18th December 2024 - Opua

Have not moved very far in the last couple of weeks but have been fairly busy.  Am currently back in Perth for a couple of weeks as a result of a last minute change of plans.  But more of that later.

After arriving at the Bay of Islands Pete and I visited a couple more anchorages.  The weather was perfect and the settings spectacular.  I expected the general area of the Bay of Islands to be larger i.e. more like the Whitsundays but its quite compact.  Saying that there is lots to explore - lots of islands, bays, anchorages and little towns.  The weather was fantastic and we found a couple of really picturesque anchorages - unfortunately I have no pictures as at one of them i lost my phone over the side of the dingy - lets say no more apart from the fact that its a major pain in the ass to get reconnected especially when you are away from home.  The area also has some great maritime history with connection Cook.

On Friday 6th December we entered the Bay Of Island Marina Boatyard and were lifted out of the water and onto the hard stand area.  The boat was to be out of the water for a week to get cleaned and the annual antifouling done.  A week seemed excessive given it is essentially a two day job but we need to take the slots in the yard schedule when we can.  Of course it is peak season here with everyone getting their boats ready for the holidays.  I also took the opportunity to get the rudder looked at which has been making a clunking noise and seemed to have a bit too much movement in it.  Pete departed on the Sunday after the lift out.

Sea Otter ready for Antifouling

Living onboard a boat on the hard is no fun at all.  Apart from the fact that every day you are there its costing you money - all the ablution and washing facilities are onshore, you are essentially living on a work site and restricted in what you can do onboard.   After the weekend it seemed to rain constantly for the following week so on top of all the other inconveniences everything outside was now wet!  I busied myself completing a raft of outstanding smaller jobs while I waited for the yard works to be completed.  The work on the rudder required the top and bottom bushes to be replaced which while not a major did take some time.  In addition to the antifouling and rudder works, the anodes were replaced, and the prop and bow thruster were cleaned and greased.  I also managed to clean and polish the topsides.

Sea Otter was lifted back into the water on schedule on the 13th December.  Such a relief to have the boat back in the water.  During the week we had made a decision to change our X-mas plans primarily due to the weather forecast which showed pretty average weather for the Bay of Islands for the X-mas period.  Instead of Nik and the kids coming out I decided to travel back to Oz and we would have X-mas together at our house in Quindalup near Perth.  

Sea Otter being returned to the water

So the boat is all ready for cruising and sitting in the Bay of Islands Marina in Opua.  Nik and I will be back onboard on 2nd Jan to start having a look around the North Island.

Yet to Spot one

Outlook from near Opua

03/12/2024 Motuarohia Island, Bay of Islands

The very short leg of what should be a very long journey has been safely completed with us arriving in the Bay of Islands.

I was originally looking at sailing solo from Auckland to the Bay of Islands but about a week from departure a friend of ours, Peter, confirmed that he would join - much to Nik's relief.  Peter is an old friend, an experienced sailor and has decades of seafaring knowledge.  His experience and assistance were invaluable for these initial outings in Sea Otter and for helping to figure out both the onboard systems and provide guidance on sailing solo.

It should be mentioned here that it is envisaged that for the longer passages I will be looking to attempt to complete these solo as Nik has no desire to undertake these trips and so I have to be comfortable sailing the boat on my own.  Having not solo'd before this is quite a daunting undertaking when I am looking at multiday/multi week voyages in the future.  Ideally I may be able to find crew but ultimately it will come down to soloing and that is a huge unknown at this stage.

Peter arrived in Auckland two days after Nik left, just as the electrical system commissioning was completed.  We carried out some last minute provisioning and then departed the marina in the early afternoon of the 27th November.  The plan was to take advantage of the favourable winds for the next three days to complete the passage to the Bay of Islands stopping in at anchorages for the nights. 

The destination for the first night was Waiheke Island, one of the larger islands in the approaches to Auckland harbour.  Waiheke Island is about 15NM from the marina and this gave us a good sail for the first day and set us up ready for the push north the next day.  We arrived at Oneroa Bay around 6:00pm. and settled into a very comfortable anchorage.  No issues had been experienced with the boat on its maiden outing.  

The next day we followed a course to Great Barrier Island which lies north of the Coromandel Penninsula.  The wind was southerly and so we sailed the whole day running before the wind with a full main and poled out genoa.  The weather was fantastic and we had dolphins along side the boat for a time which is always great to see.  Great Barrier Island is a really interesting looking place and it was unfortunate that we did not have time to explore further.  We found a secluded bay off the west side and anchored for the night.  

Dolphins at the bow on the way to Great Barrier Island

Ideally we would have spent some time exploring on the way north but we needed to take advantage of the favourable weather and in addition we needed to be in Opua by 6th December.  Sea Otter is due to be lifted out of the water so that I can get the bottom antifouled as this has not been carried out for a while by the looks of it.  The 6th Dec was the only slot I could find before X-mas to be lifted so do not want to miss it.

We had one more overnight stop which we made at a place called Tutukaka on the mainland before we motored the last leg up to the Bay of Islands in almost flat calm conditions and dropped anchor in Paradise Bay at Motuarohia Island.  The Bay of Islands Is reputed to be the best cruising ground in New Zealand and from first impressions it certainly looks interesting.  

Sea Otter at Paradise Bay

The sail from Auckland has been very successful.  We tried out all the onboard systems and experienced some different sailing conditions albeit in light winds for an extended period and I am quietly confident in the vessel now.  Sea Otter seems to be a very sturdy, well thought out vessel which has had minimal negative alterations carried out. The new electrical system is performing as anticipated and the connectivity in the system means that our sparky Jasper can monitor the system as we sail.  There are a couple of minor issues which need to be sorted but this will always be the case.  Saying this the work list does not seem to have got any shorter.

We will spend the next few days relaxing, getting some of the outstanding jobs on the boat done and generally having a look around until we need to arrive in Opua.

26/11/2024 Westhaven Marina, Auckland

For those not in the know we purchased a used sailboat called Sea Otter earlier in the year.  Sea Otter is a 43ft long, Dick Koopmans designed, 2001, aluminum sloop (one mast).  The sale went through in May and the boat has been lying in Auckland for the past six months awaiting the arrival of its new owners.  I have stopped full time work and the plan over the next few years is to spend a considerable amount of time on the boat travelling to various destinations while we still can.  This blog will be a running commentary on the trip both for our own record and to inform friends and family.

The start of our adventure is in Auckland with the first task of getting Sea Otter ship shape and ready to cruise.  

Nik and I flew from Perth to New Zealand on November 4th with the intention of getting the boat ship shape.  The vessel was berthed in Westhaven Marina and Nik and I moved onboard immediately upon arriving in Auckland.  Some preliminary work had been carried out prior to us arriving to ensure all the "house" systems were working i.e. water, gas, toilets etc but there was still a lot of general work required to get the vessel ready to live aboard meaning the first few nights were a bit basic.  We had to empty the whole boat and then sort through all the contents and separate the useful from the rubbish.  The vessel had to be cleaned and washed inside and out.  New linen/towels etc and a whole host of homewares and storage were required to be bought.  All the vessel systems had to be run up and tested.  Safety equipment had to be checked and if out of date either recertified or replaced.   Missing equipment had to be replaced and any damaged equipment repaired.  Both Nik and I worked non stop for the three weeks.  There was a jobs list which just seemed to keep growing no matter how much progress was made.

Sea Otter alongside at Westhaven Marina

About two weeks in we were looking good and the boat was coming together.  Most systems had been run up and generally things were working as they were supposed to.  I requested our sparky Jasper who had done some minor works on the AC system to do a health check of the DC system.  The DC system appeared to be working fine so this was really just for peace of mind.  Anyway the audit revealed the batteries were shot and the battery charger was not working correctly.  After some discussion it was decided that we would carry out a compete refit on supply side of the electrical system.  To cut a long story short we now have a state of the art electrical system based around lithium batteries and Victron hardware. 

All in all Sea Otter appears to be a solid reliable boat.  Most of the systems have, after some TLC or minor modifications, fired up and  are working correctly.  With the newly installed electrics we are in pretty good shape.  The additional work delayed us and Nik had to fly out before it was completed. It was always planned for Nik to return to Perth for a brief spell before rejoining closer to X-mas.  In the interim I will sail the boat to the Bay of Islands.

Its a shame we did not have more time to look around Auckland and its surrounds but getting Sea Otter ready took up all our time.  We would definately recommend New Zealand for a visit though.  People are very friendly and apart from Auckland traffic its a very laid back place.

On the plus side a friend of ours, Peter, joined me for the voyage up to the Bay of Islands.  Peter is a very experienced sailor and apart from joining for the trip he will also be able to provide invaluable experience for me in setting the boat up for single handed sailing.

Auckland from Mt Eden