Ship's dog

Ship's Dog Poppy

Ship's dog Poppy on gangway duty. There are quite a few dogs along Pier H, and Poppy knows all of them now. Also there is mother duck with her eight chicks. No doubt there are more creatures to be prevented from boarding the Orion unless they can show their credentials. Woof woof.

Arrival Havelock

Orion arrived Havelock

Handed over all shipshape

After a not uneventful voyage from Napier (they towed a yacht that could not start her engine in a dead calm but a bobbly sea from Cape Palliser to Queen Charlotte Sound), and after spending a quiet night in Mahau Sound, Orion and her crew berthed on H8 in Havelock Marina. This is expected to be Orion's home at least for the foreseeable future.

Wanting to show our appreciation beyond just paying the fee and expenses we gave presents of a beautiful decanter of Nelson's Blood to Skipper John Burns and a bottle of Jura "Superstition" single malt to chief mate Peter Browne. 

John Skipper Burns

Peter Browne

Today we have parted the best of friends as they boarded the Bluebridge ferry for home. The weather window that finally got Orion down here is already sliding shut. The barometer is trending down, it's raining, and by Monday a big southerly swell is forecast up both coasts of New Zealand.

Pelorus Sound

Wonderful news that Orion is laying to a combined clubs buoy in Mahau Sound tonight. We'll learn the details of the passage tomorrow, but it seems she made good time. John says in a text, "Got virtual diesel heater glowing nicely below decks with ducted air through forecabin and wheelhouse". What he means is that the big Gardner is something of a night storage heater, and he's left the engine room doors open to warm the cabins. The days have been nice, but the evenings are still chilly.

South side of Putanui Point

Castle Point

With Castle Point abaft the beam, John and Peter captured a stunning sunset and the perigee moon. Tonight, September 28th, the full moon is the closest super moon of the year.

Sunset (pic John)

Big moon (pic Peter)

Cape Turnagain

We woke this morning to a text to say Orion had departed Napier. The weather is set fair for the next few days. On board are John Skipper Burns and Peter Browne. Early afternoon, John sent two photographs.

Cape Turnagain

Peter Browne on watch

Tsunami alert

A magnitude-8.3 earthquake off the coast of Chile has sparked a tsunami alert along the east coast of New Zealand, including Napier. It's good to know that John Burns is there keeping a watchful eye on Orion, and of course his own Panther. John emailed last night to reassure us that Orion had plenty of water under her, and plenty of mooring lines out. Even so neither of us slept very well, and we suspect John was up half the night too. I watched breakfast TV and they showed pictures from Gisborne marina, and things looked pretty quiet there with a rise of about 30 cms. The alert has not been lifted yet as waves reflected off the Pacific Islands are expected to arrive later in the day. The follow-up is that it turned into not much over here, but we all feel for those Chileans who died, and for those now faced with cleaning up the mess. We were spared, but these events always serve as a reminder to make preparations and have disaster plans in place.

In the bilges of my mind

When we became aware of the pitting corrosion in the tail shaft we were all trying to think of any boat we'd ever heard of actually shearing a shaft. The Interislander ferry Aratere is easy, and everybody gets that one. But no-one guesses Cousteau's ship, the Calypso. Not only did she shear a shaft, but she did it 1800 miles from the nearest drydock. In the clip below jump to 18 minutes 40 seconds to see the action. Run on past 21 minutes to hear Cousteau's reflection: "...in the bilges of my mind."

Guardian

Gardner 8LXB

I am so privileged to be the current guardian of this long-lived engine. My family came from Manchester, so that connection is special for me. To hear it idling, or to hear it in full song, both are a joy.  It's 14 litres, makes well over 150 hp and well over 900Nm torque for around 2 litres per nautical mile. The gearbox is a TwinDisc 3:1 reduction with a 40" 4-bladed propellor. We get 7 knots at 900 rpm and 9 knots at 1300 rpm. There's full standing height in the engine room, access all around the engine, a workbench, and lockers. Orion carries 1200 litres of fuel giving her a range of 1000 nm at 7 knots or 700 nm at 8 knots.

Hawke's Bay

Departing Tolaga Bay for Napier

Arrival Napier Monday August 3rd

Lying Napier 

Took fuel oil on arrival 700 litres. Steaming time Greenhithe to Napier 1 day 23 hours (TBC by SJB). Further details of the passage to be posted here once they emerge. 

Wednesday 5th August

Currently waiting on weather to continue to Havelock. This low pressure system is expected to bring strong winds and snow to low levels on south island. For our northern hemisphere readers, note that the water goes down our plughole the opposite way to you... winds blow anti-clockwise around a High and clockwise around a Low.

Rounding East Cape

East Cape, East Island

This neat picture was taken by JSB this afternoon as they made the turn to the south. On the left is East Cape, and on the right East Island, seen over Orion's stern. Fair to say that while in the fishing Orion roamed around following the season, but this would be the longest trip she's made in over a decade.