Get Lost On Purpose

Author: Drew

Passage to New Zealand – Day 6

For about 15 minutes earlier today I actually thought we would be able to turn off the motor and sail. Nope, my hopes were dashed when the wind picked up to 15, shifted right on the nose, and then promptly died to less than 5. So we’re still motoring. I know the wind was blowing here at some point today. The wavelets are still here flowing from west to east. We missed it. Damn.

This is the longest I’ve ever run the motor on Dosia. We’re coming up on 48 hours straight. We have calm seas, lots of battery power, and plenty of hot water but honestly, I wish the wind would blow and we could get some sailing in. And, of course, when I say blow, I mean blow at 15 knots from the northwest. NOT 15-20 on the nose like it appears we’ll see our last day or two into New Zealand. Why is it that the last few hours or days of a long passage is always a beat???

I wish I could tell you something exciting that happened today. Let’s see, I spent my night watches staring at my now 60,000+ collection of songs wondering if I’ll ever get around to organizing it. We had B.L.T.’s for lunch and then spent about thirty minutes transferring all the jerry cans of fuel into the main tank. We sent and received a bunch of emails. Then we watched two movies, drank a bottle of wine (to celebrate our crossing of 30 South), and ate some friend chicken. The rest of the time we were sleeping or reading or staring off at the horizon. That’s passages for you. I have found some relief on my night watches. I sit and listen to Radio Australia on the SSB radio. It’s basically the BBC of the South Pacific and it’s the most interesting thing I’ve found. Scanning the channels for hours on end in the Pacific I’ve found some oddball stuff. Many religious fanatics, Rush Limbaugh (ugh), a Chinese language lesson, and what sounded like two Truckers in Arizona having a semi-erotic conversation about fruit. If I spoke Japanese or Chinese or what sounds like Arabic, the options would be much greater but as it is, I need some English. Luckily our brothers in Oz are happy to oblige and broadcast 24 hours a day on about 12 different channels.

Less than 350 miles to go. Come on wind!

November 6, 2009
Passage to NZ – Day 3

Ah, the adventure of sailing. Foamy seas, the salt spray in your face, heeling over at 45 degrees and slamming into huge oncoming seas…not on this trip so far. Last night I turned on the motor when we hit 1.8 knots of speed and on it’s been ever since. It’s like being on a catamaran. I can set my drink down, walk away, and expect it to be there when I return. Every sail is up in readiness for those short 5 knot “blasts” of wind we get every 5 minutes but in general they’re all flopping around useless up there. We’re turning the motor at about 1500 rpm and doing 4.5-5 knots. I decided 100 miles a day motoring was enough since we don’t yet have the most accurate outlook of what to expect the last few days into New Zealand. Not until we reach 30 degrees south and I start examining the 72 hr outlooks will I trust the forecast for the homestretch so let’s save the fuel in case we need to motor all the way. The wind is suppose to fill back in the day after tomorrow. Enough to sail by at least….I hope.

No complaints from the crew though. Marge is just as happy motoring as sailing. And when it’s calm she doesn’t mind getting in the galley so I can’t complain either. It’s so calm we’re grilling chicken tonight. I don’t remember ever having used the grill on passage before. My last batch of fish jerky should be ready by sundown. Casey from “Monkey Feet” (yep, that’s the boat’s name – two youngsters aboard) taught me how to make it. We had tons of mahi left even after giving so much away and this is a great way to save it. I’ve had trays of it drying in the sun the last couple of days. I also keep having dreams about catching a yellow fin. Hmmmm, maybe I can sneak a line off the back without Marge noticing.

I would say a quarter of the boats that left on Sunday are stopping in Minerva Reef. We’re sticking to our guns. The weather outlook is fine so we’re taking advantage and going all the way. The last thing I would want is to stop there for a couple of days and then realize a Low is blowing off Australia. We’d have to race it down or wait it out and I don’t want to do either. Slow and steady seems like the right thing to do. As long as the fuel holds up, I predict we’ll be into Opua, New Zealand on Tuesday. Meanwhile, I’ll set my drink down and go grill some chicken. Hey Marge, put a movie on!

November 2, 2009
Customs Clearance B.S. , and the passage to New Zealand

I gotta tell you, nothing beats the feeling of freedom you gain from checking out of a country via sailboat. It doesn’t matter if you have a clearance for a port you may not check into within the next month…or year…OR you have no actual plans on leaving the so-called “cleared port” within the next several days…or month. It doesn’t matter at all. You still feel like a wildman when you get that paper. In reality, I could pull up anchor and sail direct to Thailand if I wanted and nobody but Marge would question me. That is awesome. That is freedom.

Few people out here actually follow the rules. Yes, I said it. Finally. Someone actually said aloud what everyone knows. You can check out today and not leave for weeks and no one would really care or know. It happens with cruisers all over the world. Sometimes the rules are just plain stupid. There are those FEW odd circumstances or random security checks but they are super rare and I only know of a few boats that REALLY care. Most people don’t and who blames them. People who never broke a law in their life are bending the rules in this area. I checked out today (Friday here in Tonga) but I may not leave till Monday….or Friday. Who knows. I am done with the paperwork and I paid. In my eyes, it’s done. There are people anchored within a few yards of me who checked out 2 weeks ago in Vava’u and here they sit. Others checked out for NZ when they left Apia, Western Samoa back in September. They use radio channel 16 code names like “Sweet Caroline”, “Bambi”, “Barbie”, “Salt Peter”, “Heavy Breathing”, and “Adios Pantalones.” We came up with “Marge Barge” as our code name for Dosia. Sounds good to me though I see no reason to use it.

So we’re checked out. We could possibly leave tomorrow. We are prepared. The weather looks decent for a short 270 mile jump to Minerva reef. It’s another “pause moment” in the 1200 or so mile trip from Vava’u to NZ and it cuts the final leg of the trip down to about 700 miles. Previously, Margie and I decided we’d only stop there if the weather forecast for the remainder of the trip called for a stop. It looks like it may do just that. We are provisioned for a little over two weeks. We have fuel for 800 miles of motoring. No one can lie here. This is potentially the worst passage of an entire circumnavigation. In the last month on this passage, our friends have battled lost rudders, fuel shortages, autopilot failures, rig failures, and more. The Tasman Sea is notoriously nasty like Cape Hatteras near where I grew up. Sometimes I wonder if Hatteras realizes it world-wide fame as “trouble spot” but I don’t question the Tasman. It’s fickle. If it was appropiate, I’d use another “f” word to describe it but I think you get the point. When a low forms in the Tasman, you get out of the way. You don’t mess around in this area of the world. The tanks are full, the oil and filters are changed, the rig is tuned, and the heart is ready. I wouldn’t be surprised to see us pull out of here tomorrow afternoon. We’re part of the All Points to Opua Rally…and race or not, I’m thinking first place sounds nice. Let’s get this one over with. Dosia is ready and it’s time to put our game faces on.

October 30, 2009
Some photos from Tonga

Here’s a few of our favorites from Tonga so far. Of course there’s plenty more on our Flickr Photostream. Also, keep an eye out for a shot of Margie at Dosia’s Nav station in the January issue of Blue Water Sailing Magazine!

October 27, 2009