Sadiqi: 2017

Sunday 29 October 2017

Sailing again!

October 29 Sadiqi escaped the Riverside Drive marina for the first time since March.

Sailed to Great Barrier Island and met up with Ray on Himene.

Himene - Captain Ray

November 19 arrived in the Bay of Islands.

Bay of Islands near Russell Boat Club

November 29 arrived Cavalli Islands - Papatara Bay.

Papatara bay (Horseshoe Bay)

Cavalli Islands

December 9 arrived Whangaroa Harbour.

Whangaroa Harbour entrance

Okura Bay, Whangaroa Harbour

December 5 arrived Houhoro Harbour

Tokoroa Island entrance to Houhoro Harbour

December 12 arrived Nelson, Boulder Bank mooring

Nelson

Nelson, Boulder Bank mooring

The capricious weather of New Zealand! The remnants of cyclone Fihe gave the Nelson area a good whack mid January! It wasn't too pleasant at times on the swing mooring even with the protection of the Boulder Bank. The boat and I were shaken up. We had some of the strongest winds that I've experienced since the last time I can recall - whenever that was. Just as well I don't have much of a memory. The problem was the high spring tides and the tidal rush. For several hours the boats stern was pointing toward a little over 50 knot winds. The strong flooding tide forced the boat against the screaming winds. This created a nasty wind against tide situation. The motion at times was lousy and I felt seasick. The Nelson area experiences the biggest tides in New Zealand of 3 to 4 metres. At 41 degrees south Sadiqi was just inside the roaring forties! That is about as far south as this skipper will get - in a small boat anyway.

Sadiqi departed Nelson in early February and motored to Adele island with friends Mike and Charmaine on Tamure II for the Waitangi long weekend. I had been keeping an keen eye on the weather. Mainly using the app ‘WINDY’. I saw an opportunity with southerly wind for the voyage up the New Zealand west coast and if I timed it right and northerly wind flow when I arrived at the top. Just north of Farewell Spit the wave action was horrendous. It was a very rough channel crossing between the islands. I sailed well west of the notorious Cook Strait and the gas platforms off New Plymouth. It was incredibly rough all the same and I felt seasick. Weather forecasts from Maritime Radio on VHF advised of strong south east winds on the west coast and gale force winds on the east coast. I sailed toward Auckland and the shelter of the North Island. The strong winds never eventuated. I was having problems furling the new mainsail if there was any wind. I could unfurl the main but struggled to furl it without having to leave the cockpit and lay the luff tape correctly. Closer to Cape Rienga the wind increased to 30 knots from the north east. Sadiqi was reasonably sheltered being 3 miles off the beach. It was a good sail over the top of New Zealand. The wind dropped in the early morning and I motored to Cavalli islands and dropped anchor. Overall it was a long, tough sail. Either too much or too little wind. After two nights at the Cavalli islands I hauled anchor and motor sailed to the Bay of Islands and the Russell Boat Club.

I arrived at Great Barrier Island toward the end of February before the winds of ex-cyclone Gita ramped up. I had an excellent overnight down wind sail to to Great Barrier island in 15 to 20 knot northerlies. I found a sheltered bay and hunkered down while ex-cyclone Gita screamed all day! Fortunately the anchor held fast. I was relieved that I'd left Nelson as Gita gave that area a good flooding again.

Dinner - Great Barrier Island

East north east winds up to 25 knots were forecast for the start of March. I thought a great opportunity for a good broad reach sail toward Whangarei. It was a brisk and boisterous sail averaging 5 and a half knots. I dropped anchor at The Nook with plenty of daylight to spare.

The Nook

Solo sailors; Mennon on Kairos, Ray on Himene and Mo on Rosemary arrived at the Nook over the weekend.

The saga of the new mainsail.

Just before returning to Whangarei I wrote to Calibre Sails requesting a full refund. The sail was not up to the specifications provided, it was returned to the Calibre Sails loft for the third and final time. I saw little point in having more corrections made to the sail. The sail maker had no idea how in boom furling worked. A full refund was transferred to UK Sailmakers, who as it turned out had experience with in boom furling systems. The new sail was built, the old sail repaired and successfully raised within 2 months of payment. Phil from UK Sailmakers was a pleasure to deal with, despite being exceedingly busy, did a great job on the new sail and repairs.

May in Whangarei. Early morning temperatures are plummeting. I experienced single digit temperatures in the early morning in the first week of May – a sign of things to come. Hopefully, the waters of the tropical southern Pacific were cooling and lessening the chance of triggering cyclones.

Profurl in boom furling system.

In 2017 I had the nylon bushings refurbished in Sadiqi’s aging Profurl In Boom furling system. Terry from 'Alloy Stainless & Marine' turned out new acetal bushes. This was considerably less expensive than ordering OEM parts from the Profurl agents. While sailing from the south island I noticed the boom vang was leaking oil. I had replaced the gas strut in the vang in 2011. It was suggested I contact Nelson Lattimer Gas Stays in Whangarei to see if the gas strut could be repaired. Nelson built a new gas strut with double seals in less than 2 days costing considerably less than ordering the OEM parts.

The skipper has been checking and preparing Sadiqi for the trip north to warmer waters.

Sadiqi rigging check - looking toward Whangarei Town Basin

Friday 1 September 2017

Points to Ponder - Saint Helena

In 2013 Sadiqi visited the island of Saint Helena in the middle of the southern Atlantic.

Sadiqi blog St Helena

At the time an international airport was being constructed to the tune of 250 million UK pounds. The construction was due to be completed in 2015. Recently, out of interest the skipper decided to check on the progress of the airport.

A summary from wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Helena_Airport

Saint Helena Airport is an international airport in the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, a remote island in the south Atlantic Ocean. On 26 April 2016, it was reported the opening of the airport would be delayed indefinitely because of concerns about wind shear; however, on 10 June 2016, the island's government claim these reports are "incorrect" and the airport is "certified and open" as demonstrated by successful medical evacuation flight. The airport is also open to one-off, private flights. The cost of airport was reported to be £285.5 million in April 2016.

In 2013 the skipper was informed the population was 4 thousand. Apparently, in the 2016 census the population was 4.5 thousand.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Helena

Friday 14 July 2017

Winter in New Zealand

It has been many months since posting to the Sadiqi blog. Main excuse is that the skipper has not had much to write about and did not want to bore readers with the lengthy list of boat work and projects. The skipper did manage to rent a rusty half sea container in the marina yard. This has meant getting much stuff off the boat to do boat projects and maintenance.

Sea container workshop and storage

Sadiqi is staying in New Zealand over winter. A few hardy cruisers still brave the, sometimes, chilly temperatures to get together for the RDM Sunday BBQ.

Chilly mornings at the marina

Whangarei is a pleasant town to stay in. Riverside Drive Marina is a 10 minute walk to supermarkets in town. Most boat supply shops and workshops are within reasonable walking distance.

One disappointment has been the new mainsail. I finally managed to successfully haul it up the mast a few days short of 6 months after having ordered it in January from Calibre Sails in Whangarei. David Parr failed to comprehend the sail design specifications for the Profurl inboom furling system. This was despite having the old mainsail in the loft to compare or copy. Overall it was an expensive, long drawn out and unpleasant experience. Just as well I had decided to stay in New Zealand for winter. Enough said.

Wednesday 15 February 2017

Cruising to Great Barrier Island and the Hauraki Gulf

On February 15 Sadiqi departed Riverside Drive Marina and motored the 15 miles down river to the Nook. This was a slow motor as the propeller was foul with barnacles. The fouling was cleared with some assistance. It rained off and on for the two days that Sadiqi was anchored at the Nook - a quiet and pleasant anchorage.

The Nook - Monkey's wedding

Before sun up on Saturday February 18 Sadiqi departed the Nook and motor sailed to Great Barrier Island (40 miles). The first night was anchored at Nagal Cove, the second night anchored near Green Island. I motor sailed to Copper Mine bay.

Great Barrier Island

The weather forecast showed winds 12 to 15 knots from the east. The skipper decided to take advantage of the favorable winds and head further south to Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland. It was one of the best sails I’d had since leaving Fiji. Sadiqi had the company, for a time, of a fairly large pod of dolphins, which happily cavorted in the bow wave.

Hauraki Gulf - Dolphins at play

On Tuesday afternoon Sadiqi was one of three yachts anchored in Oneroa Bay, Waiheke Island. The winds swung to the south early the next day. By late afternoon there were 30 yachts and motor launches anchored in the Bay. The skipper did several walks on the pretty island. With the fair weather on Saturday the number of yachts and power boats had again doubled.

Oneroa Bay, Waiheke Island

The weather forecast for Sunday offered an escape from the crowds at Waiheke with 10 knot winds from the south.

It was a fantastic sail to Great Barrier island in light airs from the south. The wind was cool, the swell mild. The 40 mile passage took a little over 9 hours with less than an hour of engine running time. The anchor was dropped in Wairahi Bay. The serenity of Great Barrier island.

Sunrise Wairahi Bay, Great Barrier Island

I thoroughly enjoyed the peace and tranquillity of Wairahi Bay. I wanted to be back in Whangarei by the middle of March. I keep an eye on the weather from local VHF radio broadcasts, WindFinder Pro app, and Windyty app. The weather forecast showed some challenging weather. On Tuesday March 7, I woke very early and checked the weather forecasts again. There was a strong to gale force easterly winds forecast for Wednesday. I prefer sailing in lighter airs on a half meter swell to strong winds and a two and half meter short snappy swell forecast later in the week.

Red sky in the morning over Great Barrier Island

Before sunrise - 0550 - I hauled anchor and motored out of Wairahi Bay. There was a spectacular red sunrise. Red skies in the morning - sailors warning! The winds steadily increased to 15 to 20 knots from the east. By mid afternoon the winds had dropped and it started to rain heavily. Sadiqi was about 12 miles away from The Nook anchorage. The rainfall at times was torrential. The anchor was dropped at 1630 by a very wet and cold skipper. On Wednesday the wind howled or screamed through the rigging. The wind speed indicator sometimes showing 45 knots. It rained very heavily for long periods of time.

Thursday 0430 - dark o clock - the anchor alarm sounded. It was high tide and Roxy had let go of the muddy bottom. This was the skippers fault, I had not let enough chain out for the wind conditions. Sadiqi had drifted closer to some shallows. I went forward and let out more chain. The anchor held. I returned to my bunk and listened to the wind screaming through the rigging. Not much sleep was had. At around 1000 hours, on the low tide, there was a brief lull in the wind and rain. Emanuela the anchor windless hauled in Roxy the Rocna. I re-anchored closer to the shelter of the land. I had an email from a friend telling me that parts of North Island had suffered the worst flooding for over 50 years.

On Friday afternoon Sadiqi departed the Nook and motor sailing to Whangarei. It was another very wet trip. The hot shower back at the marina felt unbelievably good.