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.
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| Himene - Captain Ray |
November 19 arrived in the Bay of Islands.
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| Bay of Islands near Russell Boat Club |
November 29 arrived Cavalli Islands - Papatara Bay.
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| Papatara bay (Horseshoe Bay) |
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| Cavalli Islands |
December 9 arrived Whangaroa Harbour.
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| Whangaroa Harbour entrance |
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| Okura Bay, Whangaroa Harbour |
December 5 arrived Houhoro Harbour
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| Tokoroa Island entrance to Houhoro Harbour |
December 12 arrived Nelson, Boulder Bank mooring
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| Nelson |
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| Nelson, Boulder Bank mooring |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Sadiqi rigging check - looking toward Whangarei Town Basin |
