Since our last post a few moons ago, we spent another 12 days in the Ha'apai group of islands of Tonga. We weathered a blow one night where the winds gusted to about 40 knots, we had moved from Uiha Island, north to another island called Tatafa, as it looked one of the few places in the whole group to offer any shelter in the predicted Northerly pre-frontal winds. We were joined by 3 other yachts the next morning and heard of their tales of survival in other not so protected anchorages. One of these boats a forty footer, had previously lost their best anchor and managed to snag some coral after a number of resets, with an old half sized plough anchor. We lent them our spare, an original 60 pound CQR, until they could manage to import a new anchor.
We moved north to the town of Pangai where we had to check in and out with customs with an inter island clearance process. This duty was carried out first, then we had a hamburger at a cafe and witnessed a dog fight between about 10 really mangy, mostly emaciated mongrels - Ugh! We bought some eggs then high tailed it back to Ambler. We then headed 3nm further north to anchor and await a better wind angle for the passage to the next group of islands called Vava'u. Over the next 5 days we snorkeled and explored nearby by kayak and also practised our eskimo rolls and kayak rescue techniques in the 26 deg crystal clear waters.
We then had a pause in the strong North Easterly winds and set out North around noon, for the overnight passage to Nieafu in the Vava'u group. We actually stopped at another island called Haano around mid afternoon for a snorkel and dinner before nightfall. We deployed our "Code 0" in the light south easterlies and watched 2 other yachts motor out of sight ahead of us. After sunrise the next morning we spotted some whale spouts ahead and an island to the west called Late Island. Soon after some lower islands began to appear ahead of us. These grew higher and more plentiful during the day. Around midday we sailed into the impressive Vava'u Group with its deep waters and taller islands. By mid afternoon we anchored just short of Neiafu.
The next morning we weighed anchor and sailed into the harbour to anchor at its southern end. This was a really nice quiet protected anchorage away from the busy port. We launched the dinghy and motored the 20 minutes to town with our paperwork to do our inter island customs clearance again and we also had to renew our visas for another month at the immigration office. These duties done we then had a good walk around and checked out the shops and market. We had another day of wandering about town and provisioned with fresh fruit and vegetables.
After a couple of days we headed out to explore the many and various anchorages and usually snorkeled and kayaked before moving to the next anchorage for more of the same.
Some of the highlights were the Hunga Island Lagoon where we negotiated a narrow, shallow gap over a coral ledge between rocky islands. From this anchorage we paddled over a shallow pass into another stunning lagoon called the Blue Lagoon. Another beautiful area was reached by sailing through a coral pass into the Eastern group where we had the place to ourselves for a week. We anchored in a few different spots including the old port of Nieafu and kayaked many miles exploring the shoals and smaller islands where keel boats wouldn't dare to go. We moved to Kenutu Island where we met up with around 6 other boats. Here we kayaked some more, snorkeled and walked over the island to stand on the sheer limestone cliffs above the crashing South East trade wind driven swell.
We have since covered the 425nm passage from Tonga to Fiji last week, arriving in Savusavu. It was a great 77 hour passage in the tradewinds.
Savusavu was a great, friendly little town. The Fijian people are always ready with a warm smile and 'Bula'. We got away from the port after a week of indulgence of the good, really cheap curries on offer and we stocked up on fresh foods such as meat and vegies. The port has 3 so called marinas, 1 with a real marina as well as moorings called The Copra Shed, the other two just have moorings with showers etc. We stayed on a mooring with Waitui marina. Joelene the manager arranged and transported all officials to our boat. She was fantastic and extremely helpful and we highly recommend her.
We spent several nights anchored off Costeau Resort in Savusavu Bay waiting for the right wind to sail east. From here we had several kayak, snorkeling and walking adventures and enjoyed the company of some fellow yachties. A 15-20kn southerly breeze arrived and we had a fast and boisterous beam reach to Viani Bay 40nm east of Savusavu.
Viani Bay was a large bay with a few anchoring options. The surrounding hillsides reminded us of anchoring in Banks Peninsula in NZ. The hills were high with a mixture of jungly bush and bare grazing land. We spent 3 nights anchored there waiting for a trough to pass over. We had heavy downpours that allowed us to top up our water tanks and more as well as giving Ambler a good scrub down. One day we had a good explore in our kayaks. That day began as sunshine and ended in rain squalls. However we did discover a good snorkeling spot a few bays to the north while the sun was still out.
Today we sailed north to Kioa island with light winds and are now anchored in a bay on its north west corner. After anchoring we watched the rain slowly envelope the high mountain ranges of Vanua Levu to our west before arriving to give us another dousing.
We plan to continue anti clockwise around Vanua Levu and the islands to the east of it.
All is well on board.
At 7/08/2016 8:23 PM (utc) our position was 16°37.7'S 179°56.0'E
email is via our slow and limited* HF radio email system. * Limited by the atmospheric conditions and propagation of the ionosphere.
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Wednesday, 10 August 2016
Thursday, 9 June 2016
Happy in the Ha'apai Group
At 7/06/2016 9:19 PM (utc) our position was 19°54.11'S 174°24.81'W
On the evening of Sunday 29 May we made an overnight passage of 75nm with a nice 10 knot easterly from Nuku'alofa, north to Nomuka Island, the southern most island in the Ha'apai group. Arriving at 9am we conned our way in with myself half way up the mast on our new rat lines negotiating a clear route through the coral heads. We spotted our first turtle and were very impressed with the many shades of blue created by the different sea beds from a deep dark blue to a brilliant turquoise surrounding the outlying reefs. We safely dropped anchor in 14m off the smaller island called Nomuka Iki.
We spent Monday and Tuesday anchored here in light winds. We launched our kayaks and paddled ashore and met the only resident on the island, an old man and his dog. He greeted us warmly and in a mixture of Tongan, English and lots of hand actions we had a brief conversation. Racks of dried fish lay salted above the high tide mark, pigs wandered behind his tin hut, a smoky fire held a blackened kettle and the local radio station could be heard from his radio. After saying goodbye we continued to kayak around the island. The tide was out and as we paddled over the inner reef we occasionally caught glimpses of bright coloured fish below. At one point we pulled ashore to stretch our legs and discovered cow pats along the beach. We have since seen evidence of cattle on all the islands we've visited. Waves crashed with regularity on the outer reef as we continued paddling along in the calmer inner passage. We met a local guy jigging for octopus from his wooden out rigger who had been to Tasmania last year to visit his sister! We also enjoyed a snorkel from the beach as well as from the boat to check our anchor and chain was clear of any coral heads.
On Wednesday we weighed anchor and departed under sail. After clearing Nomuka Island we set our course for 35 degrees true. We could see lots of scattered low lying islands on the horizon, one of them being our destination for the day, Oua Island. With an 8 knot breeze from the ESE we were close reaching in a smooth sea. To our west we could see the prominent pyramid shape of Kao Island which is 1000m high. Next to it was the shorter island of Tofua which is an active volcano. It was a sunny day and flying fish were stretching their wings as they flew across the wave tops. As we neared the Ava Fonuaika pass between Wickham Reef and Fonuaika Island we watched the sea around us intently for any signs of breaking waves or green water which indicates a reef system. As we were now working to windward it became clear we weren't going to clear a reef ahead of us so we tacked twice to avoid it. Once clear of the pass we had a gentle sail in to our anchorage at Peapea Island. Once again we navigated our way in, using both our echo sounder (fish finder) which shows a profile of the sea bed as well as depth and myself up the mast distinguishing between the different shades of blue to find a nice clear area to anchor. Peapea Island is a tiny dot of an island on the outer reef system of Oua Island. Although we felt we were anchored in the middle of open water we had a reef on two sides and an island on the third.
The following morning we kayaked around Oua Island and saw all manner of fish leaping across in front of our bows as our kayaks must have startled them, quite a few black tip reef sharks in the shallows and a very large turtle only metres in front of us before it took a breath and disappeared into the turquoise depths. We stopped at the small beach fringed island of Fakahiku to stretch our legs. As we glided onto the beach at least a dozen crabs scuttled from the waterline up to the bush for safety. All that is except for one which wasn't as quick as Wayne who leapt from his kayak and blocked its path. The two of them get blocking each other as they side stepped along the beach. After Wayne decided it was too hot to be running around chasing crabs we walked around the island and collected four coconuts to open later.
In the afternoon we sailed north for 7nm to Haafeva Island. We anchored in 8m on the north west side of the island. Here we had our best sleep in awhile as the anchorage wasn't rolly. On Friday morning we jumped over the side and had the best snorkelling we've had yet. The visibility was excellent and the coral gardens between the boat and the shore were spectacular. There was a huge range of coral which were all alive and a magnificent variety of colourful fish darted in and around them. We had a wonderful time snorkelling here and we were left in awe at the beauty of it.
On Friday afternoon we sailed east to Uonukuhahaki Island. We had a terrific sail to windward in ESE 10 knots and covered the 23nm in five hours. We found a clear sandy area between coral heads and dropped the anchor. We eagerly went for a quick snorkel from the boat before the sun went down.
On Saturday we went ashore to Uonukuhahaki Island which is uninhabited and walked around its sandy beaches. We discovered a few bits of flotsam washed ashore and plenty of cowrie shells and pieces of broken, bleached coral. The tide was running out and at the northern end of the island we were presented with a spectacular nature show. We came across a fairly big tidal pool and I spotted a small black tip reef shark swimming through what I thought was weed. Wayne soon noticed that my weed was thousands of fish about a finger length long. This enormous school of fish was herded up one end of the tidal pool by a variety of predators including several sharks, a group of king fish and also making the most of this bounty were terns overhead and several moray eels. Every time a predator would lunge into the school the air would erupt in small fish flying to escape. In the afternoon we had another great snorkelling session, seeing even more varieties of colourful fish.
After spending a windy day on board on Sunday we decided to move to the next island to our north on Monday. We had a brisk sail in a SE 15 knot to Uiha Island and anchored in front of the southern village. Uiha Island has two villages. We have spent the last few days anchored here as the island provides good protection from the strong easterly trade winds. Yesterday we kayaked the length of the island and met some local boat builders and today we went snorkelling close to the shore and saw some cuttlefish.
We have been regularly listening to Radio Australia on our HF radio and hearing all about the floods in northern Tasmania. Our thoughts are with those at home enduring the bad weather and floods.
All is happy on board.
email is via our slow and limited* HF radio email system. * Limited by the atmospheric conditions and propagation of the ionosphere.
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On the evening of Sunday 29 May we made an overnight passage of 75nm with a nice 10 knot easterly from Nuku'alofa, north to Nomuka Island, the southern most island in the Ha'apai group. Arriving at 9am we conned our way in with myself half way up the mast on our new rat lines negotiating a clear route through the coral heads. We spotted our first turtle and were very impressed with the many shades of blue created by the different sea beds from a deep dark blue to a brilliant turquoise surrounding the outlying reefs. We safely dropped anchor in 14m off the smaller island called Nomuka Iki.
We spent Monday and Tuesday anchored here in light winds. We launched our kayaks and paddled ashore and met the only resident on the island, an old man and his dog. He greeted us warmly and in a mixture of Tongan, English and lots of hand actions we had a brief conversation. Racks of dried fish lay salted above the high tide mark, pigs wandered behind his tin hut, a smoky fire held a blackened kettle and the local radio station could be heard from his radio. After saying goodbye we continued to kayak around the island. The tide was out and as we paddled over the inner reef we occasionally caught glimpses of bright coloured fish below. At one point we pulled ashore to stretch our legs and discovered cow pats along the beach. We have since seen evidence of cattle on all the islands we've visited. Waves crashed with regularity on the outer reef as we continued paddling along in the calmer inner passage. We met a local guy jigging for octopus from his wooden out rigger who had been to Tasmania last year to visit his sister! We also enjoyed a snorkel from the beach as well as from the boat to check our anchor and chain was clear of any coral heads.
On Wednesday we weighed anchor and departed under sail. After clearing Nomuka Island we set our course for 35 degrees true. We could see lots of scattered low lying islands on the horizon, one of them being our destination for the day, Oua Island. With an 8 knot breeze from the ESE we were close reaching in a smooth sea. To our west we could see the prominent pyramid shape of Kao Island which is 1000m high. Next to it was the shorter island of Tofua which is an active volcano. It was a sunny day and flying fish were stretching their wings as they flew across the wave tops. As we neared the Ava Fonuaika pass between Wickham Reef and Fonuaika Island we watched the sea around us intently for any signs of breaking waves or green water which indicates a reef system. As we were now working to windward it became clear we weren't going to clear a reef ahead of us so we tacked twice to avoid it. Once clear of the pass we had a gentle sail in to our anchorage at Peapea Island. Once again we navigated our way in, using both our echo sounder (fish finder) which shows a profile of the sea bed as well as depth and myself up the mast distinguishing between the different shades of blue to find a nice clear area to anchor. Peapea Island is a tiny dot of an island on the outer reef system of Oua Island. Although we felt we were anchored in the middle of open water we had a reef on two sides and an island on the third.
The following morning we kayaked around Oua Island and saw all manner of fish leaping across in front of our bows as our kayaks must have startled them, quite a few black tip reef sharks in the shallows and a very large turtle only metres in front of us before it took a breath and disappeared into the turquoise depths. We stopped at the small beach fringed island of Fakahiku to stretch our legs. As we glided onto the beach at least a dozen crabs scuttled from the waterline up to the bush for safety. All that is except for one which wasn't as quick as Wayne who leapt from his kayak and blocked its path. The two of them get blocking each other as they side stepped along the beach. After Wayne decided it was too hot to be running around chasing crabs we walked around the island and collected four coconuts to open later.
In the afternoon we sailed north for 7nm to Haafeva Island. We anchored in 8m on the north west side of the island. Here we had our best sleep in awhile as the anchorage wasn't rolly. On Friday morning we jumped over the side and had the best snorkelling we've had yet. The visibility was excellent and the coral gardens between the boat and the shore were spectacular. There was a huge range of coral which were all alive and a magnificent variety of colourful fish darted in and around them. We had a wonderful time snorkelling here and we were left in awe at the beauty of it.
On Friday afternoon we sailed east to Uonukuhahaki Island. We had a terrific sail to windward in ESE 10 knots and covered the 23nm in five hours. We found a clear sandy area between coral heads and dropped the anchor. We eagerly went for a quick snorkel from the boat before the sun went down.
On Saturday we went ashore to Uonukuhahaki Island which is uninhabited and walked around its sandy beaches. We discovered a few bits of flotsam washed ashore and plenty of cowrie shells and pieces of broken, bleached coral. The tide was running out and at the northern end of the island we were presented with a spectacular nature show. We came across a fairly big tidal pool and I spotted a small black tip reef shark swimming through what I thought was weed. Wayne soon noticed that my weed was thousands of fish about a finger length long. This enormous school of fish was herded up one end of the tidal pool by a variety of predators including several sharks, a group of king fish and also making the most of this bounty were terns overhead and several moray eels. Every time a predator would lunge into the school the air would erupt in small fish flying to escape. In the afternoon we had another great snorkelling session, seeing even more varieties of colourful fish.
After spending a windy day on board on Sunday we decided to move to the next island to our north on Monday. We had a brisk sail in a SE 15 knot to Uiha Island and anchored in front of the southern village. Uiha Island has two villages. We have spent the last few days anchored here as the island provides good protection from the strong easterly trade winds. Yesterday we kayaked the length of the island and met some local boat builders and today we went snorkelling close to the shore and saw some cuttlefish.
We have been regularly listening to Radio Australia on our HF radio and hearing all about the floods in northern Tasmania. Our thoughts are with those at home enduring the bad weather and floods.
All is happy on board.
email is via our slow and limited* HF radio email system. * Limited by the atmospheric conditions and propagation of the ionosphere.
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Thursday, 26 May 2016
Arrival in the Kingdom of Tonga
We arrived at Nuku'alofa the capital of Tonga last night just as the sun was setting at 1800 and dropped anchor next to Pangaimotu Island. In the fading light we could make out a strip of sandy beach, tall palm trees and about ten other vessels anchored to the south of the island. After a much enjoyed hot shower and a quick dinner we slept like logs until waking naturally with the morning light.
Our voyage statistics are; 1,132 nautical miles over 12 days and 6 hours. A total of 24 hours of motoring in calm conditions, the longest period yesterday (9 hours) was in 5 metre swells.
The last 4 days were a mixed bag of conditions. On Saturday we were sailing to windward on a building North Westerly with boat speeds up to 7 knots for 14 hours, then we endured a South Westerly gale on Sunday with a small headsail for 14 hours as a series of fronts came through. The wind abated early Monday but unfortunately the swells didn't abate as quickly, they stayed with us for the final 2 days as we made use of the .75 oz Code Zero and then completed the voyage under motor. It is hard to endure such light conditions once land is sighted!
This morning we entered the inner harbour to clear customs. After tying up alongside another yacht also awaiting clearance we patiently waited for an hour for the customs officer to arrive. Then several other yachts needing clearance arrived and tied up alongside our little flotilla. It was nice to be able to chat to other yachties whilst waiting for clearance procedures to take place. After another couple of hours the quarantine officer arrived and then an hour later the health officer arrived. All the officials were very courteous and relaxed.
After finally being able to leave the vessel we went to the local produce market and bought some fresh supplies. This evening we returned to anchor off Pangaimotu Island and enjoyed a swim over the side followed by a delicious papaya.
All is content onboard Ambler
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Our voyage statistics are; 1,132 nautical miles over 12 days and 6 hours. A total of 24 hours of motoring in calm conditions, the longest period yesterday (9 hours) was in 5 metre swells.
The last 4 days were a mixed bag of conditions. On Saturday we were sailing to windward on a building North Westerly with boat speeds up to 7 knots for 14 hours, then we endured a South Westerly gale on Sunday with a small headsail for 14 hours as a series of fronts came through. The wind abated early Monday but unfortunately the swells didn't abate as quickly, they stayed with us for the final 2 days as we made use of the .75 oz Code Zero and then completed the voyage under motor. It is hard to endure such light conditions once land is sighted!
This morning we entered the inner harbour to clear customs. After tying up alongside another yacht also awaiting clearance we patiently waited for an hour for the customs officer to arrive. Then several other yachts needing clearance arrived and tied up alongside our little flotilla. It was nice to be able to chat to other yachties whilst waiting for clearance procedures to take place. After another couple of hours the quarantine officer arrived and then an hour later the health officer arrived. All the officials were very courteous and relaxed.
After finally being able to leave the vessel we went to the local produce market and bought some fresh supplies. This evening we returned to anchor off Pangaimotu Island and enjoyed a swim over the side followed by a delicious papaya.
All is content onboard Ambler
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Wednesday, 18 May 2016
Some bumpy and now smooth sailing
Since our last post we had been running before a strong wind on the back of a low that had developed from the front that crossed New Zealand two days ago. It developed as a cut off low to the East of South Island and moved to a position South East of us. Fortunately the winds didn't get too much over 25 knots but the sea was rough owing to the proximity of this low. We ran briskly before it with just the head sail up for 24 hours and steered clear of the undersea ridges that can develop odd wave patterns.
The chart is riddled with undersea volcanoes, ridges and troughs that have odd notations such as "volcanic activity 2009" "dscoloured water 1983" and shoal depths with the year reported. In fact there's a whole new island at 20d 34' S, 175d 23' W, which we will not be sailing near as it is west of our planned route. I should have brought a Tassie Flag in case we find a new island to proclaim.
The wind died off during Wednesday and we are drifting north with the Assymetric Spinnaker heading for the subtropic ridge (an elongated high with little or no wind) that we hope to be able to sail through. Once across we will then be in the South East trade winds.
We also crossed the dateline at 30d 10'S on Tuesday at 1750 local which is 12 hours and 180 degrees in both directions East and West of Greenwhich England (lucky I paid attention in the spherical trigonometry lessons when I studied surveying) . We haven't changed the date though as Tonga and Fiji are aligned with NZ.
We still have the Mahi Mahi fish around us and have been spotting sea birds such as white necked petrels and masked boobies. We have stayed to the west of the Kermadec islands due to the big winds and sea which these birds nest on.
We have been generating electricity whilst sailing from a tow generator. The different bits cost me $230 and consist of an old wind generator called a wind bugger hooked up to a small outboard propeller on a stainless shaft and coupled by a 30 metre rope. The wind bugger was popular in its day with its large slow turning blades, ideal for a hydrogen system, unlike the fast turning modern wind generators.
So all bright and humming along on board.
Wayne and Kathy
At 17/05/2016 4:12 PM (utc) our position was 29°39.19'S 179°26.53'W
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The chart is riddled with undersea volcanoes, ridges and troughs that have odd notations such as "volcanic activity 2009" "dscoloured water 1983" and shoal depths with the year reported. In fact there's a whole new island at 20d 34' S, 175d 23' W, which we will not be sailing near as it is west of our planned route. I should have brought a Tassie Flag in case we find a new island to proclaim.
The wind died off during Wednesday and we are drifting north with the Assymetric Spinnaker heading for the subtropic ridge (an elongated high with little or no wind) that we hope to be able to sail through. Once across we will then be in the South East trade winds.
We also crossed the dateline at 30d 10'S on Tuesday at 1750 local which is 12 hours and 180 degrees in both directions East and West of Greenwhich England (lucky I paid attention in the spherical trigonometry lessons when I studied surveying) . We haven't changed the date though as Tonga and Fiji are aligned with NZ.
We still have the Mahi Mahi fish around us and have been spotting sea birds such as white necked petrels and masked boobies. We have stayed to the west of the Kermadec islands due to the big winds and sea which these birds nest on.
We have been generating electricity whilst sailing from a tow generator. The different bits cost me $230 and consist of an old wind generator called a wind bugger hooked up to a small outboard propeller on a stainless shaft and coupled by a 30 metre rope. The wind bugger was popular in its day with its large slow turning blades, ideal for a hydrogen system, unlike the fast turning modern wind generators.
So all bright and humming along on board.
Wayne and Kathy
At 17/05/2016 4:12 PM (utc) our position was 29°39.19'S 179°26.53'W
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Monday, 16 May 2016
The ocean is a desert with its life underground.
Position at 4.30am local is 31d 45'S, 178d 37'E, 721nm to go
Last night, just on dusk, a little mate joined us perhaps from the Tamar River. A swallow had lost his way. He almost landed on my arm then did a circuit of the boat and spied a more settled and out of the way place to land, the liferaft deployment cord. Once settled it gave a chirp and then it was only a minute or two before his little head tucked under his wing and was fast asleep. It became his final resting place as he passed away in the early hours of the night. At sunrise we gave him a sea burial.
We were forced to a stop next day with no wind. We were parked in the middle of a big round empty disc then we spotted an orange fishing float, we fired up the diesel and motored over to find a small mass of green rope which we hauled aboard. It was barnacle encrusted and was home to many small crabs. It was then we noticed that surrounding the boat was a dozen or more big Dolphin fish or Mahi Mahi along with many smaller species. These big fish are delicious too so I went through my fishing kit and threw every lure I had at them to no avail. We cleaned up the rope and stored it in the sea kayak for later disposal on land. Our new friends stayed with us for the rest of the day and attempted to keep up once the breeze filled in after dark. We could see them swimming along in the phosphorescent plankton then they must have given up the chase.
The wind has come in from the ENE and we have shaped a course North towards Tonga.
All is quiet on board as we sail through the night
Wayne And Kathy
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Last night, just on dusk, a little mate joined us perhaps from the Tamar River. A swallow had lost his way. He almost landed on my arm then did a circuit of the boat and spied a more settled and out of the way place to land, the liferaft deployment cord. Once settled it gave a chirp and then it was only a minute or two before his little head tucked under his wing and was fast asleep. It became his final resting place as he passed away in the early hours of the night. At sunrise we gave him a sea burial.
We were forced to a stop next day with no wind. We were parked in the middle of a big round empty disc then we spotted an orange fishing float, we fired up the diesel and motored over to find a small mass of green rope which we hauled aboard. It was barnacle encrusted and was home to many small crabs. It was then we noticed that surrounding the boat was a dozen or more big Dolphin fish or Mahi Mahi along with many smaller species. These big fish are delicious too so I went through my fishing kit and threw every lure I had at them to no avail. We cleaned up the rope and stored it in the sea kayak for later disposal on land. Our new friends stayed with us for the rest of the day and attempted to keep up once the breeze filled in after dark. We could see them swimming along in the phosphorescent plankton then they must have given up the chase.
The wind has come in from the ENE and we have shaped a course North towards Tonga.
All is quiet on board as we sail through the night
Wayne And Kathy
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Friday, 13 May 2016
NZ explored, now it's Tonga Time
Hi
We have been on board for almost 3 weeks exploring the many stunning anchorages in the Bay of Islands as we prepare Ambler for sea. Our mountain bikes and associated land exploring equipment was washed and packed away. We sold the van to some friends from Tasmania who are sailing to Nelson soon to begin their adventures.
We cleared customs at Opua and left the bay in light winds behind another boat who was heading our way. We hoisted the code 0 and main and shut the noisy perkins down once we detected a breeze, where as he kept motoring towards the horizon. We were only achieving 3.5 knots until the breeze freshened a bit more. It was then too much for the code 0 so we furled that and unfurled the headsail. Just on dusk we called a ship that was lining us up to pass only half a mile behind. He agreed to alter course to increase the separation especially as our speed under sail wasn't all that constant.
We had a great night beam reaching (a sailing term, not being sick) until sunrise. A small pod of Common Dolphins enjoyed our bow waves as the sun rose. We poled out the headsail as the wind had backed to the west. The apparent wind speed eased off too so we then hoisted the massive Assymetric spinnaker and unfurled it, we shot back up to 6 knots again for an hour and a half but then the wind came around NW again. So off with the assy and back on with the headsail, beam reaching once more.
We have lost sight of the boat ahead and have another yacht converging from Whangarei or Auckland. We have them on AIS (Amblers Intelligence System) with a CPA (Closest Point of Approach) 5 hours away. So there are lots of yachts on this weather window to the Islands.
There was supposed to be a flotilla (operation Sea Mercy) departing today for Fiji to deliver goods to needy villages, but I suspect they (mostly Americans) might chicken out and leave Saturday instead, due to the Friday factor and especially as it is also the 13th!
This afternoon we had our 240 watt solar panels aimed at the sun so there was energy pouring back into the batteries.
It is midnight now and we had covered 110 nm in the first 24 hours and another 67 in the last 12.
All is well on board as we gain our sea legs once more.
Wayne and Kathy
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We have been on board for almost 3 weeks exploring the many stunning anchorages in the Bay of Islands as we prepare Ambler for sea. Our mountain bikes and associated land exploring equipment was washed and packed away. We sold the van to some friends from Tasmania who are sailing to Nelson soon to begin their adventures.
We cleared customs at Opua and left the bay in light winds behind another boat who was heading our way. We hoisted the code 0 and main and shut the noisy perkins down once we detected a breeze, where as he kept motoring towards the horizon. We were only achieving 3.5 knots until the breeze freshened a bit more. It was then too much for the code 0 so we furled that and unfurled the headsail. Just on dusk we called a ship that was lining us up to pass only half a mile behind. He agreed to alter course to increase the separation especially as our speed under sail wasn't all that constant.
We had a great night beam reaching (a sailing term, not being sick) until sunrise. A small pod of Common Dolphins enjoyed our bow waves as the sun rose. We poled out the headsail as the wind had backed to the west. The apparent wind speed eased off too so we then hoisted the massive Assymetric spinnaker and unfurled it, we shot back up to 6 knots again for an hour and a half but then the wind came around NW again. So off with the assy and back on with the headsail, beam reaching once more.
We have lost sight of the boat ahead and have another yacht converging from Whangarei or Auckland. We have them on AIS (Amblers Intelligence System) with a CPA (Closest Point of Approach) 5 hours away. So there are lots of yachts on this weather window to the Islands.
There was supposed to be a flotilla (operation Sea Mercy) departing today for Fiji to deliver goods to needy villages, but I suspect they (mostly Americans) might chicken out and leave Saturday instead, due to the Friday factor and especially as it is also the 13th!
This afternoon we had our 240 watt solar panels aimed at the sun so there was energy pouring back into the batteries.
It is midnight now and we had covered 110 nm in the first 24 hours and another 67 in the last 12.
All is well on board as we gain our sea legs once more.
Wayne and Kathy
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Thursday, 24 March 2016
Photos of our South Island Adventures
We walked up to Franz Josef Glacier on the West Coast. It had receded significantly since Wayne was last here about 30 years ago.
Walking up the river valley towards what is left of the Fox Glacier on the West Caost.
As close as you are allowed to get to the Fox Glacier.
Reflections of the Southern Alps on Lake Matheson, West Coast
Views of Mt Tasman and Mt Cook from Lake Matheson.
Views of Lake Wanaka as we climb Roy's Peak in the Southern Lakes region.
Views of Lake Wanaka and Mt Aspiring National Park from half way up Roy's Peak.
Views of Lake Wanaka from half way up Roy's Peak.
Views of Lake Wanaka from half way up Roy's Peak.
We rode our bikes along the river valley to Mt Aspiring Hut. The snow covered peaks rose high above us on either side of the valley and highland cattle roamed free on the valley floor.
A day walk to the base of the hanging Rob Roy Glacier.
Looking up towards the Mt Aspiring area.
Riding along Mt Bee's Ridgeline.
Lunch on Mt Bee (1246m)
This was as far as we could ride along the Mt Bee ridge.
A hut on a ride we did at Mavora Lakes.
Riding to Twin Forks Hut. Mavora Lake is in the background.
Twin Forks Hut
Slope Point on the SE coast of the South Island
Riding through a deer farm on our way up to the top of the Rock and Pillar Range in the background, near Middlemarch, Central Otago
The wild, barren windswept and cold tops (1452m) of the Rock and Pillar Range
The high point (1746m) of Saddle Ridge between the East and West Manuherikia Rivers, Central Otago
The rocky steep descent to the West Manuherikia River from Saddle Ridge
Views of dry tussock plains of Central Otago from the Mt Ida Water Race track.
A relaxing gradient at last along the Mt Ida Water Race
Riding up the Ahuriri River Valley in the South Canterbury High Country
Riding up the Hopkins River Valley in the South Canterbury High Country
Riding up the Hopkins River Valley
Having a rest on the Dusky Trail near Twizel in the South Canterbury High Country
The Richmond Trail above Lake Tekapo, South Canterbury High Country
The Richmond Trail with Lake Tekapo in the background.
About to set off to ride up the Godley River Valley in the South Canterbury High Country when a massive flock of Canada Geese lifted into the air.
Some creek crossings were too deep to ride across in the Godley River Valley.
The Godley River Valley
Scenery on our Lake Sunmer Ride, North Canterbury High Country
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