34:38:129S
173:59:27E
There was a penguin in the cockpit this morning: that’s how cold it is. Southerly winds bring refrigerated air up from Antarctica but that’s the wind we need to send us on our way up to the islands. An armada of yachts left this morning all heading to either Fiji, Tonga or New Caledonia. The wind is light which is kind to allow us to settle into passage making mode.
22:16:60S
166:26:40E
Numea. Wednesday 23rd July 2008.
When we tell our friends that we are cruising in the Pacific they all think that it is, well, peaceful – no it isn’t. It took us 4 days to cover 734 miles from Fiji to New Caledonia which works out as an average speed of 7.6 knots. It was quite the most unpleasant passage we’ve made for some time. The trade winds far from being benign were constantly strong to gale force, the swell huge with a nasty cross sea running to make it seriously unpleasant. So to balance it all out we have just spent a couple of days inland with friends getting away from that salt water, wind and swell.
21:15:02S
171:40:25E
Day three.
The wind and seas have moderated and we continue to make excellent progress. We have already hit the magic 200 nm days run. We are disappointed not to be able to contact Russell Radio, could it be propagation? We are in contact with friends sailing from Australia also on route to Noumea – they are beating all the way whilst we enjoy a fast if wet beam reach. One of the jobs on the to do list is to have a better spray hood and protection in the cockpit. Top speed today 11.4 knots and since noon we’ve been averaging 8.5.
18:59:10S
175:05:38E
You have to have a plan B. We departed Fiji with all intention of heading to Opua, New Zealand. The weather looked pretty good, 20 knots from ESE. However the grib files were not telling the truth. Once out of the pass the wind was SE and 25-30+ with even higher gusts. It took less than a minute to look at each other and decide to turn right and head for New Caledonia. Our friend can still fly back from there and we can have a bit of cruise before heading south again. For a cruising boat to spend 5 days in one place must be some kind of a record.
17:46:27S
177:22:91E
Fiji
Bula! We arrived on Monday 7th July at about 6 in the morning through the pass. For the last 3 days we’d had gale force winds, heavy squalls and very rough seas. We had a triple reefed main and staysail and Duet was flying. We were exhausted by the motion and thoroughly glad to be in. Now the sun is shining, the wind blowing still strongly but Simon has been up the mast to do the repairs!
20:15:55S
176:27:54E
The sea temperature has risen from 10 degrees to 25 in the last couple of days. We have seen little of the sun and even less of the stars. The nights have been as black as a witches tit. There have been achingly long hours of light winds and motoring under a sullen sky but now the trades are accelerating and Duet flies over the water. So far top speed is 11.5 knots and we are currently averaging 9 – what a ship!
30.22.65S, 174.05.71E
We left Opua on Monday in light winds with a huge, confused swell left over from the gales. Our first problem happened just after midnight of the first night. There was a loud bang and the yankee was over the side. At first I thought the forestay had gone but thankfully it was only the halyard. What caused it to chaff through? Maybe it was all the slating and banging in the swell and light wind. It took an hour and a half to heave it on board, tie it down in some kind of fashion.
Why do these things happen in the middle of the night? After breakfast it took a couple of hours to wrestle it into a reasonable size and secure it on the foredeck. Today’s task is to try and rig the spare spinnaker halyard to use for the yankee. Unfortunately the mouse is twisted around something inside the mast. Oh dear, this looks like having to climb the mast.
At last the wind decided to stop howling and there is a brief lull between storms. We departed Opua this morning in the company of at least 6 other yachts. We have been waiting for three weeks now for this window. We are heading towards Fiji. A bit of warmth will be more than welcome!
35.18.85S, 174.07.30E
Opua.
It’s that time of year again and we must head out of the country or pay GST on Duet ll. So we wait in Opua, ducking out of unfriendly wind and rain waiting for a break in the weather. This picture is not Opua but down in doubtful sound where we cruised during the summer. We have been busy getting ready and doing as many of the modifications to Duet ll as we can. Just as we think we are ready, there is always something else to do. In the meantime we have had the opportunity to take some good bird photographs.
36.37.40S, 174.47.30E
Gulf Harbour
After we returned from our summer cruise exploring Fiordland we ambled back to Gulf harbour via great barrier island and some of the beautiful island in the Hauriki gulf. Gulf harbour is a handy place to be for a variety of reasons, but it is jaw crackingly boring. Unless you play golf. Most of the modifications have gone well and now we are set to sail up to New Caledonia. First of all when we return in about a months time we will get another years’ permit to stay in New Zealand and secondly, we need a holiday! Well there have been some quite good sunsets to compensate for the winter chill.