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En Route to the Aucklands

December 20 AT SEA AT LAST

We left Waitane's berth under power at 1532. A few minutes later we were cruising past lines of fishing boats parked up at Nelson for the Christmas break. Moments later we were in a 3m swell leaving the harbour entrance. The forecast was Northwest gales easing and bearing to the North during the forenoon. This was less than ideal. By noon the weather appeared to be clear, and in harbour the wind was about 20 knots.

At lunch we had been full of water but we needed fuel. We had filled the 6x 60 litre petrol cans in the morning but had to move to another berth so the BP tanker could reach us. It took a 5 minute jaunt around the harbour to get to the main Nelson Container wharf. The wharf height had dwarfed our boat and the tanker, which I rode in on was way above the yacht. Larry the tanker driver lowered the hose down to Dad and I climbed down to help him aboard. We found that Waitane had small imperial filling holes that would not take the size of the small gun the tanker was using. Thus a painful process of trickle feeding the tanks was started. The two port tanks were even worse. A ridiculous filling arrangement meant that a small 5mm-diesel line was used to fill the second tank. We had to take the diesel hose down through the interior of the boat to a tank top plug with a greater aperture otherwise we would have been there all day. About an hour later we were done and I got a free ride back in the tanker.

Larry the tanker driver from BP was a great guy who offered any help we needed with anything. He could not have been more helpful with everything and said that if we're still in town the next day that we should give him a shout if we needed anything. We said our goodbyes and as he was leaving John Bolitho from Bolitho marine arrived with our outboard. A minor misunderstanding with Roger meant we were left with no outboard on the 3.3m inflatable. It would have been $900 to rent so we decided that we should buy a 15hp Yamaha at $1700. It's not a big engine but then huge engines gobble lots of petrol and we had precious little space for extra. Besides that the 3.3m inflatable which is as large as we could safely tie on deck would not take more than a 20hp motor. We carried 6x60 litre drums of petrol was as much as we could safely manage. That had to cover our use for the outboard, the dive compressor and the 230 volt generator used to charge all the myriad of batteries we carried for the various pieces of expedition equipment. The problem with petrol as all boaties know is that the combustible fumes are heavier than air so you can't stow it below decks. On the other hand topside weight is a danger to vessel stability.

Anyway at last we were at sea. Everyone was just pleased to be on our way to our destination. We motored for 5 hours through an uncomfortable Northwest swell on the port bow that frequently brought waves over the bow. Having departed the harbour as soon as we possibly could we neglected to tie down the heavy items on the aft deck. We werent expecting to hit the swell straight away. Immediately I set about tying down the drums, the spare gas, the dive compressor and the outboard while everyone else got familiar with the boat's motion. It had been a while since I had been to sea and perhaps with a bit of fatigue I threw up for the first time ever at sea about half an hour out of harbour. The swell was moderate but everyone was afflicted somehow. Steve, Mike and Julie Ooi all went to bed for a while. Suave relocated to the wheelhouse and JH, Dad and I all took shifts on the helm until we reached Croiselles Harbour at 2100. Quite a few people threw up, but Steve probably felt it the worst since he is the sailor with the least experience. The next morning when he awoke, the girls caught Steve in a daze, saying to himself, "Waitane is Maori for 'you shall puke'". This unintentionally received a good laugh, and was put on a quote list that the members are maintaining for laughs.

Steve and Suave recovered remarkably quickly when I suggested they go for a dive. They returned after checking the anchor to report the visibility was less than a foot and the 75-foot deep bottom was so soft that Suave had sunk into it. The two scrubbing brushes Suave had taken to scrub the bottom of the boat had floated out of his BCD pockets. Those guys sure found a creative way of avoiding doing some cleaning.

After another great meal we started our first anchor watch. Each person was allocated one hour during the night to watch that we had not dragged anchor in the soft bottom. The sky was unbelievably beautiful. After about 0300 (3am) most of the clouds had disappeared, revealing some of the brightest stars I'd seen in a while. Steve was absolutely amazed at the sky and the stars of the Southern Hemisphere that he usually doesn't get to see. I think he spent more time watching the stars than the anchor.

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December 21 NO WIND AND NO ENGINE

Morning came all too soon. After going to bed at 12, I was up at 5 to go on watch with Dad. We were lifting anchor to head for French Pass, a notorious passage through a small gap between Durville Island and the mainland. The current reaches 7 knots, so the only possible time to get through the 20 metre gap is at still water between the tides. Before we could go anywhere we had to get the anchor up and the anchor winch became another item I had to add to my list. With over 60 metres of chain on the bottom a cheap metal fitting on the winch crumpled under the strain. Oh well I guess it's back to the old fashioned hand winch. At 5 in the morning to launch into serious physical exercise is a bit of a jolt to the system. Anyway between Dad and I we made pretty short work of the chain. It took us only 45 minutes to get it in by hand and then we were away to our next destination.

So far we have been awed with scenery. The views have been amazing. Nelson was the most beautiful township and cliffs that follow the water line north along the coast to Marlborough sounds are quite impressive. It was no less spectacular as we approached Durville Passage (French Pass). You could see the swirls in the water from some distance. As we got closer the water flow through the narrow gap was more like a river than anything I had seen on the sea. I saw Dad start to struggle with the help and jumped to help him. We were an hour early for still water and the current was catching the bow with such force that at one point we were headed direct for the shore. It was only on the approach that we had trouble. Dad sneaked up the side of the main current and we made pass with no problem.

A short while later we were in full sail. Oh the silence was wonderful. No engine no artificial vibrations, just sunshine and sea swells. A short while later we passed a seal sleeping on the water surface. It swam off once we disturbed it. At 2pm we reached the outer entrance of Tory channel, a major shipping route from Wellington to Picton. We pulled the boat up in the lee of the headland so I could put a shackle on the prop shaft. The brake system had failed causing smoke from the over heated brake disc to drift through the cabin. Since the shaft was now rotating under the force of water against the propeller we had to stop the boat so I could tie it off. All because of an old transmission that only has its bearing lubricated when the motor is running.

Steve showed us his cooking skills by making a quiche for lunch. Another divine meal was had by all. It couldn't have been easy since the oven wasn't working and he had to use the stove top. Thanks Steve. 1530 we made a course change for Cape Campbell. We are now heading South for Auckland Islands. The sailing is really quite magic. We are all starting to relax, the kick back of city air is disappearing behind us and it feels wonderful. We were doing 8.5 knots under sail though it didn't feel like it. At 1600 we picked up a weather fax. I was delighted that we had no problems with the SSB which we had to buy just before departure. The SSB on Waitane was really not up to scratch, at least not for capturing weather fax and doing email on a laptop. Anyway that flash piece of equipment set us back over $3,500 but I was happy that something worked without any complication. The fax came in crystal clear and our ability to receive accurate weather fax is critical to the safety of all on board as well as wear and tear on the boat in the roaring forties.

I heard the girls yelling on deck. They had checked the fishing line we had been trailing behind the boat for a few hours to find that we had caught a fish. The boys commented that it can't have been a very big one if the girls could pull it in but despite the chauvanism it was a good catch. It was a baracuda which we freed and sent back. Not long after that we were visited by a school of hector dolphins. They stayed with us for a while.

Dinner was beef curry for most, and veggie curry for Steve and Julie. Just after dinner half a dozen hector dolphins joined us and rode our bow wave for some time. I think everyone grabbed a few photos, especially Steve who was completely taken by the beauty of these mammals. The weather was still perfect though we had the wind just on our tail which is always hard from a helming perspective. We swapped around the helm a few times so we could get a number of small tasks completed on the boat. Conditions were quite ideal and the red glow of the sunset was extremely relaxing. Several times in the later evening the boom had swung across since we were very close to the wind. This is not a very safe thing because when it comes back it usually does so with some force. To a sailor it's described as an uncontrolled gybe. Being a big concrete ketch Waitane was not as responsive to the helm as other similar size vessels which made the gybe problem a little more of a risk than it might be, however it was fair weather and no-one thought too much of it. Suave had been on the helm for sometime and was getting familiar as we all had when the boom swung across. Dad was ahead of me out of the companion way. As I got to the deck I could see the boom about to start its return.

From where I stood the main sheet was going to clean out Suave and Dad so I immediately lurched to push the mainsheet around them as they focused on bringing the boat around. Unfortunately the boom was too quick for me to catch in my hand. Instead it caught me down one side of my neck as I lurched toward it. I was thrown head-first into the ratlines on the other side of the boat. Swearing and cursing as I stood up I was in fact not badly hurt. I collected a couple of cuts and a bruise to my head, a nasty series of rope burn down my neck and jaw plus one or two other bruises to my hip and ankle. Other than being a bit pissed-off, I was unhurt. I recuperated momentarily in the wheel house. I had been there a moment or two when we gibed again. I wasn't so keen to grab the sheet this time instead I went to release the mainsheet from the pin but again I was too slow. This time we put a 4 meter tear through the middle of our main sail. With the team quickly on deck we had secured in a few minutes. As nightfall was approaching we dropped the sail rather than put a bigger tear in the part that was left.

I was on the 8pm-12am watch but having been working since 5am I was only too pleased to accept an offer from Julie Ooi to relieve me early. We sailed by headsail and mizzen until about midnight when the wind dropped to less than 5 knots. Dad started up the engine. It seemed like hours had passed when I vaguely heard the engine start but it had only been two hours.

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December 22 WORK DAY

It's not until you actually write out the date that you realise how close it is to Christmas. Ken Luxton from North sails is due to start the sail repair this evening and we have a long list of jobs to do on the boat. Our main item is for our local friend Gary, off the Dream Catcher, to finish his work on the motor that included helping us trace all the diesel lines. With a new boat and everything that had been happening we had not had a chance to record our diesel consumption. Roger had told us that our motor only consumed 5 litres per hour but Gary was adamant there was no way this motor would only consume 5 litres per hour and that seemed very believable based on the other boat specs we had looked at. The consequence of Gary's assertion is that we were not going to be carrying enough fuel. More to the point we are not capable of carrying the ideal quantity of diesel. Gary said he thought about 8-9 litres of fuel would be about right per hour!! Oh shit. That means I am out by almost a factor of two. Our planned voyage of 1850 nautical miles catered for 50% sail and 50% motor. While you can usually get better value out of the wind you need to run the motor daily to recharge the boat batteries so 50/50 is a good rule of thumb. The 720 litres of deisel we can carry in our main tanks will give us 80 hours of steaming and at 7 knots that gives us only 560 miles or a motor to sail distance ratio of 30%.

We also needed to work out why our batteries are not charging. The boat was well lived in but it seems like everything of a nautical concern has been neglected. The batteries were all fully charged when via on shore power but now that we are relying soley on our engine charging we have another story.

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December 23 MORE WORK by Steve

Hi, it's Steve again. Well, I've decided to give Paul a break and do some of the work besides just proof-reading what Paul typed. Today we washed some of our clothes by hand, and made lots of repairs. We had work to do on the winch and sail battons to only mention 2 of the many repairs. Actually, I'm really writing this journal entry to give any landlubbers a more colourful perspective of life at sea. It's not all fun and games, swimming with dolphins, and meeting mermaids. There's a lot of hard work, and some of it is down right disgusting. On land, as most people do, I use a toilet. As soon as you step onto a boat, you use a head. Now, the head is about as big as a small kitchen cupboard. To make things worse, it is very hard to flush. The flushing action is done by flipping a valve, and then manually pumping the waste into a holding tank. Well, someone clogged the head, which made for very interesting travel. The guys were lucky enough that they were able to pee over the side of the boat. The girls on the other hand were given a bucket. There were quite a few snickers from the guys. Well, early one morning only the girls were on the deck doing their watch. When I awoke, I had to get on deck because I had to pee. After the girls ensured that I didn't pee into the wind I finished up, only to find them snickering at me. "You're just jealous!" I said, "because you have to pee in a bucket." I was struck silent and scared when the girls calmly said, "Just wait until you have to shit."

We also had quite a few problems berthing. Arriving in Lyttelton Harbour with our torn mainsail, our engines died. We later found that it was due to contaminated diesel. Anyway, we were approaching the harbour using only our mizzen and jib sails. We called the harbour master to alert him to our situation, and the assistance we would need. The berth we were to take was one of the toughest to get into, and we didn't have the engines to provide the maneuverability we needed. We ended up missing the berth, and making an emergency landing on a piece of the dock well downstream of our intended berth. The wind was against us, and the harbour master's zodiak was lacking enough power to tow us. They got a more powerful boat, and with lots of effort, we finally got berthed.

Lyttelton is quite the place. It's a very small town built on a mountain, well actually the inside of a volcanic crater. Never have I seen such steep and narrow streets. The people are so friendly. A very kind couple ran into town twice to pick up information about the local dive shops when they found out that we were divers. We were also given a tour of the beautiful town by another local. It is possible to take a tunnel through the side of the mountain to reach the much bigger city of Christchurch. We certainly chose a very interesting place to land.

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December 23 CAN ANYTHING ELSE GO WRONG?

Having updated our journal in Lyttleton we had to send it back to Mark and Ian at Clearfield in Auckland before we put to sea. Steve was still on board checking it as I ran into town to a shop which advertised internet access. As per boat rules anyone who goes into town carries a VHF and with good reason. I don't think anyone went ashore without being called up to add something to their shopping list. I had just reached the main street when Julie called me up to get half a dozen green peppers, some creamed corn and some flaky pastry and to tell me that Waitane was moving to refuel at the main wharf. From there we would put to sea. No problem I said. I told the shop owner that I would be back at six with a floppy disk that I would collect from Waitane at the fuelling wharf.

Before we could sail we had a little more work to do on the mast lights. Because it is not possible to rewire mast lights without taking the mast out we instead tapped two complete wires all the way up to the masthead lights and the spreader lights (these light the deck so we can work at night). This took the best part of an hour to complete. A final check of the other lights showed the stern light was out. What a pain, it had been working. A few checks of the wiring showed that the bulb had blown. It took 20 minutes to change the bulb and we were finally on our way about 2200 (10pm). Dad had all the courses plotted and we arranged ourselves into our sailing watches. The watch system means we were on deck 4 hours at a time. Before any team went on watch they had to prepare the appropriate meal and eat. The watch coming off deck, first ate and then did the dishes and any other cleaning chores that had to be done. The watch times were all 4 hours apart except for the evening period of 4pm to 8pm which was broken into two watches, so that each watch rotated through all the watch shifts.

Suave and Mike were in my watch which was on until midnight. When our engine failed over two days ago, we were on our way into Lyttleton harbour to get our sails fixed. As per Murhy's law the timing was immaculate. Then we had just entered the shipping lanes of the harbour. We had reduced sail capabilities with no main and were about to make what was going to be a tricky berth at the best of times. We got the boat in quite safetly after some confusion about which berth we were supposed to make. When we found out later we just laughed at the thought of making it into the designated berth under wind alone. Instead we drifted down onto walkway not designed for berthing but it did just fine. On the way a [????] that gave me an unexpected swim. My sailing gear needed the wash so it wasn't all bad. The line I was holding followed me over so I was able to make a quick recovery much to everyone's surprise.

Now we just wanted to put all the annoying boat problems behind us and focus on things more important to us and more enjoyable. The Waitane is a very seaworthy vessel that was simply in a state of poor maintenance. This was a frustration to all of us and it chewed up huge amounts of time.

At last we were at sea. We watched the motor carefully for signs of problems but all was well when I left my shift at midnight. Just after 2am I was woken by the engine. It was idling down and eventually it stopped. I guess we still had problems. I jumped out of bed and met Dad in the saloon. We changed over from the starboard forard tank to the starboard aft tank not really knowing why the motor had stopped. Anyway that seemed to do it. The engine started fine and I went back to bed puzzled as to why the port forard tank was still three quarters full. I had been in bed only five minutes when the engine again stopped. This did not look good. Contaminated diesel was the first thought that came to mind. We switched to the port tanks and again the engine started fine.

Our big concern was the reliability of the engine. We had marginal sails that could easly tear again in a good blow so we really didn't need an engine that could not be relied upon. It was also going to be Boxing Day (Dec 26) in Dunedin, our next port of call, and it would be next to impossible to get someone to take a look at our motor. It didn't take long to decide we should head back to Lyttleton so Gary could take another look at things. We were at best 6 hours out of Lyttleton which meant we would be back at our berth not long after day break.

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December 24 DIVERS AHOY

We had just settled in our berth when Gary came onto the deck of his own smaller Hartley. He yelled "what are you doing here. I thought you were long gone". Gary came straight over and after just a few minutes was able to tell me that the starboard tanks which looked bright and shiny like new were in fact full of sludge, showing me the content of the fuel filters. This was a relief. The extra discussion we had with Gary was worthwhile even though we had to travel some way to get it. Straight after breakfast Suave and Steve with Julie Ooi as the boat person took our untested inflatable for a dive workout. Being the first time they had gone anywere in the inflatable it took the best part of two hours for the trio to actually leave the yacht. They decided to go out to the heads. This would take the inflatable a good hour and leave us with plenty of time to get some cleaning and sorting out done including topping up the fuel and water.

At 1200 we slipped Lyttleton hoping we wouldn’t be back. It was a gorgeous day which made it very pleasant motoring up the harbour. I took the helm while Dad and Julie tidied up below. The cliffs lining the sides of Lyttleton were most impressive. They were earthy, barren and lacking vegetation. The turquoise water, red rocky cliffs and blue sky form quite a contrast. The hector dolphins that guard the harbour entrance also add to the serene setting.

I asked Julie H to pass me the specs as well as my hand-held VHF. We weren’t quite sure where the divers were. Suave asked me about a bay recommended by a Christchurch dive shop. Suave and Steve had been to Christchurch during our previous days in Lyttleton and had taken the opportunity to find out about local dive sites should they get the opportunity to escape the ship. The bay they wanted to get to would have taken two hours by inflatable and was in exposed waters. I convinced Suave to go only as far as the heads but he still seemed to be out of VHF range. VHF will reach up to 60 n. miles but is only a line of sight technology. The slightest obstruction like cliffs is therefore not too helpful. I had no complaints as I scanned the many sights to see with the binoculars.

My mind wandered to our passage into harbour during early hours this morning. We were on a collision course with a fishing boat that was leaving harbour. Apparently the vessel had not seen us. Often skippers leave the helm for a few minutes to complete duties which gives the same illusion. The vessel did not respond to my course correction to starboard. We didn’t have that much more seaway to starboard and the vessel was moving gentle to port as it approached. While I had time I jumped into the wheel house and retrieved my VHF. I hailed the vessel on the maritime emergency VHF channel 16. Every vessel underway at sea is required to listen on Ch16. The coastguard throughout NZ maintain a 24 hour watch on channel16 for distress calls. Hailing the vessel is not only a good way of getting their attention but it is also a good way to make sure that a few more people are aware of what is going on should something go wrong. Immediately the vessel responded and swung its course away to starboard. We passed with about 50 metres to spare.

The divers must be around here somewhere, I thought to myself. I picked them up faintly on the VHF as I approached the harbour entrance. Obviously Mike and Steve had managed to successfully repair all the holes in the inflatable. Just then Dad was able to confirm that the trio were just to the South of Levy Pt at the entrance to Lyttleton harbour still having fun. Two minutes later they were in sight and we could see Julie O sitting in the dinghy as boat minder while the men were out doing the hunter-gatherer thing. Suave had purchased a new Hawaiian spear while in Christchurch and had naturally been keen to try it out. It took almost an hour to get the three on board and have everything stowed so we could put to sea. During the tidy-up a handful of hector dolphins came over to check out our catch. We had to restrain Steve, nicknamed "the fish", from getting back in the water with them. Anyway the trio had a full catch-bag of fish, sea eggs, mussels and oysters and conflicting accounts of who caught everything. Steve, the vegetarian, was good enough to clean them all.

At last we were off with nothing but sea, wind and one fuel stop between us and Auckland Islands. I wondered how Peter Foster was faring. Peter was a cyber-friend that I had not been able to meet in person but had been corresponding with via email over the past few months. It was a rare coincidence to find someone else in the throes of preparing an expedition and one with the same schedule and destination as ours. Sailing to the Islands, even on a big boat, is generally considered ample qualification as a sailor. Peter’s vessel Reliance is only 31 feet long he planned to make the voyage by solo! Peter was also one of the few people who seemed to really do their homework. He had also written a series of articles for New Zealand Marine Scene. We had formerly agreed that we would join Meri Leask on Bluff Fishermen's radio each evening and in this way we could make contact. The last I had heard from Peter was when he was in the vicinity of Nelson. His original departure was mid-December, but he had been delayed due to a problem with his engine. Nothing major.

Like I said before it wasn’t until I wrote the date out that I realised how close it was to Christmas. Now it was Christmas Eve. With all the hold ups Christmas Day would find us at sea in transit to Port Chalmers. This is one of the longer passages and is largely out of sight of land. But before leaving sight of land we would get to enjoy the wonderful cliffs and unfolding landscape of Banks Peninsula and the French settlement at Akaroa.

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December 25 CHRISTMAS DAY

Julie and Julie were the first to see Christmas day with their watch finishing at midnight on Christmas Eve. I think everyone else was quite happy to by snugly tucked away in bed. Julie’s greeted everyone with a friendly Happy Xmas message in the Log. Suave and I took the watch just after midnight. The winds had dropped to almost nothing. Some special rigging of sails managed to keep a little bit of way on and I made an entry in the log to the effect that we needed to start the motor but with everyone a little tired and it being Christmas and all, that could wait until daylight.

Steve and Dad wrote in the log that sunrise was at 0547. It was a beautiful morning with nothing moving anywhere. At 1030 we were joined by large bottlenose dolphins on the bow. The girls reported lots of seabirds, including Royal Albatross and Cape Pigeons. Today, the crew relaxed under the sun in a quiet and gentle breeze with no swell and for once yachting was what it should be. By 1700 the wind had picked up to 20 knots. Quite beyond expectation we had a special Christmas Dinner with Christmas crackers, wine and steam pudding for desert. We all reveled in how bad the Christmas cracker jokes had become. We made jokes about the poor English translation and then tried to unsuccessfully improve on the jokes. After dinner it was present time.

It had been a rule that everyone should bring a present of value no greater than $10 to be given to another crew member on Christmas day. Now that it was present time there was the usual last minute wrapping and a collective defining of the rules for opening presents. Julie H suggested we try "I want what you have" present opening to get the maximum value out of the few small presents we had. Everyone agreed and shortly afterwards Julie produced a hat full of numbers. Julie O drew first pick and selected the biggest present which turned out to be a jar of sweets. Mike who was second decided he wanted the jar, so he requested it in preference to choosing again from the pool, making Julie O pick again. She opened a shot glass. I was third and decided the shot glass was the best option. This was duly taken by Steve to the amusement of all. Dad got the biscuits which went uncontested and eventually Suave, seventh in line was swapped off the helm so he could make the final selection. He chose the unopened present, which turned out to be a box of chocolates.

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December 26 BOXING DAY AT PORT CHALMERS

Steve and Rob did the midnight to 0400 shift. At 0345 they sighted Tairua Head light which lies at the entrance to Otago Harbour and by 0700 we were making our approaches. We had to stop at Port Chalmers to refuel and collect the last of the GPS equipment that was waiting for us. This would be our last stop at any sort of civilisation so getting a banana milkshake and a Pixie Caramel was on the top of my list. On passage from Lyttleton we had discovered that due to an airlock in the diesel fill lines we had not filled all of our diesel tanks. Both of the starboard tanks had only been partly filled. This did not change the fact that we had to stop for fuel on any account. Having reworked all our fuel consumption figures it was clear that we must take every opportunity to refuel if we wanted to be able to pursue all of our planned activities. With the weather looking so good it might mean we would not have to detour past shelter of Stewart Island, as previously planned, saving us a very welcome day.

Even so, during our lengthy stay in Lyttleton our adjusted passage schedule showed that we would not be able to make our stop at Bluff to meet with the Department of Conservation until December 27. This left us in a bit of a predicament. Christmas Day and Boxing day fell on a Friday and Saturday respectively which meant the two associated statutory holidays would fall on the following Monday and Tuesday Dec 27 and 28. It was also a prime holiday time so who knows how long it might take to arrange our required rendezvous. We really had no choice but to book Dad on a flight to Invercargill as we waited on sail repairs. So on Dec 22 Dad flew to meet with DOC. The one advantage gained by all of this was that it removed the necessity to stop at Bluff.

By 0830 Dad had us masterfully berthed along side. It was always a pleasure to watch him handle the boat in and out of berths. His many years experience showed him not only to be an expert in handling Waitane but pretty much everything. I am not sure if others took the time to watch and learn but I certainly did. It seems strange that in such a sea faring family the number of times I had sailed with Dad I could count only on one hand, and for that reason working with him was a great pleasure. I wondered if and when I would next get the opportunity after this trip

Our planned turn-around at Port Chalmers was 3 to 4 hours. Apart from taking on fuel and water we had to collect the GPS equipment from the Port Authority just a few hundred metres away and see if we could scrounge showers somewhere. Hot showers were a welcome end to each passage. We had our own shower on the boat but it wasn’t particularly comfortable. You had to remain seated and you had about as much room to move as a hermit crab has in its shell. Washing your person presented its challenges too The shower, for example, didn’t have a lockable latch on the door which meant that loosing ones balance might result in a very public moment. No matter, any shower was always welcome but it wasn’t like we could shower whenever we wanted. Gas consumption was under constant scrutiny.

During our leg from Lyttleton we had discovered that we had exhausted one of our natural gas bottles. This was very alarming. We had only two bottles which Roger had said would be ample for the trip and we had just used one in seven days flat. This was a significant miscalculation. Not really one that affected the feasibility of the trip but it did effect team moral. One of our shipboard luxuries must now bite the dust. There were really only three options, hot drinks, showers or toast. None too popular. We had to half our gas consumption for the remainder of the trip. Estimated showed that half our gas consumption was from cooking meals leaving pretty much everything else in the extravagant category. As it was, we had been unsuccessful with the oven so it wasn’t even a factor in our consumption. If only we had known before we could have easily acquired extra gas bottles. It’s hard to express how important these simple pleasures are in relieving the various tense moments that result from close living. The chance of us getting an extra gas bottle on Boxing Day in Port Chalmers was next to nil.

Fueling was started and I took the empty gas bottle to find a petrol station with LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas). Just after we had arrived the president of the Port Chalmers yacht club came down to greet us. He was more than helpful in arranging me a lift. It took me only a few minutes to hitch a lift back with a very nice retired couple who had taken a few months to tour around New Zealand and see some of the sights they had always wanted to see. They drove me back to the boat and I offered them a guided tour of Waitane. John took me up on the offer so I spent a few minutes explaining various aspects of the boat. As John departed, a couple more interested onlookers came over for a chat. As it turned out they had a very nice looking 60 foot wooden ketch and were also in the throes of departing later that day for a short summer break at Auckland Islands! I don’t think they ever made it because we never saw them again.

Trying to keep to our departure time we rounded up those who wanted to go to town. We would collect all the GPS equipment from the Gatehouse of the Port Authority. Originally I had sent these items to Arthur, owner of Elwing, in Dunedin. This was while we were still trying to find a replacement vessel. Once we settled on Waitane I wasn’t sure that we would stop in Port Chalmers so I had arranged for Arthur to courier the items to Bluff where we would have to stop to meet DOC. When Dad flew to Invercargill there was no sign of the cases. After a call to Arthur from Lyttleton I found that the equipment had only just been sent. Fortunately I was able to intercept them in Dunedin and have them freighted at no charge to Port Chalmers. I just had my fingers crossed that they would be there. Now it was Christmas and there was no chance of making contact with the courier firm had not been delivered.

While I was away in town Dad had scouted the area for a place to shower. He didn’t have much luck. As it happened the Port Chalmers pub was being looked after for a day or two on behalf of the normal proprietors and the stand-in manager wasn’t too keen on letting us make a mess. Steve and I decided to wander up and use the washrooms in any case and on the way stopped for a chat. The usual conversation followed and we explained we were en route to the Auckland Islands. The one customer whom I vaguely recognised and the custodian seemed impressed and proceeded to check we were suitably prepared. They were also keen to help in any way needed. The bartender added we should get back out on the water because recently boats had been caught inside the harbour for four weeks due to a series of blows that had made the harbour entrance impassable. They asked where we planned to seek shelter on the way down and if I had the local publications on good anchorages. When I replied that I wasn’t sure the patron offered to go find them for us. Not really wanting him to go to the trouble I said I could take a look on board and if we didn’t have them we would come back. They added that the old vessel Ranui was parked down on one of the jetties. The Ranui was one of the old coast watch vessels that serviced Auckland Islands for many years. I made a point to walk buy and see if I could find her. We thanked them for the best wishes and headed back to the boat.

The walk into town was also our ice cream stop. After a brief look in the Port Chalmers maritime museum and some photographs with the 50 year old diving suits we headed to the milk bar. I had just introduced Steve to Marmite so when I told him he had to have some Hokey Pokey he didn’t seem overly excited. I threw in a bottle of L& P, another NZ treat for good measure. Of course he was delighted and somewhat relieved when he saw what I had in store. I had my usual banana milkshake and Pixie Caramel and Julie and Julie helped themselves to some questionably nutritious chocolate covered ice cream bars. We grabbed a few spares for the rest of the team and headed back to the to collect the GPS gear. Here we received a stroke of luck. The gatekeeper saw our small group approach. He apparently had been advised that a group of Greenpeace protesters was in the area. The fact that I was carrying a hand-held VHF and was dressed in my red musto uniform was confirmation to him that he was about to get deluged by a group of organised environmentalists and that I was the leader. The action was centred on a container ship that was currently being loaded at the docks on her final voyage to the Middle East. On completion of the run she was to be grounded on the Indian coast for the locals to strip. The vessel was full of asbestos and according to Greenpeace the associated health concerns were not appreciated by the uneducated Indian natives.

Some distance away on the docks a port vehicle came speeding toward us. It didn’t take long to clear the confusion with the gatekeeper and when he found out we had to carry the crates over a kilometer he offered to take us and all the equipment around to the boat. In the meantime, he called the port security to inform them it was a false alarm. We were pleased to accept the lift.

Once back at the boat we made final preparations to sail. We stowed the newly acquired equipment below decks and started a look out for Suave who had disappeared without a VHF. I was standing up on the jetty when I saw the old friend from the pub approach with some papers in his hand. It was then that I realised who he was. It was Magnus Pike. I had met him almost two years ago in exactly the same spot. He was a local fisherman who had been in the area for 15 years. I had bumped into him while backpacking in search of a boat and skipper that might be equipped to make a voyage to the Auckland Islands. At the time he could not have been more helpful. Then it was a quiet day and there was no-one around when I struck up conversation with him. It was great to bump into him again. Under his arm he brought out photocopies of all the anchorage’s from Port Chalmers south that we might conceivably have cause to use. By now Dad had joined me and we both listened as Magnus went to some effort to explain in intricate detail a number of the anchorage’s that might provide safe haven in the event of a serious storm. We hadn’t long finished that conversation and Suave wandered back from his walk. Magnus offered to help us cast our lines. With self return lines around the bollards on the jetty I almost felt embarrassed to say I thought we were pretty much right. At 1504 Dad expertly maneuvered out of the difficult fueling berth. Over the noise of the engine Magnus yelled out "I can see you guys know what your doing". I glanced with a smile at Dad. He already had a big grin on his face.

We cleared Tairua head by 1600 and were under sail by 1630. Our course was 208 True which would take us all the way to Auckland Islands. Dinner was a pasta vegetable and sauce mix that was accompanied by Suave’s expertly prepared seafood mornay made from the fish caught off Lyttleton heads. Actually the girls had been asked to prepare the fish but they didn’t take kindly to the suggestion. Steve, being a vegetarian, wasn’t inclined to either have any or volunteer to cook it. That left Suave who did a nice job.

At 2200 we put another small tear in the newly repaired main sail – Ouch. We dropped the sail and gybed to a starboard tack. This time we would not repair it. Ken Luxdon from North Sails had warned us when he did the repair in Lyttleton that the sail was stuffed. He said the sail would handle up to 20 knots. We had 15-18 knots when it tore this time. There was no question of getting a new sail. It would take 4-6 weeks at this time of the year. Fortunately the tear was low enough that a reef would still render the sail useful but not dependable.

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December 27 BECALMED OFF TAUTUKU

Between midnight and 0700 the wind dropped from 15 knots to 5 and the seas eventually dropped away to nothing. We took the opportunity to work on the sail. We didn’t have much on board for repairing sails so in the end we gave it way deciding instead to use the main’s roller reefing system to roll the tear out of the working area. We did manage to effect some batten repairs though. The log mentions an engine problem was fixed but I cant remember which problem that was. Anyway by 1400 we were making an awesome 0.7 knots over the ground and it wasn’t entirely in the ideal direction. The bonus of course was that we all got to relax in the sun. For me though, each day in the sun while pleasant, was a day that might be better spent at the Islands. Being so early in the trip prudence created a need for patience. To burn the motors so early would undoubtedly be a bad precedent.

A couple of vessels passed by closer to the coast late that evening and that was about the extent of the happenings that day. Our battery systems were behaving more like they should. At Lyttleton I had spent about half a day trying to track how a combination of old and new wiring sourced power from the batteries. We had almost run our batteries including starter battery flat on two occasions. Roger used to run all the batteries together for domestic use but at sea it was an unwritten law that one battery should always be isolated so there was always power available to start the engine. The investigation showed that half of the boat’s electrical circuits had voltage leaks. A sure sign that the wiring had passed its best. Anyway after a few adjustments to the system it was possible to tell the condition of each of the 3 batteries and the amperage that was being drawn at any one point in time. We now had the means to work out which instruments consumed the most power and therefore watch their use more carefully. We already knew that running the SSB required 30 amps to make successful email transmissions so it was imperative that we monitored electricity consumption with the same zealousness as the diesel.

During the day we had also taken some time to try to get email working further. We had everything hooked together including the specially made cable that connected the HF radio with the HF modem. Everything seemed OK but we hadn’t yet managed to establish a connection with the New South Wales base station. Prior to Lyttleton, Suave had spent some time trying to get things working and I then adjusted some firmware settings on the HF modem but still hadn’t managed to get connected. Fortunately today, for just a few seconds, we had managed to link to Penta Comstat. This meant that the HF modem was talking to both the SSB and the laptop; a promising sign.

Just after breakfast Dad had used the SSB to log a position report with Taupo Maritime Radio. It took some effort and various parts of our Lat and Long position had to be repeated about six or so times before the Taupo Radio operator was able to copy us accurately. It was so calm that 5 of us all sat in the wheel house listening as Dad tried to communicate the report. We shook our heads with amusement each time the information was read back to us with an error introduced as a result of our weak signal.

Actually talking to Taupo was a source of relief after the trying to make contact in Lyttleton. We tried all the emergency frequencies between 2 & 16 MHz. The fact that we had been unsuccessful left us with the concern that our transmission capability on the new icom HF radio was very weak. While still in Lyttleton we removed the unit and found a blown fuse. Frustratingly replacing it didn’t make any difference. We then cleaned all the aerial connections and did a better job with the earthing plate. This had still not improved communications. Now that we had talked to Taupo, we knew it was at least possible to hold a conversation and that the radio was transmitting.

Our interest in getting the unit working was not just for safety. The fact that it was our only means of communicating with civilisation from Auckland Islands was certainly reason enough to try and fix the problems. We also wanted to get email working. I had hoped that having the unit professionally installed in Nelson would have saved us this bother but nope, not this time.

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December 28 THE NUGGETS

We hardly moved at all overnight and the wind was now blowing between 0 and 1 knot. Patches of fog surrounded the vessel to add some variety. That night Suave won the prize for managing to do not just one 360 while on the helm but two. In the light foggy conditions it took almost 20 minutes to get the boat heading back in the right direction. Definitely a Mintie award candidate. The fog added an extra feeling of isolation to the glassy calm conditions. Even if we had perfect visibility we would still have been out of sight of land but the fog seemed to somehow add to the sensation of isolation.

We needed to charge our batteries today so this was a good excuse to start the engine and make our way south. We ran the engine for almost 2 hours covering almost 10 n. miles. The same glassy calm conditions existed when we turned the engine off. The fog patches continued on and off all day but the wind started to return in the afternoon and we were able to resume a boat speed of at least 4 knots. We also had a visit from three Dusky dolphins.

The 1600 weatherfax was a source of some interest. The barometer had been falling slowly all day and we had been conscious of a cyclonic weather pattern had been developing off the coast from Sydney. It had been there for a few days. Later when we were able to receive email we got a hint that the storm created serious havoc in the Sydney to Hobart race. Now this weather pattern started moving South and East toward us. It was still a long way off but it was time to think about stowing things for a blow. The storm jib was put out on the fore stay and I relashed the petrol drums, the compressor and spare gas bottle. The red life lines running down each side of the boat were tightened and everything loose above and below decks secured.

I guess it seemed strange to some of the crew that such preparations were going on when there was scarcely a breeze in the sky and the water was without a ripple. Suave said jokingly "So we are expecting a big blow Paul" "Not really sure", I said. "We might cop the tail end of the storm that has been hanging around Tasmania for the last few days".

Approaching 2000 I tuned into Bluff Fisherman’s radio to listen to Meri Leask. Meri came on at 2030 and with her clear friendly voice proceeded to call up all the boats in her log. We listened to all the conversations which included lots of general chat. Often Meri would be asked something she didn’t know off hand. It seemed almost automatic for her to offer to make a few inquiries. She would say hang on a sec and then would disappear off air for a several minutes making phone calls to find out the required information. From our perspective it seemed useful to know who was about. I was most surprised when I heard Meri call out after a list of other boats "Waitane Waitane are you receiving".

I didn’t think Meri knew we had settled on Waitane as our replacement vessel. I had spoken to her about 3 weeks previous when we were trying to find a replacement and she had been incredibly helpful then. I replied "Bluff Fisherman's Radio, Bluff Fisherman's Radio, This is Waitane". "How are you all doing tonight" replied Meri. I told her all was very well. She said some people had been asking after us. I didn’t have a position report prepared so I gave her our rough position as south of the Nuggets and promised to join her again the following night. We had been maintaining our sched. with each of the coastal stations in turn on VHF as we came down the coast. Now that we were a good distance off the coast Meri Leask on HF radio was our only point of contact. I continued to listen in case Peter on his yacht Reliance reported in but didn’t hear him.

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December 29 THE ROARING FORTIES

By morning the wind had picked up and it was now blowing 8-10 knots allowing us to make almost 3 knots of boat speed through the slight seas. By 0900 the barometer had bottomed out at 1000 millibars. It sat there until lunch-time when it climbed a single millibar. By 1pm we had 30 knots of Westerly winds and rough seas. We dropped the main, set storm sails and reefed the mizzen. By 1400 we had 3 metre swells but Waitane was riding well and maintaining 3-4 knots of ground speed. The change in weather also brought a noticeable drop in temperature. The evenings had been noticeably cooler the last couple of nights and where further up the coast we had barely needed our sleeping bags now we needed extra blankets. The cold combined with the worsening conditions encouraged Dad and I to change the sailing watches down from 4 to 2 hours. The news was gladly received by the crew. At 2200 the water pump failed. With the weather conditions we didn’t bother with it too much at the time but later it was found to be a problem with the electrics. A new power line and a couple of alligator clips solved the problem. That evening I again tried to tune into Meri and managed to make contact with her briefly. She said our radio sounded like it was off frequency. She said she would call us back in a few minutes but that didn’t help and we resolved to try again the following evening.

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December 30 THE FEARSOME FIFTIES

We had the worst of the weather overnight. I remember struggling to hold at times during my shift. One hand was on the helm, as often as possible, and the other I used to hang on. The odd skate across the cockpit floor was unavoidable. Apparently below decks all were sleeping soundly so it can’t have been all that rough. As Dad remarked it is funny how some boats can be quite comfortable on the helm and very uncomfortable down below and others quite the reverse.

By 0900 the wind was easing but the barometer had started falling again. Overnight we had run our second domestic battery low so with a slight break in the weather we decided to start the motor. Unfortunately we found that the mere two hours of charging off the Nuggets had not been enough to replenish the starter battery and now that both domestic batteries were flat as a result of normal consumption we had no means to start the engine. Fortunately the mass of research equipment on board came with numerous batteries. I borrowed one of the 70 amp hour GPS batteries and was able to start the motor on the first turn of the key. We ran the motor for 4 hours but were able to prove later that the batteries were not charging properly.

At 1700 we crossed over the magic line that separates the roaring forties from the fearsome fifties. At 50 degrees South we were a little over 50 Miles from Enderby Island

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