Preparing to leave New Zealand for the second time
JJMoon Diary
Barry and Margaret Wilmshurst
Sat 9 May 2009 04:26
|
Time passes and we have had some
great days, and a few that were not so good. It
was a significant disappointment to experience one of those
set-backs that are always round the corner in this game. We could see it
coming, but hoped it wouldn't. Detailed inspection of the rig revealed
fine cracks in nearly all the swages, where the wire meets the end fittings, and
the whole of the standing rigging has had to be renewed. Why the
damage has occurred is a mystery but all
knowledgeable salts were adamant: we should not venture
offshore like that. Before a lamb's tail could be shaken twice the riggers
had the mast out of the boat and went to work with a will. It is
all back now, dressed and refurbished to a higher standard than before but
it is very galling to pay such a lot for something that should
have had another seven or eight years of life.
Lift
off. A job well done by Northland Spars and Rigging.
  Young Rob in
action, lately of Brixham, born and brought up in Croydon. We spoke the
same language
   Safely on the
ground
 The skipper's
missing something
Having got our rig back we were about to
tackle final preparations for departure when the
electric furling/reefing winch for the genoa was found to be seized
solid and corroded beyond reasonable repair. A new and better one is on
order but it is unlikely now that we shall be able to leave before about 21st
May.
We have
been watching television. New best friends along the pontoon own
a 41ft Westerly Oceanlord, Tapestry. We seemed to get on particularly
well with Lesley and Ian and this was explained when a chance
remark revealed that Ian had been at the same school in Somerset
as brother Martin and me. Not only that, but in the same
boarding house. Ian remembers Martin, not as head boy but as
someone who was always immaculately turned out. Our mother
would have been pleased! The other day we were invited on board
to watch the final of Dancing With The Stars, New Zealand's version
of Strictly Come Dancing. Mags went for the dancing - I went
because I didn't want to be left out. We had a good evening, and
enjoyed the show but agreed afterwards that we didn't miss our telly, which
we gave away to a mechanic in Turkey. It continues to astonish
me that I can be such an addict of the goggle-box at home but don't miss it
at all on the boat.
A few nights
later we invited Tapestry for aperitifs on board before
we all went on to the Opua Cruising Club for supper where we were joined by
three blokes from a 47ft Oyster, Moonshadow. Tapestry knew Peter the
owner quite well from their time in the Pacific and as it
happened we had met him previously in English Harbour, Antigua.
Another chance remark revealed that he is a retired chartered surveyor
from one of the biggest firms and owner of a
beautiful cottage just the other side of the creek at Tuckenhay.
By the time we made this discovery we had had a couple of glasses of wine
and I think we were absolutely hilarious in keeping the
company richly entertained with stories of Floyd, The
Maltsters, The Watermans and much, much more besides. Oh, what a jolly
time was had by all! And, as we have frequently observed, it's quite
a small world.
Seated one day at the chart table,
musing on our missing mast, I was disturbed by a discreet cough and
the enquiry: "Anybody on board?" Going up on deck I found an elderly gent with an
English accent. "A Contest," he sighed, "excellent boats. I went round the world in a 42ft
Contest. Took ten years. Never gave us a moment's anxiety.
Then we came to live out here. Best place to live in
retirement. I saw your boat from my house up there." Well, this was
music to my ears and I spent a happy ten minutes agreeing with him
about brilliant sea-keeping ability and other fine qualities of the
marque. As he turned to go he stretched out a hand: "Pleased to meet
you, Barry. My name's David, David Sadler." Ah.... One of
Britain's most successful yacht architects of the 1960s and 1970s,
one-time owner of Sadler Yachts and designer of the Contessa 32 and 26.
Another story to tell the grand-kids; (actually, I am
not altogether sure that the grand-children.........). Anyway, I
wished Mags had been about so that I could have had my photo taken with the
great man.
The summer seems to be properly over
now. A succession of lows has been sweeping across the Tasman and all the
talk is once again of "weather windows." We shall not now be ready
to go until towards the end of the month so we are not anxious or
frustrated yet, in fact we are really loath to leave and
are enjoying every minute with our New Zealand friends
and new activities. From time to time we all cower in our
berths hiding from horrible gales and lashing rain but on other days the weather
can be beautiful, sufficient to tempt us out to mangle the Waitangi golf
course. The less said about that the better.
Thirty boats left the
marina last weekend, most on a rally to Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu and New
Caledonia. It is pleasingly quiet here now. The rally boats were
given a shock when one of their number, arriving from Auckland, ran on to a reef
right inside the Bay of Islands here and was lost. The couple sent out a
Mayday, abandoned ship and set off their EPIRB and the airwaves were quite
dramatic for a time. The boat was built of ferrocement and sank "like a
stone". The rescue of the crew was handled very well and they
were lifted off by helicopter but were injured by the impact and spent a
few days in hospital. The boat was their home so they have lost
practically everything although we understand they were insured. The
weather was moderate at the time. In all the years I have spent sailing in
home waters I cannot remember listening to a "live" Mayday drama. There
have been several while we have been here. Life in New Zealand.
 On the golf course
Fraser Rock where the boat was wrecked can
be seen in the background, on the far left
 A strange craft, apparently on it's first
sea trial. We know no more.
 Mags' first quilt. A major
achievment for a lady who claims she can't sew a straight seam.
Encouraged, she's now patching my
shorts and stitching canvas and webbing to enhance JJ Moon.
Family members will already be aware that I have been diagnosed with
prostate cancer in the last few weeks. A bit of a blow. Fortunately,
the treatment recommended at this stage involves three-monthly injections and we
should be able to proceed with our current plans at least until I get further
advice from a UK consultant any time after November. Mags has given me an
injection today under the watchful eyes of the urologist and his nurse. It
seemed to go alright, for both of us. We shall carry another pack
for Mags to exercise her healing powers again in
August. Life is full of new experiences.
Some particularly keen friends expressed interest in the boring list of
work carried out last year. For the sake of consistency, and for
our own records, I have put together another edition this year:
Work done in New Zealand
2008-2009
Spars, rigging, sails and covers Re-cut the genoa to flatten it and help pointing ability Build a rope into the genoa luff to
improve its shape when reefed
Valet the mains'l
Build an easy-release deck stowage bag for the heavy weather stays'l
Renew all the standing rigging
Renew the mast step
Renew the rope part of the topping lift
End-for-end the mains'l clew outhaul
Remove chafed parts of 2 runner tails
Renew wire to kicking strap Renew genoa sheets
Renew bimini securing straps
Replace JJ MOON lettering on the boom with
larger
Treat the sprayhood with waterproofer
Renew electric furling/reefing winch
Anchor
Re-mark the chain Main engine and fuel supply Routine maintenance including impeller, filter and oil changes Generator Attend to malfunction of the control panel, in particular the hour counter Routine maintenance including impeller, filter and oil
changes
Electrical Renew damaged nose cone to the wind generator Replace forward shower tray pump switch
Renew saloon lighting
Renew port navigation light
Electronics
Renew speed, depth, wind and amplified wind instruments
Install Class B AIS transponder
Renew the earthing to the SSB radio
Plumbing Replace the manual bilge pump
Replace damaged salt water pump to the watermaker
Replace seals in the watermaker high
pressure pump
Repair the galley freshwater foot pump
Replace the pump to the forward holding tank
Remove pressure tank from fresh water system
Engineering
Overhaul inner forestay tension adjuster Provide new stainless steel boarding ladder
Repair passerelle
Weld some screwed parts of the bimini
Hull and under water Haul out and scrub off Paint anti-fouling Clean and polish the topsides Renew zinc anodes to prop and 2 fridge/freezer keel coolers Renew skin fittings and cocks to forward heads sea-water inlet, fwd heads outlet, fwd sink waste and stbd side cockpit drain Renew stern gland packing Renew packing to rudder seal
Renew rudder bearing
Shipwright Renew hinges to galley lower locker Cut out part of shelf for better access to GPS unit Refurbish the compass binnacle
Renew 2 hatch ventilators
Reseal 2 saloon windows Interior
fittings
Renew saloon seating and upholstery
Recover saloon head-lining
Dinghy Add beaching wheels
Routine maintenance of outboard
Safety equipment
Renew out-dated flares
Renew 2 lifejacket gas cylinders
Diving equipment
Refill bottle Spare parts etc Purchase numerous spare parts, pilots and charts Generally
Carry out numerous minor repairs, services, improvements and cleaning
operations
Work we did not do (still) Renew the cooker Raise the guard rails and fabricate solid s/s in whole or part Install Electro-Scan sanitation treatment and disposal device Improvements to large canopy |