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Published: July 28th 2011
Customs cleared, the last minute preparations completed, we left Opua Marina at 11.00am on July 16th. Alex was given the first watch. (We work a three hours on, six hours off rotation with kitchen duties assigned to particular shifts.) It was exciting watching Alex’s reactions to everything, his eyes were like swivels in his head as the tried to take it all in as we headed out. The Pacific Ocean stretched before us, and as the New Zealand coastline diminished behind us we settled down and began adapting to the routine that would be our world for the next week or so. I was on watch for the first sunset, and thought back to enjoying the sunrise while on watch when we sailed up to Opua from Whangarei. I called Alex up from below decks to enjoy it (photo’s attached) as it was his first sunset at sea. We were also joined by a pod of dolphins that first evening.
Then it got dark! And it rained. My glasses got water all over them and the red light torch that illuminates the compass that we steer the boat by was not properly in place so I couldn’t see where
I was going! And so I did what every self respecting modern day gal does when completely out of her comfort zone, I panicked. Only mildly, of course, but panic it was – this was not helped by the fact that the wind was blowing, the movement of the sea was something I was still getting used to, and the Capt had taken the opportunity to go up front to adjust the sails and was expecting me to sail the boat so he was not (literally) knocked of his perch. “Into the wind” he called. “I can’t see!” “Point into the wind”, he clearly had not heard me. “I CAN”T BLOODY SEE!” At which time Alex pokes his head out of the cabin and asks in his lovely accent- “Something is wrong?” “Yes, I can’t see!” “Into the wind!” shouts the Capt from up front. “*#^%&$%#@!!!!” (That represents a string of naughty words that young Alex should not have been subjected to). However, it did get the captains attention and he realized, surprise, surprise that I could not do what he asked because I was totally lost in terms of bearings. He is very quick is the Capt, and soon
had me aiming for distinguishable clouds, problem solved. It wasn’t long before we were under way again with the adjustments in place and my equilibrium back in balance!
The one thing during the trip that I did find I was anxious about was when his nibs had to do the sail adjustments – the thought of not keeping the boat under complete control while he was up there, and the possibility of him going over the side was ever present at such times. (I mean, while Alex and I are good, he really is the one who knows what he is doing so we needed him to stay well onboard). I should not be concerned, he is amazing the way he gets around the boat putting reefs in the sails, attaching preventers, and all manner of other jobs that need doing.
It was very cold for the first couple of days. The sailing gear was augmented with layers of thermals and whatever else we could fit on underneath our jackets. I wore thick socks, sailing boots, leggings under my sailing trousers, a borrowed thermal jumper from the Capt, my fleece, the sailing jacket over the top of that
lot followed by the life jacket with its built in harness, a warm woolen hat and gloves. And it was still cold on watch for those first couple of days while the wind was coming from the south.
Another thing you have to get used to is the movement. The Capt insisted we take sea sickness tablets for the first few days – I took them for two days and they affected me worse than being sick would have, so I stopped taking them. Luckily I do not get motion sickness and this time was no different. Young Alex took them dutifully for the first few days but he also did not have any sign of sickness during the voyage.
Adapting to new sleep patterns also takes time. When you are not on watch you are lying down resting up for the next watch – or that is how it feels. Those first few days your body is adapting to all the changes and it gets very tiring. Thank goodness I had spent the time pre-preparing meals and freezing them. I take my hat off to the women I have met who live permanently on yachts, have raised their
children at sea, and travel around the world. I don’t know how they do it. The galley is very small (pic attached), and it is completely unstable. Depending on the wind the yacht heels to one side or the other and then has the audacity to move in different directions with the waves. I discovered moving parts to my body that I did realize I possessed and they all had to move together, often in different directions while I tried to prepare meals those first couple of days till I got used to it. The sea was fairly lively at that stage (I understand this is normal until you get off the shelf that surrounds NZ). Alex, I might add, had it down pat very quickly. He came up with ways to get everything to stay relatively stable very quickly and I was able to adapt to his example – he is a natural on the water.
By the third day out things were starting to settle down. I was on dinner duty on the Monday night and it all just started to click into place. At this stage in the story I would like to introduce you to
Little Buckie. While we were waiting in Opua, on the day we had the rental car, I insisted on being able to purchase a plastic bucket (it is a long, long way to the ablutions from the end of the pier at 3.00am when its cold and or rainin, with a full bladder) so I decided a little bucket would make life much easier. We stopped into a shop that specializes in plastic items and I was directed to the bucket area. There were a number of options, and I chose a 10litre bucket which has a fitted lid (perfect for my needs though I can assure you that I am not capable of filling this size of bucket overnight – just in case any of you were beginning to think I have super human capabilities). When I took it up to the counter, where two assistants were standing, the one serving me asked it I was happy with the bucket. “Yes”, I said. “It is going to be used as a night storage unit on a yacht”. “Ohhhhhhh”, laughed the other assistant, clearly not having enough to do, “It’s a ‘ferunderer’”. A ‘ferunderer’??? “Yes, my gran would call it
a ferunderer”, she said (quite loudly I might add). “It’s what she used to call her potty – “for under a” bed”. I paid my $3.20 and left the shop smiling, dignity in tact only due to the fact that there were no other customers at the time!
Anyway – to return to the story, on the third night out I discovered that a well disinfected and bleached Little Buckie, was a marvelous container for dirty dishes giving you space in the galley to go through the contortion act of preparing a meal without having to scatter the dishes all over the cabin. Then when you got the other bucket of sea water, with its salt water detergent added, you could take a dirty dish, or whatever, from Little Buckie, clean it in the red bucket, dry it and put it away in one fluid action which resulted in a clean galley. It was a most satisfying discovery. I commented to the Capt that it was getting easier to manage and he agreed. He said it usually takes three days to settle in and then it gets easier.
By this time also, it was starting to get warmer.
A gradual process, you become aware that you are doing without the gloves, and a layer of clothing has been shed when going on watch. We were working very well as a team – it was great. You can see by the photos that it can be spectacular out there. We also saw another yacht on the horizon a couple mornings and more dolphins had joined us while young Alex was on watch - the Capt went up and took over the helm so that Alex could take photos and really get a good look at them.
The southerly died and we had to motor for about nine hours that night, and when the wind came up on Tuesday morning it was from the north east. It was spasmodic for much of the morning – it would have us whipping along a good pace, then it would die leaving Hakura rolling around as if she was drunk – it is not comfortable and Alex and I were inclined to want to start the motor again. Then as soon as we started the motor, up the wind would come again. In the end, the Capt had us just waiting –
knowing it would come back shortly, which it did and finally after we took and unplanned jibe it settled down and we were sailing well. We were entering day four, getting along at a great pace, and getting warmer by the hour, when Alex having used the head reported a problem. It was not clearing and he could not stop water pouring into the bowl.
Some time later the Captain emerged from the head defeated. It was blocked and he was unable to clear it. (Ladies (and gentlemen), a word to the wise … if you are ever in a situation where you need to use the toilet on a boat please remember that NOTHING except toilet paper should go down the bowl!) Initially I thought it would not really be a problem, we had Little Buckie and would manage. But then the bombshell came – he announced that he thought we would have to turn back. If it were only the head to deal with he would consider carrying on, but the battery that starts the motor was also showing signs of dying and the motor charges the house batteries so the concern was that we could end up with none of our equipment.
There were multiple options, the two presented to the crew were that we carry on to Fiji or that we return to NZ. Fiji was seven days ahead, NZ just three days back the way we had come. Both Alex and I were keen to head for Fiji, but given that we are really novices and ultimately the responsibility lies with the Captain I was happy for him to make the decision, and his decision when he had weighed everything up was to return to NZ. As time has passed, I suspect that he had considered far more of the implications than I had thought of (mainly around health issues if people would not or could not use Little Buckie for all waste disposal) and I believe his decision was good based on his knowledge.
So we turned around. Damn, and double damn. All I could think of was the work and effort that had gone into achieving this trip – house rented out, job left. So for an hour I wallowed in self pity and disappointment and shed a few tears ….(I am sure the others went through a similar process – the male version) and then started coming up with other options to be considered, like coming back, getting things fixed and heading back again but this time just doing Fiji. We could still get a couple of good months holiday in the warm weather. Optimism restored, we settled in to getting used to the new heel of the boat (now leaning the other way) and thinking about how we would manage the next few days with no head.
Little Buckie, becomes one of the hero’s of this adventure. It did not fail us, through all the trials and tribulations that were to follow. It steadfastly held it’s load through smooth and rough seas. At first the men thought they would be able to manage over the side for the expulsion of fluid waste. Watching them with double harnesses, trying to relax enough to do their business over the side was interesting to say the least. Ladies, I am pleased to report, they were no better off than I was. The effort of relaxing enough muscles to let flow was too much for both of them and they had to resort to using Little Buckie, just as I did. Though truth to tell, I suspect they had it a little easier than it was for me trying to stand, balance and perform. However, solid waste was just too much for me. I made a mental note not to go down that track, cut back rations and hoped for the best. In all honesty the thought of having to sit, (perch) balance and then get up again was beyond me. I have given the whole thing a lot of thought since then and have come up with a solution – but at the time other things were more pressing!
We changed course to head back to NZ at approximately 1200hrs on the 19th July. Within 24 hours of turning back the weather report indicated that we were heading in to bad weather – a 40knot gale no less. Anxiety levels rose ever so slightly as did the velocity of the wind. By 1500hrs the next day wind was averaging around 20knots with gusts likely to around 30knots. Doug prepared the sail to take another reef (making a total of 3, another heart stopper for me watching him do all the work on the forward deck). With wind building and seas increasing, watches became rather exciting. I hated the thought of going on watch – but once up in the cockpit, strapped to the boat in all my sailing gear it was really quite exciting. The Captain had set a course that was very smooth, in fact the stronger the wind became the smoother the ride we had.
As the intensity of the weather increased around us, I still had time to think while on the helm, and I came to the realization that fear is purely a mental state – and we fear most what we don’t know. For example, I had heard stories of waves breaking over boats in bad conditions. The thought of this was quite frankly terrifying, until it happened. One moment I was hurtling along (well that’s what it felt like) and the next I was completely doused and the cockpit was full of seawater. The Captain came to the hatch to make sure I was still on board and from then on the hatch had to be kept closed because water had poured into the cabin. But it was not frightening – you are in the moment and dealing with it. A life lesson learnt – face your fears and do it anyway, that way you actually experience life.
Watches became fairly lonely events after that because the hatch had to be kept closed. Down in the cabin we were taking on water unbeknown to me. Young Alex was trying to rest and sleep on a sodden bunk. Even his pillow was wet. Another hero emerged – he was completely uncomplaining – heaven knows how long he had suffered in silence before we realized the problem. Not that there was a lot we could do for him at that time because that side of the boat was taking the brunt of the water. However, we did out best to get him as comfortable as possible. The other problem we were having was that we were wet. With the best efforts of our wet weather gear, in the conditions water was getting in. It was a mental challenge to get into the wet gear again when it was time to go on watch, but there was little alternative as increasingly all our gear was getting wet.
Throughout the day and night the wind kept increasing – the Captain planned to head far enough south east so that we could turn and let the gale push us in to Paihia. How he managed to find such a smooth tack is beyond me, but smooth it was even though we were in a huge sea. I remember going up for one of my watches in the night – we were about Force 8 by this time (34 – 40knots) and becoming instantly entranced by the phosphorescence which was very evident in the very dark night. Spray from the boat spread out like a white veil encrusted with crystal jewels to the sides and back of the boat. Amazingly beautiful! I can only say at that at that point I was lucky that it was so dark because as I looked past the spectacle unfolding around the boat, the crests of the waves were illuminated and I got a guage of the size of the sea we were in. Gulp!
Inside the cabin you could hear the wind howling, feel the boat take the waves, and at times it rocked and rolled a bit, but all in all it was fairly tranquil down there. The best (and safest I imagine) position is to be lying in the bunk with the lea cloth up. The pre cooked meals were a godsend, at least we had hot food in our bellies to give us energy and some comfort. Plus, of course, there were the regular trips to visit Little Buckie – but other than that you are resting waiting for your next watch or if you are really lucky, sleeping. Over the last three days I confess to having very little sleep.
By morning all hell had broken loose. We were in a very strong gale (Force 9 – 40plus knots gusting up to 60 knots), Alex was at the helm, no sleep had been had, and wind howled around us. I was lying in my bunk trying to get my mind around the fact that I was due to go up on watch very soon and thinking I would not be able to do it mindful of the fact that the Captain had had less rest than any of us, when the boat was thrown violently to the other side and there was a loud bang. The Captain fought his way to his feet as there was a little knock on the hatch and Alex requested some assistance – there was a little problem.
I should let you know here that Alex is amazing. Like the Captain, nothing seems to phase him. He had never been to sea before, yet there was nothing he couldn’t cope with and always with a cheerful smile. The Captain was quickly into his life jacket and up on deck to assist – a wind gust had forced the boat into an unscheduled jibe and the gust was so strong it kept the boat pinned on the opposite tack and unable to get back on course. I was trapped in my bunk watching the drama unfold through the hatch, unable to move, with stuff from the food store falling on me. (This included two eggs that did not break – can you believe it!) Stuff was crashing around the interior of the boat but there was no way I could do anything about it – though I did think of Little Buckie and wondered what I would find when I could move around again.
That gust lasted a long time – or at least it felt like it lasted a long time. Picture the two men standing braced against the lean of the boat holding the ropes and fighting to get it back under control the howling wind blowing their hair straight out from their heads. In the back ground I could see the sea – which I can’t really find the words to describe. It was mainly white with huge waves every which way for as far as the eye could see. How the ride had been as smooth as it had been until then is beyond me.
Finally the gust let go and the Capt was able to get Hakura back on the right tack. To my eternal relief he sent young Alex down for a rest and told me to stay where I was as he took over the helm to ride out the rest of the storm. Alex came down on an absolute high – the waves were enormous – he had been enjoying them! For the next three hours the Captain manned the helm, only other notable moment being a violent push as a large wave broke over us (it sounded and felt like we had been hit by a sledge hammer) until at last he was able to point out clearing sky and the gale finally let us from its grip. It took a while for the sea to settle (I lost my nerve at this point and Alex took the next watch while I made sure they had hot drinks and hot food in their bellies). And …. I took the trip up to the head to face whatever I had to face. And there she was, in spite of everything, Little Buckie, still standing upright, cover in tact. What a little champion!
The worst was over by 1500hrs on the 21st. The sea slowly died away, as did the wind. So much so that we had to turn the motor on for much of the night as we progressed nearer and nearer to the NZ coast. Signs that we were getting close were happening – I saw two vessels while on watch. The Capt had had the company of an albatross while on the helm at the height of the gale, and land based birds were seen more frequently.
We arrived back in Opua Marina just before 5pm on the 22nd. Damage report – damaged stanchion, torn lea cloth, broken rigging and slightly damaged sail – very little, all things considered. Hakura handled all conditions excellently – she is a great boat. Along with repairing the things mentioned above we have the head to fix and the faulty battery to replace. Then we will reassess.
Yachts are amazing craft when you think about it. They take people safely all around the world powered by bits of cloth that are managed by ropes and pulleys. I know that is simplistic but essentially what sailing is all about. I can see why people love their boats and many choose to spend their lives wandering the world via the oceans.
The last tribute goes to the Captain (but don’t let him know or his head will swell and he wont be able to fit in the cabin). He is a brilliant sailor and Captain. I have no doubt what-so-ever that if he says in a few days, come on, we are off to Fiji, I will be up for it.
It took about 8 loads of washing to get all the clothing and bedding washed and dry – the boat is airing, the repairs are well underway. We will know closer to the weekend what we will be doing but if this were to be the last blog for this adventure due to a blocked bog, then all I can say is …. Shit happens!
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Jude
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Wild ride
Wow, what a story and so well told. Words aptly described the drama, the beauty of the wild seas, the heroics of Little Buckie...Well done all of you.