Nightingale

Nightingale departing Havelock

Very exciting! Dion has bought Nightingale after a long period of negotiation, and with friend Sarah is taking her to Tuna Bay, Tennyson Inlet. This is a new lease on life for this grand old boat, so full of character. We shall enjoy to visit them there some time over the summer.

Sticky moment

It doesn't look it in this photograph, but the wind was NW 25 knots with frequent gusts of 35 knots. Nightingale stuck on soft mud on the eastern side of the entrance but was towed off by Pelorus Image, seen here standing by as Nightingale gets lined up for the channel. 

They spent the night in Maori Bay. It was a wild night with strong gusts and that strange swirling thing it does. We were relieved when next morning Dion texted us "Just coming into Tennyson, sun's out for arrival". 

Sue's birthday cruise

Windy sky in the Kenepuru

Bex and Ryan were going to come, but the earthquake closed the road through Kaikoura. It would have been a long drive via Nelson. The isobars were a tad close together for a serious fishing trip, so we spent a windy afternoon at Raetihi and then woke to an idyllic Sunday morning, the day of Sue's birthday. Pottered back late morning and into the early afternoon. The first hot day in a long while. We were warned of driftwood everywhere after the flood, and while there was some it was not so much. There is a very large piece lodged on the bank east of the Johnson transit marks.

Very HW Havelock

Pat Copp took this picture. The super moon created king tides, plus floodwater after an extraordinary weather event brought the water level up to within an inch of the top. See the colour of the water too. At the bridge over the Wairau the river was bank to bank and flowing strongly. Crystal was on board Lucy on the night of the quake and said it felt as if a giant was shaking the boat.

Havelock Channel

The blue pin marks the position of a large tree with several big branches that has grounded on the bank. It maybe this tree is stuck forever until it eventually rots. If it's ever missing then it has floated off somewhere and could be a real hazard to navigation. We were keeping a very good lookout for timber as we transited the channel on the weekend. Bob tells us it takes four days for the driftwood to clear after a big event. We saw some, but it was mostly small debris floating in long ribbons along lines of tide. 

Testing Christmas tech

Christmas tech

We believe that thorough preparation and rigorous testing lead to successful missions. So here we are testing our Christmas tech in heavy rain and failing light.

Welcome visit

Richard, Maree, and Janice Rowley

No trip out, but a night's stay on board and a chance to recover their equilibrium after a friend's funeral. Haste ye back in summer.