of the day was to remove the sails before the possibility of the wind picking up. The jib is always easy and this we accomplished first. Removing the mainsail requires removing the reefs and the battons, sliding off the sail cars and lowering the lazy bag before heaving the sail off the boom. Both sails had to be folded which is not so hard to do on the foredeck. They’re now bagged up and ready to be collected by the sailmaker today.
Between us (either collectively or separate) for the rest of the day we accomplished the following other items :
- Chased an erroneous bank charge down
- Talked to Tom on Emily Grace about his experiences aggregating items in the US to be sent to NZ
- Learned that our car battery should be here on Monday (today)
- Went to a local store to buy plastic boxes for putting all our loose items in for camping. Also bought tubing for creating an easy delivery system for topping up house batteries.
- Packed plastic boxes with items for camping
- Partially packed car (including moving car twice)
- Removed oven and inspected interior in anticipation for future improvement
- Installed diversion valve on water maker output line to make filling external vessels simpler
- Installed new hose connections at dock tap to make removal of pressure limiter simpler
- Changed filters on water maker
- Filled 2 x 5 gallon containers of water from dock via water maker making huge supply of very good battery water
- Went to top up house batteries only to discover they don’t need topping up (but was pleased with all the prep work as I intended to do it anyway)
- Fixed burst hose (unplanned)
Along the way we bumped into a few of the cruisers still here: Frank from Tahina, Dan from Division II, Tom & Kim from Emily Grace (already mentioned), Dave from Leu Cat and Steve & Vicky from True Companions. Each meeting involved a bit of a chat and a catch up so I feel relieved we accomplished as much as we did.
In the evening we received a brief Facebook message from Sam to say they’d arrived safely with no hiccups on the flights. The boat feels quite empty. We keep expecting to see Ben in the corner where he made his home. But he’s not there.
We still have more to do today and tomorrow. I’ll bore you with the detail on the next blog.
by steve, on December 28th, 2010 ( Boree, Emily Grace, Jackster, Leu Cat, Marquesa, New Zealand, Paleides, Sea Mist, True Companions) Last of the camping gear is purchased and most is stuffed in the car. And boy is that car packed. It’s ideal for the two of us. We always knew it would be a squeeze for four but we hadn’t anticipated going camping with four. The boys will be sitting in the back with quite a bit of gear. And Sam still wants to take his guitar. Final compression testing soon.
Yesterday evening we had a little soiree. Now that we’re all in civilization the notion of having drinks and nibbles for folks aboard seems to have been forgotten. So it was a nice change to have a bunch of folks aboard. We ended up with the folks from Leu Cat, Sea Mist, Paleides, Jackster, True Companions, Emily Grace, Marequesa and Boree. The rain, which had been falling all day, dried out so we had a great evening.
It’s approaching 7:30am. Folks are still asleep aboard. Ben and Sam went out on the town with Ian from Sea Mist so may end being a little groggy when woken. I’ll give them until 8. Then we’ll stuff the last few things in the car, test we can all fit in, then back to the boat to move it over the river and leave it on the pilings. Hopefully we’ll be away by 10.
by steve, on December 27th, 2010 ( Larabeck, Leu Cat, New Zealand) Knowing that there would be sales after Christmas we had postponed purchasing needed camping gear until yesterday. It’s a good thing too as it’s given us time to contemplate the balance of time we expect to spend (when we’re on our own again) between camping and more robust accommodation. We feel that we’ll be spending more time camping than in B&Bs so this has influenced us to get a more robust tent. We’ll still have our tiny two man tent (which the boys will get to use very soon) if/when we need it on a hike but we’ve decided to get something that will make life a little easier if we stay in it for many days at a time.
Yesterday morning we visited a number of stores to talk to people and look at their wares. This helped us build up an idea of what we wanted and where the prices were right. We returned to the boat for lunch before going out in the car to but the things we’d decided upon. One of the stores was closed so we weren’t able to get everything we wanted but we did pick up most: tent, mini-stove, lanterns (LED), air mattress, chairs. The rest we’ll get today. As much as possible we’re getting things that can be used after NZ – for instance, chairs can be used for beach parties which we’ve lacked to date.
We had wanted to go for a walk to the nearby Whangarei Falls but ran out of time. Ben and Sam visited Leu Cat as they’d been invited round for cigars with David. He enjoys one a day and has a fine collection. I think he enjoys a partner from time to time and is more than happy to share his very fine and extensive collection. The two of them fell asleep very early yesterday evening so I can only assume they’ve been having more fun recently than we’ve realized.
We also got a chance to say hello to Michael, Sandra, crew and friends from Larabeck who were passing through. They ate at the restaurant overlooking Dignity. Always nice to meet up. I do wonder how many days we’ll be able to string together while in the south island without bumping into folks we met in the Pacific.
Today we’ll clear the boat for our departure tomorrow. We’ve invited a few folks over this evening (and then a few more) for drinks and nibbles. By the time we’re back from our tour with Ben and Sam many of the cruisers will have started their own tours or moved on. This will be a chance for Ben to say goodbye (no – never goodbye – au revoir) to many of the folks he’s met along the way.
Tomorrow morning we’ll move the boat onto pilings and then head off to Auckland for a few days and then off into the mountains south of there. We’ll be quite busy and probably won’t have time to blog until we’re in Auckland.
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