Circumnavigating NZ.

[Tillsbury 2]

Yes.  He could of course do that in Napier, which would be almost impossible to sail into without perfect conditions, but he could easily dump his anchor and I'm sure someone would happily tow him in.  It just doesn't look to me as if he's in that sort of mood -- he would have done it into Wellington if he were.  Maybe he will be in Napier, or maybe he just decides another couple of days gets him home.

[Jon 159]

Quick look at windyty and he’s got favourable winds for the next 24 to 36 hours

He’s possibly 48 hour off Napier then 6 days of either not much or strong head winds

If it was me I’d be heading for Napier, someone there will tow him in.

But if the motor needs to be rebuilt, as in out of boat to replace the shaft driving the pump, I’d think he will just keep sailing for Waiheke.
 

Time will tell

[ex Elly 66]

So glad he survived the night!  Must have been horrible.  

His major problem was caused by the furler malfunctioning.  Shows that you need a good furling system to survive 60 knots.

However the top boats in the Golden Globe Race all used furlers, except one.

 

[Theseus 1]

I've enjoyed reading about his adventure but was worried about his abrupt course change south of Banks peninsula. It quite different reading a sailing story happening in real time.

What I'm curious about is how his electrics will last. He seems to have a lot of electronics and an auto pilot. I think he has a wind generator but in my limited experience they can be a pain in strong winds. He can't run his motor to charge his batteries, so will they last for another week plus?

[Steve Pope 133]

35 minutes ago, ex Elly said:

So glad he survived the night!  Must have been horrible.  

His major problem was caused by the furler malfunctioning.  Shows that you need a good furling system to survive 60 knots.

However the top boats in the Golden Globe Race all used furlers, except one.

 

As I understand it the furler rope came off the winch, allowing the genoa to unfurl, no problem with the furler just the cleat / jammer.

[Fish 751]

Becalmed about 10 miles off Cape Palliser. It’s a bit frustrating really - I have had a fast - maybe a little too fast at times- run up the East Coast of the South Island from Bluff and now the wind just petered out and I’m left rolling around going nowhere.
On the other hand a bit of a rest is not a bad thing. The last three days I haven’t eaten much or slept very well it’s been so rough. I really feel like I had the stuffing kicked out of me by that last storm. Working on deck in those conditions takes so much concentration and physical exertion, just to move around, let alone do the tasks required. Combine that with lack of sleep and poor energy intake and I find myself today feeling weak and being forgetful and, well, a bit depressed by the fact I am not getting any closer to home.
Ah well,this too shall pass.

[ex Elly 66]

Good chance for him to rest and tidy up.

[Fogg 247]

His voyage seems like so many offshore trips - mostly being either scared sh!tless or bored sh!tless!

[darkside 29]

Shared sh!tless because we are all following?

[ex Elly 66]

Beating up the Wairarapa coast

Thu Oct 01 2020

I was woken at 0200 by the sound of the wind generator whirring happily away. Up on deck I could feel a steady breeze coming from the NW so I released the sheets and off we went through the starry night towards Cape Palliser. I figured the wind would probably die when we came into the lee of the cape and sure enough we were becalmed all morning. I have pretty much sailed into the centre of a high and it is going to be a bit of a challenge getting up the coast to East Cape.
With the sun out and time on my hands I pulled all the wet squabs out and arranged them artistically in the cockpit to dry. It may take some time.
I then sat in front of the engine and came up with a plan to rig up a spare bilge pump to supply cooling water. I have all the bits I need - hoses, hose clips, sealant, pump, container, wiring and switch - but I am not going to do it unless I get really desperate. Part of the challenge is the original pump runs in sync with the engine but my jury rigged system would have to be manually turned on after the engine has started and before it is shut down - otherwise I could back flood the exhaust and do some serious damage to the pistons by hydraulicing them.I can just see myself forgetting to switch off at the right moment.
Fortunately I was distracted from my desperate plan by the wind filling in from the NE. Right from where I want to go but I am happy for any kind of wind right now.

[Sabre 358]

Looks like Macgyver has got his engine running. Currently motoring across Hawkes bay

[Romany 93]

This is turning more epic by the looks of things. Running before the breeze onto a lee shore with not many (if any) hidey holes - yikes!

I hope everything's ok. 

[Dtwo 136]

3 minutes ago, Romany said:

This is turning more epic by the looks of things. Running before the breeze onto a lee shore with not many (if any) hidey holes - yikes!

I hope everything's ok. 

He's doing 230 deg while wind is 14 knots at 278.  Not really a problem I would expect.

[Jon 159]

Wind is going to go left so I’m picking he’s trying to get as far west as he can before it swings. That should get him cracking sheets all the way across the BOP

[Fogg 247]

He’s got a solution for everything:

 

37º 15.714s 177º 15.924e

Of tanks and dolphins

Tue Oct 06 2020

The wind continues to blow exactly from my waypoint up ahead.Its uncanny how little it varies in direction and yet it’s up and down like a yo yo. Sometimes I am sailing, sometimes motoring, mostly both together as the sea is steep and lumpy making progress slow.
Dolphins have been playing around the boat all morning. The bow wave is pretty disappointing for them when just motoring but when I unfurl the genoa and we go surging off on a tangent they get all excited , frolicking and leaping about the bow like a bunch of happy…well, dolphins I suppose. What is it with dolphins and bow waves?
Attention all fuel and water tank fabricators: always, always put in a dipping port! It’s a ten minute job to weld on to the top a threaded stub that a cap can be screwed onto. Should be part of Tank Building 101. Sheesh…just do it!

From this you may have gathered I do not have a dipping port on my tanks and there is no fuel gauge. Boat tanks are often funny shapes to fit the hull and difficult to monitor accurately unless you have a dipstick calibrated as the tank is filled from empty. I really need to know how much fuel I have left because I don’t want to run out. I would like to have at least enough left to get into the dock - or get myself out of trouble somewhere.

So, in the middle of the night, with nothing better to do as we pitch and roll along, I drill a hole in my tank. This is not as stupid as it sounds. On the top of the tank there is a doubler plate through which the suction pipe is fitted. I know this area well as I spent some time fitting a T into this pipe to run fuel up to the header tank for the diesel stove. So I drill through this plate with a 10mm drill. Fortunately it is an aluminium tank so the drilling part is easy. My trusty Dyson handheld vacuum sucks up the swarf as I drill. Using my tap and die set I tap a 12mm thread into the hole. I can now plug it with a 12mm bolt. I don’t have a 12mm bolt so I use the tap for the moment. I also don’t have a dipstick but a long cable tie does the job. Although it is difficult to tell the exact level with the diesel sloshing around in the tank I am pleasantly surprised to find I have more than I expected. I am starting to think I might make it home in the next couple of days.

[Sabre 358]

Not far to go now.

I will miss reading his updates.

He is such a likeable, capable and inspiring chap. 

[Terry B 34]

Legend!

Growing up on the Mercury Isles must have been an adventure!

[ex Elly 66]

The Hole in the Wall

Wed Oct 07 2020

It has been a fast close reach up the coast. At 0420 I pinch up past Ohinau Island and finally reach my waypoint 120 miles from East Cape. It’s been a long haul and a welcome arrival.
Here I also pass through a place that signifies a homecoming for me from long ago. Ahead off the starboard bow lies Great Mercury Island, the home to where I was carried, through this passage, as a baby by my mother and where I grew up for the first twelve years of my life.
The Hole In The Wall is so called because it is the one clear passage between the outlying point of Mercury Bay and the long chain of islands and reefs that make up the Mercury Group. To me it is also a portal of sorts, between the outside and home, and as I pass through it, coming this way, I always feel a sense of arriving in a place that is part of me, that I know, that formed and defined who I am now.
As I pass and salute Old Man Rock, the lone sentinel who guards the centre of the channel, the moonlight shimmers on the sea and all around lie the sleeping hummocks of the scattered islands of the Mercurys; all islands that I have explored, scrambled over and absorbed into my being with that breathless sense of adventure that one has as a child. Some of that has never left me and so here I am, many years later, passing by my old stamping ground and close to concluding yet another adventure.
One more Cape to go.

[ex Elly 66]

Will he make it home to Waiheke today?

 

[Fogg 247]

At 1000hrs looks like he's got about 35nm to run but with persistent SW10-15 he's going to be sailing much further probably closer to 50nm at say av. speed 5kts so I'd say he's got anywhere between 10-12hrs to go. So almost certainly today (before midnight) but he might struggle to arrive in daylight?