The wind was in the high teens to low 20s and ahead of us so we were on [...]]]> We had another lazy morning in before readying to depart the anchorage just before midday. The Jacksters did stop by as we had a bit more dive gear for them so another round of goodbyes were had.

The wind was in the high teens to low 20s and ahead of us so we were on a close haul all the way back. We put two reefs in the main and headsail as we knew we would be close to and indeed the apparent wind was occasionally as high as 30 knots though mainly in the low 20s. Again we were against the current as we left earlier than before and low tide was now nearly 3 hours later than before. Despite this we easily averaged over 7 knots over ground (over 8 through the water) and later were doing 8-9 knots over ground around low tide.

We passed west of Mud Island and then had to tack 12 times to sail into port. I loved it. Helen did too, sort of. After a while she wanted to motor in rather than keep tacking so she could clean the boat. I did not give in to this as this could well be our last sail and I was where I wanted to be.

In the end we made it back with time to spare. At the dock we were met by Niel from Attitude, Jan from Anthem, Cornelia from A Cappella and Don from Freezing rain who all stood by to help with lines. With 20 knot winds squeezing into the dock next to Attitude was a little challenging. I aborted early the first attempt and nailed it the second time. Piece of cake.

View 2012-12-12 Moreton Bay in a larger map

In the evening Sam came over. We went out for a buffet curry in Manly and were later joined by Rob from Bristol Rose who happened by by chance. We ended the evening walking with Sam to the railway station then returning to the boat when his train arrived.

Now we’re back in the marina and back connected is back to our admin. We have one or two viewings coming up this weekend so want to be ready for those.

For your entertainment here is a video taken by one of the brokers and some pics of our time in the bay.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp_y1BAmEt0&feature=g-crec-u[/youtube]

The weather started off pretty poor for sailing – overcast, dark clouds and little wind. We had always planned to leave late morning anyway as this was when the wind was expected to pick up so we had a lie in and enjoyed it. Later [...]]]> Monday turned to be a day full of nice surprises.

The weather started off pretty poor for sailing – overcast, dark clouds and little wind. We had always planned to leave late morning anyway as this was when the wind was expected to pick up so we had a lie in and enjoyed it. Later in the morning Helen went off for some essential provisioning while I sorted out a bit of extra fuel for the dinghy.

On our return to the boat we noticed Don on Freezing Rain who had arrived on Sunday. We called to him to say Hello and soon he and Marie were over to have a chat during which time the heavens opened. We had an accelerated catch up as we wanted to be out when the rain stopped.

As soon as it did, Don and Marie popped off to check to the office while Helen and I set about prepping the boat for departure. By the time we had removed all bar our last dock line Don and Marie returned and helped us cast off. Leaving the dock was a cinch and soon we were motoring out of the marina. We only had 2-3 knots wind for the first hour or so we we just carried on motoring. In the second hour the wind picked up so we raised the sails. Our next surprise was how easy this was with the new rig. The next surprise was how well the boat was performing in light winds, even better than when we had new sails put on in New Zealand.

The wind remained patchy however so we alternated between sailing, motor sailing and, at one point, pulling in the head sail but leaving the main up while motoring. Our last hour, though, was spent purely sailing in winds in the low teens with the boat doing easily half that through the water. Nice.

Along the way we cleaned and calibrated the speed log at slack tide. We tested and calibrated the radar and similar for the wind speed indicator. Towards the end the speed log/gps combined to suggest we had nearly 2 knots of counter current. I wasn’t sure if the speed log had been calibrated correctly. As calibrating the wind speed indicator required turning the boat around twice that enabled me to get a calibration independent read on the current. Turned out it was not too far off if at all. Will have another check inside the marina when we return.

Lowering the main was considerably easier than ever before. Everything ran smooth in fact. The only complication was the overlong lines which got in the way a tiny, tiny bit.

Overall, despite the mixed conditions, we really enjoyed our sail. Dignity is better than ever. We both felt, afterwards, a little jealous of the new owners, whoever they may be. But pleased for them too. Dignity is a fine boat now probably approaching the prime of her life. We feel like proud parents.

As we approached our destination the weather simply got better. Looking over our shoulder we could see continued grim weather back on the mainland. The air coming of the sea was forming clouds and rain over land. We were far enough off land to be away from it all. Internet based weather radar we’d checked earlier had suggested this may happen but it was thrilling to know we’d dodged the bad weather.

The anchorage we’d picked (the Wrecks at Tangalooma) is known to be very popular at the weekends but uncrowded during the week. There were only a few boats in the vicinity so despite being a tight area we had plenty of room. As we approached our desired spot we noticed a lady on the nearest boat seemingly standing with her ‘bitch wings’ out. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen this – mostly in the Caribbean. It’s a way of standing with hands on hips to say “Don’t anchor near me”. Then her husband came out and stood with her. Double bitch. Then we both clicked – it was the Jacksters – David and Jacquie. What a brilliant surprise!!! We knew they had been in the area but hadn’t managed to hook up and we assumed they’d moved on.

As soon as we dropped the hook we were on the VHF with them and arranged an evening meet up. We weren’t set up to entertain food wise so we all ate early. Helen cooked sausage sandwiches (I told you it just kept getting better) which we had with a glass of red wine (better and better). I tested out the email over the SSB and it worked first time. Bang on.

Shortly after 6 Jacquie and Dave were over for a long evening chat and catch up (best). Drinking G&Ts with them brought back so many memories. They’re one of the boats we’ve been connected with all the way back to the Caribbean so it was particularly special.

We’ve both had a great night sleep. Despite being a little rolly it has been wonderful being back on a slightly rocking boat. I wonder if you can buy beds that have a boat simulator built in because this is simply the best way to sleep. We are so happy we made the decision to get out even though it meant missing a get together on land being organised for this evening. Despite all this we both feel a sense of closure. We realize we have now moved beyond the cruising life and are ready for the next phase of our lives. There has been so much excitement over the last few years and there is so much to look forward to. We’re still in transition, enjoying some of the old life, battling to survive 2012 and looking forward with so much hope and resolve to the future.

Back to now. Our vodafone internet dongle barely works here so we’re almost cut off from the outside world. I can squeeze a few packets in and out every now and then so we’re just going to have to enjoy ourselves. Slack tide is around 1:45pm today so we plan on snorkeling the wrecks around that time. We’re also having the Jacksters over to give them as much of our dive stuff as they want to take. We can’t use it and regulations here make most of it valueless. Of all the people to give it to, the Jacksters would make the best use of it. Apart from that, a lazy day is in order I think.

In the afternoon Helen dropped off Sam so he could hang out with the kids from the nearby village. Later, we went ashore to meet up with the Jacksters, Inspiration Ladys and A Capallas who are all [...]]]> It rained all morning. I rested while Helen cleaned the outside of the boat with the rain water.

In the afternoon Helen dropped off Sam so he could hang out with the kids from the nearby village. Later, we went ashore to meet up with the Jacksters, Inspiration Ladys and A Capallas who are all here. We had a couple of beers before heading off for a chinese in town.

Sam manage to grab a ride and appeared on the boat around 10:30pm.

The winds are currently southerly which means we’re not going anywhere just yet. Looks like Saturday is the day to head south.

We had one moment of excitement when we pick up a large fish that was very feisty. Unfortunately it fought it’s way off the hook and we lost it.

INSERT_MAP

I’d woken up at stupid O’Clock, well before my 5:30am alarm call so after checking the internet and having breakfast I [...]]]> Monday was sail day. On reflection I was half regretting the decision to drive up to Whangarei while Sam was on his way so I decided to take my laptop and check in regularly.

I’d woken up at stupid O’Clock, well before my 5:30am alarm call so after checking the internet and having breakfast I was off fairly early. I reached Whangarei at 8am and took the sail into the sailmaker and discussed the problem. They said this was very typical wear for a catamaran and they see it often. I guess the problem we fixed with this new sail (ie, the flat and ineffective top third) now made the sail a typical catamaran sail that would come into contact with the shrouds more and take more wear. We’ve already adapted our behaviour to compensate.

After seeing the sail maker I checked online and at that point there was no news from Sam, Ben or Amy who were all at Newark airport to see Sam off. I picked up propane and headed off to the marina where I ran into the kids and Dan from Division II as well as Bruce and Alene from Migration. I checked online again and this time messages were flowing in. Ben and Amy had been trying to call but couldn’t get a response. I tested my phone, it was working. I’d just missed a chance to chat, it seemed, as I was powering off previously and they’d had to act to resolve a problem thrown up by the airline.

A decade or so ago one could buy one way tickets anywhere and run into few difficulties. This was frequently abused by folks who would end up in a country with insufficient funds to move on. The hosting country would then bear the burden of repatriation. These days the airlines have to shoulder the responsibility and cost (if they don’t) of ensuring folks have the means to travel onwards from their destination. A return ticket to your country of residence is the standard test but not everyone does this. We had difficulties returning to our own boat from the UK but the airline had an escalation process that helped us deal with this.

Anticipating possible problems with Sam we consulted New Zealand Immigration several weeks back to understand what supporting documentation Sam would need to allow him into the country knowing he was leaving on the boat. They gave us some guidance which we followed sending Sam a letter proving he was joining the boat as crew, that we were taking responsibility for him and that the boat was legitimately in the country.

American Airlines, it turns out, have there own policy which is tighter than the destination country and don’t have an escalation process to resolve rare cases. They refused Sam onto the plane unless he had a return ticket or a visa. They refused to accept the documentation provided and refused to escalate to NZ Immigration who, as in our case, would have provided consent.

So the only options were to not travel or buy a return. A refundable return leg was priced at $3,400 and a non-refundable ticker was about $1,300 and the desk clerk gave the impression that the refundable ticket may not be, in all circumstance, refundable. Sam couldn’t cover the cost and Ben could only cover the cheaper ticket so they made the right decision to buy the return ticket and get him on the plane.

It is quite annoying to have gone through all the due diligence this end to ensure Sam would be welcome in the country to have the airline policy to be both more restrictive and have insufficient flexibility to handle this case.

I learned all this while sitting at the Town Marina and chatting with the folks from Migration I learned this was not uncommon and seems to be more and more one of those financial hazards of a cruiser and their crew.

On the upside Sam had had no issues with extra baggage. The duffle bag Helen had ordered to take the microwave and all the other spares ordered turned out to have been perfectly sized. The kids had done a great job packing and weighing as it came in at 50.0lbs. Spot on. Sam was on his way.

By 11am I had our repaired sail and was on my way back down to Auckland thinking through our new problem. $1,300 is a lot of money and almost twice the price of his ticket here. We’ve blown more than 3 times that amount blowing out a sail so this may just end up in the realm of the marine life burning through cash. After all BOAT is well known to stand for Break Out Another Thousand. But we’ve got to try and as ever, it’s best to start sooner rather than later.

Back in Auckland I parked the car near the boat and lugged the sail back to the boat. I made a second trip to get the rest of the stuff from the car. I then set about trying to get the right contact info to start an appeal with American Airlines and to get further information, hopefully some supporting documentation, from NZ Immigration while Helen made a couple of trips to retrieve my phone and to pump the meter.

My call to NZ Immigration was unusually less than helpful with the woman simply spitting out the same information I originally was given. I decided at that point the personal touch would be more effective so as the immigration office was near the car hire depot I decided to return the car then visit the office. At the immigration office they appeared much more sympathetic but the boss, who would be the one to help if anyone could, wouldn’t be in until today.

Back on the boat I pursued looking into the appeal process with American Airlines. We have a non-refundable ticket which we won’t use which we want refunded. After finding someone to talk to by calling the Australian American Airlines call center I was advised to contact their customer relations department. Looking at the AA website the only way to do this is via web form so I lodged my first appeal there.

I then had a beer. I needed it.

Very soon it was time to head over to Pier 21 to meet up with John and Pam from Passages. We hadn’t yet heard from Sam as our remaining worry was his transfer at LA onto the flight to Fiji. His plane was running an hour and a half late but his stop over was just under three hours. He should make it. We also learned he didn’t have to recheck luggage which sometimes happens. As what one airline accepts, another may not it was a relief to know this was not another potential problem or delay. So I took my laptop with us to Passages. At Pier 21 we checked the wrong pier and ran into Gary from Inspiration Lady with the Jacksters who’d all just arrived. Bumping into old friends is the best and it helped lift my spirits after the long day. We’re hoping we can all get together on Wednesday evening but that may not be possible. We’ll see.

We were soon aboard Passages with a beer in hand. I checked online and Sam had relayed a message via one of his friends that he’d reached the gate for his onward flight. There could be no more problems to respond this that evening so I could relax. After our beers we headed over to Squashbucklers, a local hangout for more drinks and something to eat and, of course, more sailors yarns. It was a nice place with a great atmosphere, good beer and food. I needed it.

Now it’s the next morning. Sam should have landed in Fiji and in some ways we don’t care if there are any problems. He’s in the right corner of the world. Whatever happens we can work it out (sing along), we can work it o-out.

Apart from an automated acknowledgement I have no response to my initial appeal from AA. I will make more attempts to contact them once I know to what level NZ Immigration will support us. Another visit to them today is planned after Sam arrives and we’ve polished off the bubbly in the fridge.

The large scale weather patterns don’t call for a departure for Fiji this month. There is one low pressure system heading this way that looked to give us a possible kick up north but there is then several hundred miles of a high pressure ridge (and hence low winds) to subsequently cross. Not encouraging. The next low a week from now which is project to be further south shows more promise. You can be sure I’ll be watching how the forecast develops.