Easter! Means sailing.

[John B]

4 days away. Its getting dark a bit early these days and I remarked to Kirsty that I was going off the idea of getting on the boat thursday night... maybe friday morning.
" night sail"!.. " we're doing a night sail to kawau."

Keen eh. I 'spose I better check the nav lights.

Big weekend if it all goes to plan. BBQ fri night, short race sat and another BBQ saturday night.

[shamus]

Night sailing- ain't it great? the only thing wrong with it is I've never been able to photograph it satisfactorily.

[Paul G.]

John, Is it going easterly? Would be a pain...

[John B]

Great weekend. left at sunset on thursday ( Glorious 5 hour night sail in 12 knots or so ,reach close reach, flat water)and back at just after sunset tonight,monday. (20 knots + ,1.5 metres at times). nice weather, lots of doing stuff. pics later.
Thurs night motoring to North head before turning left and sliding up to Kawau
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/pb8d76e7dfba1e4a2d1b61e67a8c9186b/ef66f2b1.jpg

[John B]

It really was a good idea to leave thursday night. We had a full moon come up and it was quite spectacular the way it played its light on the sea later on when the clouds blew away. Approaching Kawau at night is always something you should take care with as the islands and reefs claim a boat or two every year or so. Most of those lost are guilty of the classic 'sail to the light' syndrome . The light on Motukitiekitie Island is well in and has a reef which extends another 100 metres or so off into the channel with Beehive island. We had good light for the islands but it took quite some time to find that reef beacon ( unlit) despite the red/white/red sector light showing from further up the Kawau bay.
Apart from the fact that the night sail gave us one whole extra day at our destination, You get to wake up to this. Mansion house with no other boats to speak of( about 6 in the bay)
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p85188948a5782bfaa081ee252c53020c/ef66f2b3.jpg
For some reason the family didn't seem to want to stir , so I up anchored and motored back a mile or so to the beehive for breakfast. The beehive forms one side of the south channel we'd sailed through the night before.
Its one of our favourite spots for reasons of well.. look at it.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p59bfed1ced772b6520ea18e175402334/ef66f2b5.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p8c933a41751ab21102f16dfa3b238e24/ef66f270.jpg
This is the more eastern channel and its just as fraught as the southern at times.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/pf36913806bceeb9992f69476876b4bbf/ef66f26f.jpg
Waione on the rocks , anyone?
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p11d67893484c10f105e75311367703e2/ef66f26d.jpg

[Kim Whitmyre]

And JohnB adds another notch to his "This is the way to ease time's passage" stick. . .

[John B]

It was a fast forward weekend, thats for certain. We usually relax a bit more than that.

So we tootled off to the next island for lunch . Moturekareka is famous for the wreck of the Rewa, a 4 masted barque scuttled there in the 1930's.
this pic is from 2002
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid48/p1233876edbb27b6c646c94dcf0b2f1dd/fcbef1b4.jpg
That Friday afternoon we tootled back to Kawau Island proper and into North Cove where Steve h has his bach and about 20 people or so decended on him for a lovely evening BBQ and a drink or three.

Next morning early
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/pb49d6f04aeac38afb0c90abf56b2e785/ef66f223.jpg
A leisurely start and several coffees later , we dinghied over to the Pardeys wharf for the model yacht racing and briefing for the main event of the day, The mahurangi Cruising club easter race around the islands.
We won a teams trophy between Waione and Thelma at the Classic Yacht assn regatta in february and we used this time for the handover of the trophy. Lin and Larry will be off to the PNW soon so it was highly suitable for them to take it first and for us to have it second.
On our way we came across one of NZ's best yacht designers, Des Townson, transporting some of his Electron R/C models to the wharf. He's up to 968 I think he said. Each one made by hand by him.
Shades of 4 masted barques.....
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/pcce829041690900886452f22d8472fde/ef66f1f8.jpg
Model boat action. 8 boats and they were freely handed around to adults and kids alike. Very generous and I have to say one of the most adrenalin inducing activities I have experienced. I can see how they can become addictive.They sail like witches.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/pcacd54e2516ca44b8243fcf8a70aee0d/ef66f1de.jpg

[Steveh]

John with a BIG smile on his face. And that's Des beside John.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p64bbcae63d2f80188640bd4737e56ec3/ef63c60a.jpg
A foreigner in our midst, a local built Haven 12 1/2. I think 'Ena" is a Joel White adaption.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p1b65404c8dbc7630ff0782a7241ec563/ef639be0.jpg
Some of the 'Electron" action with 'Thelma' in the background
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p3b6923ac6ff4ea430a2fb8ba1e845d20/ef639b3a.jpg
And this is one nice pulling dinghy off Peter Bailey's 'Sorceress'
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/pd068851d12b7d8c6067a84278b55ddf0/ef639d65.jpg
Here's a view from the other side, seeing I'm boatless in all at the moment.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p6e7e34f225a6ea90fd14ea2363d61bff/ef63c04d.jpg
Couldn't have asked for a nicer weekend to finish the season off.
John, I here you have some interesting news from Ron and some line drawings of Waione. Fingers crossed he might have some of Ngatira

[Paul G.]

John,

I wish I had a camera, coming across the rangitoto channel and looking up and seeing waione with that big gaff and winged foresails bearing down on us.... what a sight! Especially with the grey overcast gloom contrasting all that canvas.

We got half way home and it didnt look like that swell was going to drop so I decided to turn around and head up the harbour rather than sit for 2 hours in that waiting for the tide and going in after dark in doubtful conditions for the creek. The sail down North head was great, Sheryl posting her best speed yet 8 knots! Anyway the mast is down now and she is getting hauled tomorrow...

[John B]

Nice shots Steve. Great weekend. Sorry we didn't make it back. Just about to come back when two boatloads arrived to see us so we had to stop in Vivian bay.Yeah, that could be big news. for me , really big.

Paul, we were hunting down to cross the fairway in front of the ship exiting and giving ourselves lots of room.( they come on so deceptively fast) You were pacing along beautifully. I did remark that "he's going to have fun getting there in this" so I'm glad you took an alternative. Where did you do the mast in the end ? Bruce?

Crossing Paul,
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p73de24efcda25a6a95987a1108ef1566/ef66f0e5.jpg

[John B]

Sighting out through the 3 m ( mickey mouse marine) boat shed/workshop to the wharf.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p6dbb4611c7a8fa1e60f44cca8aa5bba6/ef66f1cf.jpg

Man cave. ugh. I like man cave. Tools and machines and clamps. No epoxy to speak of though in this one.:)

[Paul G.]

I spoke to Bruce, he's got a Raven 31 stick which he thinks may work . It sounds a bit big. Ive got a few months to think about it though!

That ship did look rather large, I was getting out of its way too. Jasper reckons hes been more frightened in the Rangi Channel than anywhere else on the harbour. I wouldnt have taken much notice but after last night I can see the potential anyway I was glad the wind and tide were both going the same direction.

[John B]

Sounds good. easy to chop.

Carrying on.... ( gee lefty, How do you do it ?)
The main event is the mark foy race around the islands. Its short.. perhaps only 8 or 10 miles maybe and mark foy means staggered start. Some , like Ena the haven, started at 12 something where we were off at 1:32.
we accumulated the Woodies , our cruising buddies of Ronaki and that made us up to 4 Adults and 5 kids for crew. There was a spare 5yr old kid floating around though , so we snared him to make us up to 6 kids.
Off we drifted , running in about 10 knots in the lee of the island but as we got out we had 20 to get us going under full main ,staysail and jib.
Kids
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/pf74a96c5c56c1f784877e2cbf8c6af4b/ef66f1ca.jpg
A nice long reach down, slot between the islands and a turn into the wind and the spectacularly nasty 1.5 metre chop that was fetching in from the open sea. I say chop because these things were only 20 ft apart and you know what that means in a forty ft boat.Over one and into the next. green water back to the mast. no photos for some reason.
It was a short leg though and we tacked soon and found ouselves accelerating through the troughs across the waves
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/pe07d394e2f5f2244890583cc4269e45b/ef66f1ae.jpg
a bit wet.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/pc18ce52c4a1aaa43b1ce10a55c965dc3/ef66f194.jpg

[Thad]

Great fun! Thanks all. We'll be under way one of these days!

[bamamick]

JohnB. Thanks once again for letting us see how fruitful life could be if we really want it to be.

Mickey Lake

[John B]

Oh thanks guys.It was Kirsty's idea to really make the most of it by doing the night sail. But I haven't finished yet, continuing the race....
We'd matched 1 boat all around( a Townson 32 "Shadow"), the boats behind hadn't caught up at all and we were really happy to see the etchells( the only one making any ground on us) sail into a lee 1/2 a mile behind. heh heh heh.
Almost out of sight in front was the Thelma( the Pardeys). About now something uncharitable might have been said about hoping a jib sheet went or something like that.
The advantage with coming from behind is you see the wind and where to go and we were obviously making some big boatspeed on her.
Shadow and Thelma
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/pa795a7a4dd0a739bcb99a911860bc5c8/ef66f17f.jpg
It didn't look good UNTIL, until we saw them get a knock and the race restarted.:)
All of a sudden, with the finish line only a couple of hundred metres away, we were on them
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p2680bc74d173921be430ea5225edab22/ef66f15e.jpg
tacking duel!!at the finish line
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p3da452afd4ffc8d15654f2a841400956/ef66f157.jpg
she was humming along but she just needed 50 metres more
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p26ce94db58342d25b63942a4a9634a0d/ef66f150.jpg
and at the last she tacked in oh so close to that reef but we pipped her at the post.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p023429f5d9db1388c1e42734dd767c2e/ef66f127.jpg
At the finish there were about 6 or seven really disparate boats all within a few meters of each other. Fantastic handicapping by Hugh Gladwell of the Mahurangi Cruising club..
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p6c95346afcac7a773b0044cb9ed4ffb7/ef66f12e.jpg
The Haven was the smallest boat and she really went well, especially in that rough stuff back of the island .

[George.]

Why, oh, why is New Zealand so far away? Why is life so short, and the South Pacific so broad?

You Kiwis live in one of the most beautiful places in nature... and you have beautiful boats to boot... :)

[John B]

We get the nasty stuff as well George, don't worry about that.;)

Back to the anchorage in North cove after that. It was an excited kind of mood because of the finish and the way it panned out. It must have been a sight, all those boats converging like that.
Later that evening was the prizegiving and BBQ at the Pardeys place. Lovely hosts and very kind to all in the race and we thought especially to our children. Really great people and a terrific evening.
I can't really remember where we came in the race.. 5 th ... 6th.. 7 th? didn't matter , it was just fun.
We were given a photo taken that afternoon by a local man Mike Maris and Its a goody.
The next day we cruised off to another bay for the day and come monday we delayed our leaving right until 2.00pm getting just after sunset which was 5.50 or so.

quite a mixed up washing machine through Tiri passage ( photos never do it justice)
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p8ae36b7bb02a145a5aac0b3aa5f43aff/ef66f0fb.jpg
A trawler style MV of about 45 ft coming the other way was sticking its bow under

Get that staysail away Boy
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/pc309803be2d97c33ee6ba485028f9d3e/ef66f0e2.jpg
Back to the mooring ( harbour bridge has the lights)
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p92e97cd938fb45045abf87e337130169/ef66f0c6.jpg
and thats it ,
I swear.

but I'm adding this pic we've been given,taken near the end of the race...
Not bumping,,, just editing.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p6c6d4171e9ad94ba14716ed1752092c8/ef4d984f.jpg

[Steveh]

Had to put this on. And getting used to posting images. It was one cracker of a weekend.

Beautiful Moonset off North Cove.

http://www.ngatira.co.nz/Images/updates/Moonset.jpg

[John B]

( recovering from shock of seeing resurrected old thread)

are you sure you didn't photochop that:p