Memorial to Sir Peter Blake

Posted on December 23, 2001 by George Backhus

One can only guess what Aucklanders would have been doing this cloudy morning had Sir Peter Blake been wearing his lucky red socks instead of carrying a rifle when the Brazilian “river rats” boarded the Blake Expeditions research yacht Seamaster two weeks ago.

Instead, like thirty thousand others, I pulled on a pair of red socks and made my way up to a grassy hillside in the Auckland Domain that overlooks the Waitemata Harbour. We went to say farewell to a man who started his sailing career on this harbor as a child, and who went on to become one of the greatest yachtsmen in history.  After winning three of the top prizes in sailing, the Whitbread Around the World Race, the Trophy Jules Verne (non stop around the world in less than 80 days) and the America’s Cup (twice), Sir Peter had shifted his life’s work to protecting the oceans that he had successfully sailed upon for so many years.

The mood of the ceremony matched the changing weather. There were cloudy patches, a few raindrops fell and then the bright sun would pop through and brighten up the day.

The one-and-a-half hour memorial service was very quickly put together, but went off as if it had been carefully choreographed and rehearsed.  Friends, family, colleagues, rock musicians, business associates, and former sailing mates shared their most poignant thoughts, feelings, music and anecdotes about Sir Peter Blake. Some brought tears, some brought laughter. All brought a sense that the world has lost a person who lived life to the fullest and who had a huge impact on all whose life he had touched.

Kiwi rock artist Dave Dobbyn played one of Sir Peter’s favorite songs, Loyal. That was followed by Neil and Tim Finn’s (Split Enz) anthem, Six Months in a Leaky Boat. The audience was quiet, attentive and solemn through out the entire ceremony.

In a society that tends to frown on “tall poppies,” Sir Peter was touted as a giant, a hero, seemingly bigger than life. Not since Sir Edmund Hillary scaled Mount Everest has a Kiwi been able to bring these two little South Pacific islands into the world’s focus. For almost anyone who has raced a yacht or crossed an ocean under sail, Peter Blake was a tremendous inspiration. He single-handedly redefined the terms persistence, teamwork and loyalty.

The most touching moment was at the very end of the ceremony, when the audience spontaneously tossed out three loud cheers.

If the mood of the memorial service at the Auckland Domain was solemn, the water procession was chaotic and upbeat. Seven hundred vessels ranging from Hobie Cats to a four masted cruise ship assembled near the Auckland Harbour Bridge for an on the water tribute to their hero.

On the water, Aucklanders can’t help but smile, enjoy themselves and have humorous exchanges with their mates on other boats. It’s as if they were all saying, “This is what Sir Peter would have wanted us to do.” With a warm humid breeze blowing puffy clouds across the big New Zealand sky, it was a perfect day to be on the water. Those who couldn’t be on the water gathered at spots all along the shoreline to watch the flotilla pass by, many waving red socks.

A few yachts were fully dressed, but most flew the national flag, a yacht club burgee or two, a black flag and/or lots of red socks in honor of Sir Peter. Yachts that normally spar on the racecourse were moving quite closely, but gentlemanly along the designated procession route. Sir Peter’s family yacht, Ladybird led the procession from the bridge, along the North Shore to North Head and then back, hugging the Auckland City waterfront and the America’s Cup Viaduct Basin.

Even though thoughts of this day will fade, memories of Sir Peter Blake and his accomplishments will never be forgotten

Posted in New Zealand Logs, South Pacific Logs | Comments Off on Memorial to Sir Peter Blake

Rum Racing on Auckland Harbour

Posted on December 8, 2001 by George Backhus

After five months and five thousand miles of sailing last cruising season, what exactly do I do in the “off season.” For many cruisers, it’s time for visits back home to the see family and friends, yacht maintenance and repair, land travel, or just hanging out in a marina in some part of the civilized world.

For me, it YACHT RACING! And, the best venue I have found so far is Auckland, New Zealand. If you spend a bit of time on the water with the locals, you understand why they have become the holders of the most valued prize in yacht racing, the America’s Cup.

Even the name for the amateur races suggests a bit of increased potency. There are no “beer can” races here, just “rum races.” Now, rum racing is not a polite, after-work cruise around the buoys on the family racer/cruiser. It is full-on, strip ‘em out, turbo them up, polish the bottom, push ‘em hard, crashes at the starts and marks, yacht racing.

If you have the stamina, you could race six days a week, eleven months a year in Auckland. There is a plethora of yacht clubs, one design fleets, sport boats, maxi’s and thousands of people keen to get on the water and compete. The annual racing schedule would overload your Palm Pilot. Yacht racing is available to anyone who wants to go and can step aboard a boat and do a bit of work. Most kids in the Auckland area are exposed to sailing and generally start out in a dinghy called an Optimist. All the great kiwi sailors started in “Opti’s” which closely resemble an El Toro.

Most of the racing yachts are berthed in Westhaven Marina, the largest marina in the Southern Hemisphere. Along the main breakwater between the marina and the Harbour Bridge, are the four main yacht clubs: the Ponsonby Cruising Club, the Richmond Yacht Club, the Victoria Cruising Club, and the prestigious Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, home (temporary) of the America’s Cup.

Before a race, the docks of Westhaven are littered with sail bags, hatch boards, dehumidifiers, sheets, cushions and anything else the is dead weight and not necessary for the race. After the race, it’s social hour in the cockpits of the yachts, with rum and cokes lubricating the conversation as the participants rehash the day’s action on the water.

After the yachts are put away, it’s off to the yacht club for prize giving. What are the prizes? Rum, of course! Most every race has a rum distiller as a sponsor, providing various size bottles as prizes for line-honors and first, second and third on handicap.

At the moment I’m limiting my racing to four or five days a week. Tuesday is “Ladies Night,” so there is a maximum of three guys on board to do the grunt work, but helming is left to the ladies. Tuesdays are spent on my mate Kevin Purcell’s Palmyra, a 1959 Bob Stewart design 34 footer, constructed of wood in 1970. Palmyra is a beauty and is still quite a competitive yacht. The Stewart 34 is the former match racing boat of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and is the boat that stars like Chris Dixon and Brad Butterworth cut their teeth on.

Thursday afternoon is a round robin of boats for the Ponsonby Cruising Club’s weekly rum race. There are lot’s of Stewart 34’s out on Thursdays, but I have also had the opportunity to crew on everything from a Stewart 40 cruising boat, to a Farr 10-20, an Elliot 12 metre, and Natoika, the 35 foot custom go-faster cruiser belonging to Philippe, who we met in Vanuatu.

The Friday night Squadron rum race attracts some more serious hardware. Every Friday night looks like San Francisco’s Big Boat Series on the Waitemata Harbour. I usually crew on Formula one, a very fast match racer that can best be described as a 51 foot Laser.

Every third Saturday, the Ponsonby Cruising Club sponsors a cruising race to one of the islands in the Hauraki Gulf. This is right up our alley so we take Moonshadow on these. So far, we have gotten two bullets (first to finish) and the third race was cancelled due to weather. The races are usually destined to a calm anchorage and followed by a Kiwi barbeque ashore and perhaps even a party on board one of the yachts later in the evening.

Every other Sunday, the Stewart 34 Association sponsors a series of windward/leeward (upwind/downwind) races out in the Gulf. This is similar to an America’s Cup course, only shorter and with usually 12 to 18 boats of the same design competing. I have been trimming the main sail on Palmyra for the series and we are currently toward the top of the fleet in standings.

I know it sounds rough, but it keeps me from spending too much time on my own yacht maintenance.

On a sad note, New Zealand is in mourning the loss of its sailing and environmental hero, Sir Peter Blake. It was Sir Peter who helped to put New Zealand in the limelight of the sailing world. Flags flew at half staff and yachts flew black flags with the silver fern yesterday in a show of respect for a man who gave his life working to make the world a better place and attempting protect his crew from a pirate attack in Brazilian waters.

New Zealand is trying to come up with a memorial that is befitting of “Blakey.” Ideas range from changing the name of the Americas Cup/Viaduct Basin, which Sir Peter fought to create as a world class venue for the America’s Cup racing syndicates, to “Sir Peter Blake Basin” to removing the old Bean Rock lighthouse in the Waitemata Harbour and replacing it with a huge statue of Sir Peter holding a light. No matter what they do, it can never be enough for a man who has given so much to New Zealand, to yachting and to the world’s maritime environment.

Posted in All Cruising Logs, Racing Logs, Stewart 34 Yachting | Comments Off on Rum Racing on Auckland Harbour

The Round Rangitoto Race With MaxSea

Posted on November 19, 2001 by George Backhus

Two of the wonderful things about being based in Auckland for the summer are the very active race scene here, and all the beautiful islands in close proximity to the city.

We took advantage of both last Saturday and participated in the Round Rangitoto Race, sponsored by Volvo Penta and the Posnsonby Cruising Club.
The interesting feature of this 26-mile race is that one can pick the direction in which the island is rounded based upon current and wind direction. It was a real crapshoot on Saturday, as a weak front was passing over Auckland in the middle of the race.

The volcanic peak of Rangitoto Island rising 250 meters out of the sea and appearing the same from any angle, dominates the Auckland area landscape.
Adjoining Motutapu with contrasting green hilly landscape also forms part of the course.

Clockwise or counter-clockwise? That is the question. To help us with the problem, I enlisted the MaxSea nav program. I first plotted the best possible course from the start, around “Rangi” and “Motutap.” I then downloaded a wind grib file from the MaxSea web site. Combining that with local VHF weather information, I knew we could expect winds for the start at about 10-15 from the west, increasing to 25 and backing to the southwest about mid race and then easing to 15 for the home stretch leg up the Waitemata Harbour.

High slack water was predicted to be just before the 1000 hrs start time and with a 3-meter tide the ebb would be strong. The current is typically stronger in the Motukorea Channel (South of Rangitoto) than in the Rangitoto Channel (West of Rangitoto). Based upon that, we felt it to our advantage to ride the ebb out in the morning and take Rangitoto channel later in the day when the negative current wouldn’t be so strong. Based on the wind forecast, doing the opposite would mean a long wind-against-current beat up the Motukorea Channel. No fun!

Given our relative lack of manoeuvrability against the rest of the fleet of 24-40 foot racer/cruisers, we had a good start and were soon running wing on wing with the #3 jib poled to windward. As you can see from the chart picture, we varied from our plotted course to find better wind and current and sail better angles, but it was helpful to have waypoints to give us a better idea of where to go.

The crack foredeck crew took us through four or five smooth gybes until we could get on a two-sail reach on the east end of Motutapu Island. As predicted the front came by, dropped some light rain and then moved on east toward South America. The weather fined up and the breeze freshened just as we came around the top of Motutapu. We tucked a reef in the main for the windward beat.

On the downwind part of the race, we quickly ate up most of the non-spinnaker fleet, excepting Urban Cowboy, a very quick race boat. Mind you we were still carrying our full compliment of cruising gear, ground tackle the washer/dryer, dive gear, TV, petonque balls, etc.

Having MaxSea tracking our course over the ground was particularly helpful here. We could see what the wind shifts were doing to us and plan the best time to tack so we could lay our marks. This was critical as we needed to clear Rangitoto light, (near waypoint 10) and didn’t want to put in any more tacks than necessary.

With a 15 year-old very tired headsail, we were a bit handicapped upwind, but we did manage to pull back Urban Cowboy, who was a bit over canvassed and rounding up in the 25-knot puffs., Elephunk, a 24’ hot rod managed to get us upwind.

The wind did in fact back to the southwest, but we made the lug up Rangitoto channel on one tack. We put a little in the bank, tacking back to port just near Bean Rock. Here we were able to crack sheets a bit and really get moving. In the last two miles, we managed to shrink significant leads by both Elephunk and Urban Cowboy to a three-boat overlap at the finish line. The course was a half-mile too short! At the end we were third on line and in the cheap seats on handicap, but enjoyed a great day of Hauraki Gulf sailing.

Posted in All Cruising Logs, New Zealand Logs, Racing Logs, South Pacific Logs | Comments Off on The Round Rangitoto Race With MaxSea

Questions about the liferaft and abandon ship bag.

Posted on November 1, 2001 by George Backhus

What type of raft do you carry?
We carry a Givens 8-person offshore raft in a hard canister.

How often do you get it serviced?
We generally service the raft annually to keep the yacht in Category I standards. We were unable to find a Givens service station in New South Wales last season so the raft went 18 months without service.

What sorts of problems have you found on service?
Other than normal service items such as batteries, flares, etc. going out of date, the only problem we have encountered with the raft was some leaky valves. We were able to get the parts and make the repair in New Zealand.

What kinds of gear other than the normal items do you pack in the raft?
The life raft canister is quite full, so the only thing that we could add in addition to the standard items was a Pur 06 hand watermaker. We keep an abandon ship bag in the lazarette near the life raft with additional items.

Here’s a basic list:
All the required flares for Category I certification-SOLAS grade
Handheld VHF radio
AM radio
Personal EPIRB
Handheld GPS
Flashlights
Extra batteries for all
Knives
Cutting board
Hats, sunglasses and sunscreen
Survival book
First aid kit
Seasickness pills
Passports and ships documents
Money-US$
Fishing gear
Wasabe and soy sauce

Do you also have your dinghy set up so it can be used?
Yes, the dinghy is always set up and stowed on deck and could be deployed if there were enough time, but we do not feel that a dinghy is a substitute for a life raft.

Any special precautions for the dink (like tarp, sea anchor, etc.)?
No.

How/where is the life raft stored and/or fastened to the deck?
The life raft is mounted onto the stern pulpit with a stainless bracket. Pulling one pin deploys it.

What do you do for raft security in port? (i.e. lock? Or maybe you just don’t worry?)
The raft could be locked, but we don’t worry. It would take two strong people quite some time to remove the raft without it hitting the water.

As an aside, I would recommend that everyone going offshore have a look at their life raft the next time it goes in for certification. One’s first visit aboard their life raft should not be in an emergency situation.

As a prerequisite to the Auckland-Fiji race, we attended a Safety at Sea seminar on life rafts. In a wave pool with only one-meter waves, we had the opportunity to board a life raft while wearing full foul weather gear and PFD’s. Odds are 50/50 that the raft will deploy upside down, so we also practiced righting the life raft. West Marine also sponsors this sort of seminar in advance of the Pacific Cup race, and I would highly recommend that anyone going offshore should attend. 

The level of skill and fitness required to right and board a liferaft at sea when wearing full foul weather gear was surprising to most people who took the course.  This may cause you to evaluate your own level of fitness as it relates to offshore passage making.

Posted in All Cruising Logs, FAQ's, Technical Information | Comments Off on Questions about the liferaft and abandon ship bag.

Back in the First World (Auckland)

Posted on October 22, 2001 by George Backhus

After five months of cruising in “the boonies,” re-entry into civilization is a bit of a shocker. It is great to be back “home” in Auckland, but it may take us awhile to catch our breath and adjust from “island time” to the pace of a big city.

We’ve parked Moonshadow in her previous home at Orams Marine in Westhaven. This puts us close to the marine industry hub and the America’s Cup Basin. Even though the next America’s Cup is a year away, there is plenty of buzz as some of the syndicates arrive in town to train during the southern hemisphere summer.

Our first week back in town whizzed by.  Getting back on our feet here has kept us busy, but it was a successful week. I managed to get us settled and plugged into a marina berth, a phone line installed, cellular phone reactivated, long-distance program setup, a good second-hand car purchased and insured, and caught up with lots of friends. I even managed to squeeze in a few yacht races.

While Cate is catching up with her family and friends and evaluating job options, I am starting to whittle away at “the list.” This is a seemingly endless list of things to repair, replace, service, paint, fabricate, acquire, research, clean, polish, mend or update. The list never quite shrinks to nothing, but it does begin to grow very quickly as soon as we leave civilization to go cruising. I am pleased to report that it contains no major projects this year, just loads of small ones.

The highlight of my week is always the Ponsonby Cruising Club’s Thursday evening “rum race.” It is always keenly competitive racing, albeit on low-tech boats, mostly Stewart 34’s, which have reached almost a cult status around Auckland. The Stewart 34 was designed more than 40 years ago, and while not as aesthetically and ergonomically advanced as the new generation of match racing boats, performs amazingly well. The owners are a hearty bunch that take no prisoners on the race course (for them, sailing is a full contact sport) and then share warm friendships in the yacht club afterwards. “The Ponce” puts on a great steak dinner for about US $5, which is well attended. The attendees are full of stories, jokes and lots of laughs.

One of the great things about Auckland is that yachting and yacht racing is available to anyone. Anyone who wishes to crew can get a ride. There are always enough yachts and it doesn’t cost anything to participate.

We had planned to race Moonshadow in the annual Coastal Classic race from Auckland north to Russell in the Bay of Islands. This race is by far New Zealand’s largest regular yachting event. The 119-mile race up the coast is held each year on Labour Weekend. The race begins on Friday morning and most yachts finish before the prize giving and party at the Duke of Marlborough Pub in Russell on Saturday evening. And what a party it is!

The weather forecast for this year’s race was northerly winds ranging from 25 to 40 knots-a real gear buster. We decided to give it a miss, and instead I went out to watch the start on a power boat skippered by a friend of mine. Some 250 boats crossed the start line and began beating and bashing up the coast. It is always quite a spectacle to see that many boats on the harbor, all heading in the same direction. Thousands of people dotted the shoreline, catching the massive start from any place where they could get a view.

The wind was as forecast, and more than a third of the fleet retired from the race before the finish. Broken gear, ripped sails, seasickness or just plain good judgment prevailed and 90 yachts pulled into safe harbors somewhere along the course. Line honors went to a catamaran from New Caledonia that completed the course in about 12 hours.

Instead of the Coastal Classic, we opted for a shorter race to Waiheke Island, sponsored by the Ponsonby Cruising Club, on Saturday. Our NewCal to New Zealand crew, Graham Jones and I did the race double-handed. In spite of a slow start and very light air for the first few miles, we managed to thread our way through the fleet and captured line honors by a good margin. Winds were 3 to 19 knots, mostly on the beam and we were on port tack for the entire race.  Now, that’s our kind of race!

The fleet finished and anchored in a lovely little spot called Putiki Bay on the southwest side of Waiheke Island, twelve miles from downtown Auckland. Prize giving was on a nice grassy knoll just above the beach, followed by a Kiwi sausage barbeque.

Graham and I took advantage of the long weekend and fair weather and spent a couple of days at Waiheke enjoying some coastal walks and a bit of wine tasting at a few of the local wineries. The sail home was nearly perfect: 15 knots on the beam. As it should be!

Posted in All Cruising Logs, New Zealand Logs, Racing Logs, South Pacific Logs, Stewart 34 Yachting | Comments Off on Back in the First World (Auckland)

A Week in the Bay of Islands

Posted on October 16, 2001 by George Backhus

One of the most difficult aspects of passaging for me is falling into a regular sleep routine. I never get all the sleep I want underway, but after a few days, I seem to get just what I need. The passage from New Caledonia to New Zealand was relatively easy, so I fell into a pattern after a couple of days. Now that we are back on land, I still find myself waking for my 0300 to 0600 watch! But, I suppose, 0500 is a good time to do a bit of writing as nothing is open and it’s too early to start on any boat work.

We hung out for five days in Opua, up in New Zealand’s lovely Bay of Islands. It was nice to relax a bit after the passage before returning to friends, family, boat projects and city life, all awaiting us in Auckland. We also were waiting for favorable weather for the 130-mile trip down the East Coast of the North Island.

Graham, Cate and I took the opportunity to tidy up Moonshadow, play “tourist” in the Bay of Islands and stretch our legs a bit.

In need of some groceries, NZ currency and exercise, we took a five-mile walk from the marina at Opua to Paihia, the largest town in the Bay of Islands and its center for tourism. The easy walk along the foreshore takes one though a variety of scenery including rain forest, rocky shoreline, shell-covered beaches and a mangrove swamp. Arriving before the high tourist season, we found Paihia to be rather relaxed and quiet-a perfect way to ease ourselves back into civilization. After our walk, we were reminded at lunch of how wonderfully creative, yet simple and tasty New Zealand cuisine can be. We followed up with a good read of the newspaper and magazines over cappuccino in one of the local cafes.

We were invited to the Opua Cruising Club, so popped in for some socializing and dinner after their mid-week yacht race. The members were friendly and lively, and put on a great steak dinner. The tab for three excellent steak dinners, lots of salad and fries, and a couple rounds of drinks from the bar was about US$ 29 and, of course they take VISA. Yes, I’m pleased to report, the greenback is still strong against the “South Pacific Peso.”

We organized a taxi to take us to Waitangi, which is the site of the signing of the treaty bearing its name between the Queen of England and the indigenous Maori Chiefs, establishing New Zealand as a British colony. The reserve, or park, is lush and green, and beautifully landscaped and maintained. On the site are the original governor’s cottage (now a museum), a structure containing three very large Maori war canoes, a spectacularly carved Maori meeting house, and, of course a cool little café serving excellent food.

After a few hours of checking out Waitangi, we set out for another little walk, this time up to Haruru Falls. This hike took us through forest and mangrove swamp along an estuary and up the Waitangi River to the falls. Just before our walk, there was a very heavy shower, turning the five-mile hike to a squishy, slippery puddle jump. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful walk on a cool day.

The weather improved so we made plans to sail for Auckland on Saturday afternoon. Just a few hours before our departure, Tom and Vicky Jackson on Sunstone arrived from their rough passage from Queensland, Australia. We caught up with them for a couple of hours before setting sail.

The trip south was quite easy. Winds were out of the north and northwest at mostly less than ten knots, so we motor sailed the whole way, arriving in Auckland just after sunrise on Sunday. This gave us time to scrub down, tidy up and get settled before catching up with our Auckland family and friends.

Posted in All Cruising Logs, New Zealand Logs, South Pacific Logs | Comments Off on A Week in the Bay of Islands

Landfall in New Zealand

Posted on October 10, 2001 by George Backhus

Monday afternoon offered up some beautiful downwind sailing and some fresh fish for the galley. With twenty knots from the north-northwest, and a gentle swell, Moonshadow was eating up miles like a thoroughbred headed for the barn. Downwind sailing at 8-9 knots, however, is not exactly conducive to reeling in large pelagic fish, but we did manage to land a rather small, but fierce fighting mahi-mahi, which made for a nice “fish of the day” for dinner.

The sailing was comfortable and non-eventful as we gybed our way towards our landfall at Cape Brett off New Zealand’s beautiful Bay of Islands. With a deepening low-pressure system moving across our path, we abandoned plans to sail to Auckland and instead diverted to the Opua in the Bay of Islands. The thought of a sundowner in a calm marina, dinner out on shore was a bit more appealing than spending a night sailing down a rugged, unforgiving coastline in gale force winds pressing us onto a lee shore.

Sailing can be a lot like flying: hours and hours of boredom punctuated by a few moments of sheer terror. With about fifty miles to go to our landfall, things started to get interesting.

First, the barometer started an ear-popping freefall. The winds started picking up and becoming quite shifty. Then at one point in the middle of the morning, the winds dropped right off to about 7 knots.

We started the engine to motor sail, but immediately discovered that it was not getting cooling water. I assumed it was a cooling water pump impeller gone bad, so started wrenching. Sure enough, the impeller had lost bits of three blades. Graham and I were able to retrieve all the pieces, insuring that they wouldn’t block the cooling system, and installed a new impeller. Within an hour, we were ready to run, but by then the wind had picked up to thirty knots, so there was no need.

We began being overtaken by large squalls, which dumped buckets of rain and shot “bullet” gusts of more than 45 knots. We quickly furled the headsail and tucked a reef in the main. Sailing was quite comfortable, considering the winds and seas and Moonshadow was heading towards the coast with a bone in her teeth. We were still averaging speeds of better than ten knots and had numerous surf speeds exceeding 15 knots, with just a reefed mainsail.

The North Island was quickly getting bigger on the radar screen, and visibility was deteriorating. The shifting winds made it impossible to hold our course line and we made landfall at the Cavalli Islands, about ten miles north of our intended waypoint. From five miles off, these ominous rocks looked very nasty in the driving rain, churning seas and dark, overcast sky. We gybed as the wind calmed to 30 knots and layed a course for Ninepin Island at the northern end of the opening to the Bay of Islands. We covered the ten miles in less than an hour as the wind continued to blow a gale and the driving rain power-washed off the five-day accumulation of salt from Moonshadow’s decks, sails and rigging.

The visibility continued to vary between five miles and less than a mile. We got a positive identification of Ninepin Rock and got a good radar image of the Bay of Islands. Then we lost all sight of land again. The electronic charting of the area was spot-on, so we gybed again and were steering a course directly towards Russell, the small town considered the birthplace of New Zealand. No sooner had I set the new course, than the sky opened up revealing a crisp clear New Zealand afternoon with a fresh northerly breeze to take is the remaining ten miles to the small town of Opua, our port of entry. All knuckles on board returned to tan color and we enjoyed the hour’s sail through the beautiful bay.

When we arrived at Opua marina, the harbormaster, New Zealand Customs and Immigration and the Quarantine officer were on the dock to catch our lines. As usual, the officials were courteous, professional, friendly and thorough. Within an hour, we were checked-in, and our ship was lightened by Quarantine, who relieved us of prohibited goodies like fruits and veggies, honey, meat and other items that might carry pests dangerous to the small island nation.

The first person we ran into on shore was Brian Hepburn of the Island Cruising Association. He and wife Joan, who had just moved up to the Bay of Islands, joined us for a long-awaited sundowner and dinner out.

We’re off to Auckland as soon as the weather moderates.

Posted in All Cruising Logs, New Zealand Logs, South Pacific Logs | Comments Off on Landfall in New Zealand

Noumea to Auckland, Day 4

Posted on October 8, 2001 by George Backhus

We just set the jib again after another 24 hours of motor sailing in a light northwesterly. Its nice to listen to the wind in the sails, the waves lapping against the hull and some Jimmy Buffett on the stereo instead of the diesel engine clacking and reverberating through the bulkheads.

At about 1230 yesterday, we reached the halfway point between Noumea and Auckland. We celebrated with a snack of cheese and crackers washed down with a bottle of New Zealand bubbly around sunset. Everyone slept well last night!

The small high-pressure system that left us windless has passed over, the barometer is dropping, and we now have twenty knots of breeze from the north-northwest. Were moving along comfortably at 8.5 to 9 knots, slightly high on our course line to Cape Brett.

The questions of the day are, how fast the approaching low will reach us, and how strong will the winds get. The forecast is 25 knots with gusts to 35 knots from the north, which is fine. We should get a rockin’ good ride out of that. The bad news is when the front passes, the winds will back to the southwest, which would be cold, wet, windward sailing which is ungentlemanly and no fun. We should be able to make it to the Bay of Islands before the southerly change, so “Plan B” is to check it at Opua and hang there till the southerlies pass, and then continue on to Auckland in a few days.

We remain fishless on this passage, so changed to a different color lure this morning. We did have a cameo appearance by a pod of dolphins yesterday afternoon, but they seemed far less interested in us than we were in them. We also spotted what appeared to be a whale or a large shark. Nobody volunteered to jump in for a closer look. The other excitement of the day was a French container ship that passed us about a half-mile off, heading in the opposite direction. We both exchanged long looks and friendly waves.

Our noon-to-noon run was 190 nautical miles and our position at mid-day today was 32 deg., 22 min. south latitude by 172 deg., 27 min. east longitude and all is well on board. Long pants and fleece have been taken out of storage. Brrrrrrrr!

Posted in All Cruising Logs, South Pacific Logs | Comments Off on Noumea to Auckland, Day 4

Noumea to Auckland, Day 3

Posted on October 7, 2001 by George Backhus

After two beautiful sailing days, we are once again in light air, flying the “cast-iron spinnaker.” A small low-pressure system has moved across us to the east, and the winds have steadily backed around to the south and lightened up. Sailing to weather isn’t so bad if the winds are light and the seas calm, so I guess we have been lucky.

Even though we are well out of the tropics, the weather is still quite pleasant. Daytime temperatures are in the 70’s and the sun has been bright and warm.

So far, the passage has been relatively uneventful-just the way we like it. Its not to say that the little events of the day go unnoticed. As usual, sunsets at sea are beautiful, if not spectacular. It’s always a wonder to see sea birds searching for food, hundreds of miles from the nearest land. The ocean waters have had good bioluminescence, lighting up our wakes in the evening darkness. The moon is waning, but large enough to give us good light and visibility at night, and paint interesting objects in the clouds. I drew the 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. watch, which is always my favorite as I get to see the sun rise on the east horizon.

Another low-pressure cell to our west is moving across our path over the next couple of days. This promises to give us a fresh breeze aft of the beam and maybe even a good fresh water wash down before we arrive in Auckland. In any event, we should have a spirited ride down the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand.

The light winds slowed our progress so our noon-to-noon run was 160 nautical miles. At noon today (New Zealand Daylight Time now) our position was 29 deg. 34 min. south latitude by 170 deg. 36 min. east longitude. At approximately 1230 hours we had reached the half way point to Auckland with about 500 nautical miles to go.

Still no fish!

Posted in All Cruising Logs, South Pacific Logs | Comments Off on Noumea to Auckland, Day 3

Noumea to Auckland, Day 2

Posted on October 6, 2001 by George Backhus

After 23 hours of motor sailing in light airs, a ten to twelve knot northeasterly filled in and we were able to shut down the engine. It was perfect weather for the spinnaker, which we carried through the evening. Seas were gentle so moving about, eating and sleeping was very easy.

We have enjoyed some great pre-cooked meals, lots of bird sightings, but no dolphin visits or fish caught so far. The line is out!

The winds and seas gradually increased to eighteen knots, which, this morning, were moving us along easily at nine to ten knots. There is an old adage that says if you don’t take the spinnaker down when it is time, the wind Gods will do it for you. Well, after a gybe to put us on a better track, the wind gusted and a big wave caught us at just the right (wrong) angle. We rounded up and the spinnaker came down, torn down one side. Bugger!

Graham and I were able to recover everything and afterwards we set the jib in about 18-20 knots. We’re moving along nicely again at 8.5 to 9.5 knots. A weak cold front is approaching us from the west, which should bring the wind around forward of the beam and give us a bit of rain. We can use the wash, but could pass on the close reach.

At noon today, our position was 27 deg. 17 min. south latitude and 169 deg. 09 min. east longitude, or 180 miles closer to our waypoint off North Cape (New Zealand) than noon yesterday.

Posted in All Cruising Logs, South Pacific Logs | Comments Off on Noumea to Auckland, Day 2