Cruising again

Wild Bird cruise from Nelson or ‘how I maintained a boat on a low income’
In 2003 my family and I had come ashore after a ten year stint living aboard, during which we were seven years circumnavigating the globe. Half of the latter bit was chronicled in Blue Water Letter in the British magazine Yachting Monthly, and later Boating NZ published many bits on boat maintenance. Since our two fabulous daughters will soon graduate, my wife Marion and I moved back on board to start a open ended cruise of New Zealand. It took a big globe voyage to really appreciate that we had the best on our back door step.
What the heck, we had a boat, a steel 12.6m cutter that I had maintained and improved while in Nelson. I had recently replaced some critical rigging and had done much other work. Wild Bird had been for sail on Trade Me, but no one wanted to pay what she is worth, so we figured since we have the boat, let’s just enjoy it before the fag end of our life burns out. Just do it. Use our fluff boat, utilizing the plentiful wind of New Zealand to explore one of the best cruising grounds in the world. As us yachties know, cruising is simply maintaining your boat in great locations.
Feb 2011
We began the voyage in a fine La Nina summer. However, this was to present difficulties for our intended route. This time, we intended to cruise the East Coast on our way to our first stop of Tauranga. Two hurdles. Cook Strait and the Castle Point forecast area of the Wairarapa coast. We always looked at Cook Strait in awe, especially from the deck of a ferry in a stiff wind. The trouble is in a small boat, you just couldn’t just plough through it. However the first damage did not occur there, but just out of Nelson.
It was sunny and blowing fresh from the south. Just off Pepin Is, we gybed under full sail, without following all safe procedures that we used to employ. Hello brain? Rip went the bottom panel. A single reef hid this rip, and after an uneventful traverse of French Pass, we anchored and brought out the trusty old hand-wind Singer. And so started the inevitable string of jobs. Not quite ‘splice the mainbrace’, but in our own way, a familiar pattern to all cruising boatiesThe sounds were nice as usual. One rainy morning in an isolated bay we were paid a visit by a NZ Customs. Six black clad men in a black RIB, asking us if we were going offshore.  We agreed that times certainly had changed. This was real surveillance. Later, we were also to have an Orion swoop down to inspect us whilst 100 miles offshore.

Mid Feb 2011

We had been waiting to receive a good forecast to cross Cook Strait. On the basis of a 15 knot N wind, we impetuously dropped everything planned, and motored out Tory Channel. Of course we were Tory Virgins. At the narrow exit we had a joker at work. A five knot side on current gave my wife some excitement on the wheel. I sat behind her, to view the big picture and kept shouting encouragement, like ‘Fight it, to port, to starboard etc’. She cried and I laughed as we entered the Cook Strait. Outside in a lazy swell, the soaring albatross and petrels searched for food. An incoming ferry gave us good clearance. The calm was a false indicator. Our earlier forecast was to change dramatically.
The Cook Strait is a narrow deep channel of water which flows either NW or SE at varying rates depending on the moon stages. On the surface, geographic features also cause the wind to be channeled in the same directions but at different times and strengths. All would be fine, but if both wind and tide are opposing each other, the sea can be roughed up into a maelstrom of steep standing waves and overfalls. Read bloody rough. We had left with the tide against us, which would normally be OK with just 15 knots of wind. By lunch, the maritime forecast had increased to gale force. Lordy. To cut a long story short, we were battling very rough seas by the time we were off the entrance. We took a left to Island Bay, but when reefing sails we blew apart a block, a deck fitting, and part of a head sail.

When we attempted to motorsail the mile or so in, our diesel auxiliary failed. While Marion tacked back and forth, I bled the diesel and changed tanks. When that anchor rattled onto the seabed in Island Bay we high fived. The moral of the story is that unless you want some serious rigging and sail damage, choose your crossing very carefully. Next morning we morning we motored into Chafer’s Marina to be met by a very happy daughter.

So began a very pleasant week in Central Wellington, near Te Papa and all the fantastic sights of the capital’s water front.  Our youngest daughter hosted us on and off, in sumptuous style in her flat high above the harbour. We had joined that hardy group of sailors who had crossed the Strait. We had ticked off one of the summits of sailing New Zealand. Oh yes, there were others in our past, but this was a major. In correspondence to friends, I had jokingly coined us as members of a hypothetical club. We did not qualify on all points below. To quote:

The Cook Strait Club
A recent crossing of Cook Strait prompted me to figure the factors which will enable sailors to award themselves membership of the above. Although not as notorious as the Mile High

Club, similar gymnastics and calisthenics might be expected during the crossing.
A total of 10 points will qualify you for the award. Demerit points are subtracted.

1) Breakage of each hardware item such as blocks, sheets winches etc., while attempting a to reef a flogging sail – 2 points
2) Sails. A tear, ripping out an eye, broken hank, torn seams and ripped stitching- 3 points. 1 bonus point if gybing while over canvassed. 2 bonus points if gybing accidentally.
3) Severe flogging of sail leading to torn sun cover on headsail. 2 points. Use of sto

rm sails 3 points.
4) Sick during crossing 2 points. Bonus 1 point if barfing involuntarily and loudly into cockpit . Use of Seasick tablets 2 Demerit points. The yachting fraternity takes a dim view of drugs in this sport. Blood saturation levels of adrenalin OK, since natural. 1 point.
5) Fuel blockage at critical point such as attempting motor sail into Island Bay in gale force Northerlies -3 points. 1 bonus point if you don’t sight your previous meal.
6) 2 demerit points if on boat larger than 60’, but bonus of 2 points instead, if on windward ferry deck during gale force winds while exiting Wellington Harbour. You have The Right Stuff.
7) Leaving Tory Channel without listening to weather forecast – 3 points.
8) Sailing with the tidal stream and in twelve knot winds on the beam in calm seas and sunny warm conditions -3 demerit points.

9) Sailing against the tidal stream in opposing gale force winds through Karori Rip – 6 points. Screams of ‘YEEHA!’ – 2 extra.
10) Salt water ingress onto carpet, squabs or cushions, minimum 10 litres – 3 points.
11) Sailing at night under conditions of 9) – award of Life Membership. Referral to psychiatrist or brain surgeon and barring from list of professional delivery skippers.
12) Being sucked into the fabled ‘deep whirlpool’ off Karori Point- 3 points
13) Dismasting due to faulty rigging. Collect insurance money after return to marina.
14) Cop large wave over boat, spilling into cockpit – 2 points.
15)Trip report to Maritime Radio in typical Cook Strait gale in smooth, calm and dulcet tones- 3 points. Report in panic stricken or high pitched tone – 3 demerit points.

Early March – the slingshot effect. Ok. Reverse the crossing almost. We had ruled out a trip up the Wairarapa to Tauranga, even though it would be hundreds of miles shorter. Long range forecasts predicted NE or gale force winds at various points. Also, we had to go SE along the south coast, then NNE up the Wairarapa. On the other hand, long range forecasts put the west coast having calm seas and light offshore winds.
Calculations of the tide and wind dictated a 3am or 3pm departure. Common sense won out. On a sunny windless day in Wellington marina, we headed out to a sunny windy day in the strait. This time, the tide was with us. The GPS does not lie. Over the ground, we were sailing at up to ten knots! Like a slingshot, we were flung out into the Tasman Sea. Several days and sixty hours of motoring later we were rounding Cape Reinga. Tuna and Kingfish were leaping onto our lure as we rounded the top of NZ. A good omen. At three am we dropped the pick in Whangaroa Harbour. Another high five, this time without the list of broken gear to contend with.

Down the coast.
We cruised this coast for months at a time in my first boat, Wild Honey, a Hartley 32 that I built on the sand dunes of Papamoa Beach when I was 24 years old. Violins please. The most noticeable thing we noticed was a proliferation of the fabulous pohutukawai trees. They were flourishing because of DOC’s efforts at pest extermination over the years. Every bay was greened up, also helped by the very wet summer. One circumnavigation and one suburban exile later the world here had changed for the better.
On the other hand, since the late seventies small fishing boats were now like no see ums on an Aussie arm. So many people enjoying a great day in the sun.

Graham and Lois Gilmour.
On our arrival in NZ after the seven year circumnavigation, our friends Graham and Lois had generously greeted us with two roast chickens and chips, a treat that did not go unnoticed by our two teen daughters. Now, 8 years later they were also be the first to greet us to Northland. It had not been planned. Waking up in Whangaruru Harbour, we found were surprised by a chap off our stern in his dinghy. Graham had recognized the boat on his return after successful morning fishing. For a second time, they had feted us as we set foot upon the shore. Welcome to to the warm hospitality of Northland again.