Get Lost On Purpose

Category: Passages

  • Let’s do this…Passage to NZ, Day 1

    Well unlike Georgia against Florida today we do have our game faces on. This morning we pulled out the positive attitudes, along with all the cold weather clothing we have onboard, and eased our way out of the harbor around 7:30. Our chartplotter’s eyes were manually set on Opua, New Zealand. Mileage-1010 miles. So far we’re about eight hours in and if we manage to maintain six knots our estimated time of arrival is early morning about eight days from today. We put about as much hope on maintaining six knots as I do on Tom Brady leaving that Brazilian bombshell for yours truly. The weather window is calling for light winds with fair seas for about ten days but naturally that is subject to change. As a sailor you quickly learn that you only usually trust weather reports through the first three days or so no matter how long the window they predict. We will check weather at least twice a day, everyday. On the horizon we see the sails of several other boats who left shortly after us this morning and while most of them are planning to do a little layover at Minerva Reef, we are in this for the long haul. As long as the weather window stays in our favor then we are trucking along. Nonetheless, for now I find comfort in the site of their sails knowing that help is a few miles away if need be.

    There’s a funny rumor amongst cruisers that more injuries on sailboats happen at anchor than at sea. That rumor proved itself to be true in Nuku’Alofa. One cruiser slipped a disk in his lower back, has been hulled up for about four days now, and he and his wife will now fly to New Zealand where he will have surgery after having found crew to deliver their boat for them. Just yesterday morning, a woman who had flown in to help crew yet another yacht fell on the stairs inside the boat and severely broke her leg. She was flown to New Zealand last night and was scheduled for surgery today. There were two doctors onboard their own boats in the harbor with us and they both stayed fairly busy their entire time in Nuku’Alofa. As much as you hate to see any cruiser go down like that you can only imagine they must be somewhat thankful that if it had to happen that it happened at anchor. Could you imagine being 400, 500 miles into a passage such as this one and something like either of these two cases happen?

    Spilled some salt making Drew a BLT for lunch today so quickly threw a little over my shoulder. We don’t need any bad luck hanging over our heads right now!

  • 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.