I’m back in Whangarei getting ready for the haul out in mid January. I got to see Kirsty at the Alpine lodge in Mount Cook Village with excellent weather, even had red sunset light reflecting off the snowy mountain. Mary is there at the moment and will be back here in the new year.

Whangarei’s main New Year’s eve action is further down the estuary at Marsden Cove Marina. There is cafe with live music in the basin, though, which will have to do!

David

Getting ready to go across the Cook Straight tomorrow. The wind is suitably strong and the area is living up to its reputation.

Had a great time touring the North Island with a car and now off to the South Island and Christchurch for a Christmas.

Happy Christmas and a great new year.

In Whangarei at the moment. Looking forward to meeting up with Barbara and Deryck again on Monday. Kirsty has a job in a lodge on Mount Cook starting in a couple of weeks. We will bring the boat back here after Barbara and Deryck leave and then go land based sight seeing with Karen and Graham off Red Herring. You can see them in quite a few of the photos since the Marquesas Islands as we have been making an effort to meet up since we first met there. They are fun to be with, enjoy walking and interacting with locals etc. They are Kiwis and have just finished their circumnavigation.

Kirsty and we now have local mobiles so get in contact if you would like the number. Either e-mail or leave a comment on the blog.

Position: 35°43′S 174°19′E [-35.72,174.32]

Arrived 22:00 11th November.

This is a small place but very friendly and many good yachtie services. Lots of boats arriving all the time from Tonga, Fiji and New Caledonia.

Will be here in NZ until the end of cyclone season in the Pacific which is April time.

We will focus on maintenance and then sight-seeing mostly by car.

Write up of the time in Vavau and Haapai islands of Tonga will follow soon.

Expect less on the blog site over this period. May get some of the “roaming taste” entries we have gathered along the way.

Position: 35°19′S 174°07′E

Lots of Sooty Shearwaters and some Albatrosses which make a lovely sight. It makes up for it being so cold.  We now have full thermals as per UK early season sailing!

Wind now around to the west so making Opua on this tack and keeping up a good speed.  Position of tack on Monday morning has turned out to have been very good.  Doesn’t look like much to stop us being in ready for customs at 08:00 in the morning.

We heard today that an American couple have got married on Minerva reef, Bruce and Alene off Migration.  They have been very generous with their time and advice to so many other boats and we are all very pleased for them.  One of the skippers of another boat has been a Captain of a commercial vessel and has all the official powers of a captain including marriages.  There were about 8 other boats in the reef anchorage to help them celebrate.  We will see them in Opua in about a weeks time.  Their honeymoon will be the slightly tricky sail down here!

Position: 34°47′S 174°19′E [-34.782,174.318] at local 16:00, GMT 03:00 November 11th
24hr run: 123.1 miles by GPS, 127.4 miles through water.
34 miles to Opua, NZ. ETA at 5 knots:  22:52 wed 11th November local  time
Wind: WSW 27 knots Sea: small chop
Sky:  80% cloud cover

Weather now very changeable in wind speed and direction.  Constant sail changes and several tacks.  Wind from 5 to 30 knots and direction from SE to west.  David’s slept in oilskins to allow fast changes in sail plan overnight.  Had a great period with the staysail and 25 knots of wind for a few hours early last night.  I think we are through the worst of the adverse current which cost us most of a knot over the last 24 hours.

Enjoying the fruits of the baking yesterday.  Cheese on oat bread for lunch. Chocolate oat cookies for tea.

There are lots of yachts (50-100) on their way to NZ at this time of year.  We have been with many of them as we have gone across the Pacific.  We are talking with quite a few that have already got in, quite a few around us and a few still to leave Tonga.  Many have stories to tell of this sail to NZ.  It will be fun catching up with those that have made Opua their landfall.

Position: 32°43′S 174°21′E [-32.720,174.353] at local 16:00, GMT 03:00 November 10th
24hr run: 98 miles by GPS, 117.3 miles through water.  Adverse current now obvious.
157 miles to Opua, NZ. ETA at 5 knots: 23:34 wed 11th November local  time
Wind: SSW 12 knots Sea: big swell but OK for sailing
Sky:  20% cloud cover

Now in the SW airflow and the adverse current.  Made as much west as possible overnight hence poor progress towards Opua.  Tacked at 10:00 local time and making good progress but need a wind shift into west to get into Opua without tacking.

Mary and Kirsty have excelled themselves with baking.  They don’t get thrown across the galley on starboard tack so despite it being boisterous and close hauled a succession of delicious cakes and breads were worth coming.  All made with oat flour which they grind from porridge oats with a small electric food chopper Started with chocolate cookies, then chocolate fairy cakes, another two trays of oat cakes and then some bread.  Pretty impressive!  High tea was very good - hot sunshine in the cockpit as well.

Position: 31°5′S 173°55′E [-31.077,173.911] at local 16:00, GMT 03:00 November 9th
24hr run: 87 miles by GPS towards opua, 122.1 miles through water.
255 miles to Opua, NZ. ETA at 5 knots: 19:15 wed 11th November local  time
Wind: SSW 20 knots Sea: SW short sea 1.0m
Sky:  25% cloud cover

Wind filled in about midnight and then from dawn we have been tripled reefed with a reduced headsail.  Sea is very lumpy.  Still making good progress though.  Still heading SW ready for the SW winds

Position: 29°46′S 175°15′E [-29.763,175.257] at local 16:00, GMT 03:00 November 8th
24hr run:  130.5 miles by GPS, 131.6 miles through water.
343 miles to Opua, NZ. ETA at 5 knots: 12:30  wed 11th November local  time
Wind: SSE 23 knots Sea: very lumpy and awkward
Sky:  50% cloud cover

Wind died this morning.  We put up the big reacher for a while.  Wind filling in again but from the direction we want to go!  I suspect we will be hard on the wind now until the last short stretch into Opua.

Tactics are to stay on the port tack well out to the west and then come about when the wind cghanges to the South west.  It should go further west as we get close to NZ.  Progress will be slower now.  5 knot average likely to be challenging especially with the adverse current predicted south of 30.

So finally some tougher sailing todo.

Position: 28°03′S 176°47′E [-28.043,176.780] at local 16:00, GMT 03:00 November 7th 2009
24hr run: 140 miles by GPS,  130 miles through water.
473 miles to Opua, NZ. ETA at 5 knots: 14:37 wed 11th November local  time
Wind: SSE 10 knots Sea: smooth with S swell 0.5m
Sky:  30% cloud cover

Another big milestone - now in the eastern hemisphere.  Longitude will reduce now rather than increase!

Great nights sailing wind holding up until dawn and then we put up pinkie - our huge pink masthead spinnaker!  Had it up for about 6 hours until the wind filled in again.  Making very good progress given the large high that dominates the ocean around us.  Barometer is at 1023.

Forecast has less wind tomorrow then sailable winds from SE then S then SW.

Position: 26°14′S 178°26′E [-26.245,178.429]at local 16:00, GMT 03:00 November 6th 2009
24hr run:  148 miles by GPS,  145 miles through water. Expecting adverse current south of 30°South
612 miles to Oapu, NZ. ETA at 5 knots: 18:32 Wed 11th November local time
Wind: SE 12 knots Sea: Long S swell 0.8m
Sky:  15% cloud cover