Imminent Departure

Park on the waterfront - Wellington ferry

Here we are in Picton New Zealand - tied up in the town marina. This is the main ferry terminal which connects the North and South Island between Picton and the nation's capital of Wellington. We're booked to clear Customs tomorrow morning, We'll  leave here bound for South Ameica shortly afterwards. As if mirroring our feelings about leaving this part of the world and these beautiful lands, today has turned out grey and rainy. After checking the weather,  however, Larry says tomorrow should be a perfect day to depart.

Picton Waterfront

Picton is a very lovely small city as these photos show. Residents here tell us that they would 'never leave'. I include a photo of Blenheim which Larry visited because of his toothache. After a thorough inspection by the dentist, it turned out that nothing was wrong, but Larry ended up taking the bus at 7:30 with the return trip at 5:30 to Blenheim for an 11:00 appointment. There were no openings at the dental clinic in Picton. So here also is Larry's photo of Blenheim.

View of the Marina

Blenheim

Reunions, Meetings, Greetings and Soundings

Terry Fitz & Christine Lindsay

Throngs of Gannets

Nesting gannet

This has to be a very long blog because it has been an eventful month. Early in the month, we flew over to Auckland on the N Island for a reunion with Christine Lindsay and partner Terry Spitz … it was to have been a 6-year Reunion when we (along with stellar athlete Marigold Edwards) met up at Gulf Harbour Marina north of Auckland for a sail together over to Great Barrier Island. Unfortunately, ‘Goldie’ wisely (in view of a delayed NZ Summer) isn’t getting back to her home country until late February when we hope that Traversay III will be Chile-bound. We missed having Goldie with us, but her friend Dr Nelly Steinemann came for a visit and to see the NWP Show aboard Terry and Christine’s good ship ‘Shiraz’. Some wanderings we shared took us over to Muriwai on the west coast to see the Gannet Colonies, and also for a beautiful walk in Shakespear Park on a clear and sunny day.

Shakespear Park walk

Richard & Michelle on Theleme

More reunions: Returning to Nelson, friends Michelle and Richard from the French-flagged ‘SV Theleme’ reminded us of times we spent sharing anchorages in Chilean Patagonia. Before untying the lines, guests came over for crackers and cheese. I had met Lorna at the Gym I joined in Nelson 10 years ago so she and Peter were aboard once again along with new friends such as Helen (a fellow boat-owner at the Nelson Marina), Ruth and Tom (whose fabulous aluminium boat ‘Matariki’ is now for sale at the marina), Alister and Kim and Tom and Vicky (Sunstone).

Peter, Lorna, Helen, Tom & Vicky

Wai Choong

Having been introduced to Wai by our friend Jen (see previous blogs) we were delighted to have dinner at his home and to see the very old piano (a ‘Kuhlu’ piano circa 1900 from Berlin) which is most beautiful with a mellow, silvery tone and is set in a tomato-red room furnished with a most elegant oriental carpet. We have been driven around and helped in our provisioning and

Wai's piano

air travels by Wai and Jen, and given a loving send-off by Maurice and Katie Cloughley. We are going to try to return in five years time to share important birthdays, and also to pay a return visit to the Mt Arthur Tablelands.

Soundings: A few days ago we left Nelson for
Pelorus Sound with a fair weather outlook. After catching up with the classic ‘Irene’ who resembles a beautiful white cloud as she sweeps through the waters, we travelled through French Pass. We’ve been revisiting some of the scenery that we travelled through a decade ago with Traversay’s Waterline sister-ship ‘Red’.  The weather so far has not been very co-operative and since leaving Nelson, we’ve had to ‘take cover’ several times.

'Red' in  the Sounds

Dick & Pat's classic yacht - SV 'Irene'

'Chantelle'

Kelly & Leslie

We were lucky to meet up with ‘Chantelle’ in Bulmer Bay 2 days ago just before a huge storm. We’d spent the previous night there – anchored with 275 feet of anchor chain out. Kelly advised us to take up one of the mooring balls next to his yacht ‘Chantelle’ and we spent 24 very windy hours safely tied up. We don’t always know whether mooring balls have been recently tested or whether they’re sufficiently strong to hold a heavy steel boat such as ours, but Kelly has been boating in these parts, and fishing off the west coast for years and years and his is trustworthy knowledge!

We’re now en-route to Queen Charlotte Sound where we hope to find another ‘bolthole’ anchorage as more bad weather is in the forecast. Bad weather is far from our minds at the moment – sunshine and remarkably beautiful scenery as we travel through this blessed land drives thoughts of stormy winds away – at least for the moment. We know that we may again be able to live through poor weather by tying to the shore as well as anchoring, and also by exploring the beautiful underwater kingdom.

Sea star and anemones

Sponge

Our last dive here at Maori Bay yielded more of Larry’s terrific photos. We were especially pleased to see a few large sea stars. These have been disappearing in BC waters due to an unknown killer (possibly a virus of some type).

People, Events and incredible Spaces

Kim with her Christmas 'Trifle'

Our time here feels very limited as we continue to meet new and re-meet good old friends here. We know we must move on very soon. The Captain has important boat repairs and parts to order before we again face the stormy Southern Ocean. We’re hoping to avoid being ‘knocked down’ as we were in our crossing to Chile in 2008 so we’ll leave in early February this time rather than in blustery March. Our piano is surprised at all the music it’s being asked for these days. I’m meeting many   interesting pianos and am asked to play so I have to practice a great deal at home. Fellow marina dwellers who have stopped by are Robert and Jen (of ‘Kapella’), Dick and Pat (of ‘Irene’), and also Kim and Alister who reciprocated at their home and gave us a tour of the steel/wooden yacht which Alister has built from the ‘ground up’ – a masterpiece of interesting design and well thought-out detail.

Jen Urquhart's Cobb Cottage

 Assorted Canadian guests - Ann and Glenn (formerly of NWP yacht ‘Gjoa’) came by for dinner and the Robertsons of Nova Scotia (see photo) came by to listen and to look at Traversay III.

with Juday & Marine Robertson

Sunstone

Cobb Cootage detail

Jen's dining room

Jen Urquhart invited us to see her gem of a home – it’s a ‘Cobb Cottage’ – built by the pioneers 160 years ago … while there I played her piano and was given two boxes of ‘vintage’ music to sort through. Great FUN for me! While there we met Wai and were invited for a fabulous Chinese meal and I ended up playing one of the most beautiful-looking old instruments I’ve ever seen. We went off for a potluck lunch and got through our Northwest Passage presentation for Tom and Vicky (of ‘Sunstone’) at their beautiful sea-fronted home.

Irene

Larry & Jen  - patio scene 

But the highlight of this stop in Nelson was Christmas dinner at Maurice and Katie’s. ‘Winter Quarters’ shows the love and care which people who have lived aboard a boat for many years can bring to a dearly beloved and cared for First Home and Garden. It is filled with books and precious mementoes from their many travels. A Good Time was had by all - as you can see by these photos of glee and over-indulgence!

Maurice, Kim, Katie. M.A., Alister, Pat and Dick

Katie and Mo with the amazing 'spread'

'Winter Quarters' garden with Maurice's mosaics of Kiwi endemic bird species

An early white Christmas!

A snowy peak

Maurice the firemaker

Katie w water-repelling skirt

Our pilgrimage up into the high country of New Zealand with friends Maurice and Katie was the best 10-year Reunion – ten years ago we spent a week walking together on the Heaphy Track west of Nelson. The great walks of New Zealand were set up to promote this beautiful country – mostly to develop pride in the inhabitants themselves. They’ve done that but they’ve also been a boon for the tourist industry – such a success that now (without ‘booking’ weeks or even months in advance) it’s not easy to get hut space in the most popular ‘tracks’ – like the Heaphy, Milford and Routeburn walks here on the South Island or the Tongariro (scenery which provided much of the setting for ‘Lord of the Rings’) on the North Island.

Tramping through the tussocks

Not having to bring bear spray is among the manifold advantages to hiking in New Zealand. We enjoyed the similar walks in British Columbia (Garibaldi Lake) and Washington (Olympic Peninsula) but here there are no dangerous animals, snakes or spiders and we also didn’t have to bring our own tent, mattresses or cooking gear.

When one looked at Larry’s oversize backpack, however, it seemed we had brought excessive gear. Much of this excess was due to our lofted sleeping bags. These were developed to keep folks warm in -10 N American climes and although they’re very light, they do take up space.
As it actually SNOWED on our first night up high in the mountains the sleeping bags turned out to have been a great idea. We shared the snow with a few Wekas of New Zealand’s threatened bird species. These large and clumsy-looking birds are sometimes confused with the mostly-nocturnal Kiwi. In contrast, Kiwis are smaller and shy. In fact, apart from a similar colour and a sharper and longer bill for its size, the Kiwi is not at all like a Weka. Like its fellow New Zealand species the scavenging Kea - a type of parrot, Wekas hang around campers looking for treats. In New Zealand - as everywhere else -the message from naturalists is: Please don’t feed the animals!

Balloon Hut

The four of us enjoyed the company of a veritable League of Nations on our trip with young fellow pilgrims also staying in our huts along the way. Salisbury Lodge was shared with a Japanese and an Israeli couple on night 1 and with some Dutch sisters on night 3. On night 2 we were alone at Balloon Hut except for a short visit by an athletic French couple. Balloon Hut was a beautiful little warm home-away-from-home. Maurice kept the fire going on the snowy night.
I had failed to bring mitts - Larry handed over his to warm my freezing hands. A bigger mistake was to wear my running shoes for tramping through freezing mud. I did learn that  with completely wet cold feet you neither GET blisters, nor would you feel them (due to having frozen feet) if you DID get them. I brought my hiking poles and these (mostly) kept me from sliding off muddy slopes.

Dutch sisters - 'puzzling' and tending the fire

Weka in the snow

We are so grateful to Mo and Katie for having organized and ‘booked us in’ to the huts and reminding us of the many items we would need to bring. Without their impetus we might never have been able to organize ourselves for the adventure. We much admired the gear they have collected and the wonderful schedule of breaks, hot drinks and treats with which they make their tramping holiday such an eventful and warmly enjoyable time. Thanks for the time of sharing.

Now we look forward to a relaxed Christmas amongst old and new friends at Maurice and Katie’s home – ‘Winter Quarters’.

Nelson New Zealand

Nelson Marina offices - old and new

We arrived here nearly a week ago - we have had beautiful weather ... sunny with a little rain - cool at night and perfect for walking. Nelson is a beautiful little city - perfect for liveaboard sailors. In fact, Nelson is just PERFECT - not too big and not too small.

Walkway into town centre

Everything you need or desire is nearby and the people are friendly. They are tolerant of our manner of speaking English and willing to repeat themselves when we don't understand them. No one is in a great rush and we have had a nice relaxed time visiting here. We're heading off tomorrow to walk the Mt. Arthur Tablelands with Maurice and Katie Cloughley. We have walked with them (Heaphy Track) ten years ago and they have been friends of Larry's since 1979 when he met them on their boat in the Canaries (he was on Traversay - the first). The weather forecast looks terrific for this outing - no rain is forecast until our last day out (Wednesday).

Saturday Market

Today was a bit rainy but I headed off to the Saturday Market anyway. There are lovely lavender products, cheeses, breads, all sorts of handicrafts and farm-fresh vegetables. It was great fun just looking at all the people and the stalls - next week will be a better time to buy any perishables as we'll be around long enough to eat them.

When we got here and by the time Customs had finished with us a heavy wind was blowing. We decided just to 'park' at the end of our assigned dock temporarily. It seems nearly every place we go there's a new (to us) technology for tying up our boat. Nelson NZ - 1 ring on each end of the dock (so you'd better not have a loop on the end of your lines); Germany - bollards (so you'd better have a loop on the end of your lines); British Columbia - 2 parallel wooden 2x4s; Australia - every cleat already has someone's lines permanently braided into it.

Mooring rings

Coathanger for mooring lines

At Nelson Marina, some people install a coat-rack type of metal pole at the end of the dock and they leave their permanent lines there to simplify tying up. We decided to tie up after dark - I grabbed the forward ring with the boathook and Larry waited for the wind to push us in to the dock.

Aussie docking 

A few more days ...

Snowy Wanderer

After four days of good progress, the weather has, as predicted, become contrary. We have bent our route a bit to the north to avoid two days of east winds. While this hasn't produced sailing winds in our favor, the resulting calms allow us to motor at a better speed than we could achieve directly into wind driven ocean waves. The higher speed more than makes up for the additional distance traveled.

It is cool and rainy. We have left the warmth and sunny skies of Australia far behind. So it seems we have lost something but we HAVE gained the evening airshow. For some reason, the seabirds congregate nearby as the day comes to a close. Unlike the birds further north, the albatrosses and their relatives feel no need to pester us with deck landings and their associated mess but seem content to just soar endlessly over the ocean swells.

Mollymawk

The largest of them, the wandering albatross, nests on sub-Antarctic islands raising one chick every couple of years. The nesting pairs mate for life - as long as fifty years. When the chick is young, they take turns making week long forays into the ocean for food. As the chick grows large enough to defend itself from predatory birds, both parents head off to hunt bringing food back to their large fluffy chick who eagerly waits for them on a forlorn windy hillside.

It is difficult to appreciate the size of these birds with no well-understood reference in the sky or on the waves. An albatross's wings measure three and a half meters (11 1/2 feet) from tip to tip! The only clue to size is the illusionary slowness with which the albatross seems to glide compared with smaller birds. This is the same illusion that makes Boeing 747s and Airbus 380s appear to be descending to land much more slowly than smaller airplanes. They do not - and neither does the albatross fly particularly slowly. They regularly forage over 500 miles in a day.

At rest

The birds are such a treat to watch ... but oh so hard to capture in the camera lens!


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At 11/30/2016 00:01 (utc) our position was 37°08.11'S 166°24.15'E

The Tasman Sea

If anything might make four to five meter high seas vaguely tolerable in a small boat, it would be steady progress. Fortunately, we have been so blessed. Apart from a few hours of contrary wind as we left Sydney which forced us north of our course, we have been moving quickly toward New Zealand. A broad swath of the East Australian Current even added 3 knots to our speed in its curving trajectory towards the east. Our first two full days at sea have given us noon-to-noon runs of 146 nautical miles on the first day and an excellent 184 on the second.

All around, the cobalt blue foam-crested sea is layered with different levels of detail. The huge crests roll by every ten to twelve seconds and raise and lower us with their bulk. These monsters were born days ago in a fifty-plus knot storm now far to our southeast and will travel thousands of miles before they fade to imperceptability. Superimposed on them are the wind waves chased by the 20 to 25 knots blowing from our starboard quarter. These are the seas that produce the annoying lurch that makes living and cooking aboard such a challenge. Every minute or two, one of them collides forcibly with our bow and sends a shower of sea cascading across the deck and into the cockpit. In an even tinier level of detail, centimeter-high ripples, ruffled by the wind, chase across the surfaces of the larger undulations.

While there are no ships or boats of any description to be seen out here, the air is full of life. Various perfectly adapted pelagic birds seemingly extract joy from the ocean swells as they soar above them on long slim wings. I even saw that most excellent flyer, the wandering albatross, who actually seems to nourish himself on wind and wave. What magic soaring! He never flapped a wing in all the time I watched him.

And just to remind us that we are not the only people who voyage from Australia to New Zealand, a solitary contrail divides the deep blue above. I can just make out the silver jetliner leading it across the sky towards New Zealand, a few hours away!

And what now? The winds that drive us will fade and reestablish themselves, at times from an inconvenient direction. We are out here for at least another six days, perhaps seven if we choose to alter our course to the north to avoid a few days of easterlies in a distant forecast. Nonetheless, each day, the miles-to-go shrinks in a pleasing way.


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At 11/27/2016 00:03 (utc) our position was 35°50.29'S 157°40.31'E