Tuesday 8^th February

It was quite a cold night but we slept well on our airbed with a duvet and Grannies crocheted blanket keeping up warm.  In the morning I made the mistake of trying to walk around inside the tent while bending over and suddenly felt a tweak – I had put my back out again.  We packed up and continued to drive down the west coast but my back was feeling painful.  I was cross with myself for doing something so silly.  We stopped at Whataroa so I could get out and stretch my back.  There was a very nice museum of Maori artefacts that we wandered around. 

We continued on our drive heading for the Franz Josef Glacier.  Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, 15 miles apart, are the only glaciers that descend as low as 300m above sea level any where in the world.  The Franz Joseph descends from the top of the Southern Alps and cuts through dramatic glacial valleys to flow into temperate rain forest and out towards the sea.

The closest we could get to the glacier

Unfortunately when we got there it started raining but we still walked across the glacial moraine to come face to face with billions of cubic metres of solid blue ice. 

The rain created the most stunning water falls which enhanced our walk in the rain.  We drove back into the town and spent several hours in the Glacial hot pools which varied from 36C to 40C, did my back a power of good.  With the combination of the rain and my bad back we decided to book into a back-packers hostel for the night.  Very nice and comfortable.

Route of tour

Peter and Margie left first thing the next morning and I spent the day re-sewing the cockpit cover while Bill finished off his varnishing.

Moving sheep on highway 63

We got up early on the Sunday morning and loaded everything into the car and drove back to the boat.  We quickly unpacked the car and repacked it with all our new camping gear, some food, and a few bags of clothes, so we could leave the next day on our tour of the South Island.  Monday morning arrived with the sun and we set off for the west coast.  We headed south to Blenheim where we turned onto highway 63 passing vineyard after vineyard on our way to St Arnaud where we stopped for lunch.  We had cloudy skies and the weather wasn’t as warm as it had been in Picton – was this the norm for the west coast?  We joined our first traffic jam.  NZ has a ratio of 15 sheep to each person, these sheep were being moved to different grazing, holding up the cars as they went. 

The longest swing bridge in NZ on the Buller Gorge

We continued to Murchison on the Buller river.  The Buller Gorge offers spectacular scenery and is home to New Zealand’s longest swing bridge. 

Old Greymouth buildings

We turned onto highway 69 and headed for Greymouth, the largest town on the west coast.  The boom time for Greymouth came in the 1860s when the gold rush brought the development of road and rail links.  Many of the old character properties still exist including Monteith’s brewery started in 1868.  The town has a selection of café’s and restaurants as well as numerous jade galleries.  The Tranzalpine train leaves Greymouth for Christchurch. 

Sharing the road with the railway

Just outside Greymouth we had to share the road with the rail track, fortunately there weren’t any trains coming.   We continued to Hokitika for our first campsite.  The campsites here are very nice.  There was a communal kitchen as well as the usual shower block and it was next to the beach. 

Our first campsite

After putting the tent up we went for a nice walk along the beach to end the day.

The mossie and sandfly proof inner layer

Our little home for the next few weeks

Bill on the black sand beach

Peter and Margie with Akarao harbour behind them

3rd February 2011

 43º48.1 south

 172º 58.0 east

Today we met Peter and Margie, our American friends from the BWR off the boat Peregrina.  They flew in from Brisbane, Australia where Peregrina has been based since leaving the rally in August.  We had a great time catching up with each other’s news over lunch then we drove into Christchurch to have a quick look around.  As the weather wasn’t very good we spent quite a bit of time in the museum.  We decided to have a proper look around when we return in a few weeks time… We all drove back to Kate’s where we enjoyed one of Barry’s delicious barbeques for dinner. 

Looking across Okains bay out to sea

The next day was hot and sunny so we followed the summit route across the top of the Banks peninsular to Akaroa.  Perched on the edge of a deep volcanic harbour, Akaroa is South Island’s oldest town.  Within days of the British declaring sovereignty over NZ in 1840, a shipload of French settlers founded Akaroa and it has remained French in spirit ever since.  The four of us strolled through the picturesque seaside village. 

Peter and Bill at craft fair

The local church had a craft fair, so we wandered through the stalls of hats, honey and homemade wine.  The foreshore is lined with cafes, art galleries and boutique shops many with a French theme.  We walked along the waterfront looking out at the boats bobbing around on buoys.  If we had brought Camomile further south this is one of the places we could have visited but the amount of beautiful days like the one we were experiencing were few and far between.  We drove back along the coast road.

Sue and Bill on the pier at Akaroa

French influence in Akaroa

Pretty Akaroa house

View across the harbour

Beach huts in Robinson bay

Sailing is Fun

22^nd January 2011 

41º 06.7 south

174º 13.3 east

Kate and the family joined us on Camomile for a holiday in Queen Charlotte sound.

Bill the skipper isn’t sure about Billy the dog

We had been at Picton marina just over a week when Kate, Barry, Will and Daisy came to join us.  So far the weather has been awful with wind and/or rain most days, one evening we recorded gusts of 43kts.  Not a lot has happened, we just got on with general living, shopping, washing, internet, etc.  Bill has remodelled my fridge by making it smaller using slabs of insulation board so it doesn’t suck so much power out of the batteries.  The tribe arrived on Saturday 22^nd January to more rain.  There was a Maritime festival in Picton that day which we wandered around and the day ended with a wonderful firework display.  The next morning Barry and Billy the dog had to go back to Christchurch to work.  The rain continued.

Daisy with Camomile anchored in Cockle bay

Monday morning came along with a beautiful sunny, blue-sky day.  At last we could enjoy some better weather and we all decided we would go for a sail.  Everyone had showers (might be their last chance for a day or two) and we left the marina at 12.30 to enjoy a gentle sail up the sound with just the Genoa (foresail) flying. We managed a couple of hours before the wind dropped and we motored into the Bay of Many Coves and into Cockle cove.  It was a lovely spot.  The dinghy was lowered and we went ashore to explore the beach.  Bill cooked a delicious barbeque that evening. 

Early morning anchorage

The next morning we awoke to the most perfect scene.  The anchorage was stunning, without a breath of wind there were the most superb reflections around us, the lovely weather continued.  We left the anchorage at lunchtime with the intention of sailing to Ship Cove to see Cooks monument but the wind started to rise and as we got nearer to the open sea it started to get a bit rough so we motored into Endeavour inlet and anchored right up inside.  We had strong winds overnight but the anchor held fast. 

Daisy on the Queen Charlotte track

Will and Kate on the Queen Charlotte track

 The next morning the sun was back so we all got into the dinghy and went ashore to walk part of the Queen Charlotte track.  The track stretches from Ship cove to Anaiwa and passes through lush coastal forest, around bays and along skyline ridges.  It takes three to five days to complete the whole walk. The section around the Endeavour inlet isn’t very hilly and we had a wonderful stroll around to Punga Cove resort where we discovered they had buoys strong enough for Camomile, a bar, showers and a swimming pool ….. we were out voted and Bill and I brought Camomile around to the resort for the night. 

Camomile on a buoy at Punga cove

We all enjoyed the showers.  Bill and I walked further to the top of the next ridge and were rewarded with the most superb views.

Will gets a lesson in the rib

The next day, Thursday, we left at lunchtime again and needed to start heading back towards Picton.  It was very gusty but we put the Genoa out and everyone took turns on the helm.  During Kate’s turn we had a gust of 43kts and it knocked us right over.  Her face was a picture, she wasn’t sure if she should be worried or not.  The kids were holding on tight and we soon bobbed back up. It wasn’t a problem and we continued on down the sound.  We went into Onahau bay, just past the entrance to Picton.  We anchored in Mistletoe bay right at the top.  It had a small campsite ashore with a little shop that sold ice creams.  Bill gave Will a lesson on how to use the outboard while Kate, Daisy and I went to see the local animals. 

Will and Bill watching the seals

On Friday we motored the short distance back across to Picton and Bill drove Kate to Nelson airport so she could return early.  Will and Daisy spent the weekend with us and then we drove them back on the Monday.  We stopped in Kaikoura on the way down to look at the seals as they lay on the rocks in the sun. 

.

Sue with long hair

Having spent the last year in the tropics my hair was beginning to be a real nuisance.   It’s got so long and is very thick.  Washing it with limited water started to become a difficulty not to mention the long hairs being found in the shower trap or around the boat.  When we got to NZ I promised myself I would have it cut.  So while walking through the little mall to the supermarket I walked into the hairdressers and, after having a little chat on styles, I had it cut. 

The new Sue

What do you think?

Queen Charlotte sound from Picton marina

12th January 2011

41º 17.2 south

174º 00.5 east

We’re moored at Picton marina overlooking the beautiful Queen Charlotte sound 

The Sun Princess

We made it to South Island but we can see why everyone says don’t bother to sail there.  We flew back to the boat on the 1^st with a 3 to 4 day weather window ahead of us as a high moved over North Island.  We did a quick shop, filled the water tanks, fuelled up and left Gulf harbour the next day^.   We had a wonderful 5-hour sail across to Barrier island and anchored in Puriri bay overnight.  It’s a shame we can’t stay longer on this coast but we have decided to head south this year.  We left the anchorage at dawn the following day with the Sun Princess for company and motored across the Bay of Plenty with only 2 kts of wind. 

East cape

I put the fishing line out and within a couple of hours had hooked a beautiful tuna.  Bill reeled it in and gutted it and we had delicious tuna for supper.  The wind returned at 3pm and we sailed into the night before it dropped just before 11pm.  It was a very dark night without any land or boats in sight.  The next day we rounded the notorious East Cape in a gentle Northerly without any problems.  After all the horror stories it turned out to be a pussycat.  A pod of 100+ dolphins crossed our bow just before the cape and the seas boiled with the joyful, leaping, twisting, jumping forms passing us as if we were standing still.  This was as far east as we planned to go and as we turned south we took the main down and poled out the genny.  Our timing was just right as the tide turned in our favour and we notched up speeds of 8 and 9kts.

It’s getting colder

The northerly wind continued to blow and gave us a lovely sail all through the night although it was now starting to get really cold.  We heard on the weather forecast that a gale was starting to blow in the Cook Strait so we decided to put into Napier.  The East coast of NZ is very inhospitable because it doesn’t have any where to shelter.  Napier was our only chance to stop.  We sailed across Napier bay and arrived at 8pm that evening. 

Sailing around Cape Palliser

We stayed there for 4 days until the Sunday when we heard on the forecast that there was a small weather window to get round Cape Palliser and into the Cooks Strait or we would have to wait until at least Thursday.  We left at 6.30 pm Sunday along with a kiwi boat and spent the first night beating into a 20kt southerly which was b*****y cold coming straight off the Antarctic. Unfortunately Pete and Simon decided to go back as they didn’t have an auto helm and hand steering into the heavy seas would have been very uncomfortable; we think they made the right decision. We pressed on as the wind gradually abated and arrived off Cape Palliser at 9am on the Tuesday just as the tide was turning in our favour. 

Lining up the day marks at the entrance to the Tory channel

The forecast south-easterly didn’t appear and unbelievably we motored across the Straits with the sea like a millpond.  (We didn’t complain!)  We entered Queen Charlotte sound through the Tory channel at 6pm on a beautiful sunny evening and anchored in a quiet bay overnight. 

Sharing the sound with the ferry

We sailed on down into Picton on the Wednesday morning. 

Camomile in the centre of the picture in Picton marina

So we made it but I think we’ve found the Kiwi Scotland.  The scenery is stunning but it’s much colder here than it was in North Island.  Luckily I bought those UGG boots in Fiji!  Is it worth coming all this way?  For us it was because Kate and family here and we’ve got several things planned but it’s a long way to come and there’s either too much wind, which is dangerous to travel in, or no wind, and then you need to motor, so I would probably say no.  Having made it down here we’ve decided to stay in this area and not return to Auckland.  We can start our trip East much better from somewhere like Napier.  As we missed a lot of North Island we’ve decided to come back to NZ in November for another Southern summer here.

The Christmas tree

172º 28.55 East

Monday 13^th December we packed our bags, closed up the boat and flew down to Christchurch from Auckland.  After having to wait a week for the gearbox drive plate to be repaired we missed our weather window.  We arrived quite late but it was lovely to see Kate’s smiling face when we arrived.   The first job I was given was decorating the Christmas tree.  Will and Daisy helped me and Bill was given the job of putting the fairy on top because he’s the tallest.  Daisy turned the lights on and the Christmas season started although it was difficult to feel Christmassy with lovely long sunny and warm days.

Our official welcome to NZ

Thursday and Friday Kate and I got up early to open the café.  It was really good fun.  I made Muffins and sandwiches while Kate cooked pies and pasties.  She also taught me how to make a proper coffee.

On the Saturday Barry went and opened the café and Kate, Bill and I and the children went along later to enjoy a delicious brunch cooked by Barry.  This was followed by the dixie band that Kate plays in setting up and playing outside the café in our honour.  It was the best welcome we’ve received throughout our journey so far.  Do you recognise the trombonist?

Ellesmere Dixie band with Will, Daisy, Barry and Bill outside the café

The band was also playing a fond farewell to the café.  Kate and Barry have been working there 7 days a week but have decided they don’t want to spend all their time there any more.  Barry cooks the most amazing pies, pasties, muffins and slices but the locals seem to ignore them and just order meals with chips!  Barry has a nice new job and they are going to concentrate on perfecting their clotted cream business.  The celebrations continued in the afternoon and evening with a welcome party consisting of 30 – 40 of Kates friends, many of whom were interested in hearing about our travels so far.

The next day was Sunday and we went to church in the afternoon for a carol service.  It wasn’t like any thing we’ve been to before.  It started with a sausage sizzle outside.  We were all dressed in nice summer clothes instead of thick winter coats.  There was no candles or snow.  The Ellesmere Dixies played again and accompanied all the carols including a Maori carol.  The minister was dressed in ‘plain clothes’ but conducted a very nice service before we emerged into bright sunlight at 7pm!

Bill got himself oily doing a temporary fix on Kate & Barry’s little van but it needed replacing with a new car so for several days Bill had the poor salesman dangling with the sale tantalisingly close while he squeezed more and more off the price.  On the Monday the salesman finally gave in and we went to pick it up, a nice Toyota Camry estate, which we will be able to borrow to tour South island.  We had a double celebration that day when we learnt that James was safely home from Afghanistan.  The MOD had shipped a number of men home early because the jets they were working on had left and James was lucky enough to be one of them. It was a huge relief to Bill and I that he was home safely.

We spent the rest of the week preparing for Christmas.

Christmas morning

Christmas morning saw us sitting around the Christmas tree with piles of presents.  It took half the day to open them. 

Bill with Will and Daisy

We then partook of a Kiwi tradition – we all got in the pool while Barry cooked the most magnificent BBQ for Christmas dinner followed by Pavlova with strawberries and chocolates on top.

Kate and Sue in the pool

Barry cooking the Christmas BBQ

Paris and Ginger having their Christmas treat

Strawberry Pavola with Chocolates

Happy Christmas from everyone

Happy Christmas from us all in New Zealand.

Bill’s log and Sue’s diary including Wendy attacking Harry!!

Beach at musket cove

The waiting was over, finally there was a weather window that looked reasonable so I emailed Bob McDavit and requested a voyage plan/forecast. Bob is the local weather guru working for the NZ met office and he provides a wind and wave forecast along with waypoints for the optimum weather route.

Shop & café at Musket cove

We left Musket Cove and motored to Lautoka to check out of Fiji.  Then we motored down to the entrance to the reef to anchor over night to get a good nights sleep before starting on our passage.

Day 1  First light brought a clear sunny day with very little breeze at the anchorage so we motored towards the passage putting the sails up on the way. As we exited the reef at 06:00 we were treated to a goodbye visit by a pod of Risso’s dolphins. I had put two reefs in the main based on Bob’s report, which promised 23 knots gusting 34, but there was no sign of it yet. I wondered how good this guy was. I didn’t have to wait long to find out because as soon as we cleared the lee of the island we got the full force of a strong trade wind along with 4.5 metre seas. Deeply reefed though we were Camomile felt the beam reach, dropped her starboard gunnels into the water and took off like a rocket. It was fast but not very comfortable and was the first time yet we have actually had to ‘hove to’ just to go to the heads!

Rough seas

Why do I keep doing this, it’s been 4 months since we’ve done any proper sailing and I seem to have lost my sea legs.  I’ve spent the day horizontal on the saloon bunk.  I’ve been up twice, first to go to the loo and I was sick at the same time, second time to cook the dinner.  Fortunately I had prepared and cooked a number of meals before we left so I didn’t have to spend too long in the galley.  I considered just throwing mine over the side and cutting out the middle man but decided to try some.  I took 2 mouthfuls and realised the first plan would have been better!

Day 2 As we romped along through the big seas well forward of our beam we logged our position and speed against Bob’s voyage plan, which was already proving to be very accurate. This was encouraging because it was forecasting for both the wind and sea to drop to more sensible levels. Sure enough, right on time, the wind eased slightly and, some time later, the sea followed it. Even so, it was still hard work and very wet on deck as we topped waves with breaking crests they would swoosh across the deck and even got past the spray hood, dripping down the companion way making it damp down below where there was little ventilation as all the hatches and vents were sealed. I decided to put my dry suit on so that I could nap on deck overnight during Sue’s watch to be ready to react if we took a rogue wave or encountered some other excitement.

Beautiful sunrise

It was a long and uncomfortable night but, as the dawn bled into the sky, I eased a couple of turns out of the genoa which, until then had just been showing a tiny scrap.

I feel a bit better today, managed to get some sleep last night and the sea is calming down.  I think my sea legs are returning.  Watched the most beautiful sunrise this morning.

Day 3   As we powered on through the ocean Bob’s  report continued to predict the conditions well, as the wind dropped further I was finally able to shake a reef out of the main.

Getting back into routine now.  James’ birthday today – hope he’s safe in Afghanistan.  Saw a yacht on horizon this evening, the first one since leaving.

Wendy attacks Harry

Day 4   Up until now our wind generator nicknamed “Wendy” (when de wind blows) had been able to supply all our power with no need to run the engine to top the batteries up but that was all about to change. At 03:00 she fell backwards off her perch on the aft gantry and still spinning attacked Harry (our Hydrovane wind self steering gear). At a stroke we had lost both our steering and our power supply. Why do these things always happen in the dark of the early hours?  I powered up the electric autopilot and reluctantly woke Sue so she could back me up as I left the cockpit to deal with the mess at the stern.  Wendy weighs in at 15 kilos and the sea was still pitching and rolling us a lot so I decided it was too dangerous to deal with this in the dark. I stabilised the situation by lashing her to the gantry and disengaged the self steering drive.

Bill dismantles Wendy

By the following morning we had dug out our spare wind pilot sail to repair Harry and, very, very carefully I dismantled Wendy from her broken mast and brought her back to the cockpit to stow her down below. In doing I broke one of her blades….. She was going to be a passenger for the rest of this trip!

After we lost Wendy the wind picked up again so the reefs are back in.  The wind is coming from the south east and we are close hauled which means we’re sailing on our ear. The sea is up again and coming over the top all the time, the decks are awash.

From nearly no clothes ......

After managing to get the wind generator down safely Bill was disappointed when it broke.  I’ve finally stopped feeling sick so I made some chocolate brownies to cheer him up which wasn’t easy while we’re heeling so badly. 

Bill has gone from nearly no clothes …..

...... to full foullies

…… to full foullies. 

Day 5   Our fast passage continues as we shake out the reefs and keep Camomile surging on at 7-7½kts even though the wind is now 15kts on the beam.

As the wind starts dropping I managed to sleep properly for the first time last night and had a shower this morning.  We passed 17000 miles since leaving the UK today. 

Day 6   And the wind backs round to the northeast. That’s on our tail so without our twin headsails in place I rigged a prevented and poled Goosewing to keep us moving but as the wind decreases with the approaching front and no power coming from Wendy it’s not long before I have to fire up the engine and motor overnight under an increasingly damp sky.

Bill has started eating the tins of condensed milk because he’s convinced the NZ customs are going to take them away.  Came across a yacht sailing ahead of us today and discovered it was our Canadian friends on Sedna 1 who were supposed to be on their way to Australia but have decided to go to NZ.  The world is such a small place.  We passed 30ºsouth today and it’s starting to get cold, I’ve put the duvet back on the bed after nearly a year of sleeping with just a sheet.  This afternoon while Bill and I were talking I looked over his shoulder to see a whale swimming by not 6ft from the boat and waving his fin!!  It was truly a Monty Python moment

My best honey ….

Day 7  Well Bob’s prediction is finally failing as the forecast westerly turns out to be a south easter  – almost on the nose. With reefed sails we thump through the squalls but have to run the engine to keep us on track. Within an hour or so our engine alarm sounds to warn of overheating. I shut her down and check the waterflow to find that we are heeled so far over that the raw water intake, placed starboard of the keel is sucking in air. No option now, we must bear away and sail as close hauled as possible, not comfortable but needs must.

…. had to go over the side

Full foullies on today with long sleeves and socks, it’s turned so cold, we’re just not used to this.  We’re gradually using up any food the NZ customs are likely to take away.  I used the last eggs today and my last tin of M&S chunky chicken.  I won’t be able to eat the last of the honey, which is an absolute no-no in NZ.  You can just picture the scene; SAS in full combat with guns pointed ‘Put the honey on the pontoon and step away from the jar’. So it went over the side!

Day 8   The southerly is still pushing us east. It’s true then, you really don’t need to worry how much westing you get in on your way to New Zealand, you can always use it on your final approach. Tacking to get towards land is proving very slow as the sea has a short chop.  Motoring made even less progress at first but as the wind dropped we picked up speed towards the Bay of Islands

Raising the NZ flag

I spotted land at 8.00 this morning while Bill was sleeping.  One little hilltop peaked out of the morning mist, New Zealand at last.  The wind was still coming from the wrong direction and thankfully Bill took the sails in and we motored the last bit.  Bill raised our NZ courtesy flag along with the yellow ‘Q’ flag ready for the customs clearance.  The Bay of Islands looked beautiful and green after hot and dry Fiji.  The water was a serene green.  It took the rest of the day to round the headland and motor down the channel to Opua. 

Camomile on the Q dock

We called the customs to announce our arrival at 17.30.

2 nice customs ladies

Two very nice customs officers came on board to complete our paper work.  Fortunately the only things they took away were some tomatoes that I was going to eat for my lunch but didn’t, some white beans that they thought might sprout, the rubbish bin and the contents of the vacuum cleaner.  They didn’t seem interested in any thing in tins or our over the limit but declared alchohol.

So we made it to New Zealand.

Our position is   34º 47.2 south  174º 34.3 east 

We covered 1173 miles in 180 hours which gave us an average speed of 6.2 kts 

17 46.2 south  177 11.5 east

I’m posting this report on Yachtplot too.

 We made our way back to Suva and successfully sorted out Bill’s passport.  We have also spent 2 weeks out in the Exploring Isles in the Lau group, which was probably the most spectacular anchorage we have anchored in in the whole of the South Pacific if not our trip so far.  We returned to Savusavu where we originally checked in with the BWR to wait for yet more rigging spares and then spent 3 days day-sailing back to Musket cove.  That’s where we are now waiting for a weather window to NZ.  There’s quite a lot of other boats here also waiting.  Sadly we missed a perfect one by 2 days and it now looks like the next one won’t be until 1^st November so we’ll just have to hang out in the Island bar and keep cool in the pool – it’s going to be tough!! 

I now have full control of the website (blogsite) and both Bill and I are busy updating it.  You should see reports appear most days until we bring it up to date. We are putting on the reports that have been written during the year so you’ll be able to see our photos and find out what we’ve been up to.

(If it comes up with a strange message about viewing at the beginning click ‘no’ or else the photos won’t display properly)