Capella 1 Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Hi team I am sailing an Outremer 45 2001 catamaran from Tahiti to NZ in October. I'm not an experienced sailor but do have sailing experience and heaps of motor vessel experience. Any advice would be appreciated. I've been told Jon, Booboo and island time are on here and know a thing or two. Once back in NZ my wife and 3 young ones will hop aboard and we will be living onboard. Thanks in advance Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jon 360 Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Only advice I can think of quickly is stay above the tropic line to keep in the trades until Tonga or Fiji, the more westing you make the better your approach to NZ will be. North Minerva is often a good jumping off point, but you will want comms that allow weather updates as timing the last 3 days is everything Im picking your not keen to stop anywhere due to Covid ? Fiji is a backup plan but not sure about the details, they seem to be constantly changing. Good luck, over 3000nm to Minerva if your straight lining it, then under 700 to Opua. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Black Panther 1,581 Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 I've always used Raoul Is as a turning mark doing that trip. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
B00B00 310 Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 With no covid you would clear out at Bora Bora, stop at maupiti (last atol in FP) then suwarow (northern cook islands), nuie, tonga Minerva and NZ. Or the southern route aitutaki, palmiston, nuie. But with covid I'm not sure exactly where you will be allowed to stop. As jon said Minerva is a great point to leave to NZ but I think you need 2 weeks at sea before entering NZ and they class that as a port even though its uninhabited. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marinheiro 352 Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 2 hours ago, B00B00 said: With no covid you would clear out at Bora Bora, stop at maupiti (last atol in FP) then suwarow (northern cook islands), nuie, tonga Minerva and NZ. Or the southern route aitutaki, palmiston, nuie. But with covid I'm not sure exactly where you will be allowed to stop. As jon said Minerva is a great point to leave to NZ but I think you need 2 weeks at sea before entering NZ and they class that as a port even though its uninhabited. Going by this https://www.noonsite.com/news/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-special-procedures-being-introduced-in-ports-of-entry-worldwide/ apart from Fiji, the Sth Pacific is closed. I see the Tongan link says you are supposed to get prior approval to stop at Minerva Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Capella 1 Posted July 25, 2021 Author Share Posted July 25, 2021 On 21/07/2021 at 8:15 AM, Jon said: Only advice I can think of quickly is stay above the tropic line to keep in the trades until Tonga or Fiji, the more westing you make the better your approach to NZ will be. North Minerva is often a good jumping off point, but you will want comms that allow weather updates as timing the last 3 days is everything Im picking your not keen to stop anywhere due to Covid ? Fiji is a backup plan but not sure about the details, they seem to be constantly changing. Good luck, over 3000nm to Minerva if your straight lining it, then under 700 to Opua. On 21/07/2021 at 8:15 AM, Jon said: Only advice I can think of quickly is stay above the tropic line to keep in the trades until Tonga or Fiji, the more westing you make the better your approach to NZ will be. North Minerva is often a good jumping off point, but you will want comms that allow weather updates as timing the last 3 days is everything Im picking your not keen to stop anywhere due to Covid ? Fiji is a backup plan but not sure about the details, they seem to be constantly changing. Good luck, over 3000nm to Minerva if your straight lining it, then under 700 to Opua. At the moment it looks like id need to follow the Samoan latitude due to the trades but I guess as the months progress that will move south and it could be a due west run and not risk loosing the wind. If I stop at the cooks and then again in Tonga I guess by the time I reach opua I won't have much isolation left to do to make up my 2 weeks. Manerva would be a good option as well if I am a bit unsure about the window Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Island Time 1,220 Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 Might be a year or more before this can be done. As above, all the S.Pacific countries are closed, except Fiji. You cannot stop at this point... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Capella 1 Posted July 25, 2021 Author Share Posted July 25, 2021 On 22/07/2021 at 9:14 AM, B00B00 said: With no covid you would clear out at Bora Bora, stop at maupiti (last atol in FP) then suwarow (northern cook islands), nuie, tonga Minerva and NZ. Or the southern route aitutaki, palmiston, nuie. But with covid I'm not sure exactly where you will be allowed to stop. As jon said Minerva is a great point to leave to NZ but I think you need 2 weeks at sea before entering NZ and they class that as a port even though its uninhabited. Yeah the quarantine clock is reset if I stop at manerva. I can have that up my sleeve as a place to wait if needed and just do the extra quarantine on the boat once in NZ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Black Panther 1,581 Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 Nice boat BTW Ive lost track of the number of deliveries I've missed/declined in the last 18 months due to Covid. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CarpeDiem 430 Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 43 minutes ago, Capella said: Yeah the quarantine clock is reset if I stop at manerva. I can have that up my sleeve as a place to wait if needed and just do the extra quarantine on the boat once in NZ Only if it takes you 12 days from when you depart Minerva. To avoid NZ MiQ you need to meet some very specific conditions. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Black Panther 1,581 Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 I'm anchored off the customs dock in opua. Seen a handful of boats arrive then sit for a number of days with yellow signs saying keep away. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Capella 1 Posted July 27, 2021 Author Share Posted July 27, 2021 On 26/07/2021 at 10:52 AM, Black Panther said: I'm anchored off the customs dock in opua. Seen a handful of boats arrive then sit for a number of days with yellow signs saying keep away. Yeah after more research I won't be stopping anywhere. So will well and truly have my quarantine finished before arrival. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Capella 1 Posted July 27, 2021 Author Share Posted July 27, 2021 Any advice on my side stays. They are 20mm dyneema. Not sure if they are 2010 or 2016. Apart from inspecting for chafing or uv damage by looking for snapped fibers what else can I do apart from just replacing them as a preventative measure? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bad Kitty 252 Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 6 hours ago, Capella said: Any advice on my side stays. They are 20mm dyneema. Not sure if they are 2010 or 2016. Apart from inspecting for chafing or uv damage by looking for snapped fibers what else can I do apart from just replacing them as a preventative measure? Well hopefully the bondage & whips guy will jump in here, who specialises in string, but for me there's a bit difference between 2010 & 2016. One is fine, the other would have a question mark over it for me? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CarpeDiem 430 Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 8 hours ago, Capella said: Any advice on my side stays. They are 20mm dyneema. Not sure if they are 2010 or 2016. Apart from inspecting for chafing or uv damage by looking for snapped fibers what else can I do apart from just replacing them as a preventative measure? 20mm?! Noting that Dyneema is a brand name, is it actually Dyneema made by DSM? DSM released a study a few years back (I can't find a link). Their findings were 60% strength loss after 10yrs of uv exposure. New 20mm dyneema would have a breaking strain of around 30,000kg. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
1paulg 17 Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 9 hours ago, Capella said: Any advice on my side stays. They are 20mm dyneema. Not sure if they are 2010 or 2016. Apart from inspecting for chafing or uv damage by looking for snapped fibers what else can I do apart from just replacing them as a preventative measure? Have they got covers on ? That will help protect from UV and abrasion. I replaced my 16 mm ones after 10 years (had covers on them) and had one tested which came out surprisingly well ( from memory they got to 80% before stopping ie they didnt test to break point). As mine were over size ( I could have come down in size) I was still well and truly covered although I was happy to replace after that length of time (with 16 mm) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Capella 1 Posted July 28, 2021 Author Share Posted July 28, 2021 4 hours ago, CarpeDiem said: 20mm?! Noting that Dyneema is a brand name, is it actually Dyneema made by DSM? DSM released a study a few years back (I can't find a link). Their findings were 60% strength loss after 10yrs of uv exposure. New 20mm dyneema would have a breaking strain of around 30,000kg. 60% is a bit unnerving but I think they are covered and I guess the UV up there isnt as bad Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Capella 1 Posted July 28, 2021 Author Share Posted July 28, 2021 3 hours ago, 1paulg said: Have they got covers on ? That will help protect from UV and abrasion. I replaced my 16 mm ones after 10 years (had covers on them) and had one tested which came out surprisingly well ( from memory they got to 80% before stopping ie they didnt test to break point). As mine were over size ( I could have come down in size) I was still well and truly covered although I was happy to replace after that length of time (with 16 mm) Yeah that's comforting. I'm pretty sure they are covered so hopefully mine are more than 80% as well. I guess the only way to check is take them off and put a load cell on them and if happy then put back on? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CarpeDiem 430 Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 47 minutes ago, Capella said: 60% is a bit unnerving but I think they are covered and I guess the UV up there isnt as bad Even at 60% loss they are rediculously oversized. You could hang four fully laden Toyota Land Cruisers off them and still not break the line. I suspect your deck fittings would rip off well before you got the fourth land cruiser hooked up. For a 100kg human to break the line would require a fall so significant that, (assuming your harness was strong enough), it would rip you apart before you broke a 12000kg line. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Capella 1 Posted July 28, 2021 Author Share Posted July 28, 2021 7 hours ago, CarpeDiem said: Even at 60% loss they are rediculously oversized. You could hang four fully laden Toyota Land Cruisers off them and still not break the line. I suspect your deck fittings would rip off well before you got the fourth land cruiser hooked up. For a 100kg human to break the line would require a fall so significant that, (assuming your harness was strong enough), it would rip you apart before you broke a 12000kg line. Yeah I hear you. Do you know roughly what loads are generated when rigs usually fail? Is there a common weakest link? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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