New Zealand

October 21, 2004

0800 hours we raised anchor and motor sailed over to West Atata Island. We anchored there as it is a convenient jumping off point for the New Zealand run. We had boat chores, such as stowing the dinghy etc. and while at this anchorage, we received a "custom" weather forecast from a commercial weather service giving us the go ahead to leave for NZ. We cleared the reef entrance at 1145 hours and set sail for Opua, New Zealand.

The wind was quite high and stayed in the 24 to 30 knot range all day with occasional rain showers and high choppy seas. Naturally we were closereaching, which is our most uncomfortable point of sail. "Commanders Weather" had recommended that we head out more to the southwest than the direct or "rhumb" line, which is what we did. The conditions remained pretty uncomfortable all night with DoodleBug reefed down to about a third of the Genoa plus two thirds of the mizzen with no mainsail set and still sailing at 8 knots plus.

October 22, 2004

Position: 22 10.1 S 177 44.9 W

0630 hours finds us at 22 10.1 S 177 44.9 W having run 154 miles in the past 18 and a half hours. This is good progress. The wind is now off the beam at 21 knots or so. We are hoping for a better ride than yesterday but so far little sign of it with steep confused seas following the wind shift we have experienced. New Zealand here we come........

October 23, 2004

Position 24 17.7 S 179 50.4 W

0700 hours (local time). We are 340 miles from Tongatapu with 800 miles or so to go. We are beam reaching at over 8 knots and have been maintaining this for some time. Annette is still queasy but is much better than when we started. The weather has been cloudy with just a little rain every now and then. This weather pattern is supposed to change with a cold front on Monday / Tuesday next. We are making "westing" in anticipation of the wind shift. Nothing much to report - no ships, whales etc. seen. The big happening last night was when a largish flying fish (8 inches or so) plopped into the cockpit next to me. We took his photograph and chucked him back over the side. If he was bigger or had a brother, we might have dug out the frying pan.

October 24, 2004

Position 26 13.5 S 178 14.2 E

0340 hours local time puts us at 26 13.5 S 178 14.2 E, approximately 600 miles north of New Zealand. She did it again! I was going to write about the thrill of seeing the longitude go from "West" to "East" when we crossed the dateline but Annette has eclipsed this again. She was messing around in the galley just after noon yesterday, when a freak wave caught us on the beam. DoodleBug heaved and Annette was not holding on to anything, as she had her hands full. She went flying across the cabin and landed on the corner of the nav station. She has probably broken a couple of ribs. Right now she is wedged into the pilot berth with all of the pillows aboard to stop her moving. Yesterday I was filling her up with prescription painkillers but this morning she is considerably better although she still needs help to sit up. Right after the accident, I called the US Coast Guard on the satellite phone. They in turn patched me through to Pacific Command somewhere and they patched me through to New Zealand Rescue. I just wanted to talk to a medic about what symptoms of complications to look for etc. but they do get wound up. When I explained we didn't need a helicopter yet, the "life flight" guy sounded positively disappointed. Frankly the idea of trying to get someone with cracked ribs into a helicopter - in the type of seas we were experiencing then - is my idea of a nightmare. We are about 9 hours ahead of our schedule due to the first couple of days of high winds, when we covered around 185 miles per day. Now the winds have dropped and I have asked "Commander's Weather" - the commercial service we are using, for an update on the expected cold front for Monday. If we can hold our present speed, we are just over three days out from Opua. We are ALL fine here on DoodleBug and are looking forwards to dry land.

October 25, 2004

Position: 29 9.0 S 176 48.5 E

0710 hours local time. Position is 29 09 S 176 48.5 E. Yesterday morning I sent Commander's Weather a request for an updated weather forecast. They responded instantly and we changed course for a direct ("rhumb line") approach to Opua, New Zealand. Right now we have 394 miles to go. If the weather cooperates and we hold the same speed, we should arrive Wednesday evening. I will probably make a night entrance to the harbor as there will be a two thirds moon and no question about the quality or maintenance status of New Zealand navigation markers.

Annette is fine but must be bored, wedged into a bunk all day long. She needs help getting in and out of the bunk but when she is vertical, she can move around OK. No dancing though.

We have been moving through a high pressure weather system, so the winds dropped early yesterday morning and we went to engine. This is less satisfactory than sailing, because we generally go faster when under sail. The waves still "remember" the wind that had been blowing and it was sloppy all day long. This morning we have passed through to the other side of the high, so the winds are now blowing from the west. The revised forecast has a cold front passing over us tomorrow night, with possible thunderstorms and squalls etc. After that it will be light winds into Opua - probably motoring again.

October 26, 2004

Position: 31 46.1 S 175 41.7 E

0615 hours: Position 31 46.1 175 41.7 E. There has been little wind on this side of the high pressure system we have crossed and we have continued to motor sail. I had problems with the starboard navigation light on the bow and had changed the bulb in the middle of the night without fixing the problem. Yesterday morning I went forwards, with a safety line on and clutching a handful of tools, to investigate the problem. The bulb fitting was choked with corrosion and one of the terminals had rotted off the bulb fitting completely. I dismantled it and hauled the whole mess back to the cockpit, to clean it all up. I finally managed to solder a piece of wire onto the corroded stub of the fitting. It was all put back together and should hold for....maybe a week. Long enough to buy a replacement in Whangarei!

Annette had had a slow morning, with some nausea and pain but in the afternoon got up to supervise the fixing of a "decent" meal. "Together" we fixed sweet and sour chicken over rice. I got to boil the water and stuff for the rice!! Actually she made me cut raw chicken into little slices and you know how much I hate messing with that slimy stuff. Fortunately all of the other components came out of cans and I am first rate with a can opener. It was good. I had seconds.

At around 1800 hours I spotted a sail on the horizon. We were under full sail in about 8 knots of wind plus engine, so we came up fast on "S/V Jaberwocky" (you know - "twas brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe... etc"). I altered course to pass close by and yelled "hello" at the sole occupant in the cockpit. He waved back and Jaberwocky soon disappeared from view over our stern. What really impressed me was that they never once showed up on our radar - at any setting of range or gain. Disturbing.

Around 1930 hours we received a call on the sat phone from New Zealand Rescue. We gave them our position, heading, speed etc. and we gave them an e.t.a. of Wednesday evening for our arrival in Opua. They asked for another update this morning and said they have arranged for an ambulance to meet us at the wharf. Annette wants me to take pictures.......

October 27, 2004

Position: 34 23 S 174 29 E

0640 hours local time. We are about 60 miles from the wharf in Opua and should arrive in about another eight and a half hours. First, Annette is feeling much better this morning and is moving around a lot more freely. Yesterday morning I performed a "speed run" on the engine by going to full throttle. The maximum engine speed is supposed to be 3,500 RPM, as it is a turbo-charged diesel. The maximum I could achieve was 2100 RPM and simple testing indicated that the on-engine fuel filter needed replacing. This was last done 179 engine hours ago. The on-engine filter is supposed to be an "every year or so" service item, as there is a large "Racor" filter between it and the tank. Gives you some idea of the fuel quality in these small remote islands. I swapped out the filter in about 15 minutes and we were underway again, with a new "maximum" or 3050 RPM. Much better.

An hour or so later, we were contacted by "New Zealand Airforce Orion" on the VHF radio. We chatted to them and then they did a low altitude pass by DoodleBug with a huge four engined military turboprop.

I wish they had warned us, so we could have taken a picture! The wind had dropped by mid morning yesterday and was in the 1 to 5 knot range until this morning. The sea was unrippled and oily looking, with big long period swells. Just about the time we felt we were completely alone in the world, Annette spotted a very large black fin, about a hundred feet away. It followed parallel to us for a way and then turned towards us and sank. Just like in "that" movie. Because it was so large and thick in section, we believe it must have been an Orca.

At 1800 hours I downloaded a 9 hour old weather forecast from the commercial service I had been using, recommending that I change course to the west immediately, to avoid strong contrary winds. I did make a course change but spent the next hour or so downloading other updated forecasts and talking to the New Zealand Rescue folks. I decided that the contrary winds we might see, would not exceed 10 knots and we would just "drive" through them with the engine, on a direct course to Opua. Then I panicked and began to wonder how much diesel I had in the main tank for a possible high throttle run with waves. I finished up refueling the main tank from the fifty gallons I was carrying in the stern locker in jerry jugs. This was accomplished in the dark on a pitching deck at 2100 hours. Made for a long day!

This morning I can see bits of New Zealand amongst the clouds on the horizon.

October 28, 2004

Position: 35 18.8 S 174 7.3 E

We arrived yesterday at 1500 hours local time, after a memorable run of 6 days and 3 hours. I had rigged a pole over the side with my first mooring line attached and the Customs officer was able to grab it from the dock and tie on. We were in! We had the marina make a doctor's appointment for Annette, while I filled out a "new" Custom's form - that contained exactly the same information as the older version I had already filled out. The rejection of my form was accompanied by references to museum version etc....Annette was lowered over the side and walked (slowly) over to the marina office, to be met by a shuttle to the nearby town. Annette's shuttle dropped her off at the doctor's office and she was examined almost immediately. She has at least two broken ribs plus deep bruising, torn cartilage etc. The doctor told her it will be six weeks before she is healed, that it will hurt a lot and she should "get up and go to the loo, if someone starts telling a good joke".

Meanwhile back at DoodleBug, the Immigration and Customs officers had left and the Agriculture officer was going through the fridges, freezers and food lockers and examining all, item by item. He was a very pleasant man and left after about an hour with three filled garbage bags, only one of which was DoodleBug's trash bag. The other two bags contained food items that "might" provide an infection risk to New Zealand's agriculture based economy. It was a good thing Annette didn't have to watch her big jar of Orville Redenbacher popcorn being confiscated. When he departed, I made a trip to the marina office and all agreed that we would spend the night at the quarantine dock before moving into the marina proper, tomorrow. I was just beginning to check the mooring lines and put stuff away, when Annette returned. (Notice we did make her take the bus !...well...shuttle). We closed up the boat and headed down the dock to a nearby restaurant for a truly great meal. DoodleBug is in New Zealand!!!!!

October 29, 2004

The marina people here have been fantastic. I was puzzled at first on how everyone seemed to know everything about us and Annette's accident, before we even arrived. It appears that daughter Helen had already contacted the marina, while we were still out at sea and had copied to them excepts from our website "diary" and had requested information on local hospitals and medical facilities etc. What a sweetie! About all we managed to do yesterday was to ride a shuttle to the local town to use an ATM machine and waddle over to a restaurant for a fine lunch on the waterfront. We lazed around in the afternoon and later headed back our restaurant of first landfall for another fine meal. We have six days of calorie intake to make up!

Today we rented wheels and drove an hour or so into the nearby port of Whangarei. New Zealand is such a pretty country. The drive was in light traffic on a tree-lined two lane road, that wound around and over low hills. The land was divided into a series of small farms - just as in the movie "Babe". Very clean, very neat. Everyone we have met here seems friendly and "laid back". It does remind me a lot of small town American mid-west but green with trees and water.

Whangarei is a funky little place, population about 45,000. There is a "turning basin" that provides a focal point for a tourist center, with scores of restaurants, gift shops, art galleries etc and marinas on both sides of the river. We headed over to Riverside Drive Marina to meet and talk with the owner. Our intent is to sail DoodleBug here early next week. We will then spend several days cleaning the boat and preparing her for storage. We then plan to fly to Los Angeles and the marina folks will later use a "travel lift" to lift DoodleBug out of the water and store her on the "hard" for the next 4 to 5 months. We expect to be back in Santa Fe around the 16th. November.

Annette's ribs are still providing her with plenty of discomfort but a couple of hours of shopping in Whangarei seemed to perk her up far more than any mere painkiller.

October 30, 2004 Thru November 1, 2004

A slow week-end in Opua. I searched the internet for a "hack" to convert our DVD player to multi-region, so we could rent from the local video store. S/V Freewind arrived and we headed into the local village to eat at a restaurant called "Just Seafood". Fabulous food. On Sunday, I changed the engine and transmission oil and we checked the weather for the morning. The wind angle did not look too good for a southeast sail down the coast, so we decided to delay our departure for another day.

November 2, 2004

Position: 35 36.6 S 174 31.6 E

0710 hours we slipped out of the marina and headed out to sea again. There was a single yacht heading in and I guessed correctly that it was S/V Resolute with Jack and Daphne aboard, just arriving from Tonga. We hailed them on the radio and yelled greetings at them as we passed.

The drive out across the bay was directly into the winds and a wretched short chop. Lots of spray and banging. As we exited the bay and turned to the southeast we were able to raise the sails and the ride settled down considerably. Annette did not enjoy the motion with her sore ribs that were just getting used to being on land. At 1400 hours we turned back to the southwest to enter Tutukaka harbor. The harbor entrance was extremely narrow with high cliffs and lots of mean looking rocks with breakers. It took an act of faith to trust the range markers which were alleged to bring us to safety. A high adrenalin run brought us into the marina at 35 36.6 S 174 31.6 E. A very pleasant location - quiet, laid back with a calm marina surrounded by hills on all sides.

November 3, 2004

Position: 35 43.7 S 174 20.0 E

0720 hours local time, we slipped out of Tutukaka marina and headed out between the ferocious rocks guarding the bay entrance, back into the Pacific. We sailed south for a while and then turned back towards the west into the estuary of Whangarei harbor. At 1250 hours, we were tied up at the dock at Riverside Drive Marina. We have sailed about 12,000 miles to get here. The next time we will venture out onto the briny will be next April or May. Meanwhile, we have champagne chilling in the refrigerator.

Although from the date you may think we know the results of the election, we are across the dateline remember! You are voting today and whoever wins, we will toast the new President and wish him (and us) luck.

November 4, 2004 thru November 16, 2004

We spent most of the week in Whangerei in a flurry of "preparing DoodleBug for storage". She is to be lifted onto the "hard", where she will remain until May of 2005 - throughout the Southern Hemisphere cyclone season. We have "pickled" our watermaker, cleaned the bilges (yuk), removed and stowed various sails and have somehow packed all of our electronic and computer junk into two large bags. Each bag was close to the airline weight limit of 32 kilos and we have hardly bothered to take any clothes with us! We then flew to Los Angeles and the US Customs let us back into the USA, without a second glance at our declaration.

In Los Angeles we had a very pleasant visit with our youngest daughter, Marian and with some friends who are also Santa Fe neighbors. We finally arrived home in Santa Fe to a house with no heat and a temperature of 48 degrees Fahrenheit. The furnace had somehow developed a fault. I dug around and found a voltage meter plus screwdriver and tracked the fault to a high temperature sensor. This I was fortunately able to reset. Now it will only take 48 hours for the house to come back up to a livable temperature! This is the first time we have felt cold in nearly a year.

We have really enjoyed the past 11 months of sailing, with all of the exotic places we have visited and the new friends we have made. We are also enjoying our own bed - which does not move, food of known origin and the quiet of the mountains. For the next 5 or 6 months, we will trade the risks and perils of reefs, storms, pirates and bad food for the New Mexico perils of drunk drivers and disgruntled democrats. We do not expect to put to sea again until late May or early June of 2005, probably bound for Fiji. The democrats will have to wait another four years.