I must apologize to all for not keeping up entries in Katipo's Voyaging log until now.
Looking back over the voyage so far everything overall has been going fine.
Our intended departure from Howick was delayed by high winds ( gusting to near 50 knots at one point ) and also an adjustment that had to be made to the hydraulic drive controls. The next day Sunday 11 June brought very light winds as we dropped the mooring lines and headed North for Opua to check out of customs. It was a great stroke of luck that this short passage up the coast revealed that the engine alternator was not charging the batteries correctly and we were able to have a new alternator installed in Opua and also replace some batteries with ones which came off Shay's trimaran and were dropped off in Whangarei. Crewman Ted was kindly taken to collect them by his brother who lives in Opua. Burnsco chandlery in Opua allowed us to place all our frozen food from our freezer into their freezer until we had made our repairs.
So within 48 hours all was well, we topped up the water and diesel and were away on the tide and out to sea.
Crew
There were two crew Steve and Ted, both retired from teaching and both having sailed on Katipo on other voyages at different times. We shared the watches and had some overlap at night since these are the most tiring and sometimes difficult. But especially on nights clear of clouds the stars were magnificent, so many thousands more than one would see in Auckland at home. We had some great conversations and lots of friendly banter and joking. Steve took on the role of chef and did a marvelous job serving up great meals whatever the conditions.
Ted the master helmsman was always busy and made sure the log was kept up to date. Everyone worked together as a great team and I am most grateful to have had such good crew.
With regard to the victuals on board many thanks to Denise for organizing everything along with Ted's wife Deirdre and Steve's wife Sarah.
Communications
Despite his busy life at work and at home with a young family, son Shay received our position reports daily and sent through weather and route advice - many thanks.
Sailing to Vanuatu
It was a fairly unusual mixed bag of weather mainly light winds and at one point we were trapped between different systems in a huge area, probably 200 miles across, of calm. It was a little like the ancient Mariner poem, with not even a ripple on the glassy ocean. This was not all bad news however as it gave us a chance to dry out wet clothes and gear and have some longer spells of sleep.
The worst weather occurred one day near Erromango Island, we were sailing along slowly in light winds when with little warning the wind suddenly veered through 90 degrees and was gusting 40 knots with rain for much of the rest of the day. we were approximately on course and ran off under bare poles with the self steering vane taking control.
we saw a couple of albatross , north of New Zealand , a few ocean petrels and later tropic birds and the amazing looking fork tailed frigate birds when nearing the islands of Vanuatu. We saw no whales or dolphins at sea, and Steve caught no fish on the lure he trailed behind Katipo.
The trade winds usually reliably blow from the South East, however they chose to blow up from the North West within the last two days as we approached Efate Island and Port Vila. Time was becoming a little short as Ted had to soon fly out from Port Vila to Australia and the USA and we had already been delayed by light winds and calms. the decision was made to start up the relatively small, noisy diesel engine and motor to windward all night, heaving to near the entrance to Port Vila bay about two hours before dawn to await daylight before going in.
We were motoring only about three miles off the southern coast of Efate on a pitch black night , so while Steve and Ted in rotation did a great job steering a compass course I kept a close watch for small fishing vessels or other dangers.
Port Vila
The passage in is clearly marked, in fact we followed a large gas supply ship as it passed through the narrows after they had picked up a pilot who came out from shore in a small boat.
The quarantine area for yachts was clearly marked on the chart where we awaited customs and rang them to no avail on the VHF phone. We eventually learned that one had to report to their office at the far end of the bay, about 25 minutes away in our small dinghy with its 2HP motor and only room for two people. We re anchored Katipo in a more secure spot and Ted and I took off. I must say that everyone we have met here is very helpful and friendly whether officials, shop keepers or people inn the street. English and Bislami seem to be the most common languages spoken locally.
Once Customs and immigration had been tended to we were free to move onto a mooring near one of the yacht service companies called Yachting World. It is a great spot and only a few minutes row in our dinghy to the shore where we have shower facilities and washing is done for you, all washed, dried and folded for only $15 NZ for a large bag - fantastic !
Ted flew out two days ago. Steve and I are exploring locally and have found an excellent supermarket which stocks all the basics and more.
Yesterday we went snorkeling in a coral area a bus ride out of town along the coast. Steve who is a diving expert thought it the best he has seen. Steve flies out next week and Denise flies in on 18th July.
The time I spend here alone will be a good chance to catch up on routine maintenance on Katipo.
Equipment
A few more notes about Katipo and her equipment for the Voyage for those who would like more detail.
Over the last two years I have have spent much time making improvements and installing new equipment.
The electrical anchor winch has saved me heaps of energy after 30 years winding on a manual anchor winch.
New boom and improved mainsail reefing - much quicker and easier.
Furling Genoa sail. this has made a huge difference on this voyage, so much easier than changing sails !
Another 100 watts of solar panel - a great improvement but still not enough on cloudy days.
Garmin wind, depth and speed instruments working well - the old Navman instruments had died some while ago.
A large Apple Ipad in a waterproof case with Inavx and Navionics charts. The clarity and ease of use is fantastic. It is also linked to a Brookhouse Imux which enables the data to be shared and overlaid from other instruments like the AIS .
Many thanks to Wout from Shelly park Cruising Club for helping to set this all up.
The AIS is a very valuable instrument and well worth buying.
Satellite Phone - is not cheap to use but a great communication device both for voice and Text. Emails can also be sent and received via Sail mail from your laptop via the Sat phone, and weather grib files downloaded.
Self Steering I am still using the Bill Belcher designed wind vane I built in 1994, it has done at least 13,000 miles now and is still working. It is not perfect , is not so good in very light winds or in high winds with very rough, confused seas and needs to be built lighter in carbon fibre to be improved - perhaps I will.
Engine - ideally a larger more powerful one would be much better, may have to await a lotto win.
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| Photo of Ted and Steve |
Minor Problems
It is strange that problems seem huge when you have not slept for ages and ages, it is dark, raining and a rough sea !
We suddenly lost the ability to recharge the lap top - at the time alarming , I thought the old lap top battery had failed. This would have meant we could not send emails or download weather grib files. - turned out to be a poor electrical wire connection !
Suddenly I could not download Sat phone messages - it was fairly easy - a full memory that needed deleting !
Could not contact sail mail to send or receive messages - I needed to turn off and try rebooting the system , some times six times !
So hopefully the above updates will you some idea about what has been happening. I am looking forward to the next phase of the voyage when Denise arrives and we carry on to explore some nearby islands - we may even see a Dugong !
