Heading across the Tasman

[delatbabel]

Hi all, yes we've finally arrived at Lyttelton, New Zealand. The Yotreps tracker stopped working at Lord Howe Island because the satellite phone I was using to send out updates stopped doing so. I have found a work-around but I have the guys at the Iridium dealers looking into the problem.

We had a pretty safe and pleasant journey across except for one or two bumpy nights. I have started blogging bits of the trip here:

Chiara Stella

[haiqu]

My brain was a bit fried due to lack of sleep after we arrived in Lyttleton, and since then life has continued to be really busy. Bought a Toyota Lite Ace van - which took a few days longer to organise due to a vendor who went on holidays the day after the sale - then finally parted company with Del and Chiara Stella and headed north; but not before running into an old friend in Christchurch who I hadn't seen in 27 years!

I drove to Picton, stayed the night and caught the ferry to Wellington, then continued on to Wairoa in Hawke's Bay to work on a house I bought here last year. The past few weeks have been frantic, cutting grass and burning off junk and opening bank accounts and haggling with the council. Hardly any time to do any real repairs - or for that matter even see the sights - but I have at least managed to set up a solar panel and batteries for power, and get the internet working via a wi-fi extender to the town's free system.

Wairoa is a beautiful town, I'm not disappointed at all. I have a flight booked back to Australia on the 31st January.

[haiqu]

1. Bridge across Wairoa River from Marine Parade (main shopping precinct). My house is two streets north of the bridge, about 500m away.
2. Wairoa River entrance at Hawke's Bay, Pacific Ocean 4km from town centre.

[haiqu]

Just checked out Del's blog of the journey. Looks as if he covered all the high (and low) points pretty well there. It was a pleasure and an honour to crew with him for my first real sailing adventure.

One personal note that is probably second nature to more experienced sailors: I was most surprised by the effort needed just to physically move around the yacht when heeled over. At one stage my feet went out from under and I was left hanging from a roof rail by one arm, which continued to ache for days. Fitness is really important in sailing, as is a properly prepared yacht with things to grab when the inevitable lurch happens.

One area that Del skipped over was the amount of repairs needed at Lord Howe. By then we had lost an anchor and shackle from the bow, a spinnaker block from the port side and several pieces of timber - notably the helm seat and nav table - were in serious need of emergency repairs. Yep, we got a bashing! In spite of that there was no time at which I had any lack of confidence in the yacht itself, she always felt solid and dependable.

A trip to remember, indeed.

[Auzzee]

A serious ocean crossing is, in some cases, the marine equivalent to the Dakar rally. My biggest belting was between the Philippines and Japland. Preparation is the key. Good to see you back safe and sound. Where is Del off to next?

[haiqu]

He's heading out across the Roaring Forties towards South America at the end of March, then going north to some of the smaller Pacific islands. The eventual target is Singapore, but he's doing it in stages.