March 10, 2016
60+ Knots!!!!!
Glad We’re in a Berth
Chaffer’s Marina, Wellington
Someone Woke the Monster
March 8, 2016
OK, you know who you are. Come clean. Who woke the monster? Don’t play all innocent with us… you know what monster… the roaring forties weather monster!
This wasn’t in the forecast when we left Napier for the Marlborough Sounds, then it was, but we thought we could beat it. Nope. Not with the 20 miles we lost yesterday to adverse current. It was looking like we’d end up right in the middle of this as we crossed the notoriously rough Cook Straight.
We did what all cowardly sailors like ourselves do at times like these: ducked in to a safe harbor for coffee and pizza!
We’re now anchored off Somas Island in Wellington Harbor. We got in at midnight! We have already arranged a spot in the marina right in the heart of this incredible city. We’ll move in an hour or two – after a leisurely breakfast and MORE COFFEE!
It looks like the next good window for crossing to the South Island is either tomorrow or a week from now. Tomorrow doesn’t give us time for enough pizza and Wellington’s famous coffee. Guess which weather window we’ll choose. -Rich
Roaring Forties
March 6, 2016
We’re on our way to the South Island and in the roaring forties.
This is a notorious area of the Southern Ocean where wind, waves and storms gallop around the globe, unabated by land masses. Shhhh! Don’t wake the beast. So far, it’s smooth and flat!
Hopefully it’ll stay that way for another day or more. We are cruising down the coast of the North Island of New Zealand and it’ll hopefully block the worst of what the ocean can do down here. The break between the two islands that we must cross, the Cook Straight, might not be so calm. Keep your fingers crossed for us! -Rich
Planning
February 27, 2016
Here’s how it went.
Lets see… We need to get to Napier, 280 miles away. We need to get there in daylight. We need to get there before the wind picks up. We’ve got to get around East Cape while the winds are westerly or northerly. We can’t get out of our berth when the tide is running. When’s slack tide? Shall we stop along the way? Where? How many stops?
That’s as far as I got before my head exploded. Brainy bits all over the place. The explosion was caused, in part, by trying to keep track of distances and the times it would take to cover those distances. Enter these tables…
While not 100% accurate due to the extra time and distance entering and leaving anchorages at the various destinations, it was good enough and a real help in planning. I think I’ll make these more often. -Rich