VOYAGE OF THE YACHT "SOLSTICE"

Sunday, June 23, 2013

OPUA, NZ TO SUVA, FIJI VIA NORTH MINERVA REEF

June 6- 18, 2013

We departed Opua, NZ (35-19' S ; 174-07' E) at 1300 hrs bound for North Minerva Reef (23-37 S; 178-56' W). The distance is about 759 nm once outside the bay at Nine Pin Rock. From Minerva Reef to Suva, Fiji it is another 358 nm: total trip distance = 1117 nm. Since no sailing vessel keeps a straight course rhumb line, the distance is somewhat longer. New Zealand is on the Eastern side of the international date line therefore it is one day ahead of the USA at most times of the day. Time can be confusing so I generally use GMT and then make all the conversions. NZ would be +12 on GMT. This means that when it is midnight in Greenwich, it's noon time in Opua and 2000 hrs on the East Coast - one day earlier.

The Wx window for approaching and leaving NZ has to be given careful consideration. The systems are complex and fast moving. In general, Highs and Lows approach NZ from the Great Southern Ocean south of Australia via the Tasman Sea. In order to have the best sailing Wx, a yacht has to time it so as not to find itself in heavy Wx with too much wind and big seas. One way of departing is to leave on the back of a Low. Lows circulate clockwise in the Southern hemisphere which means they are moving E-SE. Also, Lows are forming over Fiji and have to looked at very carefully as they can develop into Tropical Depressions. The best way to negotiate all this is to hire a professional weather planner and router that will advise the best times for departing. One of the most renowned in New Zealand is the Weather Guru, Bob McDavitt, known as the Weather Ambassodor of New Zealand. His fees are modest and he does a good job of making sure that you can make the best use of, or avoid, any forming depressions.

So, we left on the back of a Low and had a great sail from the Bay of Islands to North Minerva Reef. We started off with winds around 20 kts with big ocean swells coming from the South but they gradually came down and the rest of the trip was with 12-18 kts ESE Trade Winds and a 6' swell. We arrived off North Minerva at 0100 hrs in the morning and lay ahull until daylight. We made really good time with an average of 6.2 kts under double reefed mainsail and genoa. The Valiant 40 is a great boat: seaworthy and seakindly. It doesn't take much wind to move her along and she can move out once the winds get to 15 kts.

There are two Minervas: North and South. The southern one is about 20 nm SSW (23-56' S; 179-08' W) of North Minerva and is less frequented because it presents more challenges for entering and anchoring. Additionally, it's reef structure is less developed and lower than North Minerva which means there is less protection from the ocean swells. The Minervas are claimed by Tonga and navigational lights are maintained on both by the Tongan Navy. In the past, Fiji has claimed the Minervas and at one time came in and chased out all the yachts and blew up the navigational lights. Tonga submitted a claim to the World Court and it was decided in their favor so there seems to be no ongoing conflict between the two countries. Back in the 1970's, a crazy Aussie tried to set up what he called "The Republic of Minerva" and brought in some sand barges and minted coins with Minerva's head on it. I believe he wanted to set up some kind of independent country with a resort. Anyway, once the Tongan's got wind of it, they sent out a warship and chased him out. I don't see how anything could survive on North Minerva in the long run. The reef looks like and amoeba. It is fairly round and three miles in diameter with a single entrance on the Northwestern side. The reef is wide enough to break the big ocean swells of the South Pacific Trade Winds but not sufficient to weather a storm. One can tell when it's High tide because enough water comes across the reef to cause a little rolling. When it's Low tide, the lagoon is quite comfortable. There are fish, lobster and sharks within the lagoon structure. The reef is over a quarter mile wide and can be walked on at low tide. There really isn't much on the reef other than a few shells and odd shaped stones. The current at High water keeps it scrubbed out. Up in the Northeastern corner, one can see the remains of an old wreck and a big anchor. I had wanted to dive for lobsters but, unfortunately, I had a small infection on my right hand and was taking antibiotics so I didn't dare to do it.

The beauty of the Minervas is that they are 300nm from the nearest point of land and provide a good stop-over to rest and wait for a favorable weather window to sail on to Tonga or Fiji. We stayed in North Minerva for three days and then left for Suva, Fiji some 358 nm distant. We would have stayed longer but our weather guru indicated that the winds would fall light in a few days so we picked up anchor on June 15th at 1200 hours and headed out for Suva, Fiji. We had ESE Trade winds 15-20 kts with a 6' sea almost the whole way. There was one frontal passage with strong ENE'ly winds to 40 kts during the evening of June 16-17. I had dropped the mainsail and put a deep reef in the genoa but due to mismanagement on my part, I ended up doing some damage to the leech and foot of the sail. Not big damage and can be resewn by a sail-maker.

We entered Suva harbor (18-07' S; 178-25 E) and dropped anchor in front of the Royal Suva Yacht Club on June 18th at 1200 hrs. This Yacht Club makes all the arrangements for Cusotm's officials and provides showers and facilities for visiting yachts. The harbor is fairly well protected but open to the SW. Fortunately, they don't get winds from that direction very often. If that should happen, we can run up to another bay within the harbor with good protection.

Our first impressions of Suva and Fiji are very very positive. I'll update this once we have had a chance to get out and around.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

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!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

NEW ZEALAND TO THE STATES FOR THE HOLIDAYS

December 3, 2012

We flew out of Auckland, NZ back to the States until April 2013. The boat is on the hard and undergoing repairs for the next leg in the voyage: renew rigging, engine repairs, troubleshoot electrical system, sail repair, add a storm trysail , Jordan Series Drogue, anti-fouling, etc, etc.

Phyllis has gone to an orthopedist here in Shreveport. X-rays were taken and show that they did an excellent job in NZ and she is on the mend. There should be no problem in returning to NZ in April and continuing the voyage to Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caldonia and ??? We may return to NZ or Australia for another hurricane season or sail on to Darwin, Australia and be there at the end of July to join the Indonesia Rally to Singapore and then the Malaysia Rally to Langkawi and, finally, Phuket, Thailand. That would require thousands of miles of sailing so we'll have to see how much energy and drive we have left after New Caldonia. In the meantime, we'll visit with family and friends and pick up this blog in April/May.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to All

TONGA TO OPUA, NEW ZEALAND

Oct 29, 2011

The voyage from the Northern Group of Tongan Islands to NZ is about 1200 nm. It takes anywhere from 8-12 days to make the trip. The main consideration for this voyage is weather. The weather window has to be carefully chosen in order to avoid strong winds and seas. Even the most careful planning still involves encountering, at least, one frontal system. New Zealand in located in the Northern Limits of the "Roaring Forties" and is a key pivotal weather point for all systems emanating in the Southern Ocean, Australia and the Tasman Sea. All these systems move across NZ at some point. Most of the yachts that have sailed from distant points around the world will make the decision to go to New Zealand or Australia for the hurricane season which begins in November and ends in April. A few will find hurricane holes or moorings in Tonga, Fiji or further North.

Our decision to sail further South to NZ was based on the excellent quality of workmanship and boat repairs to be found in Opua, NZ which is a mecca for world travelling yachts. The Kiwis are passionate sailors and deal with the strong weather systems that continuously cross over the area. Due to the topography of the land, one area may have light winds and just a few miles away 30 kts. Kiwis sail in these systems all of the time and enjoy it. The place is stunningly beautiful and offers fabulous secure anchorages and moorings. Opua is located in the Bay of Islands which is one of the most beautiful cruising areas. The Southern Summer begins in November at the same time as the hurricane season starts. New Zealand is not subjected to hurricanes; just strong winds.

We left Port Murelle on October 29th, which is one of the lovely places, a few miles from Neiafu. The wind was light but enough to fill the sails and give us 4.5 kts. We continued on a course of 210 degrees for about 10 hrs and then the wind died and we were becalmed for the next 38 hrs. We dropped all sails and drifted. The seas were flat calm so we were able to take it easy and do some projects, as well as, reading. We drifted back 24 miles during this time. At one point I thought we were going to drift back to Port Murelle. Finally, on October 31st a sailing breeze came up and we were able to continue along our course line. There was some motoring involved during this time to make progress towards New Zealand via Minerva Reef.

Minerva Reef is a lonely spot in the Southern Ocean about 250 nm South from Nukualofa, Tonga. It is a good place to anchor inside a reef system and rest for the next leg to NZ. The distance from Minerva Reef to NZ is about 800 nm. Weather systems have to be monitored very carefully to stay at either North Minerva, or South Minerva. Under ideal conditions, one can wait for a suitable Wx system to sail from the Minervas. I was looking forward to anchoring there. The snorkeling, lobster, and fishing are reputedly fabulous. This was confirmed by those yachts that were a day or two ahead of us and were able to anchor there. For us, unfortunately, a tropical storm system developed over Fiji/Vanuatu and was predicted to cross over the Minervas. Given this scenario, we motored and sailed South, as quickly as possible. The end result was that we left the tropical storm to the North but found ourselves in a "squash zone" between a High and a Low. This is a zone where the isobars are compressed between the systems and produce strong winds. In our case, sustained gale force winds of 35 kts gusting to 45 kts with 15+ ft seas. This was our first significant heavy weather system and the Valiant 40 proved to be both seaworthy and sea-kindly. Amazingly, she did not ship any of the big seas that we had forward of the port beam and continued to sail along at 6.0 kts under a triple reefed main and storm staysail. The Valiant's reputation is well deserved; we chose wisely.

The exodus from Tonga to New Zealand is similar to the one down the Intercosatal waterway to the Bahamas for the winter. As soon as a favorable weather system is forecast, the hoard of vessels starts to move. We were in the first wave of boats moving South, trying to make Opua by November 11th. From November 11-16 all the merchants, important boat builders, suppliers and other celebrities in the yachting world, hold seminars and festivities throughout the week. A great place to be and experience. I'm guessing that there were about 30 boats in the first wave. A few were caught up in the Tropical Storm to the North of us and one was abandoned with the survivors transferred to a NZ cargo ship. We had friends on a Tayana 37 "Adventure Bound" that participated in the rescue and reported 10-12 meter seas (35+ ft) with 50 kt winds. They came out of this with little damage and arrived in Opua as "heroes" for their valiant efforts while standing-by for the survivors to be transferred to the cargo ship. Meanwhile, for those of us to the South of the Tropical Storm, we were undergoing various degrees of fortune and damage: mostly blown out sails and rigging failure. Our winds continued to blow strongly from the SE for two days. Finally, the winds shifted to the Northwest and blew off the land with a consequent drop in sea height. We entered Opua in late evening and found a mooring until the following morning.

November 12, 2011

We got up this morning at 0600 hrs. We dropped our mooring line and proceeded to the Custom's "Q" dock. There was no one on the long semicircular dock and no cleats to tie up to. As I approached the dock, Phyllis jumped off the boat, to take a line, and broke her hip. There she lay, on the dock, as I circled around and called for help. Finally, another boat approached and took my line. I called for emergency help on VHF 16. Arrangements were made to get her off the Custom's dock to an ambulance and then the hospital. Opua is a rather remote place. It has all the yachting facilities but little in the way of stores or medical services. The nearest hospital is in Kawakawa which is about 20 minutes away. There, they were able to take x-rays and arrange for a transfer to Whangarei hospital which is about another 45 minutes south. All of this was done in a timely, efficient manner by a medical staff that was professional and pleasant. The medical facilities are every bit as good as anything that we have in the States. They are able to attend to any medical emergency with the added plus that New Zealand has socialized medicine so the cost is ZERO. Any visitor that has an accident while in NZ is covered under the NZ Accidental Insurance Plan. Perhaps, one day, we may reach this level of civilized medical coverage: every NZ citizen is covered from birth to death by their medical system without cost.

The one thing that one sees when travelling to so many different countries and cultures, is the quality of life its citizens deserve. These range from the high quality of life and opportunity offered in French Polynesia to a low in Tonga which is strapped with an aristocracy and then New Zealand which seems to have worked out a system where its people are- generally- happy, content and prosperous. The USA is still the land of greatest opportunity but not, necessarily, contentment, happiness and the other qualities that put its citizenry at the forefront of civilized countries.

Monday, October 22, 2012

A few more pictures of the Tongan flavor that we have enjoyed tremendously.

All the yachts in Vava'u Harbor

Old but still running.

Street entertainment.

Different groups dancing.

More dancing.

Beautiful wares for sale.

School pupil singing Ave Maria

School band playing for the people at the fair.

Catholic Church on the hill seen from our yacht

Touring a place called A Taste of Tonga It is all about what you do with coconuts. This first picture is about disposing of the coconut shell after they have taken out all the meat.

They are put in theses barrels heated with fire and come out as charcoal.

Showing us the charcoal.

He is grinding out the meat out of the coconut which comes out as shredded coconut.

You can see the shredded coconut.

The shredded coconut is then put into a drum which is ground down to a pulp and the cream is extracted and comes out as coconut liquid . The liquid is then processed and comes out as pure of the pure coconut oil and coconut cream, nothing goes to waste..

That bucket is full of coco.nut liquid .

Then here is the pure coconut oil

The view from the owners patio.

We treated to ginger tea and cheese made from the coconut. How wonderful yes wonderful.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

NEIAFU, VAVA'U, TONGA

September 24, 2012

There have been no recent posts because we haven't gone anywhere since arriving in Neiafu. In the beginning we were waiting on a shipment of our "meds" from the States and then we started on various projects. The Volvo Penta engine needed some attention: an injector pump, heat exchanger repair and leak on turbo charger seal. This has now been addressed and we are getting ready to sail out to all the beautiful outlying islands in the area

Right now, Neiafu is in the throes of sponsoring their 4th Annual Vava'u Regatta. There are all kinds of activities going on and it's fun to participate or be onlookers. This town is made up of mostly expat Aussies, Kiwis and a smattering of other nationalities along with the ubiquitous American and German. The town is a step back in time to the days when Phyllis and I were travelling backpackers. There is very little of Tonga's archaeological past to be seen. The missionaries did such a thorough job of cleansing that nothing really remains of the remote past. Most of the music is 70's, 80's and pop. The Tongan language and dress are very much alive and used.

If I could make an observation, on very limited exposure, I would say that there is far more artistic creativity and energy in French Polynesia. Also, the fabulous ruins and temples of the past were very much evident. In no way do I mean to denigrate the Tongans a lesser status than that of other Polynesian societies: they are charming, helpful and friendly.

We have spent so much time here because we can't sail for New Zealand until the end of October. The southern part of Tonga and Nukualofa is not as beautiful as the middle and northern parts. So we'll hang out here and then sail to Ha'api in the middle group around October 10th.

As we move around the outlying islands, I'll come up with some observations to post.