DrWatson
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Posts posted by DrWatson
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10 hours ago, Black Panther said:
Back to the weather, I can't really see anything that scary. Metservice says 40 kn in Colville for a few hours and that's it.
yeah, from the most recent modelling , looks to be tracking a bit further east before dropping down.
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13 hours ago, Black Panther said:
Dr Watson on here is a NZ citizen who registered in the UK I think.
Partly correct, Yes, NZ citizen, but the boat is registered in Jersey and owned by a German who lives in Switzerland.
Jersey is not the UK, although the Jersey Registry is (somehow) a part of the UK registry.
The Aussie reg option is intersting. Usually, one needs the qualification required by the flag state. Do you need an Aussie license to operate an Aussie flagged vessel?Jersey don't require the skipper to have any formal qualifications. Just a thing to think about. This is why we didn't register in Germany, nor in Switzerland.
Regarding checking out on your NZ or AU passport; If you go to leave on your AU one, it might make life more difficult than it needs to be. In general, leave a country on the passport you used to enter. And if you have a passport for the country you're entering, use that. I did once have to leave NZ on my UK passport because I couldn't find my NZ one... had slipped under the lining of my suitcase.
Also an interesting point about leaving some countries to sail off over the horizon. France don't do check out... you just sail off. So if you leave France and head to a country where they expect a ZARPE... I dunno what happens.
Problems could occur, however, if you enter Aussie using your Aussie passport on an Aussie registered boat you own because they might decide you're about to become a resident and then charge you GST+Customs for the import. For most tax purposes and in most tax jurisdictions, it's your residency that determines how the tax man takey takey. For that reason, you might want to consider Jersey (and not UK proper). As an NZ citizen, Jersey registry is open to you.
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report to DoC?
take photos?
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How’s it gonna work out up there with the new dolphin rules?
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Xmas cruising plans? Well such is the situation over here that ours will be a lap of the lounge followed by a lap of the kitchen. Unless we’re extremely lucky I doubt there’s gonna be any other laps in oth
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https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/458385/water-safety-concerns-in-wanaka-as-harbourmaster-resigns
“People needed to remember to stick to five knots within 50 metres of the shore or another vessel, he said.”
different rules for lakes??? Or is the commentator being misquoted? -
19 hours ago, CarpeDiem said:
Huh? Mangroves are native?
Been in the upper part of the nth island for 20000yrs
yes, certainly indigenous.
"An indigenous species may be defined as one that has not been introduced (either intentionally or unintentionally) to an area by humans (Allaby 1998). By definition then, the mangrove A. marina subsp. australasica qualifies as an indigenous member of the New Zealand flora, given that its existence here can be dated some thousands of years before humans inhabited, or even visited, these islands. Mangroves have inhabited New Zealand coastlines for approximately 19 million years, as indicated by the presence of Avicennia-type silicified woods associated with lower Miocene rocks from the Kaipara Harbour (Sutherland 2003)."
"...pollen preserved in sediments from the Firth of Thames (North Island) confirms the presence of A. marina in New Zealand from around 11 000 years BP (Pocknall 1989)."Both from:"The New Zealand mangrove: review of the current state of knowledge. May 2007 ARCTP325
That report is pretty interesting though as it does explain why mangroves appear to be increasing in area.
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On 13/12/2021 at 6:40 AM, Jon said:
Next time I’m over there (with lockdown it’s been our local) I’ll take a photo from the same angle as first photo
Its all full of our invasive imports Mangroves
Nice to see what the natural state would have been like
It's had mangroves for at least 43y, don't seem to be anymore now than back when I was playing there age 5. Be cool to see a new pic, though.
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Yeah that TS12 looks quite short, she'd be one of the shorter one's, though. Some of the others look a bit longer than 18ft, but they don't seem so beamy as a true mullet boat.
BTW, some digging around in Thames Star from 1909 shows up that TS43 was likely called Rita, and the event is likely the Thames-Kopu regatta, where Rita came second (by only 10s) in the up to 7hp launch race. Owned by my great grandfather according to the paper article, so likely built by him and not my grand father. -
nuther one here
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Some pics from around and about. All in Thames.
Notably I'm wondering about the type these fishing boats are modelled after, and if I might source more details. Most look pretty similar, possibly many from the same yard, but to my somewhat untrained eye they seem a bit different to the mullet boats.
Also interesting, the registration numbers. Anyone know where I might find details of this register?
Lastly, TS43, seen here taking part in some kind of regatta on the Kauaeranga or Waihou. Hard to date the pic, but I'm wondering what the event might have been. Seems quite a crowd on the riverbank there. TS43 was apparently built by my grand father (b. 1901) (or great grandfather b. 1853) . It's not clear as the inscription is a little ambiguous and we've no solid date for the pic - those who might've known are long gone, either physically or mentally. Thoughts?.thumb.jpg.7613e5f4d19ba1ab8e1ea2c315027019.jpg)
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On 27/11/2021 at 9:21 PM, Black Panther said:
Will the wood break down?
Nah, highly unlikely. But might depend on what kind of wood? The diesel will pretty much preserve that bit of wood forever. I’d pour in some biocide and go sailing. Change your fuel filter next time you think about it.
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Firefly is my wife’s Pogo 36. She lets me drive and stuff. Moored in Brest, Brittany. Commissioned from the Structures yard in 2019 after we ditched plans to self build a one off. Was cheaper and better for our marriage to buy a Pogo. Seen here creeping up under a Pogo 12.50 - we can hold off and pass 12.50s in sub 10kt conditions. We do hope to get to NZ.
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10 minutes ago, Kevin McCready said:
I score 7. What do I win?
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One of my kids shouts and screams most of the time and he’s so loud that even BooBoos magic ain’t gonna drown that sh*t out.
There‘s nothing quite so embarrassing as having your 3.5y old shouting out “Hilfe, Hilfe Hilfe!“ across lake Geneva to the other little boats in your regatta because he doesn’t like the way the boat wobbles when we tack…
but generally when the kids are not on board I use phone playing iTunes or SoundCloud through a Bluetooth speaker. I now buy a month unlimited es Roaming package when we go to ensure fresh weather and streamable tunes.
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Now that the topic has become about that most vital of sailing liquids, I have this year discovered that this is my new gold standard for Firefly’s medical cabinet.
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On 17/11/2021 at 8:50 PM, Black Panther said:
Dolphins are supposed to be as smart as a smart dog. How many dogs have gone extinct coz they spent too much time chasing a stick?
My problem with this, like the biofouling rules, is it's being dumped on us with no mention of any actual research to back it up. Sounds like somebody just made some stuff up and we are wearing the consequences.
Kevin you'd probably find more support on here for protecting the marine environment than the rest of the population, but these rules appear to be just dumb, they need to be sold better at the very least.
I actually found the research it’s based on.
it was a pretty unconvincing piece and wouldn’t really bear scrutiny in the peer reviewed world - pretty much no controls nor adequate comparison regarding the primary variables including scarcity of food ( food availability pretty much ignored altogether as a variable), and no attempt to categorise vessel movement intent as essentially assumed intent of all vessel’s is to interact.
lastly who the fk can see a dolphin 300m away? Usually in don’t see the buggers until they’re right on me.
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2 hours ago, AJ Oliver said:
This weekend, after 35 years of sailing . .
I learned to whip a line.
Let the mockery begin.
35 years ago my father taught me how to whip a line - still it’s a hit n a miss for me… about 50% work out well.
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9 hours ago, syohana said:
We used Cook islands flag when we were doing commercial charter and passenger work. The big advantage is Cook islands accept the same commercial surveys as MaritimeNZ, whereas if you go with UK or Jersey flag then the commercial survey requirements are not compatible with MaritimeNZ and you'd need two different surveys by two different surveyors (NZ commercial and flag state commercial), with conflicting requirements!
Cook islands is very expensive though, lots of paperwork and a short renewal term, I would not recommend it unless you are commercial and operating in NZ waters.
When we stopped doing commercial work there's no requirement for a survey so we switched to Jersey. Found a surveyor who did the tonnage survey in the water for a very reasonable cost (Curly Hayter, probably retired now), just a matter of measuring the internal space, only took an hour or two. Very easy process registering there, it's cheap and it's valid for ten years so there's no more paperwork for a long while. For a local contact we used my sister in law's mother who lives in Jersey but they give you a list of randoms who you can pay to be your local contact.
Definitely recommend Jersey. Sounds like the UK is now adopting very similar rules to Jersey.
+1 for Jersey
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Pantaenius Have been sweet for us. Basically didn’t want to see any thing at all. Registration was about it. I specifically asked about how often I needed a rig inspection and was told - “we have no requirements “
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Back to electric outboards
80 Ah lithium in a box with 50A fuse strapped to the transom. 9kg
minnkota C30
does what it should, charges from the main battery on the boat through a victron Orion DC/DC converter.
Doing it again I’d probably get the next or two models up as she’s a mite slow, and I’ll likely put a 500A shunt and a victron bms700 on the battery box to monitor charge. But seems to do a few trips back n forth without running flat. Charges in an hour or two at 18-20amps, so likely had still a bit in it.
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8 minutes ago, Black Panther said:
I put it to full throttle which Angela says is 250c. Plus I wait till it is up to temp before putting in the bread.
nice, I can barely get 200... more like 180. Must be bad gas...
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On 14/09/2021 at 7:29 AM, Black Panther said:
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Each one a little better than the last
How hot can you get your oven? I find it impossible to get ours hot enough for truly good results
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So this wasn't exactly a weekend achievement but here's a rundown of our return trip from Brest to Jersey.
Brest-Jersey
Arriving late Sat night on the train into Brest, me and 2ic headed down to the Marina where the other crew member had already arrived a few hours earlier and opened up boat, fired up all the systems and loaded food and beer aboard that had been delivered to the Marina office a few hours earlier. He diligently loaded the fridge with as much beer as possible and cranked it up to max.
A few hours of getting to know each other, the 3rd crew was a old acquaintance of Martin my 2ic - they grew up in the same village in a valley in Austria. Rumour had it the guy (Frisco) had once seen a picture of a boat in a magazine - that was his total experience. But he'd just ridden his pushbike clear across Europe and was heading to Spain, so he was fit and keen. Martin has joined before for a week here n' there, so he at least knew how to use the toilet and where the beer was stowed.
Sunday morning safety and passage briefing, a few last minute vittels and we slipped out of the berth at about 1330. A nice warm 15knt WSW. Beat our way out of Brest harbour with the last few hours of the outgoing tide helping us then turned the corner as the tide also turned and headed North enjoying an easing 8-10 knt beam reach up through Chenal du Four past Ushant, making it to pretty much dead abeam of L'Aber I'ldult before the scene glassed off. Pulled the plug there and headed into the tiny harbour looking forward to a comfortable and easy night before an early getaway in the morning.Jumped down below to turn off the water maker which we'd been running since clearing Brest Harbour to find the aft Stb. cabin awash. Had checked only an hour earlier, but by now things were floating - shoes bobbed past, my multimeter drifted by, both mattresses were sodden, and the shelf where the water maker is located was overflowing, all through the new guy's gear; iPhone, laptop etc. etc... And it was salt water. Colourful language. The water maker had developed a catastrophic leak under high pressure, resulting in 2-4L per minute (maybe more) of salt water flowing liberally. Have initiated a warranty claim...the thing has made less than 600L of water. At least now I know the bilge pump works well.
Our "easy night" relaxing turned into a complete cabin reno. Everything chucked into the cockpit and rinsed with the 100L freshwater we'd made. Mattresses squeezed out, and rinsed etc etc. on it went. But, by morning the cabin was dry and not sticky salty, all tools were rescued, and by miracle, laptop and iPhone still functional.
Me repairing a squab cover that got torn in the fracas. Can see how glassy it was there.
Next day bright and early (0700) we motored out of L'Aber I'ldut into a dead calm that lasted until about midday, replaced by 5knt WSW and an alarm. Motor over temperature. Jumped below to check while ordering crew to hoist some sails. Motor seemed fine, raw water circulating and not too hot to touch - suspected a sensor but to be sure we sailed from there on. Wind built nicely and we had a great sail with up to 20 kt on the port quarter, code0 and a reef, but with the wind always just that little bit too aft for maximum fun and bucking the tide up around the North Western end of Brittany. Eventually pulling into the mouth of the river Le Trieux and anchoring under sail in the shelter of a small island (cant find a name) just as darkness surrounded us. Started the motor to lift the keel and had the alarm go off within 3 min... not encouraging.
You can see here the blue dot where we spent the night, looks hella exposed but was actually pretty sheltered, and the wind moved a bit more W overnight. I'd wanted to get in closer to that little Island, but with the motor playing silly buggers, and rocks all over the place, we dropped the pick there about 50m outside the buoyed shipping channel that runs up the river.
Up again at 0600 on the Tuesday (3 Aug), clearing away and out of Le Trieux as the sun rose, a nice 12knt WSW positioned to give us a comfortable sail across to Jersey, albeit a bit deep for our sail setup, leaving EU waters at around midday, and seeing us off St Helier at around 1530 UTC+1 (time zone change between France and Jersey waters). Still not trusting the engine a radio call saw the marina guys pop out in the dory and tie alongside, taking us up the busy channel (narrow, steeply walled, and with completely blind corners) and bringing us nicely into Albert Pier. Popped up for our complementary Covid19 PCR tests, made a call to the local Volvo mech. who agreed to pop down early next morning, and completed entry formalities. Also, popped in to see the registry office folk (and complete our change of address - Pierre and Angela are SUPER helpful). Celebrated crossing my first international border in a private vessel with a nice meal followed by rum 'n cigars.
Albert Pier in St Helier, Jersey.
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Bit of weather heading our way?
in MarineTalk
Posted
Tuts even made the news in Zurich…
Feels slow getting support up to them…
(Tonga I mean)