Elenya

Photo Update

2012-01-31T00:23:00.000-08:00

Oroluk Island

Engine of fishing boat wreck at Oroluk lagoon

White tern "nest" on a wrecked fishing boat

Nan Madol Photos

2012-01-31T00:09:00.000-08:00

Nan Douwas the most intact island of Nan Madol

Oroluk Lagoon

2012-01-24T23:16:00.000-08:00

We have eventually moved on from Pohnpei and have now been anchored in Oroluk Lagoon for nearly a week. We had a fairly good trip, with winds on the stern quarter and were doing up to 7 knots at times. We put the sails up soon after we left the wharf at Pohnpei (this was the first place where we had to tie up to the wharf to clear out, everywhere else, including NZ, we have just presented our documents at the relevant office/s) and took the sails down as we approached the entrance to the pass at Oroluk. We had already reduced sail overnight in order to time our arrival with daylight. The pass was easily negotiated and soon we were anchored on a sandbank in crystal clear water with the sun shining. The water here is amazingly clear for inside a lagoon (where the water is usually a bit murky) and the colours are amazing. Turquoise over the sand in the shallows, a richer blue further out and the white of the waves breaking on the reef. The lagoon is about 15 miles across with just one small island. In Pohnpei, we had asked permission to visit from the chief of the Kaipingamarangi people who own the island. One family live here permanently but at the moment there are several other people visiting. A local trading boat/island-hopper dropped them off and will return at some stage to pick them up, a week? a month? No one knows for sure!

The people here are very friendly, we have been shown around the island and given fish and coconuts. Jim tried to fix their HF radio (their only means of communication) but it has been badly water damaged at some time and is probably beyond repair even by an expert. However, no one here seems particularly concerned about being cut off from the outside world. One evening we tried some of the local wine. They didn't explain how it is made but from what I have read, the nectar of the coconut blossoms is collected and naturally ferments. The longer you leave it, the stronger it gets. Jim thought it was ok if a bit sweet, but I thought it tasted like vinegar.

We have been diving (of course) here, taking the dinghy out to the pass and the outer reef and the last couple of dives we have just dropped off the yacht and made a cruisy circuit of some nearby bombies. With the white sand and colourful fish, it's a bit like diving in a fish-tank. We have also made an excursion out to the wreck of an old fishing boat, which is now a nesting site for white terns. The eggs appear to be laid rather precariously on top of the wreck.

The only downside to the anchorage is that the fringing reef offers limited protection from the chop and swell kicked up from the 15-25 knots of wind we have had pretty much constantly here, so things can get a bit bouncy at times. So much so we broke the snubber on our anchor chain the other night. But we think we can put up with it for a bit longer at least!!!

Pohnpei

2012-01-15T21:48:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas and New Years in Pohnpei. Both were fairly quiet. Christmas day started with Jim making me croissants and fresh orange juice for breakfast and then we went for a walk up a nearby hill. Luckily we picked a sunny day and we had good views out to the reef and down into the harbour. At the top of the hill we explored around some Japanese gun emplacements complete with guns from the second world war. For New Years eve we went to a nearby pub and played pool against the Aussie couple on the cruising boat anchored next to us. They are here for the surfing which is supposed to be world renown. In Pohnpei we have also been out diving which is quite good, but I think we have previously mentioned that diving in the Solomon Islands has spoilt us!

We escaped from Kolonia harbour for a few days out at a beautiful atoll. The atoll is uninhabited except for a couple of guys who are there sporadically to stop people fishing there as the family that own the atoll have declared it a no fishing area. We have had quite a lot of rain while we have been in Pohnpei (its one of the wetter places on earth) so several sunny days anchored in crystal clear water were a real treat. While heading out to dive one day, Jim noticed a shape under the water, when I stuck my head under to have a look, I saw a large gamefish (blue marlin we think) heading straight for the dinghy -quite a sight!

One of the reasons we came to Pohnpei was to visit the ruins of Nan Madol. This site has fascinated Jim since he was a child. The site consists of several man made islands with buildings built of interlocking basalt columns. Some of the columns and corner stones are huge and it would be a considerable undertaking to build these structures now, let alone several hundred years ago. There is some mystery as to exactly how Nan Madol was built as there is no basalt occurring nearby; the closest deposits are over the other side of the island. Legend has it that magicians flew the blocks across. Today, there are only a few buildings with intact walls and alot of the site has silted up and is being reclaimed by the mangroves, but some of the grandeur of what was once there is still able to be appreciated. After all that, the thing that Jim has talked about most since then is the kittens we saw on the way out!

Photos

2012-01-02T16:13:00.001-08:00

Elenya anchored in Lelu Harbour in Kosrae

One of many abandoned houses in Kosrae

Jim at Lelu ruins in Kosrae

Tori sitting on a WWII Japanese gun on Sokehs Island in Pohnpei

View from the top of Sokehs Island looking out towards the outer reef

Some of the many sunk boats around Kolonia harbour

Merry Christmas and all that festive stuff

2011-12-23T03:10:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, etc etc
We will be in Pohnpei for Christmas but we have no definite plans for the day as yet. We arrived at Kolonia, Pohnpei on Tuesday after a very lumpy 3 day trip from Kosrae. All behind us but we were doing 4.5 knots under bare poles at one stage and lots of rain and squalls. Waited for daylight to come in the channel passing some the large fishing fleet that operates out of here (sustainability versus Asian dollars, guess which loses or are we being cynical?). There are another 2 cruising boats anchored near us, off the main town. The main centre is quite busy and Christmas here has a more western commercial feel than at Kosrae, where the main activity seemed to be daily choir practise. Having said that, we were quite amused by the big church near us in Kosrae which was decked out, inside and out, with garish tinsel and lights, including a large gaudy Christmas tree. We are hoping to do some more diving here and a bit of exploring. We are also having some spares sent here to fix some of the stuff that has broken (like the inverter which decided to die just after we had left the 240 volt world behind!). The engine start battery also decided to give up the ghost when we came to leave the wharf after clearing in with the 5 different agencies required. Fortunately the battery was relatively easy to replace here.
Hope everyone has an enjoyable time over the festive season, however and wherever you are spending it.

Kosrae

2011-12-11T03:16:00.000-08:00

Since we are now in the northern hemisphere, we are heading into winter and this will be my first northern Christmas (but I don't think it will be a white one!). In reality, the temperatures are about the same, although there is more rain here which does cool things down nicely sometimes. It has rained most days since we have been in Kosrae and this is the 'dry' season! We have had a fairly lazy time here, but have managed to stretch our legs and also do some diving. We've been for several walks along the road in both directions which is quite scenic, especially in the coastal sections. During our walks we have been trying to make friends with the local cats but to no avail. We were getting good exercise as we had discovered a shop that sells cone ice cream a decent walk away but eventually discovered a closer source (although this shop has since run out). The island is resupplied by ship every few weeks so the stocks in the shops can vary a lot. We noticed a big difference from when we got here to earlier this week after a ship had been in on Saturday. Apparently, supplies of beer are about to run out so I guess there wasn't any on that shipment. The shops have an interesting and eclectic mix, lacking in what we would call basics but anyone for a large bottle of Hersey's chocolate syrup?!. We have also not been able to find anywhere that sells bread: donuts, sweet rolls, even sweeter rolls, cinnamon rolls, cupcakes and scones but no plain bread!

The housing around Kosrae is interesting with lots of abandoned shells of buildings that must have been quite nice in their day while people are living in comparatively flimsy houses. Maintenance appears to be an unknown concept, this is also evident in the cars abandoned by the side of the road. Some of the cars on the road are also interesting, we've seen several with holes in the windscreen, windows missing, or the whole front bumper and lights smashed etc. There is a lot of rubbish around, which is a pity as there is a rubbish collection and even recycling of aluminium cans and plastic bottles. In particular, one large hardware store near where we are anchored appears to chuck all its rubbish straight into the water. Large pieces of polystyrene, some sandwiched with aluminium are also everywhere. These are the remains of the interior of a defunct fish processing plant that are now used for all kinds of purposes and seem to be very popular paddled as rafts. We watched one being paddled across the harbour and returning stacked high with firewood.

We spent one morning exploring the ruins of an old city at Lelu (near where we are anchored). This was a city (similar to Nan Madol in Pohnpei) built with a canal system and constructed out of basalt blocks. There are walls, canals, tombs and courtyards still evident from a city that dates from the 1400s to 1800s.

We have been for a few dives in the harbour where there are at least 3 wrecks. We dove on a WWII Japanese freighter, a WWII flying boat and a 19th century wooden whaler. There is not much left of the whaler but all were interesting dives despite the murky water in the harbour. Kosrae has a really good network of about 70 mooring buoys around the island to protect the coral. We went out one day with a local resort dive operator who also owns the only other yacht in the harbour. The coral is in really good condition so its great that Kosrae is taking steps to protect it. Mark, who with his partner Maria own the Pacific Treelodge Resort, came out to say hello when we had first arrived in Kosrae and we have enjoyed their hospitality at the resort. The resort has a bar and restaurant set in the mangroves, a dinghy ride away up a channel through the mangroves. Its a really nice setting and we have joined in on some of the (mainly) ex-pat activities including movie night and a sunset cruise. Highly recommended if anyone is passing through Kosrae.

Our next stop is Pohnpei so if anyone is interested in a short notice tropical break let us know!

Photos

2011-11-29T18:17:00.000-08:00

Noro Market place

Hawksbill turtle hatchlings

Turtle hatchlings heading for the sea

Hawksbill turtle

Turtle laying eggs

Pilot whales (?) seen on passage

Arrival at Kosrae

Arrival at Kosrae

2011-11-29T03:06:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Kosrae yesterday after eight days at sea, our longest passage for a while. The first couple of days were spent either motoring or drifting in a glassy calm. Then we got some wind of 10-20 knots from the eastern sector, set jib, staysail and main and settled down for 5 and a half days hard on the wind. For non sailors, this means living at an angle of 25 degrees with the hatches all shut to stop salt spray coming down below. At temperatures up to 35 degrees this does not make life very comfortable! For our last day the wind moved more into the SE and we were flying along at 6-7 knots with the green mountains of Kosrae getting closer and closer. We saw a few sights on passage, I saw dolphins, a big school of pilot whales and some other whales which we think may have been sperm whales, Jim saw a couple of plastic bottles and one glass bottle. We also saw quite a few fishing boats, some just visible as a loom of light, others quite close. We arrived in Kosrae on a Saturday so we are relaxing on board until Monday when we can clear in etc. It is nice to be clean and enjoy proper meals and a cold beer. We had some rain overnight (some squalls with quite strong gusts so we are glad we are not at sea) and today so we have used some of the water to do some washing and have also cleaned the inside of the boat (well some bits that really needed doing anyway). We also cut each others hair - Jim has just shaved his all off again so that was easy but so far he hasn't made a bad job of mine (professional hairdressers may disagree) or maybe it is due to having only one small badly lit mirror on board!

At first impressions, Kosrae, or Lelu to be specific, is a collection of ramshackle buildings at risk of being inundated at high tide. There is an old white church with flaking paint which has held at least 2 packed services today and what was possibly choir practise last night. We are guessing at the packed status due to the number of cars (all very modern looking) parked outside. We are looking forward to stretching our legs in the short term and doing some diving later on. Micronesia is supposed to have some great diving but the Solomons may have raised our expectations so we will see...

We had hoped to post some more photos in Noro but the internet connection was too slow. Not sure now where our next chance will be but we will post some when we can.

Leaving the Solomons

2011-11-14T13:14:00.000-08:00

We are in Noro today about to clear out of the Solomon Islands and head to Kosrae in the Federated States of Micronesia -north of the equator. Unfortunately, there is not much wind and I expect we will be doing a lot of motoring. We filled up with diesil yesterday with a leaking hose while holding up the local trading ship, although nobody seemed at all worried, either about the copious amounts of spilled diesil or the wait for us to get off the wharf. Lucky we got in first as another boat came afterwards and didn't leave until after 5 pm.

Solomon Island Photos

2011-11-06T16:15:00.000-08:00

A selection of photos from the Solomons:
(The internet is very slow so may not get many photos up)

Local boat landing in Honiara seen from the anchorage

Jim in the US Hellcat plane (Tori behind him)

A crab lived in our cockpit for several weeks but we haven't seen him for a while now

Jim sailing in the Marovo Lagoon

The Vonavona Lagoon

Coming into Mary island

Ringgi Cove and the Vonavona Lagoon

2011-11-03T22:36:00.000-07:00

Well somehow it is now November and later this month we will leave the Solomon Islands and head north to Micronesia, but first what have we been up to since we last wrote? From the anchorage we were at for our last update we motored to Ringgi Cove, a very sheltered inlet in a large volcanic island. We weren't surprised when the first yacht joined us in the bay, as we knew that they were headed our way, but being joined by a third yacht after weeks of being on our own was a surprise! One day we took 'Elenya' out with the crew from 'Raynad' and Bryan from 'Delos' and arranged for a guide to take us on a tour of some WWII sites. The first stop was a shallow dive on a Japanese Hellcat plane. The plane was lying upright on the seafloor and looked almost intact. Bryan armed with an underwater camera took a photo of Jim sitting in the cockpit, which we will post on the blog when we get a good internet connection. Unfortunately, our second site was canceled as there had been in a death in the village that claims custom ownership but the third stop was to explore a Japanese hospital, which was partially tunneled into the hillside. Back at Ringgi Cove we were visited by villagers trying to sell us 'gold' and 'black diamonds' Apparently the story is that gold has been discovered in the mountain and the government is going to start operations (and prevent anyone else going up there) in a month's time. Accordingly all the locals are allegedly trying to gather as much rock as they can before the government steps in! Some of the rocks we saw may have curiosity value but the 'gold' was almost certainly some form of pyrites and I'm sure the 'diamonds' are a correspondingly valueless quartz or obsidian although we didn't see any of these first hand. It kept the guys on 'Delos' amused for a couple of days determining whether it was worth filling the bilges with ore!

From Ringgi Cove, we spent a few very pleasant days in the Vonavona Lagoon. We even had 2 days where we sailed: light winds, flat water and good light made for perfect conditions but dodging coral bommies under sail still made for a few interesting moments. We are now in the greater Gizo area and will probably potter around here until its time to head north.

A Short History of Everything Since Honiara...

2011-10-26T02:56:00.000-07:00

We've been a bit remiss in the updates, part of the problem is that it is too hot to be sitting inside typing. The sweat is pouring off me as I write this. Its going to be another hot and humid evening. Thunder and lightening overnight has been standard for sometime now. We are approaching the end of the tradewind season (and into the NW monsoon) which means light winds (although I think that may be the norm here anyway). We have motored most of the way from Honiara to here - here being Mbasroko (Mbaeroko, Bairoko) Bay on the mainland of New Georgia Island in the Western Province. Today we managed to sail for a very short time only. For several hours the sea was glassy calm and we could see turtles and also flying fish leaping from the water and flying away. As I write this, Jim is busy entertaining the local kids, who have come out in a canoe; lots of giggling going on.

The last couple of weeks have been spent in and around the greater Marovo Lagoon. Here, a central island is surrounded by fringing islands and reefs and the interior is dotted with small bush clad islands. We have been snorkelling and diving and we are getting a bit spoilt with good dives. Marovo Lagoon is also famous for its carvers, whom you get inundated with at some anchorages but Jim has enjoyed trading/buying some small carvings; some of the work is quite impressive. At one anchorage we explored the wreck of a WWII plane (B24) that had crashed at the end of the bay. The alumininum was in amazing condition and you could see the fuselage, propellers and engines and also several large holes presumably where it had made contact with trees on impact. From here we also watched the daily back and forth flights of hornbills who fly over during the day to eat narli (sp?) nuts and back again in the evening. They have a very distinctive (and loud) wingbeat.

When we left Honiara we had a quick trip to the Florida Islands where we motored through a passage between the islands and anchored for one night at a small uninhabited island. We would've liked to do some diving here but a few yachts have had unpleasant experiences here (the 2am knive weilding thug variety), so we decided to give it a miss. We managed to catch a wahoo in the Mbole Passage, one of very few fish we have managed to catch in the Solomons - we have seen heaps of wahoo while underwater so our lack of success is definitely down to our fishing techniques (or lack thereof!). From here we motored (again) to the Russell Islands: deep anchorages, pouring rain and beautiful reefs. Unfortunately, the weather didn't play ball for diving (a W wind when we needed the prevailing SE for the anchorage to be tenable). Another motor saw us at an island called Mborokua according to the chart and Mary according to everybody else. This is a small island between the Russells and New Georgia with a beautiful little cove which is just too deep and coral filled to make for a comfortable anchorage (particularly if the one night you are there it is windy after, and followed by, days of calm), but we stuck it out for one night as we met up with a group from Honiara who were camping on the island and diving. We enjoyed some dives with them, especially being able to dive from their boat which avoided all the problems we have with the logistics of where to leave the dinghy etc. Also discovered the local dive boat mooring in a lovely calm spot... we'll know for next time. From here we did an overnight drift to Peava just outside of the Morovo Lagoon our last stop before we entered the lagoon proper and hopped (and even had a couple of lovely sails!) through, and in and out, of the lagoon. And that is a very brief outline of what we have been up to since Honiara! Its now time to head outside with a cold drink to enjoy the sunset.

Honiara

2011-10-10T02:46:00.000-07:00

When we got to Honiara, there were quite a few boats already anchored there, as well as some local boats on moorings. We managed to squeeze ourselves in to a spot reasonably close in. We had heard that in the past yachts tied stern-to against a wall but while we were there this was filled with decrepit local ferries and traders. The anchorage was all calm when we arrived but we were told, and then discovered for ourselves, that it can get quite choppy in the afternoons. Ashore, there is a landing spot for the local coming in from the off lying islands, colourful, small fibreglass boats. This meant that these boats came roaring through the anchorage all day and into the night (5 knots, what 5 knot rule?) although the tender to a large motorboat that anchored outside was no better!). Next to this was the Point Cruz Yacht Club, a hang out for wealthier locals and disgruntled Aussie expats. It was also very cool (at least compared to the yacht), served cold beer at reasonable prices and (best of all, at least for Jim) had a resident cat. We could have done with a cat on board to keep away the flocks of small birds that liked to perch on the stays of the anchored boats and make a mess on deck. Our first task in Honiara was to complete customs and immigration clearance. This was quite pricey but not as bad as Vanuatu, and at least here we have seen a few more working lights and beacons etc than in Vanuatu so feel we are getting something for our money (the port dues, which were charged in US dollars then converted to local currency, accounted for most of the fees). We also did a bit of stocking up in dusty, rubbish-filled, downtown Honiara. There was rubbish everywhere, including being burned in large piles with the not so fragrant smoke drifting over the anchorage. The beach where we landed the dinghy was strewn with rubbish including broken glass and rusty tin cans, enhanced by what appeared to be virtually an open sewer running nearby. One of the other charming aspects of Honiara were the betel-nut chewers who spit red juice all over the pavement. Betel-nut, which is chewed as a combination of a nut, leaf (or bud) and lime (as in the mineral not the citrus), and individual cigarettes were for sale every few metres along the main road. So why did we stay here for well over a week...

...the diving! We were lucky enough to make contact with a friend's brother and his wife who are currently living in Honiara. Paul is a keen diver and took us to three dive sites near Honiara. All three were wrecks of Japanese naval cargo ships which had been sunk trying to land supplies ashore in WWII. Two of the wrecks were accessed straight from the beach and one involved about a 200m swim out from the beach. All three were excellent dives (we did 5 dives in total). The life, fish, coral, fans etc, was beautiful and we did some lovely swim throughs with great light filtering in through cargo hatches and shell holes. On one dive we swam up through a shell hole. Jim enjoyed spotting various bits of ship construction. All in all some great diving -thank you Paul!

I also managed to get off the boat for a night (leaving Jim to look after the boat -there is no truth in the rumour that he spent the entire weekend ashore drinking beer and sharing fish and chips with the cat!) to go for a walk up into the hills with Paul and Nicki. We camped at the site of a Japanese campsite during WWII. There were a lot of relics remaining, including guns, shells and bullets. Thankfully, the Japanese embassy had recently repatriated most of the bones. We spotted an eagle overhead and the nights sleep was interrupted by cicadas that sounded like car alarms, but we were not disturbed by the ghosts that are reputed to haunt the spot.

We finally left Honiara for one night in the Florida group before heading across to the Russell Islands. We found out that on our last night in Honiara, a couple of boats in the outskirts of the anchorage had had stuff stolen.

...but did we mention the diving was excellent!

Uki Ni Masi and Marau Sound

2011-09-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

Uki Ni Masi (Ugi on the chart) was a short hop from Olu Malau and we decided to stop at Ahi'a as this anchorage looked a nicer option than the other possible anchorage at Selwyn Bay. We anchored in a sandy lagoon sheltered by a reef. Unfortunately, at a certain state of the tide things got a bit rolly but nothing too bad. Jim made friends with some of the local children and got talked into playing them a movie - this turned into 2 evenings where Jim took the computer ashore and played a movie in the village. I think the popcorn went down even better than the movie, although some of the very young kids were quite fascinated. On the first evening ashore there were fireflies flitting around which I have never seen before. We had planned to leave one evening but were put off by heavy rain so left the next day and had a very leisurely sail, come drift overnight, to Marau Sound. While we enjoyed Uki Ni Masi, we were pestered by the Chief and his son wanting a gift for the 'church' of more petrol than we carry on board.

We approached Marau Sound at dawn, here the hills with patches of mist on them were reminiscent of the Marlborough Sounds. We anchored in a small Bay formed by two islands and a shallow reef behind. When we arrived there were 2 other yachts already there and it was nice to have some company for a change. The snorkeling around here was quite good and we also enjoyed relaxing in the bar at the nearby resort. The bar had a very high, thatched roof and was lovely and cool, especially in comparison to the temperature inside Elenya. One evening we watched some dancing put on for the guests at the resort. The dancers ranged from teenagers to quite young children (with a couple of older women presumably in charge). Some of the younger ones looked a bit lost and some of the girls seemed more intent on trying to stop their leaf tops from falling apart (can't say I blame them) but overall they were enthusiastic and seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Our last stop before hitting the big smoke of Honiara was Vulekula Island which is nicely positioned to break the journey from Marau to Honiara into two easy hops. This is a small uninhabited island which used to have a resort on it. We swum ashore and walked around picking out the remains of the resort, including a tennis court. Back at the yacht some kids traded a large bunch of bananas for some instant noodles (thats what they wanted). We do wonder whether someone is now missing their bananas! From there we had another good sail to Honiara.

First Solomon Island Photos

2011-09-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

Elenya anchored in the Reef Islands

Jim playing with the children

Much amused by our white water kayaks

Village in the Reef Islands

Reef Islands and other stuff

2011-09-15T02:56:00.000-07:00

We are now anchored in our fourth Solomon's' anchorage. From Shaw Point we sailed out of the bay accompanied by dolphins and along the coast for an overnight stop at Byron Bay before heading out to the Reef Islands (the Solomons' version as compared to the Vanuatu Reef Islands). This is a series of low islands and underwater reef systems to the north of Ndendo. These islands are not mentioned in the main cruising guides for the Solomons so not many yachts go there but we thought we'd give it try and if we couldn't find an anchorage we would just keep going to Makira (Santa Cristobel). The weather gods did their best to keep us away, as the day was overcast with several rain squalls going through while we were on passage. As we approached the islands the rain had abated but the overcast skies made spotting the reefs more difficult. In full sunshine, the depth of water is easy to discern due to the colours of the clear water but this isn't as easy in poor light. The chart we have doesn't go into any detail so that was no help either. As it turned out it was not too difficult to negotiate our way along the reef and find a really nice anchorage. When the sun came out the next day, we discovered that we couldn't have done any better. Apparently some yachts go right into the lagoon but we were happy where we were, in what we think is Mohawk Bay (but this is not named on our chart).

The islands are quite heavily populated and we were soon visited by canoes and motor boats wanted to sell carvings and trade etc. Jim had a great time playing in our kayaks (white water play boats) and swopping boats with the local kids. They seemed to find him very amusing! The people were in general very friendly but we experienced our first thefts, which the Solomons are notorious for. We had some stuff taken from the dinghy while we were diving, our fault for leaving it in there but we are used to having a 'safety box' in the dinghy. We did manage to get this back as we had a fair idea of who had taken it (as did some of the other islanders we talked to). We also had some fruit taken from the back of the boat. So unfortunately things are a bit fort knox around here which we don't really like. On the other hand we had some nice snorkeling and some stunning diving. A wall covered as far as the eye could see in all directions with fans and soft corals. We also had lunch with Ben whose English parents had sailed to the islands in the 1950/60s and settled there. He and his siblings had grown up there in a house built and designed by his mother (not sure about the turquoise paint scheme!). We were the first yacht he had seen there this year.

From there we had a 2 day sail to Olu Malau (Three Sisters) where we are now. The passage was quick but we are really feeling the heat especially if we have to have the hatches closed if there is spray on deck. This is another beautiful spot and the locals seem well off by island standards so are not particularly interested in us. In the Reef Islands we were told there are sometimes food shortages in winter. We have been enjoying walking around the island after ascertaining that this is okay. The island is the site of an old copra plantation and some of the buildings etc are still in use. There is quite a bit of bird life and the usual skinks and large spiders. We have been told that there are no crocodiles -only at the 'other end' but we are still a little nervous when snorkeling or even swimming from the yacht!

Arrival at the Solomon Islands

2011-09-03T23:16:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the Santa Cruz islands in the Solomons yesterday after three and a bit days at sea from Efate in Vanuatu. It was a relatively good passage with wind mostly around 15 knots, occasionally more and the odd squall, and occasionally dying away to not much, but luckily only ever for an hour or two. The temperature has jumped up a notch as we are now at about 10 degrees south. We are now anchored at Shaw Point, a small, very sheltered nook in the large Graciosa Bay. As we arrived late yesterday afternoon, it was too late to attempt going into town so today we took the dinghy across to the main town to report in. There is a wharf at Lata but it wouldn't be easy to get a yacht alongside (and to deep to anchor off) made more difficult by a half sunk fishing or trading boat at the wharf. Lata is a port of entry but there are no permanent customs or immigration officials here so we reported to the police station (who may or may not send our details on) and to quarantine. The quarantine officer was found in a small room in a prefab building that looked like it was under attack from some insects that had escaped quarantine. He had an old wooden desk and various other bits of useful equipment including an old tyre, bag of cement, panes of glass and a gas bottle. Jim reckons he saw a laptop but the most modern tool I saw was a stapler. To fill in our forms, out came the carbon paper (which is an improvement on customs in Vila, where Jim filled out one form which was then painstakingly copied twice). The quarantine officer said he may get out to see the boat but we have not seen him so far. We had a quick walk around Lata, visiting 2 markets and buying some fruit and veges. Jim was impressed by the extremely large spiders with webs strung between the power(?) lines. Luckily we had managed to get some Solomon Island dollars in Vila as the ATM wasn't working (we had been warned about this so I guess it is a recurring problem). Earlier as we had departed in the dinghy, we saw a NZ registered trimaran coming into the anchorage and we caught up with the single-hander on board later in the evening. There are also lots of local boats around including some outboard driven boats but mostly single-hulled canoes, some of which are rigged with sails. The sails range from traditional looking ones to blue tarpaulins and one that looked like an oversize multi-coloured umbrella.

Port Vila

2011-08-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

Well we've spent a few more days in Port Vila than we intended but we have got pretty much everything done that we needed to. We had a small crack in our boom that we had welded, stocked up with duty free diesel and have now cleared out for the Solomons. We will start heading north on Monday all going well. Getting the boom fixed was easier than we expected. After one false start we found a place that does Al welding and it was relatively simple to take the boom in the dinghy and then some nice guys on a local barge let us walk up through their dock, from which it was a short walk up to the workshop. So it was actually an easier mission than when we took the boom off Earenya, which we carried from Princes Wharf through the Viaduct (getting odd looks from people drinking their morning latte), and over towards the near side of Westhaven, at least it was a smaller boom. While waiting for the boom to be fixed we have done sundry jobs on the boat and caught up with various people we know from NZ or have met in Vanuatu as everyone seems to have ended up here at the same time.

We have also gone for 2 dives on the wreck the 'Star of Russia' in the harbour. The visibility was not as good as we have got used to here, but the wreck is interesting, particularly the masts which still have some rigging, tops, futtocks etc, which is discernible. We also saw a sea snake (banded sea krait), our first in Vanuatu.

Photos

2011-08-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

Mt Marum on Ambrym

Ureparapara village - tug of war on Children's Day

Kustom Dance -Ureparapara check out the head-dresses!

Wahoo caught sailing between the islands

Reef Islands

There and Back Again

2011-08-14T23:10:00.000-07:00

We are now back anchored in Havannah Harbour in the south of Vanuatu just 'around the corner' from Port Vila. We have been here a couple of days chilling out after making our way down from Asanvari where I last made an update. Our first stop was at Ambrym Island where I went for a walk up to an active volcano while Jim stayed behind to mind the boat. This time I had an amazing view down into the crater where molten magma could be seen bubbling away. Jim endeavoured to get to the local market which we had been told was from 0600-0700, he arrived to be told try again at 9, back at 9, still no market! Even in the major towns the markets are a bit hit and miss. Everything is obviously very seasonal so things will come to a sudden halt. We have also been told that different areas have different days assigned to them so what is available may depend on what is grown in that area. The time of day also makes a difference, although we haven't worked out when is best. The smaller villages have been affected by the late arrival of the 'dry season' and hence late planting and harvesting so vegetables that should be ready now aren't yet. There are also odd random surprises at the markets like the day in Luganville where there were hundreds of fruit bats for sale!

From Ambrym we had a windward sail to Epi, crossing our outward bound path and then a light wind motor to Emae via Cook's Reef where we stopped for a snorkel. On our final leg from Emae to Lelepa Island we caught a large wahoo, our first one (and very tasty it was too). Today we went for a snorkel in the pass and then moved a very short distance to anchor in the lee of Efate near the Ali river.

Feeling the Cold

2011-08-06T00:54:00.000-07:00

The temperature has dropped here recently and we are feeling the cold. At night it has dropped below 25 degrees necessitating the use of a sheet and making a welcome change from it being too hot to sleep! At the moment there is a cold wind blowing, although the thermometer, mounted above the chart table where I am writing this, registers 28.3. We are currently in Asanvari in Maewo Island. It is nice and calm here, if a bit gusty, but outside of the headland the white caps are roaring past.

We sailed here from Gaua in the Banks via Ambae Island. The passages to and from Gaua we motored as there was very little wind but we beat into a S/SE wind of 25ish from Lolowai Bay in Ambae to Asanvari. There was quite a steep sea so at times we were getting solid water over the decks but tucked in the lee of Maewo Island, the going wasn't too bad and we had good views of the lush green hills with tumbling waterfalls. Lolowai is a small unprepossessing town in a lovely setting in the flooded crater of a volcano. To get there we had to motor over a shallow coral sill which afforded excellent protection once inside. The towns in Vanuatu have struck us as being quite scruffy in contrast to the villages which appear very neat and tidy. Most villages we have seen have swept, hedge-lined paths and flowers between the thatched huts with maybe the occasional concrete building. The odd solar panel or person holding a cell phone is the only evidence that we are still in the same century. Although only western clothing is worn.

Asanvari is also a sheltered bay and a good place to wait for more favourable weather. Unfortunately, the holding is poor on coral gravel and rocks. This morning we discovered we had dragged overnight and we found a large coral boulder wedged in our anchor when we brought it up, so no wonder we weren't staying put. We have admitted defeat and picked up a recently vacated mooring in the bay, one of 3 put down by the Island Cruising Association. Yesterday we went on a walk with Erica to her family's gardens. Each family has an area of land for growing coconuts, kava and vegetables such as 'island cabbage' (a sort of cross between spinach and bok choy) etc. To get to Erica's was about a 30 minute walk uphill passing another village. There was an area of coconut palms and two cleared areas with kava bushes, taro, banana plants and vegetables (mostly island cabbage it appeared). We tried some sugarcane and were shown a nutmeg tree on the way home. We bought some bananas, coconuts and passionfruit to supplement our dwindling supply of fresh food.

We are hoping from the latest forecast that the wind will ease tonight and we will be able to head for Ambrym tomorrow.

Happy Birthday to those in both our families who are celebrating around now

Heading South Again

2011-08-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

Ureparapara was our most northern port in Vanuatu and we are now heading south again. We spent a few more days at Ureparapara, during which we watched some custom dancing - not really our thing but the other boats in the anchorage had organized it and we went along as well. Plus it is one of those things that I guess you should do once in Vanuatu! We had seen some of the women's dances before but this time watched 3 dances performed by some men from the village including one where they were wearing bizarre wooden head dresses ranging from a watermelon slice, through half a shark to a mermaid! We were also here for their Children's Day celebrations; an annual holiday. Various games were organized for the kids and a there was a very formal present giving ceremony. The gifts included bowls, umbrellas, packets of chocolate biscuits and half a packet of crackers seemed a frequent choice.

The village here is very traditional, or at least what I assume is traditional. The houses are thatched huts, some built in Solomon Islands style with higher walls and others in the Vanuatu style with roofs sloping further down. Transport is entirely by canoe, here including both outriggers and single hulled kayaks which are not seen in the rest of Vanuatu. Only around the larger towns and resorts have we seen local outboard boats. As in the rest of Vanuatu, there are interesting contrasts. For Children's Day, a generator appeared to run a sound system in a village where supply boats arrive 3-4 times a years at best! Vanuatu seems full of these contradictions; in Tanna we saw Toyota Utes (they are all Toyota) housed under thatched 'car ports' and on most islands (although not Ureparapara) there is a cell phone tower. Unfortunately as some friends found out, the network works on a relay system so that if one tower is down (if there is no diesel to power it for example) the network afterwards won't work either. This also means that there are no land lines even in small towns that previously have had a phone available. Even in villages with no means of charging and apparently even in places with no coverage, cell phones are ubiquitous!

From Ureparapara we sailed to the Reef Islands, an uninhabited atoll group. These were very beautiful with the blues, greens and turquoises of the water contrasting with the white surf and golden sand of the beaches. We were anchored a long way from any actual land, as the lagoon and pass are too shallow for us to navigate.

From there we travelled to Losalava in Gaua which is an island still in the Banks Islands and then to Ambae Island.

Busy days at Ureparapara

2011-07-23T01:26:00.000-07:00

Ureparapara is in the Banks Islands in the north of Vanuatu. It is probably as far north as we will go in Vanuatu as I don't think we will head out to the Torres Islands which are the only ones further north. Its a pretty remote spot and I don't think they don't get many visitors but everyone seems to have arrived at the same time! We arrived yesterday from Vanua Lava at the same time as another yacht, 'Giselle', and a local trading boat. The trading boat normally only calls to pick up copra and resupply the island 2-3 times a year and this visit was the first for a year. Unfortunately, the boat does the rounds of the islands and has already run out of flour and rice (and I wonder what will be left by the time it reaches the Torres group?). On the way in, 'Giselle' had caught a huge sailfish but it was way too big for them to deal with. Luckily, the tender to the trader came and took it off their hands, saving them from having to cut the lure. It seemed almost a shame it was such an impressive fish with a big sail-like fin which gives it the name, but it was very tasty on the barbeque that night! There was enough fish for the 3 yachts in the anchorage to get some and the trading boat and the village.

The trading boat left early this morning but in its place two game fishing launches arrived and then the small superyacht 'Kaori'. I suspect this is the busiest the island has been for quite a while! Unusually, the wind is from the NW and apparently it is quite choppy outside today but it is nice and calm here in Lorup Bay, which is open to the predominant SE and usually subject to a bit of swell. The bay was formed when a volcano blew out so has very steep sides and quite dramatic scenery.

When we left Espiritu Santo, we had planned to sail overnight straight to Ureparapara and then work our way slowly south. However, we had a fast and uncomfortable sail on the first day so decided not to continue as we could make an anchorage on Gaua just on dusk. We stopped overnight there and then sailed to the next island, Vanua Lava and anchored at Waterfall Bay. We spent an enjoyable few days here, were welcomed ashore by the Chief and his family, went diving and did our laundry in the stream that flows from the waterfall. Or I should say, waterfalls, as there are two falls parallel to each other about 40m high. We went for several swims/showers under the falls.

Our luck fishing has improved and recently we have caught a mahimahi and two tuna, including our first yellowfin. Unfortunately, we caught both tuna on the same day so the village at Waterfall benefited as we don't have a freezer to keep extra fish. We will spend a few more days here and then hopefully head out to the Reef Islands if the weather settles.

Hello from Santo

2011-07-13T00:24:00.000-07:00

Hopefully anyone who is interested has been able to at least follow our progress from the position reports (click on 'Where is Elenya') as we have been a bit remiss in our updates lately. You may also have noticed a couple of dubious positions! The position reports are not automatic and are as accurate as the person typing them in....

Anyway, here we are in Luganville in Espiritu Santo. From Epi we hopped up the coast of Malekula Island over three days. Our first stop was in Port Sandwich in a lovely glassy calm anchorage (which makes a change) marred only by reports of sharks which made swimming there unwise! Another two days of light wind sailing (originally we were hoping to make it in just one day but that would've meant quite a bit of motoring) saw us anchored off a resort just out of the township of Luganville. Our main aims in Luganville were to renew our visas and do some diving. We sorted our visas but the diving operator we wanted to go with (the cheapest) was fully booked for the next week so we decided to head away for a few days and do the diving on our return. Normally we dive by ourselves (out of both preference and budget) but you can't dive on the wreck of the Coolidge without a guide and we don't feel we can be in Vanuatu and not dive the Coolidge.

We sailed to an island near Luganville and from there we did some diving of our own including at Million Dollar Point. Million Dollar Point is the site where the US military dumped any equipment they couldn't be bothered taking back with them after WWII. Apparently they chucked everything from coca cola bottles to trucks. There is certainly a tangle of rusty metal down there! We could make out jeeps, bulldozers, cranes and lots of building material. Once the US had dumped some stuff they then drove on top of that lot to dump more so there must be an incredible amount there. The presence of the US forces is still noticeable around Santo with Quonset Huts still in use etc.

We then sailed up the coast to Petersen Point and anchored in a lovely if a bit joggly spot. There is a very narrow shallow pass that leads into a very sheltered lagoon and there were a lot of yachts anchored in there but we decided that we were quite ok in the outer anchorage. The highlight was a dinghy trip up to one of the 'Blue Holes' which are fresh water pools of a very intense blue due to a spring containing dissolved minerals. The spring itself is very cloudy but the surrounding pools are clear and an intense blue in the sunlight.

We had a good windward sail to get back to Luganville and we are now back in the same spot. Today is quite windy and we contemplated going over the other side to anchor off Aore Island but have decided to stay over this side as we will do one more dive on the Coolidge. We had planned to do a max of 3 dives but tomorrow will be our 4th. We did 2 dives yesterday. On the first, we swam part way down the hull and dropped down into one of the cargo holds before exiting the wreck and swimming under the bow. The bow had lots of fans and soft coral growing on it. We were shown a few relics like rifles, helmets and shells (the ones that go bang as opposed to ones containing molluscs). The second dive we explored cargo holds one and two which contain such things as jeeps. Our guide led us through a maze of gaps and passages and we eventually came out via the chain locker. The Coolrige is a luxury liner that was converted into a troop ship in WWII and on her maiden voyage in this capacity hit (friendly) mines on entering Luganville Harbour. She was driven on the beach and then slipped over a coral ledge so that her bow is in about 25m and her stern at about 60+m. It was very eerie and quite surreal inside the wreck with beautiful blue light coming through gaps and port holes in the hull. At one point the guide got us to turn off our torches and we could see dancing pinpricks of light which are flashlight fish.

On our dive this morning we went through the lobby and into the dining room where a very famous frescoe known as "the lady and the unicorn" is now found (it used to be further down in the smoking room but has been moved). After viewing 'The Lady' we dropped down to look at some chandeliers and then we made our way back through passages where we could see crockery- plates and jugs etc. We enjoyed our dives enough to go back for another one but rather than do one this afternoon, we will go back tomorrow so we can do a deeper dive.

Our plan from here is to sail to the Banks Islands and we are currently thinking of then returning to Vila to clear out, stopping at the islands we missed on our way up, on our way back to Vila but time will tell. The future is very fluid at the moment.

Efate to Epi

2011-06-29T23:15:00.001-07:00

We dropped off Mike in Port Vila and after a short stay to get gas etc we sailed to Lelepa Island in around 15 knots. The wind dropped as we got in the lee of Lelepa Island and we motored through a narrow pass to anchor in Mallao Bay. We both went for a midwinter swim and snorkel. We stayed here a couple of days doing some snorkeling and walks along the beach. Late one afternoon we followed a track I had seen some tourists heading up earlier and discovered a large cave. We went back to the boat for torches and returned to explore further. The cave went back quite a way and the roof was hung with tiny bats, much smaller than the large 'flying foxes' that we have seen before in the islands. At times the air was filled with them flying close past us but never making contact. We also could get close enough to have a good look at them hanging upside down from the rocky ceiling.

We were originally heading to Nguna Island but on the day we left we had a good wind so decided to make the most of it and head further north to Emae Island. We were followed out of the pass by a catamaran who were obviously having difficulties finding the way out. We had a good sail up to Emae and anchored at Sulua Bay. The first time we dropped the anchor we went for a snorkel to check the surroundings and decided that there was a bommie (coral outcrop) to close in front of us (it wouldn't have been a problem as the wind never swung around from behind) but did mean we shifted to a much better spot. Emae is a high volcanic island with three distinct peaks. From here we were hoping to dive an offshore reef but the weather gods had other things in mind. We spent three windy and wet days here. Eventually we struck a sunny day and the wind appeared to have calmed down a bit so we set sail for Epi. The wind was behind us (SE) so we had a good sail (about 30nm) under a triple reefed main and reefed jib. In the open water it was around 30 knots with a 3m swell. In NZ these would have been quite uncomfortable conditions but the lack of wind chill makes sailing here much more pleasant. Jim sailed the whole way in his underwear! Eventually as we got in the lee of the island and as we rounded Cape Foreland, the wind and swell died away and we sailed the last few miles under full main and jib to Lamen Bay.

The windy weather has continued but Lamen Bay is a pleasant anchorage with just a touch of swell rolling in. There are a lot of turtles here, we have seen several both from the yacht and while snorkeling. I think they are green sea turtles feeding on the sea grass on the sandy bottom. We have also seen a dugong from the yacht but not while swimming yet. Its been a bit colder here lately with the temperature dropping below 25 degrees at night. Tomorrow (all going well) we will head to Malakula and then to Espirito Santo as we need to renew our visas in Santo.

Efate to Epi

2011-06-29T23:15:00.000-07:00

Yet more random photos

2011-06-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

View down to the landing at Raoul Island

Crater lakes on Raoul Island

Elenya with Mt Yasur in the background at Port Resolution, Tanna

Jim and some friends at the Port
Resolution Yacht Club

Mt Yasur

Some more random photos

2011-06-19T19:13:00.001-07:00

Snorkelling

Washing day at Havannah Harbour

Photos (in no particular order)

2011-06-19T18:29:00.000-07:00

Damsel fish at Aneityum

Christmas Tree worms

Approaching Port Vila

'Mystery Island' Aneityum

Anchored at Aneityum

Catch up

2011-06-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

After Tanna, we went to Aneityum (also called Anatom) where we anchored off a small islet that looks like your classical ‘tropical island’. The water was a beautiful light blue over the sandy bottom and there was really good snorkelling on the reef inshore of us around the island. The weather has now turned beautifully sunny. Our peace was disturbed one day by the arrival of a cruise ship that disgorged thousands of tourists but left again by the evening. After a few days here, we made an overnight passage to Port Vila. We had light winds at first but finished with a lovely sail for the last day heading into Port Vila. We did a quick stock up of food here and finished clearing in with a visit to immigration (when we eventually found the office). The supermarkets here have a larger selection than NZ but everything is about twice as expensive. The local market isn’t too bad and we left with a selection of fresh fruit and veges, including bananas at last, as these had been hit by the last cyclone and are scarce in the outer islands. We looked at the price of diesel and have decided to sail everywhere as it is over twice the price, although petrol is the same price so is only slightly dearer than in NZ.

After our quick stop, we sailed off the anchor and into Havannah Harbour. We anchored near a small inlet so we could find some fresh water to do some washing. We took the dinghy a small way up into the mangroves which had a very jungle-like feel with parrots flying overhead and 2 fruit bats also flew close overhead. The washing accomplished in what was essentially a roadside drain (with fish swimming in it) we sailed halfway back up Havannah Harbour. We went out to Eretoka Island twice for some excellent snorkelling and diving (see my previous entry). Our last anchorage in Havannah was opposite Paul’s Rock at a lovely sandy beach. We found a nice patch of sand to anchor in and spent 2 nights here in what is generally described as a day anchorage, but we found it fine overnight, a slight lift on the second night but much calmer than Port Resolution. We had 3 excellent dives at the rock, which is an old volcano that emerges steeply from 40m deep. They fish feed regularly here, so as soon as you drop into the water you are mobbed by fish, some of which even have a nibble to see if you are edible. On one dive a couple of bannerfish accompanied us most of the way, darting in front of our masks. Lots of small colourful fish and lots of big fish.

I have been trying to swim in the mornings and my record is 5 turtle sightings on one swim and 3 sharks on another. Today we sailed back to Port Vila and we will be here for a couple of days. Mike will leave us here on Sunday. Had some rain this afternoon for the first time since leaving Port Resolution so we have a bit more in our tanks, which is good, as we would prefer not to pay for water.

Vanuatu Snapshot

2011-06-13T00:26:00.000-07:00

As I am writing this we are anchored off Lelepa Island off the coast of Efate. We are opposite a small sandy beach with a white cliff near it, sounds from the village (chickens and laughter) are echoing across the calm waters. The sky is clearing with a three-quarters moon and the stars are just starting to come out. This morning we were anchored further down Havannah Harbour in another very nice spot. With blue skies and no wind we decided to go for a dive at Eretoka Island. First though we collected some fresh water in barrels for our 'showers' on deck. Approaching Eretoka (also known as Hat Island -guess why?!) we could see the bottom at around 40m, the water is a lovely clear beautiful blue. We went for a snorkel and then two dives. Amazing visibility and gorgeous hard coral (blue, turquoise, purple). Not so many fish as we have seen before but still plentiful and colourful -parrotfish, damsels, anthias, surgeonfish and even a white-tipped reef shark cruising around. Lovely canyons in the second dive. On our return from the last dive and snorkel we found the wind and tide had made the anchorage somewhat choppy, our main concern was not to damage the coral, so we motored back across to Lelepa Island.

I will update the blog with what we have done since Tanna and hopefully updates will be more frequent in future but hope this gives you a taste of things in the meantime.

Tanna

2011-06-06T00:23:00.000-07:00

Tanna is a very high volcanic island which appears to be constantly covered in cloud. Officially we are in the dry season but from our experience so far and from what the locals say, they rainy season hasn't really ended yet. The water tanks are full at least. We spent a day ashore doing the washing which is the last we will see of the fleece and icebreaker for a while. I think the locals were much amused at our feeble attempts at hand washing! The village at Port Resolution is mainly made up of thatched huts with only a couple of concrete buildings. Lots of chickens, pigs and dogs running around. Unfortunately a recent cyclone has destroyed a lot of the village crops particularly the bananas and the continued rain makes planting veges etc difficult. Citrus appears to be plentiful but other fresh food is scarce although we have managed to get some huge avocados.

Everything is arranged through the local chief, Stanley (although we suspect his sister Naomi may be the better organizer). There are two toyota utes based at the village, which are used for both tourist and local transport across to Lenakel and up to the volcano. If you are lucky you get to sit inside, if not you are in the back tray. The 'road' is a dirt track which is only negotiable by four-wheel drive and sometimes that seems marginal. Constant heavy rain has produced several washouts and I think it is a constant battle to keep the road passable. We were in the back for our trip up to the Mt Yasur, surrounded by locals and their shopping. One small boy (and Mike) thought it was hilarious every time Jim whacked his head on a bit of overhanging foliage. By the time we reached the entrance to the volcano, it was raining and low cloud obscured any actual view. We walked up to the top of a ridge where we stood in the rain listening to incredibly loud booms followed by an intense orange glow. It was quite eerie not being able to see anything. The next day we had another attempt at seeing Mt Yasur. After a very late start due to the late return of the ute from Lenakel (the road has got even worse) we headed off. Apparently the volcano was quite active so we were only allowed to go as far as a viewpoint halfway up the road. Just as we got out there was a burst of bright red sparks from the mountain. Some lumps of rock were glowing for quite a while. We stood and watched and saw a couple more showers of sparks and some orange glows. Eventually the cloud from the volcano and the obligatory rain cloud obscured the view and we headed home (in the rain).

At Tanna we went for several snorkels and two dives. We were very impressed with the coral. On the reef nearer the yacht there are lots of large formations of all sorts of different kinds of soft coral, not very colourful, but lovely shapes including flower coral which we haven't seen before. The reef off the sandy beach has more colourful hard corals and more anemone fish per square meter than we have seen before. The two dives were both excellent with good vis on the second on a beautiful reef with lots of colourful fish and I even spotted a shark.

In total we spent about a week at Port Resolution before moving on to explore more of Vanuatu...and find some sunshine!

The passage, Raoul Island and arrival at Vanuatu

2011-05-26T22:13:00.000-07:00

We departed NZ in 15-20 knots of north-west with a sloppy swell. Cape Brett disappeared behind us and we had a relatively uncomfortable first night at sea. The wind increased to 30 knots before changing to SW and dying away before we reached Raoul Island after four nights at sea. We arrived after dark and were anchored off Fishing Rock, to enjoy a very calm night at anchor, by 2300. A research vessel "Braveheart" was already at anchor there with scientists from several museums and DoC, searching for new fish species, among other things.

The next day, Mike (a friend doing the passage to Vanuatu) and I went ashore. We had got a permit from DoC which allowed us one day ashore. Jim got to be the one to stay on board as he has been to Raoul Island before. The landing is interesting, a pick your moment, jump and hope for the best scenario. The trick is to pin the nose of the dinghy on the rocks which is not an option in an inflatable! We eventually got to walk part of the track to Denham Bay which gives good views down into the crater and lakes. Mist and light rain gave things a very prehistoric feel. Lots of damage evident from a recent cyclone. We were accompanied by Jess, the DoC team leader on the island and various people from the 'Braveheart' including a botanist who was a mine of interesting information about the flora (and fauna) of Raoul. DoC have eradicated rats on the island and the bird-life is starting to come back and plant life is also recovering from damage from goats. DoC is slowly weeding the island of introduced species but there is debate over what to remove. There are orange trees here which have 'historic' value but also have the potential to get out of control. Sadly there were no oranges when we were there. We had a mad dash to get back to the boats by dark and after a meal we picked up anchor and headed off.

Originally we were headed for Minerva Reef but the weather was against us. With constant SE 30 knots with large swells, Minerva was out of the question so after a couple of days we altered course for Vanuatu. We had a fairly windy and bouncy passage. Mostly downwind with a bit of headsail poled out and a treble-reefed main doing around 6 knots. We saw a pod of small whales (pilot?) to add to the dolphins and large whales we had seen before Raoul. There were also lots of flying fish around, several of which ended up on deck, but very little bird life. On Wednesday the 25th we sighted land, a small island called Futuna and we slowed the boat down for the night to time our arrival at Tanna for daylight.

Tanna was a spectacular landfall. Jim woke us up just before dawn and we could see the red/orange glow of Mt Yasur erupting in the clouds before we could really make out the island. As the light improved, Tanna emerged and we identified the landmarks for the entrance to Port Resolution. Another boat was heading in just before us. The entrance was easy to negotiate and soon we were anchored and enjoying breakfast. There was quite a swell rolling in which would have classed this as a marginal anchorage in the Gulf but it felt lovely and calm to us!

We went for a walk ashore to inquire about customs etc and arranged to go across the island to Lenakel, the official port of entry, the next day. We walked through the village to a very tropical white beach with turquoise water. The water in the anchorage is more green. On the way back we called in at the Port Resolution yacht club, a small shack hung with burgees from visiting yachts which serves as restaurant and bar. There were three cats curled up on the table, so of course we had to stay for a while to stroke Mum, a tiny kitten and what appeared to be a ginger 'teenager' still stealing drinks from Mum who was skinnier than him.

Back on board we watched the evening fall, put up the mosquito nets and watched occasional flashes and orange glows from from Mt Yasur, not itself visible from the anchorage. The next day, Jim and Mike hopped on the truck to go to Lenakel and I stayed on board. Lots of thunder-like rumbling from the volcano. I was outside listening to what I thought was rain falling but curiously I couldn't see it on the water. Eventually I noticed the decks were turning black and raced below to shut the hatches in what was obviously an ash shower! Despite my best efforts with a bucket the boat is still covered in black grit! Its now a constant battle with opening and closing hatches against rain and ash showers although the first ash shower was by far the heaviest. We want the hatches open as much as possible to get air through the boat, a luxury we couldn't have at sea due to the risk of getting waves down below. The last couple of days things were getting very hot and sticky so it is very nice to have the hatches open as much as possible.

The anchorage is starting to fill up and at last count there are 19 boats here. A wide range from another heavy cruising boat we saw in Opua to several light racy boats, most of which are flying the French flag (New Caledonian?) and a launch. Seems odd to be surrounded by the likes of Young 11s. Is this Vanuatu or Waiheke?!

Sail set and winds fair.

2011-05-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

We departed Opua today at 12:00. Winds are NW about 20 knots so a good fair breeze for our course of 050(T)for 540 miles to Rauol Island.

Nearly off and away

2011-05-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

Alasdair and Jim at Urapukapuka Island

Urapukapuka Island Anchorage Leaving the anchorage at Poor Knights Islands

At the moment we are in Opua finishing the last of the jobs in preparation for leaving NZ Friday or Saturday if the weather plays ball. We have had a predominantly NE flow for weeks now which is not what you want if heading NE towards Tonga or Raoul Island. There is a rally that has been waiting to leave for a while now and eventually left in light NW so most would’ve been motoring into a NE swell that would be unpleasant! Hopefully we have got our permits from DoC to visit Raoul Island after Elenya was inspected in Whangarei but whether we can actually land will depend on conditions when we get there. We left Whangarei over 2 weeks ago, originally we were going to hop up the coast but conditions were right to head out to the Poor Knights islands. We anchored at South Harbour near to some spectacular arches (which we didn’t manage to take a single photo of) in a deep and rolly anchorage. I went for a great snorkel in large schools of blue mao mao and 2-spot demoiselles and there were heaps of large snapper around the boat. We went for a dive the next day, anchoring the dinghy in a small sheltered cave. Great vis and nice fans. The next day we used the last of the SW to have a lovely sail around Cape Brett and into Deep Water Cove. We went for a dive on the Canterbury; a purpose sunk wreck, which is starting to get some nice growth with several different coloured clusters of jewel anemones. A moray eel had made its home in the wheelhouse. After a few days here we sailed to Urapukapuka Island and spent some time there before heading in to Opua. A friend joined us at Opua in pouring rain and wind. On Saturday we sailed back to Urapukapuka, conditions were quite choppy but just as we’d decided we had had enough of the rough stuff we were into the shelter behind Motuarohia Island and we had a good sail tacking our way up to Paradise Bay. We had a very windy night with gusts up to 50 or 60 knots. The next day we went for a walk enjoying the views of the wild exposed coast on the other side of the island. On our sail back we had just enough wind to keep us moving with 2m swells coming up behind us. Sat night we had some friends drive up from Auckland for the night and we had a nice lunch with them at Pahia. So three visitors already and hopefully more friends will join us at various points on our cruise. We will probably now be in Opua until we leave, a friend is coming up Wednesday night to join us for the trip north and we will do a final shop and hopefully use the forecast NW to head off.

Test Tori

2011-05-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

Test Tori

Test Jim

2011-05-02T21:26:00.000-07:00

Test

Whangarei

2011-04-15T17:54:00.001-07:00

We are back in the water after re-launching on Friday. It was originally supposed to be Monday but we changed slots with another boat. We will be in Whangarei until about Tuesday and then head up to the Bay of Islands. Currently anchored just off the boatyard.

A photo of the interior looking tidy (a rare occurrence) showing the new upholstery.

Auckland to Whangarei

2011-04-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

We are now well into our refit in Whangarei with the antifoul done and slowly working our way through the job list. We will be here for about another 10 days before we start heading north, initially to Opua where we will clear out for Vanuatu.

Leaving Auckland for the last time. This is the view as we headed out of the Bayswater Channel on Friday last week.

One of Jim's legacies to the Harbour! Motuhie Channel buoys. Rangitoto island in the background

We had a rough trip up the coast to Whangarei! It alternated between flat calm and a nice sailing breezes in stark contrast to the 50 knot squalls we had last time we went to Whangarei!

Leaving Auckland

2011-03-31T13:18:00.000-07:00

Leaving Auckland today in the direction of Whangarei for 2 weeks and then points north. Plan A will see us leaving NZ in mid May for warmer climes (Vanuatu, Solomon Islands), plan B will see us back in Auckland in about 2 weeks! Time will tell....

Run Tori! Run!

2011-02-13T16:35:00.000-08:00

Tori has been running to and from work for some years now. Over the last year she has stepped up her running to a new level!

Auckland Marathon 2010

A large event with 42km of running in the heat of NZ summer, mmmm! I turned up 1 hour early to see Tori finish and she had already fininshed!

Tori’s result against those that finished.
Elapsed time 3h 54m 19s
825th out of 2049 finishers (male and female)
149th out of 658 female finishers
31st out of 124 female finishers in class

Mountain Goat Run

This is a mountain run from Whakapapa skifield to Turoa Ski field. The event is 21 km with 1000 metres vertical climb. All ion extremely rough mountain routes. Tori then ran into the hut that a group of us had walked to during the day, and she had to carry her pack in. Tori arrived just in time to see the last of the wine being finished! And it was a good wine too!

Tori’s result.
Elapsed time 3h 24m 27 s
213th of 496 finishers (male and female)
8th of 33 female finishers in class

Kauri Run

This run is from one side of the Coromandel Peninsular to the other. The run is 32km A cloudy day to start that really warmed up when the cloud went. Check out the profile of the run in the photo!

Tori’s result

13th of 38 female finishers
5th of 18 females in class
68th of 131 overall finishers (male and female)

2011-01-21T20:44:00.000-08:00

A belated christmas update! Christmas eve saw us heading off to Great Barrier Island, we left work early and after a patchy start we had a good sail across to Barrier, motoring in through Man O War passage and we were anchored in Kaiarara Bay by 2300 ( that's 11 pm) and there we pretty much stayed! Some friends were there on their yacht so we enjoyed spending christmas evening with them. We did some diving and dinghied into Fitzroy but in general we just chilled out! Lots of boats in the bay - more than we've ever seen in this bay before (previously even when there has been lots of boat around they have mostly been in other anchorages). For New Years Eve we went to the Boat Club at Fitzroy with some friends. Not many people there at all but a really good band -well couple of guys playing a mix of music really well including some really good celtic stuff. Mostly good weather with a couple of windy days. Eventually we tore ourselves away to head back to Auckland. Stopped off for a dive at Horn Rock in calm conditions and then sailed in a nice sea breeze to Bon Accord in Kawau where some of Jim's workmates were staying a bach, his boss was also anchored behind us. Got our limit of scallops (and no cat to share them with!) unlike at Barrier where we managed 3 (but made up for it with a successful cray dive). Unfortunately we then had to motor back to Auckland for work on Wednesday. Although I made a short week of it and took Friday off to head up to tthe Bay of Islands to sail on Breeze in the Tallships race on the weekend.

Pohutukawa in Kaiarara (if you lean your head to the side!)

Kaiarara -note all the dinghies on the beach -must've been the day to go for a walk!

'Gosi' heading for Kawau with the Grey Group and Great Barrier in the background

Labour Weekend 2010

2010-10-29T19:00:00.000-07:00

Labour weekend 2010
Sailed early on Friday down to Hooks Bay at the bottom end of Waiheke. Had a good SW and sailed down nicely under jib alone. The whole rest of the long weekend was sunny but with little wind. We drifted across to Te Kouma Harbour on the Coromandel, sailing quite well for a while considering the lack of wind. Met up with friends on Marie Tomasia and alternated evenings on board the 2 yachts. Anchored on the south side of the bay which meant we had a nice quiet anchorage with 50+ boats anchored over the other side (out of the non-existant wind!). Had to motor back to Auckland on Monday (just as we had started to relax!) tried sailing for a while but with the light wind and heavy motor boat traffic heading back to Auckland this proved impossible.

Marie Tomasia

Leaving Te Kouma

Looking back through the log book we have been out on the water for at least the last five Labour Weekends:
2010 Te Kouma
2009 Owhanake Bay, Waiheke
Our first sail after coming back from our sail around NZ trying out our new sails. Also a sunny weekend.
2008 Harrison Cove, Milford Sound
Lots of diving and a walk up a stream with a swim in a very cold pool! Fiordland weather with sunshine and a hail storm over the weekend (not that we noticed it was a weekend!). Headed back to Deep Water Cove on Monday to stock up on diesel etc before departing to explore more of Fiordland.
2007 Owhanake Bay
Windy, sunny weekend with the wind curling around and into the bay making it quite a rolly anchorage but we enjoyed catching up with friends there.
2006 Man O War Bay, Waiheke
Diving, relaxing and socializing.

Party

2010-10-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

Josh seems unconcerned by a birthday party going on around him!

Around Waiheke

2010-09-24T22:16:00.000-07:00

Been hiding out from the wild and windy (well for Auckland) weather but a couple of weekends ago we circumnavigated Waiheke with a friend from down South. Friday had an excellent sail, fine weather, ~15 knots down the outside of Waiheke to tuck in to a little bay near Man O War. Turned the engine off once out of the channel and turned it back on Sunday afternoon heading back in to the marina. Saturday and Sunday were a bit greyer with rain but we still had a couple of good sails. Sunday morning dawned very misty and atmospheric with a large three masted ship looming out of the mist. Quite windy for getting back into the marina made more interesting when the spring broke!

Some more non sailing activities

2010-08-28T21:11:00.000-07:00

In June we did a short tramp into Blythe hut with some friends. The weather was terrible but we had a good time catching up over a bottle of wine (or two) in the hut.

Last week we went down to Ruapehu for some tramping and skiing. the first weekend was spent in Ohakune and we had one day skiing at Turoa with some friends. On Sunday we went for a short tramp into Mangatuturu Hut (on the 'Round the Mountain' circuit).

Leaving the hut

Ruapehu from Mangatuturu Hut

We then had a few days skiing at Whakapapa

Jim at Whakapapa

View of Ngarahoe driving to the start of our second tramp we walked up to the saddle between Tongariro and Ngarahoe and down to Otarere Hut and back. We had wanted to climb Ngarahoe and possibly ski down but both times we passed it was in cloud.

Belated Update

2010-05-03T22:48:00.000-07:00

In the last few months we have managed to take Elenya out once (to Waiheke) and have been on three kayak trips.

The first trip we met up with some friends and kayaked the Aniwhenua section of the Rangitaki River. Some of us three times.

The second trip over Easter we did three rivers: the first was a grade 2 section on the Tongariro including a great standing wave play spot at the end of the grade 3 Access 10 run. We carried the kayaks up and played that way and then did a run down the river (the downside of it being just the 2 of us was it made shuttles difficult! I ran back to get the car while Jim lay in the sun and ate ice cream!). Next stop was the Tarawera river where we camped at lovely DoC campsite by the lake. We did a run on the river and also mucked around where the slalom course is. On the way home we stopped off at the Kaituna and played at the top where the slalom course is (if we kept going down the river we would have been doing some grade 4-5 waterfalls!)

The Tongariro is nicely about half way between Wellington and Auckland so for the third trip we met up with some friends at Turangi. We had one good day kayaking but unfortunately I bashed my shoulder on a rock and Bridget came away with several bumps and bruises so we had a lazy day on Sunday.

Pick which is our accomodation

View down the river

Oops!

That better!

No we didn't kayak here (falls on the Tarawera river)

...or here. The water pours out of a crack in the cliff (Tarawera river)

PS Note that there are no photos of Jim upside down as I got into trouble for posting the photo of him practicing rolling his sea kayak at Waiheke!

Anchored at the Poor Knights

2010-04-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

We departed Whangarei today and had a good sail to the Poor Knights. We are anchored in South Harbour and will dive tomorrow before continuing north to the Bay of Islands. Hope everyone at the HM Office is working hard!! Yeah Na Yeah.

Back South

2010-02-22T21:15:00.000-08:00

Leaving Jim to sail Elenya with a friend up to Mahurangi to watch the classic boat regatta, I headed back down South for a second time on Evohe, an expedition ketch we had met in Campbell Island. This trip was to the Snares. We had amazing weather and the penguins were pretty cool!

Snares Crested penguins

Returning titi (sooty shearwaters)

Penguin slope

Evohe in the 'anchorage'

Canyoning in the Waitakeres

2010-02-22T21:12:00.001-08:00

Christmas

2010-02-22T20:59:00.000-08:00

Apologies that updates are now few and far between but work seems to get in the way of having fun! For Christmas we took Elenya out to Owhanake Bay, Waiheke. Some good sailing and Christmas day itself was scorching hot. In a failed search for ice cream we saw a friend's boat anchored in Oneroa and spent the afternoon catching up. The evening found us sitting in a spa pool overlooking the bay, drinking wine under the stars courtesy of some friends. I was working between Christmas and New Year so we sailed across to the East Coast bays and anchored off Rothesay Bay/Browns Bay and I went to work from there which was kind of like still being on holiday! For the NY break we sailed up to Kawau. Spent NY night with some of Jim's work mates and had a generally relaxing time for the rest. Lots of time spent lounging in my Christmas present of a waterproof bean bag in the cockpit! We also managed to fit in two scallop dives (and now I don't have to share them with CP who we visited while in Browns Bay!)

relaxing hard

Jim kayaking at Owanake

Guess where we are?

2009-12-21T21:41:00.000-08:00

Some 'friends' sent us some photos that they took of us during our year around NZ. Guess where they were taken?
A. Southern Ocean: Furious fifties
B. Southern Ocean: Roaring forties
C. Pusegeur Point
D. Foveaux Strait
E. Off North Head, Waitemata Harbour

Video of our Subantarctic Trip

2009-11-11T10:45:00.000-08:00

A bit of playing last night and we now have the video of our trip in three 10 minute video's. Hope you enjoy.

Southern Voyage Part 1

Southern Voyage Part 2

Southern Voyage Part 3 is on the post below.

2009-11-10T13:33:00.000-08:00

The video above is part 3 of our trip to the Subantarctic. I will rework the first parts to fit on the website.

Labour Weekend

2009-11-02T20:46:00.000-08:00

Labour weekend and we managed to get out on the boat for the first time since arriving back in Auckland. We left work early and after a good evening's sail we were anchored in Owhanake Bay with a cold beer in hand just after six. The next day we arrived at a friend's place during a 6th birthday party -not the best timing! A meal later in the evening was a much better idea. We also made use of the nice day to dive on the bottom of the boat. The forecast for Monday was SW 30 which is fairly standard after an Auckland weekend ensuring a beat up the harbour. However, what we acctually got was a N/NE of about 15 and we had a great sail round the back of Rangitoto and got home just before the rain. We tried out our new main, which replaces the old one which you could poke your finger through.

Auckland

2009-08-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

Well its been back to work in Auckland for us. First Jim who had been given a year off from his job and then me (I got my old job back). I did a bit of sailing on the Spirit before getting employed and hopefully will do a couple more voyages (despite the job!). Jim put in a new diesel heater (just in time for summer) and we've been out to Piha kayaking.

Some more photos

2009-06-22T22:25:00.001-07:00

Wind farm on the Wellington coast

Sunset on the passage from Wellington to Gisborne (NB mothers please note the life jacket!)

On the piles at Smokehouse Bay in Great Barrier Island

Outside bath at Smokehouse, you can see the yacht masts in the background

Lower Kauri dam, GBI (no Jim isn't holding a beer it just looks that way- honest!)

View of Kaiarara Bay, if you get out the magnifying glass you can see 'Elenya' anchored in the bay

View of Port Fitzroy and Little Barrier Island from the top of Hirakimata (Mt Hobson)

Endangered pateke (brown teal) pay a visit

Sunset anchored in the Broken Islands (just after Jim was heard to say well we won't see the Spirit again now!)

Hot springs the second time we went, the first time we tried the river was in flood, this time the water was at least hot enough for Jim to get in!

Back to Reality

2009-06-22T22:21:00.000-07:00

Well, we are back in Auckland and already it is starting to feel like we never left, apart from the fact we keep walking down the wrong pier! (we are now on a different berth). We had a great last few days around Waiheke with brilliant blue skies even if the southerly did have a bite to it. We’ve enjoyed some good sailing, clear water and dolphins, some relaxing and a bit more relaxing! Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and Jim goes back to work next week and I will have to start looking for a job. I haven’t quite worked out how to combine chemistry with square rig sailing but I’m working on it (and open to suggestions and/or job offers)!

Crossing our outbound path on the last day as we pass North Head on our way back to the Marina

Cold! This is still warm.

2009-06-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

It's kind of weird to be sat in the Hauraki Gulf,the years shortest day quite close, with the news of severe cold weather and snow over NZ. It's still alot warmer now than our 'summer' and we have all the anchorages to ourselves (just as we did down south). The day is quite superb with blue skies, a warm sun, and a lovely 15 to 20 knot beam wind. A great sail across to Waiheke was had a bit of maintenance this afternoon.

Civilisation

2009-06-15T22:56:00.000-07:00

Well that does depend on your definition of 'civilisation'. After a quick trip into town to do some shopping for fruit and vege's we decided to return that evening for a beer or two and some food. Forty feet by 12 feet of space does get a bit small after ten months with only a few hours ashore on the odd day (Tori reckons its more to do with the 'odd' person onboard).

The tide was high at midday for our shopping trip, and was therefore low when we headed back in for the evening. Low water here exposes lots of very soft mud (we have witnessed our friend sink up to his thighs here once before. We helped him get unstuck by offering support i.e. rolling around in hysterical laughter in the dinghy. He's never forgiven us and we ensure he never forgets!). Going ashore this evening we did run out of water before we got into the creek so paddled off in a few inches of water towards the commercial jetty. This was reached with little time to spare. I did not cherish a couple of hours sat in the dinghy, on the mud, waiting for the tide to return.

A couple of Kms walk saw us in town enjoying a nice pint. A peruse of the menu, food ordered, and we decided to have a game of pool. This was a bit of miracle for us as most places in NZ seem to play in a manner where the winner stays on. This means one of you has to beat the local pool shark to get a chance to play against your partner. Not a realistic option with our pool skills. Our luck was in here as the pub patrons consisted of Tori, myself and one person drinking shots and sitting outside smoking. For the next three hours we managed to play the worst pool ever seen in the history of bad pool playing. Our youth was obviously not 'misspent' enough!! The white ball spent more time in the pocket than out. I'd like to say our skills improved as the evening (and beer consumption) went on but it would be fairer to say we just didn't notice our abysmal efforts anymore.

Tori was up two games after I potted the black twice. I convinced her to play on and caught up by one game after Tori potted the black and twenty whites. It went downhill from there and I don't think the final score is important!! It's the taking part that counts. Our evening was cut short when all (both) the pubs in town closed at nine O'clock. Oh well just as we were warming up.

On our way back to the dinghy we noted the sign next to the wharf. This boldly stated "Warning deep mud. Risk of drowning". We couldn't resist a photo to send to our friend. I wonder if I should ask the council to put some on warning signs on the mudflats to warn people trying to get ashore from their dinghy? Better not or they just may do it!!

Not too sure we are looking forward to getting back to Auckland. The road in Coromandel town seemed busy enough let alone the northern motorway at rush hour. We will be heading to Waiheke for the weekend then on to Bayswater marina for Monday 22nd. All down to cleaning the boat out, drying stuff, buying a car etc. before I go back to work on 1st July. Tori has managed to organise herself so she is off sailing on square rig ships as soon as we get back (while I clean the boat) and again for a couple of weeks in July as I head off to work. I also find something unsettling in her reassuring me that she will be unable to find a job in this current economic climate........

Interviewed by the 'Authorities" !! (Again)

2009-06-07T15:58:00.000-07:00

Well we were minding our own business when this big grey boat came up to us! A lovely morning had dawned (well before we finally got out of bed) and we were enjoying the day when the aforesaid boat appeared alongside. Bristling with aerials and high tech 'bits' stuck on it, the word 'CUSTOMS' written down the side. I had a look through the binoculars, not really required as they were about 3 metres away, and was looking directly at a Customs lady looking at me with binoculars. A quick glance at the badges on the overalls of those onboard showed both Customs and Police officers. Tori has obviously been up to mischieve when she heads of running each day!

This will be the third time we have been interviewed in the last four months! Once in the Subantarctic by a patrol plane, once in the Marlborough Sounds and now here and also the Harbourmaster's patrol vessel 'interviewing' us on our departure from Auckland a year ago. We were asked the usual questions of who we were, where had we come from etc. Once the authorities were satisfied we were ok I was able to catch up with the rather 'rough' looking Police officer and find out what had been going on at work. You just can't go anywhere in New Zealand without seeing someone you know!

On the subject of meeting people we know we have now seen the "Spirit of New Zealand" three times (voyages) whilst we have been in Great Barrier Island (each voyage is 10 days, so that's far too many days in one spot for us). It has been good to catch with with our friends onboard the ship each time. Our best example of meeting friends was our meeting one in Campbell Island. Middle of the Southern Ocean, we were only there a few days and we met a friend on the Met. Service vessel.

What have we been up to for the many days we have spent around Great Barrier Islands Port Fitzroy? Quite a bit really. Tori heads off most days for about an hour to hour ten minutes running. This is in addition to her normal swim of about one KM. Water looks far to cold to me and I hear the fish have pee'd in it, and worse! A few nights during our stay have been spent in the bath at Smokehouse Bay. We use the outside bath, stoking the fire during the afternoon to give plenty of hot water for the evening. Just add a cloudless night, lovely stars, no other boats, a bottle of wine and pleasant evening is had. I did try a bit of fishing (that's if you can call hanging a hook and "flash' over the side and bringing it in four hours later after ignoring it 'fishing') while sitting in the cockpit listening to national radio. You'll be surprised to hear I caught no fish and was ridiculed (publicly) by locals at the shop when I went to buy some fish fingers for dinner. Oh the trials of being the great hunter-provider.

Whilst anchored off the 'township of Port Fitzroy' (one shop, nurses house, boat club and two houses) we went to the 'boat club' on one of it's few noghts open. The club is run by the locals and opens when the weekly ferry comes in. This event brings lots of people (20 max) to the wharf to pick up there stores and bits from the mainland. Its not a bad way to spend and evening chatting and watching the world go by. After chatting with a family looking after their parents property they invited us to the local duathlon the next evening. I went as support crew rather than participating. The event took place at the OPC (Outdoor Pursuits Centre)base at the Orama Christian Community. We arrived a bit lat so the kayaking part was canned as light was going. The running course was explained, as was the 'handicapping' system. In general the idea was to arrive at the finish together so each runner started at the point they felt would allow them to finish with the rest. All very honest! and yes points were awarded for finishing positions and recorded. Great fun. After the run and a quick clean up a meal was served, with the bring-a-dish style being followed. This was a great chance to meet some of the locals and have a chat.

A nice day (well they have all been great actually with plenty of sun, if not a bit cold at night) saw us walk up to the top of Mount Hobson. This is a small peak of about 630 metres or so. It's about 2.5 hours each way of good path and a scramble in other spots. A great view is to be had from the top. The downside of the view was that we could see Auckland about 50 miles away! After a good time enjoying the view we returned to the boat via the same track we came up. DOC have made great improvements on the lower part of the track and its great to see they are being given funding.

We are now anchored out in the Broken Islands on the west side of Barrier. A nice sunset last night, with the Spirit of New Zealand motoring through it. We will be of to Whangaparapara either today or tomorrow and take a walk to the hot springs. Then we will work down to the Coromandle Peninsular before going into Auckland on 22nd to get ready to go to work, horrah horrah (honest)!

Hot Baths and Clean Bottoms.

2009-05-25T14:45:00.000-07:00

The wind is charging the batteries and the rain has nicely rinsed the decks. We are anchored at Kiwiriki Bay, Great Barrier Island. A nice day was had yesterday as we enjoyed the facilities at "Smokehouse Bay". A great facility for visiting boaties provided by the Webster family. The "bay" has an area of land that contains a smokehouse for your fish, BBQ sites, a shed with a bath and shower, an outside bath, a wetback wood stove to provide hot water and some piles to allow you to dry the boat out with the tide. We put Elenya alongside the piles to clean the bottom of the boat, clean up and paint the propellor, and to service one of our seacocks. This was all done in the pouring rain (with a rain cover over the prop). As we cleaned we would run up to the wood stove every now and again to keep the fire roaring. At midday we completed our tasks, had lunch and then spent the afternoon relaxing in the outside bath with lots of hot water. Every now and again we would top up with hot water. No prizes for guessing who got the job of stocking the fire and chopping wood every now an again. I can imagine the news headline had I slipped whilst swinging the axe!!

After a few hours, several refreshments, and tons of cold rain pouring down we reluctantly eased out of our steaming bath and got ready to leave on the evenings tide. A wee bit of wind had arrived by our departure time but a short motor saw us safely anchored for the night. Our plans are to spend some time here then head to Auckland, stopping to terrorize and taunt a good friend on our way. Then on to Bayswater Marina, and joy of joys back to work on 1st July. But that's still along way off...................

Arrival at the Mercurys

2009-05-21T15:22:00.000-07:00

We are sitting in Huruhi Harbour in Great Mercury Island enjoying sunshine and calm waters, a nice change from our trip here. We left Gisborne on the promise of a SW flow developing. We stopped off at Tolaga Bay due to the strengthening NW but were happy to leave during the night when the wind abated as it was just a bit rolly! Dawn saw us rounding East Cape and despite the continued NW we decided to keep going as the forecast for Plenty was SW. The knowledge that there was a south to SW flow over the country was of great comfort as we bashed our way into what still looked like NW to us. We eventually made Huruhi Harbour just after dark and picked up a mooring buoy for the night. The next day continued NW. The Mercury Islands marks the furthest south I had previously been on Elenya, if you search back through the archives of the blog you can find some pictures of the last time we were here.

Waiting for Weather

2009-05-15T23:23:00.000-07:00

On the way up from Wellington we motor-sailed as far as Napier and spent a night there hiding out from some forecast strong head winds, not sure if they ever eventuated but we had a nice night and a very good sail the rest of the way to Gisborne. We are at present waiting to head north if the current northwesterlies ever die away! We had expected to be away by now but yet again we are waiting for the prevailing wind to develop! On the plus side the weather here has been quite nice, we haven't had any of the thunderstorms and hail etc the rest of the country seems to be having (and the beer at the nearby Tatapouri Sport Fishing Club is quite cheap!)

Wellington

2009-05-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

We have had a great time in Wellington catching up with friends and family. It was good to be able to catch up with everyone and thanks to Rod and Bridget for the loan of a car which made things logistically a lot easier. We also met the local winlink radio operator who (along with other operators in Australia) has made these updates possible. In between the socialising we have managed two kayak trips (the first time the kayaks have been used since Auckland!). We had a play in the surf at Titahi Bay and an overnight trip up to Otaki. At Otaki we spent most of the day practising and playing in a small area with some friends and then Jim and I finished off by paddling a small section of the river. A very good time was had, apart from when I managed to go over one of the rapids upside down (not the recommended method), Jim managed to avoid this by either skill, luck, judgment, upper body strength, fear of cold water, a kayak with some buoyancy in the tail or some combination of the above!

We are looking at leaving tomorrow, weather depending, this will mean a pre 5:00 am departure as we need high water to get over the Mana bar, we will then be at sea for 2 to 4 days en route to Gisborne.

Leaving the mainland

2009-04-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

After more than six months in the south we are now back in the North Island. In Mana marina to be precise. After leaving Nelson we spent a couple of days in Greville Harbour in d'Urville island. We arrived in blue skies listening to the bird song and spent the next day with 50 knots going past watching the williwaws and sea 'smoking' from the comparative shelter of our anchorage. We went back through French Pass and after a night in Catherine's Cove we headed for Port Gore to dive on the wreck of the 'Mikhail Lermentov'. Unfortunately the visibility wasn't great (or have we been spoilt by Fiordland?!) but we could still make out various bits including the wheelhouse, funnel, gangway, restaurant area and engine room etc but the scale was lost in the murk. The next day we contemplated another dive but the weather looked good for a crossing of Cook Strait. We had our best ever crossing of the ditch, previously we have either got snotted or motored across in flat calm! A pleasant sail was a nice change! We had to anchor until the tide was high enough to get across the bar and arrived later that night after a quick trip ashore to have coffee at a friend's place while we waited.

Photos: Dunedin to Nelson

2009-04-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

Hector Dolphins playing by the bow on our way up the east coast

French Pass

Te Pukatea Bay in the Abel Tasman National Park

Jim sailing in Torrent Bay -our first busy anchorage for a long time! We were there over Easter with 40+ other boats, previously one or two was unusual for us!

We went for a dinghy tour and discovered this lot who were very curious and playful.

Getting flash with an underwater shot!

Waterslide at Cleopatra's pools. Somebody was too much of a wuss to have a go!

The Lergy and Beyond

2009-04-03T17:03:00.000-07:00

We have been taking it easy for a bit now. After a very brief stop up the coast we arrived in the Marlborough Sounds. Our brief stop was the point at which we managed to catch up on the bugs, illness's and nasty stuff that has been doing the rounds since we departed in September 08. I was down and out for a day and then was able to move about but not for long. Tori is still recovering now and spent the best part of a week in bed, although watches at sea as we came up the coast did get her up. We
haven't been ill for a long time and I guess we got all those lovely bugs at once.

Our trip up the coast was calm and involved about 30 hours motoring. The run into the Cook Strait was accompanied by Hectors Dolphins playing under the bow as we motored in a lovely light blue sea and under a cloudless sky. After a bit of bashing into 1 to 1.5 metre seas as we approached Tory channel we finally dropped anchor and settled down to enjoy the area. When we first met Tori and I visited this area on "Earenya" together with my cousin Bridget and her partner Pete (remembered as 'puking
Pete' after a rather rough trip across from Wellington). We wanted to head up to Picton to catch up with some friends (Tony and Sue Cooper) once we had recovered enough not to spread our germs. As we motored up the Sounds a big black RHIB approached us. This was full of guys in uniform and it was soon obvious they had come to visit! My secret chocolate stash had been discovered perhaps! Customs and Fisheries had a quick chat, and once convinced we had not just arrived in NZ packed with nasty stuff,
or removing large quantities of fish, they wished us well and departed. It's actually good to see this sort of patrol happening and we hope it continues.

We spent about five days anchored at Picton and took life easy (that's even easier than we already do). After getting rid of a few more of the multiple illness's we started to head out the Sounds on our way to the Abel Tasman National Park. This three day trip, as we did it nice and slowly, took us through 'French Pass'. This narrow Pass lies between the mainland and Durville Island. The pass is about half a mile (900 metres) wide but is blocked by reefs in all but one part which is about 50 metres
wide. A very strong tidal flow passes through here (up to about 8 knots)making the passage appear more like a river rapid than a passage for boats and small ships. We anchored nearby and walked up to the hill overlooking the pass, very impressive. After a walk back to the boat we proceeded to pass through the pass and anchored the other side. Next morning saw a nice sail across Tasman Bay to the Abel Tasman Park.

We are currently at Tonga Roadstead. Like most places in the park the sub tropical bush comes right down to the water. The coast comprising of many lovely sandy beaches and coves between sandstone cliffs. Very pretty and very popular. Luckily this is near the end of the summer and we have not had to share our anchorage with other boats too much.

Our plan is to spend a few days to weeks here before going to Wellington via Nelson and then Mana. We should be in Wellington for the End of April before heading up the coast to Gisborne and then Auckland.

Dunedin

2009-03-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

Finally we had the weather to leave Stewart Island for Dunedin. We left fairly early which meant we had a 4 m swell to begin with but we managed to keep the wind all the way to Tairoa Head. A couple of boats had left a bit later and found themselves with the same swell but lighter winds. Luckily by the time the wind died we had lost the swell and we could still sail. At Tairoa Head we could see some of the albatross ashore and also fur seals and sealions (why did we go to the subantarctic again?!). We waited for the tide at Carey's Bay and drifted down the rest of the way under jib accompanied by dolphins. We tied up in the Otago Yacht Club basin along with 'Sula' and 'Stokes' who had come up from Stewart Island at the same time. Dunedin put on some great weather (to the locals who tried to claim its always like this I used to live here remember!). Sunday was the great washing day for all three boats, the marina machine getting a workout. It was good to catch up with some friends in Dunedin and I also called in to the department. The OYC is nicely in walking distance of the University and town. When we had finished the bits we needed to do in Dunedin and the weather was starting to look good we returned to Carey's Bay admiring the fog which was rolling down the harbour (we managed to avoid the worst of it). Unfortunately the forecast SW winds didn't really eventuate and the engine saw quite a bit of use as we headed further north. The calm seas were a very nice change however! Saw large groups of both Dusky and Hector's dolphins, the Dusky dolphins putting on quite a jumping and splashing performance. After a brief stop in Lyttleton we continued on to the Marlborough Sounds and are looking forward to relaxing in the Nelson/Marlborough region, hopefully catching the last of the summer (touch wood!).

Campbell Island

2009-03-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

Arrival at Campbell Island

The old Met Station wharf with Elenya anchored off in the distance

Royal albatross on take off

Elephant seals, the photos doesn't show the true size of these guys (or the smell and sound of them belching and gurgling!).

View of Preservation Harbour

Albatross prints dwarfing Jim's size 11s!

Jim was surprised to find these guys at the top of a ridge!

Two royal albatross greeting each other

Royal albatross and chick

Dawn as we depart Campbell Island

Enderby Island

2009-03-15T20:09:00.001-07:00

Enderby Island is an island in the north of the Auckland Islands group. A DoC sealion team were on the island and helped us get ashore and gave us some tips for dealing with the sealions which were a bit 'friendly' at times

The 'Stella' hut, built as a shelter for potential castaways.

Juvenile yellow-eyed penguin

One of the 'friendly' sealions!

Some of the mega-herbs with Elenya in the background

Sealion covered beach! The darker coloured ones are the males but all the really big bulls had departed by the time we were there as the breeding season was over.

Cute sealion pups playing!

Photos of the Auckland Islands

2009-03-15T15:25:00.000-07:00

Our first spot ashore on Auckland Island was to visit the site of Hardwicke at Erebus Cove. The graveyard shown has graves of both settlers who attempted to found a whaling/farming community and shipwrecked sailors.

This tree, known as the Victoria tree, was carved by a search party to let any castaways know that people had been looking for them. This search was prompted by the 'Grafton' castaways who modified their ships boat and sailed it to Invercargill after nearly 2 years on the island.

Going ashore to walk up to Lake Hinemoa I was checked out by another landing party!

Lake Hinemoa. The photo doesn't show it but there were sealions swimming in the lake.

Rockhopper penguins in Haskell Inlet. Love the tufted crests! I did a dinghy paddle past here while Jim motored the yacht outside of the kelp.

Just a bit of kelp on the anchor! When we got this lot free it created a small island for a seagull to perch on

Elenya anchored off the remains of the 'Grafton'. It was fascinating to have read what these guys went through and to acctually visit the site where they were wrecked. The site of hut they built is just inshore of the wreck

Carnley Harbour at the south of Auckland Island. Note all the sooty shearwaters in the photo.

Relaxing down below with a glass of fine wine.

White-capped molymawks nesting at South West Cape

We thought it might be late in the year for chicks but when one stood up I had the pleasant surprise of seeing a very large chick which had previously been hidden under the parent molymawk.

The birds were wheeling and flying around overhead.

Jim in Hanfield Inlet, we stayed here on the boat for a few days while we waited for the SE to go away (not that it did!). A beautiful spot with waterfalls, sealions keeping us awake at night and light-mantled sooty albatross soaring above the cliffs.

Weather

2009-03-08T15:50:00.000-07:00

From Campbell Island we took a detour to Stewart Island as we weren't sure that we would make Dunedin before some strong northerlies which were forecast. Our plan was to hang out in Paterson Inlet until the wind went round to the SW and then head off. Well the wind has now gone SW, unfortunately that is SW 40 (going NW 40 going SW 40) so we won't be going north for a few days anyway! We have had some stunning sunny days here although now it is colder with rain interspersed with the sun. Have been
relaxing, drying the boat, doing odd jobs and a bit of socialising in Kidney Fern - a very sheltered anchorage.

Back in the sun

2009-03-04T16:14:00.000-08:00

We have arrived back in the land of the sun and are enjoying a few days relaxing. We had a pretty quick trip up from Campbell Island if not a tad sloppy at times. We will be off again this weekend on our way to Dunedin. A quick look at our email and blog shows a few comments and we should be able to get back to all. I also note that our position indicating map has not been updating since we left Auckland Islands to go to Campbell. I will endeavor to fix this. We have some good photo's (well we think
so!!) and will post some in Dunedin.

Glassy Calm?

2009-02-25T16:55:00.000-08:00

Well we waited for about five days but still the SE wind remained. This was a bit inconsiderate of the powers that be as this would mean a head wind all the way to Campbell Island. The weather charts we receive each day showed no sign of a break so we decided to head out and see how we went (this is the furious fifties, sea of the ever constant roaring westerlies!). The wind was about 15 knots with a 1 metre wave chop and a three metre SE swell. We could motor sail at about four knots but were going
to use a fair bit of diesel. We decided to push on and see how it went. That night the wind died and by the next morning there was a glassy calm on top of the underlying 1 to 2 metre E swell. After a cold night sat in the cockpit steering for six hours each we were pleased with a great new day with even some sunshine! Campbell Island was a great sight to see coming over the horizon. A very rugged Island with high cliffs plunging into the sea and cloud shrouded peaks. There was plenty of life visible
as we closed the coast and were accompanied on our way by many Albatross. The shags also began to fly out from the shore around us and back ashore again. A pod of dolphins also stopped by to accompany us for a period. The arrival at Perseverance Harbour allowed the engine to be shut down and peace and quiet reigned. The voyage of just under 200 miles had used a fair bit of our remaining diesel but we were here. A voyage time of 30 hours was also quite good for our boat in such conditions.

Camplbell Island is the location of a meteorological station. The base is not manned anymore but there are lots of buildings ashore. It just happens to be the annual maintenance time now and a small group of men are working on the buildings. This means generators chain saws and other boats about. Almost as bad as a weekend at Waiheke Island anchorages. Tori has gone ashore to walk up to the Col-Lyall saddle. Watching her get safely ashore I could see a mass of splashing around the dinghy which
she reported as Fur Seals keen to get in the boat with her. A fascinating sight last night was watching some fishing. A penguin was chasing a school of small fish. These fish would erupt out of the water followed by the penguin only to disappear again pretty quick. The local birds spotted this pretty quick and would dive into the fish as they came to the surface.

The anchorage here is the busiest spot we have anchored in for a long time. The Meteorological staff are on an expedition boat called 'Evohe'. This is a very solid 80 foot motor-sailor. The vessel has been through the Northwest passage and down to Antarctica. A very comfortable ad solid looking boat. The other vessel is from the University of Otago. Th 'Polaris II' is an ex-fishing boat of about 20 metres length. Quite solid but with all its accommodation at the bow. I would imagine this is not the
boat to be on when motoring into any kind of sea!!

The presence of other boats and people has brought home to use how lucky we have been on this voyage. There are three places that recieve a fair number of visitors each year (600 in total). These are Enderby Island, Ererbus Cove both on Auckland Island group and the Col-lyall saddle here. We have been allowed to visit many sites that very few people will ever get a chance to see. All these sites have been very special and we consider ourselves very lucky.

Following the days of SE wind we had a NW wind settle in last night with squalls and rain/drizzle. With four days left here we will be making the most of what time we have and get as much done as possible. We have decided, unless the plan changes of course (a plan set in custard as some would say), that we will go from here to Dunedin. In Dunedin we will dry out the boat which is now very damp after 5 months of cold weather (the cold wet bunk is loosing some charm) and stock up on diesel which is
getting low after our unplanned motor across here(not even enough to run the heater). After a quick catch up with some friends we will head up the south Island, via Christchurch, to Marlborough Sounds and the Able Tasman before heading off to Wellington. A stop at Kaikoura on the trip north to see if we can spot some whales.

We can always get our hull inspected in Bluff and come back again but the night watches are rather cold sat out in or cockpit (even inside our solid doghouse) while someone throws bath-fulls of cold water at you. I must be getting soft!

A lot of the birds here seem to have a 'camera sensing device'. This allows them to keep well away as you sit in the cockpit camera poised, and then as soon as you put the camera down they fly close by. The timing is very precise as they are just too far away by the time you have picked up the camera and focused. We thus have plenty of pictures of small white dots or photos of the sky where an Albatross, Skua etc used to be but isn't now. If there is good speed internet connection available in Dunedin
we will post some more photos. We have some good photos but alot of photos will not convey the ruggedness, grace, beauty, and starkness of the surroundings.

We will try to update again prior to our departure from Campbell Island

Nearly time to move on.

2009-02-20T15:36:00.000-08:00

Following the general description of the route Tori followed I made my way to Southwest Cape. The going was tough in scrub and slippery pig tracks. More than once I found myself taking a slide and getting a wee bit muddy! The pay off was sitting near to Shy Mollymawks nesting. Every now and then an adult would stand up and display a very large fluffy chick. Following a quick wing stretch and move both birds would settle down and you would never guess that such a large chick lurked underneath. Some
birds were performing beak rubbing rituals and others were preening each other. Just out from the cliffs birds would be landing, taking off and soaring. All of which was very impressive. We spent a day being 'lazy' at Western Harbour, we have spent a lot of time on 40 feet of boat in the last 5 months and it doesn't improve your fitness! Although it certainly beats sitting behind a desk. This wait also allowed the heavy SW swell and wind to die down a bit. Our next exploration was to take us out
of a small shallow passage onto the windward side of the island and we wanted as calm a sea as possible, which down here is not very calm!

The next morning we prepared to go. Our departure was to be with the tide against us in the passage. This meant the 4 meter swell that broke dangerously in the passage with the outgoing tide would be a little less daunting and dangerous. Although it would take a little longer to get through. Prior to our departure Tori went for a swim (total insanity again) and was joined very quickly by a young female Sea Lion who was keen to play. The Sea Lion swam quickly around Tori having a good look. She would
swim away and then reappear right under Tori before disappearing again to reappear just as quickly.

We got underway and headed out. The passage was about 20 metres wide with a cliff on one side and a reef on the other. Very dramatic but we were soon through and bouncing our way along the windward side of the Island. The cliffs rise straight up to between 350m to 500m. Some waterfalls cascade down, only to get blown straight back up in most cases. The chart as often has no details other than the outline of the island, and that has bits in the wrong place (like islands and outcrops!). We rolled and
plummeted our way for two hours along this coast followed by Albatross, Skuas, Petrels and the odd penguin. We appeared to be on the Shag flying route as every one we saw came and flew a loop around us. The Shags seemed very unnatural and strained flyers compared to the Light Mantled Sooty Albatross who are very fluid and amazingly graceful in flight.

We arrived at the entrance to Fly Harbour, on the south coast of Adams Island, and were ready for some calmer water. Once again the inlet is not charted so we picked our way carefully through the kelp covering the entrance. We were confident the inlet held no major problems as it had been recommended to us by Henk of the yacht 'Tiama", probably the most experienced and knowledgeable person on navigation around these islands (try a google search to finds Henks website for extreme latitude charters
and expeditions). We arrived at the head of the inlet to find a good anchorage. Like many anchorages the wind can be a bit gusty but it was calm with cliffs rising to over 500m and waterfalls. We had the company of plenty of wildlife and I watched Penguins(Yellow eye)feeding, Albtross (Wandering and Light Mantelled), Diving Petrels, Shags, Giant Petrels, all whilst I did the washing up in the galley. Not a bad view!

We set off the next morning following along the shore towards Waterfall Inlet. Still a bit bouncy but nothing bad. We are looking at moving on to Campbell Island now and as if on cue the wind has swung to the SE as a low pressure comes down from NZ. We will wait and see what happens. We expect the wind to return to the West early next week which will be better for us if not a bit strong! We must be away from the Islands before 2nd March as our hull inspection certificate will lapse at that time.
I doubt we will fancy a trip to Bluff and back to have another inspection although we have a permit for the Campbell Island til 15th March. Our trip back up the mainland is not clear yet. We would like to go to the other outer islands of Antipodes, Bounty and Chatham, but would also life to cruise the east coast of NZ and catch up with friends and family (and have a shower, do some washing and enjoy some warm summer weather for a bit!!).

And then there was one!

2009-02-15T17:11:00.000-08:00

We are now alone. There were two groups of scientists on the islands, but these two groups have now gone leaving us all alone.

After a day in waterfall inlet we decided the worst of the storm had passed and it was time to move on. We headed out into a four meter southerly swell and a 30 knot southerly breeze. The combination of the swell, rebounds from the cliffs, wind waves and a good head wind gave us a wild trip to Carnley Harbour. Falling off some of the wave crests left us suspended in the air, and this was in the cockpit the bow looking completely untenable. After and hour and a half and three miles we gained the relative
shelter of Carnley and could enjoy the scenery.

Carnley Harbour is actually a strait separating Auckland from Adam Island. In the upper reaches of the harbour are several fiords and bays. One of the highlights of this whole trip was our current destination. In 1864 the vessel Grafton was driven ashore and wrecked within Carnley Harbour. The five crew survived the wreck and spent a total of 20 months on the island before they were able to make a vessel, some of them sail to New Zealand to raise the alarm and arrange the rescue of the remainder.
In this time they built a small cottage on the island and scavenged to survive. We located the site of the wreck and were able to examine the frames, floors and remaining planking. Nearby was the site o the cottage where we found the fireplace stones still in some shape. There was also remains of the ships planking they used for floor boards (teak) and the spars they used for beams and corner posts. A testament to the quality of the timber used in the ships construction. Also evident was a n area
of the beach cleared of rocks so the boat could be pulled ashore and the rata forest around the hut for some distance was far newer growth than that 500m away, from the cutting of timber for the fire. Having read several accounts of their survival and the tasks they undertook in order to do so it was amazing to be stood looking at the site and seeing the remains.

Long after the wreck of the Grafton the Government decide to install castaway depots and boat sheds. These provided a shipwrecked mariner with various supplies, shelter and a boat. This would at least assist them as they awaited rescue. Many of the depots are still to be seen although no longer maintained. In order that these depots may be found by an unlucky seafarer a series of finger posts was erected. These finger posts were placed at many headlands an d consisted of a high post with a finger
shaped piece of timber fixed to the top pointing in the direction of the depot.

A coast watcher hut was located at Tagua Bay during the second world war. This was still visible although in poor condition. A more interesting was a cave near the beach that had evidence of habitation. This included a planked floor, a stove, discarded items and some barrels. This evidence of human endeavor on the island is quickly reclaimed by the bush. In many cases we landed and found no evidence of former activity.

Today we have moved to Western Harbour. Tori is at present scaling the 250 m tall cliffs to the Albatross colony. We are only able to go off the vessel one at a time. This means the person onboard minds the yacht (you wouldn't want to leave you boat in these places anyway) whilst the other person heads off and reports in on th vhf as they go. The handheld gps allows the 'walker' to report actual positions so should they have a problem we will know where to find them, or talk them over the problem.
We have picked all our landing sites so the dinghy can be pulled clear by one person and the walk is within a few hundred meters of the landing point. This does mean we may have to miss some places if conditions are not right.

The scenery at this southern end of the island is very dramatic. Sheer cliffs, rocky outcrops and wind, lots of wind. We usually collect rainwater for the tanks onboard. This has not proved that feasible here. Whilst there is plenty of rain it is normally too windy to rig our large tarp in which we collect water and pipe it to our tanks. Luckily we have just under one tonne of water so have plenty for a few months yet. Tori has just reported she has got to the top of the cliffs and is now walking
along to southwest cape.

Hope the warm weather continues for all in New Zealand, the weather cools for those in Australia and warms for those in Canada and the UK. Here we have day time highs of 10 to 12 degrees celcius, winds are westerly 25 to 30 knots, and it always rains!

Enderby and beyond

2009-02-12T18:19:00.000-08:00

We woke up one morning to a relatively calm day and motored across to Enderby Island. The island is just amazing, as we approached we could see a large number of sea lions both splashing around in the water and ashore. DOC have a team here monitoring the sea lions as this is one of the main breeding colonies in the Auckland Islands. Unfortunately they told us that pup numbers are down by around 30% this year. Landed at Sandy Beach and Louise from the sea lion team helped us negotiate the sea lions
and gave us some tips for dealing with them as they want to play, but even a small playful sea lion can be quite intimidating! The exception to this is the pups who are very cute, one bared his teeth and growled thinking he is bigger than he really is! Near the shore was a whole mass of pups playing in a big heap. Earlier, just after we had dropped anchor, I watched through the binoculars as a group of yellow-eyed penguins slowly made their way down to the beach. As they entered the water they split
into 2 groups and 'porpoised' rapidly through the water, one group passing close by Elenya. Between us, on our way around the island, we saw more yellow eyed penguins including one who has chosen to moult right by the DOC huts, lots of sea lions, fur seals, pipits, royal albatross, giant petrels, auckland island dotterel and auckland island cormorants. There were also some mega herbs still in flower, although the main flowering season is over. We would have liked to anchor here for the night but
unfortunately the wind came up more from the west so we returned to Port Ross for the night.

After a day waiting for the weather we moved down to Musgrave Inlet. On the way we stopped at Ranui Cove where there is a WWII coastwatchers station and lookout. Good views from the lookout and Jim was fascinated by the 1930s and 40s reading material and other paraphernalia left in the huts. Next we visited Haskell Cove, we couldn't land here but Jim dropped me off in the dinghy at the head of the cove and I slowly made my way down past a rockhopper penguin rookery. For small birds they make a lot
of noise! After retrieving me and the dinghy we made our way down to Musgrave for the night. All along this coast are impressive cliffs (the western side of the island must be even more stunning). Enjoyed watching some light mantled sooty albatrosses soaring in the updrafts on the cliffs. This may be a good time to mention that although we have a couple of bird books on board, we are no ornithologists so while the birds we mention are what we think we are seeing we may also just be making it up as
we go along!

At the head of Musgrave Inlet are cliffs with a waterfall dropping into Lake Hinemoa which can't be seen from the inlet but the next day we walked up to the lake. Jim went first and disturbed some feral pigs on the shore. At the lake, which is about 700m inland, we saw three sea lions playing in the fresh water. A group of four sea lions also checked out the dinghy as I was securing it ashore after landing! We had a brief stop at Norman Inlet to look at the pile of corrugated iron and wood which
is the remains of a castaway depot on our way to Waterfall Inlet. Our peace and quiet in Norman Inlet was shattered by an airforce orion which overflew us. The coast line here is spectacular, cliffs and waterfalls (especially in Hanfield inlet which we took a detour down), lots of bird life - albatross, petrels, sooty shearwaters, shags and penguins. We motored quite close to the cliffs enjoying the views and the shelter. We are now passing through areas of white on the chart - no soundings, completely
unsurveyed!

Waterfall Inlet appears very sheltered, there are certainly larger rata trees here than we've seen so far in the Islands which should be a good sign! We don't have a permit to go ashore here but it will hopefully make a snug hideaway to sit out the next spot of bad weather. Interestingly our definition of bad weather has changed somewhat! What we are calling a good day here we probably wouldn't have bothered going out in in the Hauraki Gulf! eg Wednesday we had patches of rain and even hail at one
point but relatively little wind so that was accorded a 'good' day!!

Erebus Cove

2009-02-06T17:28:00.000-08:00

Well we got here!! Elenya is currently anchored off Erebus Cove in Port Ross, Auckland Island. I can't say either of us enjoyed the trip down. We left on Monday afternoon after our hull inspection. We had WNW winds to begin with but of course this went round to the SW. We sailed for around the first 48 plus hours until we were to leeward of the islands and then motor sailed and beat into it the rest of the way. To say it was quite rough at times is probably an understatement, Jim reckons about 4m
swells and 35 knots (I wasn't looking!). I suppose it is not called the furious fifties for nothing. We made landfall at dawn to find a cruise ship had beaten us there! The islands as may be expected are quite low and windswept with dense rata bush. Once we had slept a bit and recovered somewhat (and the cruise ship had left) we went ashore to have a look at the site of Hardwicke. This is where someone had the great idea to build a town and start a farming community! Needless to say it didn't last
long. I went ashore first as we have to go ashore one at a time as we can't leave the yacht unattended. Ashore out of the wind it was quite warm and sunny. There is not much left of Hardwicke, a few bricks and broken bottles and the cemetery which contains graves of both some of the unfortunate settlers and sailors who were wrecked on the Islands. If you don't know anything about the Auckland Islands, they are situated on the great circle sailing route to the South of NZ which was the main thoroughfare
in the days of sail and hence there have been numerous shipwrecks over the years. We have seen a couple of Hoiho next to the boat and spotted a sea lion and her pup ashore. It looked like she was trying to coax the pup down to the water but he wasn't having any of it! Today we are looking at going ashore at Terror Cove just around the corner from where we are anchored with two anchors down due to some forecast strong winds.

To Bluff and beyond!!

2009-01-31T17:11:00.000-08:00

After a month in Stewart Island enjoying the scenery, wildlife and catching up with friends we have moved onto Bluff. We had been calling Meri at Bluf Fisherman's radio and were given a berth on the fishing piers. We have managed to complete almost all of the 'stuff' we needed to do and are now ready to move on. Re-storing the vessel was completed with a few car loads of groceries being carried about 300 metres along the pier to our berth at the outermost end! Fuel and water were taken on in the
main port, and we managed to get some internet work done in Invercargill. A slow internet connection means the photographs are not good quality and we did not get much done in the way of email.

Our main purpose in coming to Bluff has been to complete our permit for the Department of Conservation. After a briefing fro staff at the DOC office and an visit to our yacht we are now ready to go (almost) On Monday we have a diver check to ensure our hull is free of greeblies and then we shall depart for the islands on Monday afternoon/evening before dark if all goes well

A steady flow of strong SW and W winds have been passing through. This has given us some reasonable rough conditions on the berth, let alone at sea! All going well we will have a reasonable period to make our departure and get clear of the islands around Stewart Island, and the reefs of the North and South Traps. The trip down to Auckland Island is only 240' so we may be able to manage this in two to three days weather and seas permitting. On completion of the hull inspection we have 28 days before
we must leave the waters of Auckland or Campbell Island. Our permit is valid to 15 March o we can return to Bluff for a second hull inspection and then return to the islands. We will see how we go at Auckland Islands and then decide how/if we visit the remainder of the islands and our route back to New Zealand mainland.

Once again friends in Auckland have been talking of 30 degree temperature and 5 knots of wind whilst we have more like 5 degree temperature and over 30 knot winds. The berth we have currently has a one metre 'chop' as the wind whistles past. The welcome we have received in Bluff has been great. We have a free berth, have had welding done on a broken part free and have been helped at all times we asked any questions. No denying the hospitality down here! Not something you get everywhere.

Photos 5: Stewart Island

2009-01-26T17:46:00.000-08:00

Stealing historic objects from the sea bed! Prices Inlet, Paterson Inlet

Bald Cone, Port Pegasus

Climbing down Bald Cone

Where did all that water come from? Tramping Stewart Island Style, coming back from Magog

Doing the laundry at Belltopper Falls, Port Pegasus

We don't have any problem keeing 5m (as required by Doc) away from these guys! Sealion on the beach at Pegasus

Unfortunately this guy doesn't know the rules! Yeah he may look small and cute in the photo...

Kiwi foraging on the beach!!!

Photos 4: Chalky and Preservation

2009-01-26T17:36:00.000-08:00

Misty reflections in Chalky Inlet

Anchored near the hulk of the Stella

Section of tramway in Preservation. This was put in for gold mining but the returns were pretty minimal

Pelton wheel which powered the stamper for extracting gold at the Alpha battery. When the mining became uneconomic everthing was just left in situ for the bush to reclaim.

Puysegeur Point by land....

....and Puysegeur Point by sea, spot the difference!

Photos 3: Dusky Complex

2009-01-26T17:27:00.001-08:00

Cute Seal Pup

Earshell Cove

Bull Fur Seal, lucky we didn't want to walk there that day!

Another cute seal pup

Look we're sailing!

First cray caught while snorkelling!

Cook Channel

Vancouver Arm, Breaksea Sound

Photos 2: Doubtful Complex

2009-01-26T17:17:00.001-08:00

Deas Cove, Thompson Sound, note where the bank starts!

Admiring the View

Elenya anchored in Deep Cove

The Blanket Bay Hotel

Photos 1: George and Charles Sounds

2009-01-26T17:01:00.000-08:00

Jim' s annual wash, George Sound

Alice Falls, George Sound

Snow!!!! Charles Sound

Charles Sound

Breakfast, Catherine Island, Charles Sound

Kiwi, Kiwi everywhere.

2009-01-20T22:50:00.000-08:00

We departed from Small Craft Retreat in a low swell but little wind. A motor of several hours, towing our fishing lure to entertain the fish, saw us arrive at Lords River. The rocky inlet has a navigable river (by dinghy) extending about 5 nautical miles inland. We took a trip up the river on the tide. Very pleasant but little wildlife seen. That night we went ashore to try and see if we could find any Kiwi's. We were pleased to hear 'rustling' in the tall grass. This was followed by a Kiwi jumping
down onto the beach and running straight for Tori. Having passed Tori the Kiwi ran off up the beach into the night.

The following day we decided to move around to Port Adventure. Again we motored in a low swell and little wind. In Port Adventure we anchored in 'Abrahams Bossom', a small cove protected from the swell with lovely sandy beaches. There is also Heron River in this area which extends about 2 miles inland. We explored this by dinghy but saw little wildlife. Once again we headed to the beach at sunset and were rewarded with a couple of Kiwi in the bush/undergrowth close to the beach. We shared the anchorage
with a motor boat from Devonport (about two minutes from our home in Auckland). We have still seen very few recreational boats.

After a couple of days at Port Adventure we have returned to Paterson Inlet. This has allowed to restock on fresh fruit and vege's. A real luxury when we have been three months away from such things! Whilst back in Paterson Inlet we applied for and were granted a DOC permit to visit the Kiwi protection area. Our trip ashore here saw us sitting on the beach just after sunset watching a Kiwi come onto the beach and forage in the sand/kelp for about 20 minutes. We also heard several Kiwi as we returned
along the track to our boat. Tori has been keen to walk the Rakiura Track, a 'three day' tramp. As the three legs are all about 12km (4 to 6 hours)each we (Tori) decided we would do this as a day walk. My little legs still ache, but we had a good time and completed this in just under 8 hours of fast walking.

Weather continues to be a tad windy and wet! We understand from a friend about to depart Dunedin for Fiordland that it has been 31' Celsius up there! Its got to about 6' Celsius here. Our plan is to depart for Bluff this weekend. After we have restocked and completed formalities we will then head south. A small glitch means that while our permit for Auckland/Campbell last till mid March we will have to return to Bluff at the beginning of March. This is because we must have a valid hull inspection
certificate, which is only valid for 28 days from issue. We will most likely speed up our visit to get all the sites visited, or we will visit Auckland Islands only. The nature of the island means that inspections are vital to ensure nothing 'nasty' gets taken down by mistake. We can of course come back and then sail back down again but I imagine we will not be that keen on a second trip south and back.

A quick glimpse at our email and blog (which we cannot see unless we get to a shore side internet) showed a few messages in the inbox/comments, we will reply to all in Bluff when we can get a reliable internet connection. A few photos will also be loaded up provided the connection is fast enough.

Port Pegasus

2009-01-12T21:52:00.000-08:00

In our last update we were waiting for some suitable weather to have a go at climbing Magog, one the granite peaks around here. Well, we gave up waiting for some good weather and just went. We started off with rain which progressed to a downpour! There is a good track from Cook Arm (Sealers) unfortunately we started from Evening Cove so at times it was a bit of a bash through the scrub but nothing too bad. In the afternoon it stopped raining and we made it most of the way (bar about the last 10m)
to the top of Magog, it was just a bit too windy to get right to the top. On the way back down we noticed that the clouds had cleared and we had views back into Pegasus and out to the west coast. We then decided to go back up to the top to see if we could get a better view- nope still in the clouds! On the way up we had crossed a small stream in a little gully followed by a bit of a boggy area, on the way back down we found we were faced with a lake and a manuka filled river. Nothing for it but to
wait, or in our case wait a bit then walk up the stream a bit to see if we could cross further up -nope, ok try walking all the way back down to the head of Cooks Arm, nope definitely can't cross there so back up and wait a bit more. The level was actually dropping quite rapidly so eventually we got back across without a problem and were able to get back home without incident.

We have spent the last few days anchored in Disappointment Cove or Peacehaven as it is sometimes known as it is reputed to be the best spot in Pegasus to hide from the weather. From the anchorage there is a short walk across to a sandy beach on the ocean side of the island. This beach is frequented by sea lions which we gave a wide berth to on our walk along it! On two evenings we went for a walk across the island at dusk, on one occasion Jim was rewarded with the sight of a kiwi in the undergrowth,
on the second night we had to settle for a nice sunset.

The weather has finally looked up and we have had a couple of days where the sun has shown itself! A nice change! We picked a nice day for a walk up to Bald Cone with good views of Port Pegasus. On another day we went for a couple of dives. The first dive was in the South Passage just to see what was there, a nice dive but not quite up to Fiordland standards. We finished off the tanks looking for scallops in a spot which had been recommended to us. We got some scallops and also noticed the most definite
cut-off from the brown fresh water to the clear salt that we have seen yet. Ironically we got back to the yacht at low tide and noticed that there were scallops within easy reach underneath us!

Today we moved to an anchorage just outside of Port Pegasus, Small Craft Retreat. We are anchored off a small island in crystal clear water with views back up to the Tin Range in the distance. On the way round we saw hoiho (yellow-eyed penguins) for the first time this trip, 4 or 5 of them, I'm not sure where they've been hiding previously! We went for a paddle in the dinghy and were investigated by an inquisitive sea lion, we would have thought he was quite big except there was a much bigger one
swimming around, so we assumed the 'friendly' one was a juvenile. He seemed quite interested in the dinghy and we thought this was quite cute to begin with. He then bared his teeth at us and went jumping through the water with his mouth wide open, up till then we weren't sure who was the more nervous, us or him but that settled the matter - definitely us! I had been thinking of going for a swim but the water doesn't look quite as appealing anymore! As I write this he is still swimming around and
periodically calls past to check us out, even once almost standing up in the water to see on board.

Tomorrow we will probably head north again to Lords River. Hope the New Year has started well for everybody.

Puysegur and Beyond

2009-01-04T15:50:00.000-08:00

We spent a glorious xmas day in Revolver Bay. The sun was hot, sky blue and wind light. After our morning dive we spent a great time sat on deck with a glass or two of wine enjoying the lovely day. A few sand-flies did venture out the 500m to join us but even they seemed to be taking a day off from biting (too much). The evening forecast showed a prolonged period of strong winds approaching. Give this forecast we readied for sea and set of early the next day. The day was grey and rainy with a reasonable
swell but only moderate sea (at first). We passed about a couple of miles off Puysegur Point, Quite a different sight from our visit by land! As we progressed towards Stewart Island the wind continued to build, as did the sea. We had a very swift passage surfing in excess of 10 knots. As the voyage had been so quick we arrived earlier and pushed the tide around the north of Stewart Island. This foul tide combined with the funneling effect of the Island on the wind saw us pass through some steep
seas and good winds. The lee of the island flattened the seas for us but the strong winds remained gusty at about 50 knots. We made Port William just before dusk. A passage average of 8.2 knots. I doubt we will ever beat that.

The next morning we got underway for Halfmoon Bay, the only populated area on the island. We managed to top up with fresh water (that wasn't brown as we had been used to seeing) although it took us almost an hour to take on just under a tonne of water. We were unable to get petrol as the only pump was closed for a few days. Our diesel tanks were still over half full despite motoring for a total of 78 hours since our last top up. We did manage to top up on fresh fruit a vege's and a bit of chocolate
(you have to get the essentials of life). A few hours motoring saw us in Patterson Inlet anchored off the old whaling station. This proved a great, sand-fly and mosquito free anchorage for a few days while we explored. A trip to Ulva island was good, but proved less fruitful in bird spotting than we had hoped. The whaling station was a good visit and pleasant walk to a nearby beach. The day the petrol pump opened we were ready to fill up and move on. Unfortunately we had managed to rap our anchor
around a one and a half meter, 200 kg discarded anchor. After winching this to the surface, hang it off, untangle the mess, and drop the old anchor we had had a good work out. Time to get the petrol, and ice cream and move on.

Paterson Inlet has a cove called Glory Cove. We planned to go ashore here at night and sit quietly to watch the KIwi that night. Unfortunately a large sign ashore stated we could now no longer do this without a permit from DOC. It was a tad annoying to watch a large noisy group go ashore that night from a charter vessel. We will apply for a permit as we pass back north. After a night accompanied by many mosquitos we moved on to the southern end of Stewart Island. This was a seven hour motor in flat
calm, mind you the other extreme was even less appealing. We spent a few days in the north part of Port Pegasus exploring the old mining and fish freezing sites, and a walk up the Tin Ranges. These peaks gave good views of the inner part of the island and back down to Port Pegasus. The route up follows the old Tramway to the site of the old tin mines. The Bell Topper falls near the start of the track proved a good spot to catch up with the laundry.

Now we are anchored in the south part of Port Patterson. The weather is a bit breezy and so we are well tucked up with lots of lines ashore as well as the anchor down. We are awaiting a slightly lower wind speed (anything of 30 knots,force 7 or less would do) so we can climb up a couple of peaks nearby (Magog and Gog). However this is not the case at present so we are making do with reading, cooking and catching up on a few running repairs.

Happy New Year to all.

Happy Christmas

2008-12-24T16:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas day is a gloriously sunny day here. There's not a cloud in the sky at our anchorage here at Revolver Bay, Preservation Inlet. We can see inland to the mountains of the southern alps. We have just returned from a dive in the nearby "Narrows". This area is a narrow bend through which Fiordlands third longest fiord flows. Strong flowing currents in this area give rise to colonies of filter feeders. Today we saw many forms of these, Sea Pens, Lace Coral and most all the Strawberry holothurians.
These Strawberry holothurians look just like strawberries but have finger like tentacles instead of a stalk. These are used to collect food from the water. The holothurians are on the rocks in about 3 to 10 metres of water and are quite dense. When seen they are in expansive areas like fields hence the name they have as the Strawberry Fields. Its a beautiful sight as you look up at them from below, the sun shining through the water (as much as it can here) and everything colored a lovely red.

Our anchorage is also proving good with little wind, but enough to keep the sandflies away. The area is all ours as there are no other boats are anywhere near , our closest neighbours being at the lodge about five miles away. We will probably have some nice Blue Cod for dinner and hopefully be able to enjoy a glorious evening outside.

We hope all is going well for you. To all our friends a Happy Christmas and we look forward to catching up with those we can in 2009.

For my family in the UK (and those in NZ) I hope its not too cold! I'm sure you will be having a family Christmas and we shall be thinking of you all.

To all of Tori's family in Gisborne I hope its not too hot! We will hopefully stop in to Gisborne on our way back from the Southern Islands after Chatham Island if we are able.

Have a great time over this Holiday.

Puysegur Point

2008-12-21T15:40:00.000-08:00

Today was an absolutely glorious summers day so we took the opportunity to take the dinghy down Otago's Retreat and walk up to the Pusegeur Point lighthouse. We had some nice views as we headed out, looking down the sound back towards the hills with the last vestiges of snow on the mountains in the far distance. I'm not sure whether it was an anticlimax or not to see Puysegur Point in relatively calm weather with only a bit of swell rolling in (although I won't complain if that's the weather we get
when we head out and round to Stewart Island in a few days!). The walk up to the lighthouse was pretty with views out to sea and lots of birdsong and butterflies and flowers. From the lighthouse we could see out to sea, up the coast to Chalky Island and down the coast to the Solander Islands. We walked further along to the beach where Sealers No. 1 Creek meets the sea, a golden sandy beach. I ventured in for a swim - maybe just so I could say I have swum at Puysegur Point but not out very deep as
there was quite a rip running and this was not exactly swimming between the flags! We also had a look at Sealers No. 2 Creek where we were dive bombed repeatedly by a pair of NZ falcon. I heard the rush of wings as one went for Jim and another time I was forced to duck as one skimmed the top of my head. They weren't selective as a paradise duck got similar treatment.

We are currently anchored at Kisbee Bay in Preservation Inlet, far enough out that we are not bothered by sandflies much. Kisbee is the site of Cromarty, a former mining town flourishing in 1895, which with the demise of gold and coal prospecting has disappeared into the bush. The only signs remaining are at the site of the Kisbee hotel where you can see a bit of the foundations and lots of broken bottles. There are also large rhododendron bushes which are in full flower, one bright red and the other
white. There is quite a bit of red foliage breaking up the green at the moment as the southern rata is starting to bloom and we can see intense bursts of scarlet scattered in the trees which is the mistletoe in flower. Other relics around Cromarty include an old boiler from the sawmill.

Yesterday we walked up the the site of the Alpha Battery gold mine at the head of Sealers No. 1 creek. All the equipment had just been left in place after the mine became uneconomical, the stamper where the quartz ore was crushed and other machinery including the pelton wheel (think water wheel), bowl crushers, pipes and an old safe are all still there. We took the longer route (from Kisbee rather than further up at Te Oneroa) which made it a seven hour tramp just a bit further than our normal stroll
of about 40 feet! In Preservation Inlet we also visited the old Tarawera smelter where, among other remains, a reclining chimney built of brick still stands.

On our way round from Dusky to Preservation we spent a few days in Chalky Inlet. In Chalky, we anchored in North Port near the hulk of the Stella. The Stella is an old steam ship which used to service the region and was purposely beached in North Port. One night a fishing boat anchored nearby which is the first time we have really shared an anchorage (as opposed to eg anchoring near tourist boats on their moorings). We haven't seen a single yacht yet and very few pleasure craft although we are starting
to hear other yachts in Fiordland on the radio. No doubt as we head towards Stewart Island with the Christmas season approaching this will change.

Zero shopping days to Christmas!

2008-12-11T18:52:00.000-08:00

We have no shopping days until Christmas.

At present we are awaiting this latest southerly to blow through and will then depart for Chalky Inlet, Preservation Inlet and then on to Stewart Island for New Year. Well that is the plan anyway. We have spent a lot of time in the outer part of Dusky Sound. We spent some time in Pickersgill Harbour. A walk around Astronomers Point showed stumps of trees still visible from when Cooks men cut them down to allow him to make repairs to his ship and undertake his observations. You had to use your imagination
to see the stumps but guide book said they could be seen.

Luncheon Cove, another of Cooks hang outs has been a good base for us. We have been further north to Cormorant cove and explored the tidal mud flats within the marine reserve. A trip back to Luncheon Cove saw us visit all the small coves and inlets. This included Facile Harbour, site of the first ship wreck in NZ history. The "Endeavour" in 1795, not Cooks Endeavour! We stopped and anchored in 'Little Harbour' for lunch and a lazy afternoon. This harbour was used by sealers as it was close to the
sealing grounds. As the wind died that evening the sandflies found us. We got underway and left via a small gap in the islands about 10 metres wide. Quite typical of the anchorages here is the narrow but clear entrances.

Back at Luncheon Cove we have been enjoying it's lack of sandflies. We spent a day snorkeling with a few seals joining Tori and getting closer than she wanted in some cases! A few crays were in easy reach so one was brought back for dinner! We have undertaken two dives on the wreck of the "Waikere". This Union Steamship Company Passenger vessel sank in 1910 after hitting a rock. It lies in 6 to 18 m of water and is an easy dive. We could identify mooring bollards, ship side frames, lightening holes,
boilers, derricks and even some blocks and shackles on one mast. The teak decking was still visible and the teak that remains was in very good condition. The wreck is in an advanced state of decay but has faired well.

Luncheon cove lies within Anchor Island, a predator free island. A walk on the island allowed us to see Yellowheads, Saddlebacks, NZ Robins and Kakariki. The island is also home to Fiordland Crested and the Blue Penguin, of which we have seen many. The cove itself is a shelterd anchorage and has allowed us to relax for the first time in a long time. The cove is protected from all directions although has been gusty at times. It is home to many seal colonies. We have several just 20 to 50 metres away.
We have been watching the interaction of the seals including mothers with pups suckling. A remarkably noisy event (like Goff or Mark'o at lunch time).

The boat has been proving its capabilities well and has looked after us well. In the last 50 days we have had 10 days with FX winds less than 30 knots (Force 6), 30 days with winds 30 to 45 knots (Force 7 to 9), and 10 days with winds more than 45 knots (Force 10 and over). A solid lump of vessel is nice!

We will not be in phone coverage until New Year but will post a message to all family and friends on Christmas Day, and I will phone home to UK as soon as we are in phone coverage Mum, and to Gisborne Maire.

Its stopped raining! oh no wait it's just started again!!

2008-12-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

We have been busy doing all sorts of things since our last update. We are often asked by family and friends exactly how do we spend our time? I'd like to give a long list of things that we do and how each day is filled to the brim with activity. This would allow me to explain my lack of any correspondence and convincingly show I'm on the level. Unfortunately the list looks a little lame when I do put it together.

1. Getting up! this is obviously the third activity of any day. In order to get up you first have to wake up, which can take at least an hour in itself. All good activities require planning (second activity of day) so it is better not to rush them. We plan each "getting up", that is after we have actually decided that we should get up.
2. Breakfast. This has to be planed the day before as you may need bread or yoghurt, in which case you have to make them first. Breakfast is also a good time to look at the rest of the day and plan anything you wish to do. The weather plays a big role so we don't plan until we can look at the weather that is actually happening each day. Rain, Heavy Rain, Torrential downpour etc.
3. Lunch. Always important to ensure you are fully capable of doing what is required so lunch is always on my list of daily activities.
4. Activity. Whatever you actually planned to do for the day.
5. Dinner. After a hectic day doing there is nothing like a good feed to cap the day. This allows reflection on the day and a bit of thought about what you could have put in a letter to your family if only you had the time.
6. Rest and relaxation. An important part of every day. Nothing like a comfy couch or bed to read a good book or magazine like "Boating New Zealand".

I'm sure you can start to see the hectic fully filled days that transpire in the cruising life. We do enjoy having the ability to take the time to relax and enjoy the day, each and every part. A lot of time is spent doing mundane things. Laundry takes a wee bit longer ass I have to do it all by hand. This also needs a fair bit of water. No problem with water here as there is rather a lot of it! Mind you running ashore in the dinghy to fill drums from a stream, while be eaten alive by the sand flies,
then returning to the yacht and lugging it to the deck do take a bit of time. Once all the laundry is soaked, scrubbed, rinsed and hung up you then have a boat you cant move as it is massively over-canvassed and will capsize in the slightest breeze.

A reasonable amount of time is spent securing the boat each night. We have been cruising at a time some would consider less than sensible to be down here. This is because the weather is even worse now than it is in the summer, wind, more rain etc. In some locations we have been lucky to use permanent shore lines and moorings put in for fishing boats. Always in good locations and made for boats far bigger than ours so no strength problems. In other locations we have to weave a lattice of long ropes
to various trees, rocks etc to hold us. All while the sand flies take a quick snack. The worst locations for me are those perched on the narrow ledges of mud at the head, and some sides, of each fiord. Here you may be anchored in 20m to 30m of water. The only problem is if you drag the anchor off the shelf you have all your chain and anchor hanging straight down, or if you drag towards shore you have little room between you and the shore. We had the less than 1 meter between the shore and our rudder.
We were fine but it is a little unnerving.

We have managed to get some more good dives in since our last update. The locations we pick have tended to be those that are protected as a reserve or no anchoring zone. In Doubtful Sound we had a couple of dives in a narrow channel called "The Gut". This area has a high tidal flow and has a good selection of black coral, red coral, sea pens and other suspension feeders. The strong current meant we only saw a small part of the area but I would recommend this site if you dive. Breaksea Sound provided
a good location to get a feed of scallops for Tori. Wet Jacket Arm provided a couple of dives and Dusky sound has provided one so far.

One thing you notice about diving here is the quantity of things that are missing from places like the Hauraki Gulf. Fish and Crayfish for example. There ar plenty of good sized fish down here. Crayfish are everywhere. On one dive I gave up counting them at 42 legal sized crays that I could see from one spot looking in one direction. They literally are on and under everything. We have taken one Cray since we have been here and I am told it was very good.

Fishing, not a great success for us in normal circumstances, has provide some nice meals. We decided to have a go with our handline whilst anchored two days ago at Supper Cove in Dusky Sound. Our lure which is normally towed had provided nothing in the last two months. We attached a couple of hooks with coloured plastic on them (the guy in the shop 8 years ago said they would be good!) to our hand line and dropped it to the bottom 50 metres below. Within a couple of seconds we got our first bite,
then after a minute our first fish. This turned out, after winding up 50m of line, to be a small (read very small) fish. Having released this we got the line to the bottom again. This resulted in 3 seconds fishing and winding up 50m of line onto our handline. Looked like the same fish to me! Having discovered the small fish were not the subject to a size limit by MOF we decided to leave them on the line. Within a few minutes of getting the line back in the water we got a big bite. This turned out
to be a Groper about 90cm long. Yummy too!! We dropped the line to the bottom and caught two more in about 30 mins. After that we managed to get two sharks, one about a metre long, which luckily got themselves of the line. We stopped fishing at that point. Its the first place I have ever seen that you can drop a hook in the water, the bait will swim onto the hook and tea will obligingly eat the bait so you can haul it up.

We have seen a few other (4) recreational craft over the last few weeks. This is a change from our first month when we saw nothing other than the tourist boats. All the recreational craft have been small, about 6m to 7m, fizz boats. There are also a number of medium size charter boats here. One of these managed to hit a rock a few days ago and is now 300m down on the sea floor. In general we will see about one boat a week.

Whilst all the fiords have a lot of history we are now entering the southern fiords which we have a good book on (thanks Alisdair) and are looking forward to exploring some of the once bustling towns, sealing and mining areas. We have also been using the Mana Cruising Club Guide and the NEW Fiorlands marine guide "Beneath the Reflections" which has been excellent (available from DOC or at www.fmg.org.nz).

Whilst we prepared well for this trip, fingers crossed, there are two dangers I never thought of. These were obvious the other day as we explored in the dinghy. We had stopped at one anchorage and went to look at the other nearby anchorage and also the river. About 200m from the second anchorage there was a slip. The slip was about 200m wide and had seen about a 200m thick part of the cliff slip away. The cliff was 400m high. That is a large bit of rock! Good job we weren't anchored under that. Across
the other side of the fiord, about 500m away, the bush had been destroyed to a height of about 3m above high water. This appeared to be caused by a 'wave' created by the slip.

I'm not sure if the time away isolated is good or not. I, who really do not like cold, was heard to state "Its' quite mild today". This was on a day that saw us wearing two wool tops, two polar fleece, a rain coat, wool hat, long johns, trousers, thick wool coats and boots!

I'm not sure Tori truly described the magic of our "misty river trip". We went for a quick trip just to look see, but ended up about 3km inland up the river. The cooling night air saw a marvelous veil of mist about 3 metres high form on the river. As we paddled back down the river in almost silence we could hear every sound from the forest and air, the mist opening up in front and closing in behind us again. The slowly fading light gave a marvelous show as trees became shapes became outlines became
part of the general blackness. The marvel continued as we paddled back across the river mouth flats with the stumps and debris appearing out of the dark about a metre before we bumped into them. Every now and then a scraping from below the dinghy was the only sign we were passing over something.

From Our location here at Dusky Sound we plan to spend another week or so exploring before moving on to Chalky and Preservation Inlet. New Year is looking like Stewart Island prior to checking in with DOC in Bluff and a restock and repair period prior to departing (hopefully) to waters south.

Its a Bit Fluffy Out There

2008-11-17T00:21:00.000-08:00

"Its a bit fluffy out there" apparently a quaint local term for 75 knots plus when even the fishing boats aren't going out. Welcome to Sea Area Puysegur, a name to strike fear into the hearts of anyone who listens to marine weather forecasts. Surprisingly enough we haven't even considered sticking our nose out, having arrived in the greater Doubtful Sound complex a few days ago when the forecast was more favourable. We followed what seems to have become a pattern, wait for a light winds forecast,
head out into a sloppy sea with a large swell and motor sail to the next fiord. Once inside the fiords the weather is a lot calmer with winds of only about 30 to 40 at times! Although it sounded like one of the tourist boats was getting a bit more the other night. Actually a significant amount of the time it is flat calm with the wind only picking up in the late morning and afternoon for a time. As usual we have had a mix of weather from sunshine, to a cold front bringing a dusting of snow up high
and a lot of rain down low resulting in some spectacular waterfalls.

We are currently in Deep Cove on a mooring next to the tail race from the Manapouri Hydro Dam. The days have been spent exploring in the dinghy and the yacht, diving and we have even done some sailing (up to 6.5 knots under jib only). The wildlife has been out in force, seals, dolphins and penguins although we haven't seen the minke whale which has been sighted here recently. From an earlier anchorage in Gaer arm, and we even did have to anchor there, (we are getting quite used to tying up to permanently
fixed lines), we went on an evening trip in the dinghy up the Camelot river, motoring up and paddling back (before you ask, because we wanted to not because of any outboard malfunctions). There was fog rising from the river and ducks and swans flying overhead and overall it was a lovely way to spend the evening.

We have fueled up and stocked up at Deep Cove. It worked out it would be $170+ for one of us to get out to Te Anau and back, but we managed to get some stuff sent in instead, so that was one box of fresh fruit and veges, three boxes of beer and one box of chocolate. Tomorrow we will head off to another anchorage but it looks like with the current forecast we will be around in the area for a week or so, can think of worse places to be! We have a lot more of Doubtful Sound to explore and Jim may even
be talked into another dive (maybe).

And so there was rain, and wind!!

2008-11-08T19:49:00.000-08:00

"Situation; a high passes over the south of South Island on Saturday followed by a strong northerly flow. A deepening depression moves over the area on Sunday morning followed by strong southerly flow. A ridge passes by Sunday night followed by a cold front........". How nice. "Forecast til midnight Sunday: northerly 25 increasing 35 becoming 45 to 55 Sunday afternoon. High Seas, Northerly swell 3 metres, poor visibility in rain". Not a great forecast for the sort of sailing conditions I prefer.
Give me 15 knots, maximum obviously, and a quiet tropical anchorage, or maybe one of my old anchorages off a pub in the U.K. east coast rivers. So what are we doing in this latest breeze?

Yesterday we found a small outcrop of rock that gave about three metres by ten metres of shelter, anchored the dinghy. Anchoring is a loose term for lowering 20 metes of chain and warp over the side and the first one in the water gets to dive down and shove it in a crack in the rock face, or if we are really lucky we can tie to an overhanging branch. On this trip we had a small shelf 20 metres below us on the sheer cliff of the Fiord. Having both entered the water and checked the anchor lie was causing
no damage we slowly descended. At just over 40 metres we sat and looked up to see the surface above. A clear view. Little rain over the previous few days (it all came as snow) have given really good visibility in the water. AS we slowly ascended we passed Black and Red Corals, Nudibranchs, Crayfish the size of very large things and a myriad of small life. It was truly an impressive dive. It seems that you just need to drop over the side to have a great dive here. The cold got the better of me and
we both re-surfaced after 20 minutes. Three metres from our anchored position we re-entered the rough waters of Charles Sound and made a quick trip back to the yacht with big gusts following us up the fiord. Back aboard it was time to warm up and enjoy a chat about the dive. A good book saw the afternoon pass pleasantly by.

The wind is stronger today, just as forecast. Well, it's windier "out there". We sit quietly snugged up to a line tied between two islands. The Island lying about 5 metres from us gives good protection from the wind while the second Island blankets the swell that would otherwise make us roll a little. Every now and then a big gust catches the top of the mast a heels us one way, then passing on allows us to rock back and forth a bit. The rain is with us and has been falling steadily all day. A quick
trip out in the RIB has been our main activity today. We had a look to see if the penguins we had spotted a few days earlier were still about but it seems they were more sensible than us. After watching several good gusts ripping up spray as they passed dwn the fiord we had a quick trip back to the quiet of the anchorage. What better way to revitalise after our 'exploration' than a nice warm cabin, a freshly made hot cross bun, a good book and a little music.

We will soon have to push on from this lovely spot. The forecast gives a light northerly in a few days and even I have run out of excuses why it would be too windy. After a week will we have only just started to settle in a discover some the many treasures this little area holds. There is so much more to do but we also have to move towards Bluff to be able to 'check in' with DOC prior to our planned departure to points south. It seems our almost three months we will be spending in Fiordland will
not be enough to see all we want to.

I quite like the rain now, and the wind is getting more of a friend. This is not because I'm 'toughening up', mmmmmm give me that lovely 15 knots, no it's beacuse in the pouring rain or winds of 40 knots I haven't seen a single Sandfly. I know with marine reserves and national parks just about everything is protected but I hope the Sandfly is an exception or I'm in big trouble.

Its probably time to go now as a cloud of smoke coming out of the heater tells we that last gust blew down the chimney putting the heater out. I'll have to fight past the mattress drying above the heater before I can relight it. But to get there I have to climb over the wet towels positioned to catch the drips from the leaking deck hatches and then negotiate through the wet clothes hanging up to dry. If the mattress dries, the locker under the bunk gets aired and the bed sheets are finished steaming
by tonight I'll have a dry sleep. To cap all that my slippers are wet!

It's Snowing!!

2008-11-04T21:31:00.001-08:00

Woke this morning to a white day! Snow falling on deck and the hills (couldn't see the mountains!) covered in snow. After a breakfast of toasted grain bread, all made onboard, we set off for a row. Had a pleasant 3 to 4 hour row in the the snow. Went from Catherine Island up to the Windward River. A good row of about four miles but with little wind it was no concern. It truly is very magical to be out and about in the falling snow. The scenery was lovely and the mood of the whole row was pleasing.
After returning from seeing truly magical sights we are tucked up in the saloon, under blankets, with the cabin heater on as more snow falls and condensation drips! I guess you have to be here to see the fun side in it.

As you have probably guessed we are now in a different Fiord, currently Charles Sound. We had a pleasant days walk and exploration around Alice Falls in George Sound. This included a tramp for a couple of hours along the George track and back then a bush bash up to the top of Alice Falls. We canoe trip on lake Alice above the Alice Falls revealed some fantastic views. A quite evening on deck enjoying the setting sun. This has been our first anchorage where the mountains haven't obscured the sun by
16:00. The next day saw no clouds at all, and just a gentle zephyr. We motored out to the middle of the Fiord and shut down the engine. No sandflies! A lovely day was spent washing (that time of the year again) and doing the laundry. All in glorious sunshine and warmth. That's got to beat working any day.

We took advantage of a brief north wind to get to Charles Sound prior to some strong North then South winds. A bit of a rolly trip but escorted by Dusky dolphins in the early parts, and constantly checked upon by Albatross and Mollyhawks. We ended the day tucked into a very small gap between two islands (Catherine Island and one unnamed) in the very sheltered upper part of Gold Arm, Charles Sound. This appears to have been a prudent move considering the speed the clouds have been going past whilst
leaving little wind here. We plan to do a dive here in Charles and explore a little further before moving on to our next spot.

The lack of sun is proving a dampener for the solar panels, and with little wind the wind generator also supplies little power. We are therefore having to run the engine for a bit to charge batteries and take the fridge/freezer down (we could just put the frozen stuff on deck at present) but this does also help to warm the cabin. We seem to have got used to wearing several wool layers (icebreaker) with two polar fleece tops also, and thats just inside! I bet the winters are a tad chilly!!

The clouds have cleared to give some mountain views so I will say goodbye and go and enjoy. Was it only two days ago we were swimming and enjoying a sweltering day?

Tori and Jim

George Sound

2008-10-30T23:44:00.000-07:00

Motored from Milford Sound to George Sound today. Not much wind and a lumpy sea with the occasional very large swell. The wind has picked up since we arrived here and it is raining and misty, I think we got in at the right time! George Sound appears pretty with lots of waterfalls and the shores are more tree lined but it is not as spectacularly steep as Milford. We are tucked up in a little nook with the anchor down and four permanent stern and bow lines tying us to the shore. There is a small waterfall
trickling into the anchorage and a very large one gushing down just beside. On the trip down today we were visited by two pods of dolphins, one accompanying us for over an hour. Still haven't seen any whales though and I shall be complaining to LINZ as a whale symbol is quite clearly marked on our chart for Milford Sound! We really enjoyed Milford Sound but it will be nice now to be off the tourist boat route!

Milford Sound 2

2008-10-28T22:09:00.000-07:00

The left hand does not seem to know what the right is up to and if you are following this blog you will have noticed two quite similar updates, you can amuse yourselves guessing who wrote which (not very difficult I think!). We have posted some photos as Jim made a trip into civilization (Te Anau). The start battery was looking like it might not last the voyage so we thought we would take the opportunity to get a new one while it is not particularly difficult to do so and it also meant some fresh
veges etc.

We have now been in Milford Sound over a week and will be looking at heading off as soon as the weather looks favourable. We have moved between two 'anchorages' in Deep Water Basin and Harrison Cove. Last night we were in Deep Water Cove watching the alarmingly close shoreline, the dinghy astern of us was grounding! I guess we are going to have to get used to anchoring in tight spots as in most of Fiordland the water is only shallow enough to anchor very close to the shore. A day of rain yesterday
produced some spectacular waterfalls down previously dry cliffs and despite today being also wet, the falls are drying up as fast as they formed. We have been for a few short walks including part the way up the Milford Track to Lake Ada and a walk up the Harrison river. According to our dated copy of the Mana cruising guide, quoting a no doubt even more dated source, there is supposed to be track by the river somewhere, the location of which remains a mystery. It was still a nice walk and Tori went
for swim in a crystal clear pool although Jim wussed out! In his defence the water was somewhat chilly.

We have been spoiled by the wildlife: dolphins, seals, penguins and even found a seahorse attached to our anchor chain. As we moved anchorages one day we were towing both dinghies and a pod of dolphins came to play, shunting the boats back and forth. We have braved the cold for 3 dives, on all of which we have seen the black coral that Fiordland is famous for. This coral is actually white and feathery looking and usually found at great depths but because of a fresh water layer on top of the salt
here, the coral is found at much shallower depths (20-40m). The last dive was spectacular with good vis and a sheer wall descending into into infinity. Also some rather large crayfish who seemed to know quite well that we were in a marine reserve.

Left hand here! The trip to Te-Anau was,again, very spectacular. I had never traveled this road and had a great trip out in glorious sun, and a great trip back in heavy rain (allegedly 50mm/hour). The quantity of water falls was impressive as was the speed with which the changes occur. Whilst I'm well aware of the weather changing it is still amazing to observe these changes and their speed. I'm not sure if the trip for the battery was "easy". Trying to lug a large heavy battery around in a rucksack,
together with a large quantity of fresh food, and still look like the pack was not heavy, and that it couldn't possibly contain anything 'dodgy' as I got on the bus was fun.

The dives have been good with spectacular drop offs. Quite intimidating to look down from 40 metres depth and know the bottom is still 240 metres further down! straight down! The dives have been cold, my good 7mm wetsuit having fallen to pieces last summer and diving in a 4mm 2-part and a 1.5mm shorty underneath! This is all part of a master plan to upgrade the gear next year as the regulators are now about 17 years old of hard use. A new dry suit perhaps!!

We have been very fortunate with the weather and had only a couple of days rain, and snow to 500 metres. The heater has decided to pack in and will only burn with a yellow flame causing little heat and loads of soot on the deck. A new heater may be acquired in Bluff ready for further south and future trips to Rangitoto and Islington Bay.

We will be unable to post photo's again until we get to another internet connection. This will most likely be in Bluff, around January. We will continue to post written extracts and update the position regularly. We should be able to provide a reasonable selection of photos eventually but it may have to wait until we have a good high speed connection.

A few photo

2008-10-27T12:37:00.001-07:00

Cold and wet but nearly there! Approaching Milford.

Stunning landfall.

And then there was no wind! none, not a whisper!!

A quick stop to fresh water wash the decks.

Drying out at Deep Water Cove

Approaching Harrison Cove. Mt. Pembroocke and Glacier in background.

Not a bad view to enjoy with a glass of fine wine.

No sense some people! Who would want to swim in water that cold!

Doing the tourist thing. Hand in the waterfall, seabed 200 metres below!

Fiordland Crested Penguins.

One of the two cloudy days we have had in nine days here!

Milford Sound

2008-10-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

What a spectacular coast to make landfall on. High snow capped mountains appearing out of the dawn sky and getting larger as you close the coast. A tough motor-sail into SW 30/40 for the last 14 hours. A lot of water across the deck, in the cockpit and us. A few hundred yards inside the entrance saw flat calm. The back drop of the mountains, sow capped against the high sides of the fiord was again magnificent as we motored up the fiord. We stopped to admire the few and collect ourselves as we progressed
to Deep water basin.
The next day was spent drying out the boat, and fixing a few bits that had worked during the voyage south. Rule 1 don't do over 700 miles to windward down the west coast into the roaring forties as a shakedown sail. We are still drying out the boat now after 5 days!
We are currently anchored in Harrison cove. The backdrop of the Pembroke Glacier is stunning. As we read in the cockpit yesterday we could watch and hear the avalanches taking place on the Mountain.
We have been lucky enough to see some Fiordland crested penguins,seals, dolphins black coral and sandflies. A great dive today if not cool.
Off to enjoy the evening and enjoy a bottle of Pinot Gris , Owhanake Bay Estate. What more could we want in life.