Minerva to Opua New Zealand 850NM

Well, now that it's officially 2015, we thought we'd better post the final leg of our journey!

From Minerva, I think 8 boats all left on November 1st bound for Opua. Smaller boats like us tended to leave early in the morning. The weather was sunny with a light SE wind. We left with 2 other boats Pamela and Viandante both Crealock 37's, .

Viandante at sail

Kailani is longer and heavier at 42 feet but we seem to sail about the same speed as the Crealocks, we have less sail up and tend to baby our boat with its older sails. By midday we were in our usual position at the back of the pack but we made good time for the first few days nocking off 120-140 NM a day. On day 3 the wind tended toward the south, more on the nose and the problems began....water was getting into the boat somewhere! The water in the bilge rose to near the bottom of the engine so Carolyn manned the hand pump in the cockpit while I turned on the electric one. In no time the water was gone but we couldn't find the source of the leak. We noticed there was water in the anchor locker so we sealed the small cavity where the chain enters the boat through the anchor well. An inspection of all the sea cocks found no problems eliminating those potential sources - so we figured we'd solved the problem by bogging up the anchor well.  The wind had dropped by this time and the bilge remained dry and it wasn't until the next day when the wind picked up that we again had a small but steady stream of water running into the bilge. OK now we were getting worried! We radioed Pamela to let them know we had a bit of a problem which was more of a psychological help than anything else. It was blowing about 20 knots almost on the nose so crawling around the bilge trying to find the leak was miserable.

We discovered the anchor well was again full of water. After watching it for a while, we found that the water wasn't coming in through the top as we'd assumed, but was surging up through the drain hole when the bow impacted the ocean swells- where the water is supposed to go out, it was coming in!  So, each time we hit a wave the water would hydraulic up through the anchor locker drain hole from the ocean. The anchor locker is sealed by design so normally this isn't a problem. In our case however one of the previous owners had run anchor cables through the bottom of the anchor locker. Over time the water had eaten away at the bodgy seal between the bottom of the anchor well and the cables. Now 500 miles from NZ the gap was large enough to let in a decent flow of sea water into the bilge.

Once again, we radioed Pamela and Denis and Pam slowed their boat and remained in radio contact while we "hove to" in order to stop the boat and fix the problem. Once the boat settled into its hove to motion (parking the boat) we began dismantling the forward cabin so we could get to the anchor locker. Carolyn retrieved the underwater epoxy from under the settee berth and set about kneading the epoxy stick while I went forward to investigate the anchor locker. With the boat leveled out the water drained from the locker, so all we had to do was to prevent the water pushing up through the drain. We smeared the epoxy goo over the drain and pushed through the small 1/8 inch holes and waited 45 minutes for it to go off sufficiently.We radioed Pamela and set the boat back on course - the fix worked with a dry anchor locker - what a relief.

There was a lot of discussion during our daily scheduled SSB radio meetings as to the best course. It is common practice to head west to a point about 200 NM north of New Zealand before heading south. This is especially prudent during the winter or when there is a chance of southwest or northwest gales. Our forecast predicted southerlies or south easterlies so the western route wasn't appropriate. Thus we headed on the "rhumb line" that is directly for Opua. This was fine until we were about 390 NM from our destination, the wind decided to blow 20-25 knots from the south. The wind was too strong for us to motor into so most of the fleet tacked west for a day, then east south east the next day. We made little progress south at least on the first day. Pretty demoralizing especially with a large low pressure weather system hovering to the north between us and Tonga, but at least it was sunny and we were in daily radio contact with Pamela and other boats.

On day 8 the wind shifted and dropped enough for us to motor sail at 4-5 knots directly for Opua. The only problem we had (other than the wind coming from the wrong direction!) was that the alternator regulator died resulting in the voltage rising to 15 volts instead of 13.8-14.1. Batteries can boil and damage electronics in these conditions, so we came up with a work around by using as much extra power as we could. This turned into a power consumption extravaganza....both laptops were constantly running movies, the water maker ran and ran, we turned on lots of lights, used the electric water pumps, had the fridge and freezer running, etc. It was like being in an apartment instead of being at sea! It was such a change from the cruiser's constant efforts to conserve water and power and felt quit liberating. We looked like a cruise ship for the last few days! Love Boat watch out!

We finally arrived at the Q dock in Opua at about 0900 hours on November 9th. It was a beautiful sail into the Bay of Islands with a full moon giving way to a warm and sunny morning. We had no trouble berthing Kailani on the Q dock along side Pamela and others we had met during the voyage. It was so surreal being here for those first few days especially after 10 months on the boat.

Our last night at sea

At the Q dock Opua

Pamela and Denis with us in Opua

Needless to say, we're glad to have arrived at our new home. We had an amazing voyage which began with saying goodbye to our friends and colleagues in Switzerland last January, a brief visit with Carolyn's sister and family in Pittsburgh, then on to California and Mexico. The issues of Kailani's impoundment are all but a distant memory now, and what lingers are the experienced joys and challenges we faced along the way. But most of all, we'll remember all the people...its the people that made our journey memorable forever.

We'll probably post a bit about being in the house in Kerikeri, you'll just have to wait until summer is over since we can't get ourselves to stop having fun in the back yard! Thanks everyone for tuning in!

Leaving Vava'u for Ha'apai and Minerva Reef

Hi everyone. Well, I was pretty slack in finishing the blog. I guess you could say I lost my momentum – but…after a month after landing in New Zealand I figured I better let you all know we’ve arrived safe and sound!
I'll begin by saying we finally made it out of Nieafu. We were running the risk of becoming locals so we knew it was time to boogie outta there! Here’s a few picture of our final days.

Bill installing the new mixing elbow that stranded us in
Vava'u for so long!

On the beach with Rachelle and Patrick (the Nama-Nastys)

Sand crab races.... Vrooooom

The WINNER!

Bill (Harry) with Cheryl and Brian at a beach party. They really helped us with our SSB relays while en route to NZ.

Carolyn & Rachelle at the beach bon fire

Sunset

Vava'u wildlife: Pigs on the beach....again!

Vava'u wildlife: how would you like to wake up to this spider in your bed?

Vava'u wildlife: a dead squid we found one morning in our dinghy

Vava'u wildlife: dog chillin out in a restaurant :)

Carolyn entered a costume competition. She won second place for her outboard motor hat.

Leaving Nieafu, Vava’u for the Ha’apai Group

The passage from Nieafu, Vava’u to the Ha’apai group was about 80 miles. The course was strewn with reefs and islands, and the forecast was for strong headwinds. We were tired of waiting for the perfect weather window and decided to get going anyway. We departed early in order to give ourselves plenty of time to tack our way southward. As it worked out, we used all the extra time we left up our sleeve and arrived at Pangai 24 hours later. No – we weren’t winning any races! We dropped anchor and went ashore to check into the Island Group without any hassles. The town had been hit by a cyclone in February of this year and signs of the devastation were everywhere. Roofs peeled back like a sardine can lid, and other  buildings only had the frame structures left standing. There seemed to be plenty of aid and loads of rebuilding projects were well underway. We didn’t have our camera with us so no pics.
We decided not to stay in town long and went to anchor off Uoleva island offering protection from the SE. We had 5 fantastic days there in crystal clear blue water and the best white sand beach we’ve encountered on the trip. Carolyn was in heaven. There was even a little reef to snorkel when we got tired of combing the beach for shells.

During our time there we were looking for a weather window to sail to New Zealand via Minerva Reef. Suddenly, an opportunity arose and we jumped on it. Our friends on the sailboat Pamela announced on the radio that they were also heading off so we had company along the way!

Bye bye Tonga! We’re off to Minerva Reef!

The350 nautical mile passage was fraught with squalls and variable changing winds. It made steering with the Butler (windvane) extremely frustrating. It would only stay on course for 10 minutes before the wind direction would change and we’d be out there tweaking the steering vane to bring ourselves back on course. On a fun note, we had constant assaults of large flying fish. Most would clear the obstacle of the boat, but the unfortunate few would flop around until we were able the chuck ‘em over the side. Those that didn’t survive (there were many!) left marks in blue stain and scales that seemed to become one with the gel coat.
As always happens with us and every other boater we’ve met, everything happens at once. We were sailing along in very light winds. We decided to run our Honda generator as the solar panels weren’t keeping up with the demand of the electronics. Bill got it all set up on deck and fired it up, then two things happened; the wind increased to 20+ knots heeling the boat over which meant we had to reef the sails and retrieve the Honda before it was juggernauted into the sea! Next thing, Bill says “Oh Shit!”. Now, behind the boat was a huge Mahi Mahi which we somehow managed to hook. Yes, the first big and only strike we’ve had on the entire voyage. Seeing the electric blue colors of the fish thrashing about in our wake was truly spectacular. We were in no position to land the fish for many reasons. One – it was far too big. Two, we had to save the Honda, and Three the sails needed immediate reefing attention. Hummm. What to do. Well, luckily the Mahi Mahi solved that problem for us. With one of his mighty thrashes he managed to throw the hook and swam away to live another day. Must say, we were quite relived. Sorry everybody – no big fish tales, and NO PICS! It all happened so fast!
After 4 days of sailing along at anywhere from 7.5 knots to 2.5 knots, we finally made it to Minerva Reef. It is truly an amazing place to stop. We had no idea what to expect and have been thrilled with it. It’s a wide easy pass, the lagoon is navigable and without hazards, the charts are accurate (or are so far) and the holding is excellent.
The reef is circular and is about 2-3 nm in diameter. At high tide the reef is only just submerged and the waves dribble over causing a slight swell, but nothing that causes discomfort at least in moderate weather. At low tide, the reef is visible and can we walked on. It’s quite unsettling walking on live reef as you’re unsure how much damage you’re inadvertently causing. The reef itself is quite wide. At a guess, it’s about 1/4 mile wide. We eyed live lobster, octopus, fish and various other unidentifiable creatures. Humm, mind boggles.

When we entered the reef’s lagoon, there were only 2 cruising boats at anchor. Pamela and us made 4. Two days later, there were 12 boats anchored nearby, all waiting for a weather window like us. The very next day, a SSB weather broadcaster announced it was a good time to go if you could get there in 6 days. Ha! No way Kailani could manage that, so we stayed put while the fleet of longer mono-hulls and catamarans did a mass exodus trying to beat the front scheduled to arrive in NZ 6 days later. Good luck to them. We waited it out and set sail Saturday the 1st of November for the 8-900 nm journey.
The last part of our journey will be here soon!

Still in Tonga. Actually, we're stuck in Tonga!

Vava'u Harbor at Sunset !

Our time in Vavau harbor
We are stuck here in the tranquil upper reaches of the harbor. We were lucky enough to be given the use of Boris's mooring ball. There are two boats on mooring balls nearby, one from Berlin the other from Origin. The latter is a small boat around 26 - 28 feet missing a rudder. The German boat is covered in tarpaulins, like us neither of them is going anywhere fast J

Our exhaust elbow
The part we need attaches to the engine manifold. Its purpose is to cool the exhaust gases and thus injects salt water into the elbow. You can imagine such a part is subject to heavy corrosion so it’s no surprise it failed; too bad I never ordered a spare while the boat was in Mexico.
The said part delivered, costs about 125USD in the USA. The same part costs about 156USD off the shelve in New Zealand. Here in Tonga it costs 328USD of which 172USD is shipping costs. I have no idea what additional costs will be involved with customs when we hopefully pick the part up on Friday. Talking to some of the locals they say it’s just about impossible to get the part out of customs. We will see.

Nationalities
We have met a large percentage of Australian and German boats on this trip, not to mention a disproportionately high number of Swiss boats. The others are mostly USA and Canadian. We know of at least 6 other boats heading to NZ either from Tonga or from Fiji. We plan to go on to Fiji but again it’s dependent on the part arriving and weather. Ideally we would like to be in Fiji around the beginning of October and head to NZ mid-October to the beginning of November. The trip to NZ is the most feared by all the cruisers (expect the Kiwi boats who look at you blankly if you express concern about the dangers of the trip). In fact we know of 2 Kiwi boats that have just left one is only 26 foot. These days with the weather information you have a lot more control over the trip. For example you can slow down if you see bad weather ahead. Given the weather travels West to East and you are travelling south it is possible to avoid bad weather. The danger though is a low pressure system tracking down from the North; these systems cause a squash zone and can catch you out. Needless to say all the cruisers will be watching the weather carefully come mid-October.

Characters
One of the boats heading to NZ is Will on Sojourner. He's a black single hander one of three black single handers we have met so far - I think the other two, Al and Phil (brothers) are also heading to NZ. Will is here in Tonga with his big smile and greying temples and Pookah shell neckless. "They think Iaam from Fiji" says Will in his slight Southern drawl. His eyes twinkle in amusement as he tells the story explaining to the locals he's a black man from America.

Knot Tide Down
The “girls” took pity on us and took us away for a few days on their boat. We anchored in 55 feet of crystal clear water. In fact it was so clear you could see the bottom at night under the moonlight. Steve speared and caught fish so we had 2 great days of paddle boarding, eating, snorkeling and diving. On the second day, Steve declared that the cabin top looked as though an explosion occurred at a rec center because we had so many toys spread out all over the deck!

The Girls and Bill heading out on Knot Tide Down

Bill trying his hand at fishing.....

Tony holding up Steve's trophy fish of the day!

Bill paddle boarding

Carolyn paddle boarding

Steve ready to dive with his spear gun - GO GET EM STEVE!

The beginning of the Backgammon tournament...

Beaches, Bon Fires....AND WHALES!
We spent about 4 nights in a little cove off the island of Tapana. The second night at anchor we organized a bonfire dinner on the beach with 5 boats attending. (Kailani, Knot Tide Down, True Blue Five, Lady Carolina and Sudoeste.) The three kids were in charge of fire wood patrol. Emily is 10 and a little Kiwi firecracker belonging to Jonathan and Kiri onboard Sudoeste. Kyle(14) and Joel(10) onboard “Lady Carolina” with their parents Carolina and Steve from Canada. The party lasted for about four hours after much eat and Drink. Like usual, the Fantastic 4 of Kailani and Knot Tide Down, ended the night after solving all the world’s problems and running out of firewood and rum.


Bon fire on the beach!

The next couple of days where overcast and downright cold at 70 Degrees! We actually wore long sleeved shirts and covered up at night. 70 felt more like 50. Some snorkeling (wet suits) and basic laying around. The wind picked up the last night and sleep was interrupted with brief anchor watches. We woke up at 7am to Tony whistling for us to get out of bed and looked out the cockpit to a grand site. Just 25 yards off our stern were three humpback whales splashing at the surface! There was a baby calf and it's huge mother, plus what we think was its massive father. The calf started playing around, breeching over and over again right off our stern. Super Steve had his GoPro charged up and now was the time to slip in the water and get some video. He entered slowly and swam up cautiously to the front of the mother and calf so not to spook them from behind. The “father” was on the other side just under the surface. The calf stayed close to the mother’s pectoral fin. The fin was about the same size as the calf. Steve was able to hang out with them about 10ft. away for about 10 minutes…. Then, I forgot to mention this part, “Naked Girl” from the young German couple we met at campfire night who are camping on the beach swam up to the back of Knot Tide Down (much to Tony's delight!) from shore to drop off her shoes in their dingy and asked if she could borrow a mask. For some reason Tony told her he didn’t and she swam off toward Steve and the whales. Then, much to Steve’s surprise, “Whales Are Scared by Naked Women”…who knew??? They take a breath and dive off away from the boats. By this time Craig from True Blue Five swam up just missing the encounter. Well, I mean the whale encounter…..:).

Whale breaching off Kailani's stern!

The mother and calf. They were soooooo close!

Beautiful dive

Our plan was to leave to another anchorage that night, but after Steve, Carolyn, Leighanne and Craig’s trip into the small village we decided to indulge ourselves after hearing of a feast there for a mere $10 U.S. for a (6) course meal.


The group of us at Three Little Birds

In the village, a boy walking home from school in his school uniform

Another favorite anchorage is just off Kennutu. To get in, you had to go through a really tight 'S' channel, and then motor 1 hour to a reef surrounded anchorage. With a sandy bottom, the anchor set quickly, and we got to enjoy the area for 3 days. There was hiking to the Pacific side of the island, where there were big crashing waves. There was a tree house someone built a long while back out of wood and a twine that really degraded from the sun. Not a very safe structure, but fun to climb. There were also some trails around the island you could hike on, and Steve got a bit of surfing in.

Bill walking the reef on Kennutu

The Pacific side of the island

Steve and Carolyn in the tree house

The Pacific side. See the tree house on the ridge on the right?

A local collecting shell fish

Paradise

Steve surfing

Carolyn and Leighanne at another bon fire!

Everybody else at the bon fire!

Activities
What do cruisers do while sailing around for years on end?
The most common thread is scuba diving and spear fishing. Often coupled with the scuba is surfing or kite surfing. Fishing is also popular with some boats catching countless Tuna Mahi-mahi or Swordfish.

Others just like to sail and are not interested in anchoring in beautiful places, for them it’s about the sailing, getting there and then going on to the next place.

There are a variety of cruisers who fall in between. Some have children onboard; others just like to sip rum in tranquil bays and are not into all the physical stuff. Some cruisers have been on their boats for over 10 years and have no plans to stop. Often they are houseless and seem able to leave their boats for periods of time while they fly "home" for some R&R.

Then there's the delivery cruisers (similar to us I guess). They are only interested in getting their new boats back home. These are mostly Australians. We have met just the one Kiwi boat so far that is being delivered to NZ, Jonathan Kerry and Emily on Sudouest.
There are a few cruisers who take their diving and desire to see the most remote places to a whole new level. Jack and Cami on Iguana have a dive compressor onboard. When Jack talks you feel like he is much too wise and humble to be only 29 or so. If you want an example of a couple getting out there and doing it they are a prime example. We were lucky enough to be invited to Iguana for a fantastic Mahi-mahi - Dorado dinner cooked Asian style by Cami - I can see why he wants to catch so many fish!

Finally; us - not sure where we fit in as neither C nor I can dive, due to bad body design. J As for surfing the reefs, too tricky for me and we leave that to the “girls” on “Knot Tide Down”. Being Californian I think Steve at least was born with a surfboard under his arm. Our activities are limited to snorkeling and exploring the islands by foot or by bike, oh and photographing Steve on his surfboard etc.J Oh I forgot to mention we are always fixing our boat, sails, rig, engine or something and are the butt of plenty of jokes - all in good nature of course. On that note the social side is great, there is always someone to have a drink and a laugh with anytime. Oh and fishing, we try but neither of us are that keen to first clean the fish on board the heaving deck and secondly killing them is so sad. Needless to say we haven't caught any fish so far.

One of the fattest pigs we've seen yet!

Yup, that's the pig at his house on the beach!

Chikungunya
This is one of the mosquito born vector diseases which is a problem in American Samoa. The main symptoms are severe joint pain, headaches, stomach upsets. I was down with the above symptoms, there was no clinical diagnose but it sure looked like I was infected by the virus. Steve and Tony on “Knot Tide Down” were also affected by something with similar symptoms. Good news is once you get it you are supposedly resistant.