Sapphire in the Bay of Islands

I stayed on the boat at the Opua Marina for just over a week. I rested and caught up on sleep and went out for hearty restaurant meals, and reflected on the journey I had just completed. I frequently went back to my Log and read what I had written each day, and looked at the Chart of the Tasman Sea with all the daily positions plotted on it with my usually blunt pencil, and I re-read my Blog postings and looked at the photos and videos I had taken during the passage - "yes" i kept telling myself, "Ive really done it, Ive sailed across the Tasman Sea by myself". And I felt tremendously proud of Sapphire for having been so reliable and so kindly a yacht, for having looked after me and for getting me home safely. At night I slept on board in my sea birth as before and didnt really want to go ashore. It had been an amazing experience but at times I wondered if maybe I had just been incredibly lucky to have made it.

I remembered years ago being told by a woman whose husband had done a lot of sailing,that Jesse Martin was a fool for even attempting to do what he did, and he only succeeeded because he was exceptionally lucky. Her contempt was barely disguised, so I kept my own dreams to myself on that occasion. But still I did wonder, was my success also due to what someone else suggested was just "Dumb Luck"?

Well firstly I realised that "Luck" is certainly part of anyones success, be they sailors, politicians, olympians, farmers or Rock Stars - we all benefit from lucky things as basic as not picking up a cold, or not having someone drive their car into us at the lights, or a spell of good weather, or just happening to run into the right person at the right time. And certainly running into John on Errisea at Lord Howe island was fantastic luck for me. But I have also heard it said that the harder you work, the luckier you get! And certainly, I had done lots of work - or at least Jason and various other shipwrights had done lots of work on Sapphire, making her as strong and safe and dry as we were able with the resources we had.

And as for "Dumb?" Well I had applied the full force of my own intellect, such as it is to the task, right from the very beginning when going to the sailing school,to the Safety at Sea and marine radio and Diesel courses, to working out what sort of yacht I could get, to what sort of equipment and upgrades were needed, to reading and to sailing and learning from every day on board,to preparing for the trip and then, at sea thinking as hard as I could about everything that was happening and the best way to anticipate or deal with problems that arose along the way. I was of course always very aware of my own lack of experience, and because of that I probably needed a little more luck than others might, and even now I dont regard myself as particularly experienced, but I have learned a lot! I guess you could say where I was dumb was in experience. Anyhow, I did it and I'm still amazed! The best day of all was the last one, that started in depressing fog and then developed into a terrific day of sailing down the coast in sunshine and with Dolphins and then finished with a bit of drama followed by some drunken revelry.

Unfortunately however I had to return to work. I found a secure swing mooring near the Marina and after tidying up, left Sapphire on the mooring and returned to Australia to work and pay off some Bills. It was extraordinary to look down from the Jet as we sped back across the Tasman, to see the sea and the white caps way below and to think to myself, "Ive been there".

I will be returning to Sapphire in three months, and have already started to draw up a list of work needed before my next sailing adventure : those pesky leaks, the Vang thats not been properly repaired, the Bolts on the Hydrovane.... I was thinking of going to Tonga in May but might defer that a year so I can have some adventures around the Bay of Islands and Northland.

Happy New Year everyone.