January 12 – 31, part 2 – Round and Round We Go!

When all was in order, we set sail once again, leaving Gulf Harbor after fueling up.  This was to be an overnighter all the way down to Tauranga.  We were weather-hopping; trying to make quick runs down the coast in between weather patterns that would make for rough seas.  If we timed it right and had winds as predicted, then we would have a good trip down.  Well, we planned it to suit the weather gurus, but in spite of our best efforts, we had fair winds for only half the day.  Because it was to be just one overnight, our bodies were not prepared for the shifts and watches, hence we both stayed up late and then just began taking short relief periods.  The winds had become very slight and the night turned black as pitch. Because it was so dark we had chosen to divert eastward around the Mercury Islands instead of navigating through them. Sometime during the wee hours we made the turn to head back south after having cleared the islands, and a short time later the bashing began!  Yes indeed, the gods of the winds and seas turn on the agitation cycle and we got slammed.  Because the seas had been so slight and the winds so fair during the first 12 hours of this leg, I was (against all good & rational judgment), unprepared below decks for the onslaught.   I had been asleep when it hit.  I was jolted out of my short rest by three terrifying events that occurred seemingly all at once:  I was thrown from the bed, something crashed in the salon, and most frighteningly something above me made a tumbling and then loud thud sound.  I flew up the companionway in time to see Frank recovering from being tossed across the cockpit (yes, he was tethered in).  He groaned as he told me that we lost another board from the companionway.  We were still varnishing the one that had been commissioned in Opua.  This newly lost one was the middle board with the beveled glass and the IPY logo etched into it.  Well, it wasn't the worst that could happen so we just shrugged and then got down to business trying to get the boat and ourselves re-secured.  But the tidying job was not to be.  Rough conditions persisted until we arrived at the channel into the Bay of Plenty as daylight peeked out over the horizon.  We sluggishly made our way into the anchorage at The Mount, set the anchor and went down for a much-needed sleep.  Mahurangi limped in about an hour later and did the same. Arising late morning, we did what we could to straighten up and get our thoughts together.  We decided to find a custom Plexiglas or acrylic shop in the area to cut us a plank for the companionway.  We had only intended to make a stop at Tauranga long enough to get some rest and then continue southward, but with our repair needs and those of Mahurangi, we stayed around for three nights, which is not hard to do in this beautiful area.  It is like a little La Jolla with its beautiful beaches, trendy shops and restaurants. We made the best of our time in Tauranga/Mt. Maunganui, by hiking up to the top of the mount one day and then soaking in the salt water spa baths in the afternoon, browsing shops, taking long walks into town and of course eating great food while waiting for parts to be delivered.  We also spent this time re-strategizing.  Studying the weather and sailing forecasts for continuing south we finally threw in the towel and decided that, rather than beat ourselves and our boats up trying to sail down we were going to fly to the South Island.  We set about looking for airfares and travel routes and dates for our over land journey.  We booked a flight to Wellington for Feb 1st, giving ourselves plenty of time to get the boats back up to Gulf Harbor.  We also decided there would be no overnight passage back, so we arose early to make a day sail over to Mercury Island.  We ducked into a pleasant enough harbor, however, found out that the bay was private, Maori-owned, and we would need to obtain permission to go ashore.  We didn't see that there was much of interest for us here so we spent a quiet evening on the boat and made an early departure for Great Barrier Island's Port Fitzroy.  The winds were slight so it was a sail/motor/motorsail day.  Upon approaching GBI we received a hail on VHF 16 from Bill and Val aboard Ivory Quays.  They were out fishing and promised to join us in Port Fitzroy that evening for dinner.  We found GBI much more crowded with various sizes and types of watercraft as we meandered through the pass, but that's alright there was still plenty of room in this popular area.  We got anchored and then went ashore for a nice ling hike.  That evening we spent with Earl, Marsha, Bill and Val at the boat club having dinner and catching up with each other since last seeing them.  Then the next day we moved the boats over to Smokehouse Bay, where you can smoke your freshly caught fish for free.  Frank and the others went to shore for happy hour while I stayed on board to finish my book.  The next morning, Earl and Marsha left for Auckland but we stayed on and toured the Barrier Gold honey factory with Val and Bill.  Of course we bought all kinds of Manuka and Kanuka honeys, oils, balms and soaps.  Then after lunch we moved the boats over to yet another big harbor for an afternoon hike, guided by Bill and Val.  I cannot say enough times how much we love hiking New Zealand's beautiful trails!  At the end of the day, we bid adieu to our fiends and went to bed early.  We needed to get a good early start for Auckland's Gulf Harbor before the office closed for the day. Arriving at Gulf Harbor on Thursday, January 28th, after a perfect day of sailing, we managed to get the same berth we'd had previously.  And as a bonus we received an email from Jan and Dave (Baraka), saying that they were flying into Auckland today and were going to pick up their car, "Caraka", which had been left with their Kiwi friends during the cruising season*.  We arranged to meet them for dinner on the 29th.  I spent my time at Gulf Harbor doing laundry and my part to prepare Destiny to be left closed up for a month.  Frank of course did his part on the outside and with the systems.  We enjoyed a great dinner with Jan and Dave, Marsha and Earl on Friday night, and as we said goodbye, promised to try to rendezvous again in the South Island.  Jan and Dave were driving down from here and were booked on the ferry from Wellington to Picton just a few days ahead of us.   *  Dave and Jan had left us in New Caledonia to sail to Oz.  They had put Baraka on the hardstand in Brisbane and flown home to Seattle for a couple of months, and then flew to NZ to land tour for 2 months before returning to Baraka.

January 12 – 31, 2010 – part one – Mangonui to Gulf Harbor

Following a nice day of sailing we arrived at Whangamumu (prounounced "fawn-ga-moo-moo) just in time to set anchor and get settled in before dusk.  We spent two nights in this beautiful harbor.  Our one full day there we packed a lunch and took a long hike through farms and across pastures full of sheep and beautiful horses, remembering that all of New Zealand's lands are public access, meaning that land owners are not allowed to restrict access to walkers and hikers across their property.  I think there may be an exception for certain Maori owned areas.

Next stop was the familiar bay of Tutukaka, where we had anchored last year with Tom and Mary when they sailed with us.  A front of bad weather was moving in and this harbor was sheltered from the prevailing winds.  Boats packed into the small bay all afternoon long, causing us to feel quite cramped and a tad bit uneasy about the proximity of some of our new neighbors.  By evening, it had turned very foul and our plans to go to shore for a nice dinner turned soggy.  The winds whipped the boats around the anchorage and howled like crazy, but we felt comfy and cozy in our little cocoon, held firmly by our Rocna anchor.  We love that new anchor! The next day cleared enough for us to go ashore and do a little exploring, but the front had brought quite a drop in the air temperature making conditions unpleasantly cold and very windy.  We had dinner at the yacht club and then bundled up for the dinghy ride back to our boats for an early bedtime.  We had a long day of sailing ahead to make it to Kawau Island in time to get anchored for the next blow.

Sailing south to Kawau Island, in the Hauraki Gulf across from Auckland, was a great day in spite of reports of impending high winds and rough seas.  As we were approaching the channel, our friends Julia and Ian on Moasi hailed us on the VHF.  They were making their way to the same anchorage that we were.  Wow!  We had not seen them since last April.  They had gone to Tonga last season when we sailed to Fiji.  We knew that they had come back to NZ in November '09, but were missing them everywhere. Not this time. We anchored just behind them, and they invited us to join them for dinner.  We spent a too short evening with them, eating and visiting into the night, and then bid them farewell as they prepared for an early departure up to Whangarei (prounounced "Fawn-gah-ray") the next day.  We slept in the next morning  - finally – and then dinghyed into shore with Marsha and Earl (Mahurangi) for some exploring.  The island has a lot of history and miles of beautiful hiking trails.  We chose the one that ended at the famous Mansion house.  Marsha and I toured the mansion while Frank and Earl did whatever boys do when girls tour mansions.

After our two-night sojourn at Kawau Island, we made a 3-night stop in Auckland's Gulf Harbor.  We had serious need of provisions, since we'd been delayed in the journey to the S. Island and had been without a decent grocery store in over a month.  We also had piles of laundry to get done and a date with the "dinghy spa" for Destiny's tender, which was in need of a makeover. 

January, 2010 – There goes another decade!

New Year's Eve in Whangaroa was fabulous!  The Kingfish resort buffet dinner was a veritable feast!  Platters upon platters of every kind of seafood we could stuff into ourselves, and then of course, there were the platters of succulent New Zealand lamb, turkey, ham, grilled veggies, amazing salads and desserts that made us want to explode from all of the gluttony.  We were the only Americans that we know of, except for a few of the crew of that gargantuan yacht anchored out in the bay called SuRi.  It was hands down the ugliest yacht we have seen.  But it had all of the toys – numerous launches and all the normal stuff that goes with a multibillion dollar yacht, including a helicopter.  We had been watching the crew play and "heli" around all day.  Rumors were flying that this was the luxury yacht of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, and while the owners are away….well the crew played and played.  We didn't much care, because none of us care much for Tom Cruise, but the Kiwis were buzzing with speculation.  Apparently, these beautiful hidden anchorages are the playgrounds of many Hollywood and otherwise celebs, since they feel they can vacation in NZ relatively anonymously. Frank, Earl and Bob enjoyed after dinner Scotch's and Cuban cigars while the band played and the people danced.  We girls were struggling to stay awake and by 11:30, we piled into dinghies and headed for the peace and quiet of our own little yachts.  Are we old farts, or what? January 1, we spent the day hiking and relaxing.  January 2nd, we were back on the phone with Chris trying to get a clue from him about the disposition of our outboard.  No news there.  One day, Marsha and I borrowed David's car to go into Keri Keri for some provisioning of fresh foods, propane and to run errands for the guys.  We continued to enjoy fresh oysters, clams, green lip mussels and all that the bay had to offer.  Finally, on January 7th, Chris admitted defeat and told Frank that if he would come and get it, we had a new outboard motor.  No more fussing around.  Glory Halleluiah!  So, for the third and final time, David loaned us his car – or rather to the boys.  They returned with smiling faces with our new 15 hp Yamaha.  The morning of the 8th we finally departed the beautiful Whangaroa area, getting underway we sailed north to Mangonui, along with "Northern Winds" and "Mahurangi".  The trip was a perfect sail!  Beautiful, blue-sky day.  We arrived in time to dine at the famous Mangonui Fish Shop, where the Fish and Chips is king!  We spent the next day hiking up to the top of the local mount and strolling the artsy boulevard along the waterfront. By this time, after all the waiting we had missed our window of opportunity to sail over the top and make our way to the South Island via the Tasman Sea, so we decided to turn back around and make for the South Island via the east coast.  We made an early departure for Whangamumu.

December 2009 - “Where have all the dollars gone?...Turned to boat parts every one. When will we ever learn? When will we e-e-ver learn?”

Once back at Destiny, the putting back together of our engine, toilet, generator and sails resumed.  Activity flurried around us, as again I felt like a foreigner on my own yacht.   Thankfully, the engine and generator repairs were not major (cleaning fuel injectors, exhaust valves and replacing a solenoid), although as I mentioned previously the prices were over the top for everything we had done but the toilet repair. Frank just whipped out his wallet and let the dollars fly.  At some point, he mentioned to a fellow cruiser, "I will leave a trail of green when I depart Opua. With all the money we spent here, they will be able to track us for miles". By the third week of Dec., we were ready to head out with Earl and Marsha (Mahurangi) for the top of the North Cape to await a good weather window for sailing to the South Island.  Our friend, Billie Biel had invited Frank and I to spend the Christmas holidays with her family at their beach house on the Coromandel Peninsula, even offering us our own cottage.  It killed us to say "No thank-you", but if we didn't set off for the northland now, we would never make it to the South Island this year, and that was our big goal.  First stop, only a couple of miles away was Russell, which was the very first capital of New Zealand.  Our first night at anchor, the four of us set off in Destiny's dinghy for the Boat Club wharf, with intentions of going to the Duke of Marlborough Hotel for dinner. As I was putting one foot on the dock, a powerboat's wake rocked the wharf, causing our dinghy to pitch away from the dock, tossing me into the water.  One of my legs was still in the dinghy, my arm still holding the painter, and the other half of me got rammed up under the slime and oyster encrusted dock.  I surfaced to whimper, "Somebody help me".  Earl sprang into action, hauling me out and onto the dock.  I was a little banged up and covered in filthy muck.  My foul weather jacket was indeed foul!  We sent Earl and Marsha into the bar, and then Frank turned us back to Destiny so that I could clean up and change.  We got about halfway across the anchorage when our brand new motor began sputtering and losing power.  We barely made it back to the boat, where thankfully, Earl and Marsha had tied off their dinghy.  We took theirs back into shore and proceeded into town for one of the best T-bone steak dinners I've ever had.  Little did we know that this would prove to be the beginning of a nightmare for the new dinghy motor and us. We made a run for Whangaroa – a very large, beautiful bay toward the northern part of the North Island, where we had arranged to meet Bob and Kim DeMattia of Northern Winds.  We spent two awesome sailing days getting up there.  This area is absolutely one of the best sailing and fishing grounds about.  We hiked several fabulous trails with spectacular views, dug for clams and mussels, picked fresh oysters right off the shore and also had the pleasure of being given 6 fresh-caught flounder from a local named David.  We had big plans to go diving for Crayfish (New Zealander lobster).  We had lots of big fun plans that got foiled by the faulty new dinghy motor.  It is a long a weary story.  The short version is that we got stranded in the middle of this very, very large bay several times. We would be riding along and then the darn Yamaha would just lose power and die, then would seize up so that it could not be restarted. Our dinghy is large and heavy, and extremely difficult to paddle when in waves, winds and strong currents.  This bay was all of the above. Frank, Bob and Earl spent countless hours trying to figure out the problem, changing fuel lines, spark plugs, and so on. Finally we admitted defeat.  Frank spent countless more hours  - and about $50 of mobile phone Pre-pay minutes talking to the Dealer (Chris) who was located back in Opua.  Of course it is Holiday Season and most services are closed through the 1st week of January, so we got him on his cell phone, asking him to please replace this "lemon".  He did not want to do that. The thing had less than 2 hours run time on it, isn't even broken in yet and the guy is arguing with us over this?  Finally he tells Frank to just bring it in and he will take a look at it, still unwilling to just give us a new one. Frank agreed and then realized here we were in a bay with lots of villages, couple of resorts, and no rental car agency.  We asked Chris to please come pick it up.  "No."  So Frank and the boys borrowed a car from a local, loaded up the motor and took it to Opua.  As fate would have it, Chris's grandfather died and the shop was closed, so Frank got his home address, and then all he could do was drop the motor off at the man's house, returning with no motor, no refund, just a hope that Chris would honor his product.  Earl and Bob both carry spare 3 hp outboards so we used one of those and got on with our holiday plans. This was to be our first Christmas on Destiny and we intended to enjoy it to the max.  I had bought and decorated a very small fiber-optic Christmas tree, and put up garland and Stockings for us.  We wrapped gifts for each other and for our friends on Mahurangi and Northern Winds. We had a huge potluck dinner on Northern Winds, trading gifts and carrying on as though the 6 of us were one big happy family.  How Blessed we are to find such precious friends out here cruising.  After Christmas, we continued to phone Chris, sending our sympathies to him for the death of his grandfather, but persisted in our plea for a new motor.  He claimed that he could find nothing wrong with it.  Isn't this just the way it goes?  We've all been there.  By now we had given up our plans to be in the South Island by New Year's and made a booking for New Year's Eve dinner at the Kingfish Lodge.  The chef is renowned and the food is rumored to be absolutely top shelf.  We were resigned to just let go of worrying over the dinghy motor and enjoy our time in Whangaroa until something got resolved. In the meantime, we hiked, read books, watched movies, and ate tons of fresh seafood.

Nov 6th – 18th, 2009 Opua, New Zealand

Being back in Opua was like a homecoming.  The place was the same and the marina personnel were the same but most of our former "classmates" had either moved on, or had returned home – literally.  Just a few of our former cruiser friends returned to Opua.  Coming in now were the newest group of "Puddle Jumpers".  Boats who had either left the west coast as we had done in 2008, or who had come through the Panama Canal.  We could tell how bonded together they were and could feel their excitement at having made it this far.  This is a long way from home and indeed a very long way to sail! It took us no time at all to get the cell phone card charged up and to begin making calls to vendors who would happily take our money in exchange for: repairing the generator, repairing the engine, re-stitching our sails and replacing the UV covers, repairing the broken toilet (dirty job!), stripping the external varnish (we have decided to go gray!), and having a new companionway board made to replace the one that went overboard.  There was a parade of tradesmen on and off the boat beginning early each morning for days on end.  I tried to stay away as much as possible so that I would not have an anxiety attack watching the mess being made of Destiny, and also so that I would not embarrass Frank every time I heard a price quoted, by exclaiming something like…"You want $5,000 just to strip the varnish?  That is outrageous!".  Frank hooked up with Earl May from Mahurangi and went running around for Guy Boat Things.  One day he returned to tell me that he had bought a new dinghy motor and that we would finally be getting rid of that horribly heavy, unreliable fancy Honda.  I was beyond asking what it cost, I was so happy! I spent a fortune in time and money getting laundry done at the marina laundry mat, but was thrilled to be doing my own laundry once again, and to know that it was done in hot water with soap and that I would get it all back.  I dropped another small fortune getting a hair cut and color.  Once again, my hair turned out black and slightly purple, but not as bad as before.  I used a different gal this time.  Then Marsha (Mahurangi) and I went shopping for Girl Boat Things.  We had lots of get-togethers with old and new friends and then before we knew it, it was time to fly home.  Of course that is a relative term, since Destiny is our home.  We had made arrangements to fly to Virginia and had asked our children and my siblings and parents to join us there.  We only had time for a quick Thanksgiving trip and knew this was a hardship for them, but we hoped that they were missing us as much as we were missing them and could swing it.  Besides, it would be like a big slumber party for us all at Tom and Mary's home, which is large enough to accommodate us all comfortably.  We are so blessed to have such a close-knit family!