At Sea « Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

Day 2 – Challenging Passage

by steve, on November 12th, 2010 (At Sea)

On day 2 the wind picked up to the mid 20s and we made good time. For a while it looked like we had a good chance of making Opua next Wednesday. With reefs in the sails and with regeneration going (I know I said I wouldn’t) we were still making 7.5 knots.The crew were all pretty tired throughout the day. After the first nights incomplete sleep and a touch of the motion sickness for all we spent a lot of the day sleeping so there’s not much to tell.

Until it came to my evening shift. I was happily listening to music when suddenly the boat swung off her course. I tried hand steering and it felt quite odd. Then the auto pilot claimed there was no rudder. I’ve seen similar, but not quite the same symptoms, on our second day out during my Atlantic crossing on Windancer IV. I called Ben up to continue hand steering while I assessed the condition of the port rudder. As suspected the post screwed into the rudder flange which joins the rudder to the autopilot and the steering gear had sheared off, presumably through stress (long term and recent).

It was impossible to work on the problem at night in 15 foot seas so I gathered the crew and informed them of the situation preparing them to hand steer overnight. We could have laid to but we still need to outrun the low developing behind us. During the remainder of my shift I managed to find a sail/wheel lashing combination that allowed the boat to balance around roughly our desired heading albeit at reduced speed. This was sufficient to keep us moving and prevent crew fatigue. Further more it prevented movement of the remaining rudder which I want to minimise. The pole that joins the rudders is now laying on the structure beneath and may catch on something so zero movement prevents any further issues.

Over night I have evaluated the various options available. I have discarded the idea of moving the same post from starboard to port as that would leave us rudderless for a while. Possible in calm conditions but not these. I have a few different ideas of lashing the port assembly back together. Later this morning we’ll drop sails, turn the boat around and lay ahull with the starboard hull presented to the swell. That will allow me to work on the port transom. At worst getting both rudders working again should be straight forward. At best we’ll get the autopilot going as well. We’ll see.

This morning it is markedly colder outside. We no longer sit in shorts and tee-shirts. Now it’s layers of clothing.

748nm to Opua.

Passage to New Zealand – Day 1

by steve, on November 11th, 2010 (At Sea, Attitude, Blue Penguin, Boree, Illusion, Imagine, Kilkea II, Larabeck, Tin Tin)

We’ve had an encouraging start to this passage. The winds, as predicted, did shift around enough for us to not only gain the rhumb line but to also let out the sails for a more comfortable ride. Overnight the swell, which always lags the wind, shifted too so we stopped crashing into the waves so much. All good. The wind forecasts are also coming in as good as we could hope for. We have pretty much a beam to close reach for the next few days in around and about 20 knots of wind which we will sail well in. The 7 day forecast even shows the stationary high in our way dissipating providing the hint that we may be able to sail all the way in.

All the boats that left yesterday are sailing for either Whangarei or Opua (mostly the latter) so we’re all close by. We always had sails on the horizon around us and Kilkea in particular took station 2 miles off our port and stayed there overnight. this morning within spitting distance of us are Attitude, Blue Penguin, Boree, Illusion, Imagine, Kilkea, Tin Tin and Larabeck. Quite a crowd.

Unfortunately, Sea Mist had to turn back. Outside of the reef at Tongatapu they noticed the stitching coming apart around the clew of their jib. They decided to turn back and effect repairs. We heard from them this morning. They have found a possible place to get it repaired. Our fingers are crossed that they can make it out in this weather window but it is tight. A low pressure system is chasing us down which will make things bumpier and wetter for them.

We had a little problem with our job too but nothing serious. I noticed some more of the stitching for the sun strip had come undone. Fortunate this was close to the furler so I went forward and stitched it up leaving the sail out. It was a bit awkward as I caught a few waves as well as catching my finger with the needle a few times.

More excitement came in the afternoon when we were briefly accompanied by some pilot whales. I rushed for my camera but they didn’t stay long enough to pose.

Sailing to New Zealand is a bit like playing dodgems with the weather systems. Given that it’s getting colder we’ve elected to use a little diesel on the way to provide some comfort in terms of warmth and to avoid loss of speed due to regeneration. If we need to slow down we’ll regenerate but not unless we need to. Our sailing angle to the wind is screwing up the wind gen as the wind spilling of the main spins it around and we get no useful energy from it. That’s a pity as we’d do pretty well in these wind speeds.

We’re currently managing to average just over 6 knots which puts us on an ETA for arrival next Thursday on the 8th. We’d always hoped to arrive before the weekend so this is a nice comfortable margin.

At sea

by steve, on November 10th, 2010 (At Sea)

At 7am this morning we raised our anchor and were off. Inside the Tongatapu the winds were light so we gave the genset a final test to get us going. At 7:30 the systems were all switched off so I could run the morning’s Penguin net. Helen wasn’t overly pleased to be left helming in light air but she did fine. Because most boats had either just left or were about to leave the net was quick and we were done in 10 minutes or so.

To get out of Tongatapu we put the genset back on to overcome the wind shadows caused by the islands and to get us clear of all hazards.

Now we’re plodding on under sail. Five boats left within an hour of us and it was exciting to see all the sails up. We’re sailing about 35 degrees off of our desired course waiting for the wind to continue shifting to put us not only on the right course but on a better angle to the wind.

The weather couldn’t be better. The sky is blue with wisps of clouds. Spirits are high.

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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Half way to Tonga

by KC2RIY, on September 13th, 2010 (At Sea)

With only the head sail out we’re making about the right amount of time to get to Tonga on Wednesday. Last night was a little concerning as we ended up tucked in behind a line of thunderstorms which seemed to be receding slightly faster than we were. Every now and then cloud to cloud flashes would occur overhead which is always a little concerning when you’re the only vertical stick for miles around. As the night wore on the line faded and the stars came out. The seas settled a little so now we are pleasantly sailing with sunny skies.

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Day 2 – Challenging Passage

Passage to New Zealand – Day 1

At sea

Arrived in Ha’ano

Half way to Tonga