by Judy Handley | Nov 18, 2006 | New Zealand, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 396, Year 1: Rainy, Rainy Day in New Zealand
Date: Saturday, November 18, 2006
Weather: Rainy and Windy
Location: Opua, New Zealand
One thing is for sure. The weather here has been consistent since our arrival. Today it rained all day and wind howled. We tuned into the local marine forecasts and there were gale warnings for many locations today. But the forecast is for one more day of partially cloudy weather and then three days that they describe as “fine”. We will certainly be looking forward to exploring the area in sunshine.
I am still not on the uphill side of this cold, so I have spent the day reading and relaxing. I really am looking forward to feeling better and having some decent weather so we can start exploring the area. Actually at this very moment, it looks like clouds have decided to go away and the sun has decided to shine. In the last few minutes the sky has gone from totally overcast to blue. Amazing. Maybe the good weather will come one day sooner than expected. That will certainly be a welcome change.
by Judy Handley | Nov 17, 2006 | New Zealand, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 395, Year 1: Saddened and Shocked Over News from Tonga
Date: Friday, November 17, 2006
Weather: Still Overcast and Windy
Location: Opua, New Zealand
On our way back from Paihia today, we heard about the riots in Nuku’alofa last night. The Tongan government announcement today that democratic elections will be held in 2008 came a date late to save most of the city of Nuku’alofa from destruction. Fiji has been on the verge of rioting for the past couple of weeks, but those of us who just came from Tonga had no idea that things were so tentative there. Rioters looted the stores and set fire to many buildings. There was a little bakery across from the Immigration Office that had been in business there since the 1800’s. We understand it was burned to the ground along with the internet café we used. The paper here did not have complete details so I’m not sure what else was destroyed, but estimates were that two-thirds of the city was set on fire. We can only hope that some good can come out of this for the good people of Tonga.
Mark and I took the courtesy van into the town of Paihia today. It is a nice little town, but it appears to exist only for the purpose of tourism. We’ve never seen so many tour guide businesses in one little place. We wondered through town, walked out to the Woolworth’s grocery store and did some food shopping, and then walked back into town for lunch. The Tourist Information Center had more tourist information that anyplace we have ever been. Most everything was free for the taking, so we now have more tour information than we will be able to read in the next few months.
Tonight we are going out to dinner with Doug and Sylvie of Windcastle and Monica and Felix of Makani. We look forward to sharing stories of our passage here and catching up on the travels of Makani since we last saw them in Bora Bora.
by Judy Handley | Nov 16, 2006 | New Zealand, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 394, Year 1: 3 R’s–Reorganizing, Repairing, and Recovering
Date: Thursday, November 16, 2006
Weather: Overcast, Windy, and Rainy, Warmer Than Expected
Location: Opua, New Zealand
We spent the entire day aboard Windbird with no trips to land. We are both in different stages of recovery, but hopefully we will both be healthy once again. Mark spent the day doing repairs-a light that had gone out and a head that was leaking. I had very little energy, but I managed to start rearranging the food stores. Once we reach Whangarei, we will be preparing to leave the boat for two months, and I want to make sure everything is secure. In the middle of the afternoon, we had visitors. Laura and Susan from the boat moored next to us came over to visit. Their boat is Mystic Traveler. Laura is from Newburyport, Massachusetts, and even though she has not lived in the Boston area for a few years, she said she will always think of herself as a Bostonian. I think Susan is also from New England, but not sure about that. Before leaving on their round the world trip, both women worked in Delaware. This is the end of their second season in the South Pacific and we discovered that during our journey we have met some cruisers that they know from last season. They were a wealth of information about New Zealand and it was a delightful visit. As they said, it is rare to find cruisers out here from the East Coast of the US, and even rarer to find cruisers from New England.
Tomorrow morning we hope to feel up to a trip to the nearby town of Paihia. A shuttle leaves the marina at 10 am and will bring us back by 2 pm. We will do some food shopping and just take time to breathe in the local culture. Tomorrow night we hope to have dinner with Doug and Sylvie on Windcastle and Felix and Monica on Makani when we will celebrate our successful arrivals here in New Zealand. We will stay here through the weekend and decide early in the week when it is time to move on. We are looking forward to visiting the town on Russell on our way out of here and then making a few stops in the Bay of Islands before heading south to Whangarei.
At one point in the day, we heard Jonah from Araby calling another boat. We had no idea that Araby was here in port, so we called back to say hello. That led to another call. Judy and Roger of Hanoah, a boat from Brunswick, Maine, that was anchored next to us in Nuku’alofa overheard our conversation with Jonah and called us afterward. We were so excited to hear from them. They had a great eight day trip down from Tonga and are now out in the Bay of Islands. We hope to catch up with them in Whangarei. Jonah on Araby has decided to leave his boat here for the next couple of months while he goes back to the US to visit family and then return to do some land explorations. He wants to check out the South Island and see if he wants to take his boat there.
So even on a quiet day in the anchorage, the wonderful people connections continue. Cruising gives us a chance to become intimate with some very isolated parts of the world and a chance to meet and continue friendships with cruisers from all over the globe. It is a good life out here.
by Judy Handley | Nov 15, 2006 | New Zealand, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 393, Year 1: Arrival in Opua, New Zealand
Date: Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Weather: Overcast, Windy, and Rainy, But Warmer Than Expected
Air Temperature: 64 degrees F
Water Temperature at Surface: 62 degrees F
Latitude: 35 degrees 19 minutes S
Longitude: 174 degrees 08 minutes E
Miles Traveled: 13,011.1 Miles from Boston to New Zealand
As our daughter Heather would say, “Woohoo!” We made it to New Zealand-all 13,011.1 miles from Boston. Our passage from Tonga took us about seven and a half days. Seven of those days were sunny and beautiful, but last night New Zealand decided to greet us with a little taste of what her weather can be like. She certainly didn’t throw us her worst, but it was bad enough that we couldn’t see land when we arrived. Thank goodness for electronic charting! The charts are not always accurate, but they were right on for Opua and it was comforting to be able to see on the computer screen exactly where the boat was at any moment. What could Captain Cook have accomplished if he had had modern technology?
During the night we had winds from 20 knots to the low 30’s, clouds and fog, and some rain. In the very early hours, we called into Taupo Marine Radio to alert them of our arrival. Shortly after, Felix and Monica of Makani, called us on the VHF. They are a German couple that we first met via radio on the long passage from the Galapagos to the Marquesas. We were in the middle of nowhere when we saw a sail on the horizon behind us. By midday they were beside us, and by evening they sailed into the sunset. We met in person in Fatu Hiva and then again in Bora Bora, but we haven’t heard from them since. Felix called because he thought it was interesting that we once again find ourselves on passage together. We left from Tonga and they left from Fiji, but we arrived at the same time. We talked with them once we arrived on the Q Dock (Q stands for Quarantine) and hope to have dinner with them tomorrow night. But back to the weather saga . . . everything intensified just as we approached the coast and stayed that way until we went up the river to Opua. I have a much greater appreciation for those Polynesians who sailed here in double-hulled canoes. If I ever have a death wish, I’ll try that. At exactly 0830, we tied up to the Q Dock to wait for Customs and Immigration to check us in. We looked for Windcastle, but they were no where in sight. Mark walked down the dock and inquired about their location. He found out that they had reached the entrance late last night but decided that a nighttime entry look too dangerous, so they went back out to sea to wait for daylight. They arrived mid-morning.
Our boat is considerably lighter after Customs went through our food supply. They took all of the dried beans, among those my precious pinto beans which I have not seen out here, all fresh fruits and veggies, all non-New Zealand dairy products, all meats, and on and on. We filled two good-sized trash bags. But I must say, the officials here are very professional and helpful. We knew to expect the purging of some foods, but otherwise, we entered unscathed.
Most boats that arrive go into the Opua Marina and take a slip, but we decided that we are not quite ready for life dockside. We did take a marina mooring and will have to travel to and from shore by dinghy. It is hilly and green and lovely here. After getting settled, we went into the marina to check in with them and found a most impressive operation. The marina is clean and well-maintained, and the staff are very helpful and friendly. There is a real laundromat that I will take advantage of and not far away there is the Opua Yacht Club and a little store with basic provisions. Every morning at 10 am a van takes people into Paihia, a nearby town where there are grocery stores and few other amenities. It was described to us as a very tiny little town, but we shall see.
Tonight Mark and I are staying here aboard Windbird. The Yacht Club is having a race and a “barbie”, but I finally succumbed to whatever it is that hit Mark a few days ago. If you know me, you know I don’t feel good when I pass up a Yacht Club barbeque and a chance to celebrate our arrival with fellow cruisers. That will just have to wait a day or two until both of us have recovered. I think this feels more like the flu than just a common cold, but whatever, I just hope we are both better after a good night’s sleep.
As I started writing this log, we saw all sorts of boats gathering in the harbor. The Yacht Club must be sponsoring a race this evening. It was so exciting to see the boats jockeying for their place for the start of the race. They have all sailed down river, but I’m sure they will be returning soon. We haven’t seen this sort of thing on this level since Boston, but then New Zealand is known as the sailing capitol of the world. We look forward to enjoying the NZ sailing life while we are here. One of the kings of New Zealand sailing is the late Peter Blake. His boat, Lion of New Zealand is here. We also saw it last month in Tonga. Quite a boat!
