Opua Outbound Day 4

Hi everyone,

At noon today we were at 33 12S 166 40E steering 250M, sailing under double-reefed main and storm staysail at 5.5 knots.  The wind was 20G25 from the ESE.  Our noon to noon distances were 130nm by the log and 135nm over the ground.   Overall we'd logged 458nm and 470nm respectively.  Our distance to go was 753nm.

Sailing West

Yesterday afternoon continued with 20G30 E winds and an unpleasant sea state.  Southerly swell persisted, battling the large E seas.  It reminded us of the Indian Ocean.  Frequent side-swiping with water cascading into the cockpit.  We stayed below with occasional quick looks around for traffic.

Speaking of traffic we've seen only three other vessels.  All were large cargo ships and all passed while we were still close to New Zealand.  It's pretty lonely out here!  Zen Again is loving the conditions.  She has been surging at up to 10 knots on some waves.  Kazi the WindPilot vane gear is doing a fantastic job.

Dawn Today

The boisterous conditions continued overnight.  We were again semi-pooped by a breaking wave.  This time Nicki was doing a quick look around and she 'took a dousing' to keep water out of the cabin.  The kettle stayed put this time since we'd unlocked the cooker gimbals after yesterday's incident.

Conditions are starting to moderate this morning.  We'll see if that continues.  We're going to extend further W before gybing to stay out of 30G35 winds forecast to the NW.

Trust all's well where you are!

Opua Outbound Day 3

Hi everyone,

At noon today we were at 32 56S 169 16E steering 240M, sailing under double-reefed main and storm staysail at 6 knots.  The wind was 21G28 from the E.  Our noon to noon distances were 127nm by the log and 130nm over the ground.   Overall we'd logged 328nm and 335nm respectively.  Our distance to go was 875nm.

Dawn today

Yesterday afternoon we continued NNW in gradually increasing wind.  At 2030 in the evening we gybed to the W.  Overnight the wind continued to increase.  At 0600 we furled the last of the yankee and set the storm staysail.

Storm staysail and trisail-sized main

We're now charging W, often surging to over 7 knots in 3m swell/seas.  The cockpit was dry until I took my phone on deck to take the above photo.  We were then side-swiped by a big wave which half filled the cockpit.  A little spray got below and the kettle ejected itself from the cooktop.  The navstation copped a few drops of water, mostly on the computer keyboard but hopefully everything's OK.

These strong winds are predicted to continue for some time - several days.

Trust all's well where you are!

Opua Outbound Day 2

Hi everyone,

At noon today we were at 33 15S 171 26E steering 290M, sailing under double-reefed main and full yankee at 5 knots.  The wind was 12G16 from the ESE.  Our noon to noon distances were 94nm by the log and 105nm over the ground.   Overall we'd logged 201nm and 205nm respectively.  Our distance to go was 982nm.

Three Kings Islands at sunset

Yesterday afternoon saw the light and sloppy conditions continue.  Twice we motored for an hour when the sails were slatting and we were almost stopped.  The 1.5m short swell from the S was unpleasant.

We did manage to see the Three Kings Islands, albeit as the sun was ssetting.  Spectacular place with lots of wildlife around them.  We saw large flocks of birds, one albatross and a small whale.  The whale overtook us!  Quite a bit of current between Cape Rienga and the Three Kings.

Dawn

We gybed at midnight to head NNW.  This put the swell behind us and the ride improved.  But the wind was still light and we continued using Kami the autopilot to hold course.  At 0300 the wind gradually started to back into the SE and fill in a little.  We tucked the second reef in and swapped over to Kazi the vane gear.  The trisail sized main balances the boat for Kazi.  Oh the serenity!  No more eeee-awe of the autopilot actuator over-steering.

Around dawn we copped a couple of light showers.  These backed the wind around to ESE so we're now on a reasonable course.  The sky is now partly cloudy with long sunny spells.  Air temperature was 17C overnight and has risen to 20C today.  Significantly warmer than yesterday.

Showers

Trust all's well where you are!