BACK IN OPUA, NEW ZEALAND

May 15, 2013

We flew back to Opua, NZ from Shreveport, La on April 8th.  We were carrying lots of spare parts and one of the staysails that we had left behind at Robbie and Kelly's home in Oscota, MI on out outbound trip.  The plane trip was long but comfortable   We arrived in Auckland and had friends waiting for us to bring us to Opua which is about four hours to the North.

Solstice was not ready to be lived in so we arranged a room at the Waterview Lodge where Phyllis had stayed when she broke her hip in November.  The hip is all healed up and she is no longer broken.  We stayed at the Waterview from April 8-19 while we prepared the yacht for living on.

Solstice has had a lot of work done while we were away and returned: new rigging, a trysail track added to the mast, some electrical work, reconditioned thru-hulls, engine work on the Volvo Penta 2003T, new trysail, portholes removed and resealed, new system for Lazy Jacks, reefing hooks, new SSB antenna, Jordan Series Drogue, refrigeration repaired, new membranes for the Katadyn Pur 80 watermaker, new ballasts for the Alpenglow cabin lights, reefing lines reconfigured, pole topper added for spinnaker pole, spare genoa and main halyard added, dedicated trysail halyard, Monitor Wind Vane rigged up for service, mast was unstepped and all internal wires renewed and rewired to ABYC specs, new control panel added to the D400 Wind Generator, battery bank reconfigured for safety, new bilge pump, safety line on the sole floorboards.  Lots of work!!

We did many of the items in the above list but professionals were required for the technical stuff.  All of this is with a view to sailing around the Cape of Good Hope after Thailand.  If the Red Sea opens up we will consider that as an alternative plan.  Right now, not one sailing vessel, that we know of, made the voyage via the Red Sea last year.

The yacht is now nearing readiness for the sail from Opua, NZ to Suva, Fiji.  My guess is that sometime next week we will get a Wx window to sail.  There are still tropical Lows forming in Vanuatu/Fiji and moving to the SE.  Highs are forming in the Southern Ocean and moving across the Australian Bight and Tasman Sea.  Where these two systems meet forms a "squash zone" of strong compressed winds - avoid!  This is what we had on our trip down to NZ from Tonga.

New Zealand is a beautiful place and the people are very friendly.  It is a county of boats: most people own one or have friends that do.  Consequently, it is a great place to have work done and most things can be had either here or brought in from the States.  The workmanship is first class but not cheap.  Food liquor and consumables are more expensive here that in the States.

There are two distinct cultures in NZ: Maori and White with a smattering of Asians and Polynesians.  Due to a peace treaty (Treaty of Watangi) signed in 1835 between the Maori chiefs and the ruling British administrator, the Maoris enjoy all the privileges accorded to them in addition to all rights of the New Zealanders in general.  Although there are no longer any "pure blooded  Maoris left, the language and customs continue.  Signs in NZ are in English and Maori.  The county has a socialized medical system so all are cared for at no cost including medicine.  The health services are excellent.  Phyllis had her hip surgery done here and it could not have been done any better in the States.  In fact, when we went to Shreveport, La, for a follow up X-Ray, the doctor recommended by her surgeon in NZ had been a student of the Orthopedist in the States.  His comment: "An excellent job! I taught him well".  New Zealand is a vibrant modern county with all the amenities we enjoy in the States and they have HOBBITS!

The plans for this season are as follows:  Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caldonia and return to New Zealand for the Cyclone Season which begins on November 1st and ends in May.  We would have liked to sail on to Indonesia but can't make it in the time frame allotted to us.  In May of next year, we will sail directly from New Zealand to Indonesia, Bali, Sumatra, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.  The final preparations for the South African trip will be done in Phuket, Thailand.  This will include the installation of a new Beta Marine 43 engine.

Greetings to all!