Shipshape for Arrival
Vega
Hugh and Annie
Fri 27 Oct 2017 08:54
34:17.763S 174 10.975E The cupboards have been cleaned and sorted, the waterproofs aired, all the banned foods eaten or feeding the fish, the last Betty Crocker chocolate cake has been baked. The remaining potatoes, onions, carrots and garlic are roasting and will be accompanied by the last tin of re-fried beans. The sun is shining and it's a gorgeous evening for supper in the cockpit. Of our group of four boats on this leg, we are the only one still at sea. Our excitement at getting to NZ is tempered slightly by the knowledge that we have another night out here while our fellow yachties prop up the bar in the Opua Yacht Club. Still, we should be at the marina by 0900 and may have the coastal lights of our destination to spur us on overnight. We have been motorsailing for most of the day having sailed last night. Normally we would consider these to be beautiful light wind sailing conditions - warm and sunny with a gorgeous smooth blue sea. However, this passage has been different in that we have been following a plan with an arrival date in mind and that we are keen does not slip. Normally on passage if the wind blows less then we just go slower. Another aspect of this trip is that there is a notoriety about sailing down to NZ. If people get a good weather window they are really keen to make the trip within it. Yachties are more concerned than usual about the uncertainty of what might come along beyond the current window and see that as a much bigger risk than on a normal passage. I suspect there is some validity to that view but also that people are forgetting about the usual risks and uncertainties of longer passages. With wifi and Passageweather forecasts or Earth nullschool you can see the bigger picture and there is no doubt that throughout the NZ winter there is of lot of nasty looking weather tracking across west to east. The fear is that this is what is in store if you are unlucky. We are not clear at what point the risk diminishes to a minimal level. Some have said that November or December are the best months for the passage but then I suppose the risk of a cyclone in the tropics increases. Annie is fishing and just as I finished the last paragraph there was a cry from the cockpit and she had a fish on the line. She got it to the side of the boat - a tuna the perfect size for us. My job was to get it aboard using the landing net and as I was valiantly trying to get it in the tuna came off the hook and swam away. This was unfortunate because I had been less keen about the implications of landing, killing and preparing a fish and of course Annie thought it was deliberate sabotage. Not so! Anyway she put the lure back in the water and then freaked as something large was hooked. So large that Annie could barely hang on to the reel and it was stripping line out at a rate of knots. Fortunately (for both of us) it came off. As I write a third fish has been hooked and I must go and help land it. It sounds quite big.................... .................its tuna for supper. The re-fried beans will have to wait another day, or couple of days looking at tonight's catch.   |