Merry Christmas from Auckland

Jacque, Chloe, Ivan, Neil & Cheryl "Farewell to freedom, back to work" party on board Camelot.

Christmas parade Auckland

Santa, downtown Auckland.

Megan, Brian, John & Annette..... lovely friends in Warkworth NZ

Dock on right, marina walkway, on left, Ferry to Auckland.......easy peasy!

View of our marina from the road behind us shows marina and Auckland across the water.

Fiona, Rory, Arend & Isobel,( living in Auckland) family of our very good friends Tessa & John in San Francisco

Merry Christmas and happy New year.

It's all go here, new country, new jobs lots of new things to do & find out.

Have not taken the boat out for a sail around yet, its too busy with all the Kiwi's out & about in their boats enjoying the Christmas holidays.

Everyday here at the marina, the locals pour down the docks with huge cartloads of food & booze to take out on their trips.

We'll wait until the big rush is over. There are quite a few islands to visit just off the coast, some have small towns and wineries on, others nice hikes and cycle routes.  

Boatyard blues..........

Yes we've got the boatyard blues.

We are high & dry "on the hard" as us boaters call being out of the water.

We are in a town called Warkworth about 30 miles north of Auckland. The yard is way up the Mahurangi river.

Usually we don't mind being in the yard, but this time we had torrential rain holding up progress initially, and now as of today one of the top painters on the crew ( Jackie ) is incapacitated and can't go near the paint.

Had an allergic reaction to all the toxic stuff in the yard, so had to be invalided out to a beautiful local bed & breakfast!!

(Yes I spent hours during the night punching myself in the eyes to make them swell up, the wheezing and tongue swelling took a little more ingenuity to pull off!)

Seriously Neil is having to finish off the painting on his own, which is hard work, but I did book a room with a huge bath so he can soak his aching muscles.

Back in the water soon, hopefully I can stand the fumes for the time it takes to relaunch the boat.

Off to our new home ........Bayswater marina, and starting work Monday Dec 14th.

DEJA VU!!!

Cetacea with Old and new owners.

Cetacea with old and new owners.

Captain of the Land yacht.

Had the shock of our lives last Sunday, went to check out our new marina in Bayswater (opposite the city) and look who we found lurking in the slips...........CETACEA!!!

Cetacea was the first boat we owned . We bought her, and sailed her through the Bahamas and Caribbean, then we sold her in Florida in 2003, and now she's HERE!.

Of all the harbours in all the world, we found her here!

Now just have to keep an eye open for Voyager ( our second boat) and the "family" will be reunited.

Here are Brian and Clare Cetacea's new owners, they sailed her from Florida a few years ago, they added a wind steering vane and radar, and set off

We had fun telling them the stories behind each scratch and scuff ..........and there are plenty of stories!

They also added baby Quinn, so they are staying here for now.

The last photo is of our new "land Yacht" a Toyota Camry we bought the other day..........really makes a difference having a car,

no more rationing shopping etc on the grounds of not being able to carry the weight on the bike, also enjoying getting reacquainted with Auckland and surrounding area.

Auckland at last.

Bay of island Oysters served by a couple of "pearls".

Bay of islands.

Whangarei marina on the river.

Peacock, and very plain Peahen Kawau island.

Peacock Mansion house bay Kawau island.

Wallaby Kawau island.

Old Coppermine Kawau island.

Catch of the day.....Kawau island.

Sauntered into Auckland harbour yesterday after a run down from Kawau island.

It's all business now, rushing around getting work visas, car etc etc.

Opua New Zealand

Bay of Islands New Zealand.

"Anzac" the customs dog.

Boarded by customs offshore.

They ask permission, but I wouldn't like to say no!

Squall alert!!!

Norfolk island.

Dock party, cruisers and locals Norfolk island.

Norfolk island........notice red and blue parrot in foreground.

Cascade bay Norfolk island.......sailors you can see why it can get rolly in here.

Trying to download important documents via wifi in bright sunlight!

Isle of Pines New Caledonia.

Isle of Pines New Caledonia.

Highest point, Isle of Pines New Caledonia.

Kuta Bay Isle of Pines New Caledonia.

Relaxing in Opua marina and watching the daily arrivals from the rest of the South Pacific, at least 5-6 boats daily chug in for clearance.

Of course we are having to celebrate with all our old friends as they roll up, its a terrible trial !

In between boat cleaning and celebrating we've been busy hiking and cycling.

The weather has been lovely so far, sunny & settled.........it won't last, a front is forecast and we hope the boats heading in from Fiji will make it in port before the big blow.

On Monday we start the work visa process, and have to go to Whangarei and Auckland to submit paperwork, we'll hire a car or buy one to do this, so the partying will  be over !!

Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet?......04/11/09

Yes we bloody are!!!!
Arrived in Opua New Zealand this morning, November 4th.
Our weather was good for the trip, so we consider ourselves lucky.
Some other boats are still out there and the storm is on its way. We're tucked up nice and cozy in the Marina.
Later on we'll crack the champagne and start reminiscing about the 12,468 nautical miles we've done.

Land Ahoy...........(02/11/09)

Position 33 degrees, 39S, 172 degrees, 08E.
We can just see Three Kings Island off the starboard bow!!!
67 miles to North Cape, then another 80, travelling down the east coast to Opua. Should arrive in Opua sometime on November 4th.
Windlight from west, cloudy but no squalls yet!!
Fingers crossed for good weather to continue.

Brrrrrr getting cold (01/11/09)

Position 32 degrees 23S / 169 degrees 48E
Its getting chilly down here in the old Tasman sea. Our depth sounder has a thermometer built in and its reading 17 degrees C, down from 26 degrees C in the Isle of Pines, which was the last time we were in the water doing a last minute cleaning of the boat bottom.
But let me mention a particularly nice boating pastime related to colder weather..........hot bunking, yes hot bunking is a lovely thing. When we change over watches one of us climbs out from under a heap of quilts and blankets whilst the other dives under the warm inviting mound and wriggles into place in the warm bunk, ecstasy!
Anyway still mooching south slowly; all the weathermen say we'll get south westerly winds soon. We keep searching around for them, but no luck yet. A nice SW breeze would be just the ticket for the last couple of hundred miles, so fingers crossed. At present we are sailing in light southerlies - its like clawing your way up hill, whilst looking over your shoulder watching for squalls and storms creeping up to give us a whack. Speed is everything on this passage, there is a low pressure system (nasty big winds and waves) slowly moving our way, and we hope to outrun it and breeze into harbour with it firmly behind us, here's hoping.
The good news - the Kiwi sailors tell us "no worries" from now to NZ we are in range of the NZ search and rescue helicopter, and can be plucked off our sinking vessels. Don't fancy dangling on one of those helicopter cables!! Definitely keep that as plan B.

First Day out from Norfolk Island (31/10/09)

All is well, dodging squalls all night, so kept busy.
There are a few of us out here, which makes a change. We can hear chatter on the radio, so we know our sailing pals are close by.

Tally Ho and its over the top (30/10/09)

We're looking down the barrel at the last lap - we've got New Zealand in our sights, we're syked up and ready for the big push.
Its almost full moon so we'll have some light so we can keep an eye out for the "enemy" - squalls and storms.
Got the champagne on board - won't need to put it in the fridge. By the time we pull into Opua we'll be able to pull the icicles off our faces and toss them in the glass with the bubbly.

Norfolk Island

Had a lovely dock party last night, lots of locals turned up to chat.
Hiked around the bay in the afternoon, saw lots of blue parrots with red backs, so colourful, and so many of them. There are a lot of dolphins too, and some whales.

Waiting at Norfolk Island (27/10/09)

Still waiting for the weather to settle down south of us. We're all starting to have a nice time as well. We're taking it in turns to go into town, so someone can watch the boats for dragging anchors. We're having a little dock party this evening with the man who has lent us the car, and some of the other local people, so that should be interesting.
This afternoon we're going hiking around the bay, get some exercise and keep an eye on the boat. The weather here is actually very pleasant, its sunny and cool with clear skies. We had some rain overnight which was one of the fronts passing through, We are just getting the tail end of it here, but reports from boats already down south are not good, high winds from the south (the direction we all want to go), and 5 metre waves. So we'll just wait untill the "farmer leaves the henhouse and goes to sleep!!"

Nervous Chickens

We are still anchored in Cascade Bay, Norfolk Island, and are joined by 8 other boats. The locals tell us the previous record was 5 boats here all at one time, so that's a bit ominous......we don't like breaking those kind of records.
We're all a bit like nervous chickens in the hen house, with the farmer closing in with his axe!!
We are going ashore in relays so the boat is not left unattended.
Norfolk Island is incredibly beautiful; its hilly with huge pine trees, green rolling hills, and dotted with wooden houses.
The big winds and swell are meant to come through today so we'll sit tight and see what happens.

Beautiful Norfolk Island (25/10/09)

Position 29 degrees, 01S, /167 degrees 58E.
Anchored in Cascade Bay, NE part of island.
Arrived at Norfolk Island yesterday afternoon. Still very light winds (as we are in the centre of a high pressure system).
We were met at the dock by the customs, and we were worried that we would have to pay the entrance fees into Australia (Norfolk Island is part of Australia) and the fees are some of the highest in the world. The nice customs man said no worries mate, no charge!
After we met the customs man a local man came up to us and said we leave a car here at the dock when Yachties are in the bay, so come over and use it when you like!
This morning we met David our fuel man. He picked me up (Jackie) and we left Neil on board as a few yachts have dragged onto the rocks in bad weather so its recommended that someone stays on board at all times.
David took me to his beautiful house, which he builgt himself out of local pine trees. We picked up his motorboat on a trailer and a big fuel can, then off to the pump to buy fuel.
Once back at the dock, he attached the boat via a bridle & hoists lines to his truck and backed the truck to lift the boat off the trailer, then slowly released the boat into the water. We came alongside Camelot, and he fixed up a dive bottle of compressed air to the diesel drum and we pumped the fuel into our tank in minutes. Its the best way we've even seen it done, and not a drop spilt into the ocean.
Another 2 boats have just arrived in our bay, and the locals were laughing saying its like getting a weather report - we know bad weather is coming when we see the yachts pull in!!
So we'll sit in this bay until its too rough then all move around to a different bay, like musical chairs, avoiding the wind and swell.

"Pit Stop" at Norfolk Island (24/10/09)

Position as of 2000 UTC, Oct. 25th.
28 degrees, 18S, 167 degrees 45E.
Still motoring with light winds - will arrive Norfolk Island later today.
John, my HAM radio contact on the island is organising the fuel, and helping us with weather predications for when we leave. We may have to stay at Norfolk Island for a few days as some bad weather is passing to the south of us.

On to Norfolk Island. (23/10/09)

Position 26 degrees 00S, 167 degrees 05E.
Somebody shoot the weatherman!!
We were expecting our ESE to continue, but someone somewhere switched them to SE, so they are right in front of us. We've tried sailing off the wind to get a more comfortable ride, but we found we were miles off course in a new hours, which is normally OK, but on this trip time is of the essence - get to NZ fast before the storms get you.
So we are having to motorsail to keep our speed up. The latest forecast shows the winds dropping. Normally we would be unhappy, but today we want less wind and waves "on the nose".
We've decided to pull into Norfolk Island. It's a tiny blob of rock due south of New Caledonia owned by Australia. We thought we'd try and get extra fuel so I got on the HAM radio net - asked if anyone knew any HAMs on Norfolk Island. Almost immediately someone was located and on air, we found out about the fuel, and which bay is the best for loading jerry cans. We'll speak again as we get closer - maybe he'll invite us for tea!!

Slow start (22/10/09)

Position 24 degrees 20.92S, 166 degrees 56.21E.
Slow start wind was good but now being unhelpful.
Position via the radio which comes from Pacific seafarers might not be published yet, there was a mix-up with the request - should be on the roll call tomorrow.
All is well. J & N.

New Caledonia (10/10/09)

Had to bear off as headwinds getting ridiculous, so headed to east side of island to shelter in a small bay. Had a very tranquil night, and caught up on much needed sleep.
Now will pick our way around the reefs heading to Noumea - it's still 70 miles, so we may anchor in another small bay tonight.
We can't hear the wind from our bay, so we are hoping its gone a lot less.

Bash Crash Wallop (09/10/09)

Position 21 degrees, 54S, 167 degrees 20E.
Beating into 20 - 25 knot headwinds, due to a storm in New Zealand that has stolen our lovely downwind tradewinds.
Very wet and wild, but all OK. Hope to make the pass and go behind the reef before dark so we can anchor and rest.

On passage to New Caledonia (08/10/09)

Position 21 degrees, 16 S, 169 degrees 32 E.
150 miles to go.
Sailing in NW wind 12 knots, genoa and staysail.
Haven't seen any Tsunami's out here. It's relatively safe if encountered out at sea; being in Port and tied up is the worst place.
We read a very ineresting account from a sailor we met in El Salvador, who was tied to the dock in Pago Pago when the first Tsunami hit. His report can be found at learnativity.touchpad.com - look for "Tsunami tango".
Should arrive in New Caledonia tomorrow a.m.

New Caledonia

Getting the "galerider" ready, so we can throw it off the back of the boat to slow us down if we encounter a storm.


Kiwi pals off "Gucci" being poisoned on Camelot.

Fragrant flowers Fiji.

Port Moselle Marina Noumea, our current home.

Waterfront cafe Port Moselle Noumea

Musket cove Fiji.

Finally arrived after many hours of bashing to wind. Had to divert from our course to Noumea and pull behind the island to take shelter. Set off again next day and gradually

hopped via a few nice bays into lovely Noumea.

Wow what a place it's like someone cut of a slice of the South of France and dropped it in the Pacific....it's gorgeous, and guess what its going to be the closest island to us once we live in New Zealand!

Now we are getting ready for the big jump to New Zealand. Its action stations on Camelot, we are moving around all the stuff on the boat. Storing heavy items low down so they don't fly out of cupboards, making sure batteries are well secured, taking off ventilation cowls. Basically trying to be ready for the worst, but at the same time hoping for the best!

We will leave Noumea in a few days and head south to the last island off the south coast, call Isle de Pins, then wait there, monitoring the weather, then push off the last 870 miles to Opua New Zealand. The first 400 miles should be OK, then its out of the tropics and sub tropics and head towards the roaring forties!!!! We expect to have some heavy weather once past 30 degrees south, so its hold on tight and bash our way through, or stop, heave to and let it pass over us, so there's the plan.

Fiji to New Caledonia passage (07/10/2009)

Position 20 degrees 10 S, 172 degrees 05E.
Miles from Fiji 367
Miles to New Caledonia 308
Had good winds, close reach first, then the wind changed to south east, and is now behind us.
Sailing with 130% genoa, in 1.5-2 metre seas.
Nice moon each night which makes it great.
We have to time our arrival carefully as there is a pass that we have to cross to get in behind the reef on the south side. We hope to cross the pass on a flood or slack tide, but we have to have good daylight too, so we can see the reefs.
Haven't seen much marine life except one big sea turtle.

Tsunami update

HERE IS AN INTERESTING BUT CHILLING REPORT FROM A BOAT WE KNOW IN SAMOA, PARTICULARLY THE LAST PARAGRAPH, WHEN ONE BOAT FINDS ITSELF"SAILING" DOWN THE MAIN STREET TAKING OUT POWER LINES ETC WITH HIS MAST!

This received at 3.30am from SV Gallivanter in Pago Pago, American Samoa:

This morning (six hrs ago) we were shaken awake by an earthquake which seemed to have no end! We were aboard Gallivanter and tied side-to a big concrete dock in the heart of Pago Pago, American Samoa. And after living up & down the California coast, I knew this was no minor tremor.

After the rude awakening, Cath & I walked across the dock and chatted with a few of our fellow sailors, one of whom said that he's just done a Google search on "recent earthquakes" and said that it measured-in at 8.1 and the epicenter was only 120 miles distant.

We returned to Gallivanter and I turned on our laptop and searched the same website. Sure enough there it was... "8.1 earthquake - American Samoa - 20 minutes ago". I clicked on the "Show Map" option and noticed the epicenter was located south west of Pago Pago... which is located on the southern side of the island.

Just as I was considering the ramifications of that little fact... all hell started breaking loose! Our boat was on the move! My first reaction was to start the engine and dash up on deck to see what was going on. I witnessed the water around us was rapidly dropping! Rapidly! In a blink of an eye, we were on the bottom and the boat was falling away from the dock! Three of our big dock lines popped and we fell right over into the mud - the entire basin we had been floating in only moments ago had completely drained! People were screaming!

Next - the water came flooding back in at an even more alarming rate and the next thing I knew we were floating directly above the dock! Over the concrete slab and drifting toward a young lady we knew (from another boat) who was desperately hugging a power pole and up to her chin in swirling water! I told Cath to cut the two remaining dock lines with our serrated bread knife and to be quick about it!

Right as I put the boat into gear, we were somehow washed back off the dock and into the basin as I advance to full throttle and we accelerated through a floating debris field of floating docks, fuel drums, sinking boats, a shipping container and a barnicle encrusted wreck all of which were spinning in the torrent of rapidly dropping sea level. It was absolute mayhem! As we steered out toward the deep water in the center of the harbor I looked over my shouder and saw what appeared to be a waterfall pouring off the dock and shore beyond. Not one of the dozen vessels remained at the dock. All were underway in a matter of seconds... with or without crews aboard.

We motored around in the middle of the harbor watching the waves of floods & ebbs while wondering about after-shocks and our fellow cruising sailors. As we passed one of our neighbors she shouted to us that her husband had been washed off the dock as they were trying to get away. She was alone and seriously concerned. Other boats broke free from their moorings and anchors in the initial seismic waves and many were driven ashore, or driven under by loose tuna boats.

After about three hours, we felt it was finally safe enough to return to the dock. All we had were lengths of old line and we were short a couple fenders. We were the first to go in and we started un-tangling lines and helping others get back along side the concrete dock. All of the store-fronts along the water are destroyed, roving mobs of kids can be seen looting, the fence around the dock is gone, every boat on stands in a nearby boatyard were washed away. Big fishing boats are now in parking lots across the street. Absolute destruction is seen everywhere along the shore.

Phones and power are down but we got back online right away and I immediately went back to the recent earthquakes website to see if things have been calming down in the center of the earth. A number of aftershocks as strong as 6.0 have been recorded over the past few hours - but thankfully no more wave action has been noticed. We've been making Skype calls to our families and letting others use the computer as well to phone home.

Online news reports say that the earthquake lasted three minutes and the highest flood rose 25 ft above normal! There are 20 confirmed deaths... including our neighbor who was swept off the dock. Most fatalities occured in and around the harbor where we live. Boats are battered and nerves are fried. One friend wound-up on his boat nearly 1000 feet away from the water after breaking from his anchor and sailing right down Main St. taking power & telephone wires down with his mast! Some people lost everything... including their lives. We came through remarkably well with only minor dammage sustained to our toe rail when the dock lines parted and to our fender basket which was the only point of contact with that drifting wreck. I never felt any jarring loads while we were hurtling around above & below the concrete dock, so I believe our hull, keel & rudder suffered no dammage from the wildest boat ride I've ever been on.

We're all okay... and very lucky.

TSUNAMI ALERT

JUST A QUICK UPDATE, WE HAVE NOT BEEN AFFECTED BY THE EARTHQUAKE SOUTH OF SAMOA, WE WERE AT THE READY TO TAKE ACTION IF NEEDED BUT ALL QUIET HERE THANKFULLY, NOT SO IN SAMOA, IT MUST BE CHAOS.

Happy Anniversary to Us (28/09/09)

On the 27th of September 2008 we pulled out of the dock in Emeryville. The dark morning was windless; we waved back to Stan and Mary on the dock as we pulled in the fenders and lines and headed out towards the shadowy outline of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Now 10574 miles under the keel, and almost across the Pacific.

Some more photos

Our Austrian friends birthday party.

Vuda point marina Fiji.

Little boy beach bonfire wood collectors.

Beach bonfire big boys making fire.

Sugar train, taking cane to factory Lautoka Fiji

Trucks bringing cane from fields.

Bula from Fiji

Bula everyone! That's hello in Fijian, and we must say it a million times a day to the friendly folk here.
Currently we are moored in Vuda POINT marina. We were gling to pull the boat out of the water and paint the bottom, but instead we have decided to sail to 2 more islands (Vanuatu and New Caledonia) and paint the boat in New Zealand.
Whenever we go into a marina, which is rare, we are always mega busy washing, cleaning mending etc. so its all go here. We are finding time to relax in the evenings with all our sailing pals. Last night we were introduced to Aussie Rules Football - the big final was on TV in the bar, and all the Aussies were wild, so now we are hooked on it too.

Lautoka Fiji (22/09/09)

Arrived on West coast a few days ago. Left rainy Suva in a haze of clouds; had light southerly windsand clear skies for overnight trip to the west coast of Viti Levu. This changed very quickly as the sun came up and we approached the entrance to the reef. Huge clouds, squalls and buckets of rain descended. We had to feel our way in relying on instruments, fortunately its a huge deep pass. The rain continued to POUR, it was like a tropical monsoon. We cowered in the pilot house whilst we motored inside the reef and towards Lautoka.
We anchored in the downpour, and as soon as we had the hook down, and "cuppa tea" in hand, roaring winds blew through up to 50 knots. The anchorage became like open ocean, and we rolled around waiting for the anchor to drag, which it didn't, thankfully.
It lashed down all night and we could hear weary voiced people on the radio bashing into 50 knot winds, we were glad to be snuggled up inside.
Next day the sun was out and the place took on a new lease of life. We went into Vuda point marina and took a space. The marina is just a big round basin where you tie up to the side all facing the centre. Its tricky to get in your narrow space, and you throw 2 bowlines to the helpers, then you crank the lines to pull yourself into the centre of your spot.
We went to check in the office and found we were supposed to take ourselves and the boat around the corner to the actual port of Lautoka and re-checkin even though we have a cruising permit for the whole of Fiji, and we were told we would be fined if we didn't. We decided to enjoy the marina for the week-end and in vestigate the boatyard, where we will haul out next week, then go to Lautoka on Monday and SAY we've just arrived from Suva. We came round quite quickly so its plausible timewise.
The Fiji Government are giving out fines all over the place (maybe to make up for lost NZ and Oz aid).
So now we are parked by the Port and are legally checked in with no fines. Its an easy dingy ride to Lautoka, so we are getting jobs done and getting quotes etc. whilst we are here. All is well except Lautoka is the "sugar capital of Fiji" and the sugar plant belches out black smoke all over the boats!

Soggy in Suva

Its hot and humid, and of course we are a bit soggy from all the rain. We have been busy , trying to check in and out of Suva, its all red tape and paperwork, and that is when you can find the officials, anyway we know all the chaps on the gate in the customs dockyard , we've been so many times. Its time consuming but everyone is very friendly. When we have not been filling in boat paperwork, we've been filling in all our New Zealand work permit papers and  taking trips to the New Zealand immigration office , we know a lot of people there too !!

Now we've done all our shopping & form filling etc, and its off to the West coast tomorrow, we will do an overnight trip to Nadi, and hopefully meet up with some pals before we head into the boatyard for a haul and paint job. It supposed to be drier on the West coast, lets hope so. or the painting will be tricky!

photo update Tonga and Fiji

FRUIT & VEG MARKET SUVA FIJI

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MEET KIWI'S.

TONGAN LADIES IN BEST CLOTHES, THE MATS AROUND THEIR WAISTS MUST BE VERY HOT.

HA'APPI GROUP TONGA.

BEACH BONFIRE TONGA.

TONGAN FEAST, THE PIG WAS FOR THE LOCALS WE GOT CHICKEN!

KAVA DRINKING CEREMONY TONGA.

TONGAN LADY ON WAY TO CHURCH.