How I learned to Sail: December 2009

This was going to be brief update, then it became a long one, then I lost the whole lot. So I went ashore and had my first shower and a pie and some coffee, and now I am going to redo the email. I just wanted everyone to know that I got here about 8.30pm yesterday, November 30th, and all is well.

Yesterday was an absolutely marvelous day, from the first glimmer of light when that god awful mist started to lift and I caught my first glimpse of New Zealand off Cape Karaekare, to having a joyful family of dolphins playing around Sapphire for over an hour - one was a gorgeous baby dolphin, maybe 3 feet long,- to sailing along the fully revealed Northland coast, passing places I last saw about 30 years ago as a teenage fisherman, and remembering the adventures from way back then, to having the wind pick up to 16 or 18 knots and be sailing perfectly,to swerving to avoid a massive sunfish lolling in the ocean off Stephnsons Island - these things are huge and can damage a boat - to rounding the Cavalli Islands and seeing the Bay of Islands opening up before me, to rounding the last point in the river and seeing my old school friend Hilton and his wife and my brother on the wharf waving and shouting at me, cheering and whistling as I motored towards the Quarantine Wharf 400 yards away. It had all been absolutely fantastic. I could hardly believe after all I had been through I was finally here.

And then without warning,the motor stopped dead. I had run out of Diesel!

And to make matters worse I was about to cross in front of the Car Ferry that shuttles back and forth from the Opua side to the Russell side...I had calculated there would be more than enough Diesel to motor in from out beyond the "Ninepin" a prominent jutting triangular rock at the northern limit of the Bay, but then because I just wanted to get in, and it was getting late, I ended up having the motor running a lot faster than I usually do, and consequently, the Fuel was used up much sooner than it otherwise would have been, with the inevitable result. At that moment, the wind was quite strong and directly behind me so it kept me going in the direction I needed to, and once I had realized what the hell had happened and given it three seconds deep and comprehensive analysis I was able to veer sharply across in front of the Ferry and out of its way. Now I had about 300 yards left and we were being pushed along at 3 knots! Now I had to think really fast because in front of me on the starboard side was the Q Wharf - as they call the Quarantine WHarf- and on the other side and on beyond the Q wharf was a shallow Bay jam packed with moored yachts, launches barges and cruisers, and I had maybe 2 minutes before I would be aground on the far side of this little Bay if I didnt stop the boat. I quickly ran forward and hauled the anchor and some chain out of its locker and put the anchor in its roller - I was going to get blown past the Q Wharf and into the yachts and I hoped I would be able to swing round to Port and find a clear spot among the yachts to drop the anchor and bring the boat to a halt. ...Now the Q Wharf was on the starboard side about 40 feet away and I was swiftly moving along parallel to it - - it was basically a 100 yard long floating dock , 10 feet wide with boats tied to it one behind the other but they were all on the other side - the side facing Sapphire was free of boats and I suddenly realized that instead of swinging to Port and dropping the anchor, it might be feasible to swing to Starboard, do a sort of U Turn and face the boat back up into the wind which would stop it before blowing it backwards and turning it all round again - but if I could get it right I might be able to bring it to a standstill right by the Q Wharf. And that's exacts what I did! I had some help from a French sailor who looked up as I swept silently by and I yelled out to him " Help me - I have no power, I have no power" and fortunately he got the message and ran across as I swung the boat in and around, and incredibly it stopped right in front of him, I ran forward and handed him the mooring line which I had prepared, along with the fenders an hour or so before, and he made it fast to a cleat. I was on the Q Wharf! And he said " Its OK, Its OK, everything s fine , you're OK well done, well done its Ok " I think he could see I was a little agitated!

One of these days I'll have a totally uneventful arrival somewhere - that will be nice! But gee it felt good to be there. And how true it is, the show aint over till the Fat Lady sings!

So there I was on the Q Wharf, which for (obviously) Quarantine purposes , is not connected to a marina or to the shore at any point. The idea is you stop there, Customs and Quarantine come on board , do their checks and once you're cleared, you can motor off to wherever you like. The trouble was they had all gone home for the day, and I was ordered to remain onboard till the morning, and no one was permitted to visit. How intensely frustrating! And there was my welcoming party out on the end of an adjacent pier shouting across at me and welcoming me home, wondering when we could all go out for a drink! I had to shout back that I wasn't allowed off the boat till the morning so we just shouted across at each other for half an hour or so. And it was a whole heap better than having no one to talk to.

Now I know we are all friends on this Blog and so I feel I can safely tell you a little secret : a little later , I became an Illegal Immigrant, sneaking ashore with the help of a bloke who happened to row by in a dinghy. What the hell - I was already an illegal emigrant! It was so good just to hug my friends and my brother and to talk face to face, and we sat on the end of that pier in the dark having a little picnic and some wine and later some Bourbon, catching up on all the latest excitement. I decided I better not head into town and a restaurant or a pub - that would be pushing it a bit - besides I was still wearing the shirt and shorts I had on when I left Lord Howe, plus my life jacket, harness and tether, and I hadn't had a shower for nine days so I think eyebrows may have been raised, if not suspicions! After about three hours we "borrowed" a dinghy and I was returned to exile on the Q dock and my welcoming party returned home. It had been a marvelous marvelous day! And wow, did I sleep!

This morning, Quarantine and Customs duly arrived , formalities were completed and I was given a beautiful present, a hand made woven flax Maori Kit Bag, and clearance to leave the Q Dock. But first I had to get some diesel - and I borrowed 20 litres from a wonderful Norwegian sailor off a big battered and sturdy steel yacht on the other side of the Q Dock. Then to get the motor started - because it wouldn't , and I knew why - I had to "bleed" the entire fuel system. This is because once you run out of fuel you get air in the line and the fuel pump wont work and neither will the motor. Having been to the Diesel For Beginners class, I knew exactly what to do, and to my amazement, once I had "bled" the system, the motor roared back into life. I was quite proud of my first effort as a Diesel mechanic!

I then cast off and motored around to Berth E58 where I will stay for a few days while I work out what to do next! Thanks everyone for your support, thoughts wishes encouragement, jokes, advice and for just being out there and helping me along.
I am on Cloud Nine - but still a little tired.

Sapphire Out.

ps I will find an Internet Cafe tomorrow and post some photos.

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How I learned to Sail

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Crossing the ditch : Photos (1) : Click on the Pic to get a decent sized image

Crossing the Ditch: Photos (2)

Crossing the Ditch : Photos (3)

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Yes, I made it!

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