Passage to New Zealand
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Crossing to New Zealand After more than six months in the South Pacific it was time to head for New Zealand to avoid cyclone season. On October 29, 2002, we left Nuku’alofa, Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga and headed for Opua on North Island. Along the way we passed Minerva Reef. We arrived in Opua 9.5 days later. 10/29,
Leaving Nuku’alofa, Day 0
21 17.099S, 175 41.292W, 7:02 UTC, day 0, passage to NZ Well we are in passage mode again. This morning we did our check
out then moved from being inside the wharf to back anchored outside. Rich
dove the boat while Jesse, Sarah and I got the dingy on board and stowed and
prepared for passage. At 1:04 pm we pulled up anchor and headed out the west
pass. We have the staysail out and are motoring on a rhumb line to waypoint
at 30S 174E. The winds have been less than 5 knots for the most part from the
ENE, NE and now SE. The swells are < 1 meter from the SW. Skies are mostly
clear, 20% cloud cover. There is another sailboat SW of us. We seem to be on a
similar course. They are motoring also. Not sure who it is. We read and tried to stay out of the sun. Sarah put up her
pareo for a while (clothes pinned to the dodger) to get more shade. Dinner was chicken with rice with sweet and sour sauce. Ifo
Ifo! On the road again... 985 nm to Opua entry, 763 nm to waypoint 10/30, Day 1, Passage to New
Zealand 22 39.010 S, 177 15.730 W, 5:54 UTC, day 1, passage to NZ Another day on passage. This morning I listened on the
single side band radio (SSB), on the Puddle Jump frequency (8188 Mhz) at
8:15am local time and then on the Fastnet from Fiji on 8104 Mhz) at 9:00am.
On the Puddle Jump, I chat with the crowd we have been with on and off since
Mexico. At least 12 of us are on our way to NZ. Big discussion on which days
we can enter Opua. It is still a week away but everyone is getting anxious.
On the Fastnet, we hear Mary from the sailboat Tranquility; give weather for
the western South Pacific area. There is also a woman in who gives the
updates on the Louis Vuitton cup races so we listen to hear what is going on.
Makes the mornings exciting. The weather today is similar to yesterday with a little
more wind but not much. The seas are a gentle roll of .5 to 1 meter swells
from the SE. The winds today were 4 - 8 knots, mostly 6 knots from the ESE,
E, ENE and now NE. We have all sails up but are still motoring. The sails
help some. We put the first reef in the main before it got dark, as a safety
precaution. Everyone is adjusting to being on passage. Mandu spends all
of his time in the cockpit either on the floor or on a cushion. He prefers
the shady spots so it you get up to go below for some reason and you were
sitting in a nice spot, he will take it as soon as you are below. Then he
will look put out if you try to get your spot back! We all read to help pass the time. Rich talked to the folks
on Indefatigable (yes Horatio Hornblower's boat) today on the VHF. They are
sailing at 3 knots on their way to Minerva. Not much else to report. We should be close to Minerva Reef
tomorrow around noon. 870 nm to Opua entry, 644 nm to waypoint 10/31, Day 2, Passage to New
Zealand 23 24.320 S, 178 58.770 W, 6:19 utc, day 2, passage to NZ Trick or Treat! How are you spending your Halloween? We turned off the engine at 7am this morning. The silence
was great. The winds were 9-13 from the NW and we were moving along at 4.7
knots in 1-meter seas. Things were going well. Then came the squall! The winds went to 15-20 knots from
the SSW in our face with 1-2 meter seas! Time to tack! As the seas became
steeper we were pounding our way through them. We are sailing with one reef
in the main and the staysail. We looked at the furling systems for the
staysail and the lower track has become disconnected from the rest of the
track (holding the sail) so we are unable to reef the staysail. When the
weather calms down we will drop the sail, fix the track and rehoist the sail.
Not sure when that will be... Another minor crisis occurred as we were pounding away. We
had shut off the forward head since we were not using it. The saltwater feed
is closed and so is the exit thru hull. Well somehow water (saltwater) is
still filling the toilet and overflowing onto the floor. So I had to bail out
the toilet bucket by bucket and have someone toss it overboard. What a fun
job when the floor is rising up 2-3 feet and smashing down on the next wave.
Of course I have to close the head door to clean it up, no air. Wow, are we
having fun or what?
Jesse tries to get some sleep Now we are sailing with 2 reefs in the main and the
staysail. Winds are 18-25 from the S, SSE. Seas are 1-2 meters, and steep,
read short period, hobbyhorse ride. Sarah and I made quesadillas for dinner! So far so good but
miles to go..... 854 nm to Opua entry, 546 nm to waypoint 11/1, Day 3, Passage to New
Zealand 24 16.320 S, 179 31.660 E, 6:55 UTC, day 3, passage to NZ Well, another day on passage. The winds today started out
at 17-22 knots ESE to SE. Seas were 1-1.5 with .5 meters of wind waves on
top. A bit on the lumpy side. We are sailing with a partial yankee, staysail
and 2 reefs in the main. Most of the day we have been averaging 5-5.4 knots.
Now the winds are 9-13 knots and our SOG is around 4.5 knots. We decided to
adjust course a new waypoint at 27 S, 173 E. Hence our distance to Opua and
to the waypoint below have changed a bit. One of the exciting things that happened today is we
crossed over from 179 59 W to 179 59 E. When you cross the equator you are a
shellback. Not sure what you are if you cross from W to E? Anyone know? I worked on the forward head again today. I had to empty
the closet in the v-berth to look at the plumbing between the forward head
and the holding tank. We were concerned that maybe the holding tank contents
were draining back into the head. Well it looks like that was not the case
and the holding tank is not part of the problem. Good news! I have the
situation a little more under control so that it is not overflowing and not
smelling up the boat down below. More good news! We opened up some almonds that we had vacuum-sealed in
Mexico. They are nice and fresh and provided a great snack today. You can see
we get excited about very simple things when we are on passage. Not much else
to do. Today we made some good progress and hope we do more
tomorrow. I will send this out now and get ready for my shift. 881 nm to Opua entry, 390 nm to waypoint 11/2, Day 4, Passage to New
Zealand 25 32.130 S, 178 11.500 E, 4:40 UTC, day 4, passage to NZ Yet another day on passage. The wind died early this
morning so we started motor sailing. At 6 am we took down the main. The winds
changed to 5-9 knots varying directions NE, ENE. The seas were .5-1 meter
from the SE, ESE. After listening to the SSB check-ins and hearing what sort
of weather others were having and what courses they were setting we
reevaluated our course. We changed waypoints, yet again, to a new point West
3, at 29 42 S, 174 36 E. This way we will cut the corner so to speak instead
of making a westerly and then heading south. The distance to this new
waypoint is 355 nm and from there to the entry to Opua it is 324 nm for a
total of 679 nm. Today is Saturday, so we hope to be going into Opua on
Thursday. Since the seas were relatively flat and little wind we did
a few chores. Rich and I repaired the staysail track so now we can roller
furl the sail again. We also refilled the aft fuel tank from some of the
jerry jugs on deck. Jesse and Sarah changed Mandu's litter box. Jesse felt creative and made pizza for lunch. We will also
have pizza for dinner tonight. Morale is high!
Jesse making pizza 638 nm to Opua entry, 314 nm to waypoint West 3 11/3, Day 5, Passage to New
Zealand 26 42.050 S, 176 52.320 E, 5:54 utc, day 5, passage to NZ Every day is different. This morning between 3 and 6 am, we
were going 7 knots on the rhumb line to Opua with winds from the north.
Yahoo! Then at 11:40 am the winds clocked instantaneously to the SW/W, right
on the nose ouch! The seas became short and steep. We decided to turn and do
some westerly, some sail, some motor sail. We have 3 reefs in the main and
the staysail. It is hard not to be making more southerly progress. Top it off
with wave crashing over the bow and a little rain showers and you have a real
fine day! If yesterday morale was high, today morale is low. Hopefully tomorrow will bring better things. 541 nm to Opua entry, 214 nm to waypoint West 3 11/4, Day 6, Passage to New
Zealand 28 00.050 S, 174 48.180 E, 9:16 utc, day 6, passage to NZ Another day on passage but different. The winds for most of
the day were SE/SSE 12-17 knots with seas S 1-2 meters. We were screaming
along at 5.5 - 7.0 knots with 2 reefs in main, staysail and a partial then
later full yankee. A bit of heel but we were going fast. The sun was out so
it was warmer but cool in the direct wind. A fun day of sailing. We were not
exactly on the rhumb line but not a bad course of 200 to 204M (magnetic). This evening the winds were clocking around to the SSE, ESE
and E as night fell. They decreased to 1.3 knots so we turned on the motor
and are motor sailing, 4.3 knots SOW, 5.1 knots SOG, 5.1 VMG. Now the winds
are ENE, NE but we are on the rhumb line for Opua. If/when the winds pick up
we will turn off the motor.
Rich catching up on his reading The forward head is still filling and overflowing. I have
been pumping it out every so often but with the wave action we had today it
is pumping more. So I pumped it out and cleaned the floor. Wish I could
figure out when the water is coming from since I have the input saltwater
flush closed and the output through hull closed. The mysterious anti-Christ
arises. Sarah and I watched the sunset tonight. It as very nice. We
thought we might see a green flash so we looked down for a bit so that our
eye would not see floatees and then looked up and the sun was down. Better
luck next time.
Sarah checking the email Hope we have good winds tomorrow! 429 nm to Opua entry, 102 nm to waypoint West 3 11/5, Day 7, Passage to New
Zealand 29 50.700 S, 174 39.070 E, 8:42 utc, day, 7, passage to NZ Today was mostly a day of motoring on gentle rolling seas.
The winds were N, NNW, NW, WNW, 2-4 knots, in the morning, 5-9 in the
afternoon. For a while it was 9-12 so we turned off the motor after dinner.
If we can maintain at least 5 knots we will still sail. The quiet is nice
though. In the morning we saw another sailboat NE of us. We talked
to them on the VHF. It is a Dutch boat also on their way to Opua. We used our remaining jerry jugs and filled the aft tank.
We have one jerry jug left with fuel. Hopefully we will get some more wind so
we don't have to use it. This morning I made some chocolate chip muffins for breakfast.
A nice change. Jesse made pizza for a late lunch and another for dinner.
Quite a treat. Even though the sun is out the wind is cool. A little too
cool for just shorts and a t-shirt. At night we are in fleece and foulies and
now hats to keep warm. The price of going so far south!
In fleece
and foulies Final Straw and C'est Le Vie made it into Opua today. We
will probably be there Friday noonish if not soon. Again, depending on the
winds.... 318 nm to Opua entry, passed waypoint West 3 11/6, Day 8, Passage to New
Zealand 31 34.910 S, 174 17.230 E, 5:00 utc, day 8, passage to NZ This morning I checked in with Russell Radio on 4.4450 Mhz.
Dez runs this radio net out of NZ for the folks arriving at this time of
year. He takes down your position, gives you some weather data pertinent to
your location and contacts the Customs, MAF folks letting them know of your
arrival. So far so good, we will see how it works out. We are on the home stretch, very anxious to be there. A
front moved across our path this morning. We have been hearing about it for
the last few days. Predictions of 25 knots, gusting to 35 knots, lots of
rain, squally, etc. On the net we heard of others who had passed through it.
Well at 10:00 am we passed through and it was a non-event. The winds were
from the WNW up until that time, around 11-14 knots. They decreased to 6-7
knots then slow moved to the SW and built to 10-12 knots and that was it. No
rain, some disturb seas. We saw the dark clouds of the front but it was
passed ahead of us as we headed south. Oh lucky day! We will take it any time
like that! Today is Jesse's 17th birthday. We gave him a Kava-dyed
t-shirt we had bought for him in Tonga. I made some cupcakes to help celebrate.
Rich gave him a watch, 3-6 am in fact! Poor Jesse. We will have a better
celebration when we get into NZ. Not much else to report. Getting closer.... 212 nm to Opua entry 11/7, Day 9, Passage to New
Zealand 34 22.280 S, 174 12.510 E, 10:47 utc, day 9, passage to NZ Today was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. We had winds up to 34 knots
from the west. Seas were 2-3 meter, steep and confused, rain falling in
buckets. Water would come over the bow and slam into the dodger. Other times
it would come clear across the cockpit from the starboard side to port. We
were getting drenched. The boat would rock from side to side in a fast jerky
motion. One trough lasted 2 hours. We still have some effects and the area is
squally. As we get closer to the island it should smooth out a bit. Mandu was
smart and spent the whole day inside sleeping. At one point the teapot flew
across the galley and the contents emptied on the floor. This evening a single-hander on a boat called Karma was
demasted. The New Zealand Orion came by and coordinated a tow from another
sailboat in the area. If they are unable to work out the tow, he is to set
off his Epirb and wait for the NZ Coast Guard to come and coordinate rescue
efforts. We will find out in the morning what happened. Can hardly wait to be in. Current ETA is 9 am for check in
to customs and quarantine. 45 nm to Opua entry 11/8, Day 9.5, Arrival Opua,
New Zealand 35 18.934 S, 174 07.212 E, Opua Marina, Opua, New Zealand We're here! After a long night Jesse sighted land at 5 this
morning. At 10:30 am we tied up to the quarantine dock near the Opua Marina.
With land in sight, Mandu is ready to help We waited for the quarantine officer, Peter, from the
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) to arrive first. He gave us the
phone number of the MAF veterinarian in Whangerai. Through the vet and the
Pussy Cat Lodge in Auckland we coordinated a plan for Mandu. On Wednesday,
Gary of the Pussy Cat Lodge will come and pick up Mandu, Peter will put the
MAF seal on the cage and Mandu will travel to Auckland and start his
quarantine period of 30 days. So we will be here until then. Peter also went through some of our food stores checking
for certain items, such as unpopped popcorn, dairy products, eggs, meats,
nuts, fruits and vegetables. The only thing we had to give up was a package
of wild rice. After Quarantine we waited for Customs and Immigration.
This was a simple process of filling out a few forms and signing them. Now
the boat and us are cleared. We moved to our slip in the marina. The last time we were
tied up to a dock was in Puerto Vallarta in March. We cleaned up the boat,
took showers and headed off to the Opua Cruising Club for happy hour and
dinner. Now we are getting ready to crash. It was a good passage;
every mile was earned, especially the last 200 miles, with strong winds,
squalls, rain, steep short seas. It is hard to believe that we are really here in New
Zealand. It was a dream for so long but now it is reality. We look forward to
exploring. A new adventure. but first, it is time to get some sleep! Opua Marina, Opua, New Zealand Passage from Nuku'alofa to Opua - 1201 miles, 9 days, 21
hours, 26 minutes. Update: The sailboat, Beyond, was
nearby and towed Karma for 35 hours before the seas became too rough and the
tow was dropped. The local spar maker sent out their powerboat, Olga, to tow
Karma in the rest of the way (picking up business). The sailboat is in pretty
good shape, just no mast. On
Saturday night another singlehander, a Swedish sailor, was hit by an unknown
vessel and had to abandon his boat, Mika. He spent 2.5 hours in 5.5-meter
seas in his sinking liferaft before being picked up by a Russian merchant
ship. Six vessels in the area responded to the mayday call but one did not
respond and was presumed to be the vessel that hit the sailboat. Authorities
are still trying to contact the mystery ship. Some other Swedish cruisers
here in Opua are collecting clothing money to aid the sailor. |
