(posted by Marge)
Let’s see…we cooked fresh lobster for dinner, had a pleasant convo with a sea turtle about the East Australian Current, and I got a mani/pedi. Oh wait…those were day 2 dreams! A pleasant and calm day at sea, however, so my reality wasn’t much to complain about either. We’re pluggin’ along. Again we sailed under spinnaker all day yesterday averaging anywhere from 5 to 5 1/2 knots. The past two nights it’s been as if someone flipped a switch as soon as it got dark and the winds just disappeared. Personally, I enjoy a calm night at sea but no winds means I’m not getting to Australia any faster, thus we have a problem; We motored through it again last night and woke this morning, day 3, to winds from the East that are currently pushing us along at a gratifying 7 knots.
Back to the shelf for me again as I burned through an entire book yesterday. My Sisters Keeper. Complete tear jerker. At sea we can’t afford for me to be tearing through our rolls of toilet paper so today perhaps I’ll go for something with a bit more humor!
Author: Drew
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NZ to Brisbane, Australia-Day #1
(posted by Marge) After a gut bomb breakfast of eggs benedict (“eggs benny for breaky” in NZ talk) at the Marina Cafe yesterday morning, we were ready to haul tail. Customs arrived right on time, fueling up was quick and easy, and we were headed out of the Bay of Islands by eleven o’clock. Had a really, really nice day of sailing up the coast of New Zealand under spinnaker. The only hard part about dinner was Drew having to decide which of the pre made meals he wanted. We went with chicken casserole, green beans, and thus, dinner was taken care of. That’s my kind of cooking underway! Right before sunset a pod of dolphins came by the play around on the bow a little bit. We were able to get some great video of that and I assured Drew they knew it was our last passage for a while and wanted to make it memorable (I haven’t had great luck seeing dolphins throughout our trips). We rounded the North Cape while on Drew’s watch, motor sailed for much of the night as the winds died out when night fell, and are now headed towards the Three Kinds Islands. We’ll leave those long behind us in our second day at sea and for hundreds of miles it’ll be just us, the water, and any visitors that might pop up along the way! -
Back to the Bay of Islands
We are back in the Bay of Islands, home of the most awkward morning VHF net in the world. Last time we were here, we found Opua boring and expensive (up to $40NZ for a round trip cab to Paihia, less than 5 miles down the road). The only positive things I could find were the giant burgers at the Marina Cafe and the friendly guys at Cater Marine. I now know that it was our own damn fault for sitting in Opua the whole time and not getting out to see the rest of the Bay. Come to think of it, other than checking in, giving the boat a quick washdown, and fixing whatever you broke on the passage south, I can see NO REASON for sitting ANY amount of time in Opua. Seeing as how the marina is full due to Bay Islands Race Week, we’ve been relegated to the outer anchorages. When I started this post, for instance, we were sitting just off the main dock of Paihia tucked behind a little island called Motumaire. Last night we moved over to Russell, and right now Dosia is anchored in a bay just outside the channel leading into Kerikeri.
For the Kiwis, the Bay of Islands is the next best thing to Tonga and Fiji. As the name implies, it’s a large bay with lots of islands and anchorages, some of which have semi-clear water. I keep reading blog posts and articles about people enjoying the “clear waters” of this area and I have no idea what they are talking about. I guess if I were comparing the waters here to Auckland harbor or say, the Mississippi delta, I would consider them clear. But coming from the islands of the South Pacific, no chance. I do have to say I’m more impressed with the Bay on this trip around. When we were last here in November it was early in the season. There weren’t a lot of boats and without the Kiwis on holidays, the towns were filled with European backpackers. Now it’s quite different. The beaches are packed, the towns are filled, and the anchorages are almost overflowing. Although many cruisers would disagree, I find this a much more enjoyable time to be here. We did a little Sunday morning hike on Urupukapuka Island with Betsy and Richard from s/v Qayak. Here’s a couple of shots. We’ve decided this place is a lot more beautiful from above than it is at eye level.
We’re steadily watching the weather waiting on our chance to pounce the Tasman Sea. Meanwhile we’re taking care of small projects on Dosia and setting her up for her new owners. We’re also maintaining Marge and making sure she’s prepped for the passage. Yesterday we had one of her wisdom teeth removed! We put some new photos up so make sure you check them out and as always, thanks for reading!
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Back to NZ – The Plan
After a short month in the states visiting friends and family we returned to Auckland on New Years Eve morning. Due to some previous planning, we knew to expect our friends Geoff and Julie from s/v Flashback in the same hotel as us overlooking the Viaduct Harbor (actually our hotel overlooked the Viaduct but our budget rooms had more of a city/parking garage view). We haven’t seen them in over three months, which, in the scheme of things, isn’t all that long. But regardless, the champagne came out and the festivities quickly began. About two hours before the countdown (almost one full day before you guys on the East Coast of the U.S. were even thinking about it) we headed down to the harbor to join up with a bunch of other cruising friends on board Wayward Wind. As the clock struck twelve we hugged those aboard, many of whom have been a substantial part of the memories we created in this past year living aboard Dosia and having these islands of the South Pacific be our home away from home.
We spent the first days of this new year with Geoff & Jules packing in as much as possible. Two very quick day trips-one to Bayswater Marina just on the other side of the harbor from downtown Auckland to see our dear friends Richard & Krista of m/v Karma & then one to Waiheke Island and its beutiful wine vineyards to see our buddies Tane & Tomas of s/v Kena. We could have spent many, many days seeing vineyard after vineyard but alas, Dosia was waiting for us in Whangarei, we were anxious to see how she held up by herself for the past month and a half, and because of one very important reason there was work to be done…
While it is bittersweet for both of us, we are getting Dosia ready for our last big trip aboard. We have a good feeling it will not be her last. As you already know, Dosia went up for sale before we left Vava’u, Tonga back in October. Well, she actually went under contract only a few weeks after we began advertising her. The new owners, Trevor and Ali Curtis, a young couple from Gold Coast, Australia are anxiously awaiting delivery.
We agreed to take care of a few routine maintenance issues (like new bottom paint and batteries) here in New Zeland before delivery. So for the last week, we’ve done just that. Dosia hauls out tomorrow morning for a fresh bottom painting, few days to dry, and then we’re looking for the weather window that will carry us acorss the Tasman Sea to Brisbane. From there, we’re not quite sure of the plan. We have no reservations or tickets for anything and it’s the height of tourist season in both countries. We want to see as much of Australia as possible while we are there and then return to NZ and tour the South Island. But we also already have jobs lined up back in the States and can’t spend too much time touring around!