WR is still in New Zealand

Dear Friends of Wind River,

Many months have passed since we last wrote, and much has happened since we arrived in Opua Nov. 11. First we spent nearly a month working on the boat. This work included having a kink removed from the stern pulpit, the result of a small collision while we were at a mooring in Bora Bora, and having some chafe problems in the mainsail resolved.

In early Dec. we flew home to do taxes and get married. We left WR on a mooring, and when we returned in early Feb, all was well. We returned to a slip and spent the next month working on the boat including sanding and varnishing teak, scrubbing and waxing the topsides, and polishing the stainless steel. One reason for doing all this is that we are putting the boat up for sale.(You can visit the website at <http://windriversailboat.com.>).

We didn’t make this decision lightly. WR has served us well. We have never had anything major fail. We know other boats that have had steering, engines, or sails fail. We met a fellow from Tasmania, who nearly purchased WR, who four weeks before had lost his steering, autopilot, and engine in seas driven by 50 knot winds which then rolled the boat twice. He broke four ribs and was rescued by helicopter. He thinks his boat is still out there somewhere on the Tasman Sea. I feel that at this point I am too old for this sort of adventure. I am tired of the level of anxiety associated with this sort of sailing. There were two boats that sailed from Mexico when we did: one was Redwood Coast and their mainsail split on the way north from here to Fiji and the other was Calliope who was heading for Seattle via the Austral Isles and got hammered by rough seas and wound up in Rarotonga very much off their desired route. So we are selling.

During part of March and April we took a trip to the South Island. We drove to Wellington, took the ferry across to Picton, and proceeded down the west coast. We visited the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers but clouds hid Mt. Cook above. We took a wonderful overnight boat trip on Milford Sound and another on Doubtful Sound. Both of these sounds are really fjords. We drove through Invercargill to Bluff, at the southern tip of the island, and took the ferry across to Stewart Island. Here we hiked for three days spending the nights in huts. We had been much taken by the birds in NZ and here we became more familiar with them. Many have the most melodious calls; just listening to them is wonderful.

After Stewart I. We returned to the South Island and headed up the east coast. At Dunedin we took the Talieri Gorge railway to Middlemarch, where we rented bikes. We continued up the old railroad grade, once the site of the Otago Central Railway, over bridges and through tunnels. We spent the first night in country inns. On the third day we were to return downhill to Middlemarch where we would take the train back to Dunedin. However, the winds began to blow. We found that not only could we not ride but that we couldn’t even walk, especially on fills and bridges. At one point I was crouched down holding the bike almost horizontally and upwind of me. A gust came and the next thing I knew I and the bike had been turned 180 deg. and with great difficulty I kept it from being torn from my grasp. Ultimately, we made it to a road where we were picked up and returned to Middlemarch in time to catch the train.

Further north along the west coast we came to Christchurch. Here we boarded the train that crosses to the west coast over the Southern Alps, a spectacular trip. After visiting some wineries in the Marleborough region we took the ferry back to the North Island and returned home to Opua. The above are just some highlights of the trip, which lasted well over 30 days. Two days ago we returned from a one week trip here on the North Island. We visited the Coromandel Peninsula and the Mt. Egmont area (one more mountain hidden by clouds; it is nearly winter here) and we rode on a steamboat on the Whanganui River. This boat spent 40 years sunk to the bottom of the river. In the early 90s it was raised then restored and fitted with a new boiler then in 2000 it began operating once more. I was able to spend a lot of time in the engine room and the chief engineer explained both the operation and the restoration. He was also very interested in my own steam launch.

Speaking of steam, between these two trips we have visited four places, two north of Wellington and two in Auckland, where vintage steam locomotives and other rolling stock are restored and cared for. In each case the people have been very friendly, showing me their whole operation, taking me into locomotive cabs, and explaining all kinds of things.

Which brings us to the people of NZ. They have been, without exception, warm, friendly, and helpful. People, including young kids, speak to you when passing. Perhaps this is so striking because it is in such contrast to the way things are at home.

We must also comment on the landscape. Aside from various mountains much of the country is hilly; sometimes the hills are small and sharp. Much of this hill country as well as much of the plains country is covered with grass, very green grass. So there are many sheep and some cattle. At this time of year the sun is low in the northern sky (that takes getting used to) and as a result the grass, sheep, poplars, and pines are suffused with an exquisite light that you would only expect to encounter in a storybook.

We fly to Australia this coming weekend for a trip that may last two months, depending on how selling the boat goes. This can be considered a lengthy honeymoon.

If the boat sells, this could be our final installment to the Friends of Wind River.

Fair Winds, Kit and Susan

Notes about NZ

We continue to gather reasons for being glad we are here. The other day the weather report said that winds off the coast had reached 70 kts! When we were in Nuku'alofa we met another boat, Wandering Star, and the other day we heard that they had left there for here and had been out for two weeks. We haven't heard of their arrival yet.

The landscape here is very green. There are pines and other evergreens, but there are also tree ferns 20 feet tall with 8 in. trunks as well as clumps of bamboo. The other day we took a bus to Kawakawa to visit a vintage railway operation. After seeing their rolling stock and steam locomotive I walked along the abandoned grade to the south and it felt just like WA west of the mountains. It is late Spring here so there are many flowers.

During the summer of 2001 I circumnavigated Vancouver Island in WR, a trip of 50 days. In a small bay on the west coast of the island I met a couple on a boat similar to WR named Heidi. We parted ways and they proceeded down the west coast to Panama, the Galapagos, and the South Pacific. During the intervening years we have been reading their accounts via e-mails similar to these. So day before yesterday I was looking at boats in the distance, spotted one similar to WR, and with the binocs saw that it was Heidi. We connected and they came to dinner last evening. The world is not as large as we sometimes think.

Today we left our slip for a mooring out in the bay, which will be much cheaper than the slip. A number of boats near us are ones we met many months ago. The boat just within speaking distance is Calliope, the boat that was just ahead of us when Tom and I crossed from Mexico, and a little further away is a junk rigged British boat being single-handed that we met in Hiva Oa.

Tomorrow we are being given a ride to shore where we will catch a bus to Auckland. We will stay there a few days and then fly to San Francisco, where we will arrive on the same day that we departed NZ and at an earlier hour than our departure. This will be the last installment from us until our return here in early Feb.

Kit and Susan

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WR is in New Zealand

Our apologies for leaving you while in mid passage at the end of our last episode. The wind continued light but we stopped motoring because of our finite amount of fuel. We tried sailing but could hardly make any distance toward NZ. Then on the seventh day the wind shifted to the N at 5 - 6 kts. We decided to try the spinnaker. We flew that for 3 hours and made 4 kts in that light wind. It was great - we were even headed in the right direction. Then the wind increased: 28 kts from the E. The spinnaker came down and for the next 30 hours we rocketed S. At dawn on the 9th day there was NZ. As we entered the beautiful Bay of Islands we radioed the authorities advising them of our arrival, inflated fenders, rigged docklines, and set up the anchor. As Susan has said, the hills in this area look like the best of Marin and Sonoma counties. They are green and we understand that they never turn brown.

We are currently in a slip at the marina at Opua, and it has been interesting comparing notes with other boats that have come from Tonga. Some boats had winds over 40 kts on the nose. Two NZ boats took two weeks for the passage. One boat with two little kids aboard encountered winds over 60 kts; they were worried that they might not make it. Tied across the dock from us is Sanuk, the boat that rescued Tandem. They told us that the Tongan authorities were not interested in a report from them about the rescue, but that the authorities had wanted to fine them since they had been cleared to depart Tonga when Tandem got into trouble.

Opua is a tiny town with one restaurant and one small grocery store. There are boats everywhere and many shops to serve boaters. Our mainsail is now at the sail loft being repaired. We also need to have our stern pulpit repaired after it was struck by another boat while we were moored in Bora Bora. Our brightwork needs sanding and varnishing, but we will do that after we return in Feb. There are abandoned RR rails here and we have heard of a functioning steam locomotive at a nearby town. So, clearly, NZ is not without interest.

We are preparing to leave for a trip home for two months. We'll spend four days in Auckland and fly to S.F. the evening of Dec. 6. We'll cross the dateline, arriving the morning of Dec. 6! We look forward to spending the holidays with family and friends.

Kit and Susan

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WR leaves Tonga

As we worked our way S through the Hapai Group our last stop there was at Kalafesia. The anchorage was small - about ten boats, and we all had a potluck on the beach. One of the boats there was Tandem, a Tayana 48, from Wash. D C. We had met the couple aboard in Bora Bora and we chatted with them again at the potluck. We left the next day for Nuku'alofa while Tandem planned to come later. At about this time Bob McDavitt, the NZ weather guru announced that now is the time to head for NZ. As we entered Nuku there was a veritable parade of boats headed out and S. We couldn't join them since we had to wait several days for Paul, our new crew member, to join us. We also had to take on provisions, water, and fuel and to go through the check out process with the authorities.

So one day we wake up to terrific winds - 40 kts, and WR is flailing away at anchor. Late that afternoon we hear Nuku radio broadcast that an EPIRB has been activated, that it belongs to Tandem, and they are about 25 miles to the N. Next we hear an Orion aircraft of the NZ Air Force conducting the search. A British sailboat, Sunouk, with 3 men aboard, set out from Nuku to go to the aid of Tandem. We heard the conversations between the Orion and Sunouk as well as their words to Tandem on VHF 16. Sunouk went out in appalling conditions: they were heeled to 45d under no sails, had winds up to 50 kts, and encountered 10 meter waves. Tandem had been dismasted and some rigging was caught in their prop so they couldn't motor. They were towed in to Nuku the next day by Sunouk. Tonga had no boat available suitable for the job. The last we heard everyone was well and the folks on Tandem are looking for a way to ship her to NZ for repair.

After dealing with all our chores and against this backdrop and without any blessing from a weather guru Paul and I raised anchor at noon Nov. 2 and headed S for NZ, 1100 miles away. Susan remained behind to fly to Auckland on Nov. 5. For the first two days we were on a close reach with winds to 24 kts, rough seas, and spray raking the boat and slamming into the dodger. Below it sounded like we were sailing over boulders. The third day the winds decreased and the sailing was quite pleasant. Today, the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth days we have been motoring in seas that undulate like the surface of a waterbed under 3 kt winds. Last night we crossed from the W hemisphere to the E and we are now at 27d 30'S, so we are about halfway there. We have been advised of possible strong weather ahead, but we might welcome that to having to motor. We are looking forward to arriving in NZ.

Kit (and Susan)

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WR in Tonga

Previously I wrote of the storm accompanying our arrival at Vava'u (three syllables, accent on the middle one). At that point Susan had been off the boat for two weeks, ever since WR left Rarotonga. So as we wound our way up the channels leading to Neiafu it was a delight to see Gembrit's dinghy heading our way with their crew and Susan. By law she couldn't come aboard until we were cleared, but soon we were tied to a Scottish boat, who in turn was tied to the wharf, and were boarded by four burly barefoot guys wearing skirts. These officials represented Agriculture, Health, Customs, and Immigration. After dealing with a number of forms they gave us permission to lower our Q (quarantine) flag, and we were checked in.

From Susan: I had more shore time than usual, waiting for Wind River to make the Rarotonga-Niue-Vava'u passage. Air New Zealand couldn't find a good way for me to fly between those three points, so my "passage" consisted of Rarotonga-Fiji-Tongatapu-Vava'u. Fiji seemed very different because of the large population of Indians there. I found Muslim mosques and Hindu temples, Indian foods, and shopping galore, with industrious Indian shopkeepers hyping wares, discounting everything from electronics to art. The Indians also lease land from the Fijians and grow sugar cane and other produce. The native population is a mixture of indigenous Fijians from Melanesia and Polynesia, and offer the usual handicrafts, including woodcarving and weaving. I took a tour of the area around Nadi to some old Fijian villages. I then flew to Tongatapu, the Tongan capital. I was able to see the harbor where we'll have to check in, and had a look at the city, which is about the size of Santa Rosa in the 70's. By the time I flew to Vava'u I was ready to settle in, and stayed at a backpackers' hotel overlooking the harbor where I had kitchen facilities. By the time Kit arrived I'd had people asking if I lived in Neiafu, my face had become so familiar to the populace! But I knew where the bakery was, what stores had which products, and what all the restaurants were like. I also lined up a massage therapist: my yoga instructor, Allyne, a sweet young thing from Quincy, CA, to give Kit a two-hour massage when he arrived!

Captain Cook called these the Friendly Islands and the people take this seriously: they are very friendly and helpful. At times as we walk along a street someone from a passing car will say hello. Many of the older people wear traditional dress, which consists of skirts of dark cloth covered by a wrapping of woven mat.

Vava'u consists of a maze of islands, channels, and coral reefs. Scattered about are various anchorages, which are numbered for easy reference. We left Neiafu and visited #11 where we had dinner at a Spanish restaurant on a nearby island and #8 where we attended a typical Tongan feast given for cruisers. We then returned to Neiafu. While there we dined out some more, visited the Mermaid (the quintessential South Seas bar) for happy hour with various other cruisers, and Susan took yoga classes. We also made arrangements with Paul, a sailor, jet engine mechanic, and baker, to join WR in Tongatapu for the passage to New Zealand. At Neiafu Karin left WR for a catamaran which was sailing for Fiji and points west.

Susan and I finally left Neiafu and stayed at #40 for three nights while we waited for the wind to shift out of the South. At 6 pm day before yesterday we left and sailed 80 miles under the full moon to the Ha'apai group of islands. We anchored here at Ha'afeva before noon and spent the afternoon catching up on sleep. Anchoring was a challenge, but we found a large patch of sand with no coral. We seem to be secure with the wind howling and rain spitting.

Kit and Susan

Notes on Niue

In our last installment we mentioned the coral limestone of Niue. The rain is filtered by this so that the waters surrounding the island are among the clearest in the world. Niue is an independent country, one of the smallest in the world. I have mentioned coconut crabs previously. Here they are endangered; only those that are too old to reproduce are allowed to be taken. I have seen some of these on leashes. They weigh as much as 22 lbs and with a claw can snip your finger off. On my last day on the island I rented a motor bike. I had never ridden anything like that, so initially the learning curve was a bit steep compounded by the fact that traffic keeps to the left. But I made a complete circuit of the island. At Rarotonga we saw some evidence of cyclone damage, but nothing like that on Niue. As I circled the island it seemed that ca 60% of the homes were damaged or razed, and abandoned. More Niueans live in NZ than in Niue. On the windward side of the island I hiked to Vaikona chasm and cave. This was a rough hike over a track that was at times obscure, involving scrambling over frothy coral limestone. The shore there consisted of a shelf above the water against which the waves crashed with water flooding over the shelf. A nightmare for anyone approaching in a boat. The next morning Karin and I set sail for Tonga, a distance of only 230 miles. This was directly down wind, so we had the genoa poled out on the spinnaker pole. I hate this arrangement: the boat rolls, stuff below crashes around, and the boat seems vulnerable. Initially the winds were strong and we made 146 miles in the first 24 hours. The sea was rough the whole way. By the second evening the winds were down to 12 kts, we were doing 4.5 kts and were intending to heave to off of Vava'u. At 2 am we were just N of that island when suddenly the wind came up out of nowhere. Our instruments said 35 kts and we later heard 45 or 50. The genoa was flailing about and the pole was flexing appallingly. We worked like demons trying to get it all put away. Then we hove to on the spot. I must say that even though conditions outside were ghastly, down below it was relatively quiet and I was able to sleep for a couple of hours, the first sleep since leaving Niue. The next morning we motored in to the harbor at Neiafu on Vava'u in the Kingdom of Tonga. That evening we were at the Mermaid, a bar on the waterfront, reunited with Susan, visiting with people some of whom we hadn't seen for months. The rain was dripping in through holes in the thatched roof, and there was a Tongan fire dancer performing. The contrast between the two consecutive nights is just another aspect of the cruising life.
Kit (and Susan)

WR is at Niue

While on Rarotonga we hiked the cross island track. The term 'trail' would suggest there had been some grading. This was just a route through the growth, often using tree roots for hand and footholds. The high point was a pass near a volcanic needle. We could see both the N and S coasts. Susan's search for crew led to Karin, a young woman from Sweden, joining me for the passage to Niue. She is working her way from Panama to Australia on various boats. From Aust. she will fly home to attend university. Upon leaving Rarotonga at first we had light winds, thunder, lightning, and rain, but overall the sailing went well. We covered the nearly 600 miles in 5.5 days and arrived here last Wed. This island consists of coral which has been thrust up to form the island. The rock is limestone filled with the honeycomb evidence of coral. There are several caves with flowstone formations including stalactites and stalagmites. The island is about 8 by 16 miles. We are moored at Alofi in the middle of the W side, and yesterday I rented a bike and visited caves and pools at the N end of the island. There are about a dozen boats here and we are all tied to moorings since the coral bottom tends to swallow anchors. We are hunkered down as we expect winds into the 30s on Mon. If all goes according to plan we will leave here on Tues. and sail two days to Neiafu in Tonga where Susan is waiting. The time here is GMT - 11. Tonga is on the other side of the dateline, and the time there is GMT + 13. Thus, when we go there we won't have to change the clocks, but we lose a day. (GMT means Greenwich Mean Time.)
Kit (and Susan)

WR is at Rarotonga

Bora Bora is the common exit from French Polynesia, and from there boats disperse to a variety of destinations. So many of the boats we have been seeing, some for months, we won't see until Tonga if ever again.

I will admit to some trepidation at the prospect of single handing from Bora Bora to here. As I left on Fri. morning the wind was light and at times we were barely moving. By late afternoon the wind was up to 40 kt, so my hands were full with handling the boat and I had no time for anxiety. At 6 pm I hove to for the next 12 hours, hoping to get some rest. At times when a wave hits the boat it sounds and feels like the boat has been hit with a boulder. I didn't get any sleep and in the morning got under way with the staysail and double reefed main with winds in the 30s. During the next 24 hours we did 160 miles, perhaps a record for WR, And during the next 24 we did 170 miles. The swell was about 3 meters and the sailing was good. As for being alone, most of the anxiety had evaporated and it felt like being alone during my past trips in the high mountains. There never was a scary moment.

By Monday night the wind had died and with 100 miles out of the 532 to go I fired up the engine. I arrived at Avatiu On Rarotonga around 2 on Tuesday. With help from others in their dinghies I dropped anchor and backed in to the quai, which has room for about 8 boats. Next to us is the Picton Castle, a three masted bark that periodically sails around the world. She was built in the 20s as a steamship and later converted to sail.

Rarotonga is small, about 5 or 6 miles in diam. People speak english, which is a relief, and drive on the left side, which can be scary even if you are a pedestrian. We are staying in a small house with kitchen, living and dining rooms, and two bedrooms and washing machine for $35US per day. Before we leave we would like to hike the trail that crosses the island. And then when the weather is promising it is on to Niue 600 miles to the west.

Kit (and Susan)

WR at Bora Bora

In our last e-mail we neglected to mention that as we approached Huahine and were about a mile away we noticed a wonderful tropical fragrance in the air. We later figured out that it was vanilla, which is an important product of the Leeward Islands.

From Huahine we were able to sail, at last, to Raiatea. It was a bit rainy, so visibility was not good. It became clear that we were on the direct line when I noticed a white shape looming behind us. It quickly turned out to be the Aremiti, a high speed passenger catamaran. He actually veered to pass around us and then veered back to resume following the same line.

The wharf at Uturoa has room for about eight boats and we tied up there for three nights. This was the first proper tying to a dock since Puerto Vallarta. One evening we were there chatting with Tom and Jane from Promise, a boat also from Port Orchard that we first met in Monterey, and Jack, a Dutch fellow single handing from Gig Harbor, which is just a stone's throw from Port Orchard. Small world. While here a fellow helped me clean the carburetor of gummy fuel, and now our outboard engine works again.

We next spent two nights anchored in an inlet on the east side of Raiatea at the head of which is the only navigable river in French Polynesia. We took our dinghy up the river for a couple of km. The trees from both sides joined overhead and there were occasional dwellings sitting on patches carved out of the jungle. On shore we visited a garden of native plants and when we returned to the boat Susan had an armload of flowers our guide had given her.

We then went north to the island of Tahaa, which is enclosed in the same reef as Raiatea. We tied to a mooring ball at a restaurant. The owners operate a foundation that rescues sea turtles by buying them from fishermen, tagging them, then releasing them. Some of the tagged ones have been found as far away as New Guinea. After another couple of nights back at Raiatea we sailed west on to Bora Bora, an island at least as beautiful as any of the others. Before arriving we'd long heard of the Bora Bora Yacht Club, and expected to find a cruiser's watering hole. Instead we found a small restaurant with a little dock, that does offer showers, water and a washing machine at a price. (We hung our clean clothes and sheets from the safety lines and shrouds, and it was dry in an hour.) And we had hot showers for the first time since April. Mostly, we bathe in salt water and sometimes take the dinghy to a reef with snorkel masks and salt-water soap.

Now we are tied to a mooring near Bloody Mary's, a well known restaurant that lists many famous people among its clientele. For much of this time we have had winds that go from zero to the mid thirties and back. So we, like many others have been waiting for a proper chance to leave.

Which seems to have come. Tomorrow morning Susan will go ashore to her airplanes, I will drop our mooring, and we will both head for Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. We have been in French Polynesia for twenty weeks, we have visited thirteen islands, and we have negotiated thirteen passes through coral reefs. In a way it is difficult to leave, but the word is that the islands to the west are even more wonderful. We need to see for ourselves.

Kit and Susan

WR is at Huahine

While we were at Tahiti our oars and windlass arrived. It is good to have a fully functioning windlass again, and the oars arrived in the nick of time since our outboard motor has quit. After Dan joined us we rented a Suzuki Samurai 4WD to drive around and over the island. We drove to the one lake on the island, which is high in the mtns. The track was rough dirt, but we didn't need 4WD for that but instead for the narrow paved part, which we read was inclined at 37 degrees. We needed the low range for that.

From Tahiti we motored to Cook's Bay on Moorea. From there Dan and I hitched a ride to the ferry dock on the east side of the island and hiked back over a ridge that gave us great views of the interior of the island. The next day we tried to hike to the summit of Mt. Rotui, ca 3000 ft. elev. This was along a narrow steep track with the sun beating down. When we were about 4/5 of the way up the appeal of a cold gin and tonic overcame that of the summit and we turned back as clouds smothered the summit. (Susan: they joined me - filthy and bleeding from scratches from the brush - for lunch by the pool at the Sheraton, where I spent the morning at the spa. Best massage I ever had.) After about five days at Cook's we moved on to Opunohu Bay, which has one of the classic views of Polynesia. From here Dan left to fly on to Huahine to stay in campgrounds. We followed a few days later, again motoring overnight in no wind. Once through the pass we anchored off of Fare, the main town of the island. The town looks like it must have looked years ago with trees over hanging the main street, which is dirt.

While we were here Dan caught a freighter for Papeete, from where he flew home. The next day, which was yesterday, we raised anchor and motored south down the west side of the island inside the reef to Avea Bay. From here we walked around the southern tip of the island on the beach, past groves of coconuts and stands of banana trees. We saw an ancient marae, a stone structure where human sacrifices were held.

As we walk along the roads leaving our tracks in the dust we notice no other tracks. This is because the dirt has been raked by the locals. The roadsides are often beautifully planted and tended. In places there are holes in the ground under the trees and as we approach we notice some movement there. The shy coconut crabs are scurrying into their holes. These are chunky little critters, said to be good eating.

Kit and Susan