14/12/2014
As we sit
out, what must be at least our 15th “Gale warning” this year, with
sheeting rain and 30-40 knots of wind, one cannot help but think about the
incredible speed with which the weather can change in these parts! One moment
it’s placid and beautiful, and then in a nano second, or so it seems, it’s wild
and horrible!!
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| Red in the morning........ |
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| Sunrise |
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| When it gets nasty....... |
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| Moonset |
Here we are
7 days away from the mid-summer solstice, and we have had but a handful of warm
sunny days….. but when we do… it’s gorgeous!
My heart
went out to some visitors who chose this week to charter a yacht and explore
the BOI. At 4.30 am we heard his appeal for help, as he was dragging anchor, in a bay on the island of Urupukapuka, in gale
force winds, and could not start the motor. Luckily his anchor suddenly dug in,
and as he sat out the last hours of darkness, the winds died down, and he was
able to hatch a plan with another yacht, to be towed away from the rocky lee
shore, recover his anchor, and sail to Opua. Hopefully he will get in before
the gale force winds that are expected to return again this afternoon, this
time from the SE!
We have been
able to watch the weather, and pick and choose our trips. Now that we have nearly
completed all of our major projects, we are looking forward to the rest of
summer… when it finally arrives!
The windlass
main shaft, keyways and clutch had been damaged in an altercation with a coral “bommie”
in the Tuamotos, and needed some machining. We replaced the last of our old
rigging (backstays), and fitted a new Schaefer roller furler for the staysail.
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| The new Schaeffer rollerfurler and repaired windlass |
As soon as
all this was back in place we picked what looked like a good weather period to
head out to Motorua Island, and anchored in “Army” bay for 4 glorious days. Motorua is the second largest island in the
BOI, and is a nature reserve. Army Bay is well protected in almost all weather
conditions, and allows one easy access to the well maintained walks around the
island.
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| Hobbit house? |
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| Seconds after this shot, hermie jumped out of his shell and flatly refused to return to it |
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| Many of the NZ wild flowers are also found in the Cape, South Africa |
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These are typically NZ ..........tree ferns or Panga as the locals refer to them.
They influence many Maori designs |
“Blazing
Shadz” (the yacht under the rainbow at the beginning of this blog) is a very striking aluminium Staysail schooner, built, owned, and sailed,
single handed, by an equally colourful individual! Known by his New Zealand acquaintances, as Craig, for the majority of his life, he welded and
built Blazing Shadz by himself, from
scratch.
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| Blazing Shadz racing on Friday |
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| Very eyecatching........Proudly Kiwi |
His mission
is to carry out the longest non stop, single handed, unassisted sailing voyage
ever. He is hoping to get sponsorship to help him reach this goal.
Now, however, he is in the process of
undergoing an unusual transition, and has changed his name to Julie. She takes part in the
Opua Cruising Club's Friday evening ladies races, sailing the 27 meter
Blazing Shadz on her own!
Julie has a
great liking for the colour pink, and often sports pink jerseys, hotpants, sundresses, or hats, and told us that she “loves
the name of our boat!” Just google Blazing Shadz if you’d like to find out more.
Well, to go
through with all her plans, she will certainly need more than just a little
tenacity!
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