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All going to plan

by steve, on May 12th, 2011 (Callisto, Kilkea II, New Zealand, Paleides)

As soon as it was light I lowered the dinghy, took off the motor, removed the chain & anchor and raised it back again. We had a coffee to fully wake us off then it was off to the fuel dock. Raising our main anchor took some time as it was particularly muddy and this had to be cleaned off the chain. All this happened in light rain – a precursor to the front coming our way. Refueling was a little awkward and required moving the boat a little more to reach the port filler. Once this was done we rounded the corner and slipped into our slip.

Withing 15 minutes the front hut. The winds picked up and the rain came down. During this I went to the marina office to fill out the paperwork.

Our friend the port seal leak returned for a visit so before relaxing the syringes came out and a lot more grease was applied.

And that was about it for the day. The weather was miserable, as expected. We were glad of our decision to dock for our final two days here.

We kept checking the weather forecast every 6 hours. Last weeks extreme variability is not apparent this week and steadfastly continues to point to a Friday departure. The only changes have been slight and generally improved our outlook.

At 2 in the afternoon I tuned the SSB into the chat between the folks who left last Sunday. They are all in solid and rising north easterlies, a long way from their destination and no easy way to get there. These are our friends and we certainly wish better for them but it doesn’t look good for some time. It reinforces our belief we made the right decision not to go until tomorrow.

In the evening we went one last time to the yacht club for dinner. The number of cruisers were certainly thinner on the ground than last week. Many have left and others were pinned to the boats due to the weather. We shared the table with Callisto, Paleides, Kilkea and Wonderland. The weather, of course, was the central topic and how it affects our decision to leave. The folks heading to Fiji will all be leaving Friday. Those heading for New Caledonia are thinking about Saturday once the winds have clocked round a little more.

Crewman Paul arrived just before 8 and joined us. Once we returned to the boat Paul and I stayed up chatting until nearly (real, not cruisers) midnight.

Today we provision and do a final contents check on our grab bag. It should be generally relaxing as we really can’t do much more to ready ourselves.

I have, of course, checked the weather again this morning. We should be able to leave anytime tomorrow. We’ll be leaving under the cover of the passing front with northwesterly winds propelling us out of here. Saturday may end up being light winds but then we should have a few days of great sailing. We’re excited.

Friday Departure

by steve, on May 11th, 2011 (New Zealand)

All signs now point to a Friday departure. A front is passing over us over the next couple of days. In front of it the winds are just wrong. Behind it they couldn’t get better. We’ll have the swell against us for the first day or so but that will turn and follow us by end of Saturday. Better still, the forecasts coming out each 6 hours are showing a good deal of consistency which brings some degree of confidence that this picture won’t change.

We have therefore made some predeparture plans. As soon as it gets light I will lower the dinghy, remove the motor, fuel tank and chains then raise it back. We’ll then go and load up with fuel before heading to a slip we reserved yesterday. We’ll then have a couple of days on the slip for convenience and prep. In the comfort of the dock we can fully secure the dinghy for passage and strap the kayak down over the davits. With a full fuel load we can look at the balance of the boat and rearrange internals if necessary.

This evening we will go to the yacht club for food and drinks. With a day in hand we can let our hair down. Paul, our crew, should show up this evening too.

Tomorrow we’ll do our final, final, final, final provisioning and generally rest and relax. Friday morning we’ll clear, collect our duty frees and depart.

We didn’t do a great deal yesterday. We made this plan which is progress. I checked the fishing lures and set up the new with a new lure. Helen read while I surfed and solved a couple more Euler problems and got stuck on another.

We really can’t wait to go. It’s getting cold in the mornings and we have to run the generator for warmth. At least on the dock we can run the electric heater.

Finding things to do

by steve, on May 10th, 2011 (New Zealand)

There was almost no wind in the anchorage yesterday. That was good news. We love our new sails but there is one small problem which I may have mentioned before. The second and third panels have a tendency to vibrate by the mast. I’d mentioned this to the sailmaker. He offered to fix it on warranty but was swamped with work. Last week when we thought we’d be on our way soon we agreed to take the parts from him and do it ourselves. We had the time and the conditions were perfect so I spent a couple of hours sewing four extra sliders onto the sail. These won’t be load bearing but will serve to prevent the vibrations.

After this was finished we went ashore to walk the old railway line that used to terminate here. It was a bit brambly in places but it got us out. We walked the roads back and found a path through some woods which we explored for a while. While out we picked up a nut and washer to replace the one underneath one of our floorboards. This fix removed an annoying squeak.

Friday is now shaping up to be the start of a terrific passage. I’m holding open the possibility of a Thursday departure but that’s now looking less likely. Leaving on a Friday certainly divides the sailing community and a Friday the 13th is simply not on for some. Good news for us as this will mean fewer queues at the customs office.

The forecast for Friday us leaving in Northwesterlies which will slowly rotate anticlockwise around us. By the time we’re in southerlies we’ll be far enough north for them to have warmed up. There’s even a hint we’ll arrive in Fiji on the back of regular trade winds.

From all that we can see we are pleased with our decision to be patient.

Goodbye, Hello

by steve, on May 9th, 2011 (Blue Penguin, Callisto, Kilkea II, New Zealand, Paleides, Troutbridge)

On Sunday we got to say goodbye to some friends and hello to friends we’ve recently shared last and final farewells.

The goodbyes went to Imagine, Passages and Boree who were among a number of boats who made the decision to head north yesterday. When I’d looked at my sources of weather information all I saw was two days of motoring followed by winds on the nose. The problem is there is more than one source for the weather and certainly more than one brain looking and interpreting them. We all have different needs, boats and preferences and all this adds up to a decision to stay or go. A bit of the radio chatter as the boats left made it sound like they were riding off into a rough ride. I hope, for their sake, they’re not. But sooner or later we all go.

Paul made his planned return to Auckland. We walked with him to the bus stop and waited with him. Once he’d left we wandered around the hilltop roads and made our way down to the coast path that connects Pahia to Opua. We soon ran into David and Marian from Kilkea and stopped to chat with them. Sooner after that we ran into the Blue Penguins who we’d recently said our final, final last goodbyes to as they were headed to New Caledonia. They were going our way so we walked with them back to Opua. Ben, like me, is fascinated with the whole mentality of the departure decision and wants to write something up on it.

In the evening we had David and Katie from Troutbridge, Kay and Fergus from Paleides (another recent last, final, never again farewell) and Mike and Ann from Callisto over for curry and a few drops of wine. It ended up being a late one for all and, as ever, a good time was had by all. And guess what the recurring theme was last night.

The weather.

So what’s it looking like for us now.

The Thursday/Friday opportunity still stands and is now favouring a Thursday afternoon departure. There’s a trough/front coming over and we simply take off right behind it where we can expect northwesterlies or even westerly winds for a few days. I’ve morbidly played around with a possible departure tomorrow (Tuesday) riding the northeasterlies up to the north of New Zealand and then sail the following northerlies eastward. We’d then have to take the coming front out at sea. I would probably lose favours with the Admiral if I chose that path.

Fiji-itus should be a recognized disease. Sooner or later the prospect of another day in Opua basin crushes the spirit and the pull of the islands overcomes every other need of mind and body. I suspect we saw an outbreak yesterday. But I can feel it in my fingers (they’re cold). I may be going down with it too.

Training Day

by steve, on May 8th, 2011 (New Zealand)

Still no weather window. We’ve heard from some of the boats heading their way north and they’re managing to pick their way up there. I’m still glad we made the decision to stay but it does reinforce the notion that once you go you make do with what you’ve got. There’s a saying. You only get to pick the weather for the day you leave. I see no possibility of leaving today. The next opportunity looks to be shaping up around Thursday/Friday. From this far out you never can really tell but things look to be shaping up for a smoother passage than the recent slight opportunity.

The local area forecast was pretty brisk with 20+ knot winds and local squalls predicted. Not to be perturbed I made the call to go sailing. Paul is very likely to return to Auckland today to be called back when we get close to a new opportunity. We’d always talked about the possibility of getting him aboard before we set off to get a feel for the boat. Saturday was a perfect opportunity. We motored out of the bay to where the water was a little cleaner and turned on the water maker. We then raised the sails and started sailing. The wind was coming straight down the channel so we had to tack our way out. We started with one reef in the sails and soon had to put in a second as the strong wind forecast was spot on. Paul got some great experience with the boat which performed fantastically. Each time we try the new sails out in new conditions we find ourselves surprised. At one point we were making over 8 knots while regenerating making about 1.5kW of electricity.

Given the wind direction we decided to only go as far as Roberton Island where we had lunch then went ashore for the climb to the top. Paul was just as stunned by the beauty of the bay from the top of the walk as we were back on December 6th last year.

We didn’t stay long. We headed back on head sail only. Making our way up wind this way was pretty slow and took a long tack (and a little motoring) to get around the head land. After this it was a gentle downwind ride back into Opua Bay. The port shaft seal drip had resurrected so that required a bit more grease to be applied. Unfortunately a small occured when accessing the shaft seal. A stored block which I couldn’t see dropped onto the drip tray I’d made when I opened the hatch smashing the tray. Now having to contend with a drip, water everywhere and a failed containment system I was less than pleased. Fortunately I managed to shut the drip down almost immediately. With Paul’s assistance and ideas we made a Mark II drip tray in short order and after dinner I was able to install it. I suspect this may become a bit of a recurring theme and is ratchetting up the possibility we’ll replace the seal somewhere in Fiji.

Finally, on the remote chance interest is pointed in this direction I’d like to wish Sam, our youngest son, a Happy 21st Birthday. Here his birthday was yesterday but it’s today on the east coast USA. The cruising life has some great highs but being away from family is perhaps the greatest cost.

I’ll now go back to scrutinizing the weather forecasts. This coming Friday would be an auspicious departure. It’s Friday the 13th. Helen and I married on a Friday the 13th just under 25 years ago.

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All going to plan

Friday Departure

Finding things to do

Goodbye, Hello

Training Day