Happy New Year from New Zealand…. I know, this wasn’t supposed to be. We were supposed to stay in Fiji for the hurricane season, but an unplanned encounter with a reef on the north coast of Vanua Levu forced us to change our cruising plans. So, New Zealand it is, and not such a bad idea after all, considering T.C. ULA currently weaving its way between Fiji and Tonga.
What happened? We hit the reef again… not a big reef, not a big hit, but scratched enough fiberglass to want to come south to repair. The north coast of Fiji’s north island of Vanua Levu is fairly well marked from the Bligh Waters to Labasa. But east of Labasa is pretty wild country: you’re on your own!
We followed the tracks on Open CPN, made it OK going east… but went 4 feet inside the track on the way back and hit the reef!
Google photo didn’t show it, there was no stick or beacon to mark the bommie, the water was muddy, the visibility was flat.
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| Starboard keel: Lapacho ironwood is quite munched up, but saved out bottom! |
Bummer…. When we finally opened SAS planet, there it was, our bommie that had just scratched a nice dent in the port bow and kissed the starboard bow. Had we opened SAS Planet instead of Open CPN, we would have been safe.
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| Starboard bow: ouch… but not deep |
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| After patching it up |
The damage was easy enough to patch with underwater epoxy putty, but the decision was unanimous: go fix it in New Zealand.
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| Once more, the underwater epoxy saved us! |
Within 48 hours we were underway, with a promising weather window in spite of the 35 knots greeting us on our exit south of Nadi Bay. We should have remembered to close the forward ventilation hatches as we hit the 8’ head seas: salt water would not have forced its way up the vents and spilled on the helm panel, frying the alternator controller for the house battery system. Which means, no battery charging on our engine alternators. No problem, right? The newly-installed wind generator would easily provide power for our steering systems… that was without taking into account 30-35 knots of wind, and after a few hour of service, our brand new wind generator gallantly died! (Note: I’m not crushed… this turbine was noisier than a jet plane on take-off!) Still, we made the remaining 1,100 NM on power from the solar panels during the day (lucky for us, there was some sun) and from our trusty 12 KW Northern Light genset. We made the 1,200 NM trip in just under 120 hours, arriving Marsden Cove at midnight, sweetly docking Big D under a welcoming New Zealand drizzle.
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| Safely docked at Marsden Cove Marina, the customs entry point in Whangarey |
Customsentry was easy and free…
Bruce, the customs officer, was on board first thing in the morning, pleasant and efficient.
NOTE::: NEW CUSTOMS FEES STARTING 01 JAN 2016 – NZ $19 on entry; NZ $4 on exit.
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| Just a small section of the bacon aisle at the market…. no wonder they confiscated our vegan food and chicken! |
Agricultural Service was awful… they emptied ALL our cupboards, lockers, bins and took all our vegetarian food: all popcorn, seeds for sprouts (but not Chia seeds), all dried beans and peas (but not lentils), all chicken and meat product, all eggs (fresh AND boiled), all fresh vegetables, even when peeled and cut and chopped… nothing raw! Took a look a all our spices, flour, inspecting for any possible bug; questioned our dried vanilla beans; inspected our straw hats for any sign of mold; took our dried coconut flakes (not dried enough!) When they had filled an entire trash bag, they sealed it and tossed about $300 of good food into a roll-away bin, locked it, swallowed the key and marched away with a smug smile… be warned! It’s a food war out-there…
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| Philippe & Antoinette, S.Y. Jehol, discover Fish & Chips |
all we could do was commiserate with our neighbors on Jehol and go out for a fish-and-chips so greasy that I it gave me enough heartburn for the rest of the season… never again!
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| My favorite fishing boat! |
A few days later, we hauled out at
Norsand boatyard in Whangarei, where we have been working hard for the last month.
JP has repaired the hull damage.
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| Smooth, gentle haulout, much kinder than the cradle! Good job! |
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| Port side patch held well… startboard appeared to be just a scratch but was a surprising shock-wound |
Interestingly, the starboard bow–which showed hardly any more than a scratch—had, in fact, suffered internally from the shock. Upon exploration of a small oozing wound, Dr. JP found that an entire section had delaminated under the skin. This was a deep wound indeed and he had to cut out all the dead tissue, grind down to the healthy tissue, repair and patch and glass: much more work than anticipated, but had to be done.
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| Exploring more of this little oozing on starboard… |
Of course, time to grind the hulls and do the bottom paint. This time, I found that a total face mask saved my eyes and lungs!
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| In the end, it was quite a debridment job and a surprising shock-enduced delamination |
JP is also changing the chain chutes. After 500 anchor retrievals, we found out that the chain sometimes bundled at the mouth of the chute. Problem: the mouth of the chute was a bit too far from the exit of the windlass, and the chain wasn’t falling quite vertically into the chain locker. By shortening the distance between the windlass and the chain cute, JP solved both problems at once. The new chutes are much smaller, perhaps better-looking, though I loved my “big ship” chutes!
Other fixes while on land?
Porthole leak – One of our fixed portholes started to leak, taking in sea water. WHY??? JP just determined that galvanic corrosion between the aluminum frame of the porthole and the stainless steel screw was the culprit.
Solution? Tap a new screw.
Phew!
I was afraid we would have to pull out the entire porthole, and that would be a huge mess!
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And who happens to sail into Whangarei unannounced? Claude & Annie on S.V. Moemiti,
Did we like those NZ mussels? You think? |
Singing Prop – For some time now, we’ve noticed that one of our props was singing at a certain RPM, usually around 1000 RPM. Upon inspection, we also noticed a bit of pitting. We called on the local propsmith who diagnosed a small amount of cavitation, easily fixed by filing the edges and smoothing out the prop. While the props will be off the boat, JP decided to have them treated with PropSpeed, a silicone-based compound that, hopefully, will reduce barnacle and nasty growth as long as we keep the props running fairly often (at least every 2 weeks, we’re told.)
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| Meeting cruisers at their beautiful home on the Tutukaka Coast |
Antifouling Paint – After 6 years on the water and 3 different anti-fouling paint, we’re still unhappy with the marine growth with find. Awlgrip was OK and lasted us 2 years through Brazil, the Carribean and the East Coast of USA – Seahawk 44 with tin barely lasted a year, from Panama to French Polynesia: warm water is a toughie. Pettit Trinidad lasted us a year (French Polynesia to Fiji) and is now to be redone. Considering the cost of Haulout and the strenuous work involved, we’re still trying to find a paint that will last at least 2 years! Here is what we’ve learned so far:
– Never stay at a marina more than a week or two; marinas are full of barnacles that release their eggs and stick to your bottom!
– The more coats, the more protection. If you’re going to paint, give it at least 2 coats of antifouling.
– Spray rather than roll. Our original Awlgrip was sprayed on and lasted at least 2 years, almost 3. The subsequent jobs were rolled-on, not so durable. Sprayed-on paint gives a smoother finish, harder for bugs to stick to.
– Once painted, put the boat back in the water as soon as possible.
– Rather than black paint (absorbs more heat) use a plain red antifounling (no added pigment) or blue (less heat-absorbing than black.)
What paint this time? Jotung 90… we’ll let you know. Antifouling paint is a nasty subject, though and through, a necessary evil!
Well, while JP is replacing the Ample Power regulator, I’m packing! Right! I need a vacation… and I’m taking JP with me!
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| The best part of NZ? Food and wine! |
We rented a car and we’re off for a 2-week trip through the north island: seafood on the Coromandel Peninsula, camping with Jeremy Burfoot in Gisborne, and wine touring in Napier.
We love our stay in NZ.
The shopping is easy, oysters and mussels and scallops are always on the menu, wines beg to be discovered and micro-brewed beers are delectable.
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| That’s how they launch their boats in Whangarei Heads |
Off we are, then…. Till next time!
dominomarie
