April 27, 2008 - Opua

The boatyard in which Mata'irea spent the last five months is also the home of Austral Yachts, which builds Ted Fontaine's stunningly beautiful Friendship Yachts. During our stay at Dockland 5, Austral erected a new shed for the construction of their largest Friendship to date - a one-off 75 foot version of their popular 40 and 53 foot yachts. By the time we left Whangarei, construction had begun on the yacht and we'd learned that the owner is a US Senator. We don't feel comfortable dropping his name here, but we can assure you that he won't be naming this boat Swift.

April 19, 2008 - Opua

Before leaving Tutukaka this morning, we put the mainsail back on the mast. While Sten balanced on the boom and reattached the bat cars, I cranked the main up and wrestled the battens into the batten pockets. While raising the sail, we noticed that the fresh, bright white material of the new spreader patches and repairs to the batten pockets glow against the slightly yellowed material of the 18 month old sail.

Whenever either one of us is working on the mast, I can't help but sing the Beastie Boys song "Brass Monkey," replacing the word "brass" with the word "mast." Mast Monkey - that funky Monkey. Catchy, isn't it?

That funky Monkey

We left Tutukaka around 9am, and headed North to Russell, in the Bay of Islands. Along the way, we had some squalls, seeing 25 kts apparent. Our boat speed hit 9.2 kts, which is really fast for us. It was good to get everything loaded up and see how our refurbished sails handled a bit of breeze. Four hours later, we rounded Cape Brett, and turned into the more protected waters of the Bay of Islands. I headed below, and turned last night's meat sauce into a pan of lasagna. We were both salivating, smelling it bake in the oven.

We hoped to pick up our friends' mooring in Russell, but another friend of theirs was on it, so we headed towards Opua, where we'll be clearing out of the country within the next few days. Opua turned out to be a calmer anchorage in these conditions, so we were fine with the change of plans. As a bonus, we found ourselves anchored near Phoenix. Patty and Giff are planning to leave for New Caledonia in the morning. We were pleased to have the chance to see them before they head North, so we asked them over for pizza. The nights here are chilly - in the high 50's, low 60's, so we'll take any excuse to turn on that oven and heat up the boat a bit.

April 18, 2008 - Tutukaka

Charlie and Sharon saw us off the dock this morning at Dockland 5. We rode the tide as it flowed out of the river, enjoying our coffee and being out on the water in the early morning, standing to avoid sitting down on the dew covered decks. Around 9am we dropped the hook in Urquhart's Bay, at the mouth of the river to try to bring some order to the chaos below decks. Tools and debris from all the work we've done on the boat the past few months were strewn all over the salon and in the passageway forward, which we needed to stow before heading out of the safety of the river. While anchored, the wind built. As the chop picked up and the boat started bouncing, we both got a bit green. After 5 months on the hard, we had completely lost our sea-legs. Two Sturgeron later, and we were right as rain.

Once the boat was stowed and cleaner than she has been in months, we had a quick lunch (while running the microwave to reheat some pasta the generator produced 25 amps, well over its pre-rebuild maximum output), donned our foulies, raised the anchor, and headed out of the river mouth (love that regalvanized chain and anchor - it is so nice not to have to clean rust chips off the deck each time we raise the anchor). We unfurled the yankee, and admired her new stamoid UV protective strip - much sharper looking than the threadbare blue sunbrella strip that used to adorn the jib, frayed edges streaming in the breeze. We just got our boom back from the rigger yesterday afternoon. We didn't have time to put the mainsail back on the mast last night or this morning, so we sailed North under jib alone. As we rounded Bream Head, we consigned ourselves to the fact that the farthest North that we could safely get today was Tutukaka, the harbor in which we spent the night on our way South last November, so we altered course for the harbor entrance.

Red Rock at the entrance of Tutukaka Harbor,
glowing in the late afternoon light

Once we were anchored in Tutukaka, I grabbed a shower, and enjoyed the fruits of Sten's Heat Recovery Project. Notice how my projects have very simple names such as sanding, varnishing, painting, and waxing, while his have technical names like Heat Recovery, Plotter Course Compass Interface, and Shaft Realignment. While he was messing about in the engine room these past few months he also moved the refrigeration control switch so that we could access it without having to remove cushions from the settee to open the engine room door. Very slick. While I was showering, Sten sent a few emails, using the SSB for the first time since we hauled out in November. Our SSB send and receive speeds were really fast. It looks like the copper foil strip he added has made a significant difference.

As it got dark we turned on the anchor light - admiring how few amp hours our new LED bulbs use. Mata'irea's anchor light is no longer the brightest star in the firmament, but we're pretty happy with how much less energy it is using. I spent the evening making up a batch of meaty sauce for my Grammy's lasagna recipe - one of our favorite passage foods (see May archives for the recipe). It was so nice to cook on a gas stove again! Now the boat smells fantastic, and Sten keeps nipping tastes out of the pot of sauce, so I had better feed him something else so that we have enough for the lasagna. Today has been a really good day. I has been so satisfying to see positive results from all the work we've been doing these past few months.

April 17, 2008 - Whangarei Wrap-up

We've had a really good experience here at Dockland 5. Charlie, Doug and Sharon are terrific. We've had such a fun time with them. We have to stay on our toes to keep up with Charlie's sense of humor. He's a shocker. Doug has been so helpful. We loved the days that he would bring his big yellow lab, Dyna, into work with him. On those days we couldn't stop humming "someone's in the kitchen with Dyna, . . ," and you all know the rest. Sharon realized early on that we are all about the food (and wine) and made it her mission to introduce us to such Kiwi delicacies as feijoas, feijou wine, scones, scallops, pipi fritters, hangi, green-lipped muscles and macadamia nuts fresh off the tree. Its not for nothing that we call her "Sharon Scone." We are going to miss them all.

We had mostly positive experiences with the local trades. Trevor, the stainless guy, is a national treasure. Neil Shaw Automotive Engine Reconditioners did a great job rebuilding our generator head. Tim, an Aussie cruiser on a boat called Intercept, currently hauled out in Dockland 5, gave us a mastercourse in gel coat repair - at least the first chapter. We had a poor experience with Whangarei Spars and Rigging. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that there is a better option in town.

The nearest chandlery, All Marine, is overpriced and has a limited selection in stock. But it is convenient. The good news is that they just changed hands. The new owner is awfully nice and means well, so maybe things will improve. We had much better luck sourcing stuff in town at Arnold Frank (hose, tubing, fittings), Wynn Frasier (paint, sandpaper and varnish), Bunnings (hardware), Donnovan's (general industrial supply), Repco (oil), Supercheap Auto (filters), JA Russell (electrical), Lusty & Blundel (electrical), Snow Brothers (electrical/alternator rebuild), Ray Roberts (Yanmar parts), the plastic place next to BinInn (gasket material) and at Ross Insulation. We also had a good experience with Calibre Sails - they delivered on time and met their quoted price. Avon Industries regalvanized our anchor and chain. We got replacement foam for our cockpit cushions from Neil McLeod. He does top notch upholstery work for Friendship Yachts and was fun to work with.

This afternoon, Charlie and Doug put Mata'irea back in the water. While we were in the Travellift slings, Nell, off of Storm Along, stopped by with some parting gifts for us - tortillas, wine and romance novels - the girl knows me too well! Late in the afternoon Charlie, Doug, Sharon, and Martin off of Dingo, gathered in our cockpit for sundowners. It was awfully nice to be gently rocking at the dock, watching the sunset, and enjoying a last round of drinks with good friends.

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April 16, 2008 - Whangarei

Oh Happy Day. We sold the car today. Now we have a wad of NZD's to pay our yard bill and buy duty free fuel. Unfortunately, we're also now trapped in the boatyard without any wheels with which to escape. But that's probably for the best. After we reached agreement with Craig, the purchaser, I drove downtown and parked near my favorite wifi hotspot to do some last minute internet. Suzy, who acts as banker in the board game of our lives, had taken care of the wire for our Sail Indonesia Rally entry fee earlier today, so I shot off the rest of our documents and entry form. I was waiting for the attachments to send and downloading some GRIB files, when I was startled by a guy knocking on my window. I turned the key and rolled down the window. He said, "I've noticed you parked here a lot. Are you using the internet?" I replied that I was. He asked whose system I was on. "Netgear," I responded. "Nectar?" he asked, naming the cafe at which I assumed he worked. "No, Netgear," I said as I turned the computer towards him to show him the wireless access point I was using, "I tried Nectar, but their security is too good." "Oh, okay," he nodded and walked back to the cafe, not sure if he'd just been complemented or duped. It is clearly time to get out of Dodge. If only we had a boom . . .

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April 14, 2008 - Whangarei

On Friday night, Dockland 5 threw one of its infamous BBQ's. Sharon decided that it was high time for a hangi. Rather than dig a hole in the ground (not sure anyone would want to eat anything steamed in the dirt of a boatyard), Charlie and Sharon steamed half a lamb and a mess of kumara and other root vegetables in some converted stainless steel kegs. The surprise of the night was discovering that Doug used to be a butcher. Sten grilled him on all manner of meaty topics while they tended to two giant racks of lamb on the BBQ. The evening was a great wrap-up to a wonderful few months with the crew at Dockland 5.
We're almost ready to relaunch. We are just waiting on that boom fitting from the rigger. But we are in much less of a hurry to get back in the water this week. There is a nasty weather system sitting over the North Island. The weather window for the passage back to the tropics isn't looking too good at the moment either. So we're sitting tight for the moment.

April 11, 2008 - Whangarei

I haven't posted lately because we've been putting in 12 hour days working away at our prelaunch checklist. We're making progress, but we still have some big items left to go (like selling the car and getting the boom back from the rigger and installed). The days here have been glorious, but the nights are getting colder. The combination of 50 degree nights and no heat on the boat makes it very hard to get out from under the covers in the morning.

Our first week back in the boat yard we made great progress. But we've had a few setbacks this week. A fitting that we ordered from the rigger two months ago was lost in the mail last week somewhere between the anodizer in Auckland and here. So, we went back to square one on that project, delaying our launch until early next week. I'm pretty good at sanding, painting, varnishing and caulking, but after a frustrating few days, I can now confirm that I am the world's worst hull waxer. The wax came out all swirly and streaky. Not exactly the high-gloss look I was going for. Sten, who is typically pretty handy at all things mechanical, also managed to set off a mini fireworks display in the engine room while attempting to reinstall the alternator. So it had to come back off and go back to the shop to get rebuilt.

Our visitor's permits expired yesterday, so we are now illegal aliens. According to Opua Customs, there is a one week grace period before we have to alert Immigration that we are still here. After that, we just have to keep them informed of our intended departure date. When we made the decision to not renew our visas we expected to be back in the water by now and on our way up to Opua to wait for a weather window to leave the country. But at this rate, we'll be lucky to get ourselves back up to Opua before the week is out.

April 5, 2008 - Whangarei

What do you mean Sten and Danika are leaving?

On Saturday afternoon Whangarei Marine Promotions put on a farewell BBQ to thank all the yachties for choosing to spend cyclone season in Whangarei; and by "spend cyclone season in Whangarei" they meant "spend cyclone season spending our dollars, euros, pounds, etc. in Whangarei." The dignitaries were out in force. Even the deputy mayor was there. Before lunch we were welcomed with a traditional Maori haka, a posture dance designed to display a warrior's fitness, agility and fearsomeness. I can just imagine being one of Captain Cook's crew. How were they to know that it was a greeting, rather than a declaration of war? No pakeha before had seen the haka. Even watching it on a weekend afternoon in the gardens of a conference center, it was still somewhat intimidating.

After the haka, we all participated in the traditional Maori greeting of pressing our noses against the noses of each of the members of the welcoming committee, pausing and breathing in before moving on to the next person. The idea behind the hongi is that when locals share the breath of life with visitors to New Zealand, we each become one of the people of the land too. By "we" I mean everyone but Sten. He opted out of this particular cultural experience. I did the hongi, but I found myself to be really uncomfortable with sharing a stranger's personal space for that long.

Nobody presses nose like a Maori. The pakeha members of the local council gave a quick press of the nose, shake of the hand and moved on. The Maori dignitaries held your hand, looked you in the eye, drew you in, pressed their noses against yours, and inhaled. Slowly. Out of nervousness, I told the deputy mayor that I liked his cologne.

After lunch a local Maori choir came and gave a concert. Mixed in among the traditional tribal songs, modern Maori songs based on gospel melodies, and poi dances (in which balls strung together are swung rhythmically by the female members of the group as a display of their dexterity), the men performed a few more haka - a chest and thigh-slapping, tongue-jutting, eye-bulging chant.

April 4, 2008 - Whangarei

It happens in every boat yard. Heck, we do it whenever we happen by a new yard or marina. People drive in the gates and take a slow turn around the yard, checking out the boats. Late yesterday afternoon, one such lookyloo, driving a maroon car with a "GE Free NZ" bumpersticker and a wooden pallet strapped to the roof, took a spin through Dockland 5. He drove past Mata'irea, staring at our neighbors as they worked on their hull, paying no attention to where he was going. He was rubbernecking so hard that he drove right into one of the empty hardstands (a concrete pallet with steel support beams sticking out of it). His car stalled. He started it again, backed up, and continued on his slow tour. Our neighbors and I looked at each other like, did that really just happen? Seriously, if I had just driven into hardstand I would have hightailed it out of there out of sheer embarrassment. Not this guy. He just continued to meander his way through the yard. Was it happy hour or had he just spent the day inhaling too many bottom paint fumes?

April 1, 2008 - Whangarei

In honor of the incredible seasons our hometown teams had this year, we've decided to repaint Mata'irea in team colors.
The decision to go red had nothing to do with the fact that red Trinidad SR is rumored to have 20% more copper per can . . . or anything to do with the fact that the only Trini we could find in NZed was three cans of red or two cans of black. I'm just glad that Sten isn't a hardcore Celtics or Bruins fan.

March 31, 2008 - Whangarei

Toxic tomatoes anyone? Ah, so lovely to be back in the boat yard.

Our package of parts arrived today. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. Sten was running out of priority projects that he could work on without those parts. He was about to mount the iPod when the box showed up. It was like Christmas all over again!
No amount of rain was going to stop him from getting that shaft back into the boat now that he had the stern tube and cutlass bearing replacements in hand. The prop is back on now too and the new packing material went in perfectly.

Meanwhile, I grabbed our tax info and got our taxes done and filed. Surprising how much easier they are to do when there is no earned income to report . . . . Unfortunately for us that means we don't get to benefit from Bush's economic stimulus package either. Oh well, we would have just spent the money overseas anyway.

March 28, 2008 - Whangarei

We arrived back in Whangarei last night. Our six week road trip was great, and we came back refreshed and ready to get back to work. We were relieved to find the boat just as we left her. On deck she's a bit dirtier than before. Down below she's still a disaster, with half-completed projects all over the place. The first order of business was to chase down a package of parts that Suzy sent to us. During my first call to NZ Customs I misheard the name of the female customs agent with whom I was speaking. I called back a few minutes later and had the following conversation:
"Hi, I was just speaking with one of the agents. I think her name was Winnie or Wendy. Is there anyone there by that name?"
"No."
"How about Trinnie?"
"Nobody here by that name."
"I'm just trying to pass along my cell phone number to the agent with whom I was speaking before, so that she can call me back."
"Well, if you don't know her name, I don't know how I can help you."
"If you could just list off the female agents working there this morning, I'm sure I could pick out her name."
"There's only one woman here this morning - Holly."
Seriously.

February 10, 2008 - Whangarei

Today is our last day in the boat yard - and more importantly, our last night. We painted the bootstripe this morning (it looks great), which means that tomorrow morning we will hit the road for a month while the paint cures. When we return, we'll throw on some bottom paint and wax the topsides, put the shaft back in, realign the engine, and about thirty other things. But for the next month, the nine of you that are still reading this blog can look forward to posts about our travels, rather than having to listen to me whinge* about life in the boat yard.

The past month in the boat yard hasn't been all bad. We have met some terrific folks (Jamie - we're going to miss you) and learned a few key kiwi phrases:

"Mate, shout me a beer" - translates roughly as I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.

"She'll be right" - could be New Zealand's national slogan; as aptly applied to the prospects for a good road trip or relaunching your vessel in a timely fashion.

"Sweet as" - an infinitive superlative tacked at the end of a phrase used to describe something so good you don't even have the words (ex: Getting away from the boat yard is sweet as.)

* whinge - to whine

February 9, 2008 - Whangarei

What do you think of our new anchor?
Sten made it out of cardboard and string. A coat of silver spray paint and we'll be in business.

February 7, 2008 - Whangarei

After my post last week about chemical burns, I received more comments from you guys. Yes, I'm aware that the stuff is toxic. And, I know that inhaling it will probably cause me to have a three headed baby some day. So, it is probably a good thing that we are going to wait so long to try to conceive that my ovaries will have completely shriveled up into useless little raisins.
Therefore, in celebration of finishing sanding the bottom, easily the nastiest job I've done on the boat, I bring you our first ever poll . . .

February 5, 2008 - Whangarei

Yesterday morning a front passed through, bringing rain and wind with it. We spent the morning running around town, following up on the part orders we placed before the game yesterday and picking up some more consumables for the painting and varnishing projects. We can't get the engine mounting foot that we need here, so Sten found a local guy to fabricate the part for us, as well as some replacement bushings for the the bat car system on the main sail.

We also picked up the foam for our cockpit cushions - which was twice as expensive as it would have been in the states. I asked the upholsterer if there would be a charge for him to cut it down to fit in our cushion covers, as he could do a much nicer job of it with his professional equipment than I could with an electric meat knife. He replied that it depended on how difficult the cuts would be. As I pulled the cushion covers out of one of my giant L.L. Bean tote bags, he started eying the bag. I've gotten used to this - these bags get commented on all the time. He motioned to his assistant to come over and take a look at it too. "Tell ya what, I'll do the cuts for free, if I can take some measurements of your bag." Copyright infringement in exchange for free services? No problem.

The highlight of our day was the long awaited arrival of a shipment of Hardy's wine at the local version of Walmart - The Warehouse. As part of their Waitangi Day Sale the entire range of Hardy's was half off - 4.36 NZD a bottle, which comes out to 3.40 USD a bottle. Now, this isn't great stuff. But it is drinkable, especially at that price. We bought seven cases for ourselves and a couple for friends. As we loaded up the back of the car, Sten commented that "this was why we bought the wagon." Within the hour I brought back some people from the boat yard who don't have wheels, so that they could stock up on plonk too.

Back at the boat yard I had to face the challenge of finding a place to store it all. Sten volunteered to rip out some air conditioning ducting to make some more room, but that seemed a bit drastic. Then I remembered that there were four old life jackets, which came with the boat, taking up some easily accessible storage space. They clearly had to go. I brought them up on deck and tossed them over the lifelines to the gravel below. Lou, whose wife Ann had come home with 8 cases, called out across the boat yard "Man over board."
"It was them or the wine," I responded.
"I like your priorities," he called back.

February 4, 2008 - Whangarei

There was no joy in Mudville today, as we watched the Patriots lose a really tight Super Bowl match up against the Giants. Actually, there was a bit of joy - we got to spend the afternoon eating burgers and drinking bears rather than working on the boat and the Giants fans in the room were kind enough to offer Sten their condolences at the end of the game, as he sat there with his head on the table.

February 3, 2008 - Whangarei

New engine mount next to the worst of the old mounts

Sten spent most of the weekend in the engine room, removing and replacing the mounts on our engine. This was a long, difficult project, involving some tricky contortionistic maneuvers. Of the four mounts, two were somewhat accessible, one was a little buried, and one had so much other equipment mounted around it that he couldn't even see it - he had to operate by touch alone to find the bolts and undo them. Many of the bolts were seized up with rust, and took a bit of persuasion to break free. During the process of removing the old mounts, he discovered that some parts of the engine were so rusted that they needed replacing too. So he'll order those first thing on Monday. I spent the weekend working on my varnish projects and sanding the bottom.

The most important thing we had to do this weekend was to find a place to watch the Super Bowl, which is showing here at noon on Monday. Our hometown team is going for a 19-0 season record. And while I'm not a big football fan, that seems like a reasonable excuse to escape from the boat yard for an afternoon. We were concerned that there would be a conflict with the Sevens rugby tournament, which is of much more interest here. As it turns out, the diviest pub in town will have the game on, so that's where we'll be spending Monday afternoon.

We've been entertained by how much attention is paid to the US presidential election here. Primary results and concession speeches are given as much air time as local politics. The other morning we found ourselves parked behind a caravan with an Obama '08 sticker on it. Seems Americans aren't the only ones ready for a change.

February 1, 2008 - Whangarei

At the boat yard BBQ this evening we learned a very important lesson - the best way to enjoy New Zealand green lipped mussels. Simply dump them out onto a hot grill. Cook 'em until they steam themselves open. Yank the plump tasty morsels out of their shells. Dredge 'em through a vat of garlicky butter. Pop 'em in your mouth. Rinse with a crisp white wine or cold beer. Repeat until stuffed.

January 31, 2008 - Whangarei

The most exciting thing to happen to us these past few days has been the delivery of our regalvanized chain and anchor. Scroll down to the January 15th post to for a reminder of how rusty it used to be. Now it is super shiny. Hanging off the bow, it is almost too much bling for Mata'irea. It makes the rest of the boat look dingy by comparison.

Sten checked another item off his to do list today when he completed the installation of a strip of copper foil, which is meant to improve the performance of our SSB. Between the shiny anchor on her bow and the space shuttle like foil running through the steering compartment, Mata'irea is starting to look a bit disco.
We're still varnishing, working on both the cockpit table and the hatch surrounds. Varnishing in the boat yard, with trucks from the aggregate plant next door kicking up clouds of dust as they dump their loads 50 meters from the boat, is challenging, to say the least.
Yesterday I had a bit of a break from the yard as I spent the morning at the sailmakers. We're going to try to reduce the vibration of our mainsail by tightening up the boltrope. Rather than pay the sailmaker 60 NZD per hour to pick out the old stitches, I did it. Compared to the hot, dirty and noisy boat yard, the sail loft was like a little slice of heaven - cool, clean and peaceful.

These past few nights we've escaped from the boat yard to hang out in the cozy confines of Storm Along. Brian and Nell just got to town, and are tied up in Town Basin for a few days. More than a little familiar with how trying living on a boat in a boat yard can be, they have taken pity on us and invited us over for dinner and drinks. It was such a pleasure to be on a boat that is in one piece. I'd started to doubt that Mata'irea could ever be lovely again, but sitting in Storm Along's comfortable interior reassured me that once we reign in the chaos and put her back together, we will enjoy living aboard Mata'irea again.