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| Pine Island..Where we tangled with Glyn Bird |
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| A Lull inside the Breakwater...check the lines!! |
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| Lassoo-ed and tamed Banshee |
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| Only Nyami Nyami's mast visible above water on Q dock |
My apologies to those of you who
receive Sheer Tenacity’s Google group notification of blogs !! You all know
about the ‘ridge’ and ‘squash zone’, stalled over NZ North Island for the last
couple of days, bringing with it Storms and Gales, and general mayhem!
This posting is for those other blog
followers, who are not party to the moans and mutters that announce our latest
scribbles and pics!
Being an inherently lazy guy, who
hates to have to re-skin the cat, I am just going to copy and paste the
messages that you missed, about the less joyful aspects of a cruising life ,in
winter, in New Zealand!
Tuesday 8/7/2014
"We are rocking and rolling about in
“Sheer Tenacity”, moored to a 4 ton mooring block (thank goodness!), while a
full sized storm is passing over the North Island. Winds are predicted to reach
55knots (110kph) this afternoon, and the rain is lashing down. Looking out of
the port light, makes me feel that we are in the middle of a fast flowing river
! So far, our new canvas cockpit enclosure is holding up OK …long may it last!!
The good news is that the rain is filling our water tanks, and the windgen is
keeping the batteries nice and full!
It is expected to be much the same
tomorrow and ease to 40knots on Friday! So, I guess we are stuck on the boat
for the next few days, which means we have no excuse for not finishing the next
4 Aussie Break blogs by then! Lets hope all this foul weather does not stick around
for our haul out on the 21st July!! “”
Wednesday 9/7/2014
“Hi Again Folk ,Yesterdays’ upbeat
storm report was a little premature! Yes, the water tanks filled up in less
than an hour but that was about the only
good thing! The electro brake on the AirXMarine let go in a 50 knot gust, and
the poor thing went ballistic, sounding like a screaming banshee….. An hour
later, either something blew into the blades, or the blades begun to
delaminate, for, suddenly the noise and vibration morphed into a Lancaster
Bomber trying to take off in the saloon! In the midst of all this noise, we
heard a VHF call from a Zimbabwean cruising friend, reporting that a power boat
had broken its moorings, and was bashing into his 60ft Yacht.
I stayed up on anchor watch until about 2.30 am, before retiring , as
things seemed to be settling down. Wrong! At
5.00am we were woken by banging and crashing, which Mary investigated ,
and discovered that our huge green, barge like neighbor, trying to destroy
Sheer Tenacity’s stern! In the outgoing tide and 40knots of wind it was not
swinging in sync with ourselves’ . We spent the next 2 hours trying to use the
motor to get away from the green destroyer ,like tethered horses doing the
Passe Doble, by torch light in the sheeting rain! Dawn eventually arrived, and we were able to
see that we had sustained only superficial damage. We were also able to swing the AirXMarine
around to stop the blades, and lassoo the thing, to stop the howling!
I then decided that we had had
enough , and were not prepared to wait out the remainder of the nasty stuff( 2
more days),with Big Green still hovering, so we cleared with the Marina, to use
their breakwater for refuge. Even this
was no easy task, as the outgoing tidal stream easily outgunned the 35knot
winds, forcing us to rethink our strategy, change sides with our fenders, and
go in downwind!
It was only as we were making
this final approach, that we noticed the big Ketch, “Spirit of Nyami Nyami”,
belonging to our Zimbabwean friend, lying shattered and sunken, alongside the
outside of the breakwater. It is a very humbling
experience. We learnt later today, that his mooring had been broken by the power
boat , and that he had been washed onto the breakwater within minutes, and
sunk. He was lucky to get off with only a briefcase, and some bruises.
I think we will sit tight for a
couple of days !”
As I post this blog, the rain is
still hosing down, and “Sheer” is beginning to snatch at her mooring lines with
the change of tidal stream. It’s time to put on the “Foulies” again, and to
adjust them once again, before yet another one goes!
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