2006 Pacific Voyage

Back in Godzone!

R Tucker Thompson — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 21:16:00 +0000

Around 0930 I got a phone call from Moana, Peter Stuart's wife. Apparently he had called from the ship on his cellphone shortly after 0700. No sight of land but cellphone coverage nonetheless! They were making great progress and were expecting to be at the Ninepin in a few hours. ETA at Opua was still around 1500. I'd rearranged everything to be working from home before heading to Opua after lunch and at midday my phone rang - it was Russell! So good to hear his voice and they were expecting to be even earlier, heading past Russell Kororareka around 1330. So shortly around 1315 I headed up Flagstaff Hill, only to find Moana and Maryanne and the kids to spot the Tucker gliding by gracefully having rounded Tapeka point. I headed off to the ferry to open up the office and wait.

Margaret was already there, Greta just happened to be on the wharf as well as Kate's Mum plus a few onlookers as she came down the channel towards the Q berth for customs. After about an hour and a half they were released from MAF and customs and headed back to her dock at the end of the wharf.

Beers were opened and Geoff soon arrived with a couple of bottles of rum, food and more drinks and a celebration began. It was great as the Fullers boats and Dolphin Discoveries boats headed home, they all waved and shouted their welcome home messages.

What I hadn't realised is that as they passed Russell Kororareka, they decided to pay Kate a two gun salute with the cannon, firing right at Pompallier. So the whole town got the fright of its life with a huge bang - unfortunately though Kate was in Kerikeri but nice one anyway. The following morning when Kate headed in to town, everyone knew the Tucker was home!

Best laid plans.... again

R Tucker Thompson — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 10:05:00 +0000

I get home after a long day at the NRC in Whangarei only to manage to lock myself out of the house. By the time I walk into town, locate Geoff at the Swordy club it's 7.00 pm and I don't manage to extract him until after 8.00. Finally get in the house, and realise I've left my raincoat there - back to collect that and then at 8.30 log on to the internet to discover that the ship is barrelling down the coast at a great rate of knots and is expected in at 4.00 tomorrow. Looks like Sam was pretty spot on.

Major panic to try and get manifest through to customs (they don't publish a phone number in the book for some strange reason), sort out MAF and let all the friends and family know; cancel my planned day in Whangarei tomorrow morning and rearrange everything.

If you are reading this, be at Opua wharf on 3rd August after 4.00 - consider yourself warned! A bottle of rum is already set aside.

Thanks Mike!

R Tucker Thompson — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 10:40:00 +0000

Mike Harris, not only Lucy's dad, but the brains behind Pangolin and the YOTREPS software, as well as host of other goodies that yachties should really check out (visit www.pangolin.co.nz) has corrected my appalling mistakes with the YOTREPS reports. Our passage now tracks nicely across the Pacific. Phew :-)

Oops yet again

R Tucker Thompson — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 07:33:00 +0000

For some reason, the YOTREPS didn't save the West configuration and tonight's report went in with yet again the wrong position - showing them EAST rather than WEST. So just ignore the Pangolin report - they are not wildly tacking across the Pacific despite appearances.

Winds are still favourable, being Nor'westerly, and tonight's message read as follows:

brd+bttrpudumm
rhwillsndetatomrow

The reason I am publishing these messages in their entirety is that I can't be entirely certain of their meaning. I reckon that Tui cooked a great Bread & Butter pud for supper tonight and that Russ will provide an ETA tomorrow.

So there you have it......

Oops

R Tucker Thompson — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 08:39:00 +0000

The last 2 emails have included an E postioner for the latitude (rather than West). Previously there was no indicator but it may well have been East. This is quite important as it puts the ship substantially closer than originally shown - please check out Pangolin for their actual position. It accounts for what looks like a dogleg backwards from their sojourn at Minerva Reef! Anyway, what it does mean is that it is all good progress on the trip home and Sam's bet of 3rd August may be a tad optimistic, but perhaps my guess of the 5th August has a fighting chance!

Rarotonga to Tonga:

R Tucker Thompson — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 05:13:00 +0000

We set sail for Tonga on Tuesday 5th around miday with a plan if possible to stop off at Beveridge Reef and hopefully Nuie. However the winds weren't favourable for us and progress was fairly slow with us hoving to at one point for 18 hours as we were going backwards! However we made it to Beveridge, arriving at 10.00 pm at night. Fortunately there was a full moon so we had Manton and Chris up in the cross trees spotting the outline of the waves breaking (and the gap where we could pass through). Russell and Mark were glued to the radar where the water crashing through the gap was clearly visible and I was at the helm. Everyone else was up on deck with eyes peeled to spot the gap and in we went.

After anchoring up, we all had a celebratory drink before retiring for the first night not bobbing around on the ocean. Truly it was a bath tub in the middle of the ocean! Calm, warm gentle waters, beautiful coral and fish. Half the crew went snorkelling off the reef and another party went to investigated a wrecked boat at the edge of the reef. They discovered a newly wrecked New Zealand fishing vessel complete with most of her longline gear and even New Zealand Women's Weekly magazines in her lockers (doesn't sound like the kind of reading material fisherman would normally read so go figure). We took the opportunity to adjust our dateline and timezone back to NZST to ensure fairness among the watches, losing the 9th July in the process.

After the pleasant 12 hour interlude it was back out to the high seas, by this time a day late against our schedule, and off to Vav'au with an anticipated ETA of 13th July - a further 380 nautical miles and probable 3 days assuming fair winds. A double strike of tuna shortly after leaving the reef prompted the unusual action of throwing them back (BAD mistake, they were the last fish of the trip as it turned out) and the winds came round in our favour for some great sailing.

We reached Va'vau on the morning of 13th and as we headed in, we heard Kate Martin who was waiting to join the ship at the port of Neiafu call us up on the radio. Where were we? She headed off to the customs and MAF and called us back with instructions and we tied up at the container dock at 2.30 - although we subsequently discovered in fact that in Tonga it was 3.30 pm! Just time for a clearance, a quick change and down to the Mermaid Bar to celebrate after 8 days at sea.

The following day we set off island hopping with a plan on Sunday to visit the Spanish restaurant in Te Pania. Russell had been there in 1992 and although it was quite pricey, we decided damn the expense we would have a night out. Sunday afternoon the weather wasn't great so we played Mafia (Chris learned this game in Nepal of all places!) and then donned our best party finery and bling before setting off in the zodiac for dinner.

As we arrived, we saw the paella in the oven and realised it was veritable spanish banquet with tapas to start and desert. Fish pate, cheese croquettes, gazpacho and tortilla were all served and then to our surprise, the guy cooking the paella arrived in a beribboned black cape, a Guadia Seville hat and a guitar and proceeded to dance on the floor - we presume to honour the incoming paella - which was in fact delicious. After desert, Maria offered us an assortment of percussion instruments so we could all make lots of noise to accompany the floorshow of music. Much drink was consumed by all, including those playing the music and we staggered back to the ship very late. Suffice to say some people (no names will mentioned here) had great difficulty being woken up to do their watch! A word about the toilet at the restaurant - it was without doubt the best toilet we encountered in the entire Tonga group, and that included Nukualofa.

Unfortunately we had to head down towards Nuku'alofa on the Tuesday as the wind yet again wasn't favourable and 5 of us were flying out on Friday morning at ohgodearly o'clock. We fortunately had time to have a quick break at the Ha'apai Group, probably some of the nicest snorkelling and beaches we encountered. Here is where we started to encounter a number of whales, a shark and some dolphins. Not to mention the enormous fish that got away....

And finally on to Nuku'alofa were we had the day to kill before leaving for the airport at 0100.

Homeward Bound: Tonga to New Zealand

R Tucker Thompson — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 21:32:00 +0000

Just got off the phone from Russell and they are preparing to leave - filling up with water and fuel and getting ready for departure. Everyone is looking ward to heading back to sea and getting away from the town. They are a day behind schedule, no doubt due to the delay that was caused by the Royal Funeral. When we arrived on Thursday, everything was shut in preparation for the Friday funeral so there would have only been Monday to organise provisions and paperwork.

The new positioning crew arrived over the weekend. Bob Lourie and his daughter Kate, plus local Russellites Peter Stuart and Bruce Wilson. Sam has also returned from his 3 week break, complete with a new EPIRB. Our last one went off while in port in Rarotonga, the second time it had happened in 3 months. Having an EPIRB go off unintentionally has major ramifications (like search and rescue parties, Airforce Orions and Navy vessels heading in your direction) and so we decided to dismantle the unit to prevent further problems when we left Raro, while we got a replacement unit ordered. He had to pick it from a dark alley in Ponsonby hidden under a water tank in the middle of the night on his way to the airport. The taxi drivermust have thought it was really dodgy heading to the airport with a suspicious package!

Winds for the return leg unfortunately don't look that favourable (mostly South Easterlies) so it looks as if it may be several tacks across the Pacific in order to get home. But the voyage will be tracked on Pangolin as usual.

Minerva Reef

R Tucker Thompson — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 02:53:00 +0000

Progress has been reasonable with around 20k SE winds meaning that the ship was able to visit Minerva Reef on the way home. They stopped off and celebrated in traditional crew fashion with a drink or three, although if it was that Pirate's rum of Chris's they probably couldn't cope with more than one - don't think it ever saw sugar and only the colouring and label would lead you to believe it was in fact rum rather than raw spirit flavoured with vanila.

They are now on their way towards New Zealand and looking forward to getting home now. Winds continue to be kind and whilst not perfect are at least allowing them to head towards home, and not on the nose as we originally feared. It is Russell's desire to sail all the way home, so fingers crossed fair winds prevail.

Sushi & Sailing

R Tucker Thompson — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 08:03:00 +0000

Last night while we were all watching the All Blacks getting the Bledisoe Cup back for New Zealand, the crew apparently caught 2 tuna. Sam has taken to sending the messages rather than Russell and they are even more undecipherable because he runs everything into a single word. Tonight's was a real beaut:

swtstks4etacls1900,isy1430aug3
tnasshiawsmsalngtmbsup

OK, so this translates as:
The sweepstake for the ETA (that's where everyone puts in $5.00 to predict the ETA and then the winner puts the money on the bar on arrival for drinks) closed at 1900. Sam says that it will be 1430 on August 3rd. The tuna was made into sushi and either this was awesome, or more likely the sailing is awesome, thumbs up. They are apparently barrelling along at between 6.5 and 7.5 knots so probably awesome sailing.

I think Sam is wildly optimistic with a 3rd August arrival time, probably because he wants to get home and get started on the house and driveway. Our pick is 1000 on 5th August, but we will see. The weather is looking favourable for the next few days so fingers crossed otherwise, it is more likely to be 7th or 8th.

Heading North

R Tucker Thompson — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 11:14:00 +0000

The ship has started heading north and apparently the temperature is warming up - wish I could say the same for Christchurch! Russell advises that at the present rate of progress, they have an ETA at Avarua of 2200 on 16th June (17th June NZST). They are motoring full speed. We'll ask the film company if they need us that early and perhaps if not, they can ease of Henry a bit. However arriving on a weekend presents its own challenges so perhaps better to be early than late!

Of fudge, food and other things

R Tucker Thompson — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 22:29:00 +0000

Reports from the ship are that they had their first real gale a couple of days ago, on the 13th - or that's what I think. The satelite messages are 15c per character so we keep 'em real short, sometimes to the detriment of any sensible comprehension! The actual text reads "1st flyng fsh wale gale13th" so who knows!

However, Russell says that channel fever has set in (that's when everyone goes slightly crazy and gets grumpy) because there are only two days to go before they arrive. That said, apparently, Riley Joseph Conrad, aged 10, has been aloft (I could tell Russ's pride in this achievement), Aiden appears to be cooking fudge and young Tess has all the boys after her - must be all those showers she keeps taking. Tui's cooking has been absolutely magnificant, with some French flair thrown in by Jean Luc and Box has been making himself useful helping Russ, either doing his watch or breaking dishes during the gale. Not sure which.

To relieve the channel fever it seems that Prince Rarotonga and his cohorts have paid a visit to the ship, to judge the performance of the young people on this voyage. Anyone who has crossed the equator will have an idea of what will be going on.... No doubt I will receive a report later.

Meanwhile, I've finished the bit TRENZ show at Christchurch and Geoff and I will head back to the winterless North tonight.

Nearly there

R Tucker Thompson — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 04:46:00 +0000

With 62 miles to go, everyone is well on board but really looking forward to reaching their destination. Fresh water, phone and internet access are high on the list of priorities! No doubt Russell will be on the phone before long and we look forward to hearing their voices again :-)

Arrival in Raro

R Tucker Thompson — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 21:00:00 +0000

Everyone is enjoying some welcome R&R in Rarotonga after their record breaking ocean crossing - 13 days from New Zealand to Raro is pretty good going! However, Manton hasn't phoned home yet according to his Mum... if you are reading this, Manton "ET - Phone Home". We've had some dreadful weather in New Zealand this past fortnight with wave upon wave of Southerly weather fronts direct from the Antarctic, bringing snow and blizard conditions. Roads have been closed for several days in the middle of the North Island and some people in the South Island have been without power for nearly two weeks.

Which means that Geoff and I are really, really looking forward to heading up to meet the ship next Wednesday. We've had a change of plan for the journey home. We're going to leave Raro slightly earlier than planned, on 1st July which will give us time to head in to Nuie on the way home. According to their tourism website, there are only 90 guest beds on the island and usually more whales visiting that people. Sounds great!

We'll be in Nuie until the 7th July and then head in to Vavau at the North of the Tonga Islands. Trustee John Duder will be meeting us in Rarotonga for the voyage to Tonga, and Trustee Kate Martin will be meeting us in Vavau while John heads home. Trustee Box (Ian Milestone) however does have our work schedule mapped out for us while we are cruising in Tonga. 0700-1300 will be R&M (repairs & maintenance) to the ship and then R&R for the rest of the day. Russell's daughter Chloe and her friend will be meeting us in Rarotonga as well.

The best laid plans of mice and men!

R Tucker Thompson — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 01:46:00 +0000

After a good sail back from Aitutake, the ship then hit bad weather. We were due to meet them at the Port on the morning of the 29th, but a quick look at the other vessels in port the previous night gave us no confidence we would see them there in the morning. We were right. We collected Russell's daughter Chloe from the airport with her friend Kate the night before, and the next morning we set off on the anti-clockwise bus that went round the Island. We got to the South side just by the Rarotongan Hotel and lo and behold spotted a tall ship, looking for all the world like a sigh from the previous century, battling just outside the reef. We had our VHF with us and made contact. Turned out that the port was closed and they were bobbing around until the weather improved. However two crew needed to come ashore - Sam because he was flying out that night, and poor old Chris who had a bad tooth and a dental appointment. We managed to established they were sending the Zodiac ashore at 1230 and we went back to the beach to meet them. Chris had her tooth extracted and Sam came back to our hotel. It was a lot more pleasant there by the pool that battling the surf outside the reef.

Finally the next morning we made contact again via cellphone. The port had improved sufficiently for them to come in. However in the meantime, they had blown the lower tops'l and also need repairs to the windless which was broken on the reef. They finally made it to port around 1300 on Saturday 30th, so there was no chance of leaving before the weekend.

Today is Monday and the shops are now open. Repairs are being made and and laundry has been done (managed to use our Hotel's industrial laundry facilities for a modest donation - saved heaps of time) and we are just doing the clearance paperwork. We expect to leave tomorrow morning first thing.

The wind has turned against them now but it is not...

R Tucker Thompson — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 10:47:00 +0000

The wind has turned against them now but it is nothing compared to what we are suffering here in NZ. With 50k+ gale force winds most of Auckland and Northland was without power for up to 4 hours this morning. Here in Christchurh we had snow and it is freezing. By comparison the ship is making steady progress motor sailing at 6 knots getting warmer by the day. Russell advises that they will turn North and set course for Rarotonga in another 2 days.