32:07.872S 168:43.264E
Shaya Moya
Don & Susan Smyth
Fri 6 Jun 2014 02:23
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At last we are ready to leave New Zealand, having
completed a refit of Shaya Moya so that she is in good shape to complete the
circumnavigation. I have installed a satellite tracking device to report our
position automatically every four hours. You can view this by going to the
website http:/my.yb.tl/shayamoya. We will continue to keep you updated on
our adventure on the mailasail blog.
It was some time last year that Sue suggested that
I complete my boyhood dream of circumnavigating on my own boat. I am the
most fortunate husband and appreciate the sacrifices Sue has to make to allow me
to follow that dream. We did manage to spend a number of weeks in New Zealand
touring the places we did not get to before. Buying wine by the caseful. Not
sure how I am going to get it all stored on the boat.
  Due to unforseen circumstances we did not return to
Shaya Moya until the beginning of this year. Susan took one look at her
condition and came up with a new look, charcoal grey. It makes her look sleek
and ready for anything. I did a few other upgrades and refurbishing and she is
ooking like new.
As Reece was not in a position to join me and crew
being difficult to pin down, Sue suggested I employ a competant younger person
to join me for the whole trip. After a number of interviews on a whim I
contacted Dave Pedley who was my first mate on our Atlantic crossing back in
2010 to see if he knew of anyone.
What a win that turned out to be as his son Tom was
keen. Tom was in the Carribean at that time so we interviewed via phone as Skype
just did not work to there. I offered him the job and he joined me in Auckland
at the beginning of May.
Tom is a 24 year old english chap who has all the
necessary quallifications to be able to do the voyage. He has his Yachtmasters
and Dive Instructor, which will come in handy in the barrier reef and carribean.
Before joining he was a charter boat skipper in the med and has done an Atlantic
crossing. Another big win is he is a dab hand in the galley and produces good
healthy food, veggies and salads etc.The girls will be happy to hear
that.    Viaduct Marina where she spent the last 2,5 years.
How she looks like after refit.
At
anchor in a small bay on Waihiki.
So now I have crew, lo and behold I get two more
takers. My brother Ted has decided to join me in Darwin for the entire voyage,
and my good friend Roger is joining in Mackay until South Africa. I dont know if
Tom realised he was going to be a caregiver as well as First Mate/Relief
Skipper. It is going to be an adventure of a lifetime. Tom and I will cross the
Tasman sea from Auckland New Zealand to Mackay Queensland Australia at the
beginning of June where he will look after the boat while I fly back to RSA for
a few weeks to join some good friends in the bush.
When I return with Roger we will take a slow trip
up through the barrier reef to Darwin where Ted joins for the hop across to Bali
in Indonesia. The three girls will join us there for two weeks in luxurious
villas in Bali and Lombock. After that we set off to South Africa via Cocos
Keeling, Mauritious and Reunion. We should be in Cape Town for Xmas. I won't
bore you with the rest of the trip just yet, more to follow in the weeks and
months ahead.
Gavin our nephew has been looking after Shaya Moya,
amking sure that everything is kept working and clean. Aftre 2,5 years he
finally got to go on her for a weekend, not I must add , because the invitation
was'nt there but because he and Christine have been very busy. He absolutely
loved it, helming on the sail out to Waihiki, but was not too impressed with
having to motor back to Auckland on Sunday due to lack of wind. We had a great
boys weekend, anchoring in some lovely bays ans BBQ on the back of the boat in
the evening. Christine organised a farewell dinner for the three of us at a fine
dining restuarant, the Grove, in Auckland.
    Our new friends Dave and Gilly took great care of
me after Sue left. Gilly insisted on having their chef cook us 14 tubs of
butternut soup. It will come in handy when the weather is'nt too great. She took
me to all the stores to provision for the trip, thank you Gilly. They also spent
a couple of days on the boat with us, on our way up the coast to Opua where we
clear customs. We dropped in Great Barrier island after another fun filled few
days. Dave and Tom fished all day and Dave almost all night. Gilly christened
the mat for landing fish, the throw them back mat.
   We had a last minute scare when the mainsail tore
along the foot. We managed to get Graeme from Evolution sails,.who made our new
forsail, to have alook. Although it might have been able to be repaired his
advise was that it looked like it was delaminating as well and so a new mainsail
was ordered. When he arrived in Opua to fit it we discovered that the riggers
who had repainted the mast had put the storm trysail track back on the mast
using screws that were too long. This is what tore the sail, imagine my
frustration. Sam from Vessel Management Services who has been project managing
the refit has taken it up with the riggers and their insurence. Hopefully we get
some form of compensation.
  We cleared customs on Wed at midday and are
currently 423nm into our 1500nm trip. We have had the most perfect wind, giving
us 7-8kts boat speed on course to Aus. The down side is the squalls that come
with it, with Tom having to shelter under the spray dodger. The bottlenose
dolphins who stayed with us for ages made it all worthwhile, as did the sunsets
at sea.
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