Dec 13, 2014 Settling into New Zealand

Since we arrived we have been extremely busy.  We spent about a week and half at the boat yard dock, Gary worked tremendously hard. Numerous other yachties couldn't believe how hard he was working.  And of course it rained about half the time making things more challenging. I spent that time trying to help the kids power through 1 month of school in 1.5 weeks. We still have a little to finish, but the big package is done and shipped to the school in the US. I'm not sure who it was harder on, the kids or me, but it was really trying.

It has been raining a lot and significantly colder than normally at this time of year, so we are eagerly awaiting some nice weather. My parents are nicely settled into a place up the hill from the marina and we just moved to a long-term mooring. My parents had initially lined up a different rental unit, but it didn't come with power or TV and looked a little spartan. The rental we found for their first few days turned out to be way better and they can have it for the majority of the time they are in NZ. Plus the landlady is super friendly, a fantastic cook and goes out of her way to make sure they have everything they need, so they are pleased with this rental.  We have benefited from having them so close and with a well equipped kitchen. All the weight we lost through the South Pacific may come right back with Mom's good cooking and Dad's flowing wine.

Next week we will finish the rest of the school work and prepare for Christmas. We probably won't go sailing until after Christmas when we plan to spend 4 nights out in the Bay of Islands. Hopefully by then it will stop raining.

Today we finally did some site seeing. We went to the Whaitainga Treaty grounds. It is the location where the Maoris signed a treaty with the British that was intended to give both parties equal rights in the country. It was a stunning property, with many significant buildings and the largest dugout war canoe in the world. The canoe was made from 3 giant kauri trees.

We participated in a Maori welcoming ceremony. They selected Gary to be the white man Chief and the Maori group greeted him. Their first greeting was a sharp war spear inches from his face. Quite shocking. They also performed a number of their dances, including the Haka. It was a wonderful experience.

As much as we are enjoying NZ, we are back into the western world lifestyle with phones, internet, TV, etc. The kids are happy with these changes, but Gary really isn't and I not sure I want to get sucked into the always connected, busy lifestyle. The tropics were nice as you didn't have a choice, you just had to slow down.

Cheers,

Julie

Dec 1, 2014 Onshore and busy in New Zealand

We were extremely fortunate to have the calmest passage from Tonga to New Zealand that anyone has heard of for years. There were times that we wished we had a little more wind, but fortunately that didn't last too long, and fortunately we did not have to put up with nasty weather. Thankfully we had beautiful sailing for most of the passage.

We spent a lot of the passage making food as we knew that NZ biosecurity does not allow a lot of foods into the country. They are trying to stop the spread of certain insects, rodents and lizards. Even with our best efforts NZ biosecurity confiscated all fresh fruit and veggies, fresh and cooked meats, eggs, dry beans, wheat berries, popcorn, honey and 3 coconuts forgotten in the dinghy. We filled 2 enormous garbage bags. Needless to say our fridge was completely bare after that.

As we sailed into the Bay of Islands we were greeted by an enormous pod of dolphins. Hundreds of dolphins rushed to greet us, jumping and frolicking in the waves, better than any Seaworld show. They came swimming from all angles and only turned inches from the boat the ride our bow wake. I have never seen dolphins make such sharp turns. 

After we cleared customs we attempted to proceed to the slip the marina provided. We told them multiple times how much we draw (in feet and in meters) and they said no problem getting to that slip. Needless to say we ran aground well before we reached the slip. Fortunately it is soft mud, but it was a falling tide so I jammed it in reverse and churned up the bottom to get off asap. We proceeded to anchor almost in the start line of the Wednesday night racing. As boats were circling around us, one offered to take another person, so Gary hopped on. Too bad he picked the slowest boat in the fleet, but he had fun. Ronnie had sailed his 27 foot POS from San Francisco to NZ, but before he left CA he sold the engine to get some cash and make more room for his surfboards.

After racing we went to the Opua Cruising Club for dinner. It is a really awesome, small, friendly sailing club. It was a busy night with all the Wed night racers and all the cruisers who just had all their food confiscated. Very fun!

The next night was American Thanksgiving and the Opua Cruising Club put on a spectacular dinner with entertainment for the American cruisers. It was special that they went to so much effort for non-members. The highlight of the night was the entertainment, a group of local ladies that sing acapella and have won many awards (they were very good), performed a number of songs for us. For dessert, all the cruisers brought a dessert to share, there was way too much and there was a fantastic variety. It ensured that we could over-eat just like is always done in the US for Thanksgiving.

The reason it has taken a few days to get the blog out after our arrival has to do with all the things that I have done. I have setup a bank account, got phones for Gary and me, figured out the long-term car rental for my parents and us, got their rental unit squared away, gone grocery shopping, done massive amounts of laundry, done some schooling with the kids, bought Gigi pants that fit her (he has grown a lot),… Gary's list is similarly long and my favorite projects he has done include buying and installing a brand new stove and installing a battery charger that works on NZ 240 volt power so we can plug in instead of running the motor to charge.

Axel taking a break from errands in Paihia. Everything is so green here.

Sadly we say goodbye to Harrison as he heads back to Canada for ski season. We have definitely lost the heart of music from Nirvana. We and the South Pacific cruiser fleet will miss Harrison. 

Before he left we spent the day touring Whangerei. The kids really enjoyed the amazing playground. We all liked the fact that the river and marine basin is right in the heart of town. We met at least a dozen cruisers that we knew on the docks.

Tomorrow Gigi and I go to Auckland for a few days to get my parents and see a little bit of the city. My parents are renting a place here in Opua for 4 months. We plan to use this as a base and go touring via boat and car from here.

Now that we have been here less than 1 week, but accomplished about 2 week's worth of projects, we have found that all the Kiwis we have met are the nicest people. We have had to deal with them for challenging issues and they are still the nicest, cheeriest people. I am really looking forward to our stay here.

Cheers,

Julie

Photos from Minerva Reef

Panorama of North Minerva Reef from up the mast.

The slow/no sailing from Tonga to Minerva Reef.

A huge tiger shark visited our boat while Gary was cleaning fish. Our screams of excitement and terror drew all the other yachties to visit and join in the screaming.

Some of the fish Gary speared with David.

 The parrot fish Gary speared.

The enormous lobster Gary caught and Gigi is showing off. She caught 5 on her own, but not quite this big.

 The lobster haul. They caught about 75 the first night and about 65 the second night.

My birthday celebration on board Nirvana with 35 guests in the middle of the ocean (well at Minerva reef). Very memorable!

Harrison entertained the crowd.

The kids played like wild hyenas.

Our brief stop at South Minerva Reef. There was only 1 boat in the lagoon there. 

Nov 26, 2014 Passage to NZ update

"Land ho" exclaimed Harrison.

15 miles to go to the entrance to the Bay of Islands, then 12 more into the harbor. Everyone is getting very excited. I am dreaming about a dinner out. Gigi is dreaming about clean clothes that fit her. Axel is dreaming of ice cream. Gary is dreaming about a good night sleep. And Harrison is dreaming about getting back to Vancouver to see Angela.

We expect to get there about 4 pm. We really hope that the customs people will be able to clear us in today. We are busy preparing the boat for inspection. I have already had the fun of cleaning the ice box while heeling 30 degrees. I definitely was standing on my head for that good. I have thrown out or used almost all the veggies and fruit on board. Next I get to go through the remaining meats. I plan to leave some to see if they are ok or not. You never know.

This is a monumental landfall, as it means we are half way through the territory we plan to visit during this trip. Fortunately it is not yet half way through the time we plan to spend travelling.

Cheers,
Julie

Nov 25, 2014 Passage to NZ update

We are less than 200 miles to NZ, and waiting for the wind to shift to the west as all the forecasts say it will. I sure hope it does soon or we will have to tack our way up to NZ and all our early westing may be for not. Wind is currently light, <10 knots, from the south. We are making decent speed as we are motoring with the main and jib.

Yesterday Gary spent most of the day fixing issues that arose due to being on starboard tack, such as one of the steering pulleys on the starboard side was seized. Although the actual fix was really easy, getting to the part to fix it was not. We had to take down all the sails, remove the mainsheet strop, pull out a cabinet in the kids' cabin, then he could access the pulley and lube it. He also realized he hadn't installed the lee clothe in Axel's bunk, since we hadn't needed it yet, and a few other items.

Everyone is in great spirits, but I think they will be raised more if the wind shifts west and picks up. Everyone is getting eager to get to NZ.

Cheers,
Julie

Nov 24, 2014 Passage to New Zealand

This morning we finally tacked onto starboard. We haven't been on starboard for 6 months, it feels so different. The only bummer of starboard tack is that the fridge is uphill, so you have to brace yourself for flying food whenever you open it.

Last night we motor sailed as the wind lighten. Now we are sailing with full main, staysail and genoa, and making great progress towards New Zealand. If all goes as planned we should be in NZ in 2 days.

On the food front, we are still eating like kings. We have to consume all fresh veggies and fruit and meat before NZ, as they will be confiscated, so we are trying to eat through everything. We have heard they will take all our dried beans also, but there is no way we will get through all of those, so I am not even trying. Currently Gigi is making beer cheese biscuits. Yum can't wait!

Fair sailing,
Julie

Nov 23, 2014 Passage to New Zealand

We have continued to make good progress towards NZ. We are about 350 miles out. Unfortunately the wind is starting to lighten, we can still sail, but if it gets too light we will turn on the motor.

Everyone is in good spirits, no one has been seasick. The kids only get grumpy when I try to get them to do a little schoolwork.

I think this may be the only passage where anyone has gained weight. We have so much food due to all the fish the guys caught. And we still have a few more meals worth of fish. So today we needed to use some of the ground beef we had, so we made meatballs, baked buns, and had meatball sandwiches for lunch. You get a new appreciation for such a simple meal when you have to make each part from scratch. Last night's dinner was extravagant! We had lobster pasta and a Tonga green (like a long broccoli) sauteed in garlic and olive oil. Delicious! We cooked the last 7 lobsters, but there was so much we still have 2 more tails just for snacking. Plus I made chicken noodle soup, since we had another chicken to use, and we had banana muffins for breakfast. I am happy to say that through all this cooking only a little bit of food has gone flying. I guess that is inevitable when the galley is uphill.

As we get closer to NZ everyone is getting more excited. We all had expressed our desires of what we want first. Gigi's may be the most pressing as she needs new clothes, especially pants, since she has grown out of everything.

Fair sailing,
Julie