Bird Island

Action

A little patience rewarded

Chris on his first trip on Orion. 

Yay!

 

Bulwark repairs

 

Bulwark repair

Repair to the inner bulwarks planking and ground, which had rotted. Beam shelf still in good order. Hopefully this stops the dribbles in the forward cabin and the persistent little streak on the topside planking. Hopefully we can live long enough and earn enough money to get round it all, though this was by far in a way the worst of it. Roger was the boatbuilder and Tory the apprentice, from Havelock Slipway.

Bill and Maggie

Bill and Sue transit the Havelock Channel

Five cod

Maggie

NW weather on the Friday gave way to SE on the Sunday. Beautiful evenings in Ketu and Kenepuru. Caught three cod on our old marks down by Bird Island and two more on the sand between the two parts of Richmond Reef.  Steamed a total of 77 nm.

Tappets

 

Mike

Mike, from Havelock Slipway, checking the tappet clearances. Only one was a bit tight, and another a bit slack, otherwise no adjustments needed. 

Firing order

I've now painted the firing order on the ER forward bulkhead, in case someone in the future hasn't got the manual. By the way, it's 1 5 6 2 8 4 7 3.

Christmas 2025

 

Barnacle Bill and Pete

A pleasant Christmas spent at Ferndale sheltering from a NW gale. So wet and windy this year, and no let up. Barnacle Bill Stevenson and Pete turned up in Stella Miro and spent the day in company with us. Nina made five for Christmas lunch in the Regency Room on Orion. Sorry Maggie, six. We were back in Picton for New Year and in bed early, so no Barcelona pumping out over the speakers this year.

Haul out 2025

Removing the propellor for balancing

Two new props on the thruster

Anchor cable

The long awaited 80 metres of new 13mm anchor cable arrives from Michael Hill, Southshore Marine. Somewhat exciting. Michael's connection with Johnson's Barge meant we enjoyed some assistance from the skipper of the Manatu and his hydraulic arm.

 

Alongside Johnson's Barge

Old cable comes out

New cable lifted onto the barge

Voyage with Jack

Orion steaming along in Pelorus Sound 2025

A special trip with Jack on board, visiting from the UK. Nina joined too. Seven days on board, five of them out and about in Pelorus Sound. Mixed weather. 96nm.

Only mild exaggeration

Severe gale warning in Cook

Tranquil at Raetihi

Bill and Maggie

Bill came to visit and brought Maggie

Who is very playful.

 

New Year 24/25

Outrageous behaviour flared briefly, but had subsided well before midnight. Just on H8 this year. Notable for how quiet it was. Beautiful snapper for tea.

Christmas 2024

 

H8 the day before we sailed. What was nice this year was the way the dates fell, we had a gentle lead in. Recommended.

Ventilation

1 of 2 x 4-inch holes 

The lazarette has always been damp. In spring and autumn stuff gets soaking wet. It's what caused the hydraulic connectors on the steering machinery to rust. We have finally got around to doing something about it. The work started with the first of two 4-inch holes in the deck. The deck is 55mm thick. The 60-year old matai (matai - black pine) is very hard.

The new aft vents

Two Dorade boxes were nicely made by Sounds Marine at Waikawa Marina. The ventilator hoods are by Vetus and are made of slightly flexible rubbery plastic. We're pleased with the result all round. They look like they belong. Already the lazarette has dried out heaps. 

Chamber of horrors

June 21 the ferry Aratere went aground in Picton harbour due to a steering failure. Turned out it wasn't so much a mechanical failure as a procedural one, but it made me decide to do something about the corrosion in the steering flat on Orion. Life got in the way, and no action was actually taken until last week when Sue asked Gary and Giles (Aquaserv) to get on with the job.

The lazarette is poorly ventilated (which we are going to address next) and the damp conditions caused the hydraulic hose connectors to the steering arms to rust. Karl and Sam (FPS Havelock) found things not too bad, one hose however was "about to blow" and that is now an exhibit in the Chamber of Horrors. Some connectors were restored and some new ones supplied and this time they were coated. We didn't use Denzo tape because then you can't inspect them.

Before

Before

After

After

Easter 2024

Complete mastery

Went on board Good Friday and sailed on the Saturday morning. Carried the tide to Tawero then punched the ebb up Tawhitinui Reach to Hallam Cove. Families holidaying in the baches. The south easter doesn't get in there unless it's strong.  The breeze died away to nothing overnight and Easter Sunday was the best day, calm, and warm at times. Fished at Bird Island but slim pickings. Sue caught two fat cod off the rocks in Homestead Bay, and did an amazing filleting job; she really has mastered the art. On the Monday we carried the tide all the way back into Havelock; systems all worked, 77nm in all.

 

Windlass motor damage

 

Corrosion damage

Corrosion damage detail

Sourced a replacement motor from Muir in Australia through Lusty & Blundell. Aquaserv (Gary and Giles) did the work and protected the new motor with Lanocoat. As this is the second time this has happened, we'd best inspect it annually from now on; it is recommended in the manual.

Christmas 2023

Nina flew in early afternoon on the Friday and we sailed without delay. First night in K-Bay then the next day found us fishing on our old fave mark near Bird Island. I had caught one decent cod already, and we soon had 5 more; we headed over to Homestead Bay. 

Sunday (Christmas Eve) we made our way south to the Kenepuru. We were approached by the Fisheries Patrol and were not boarded. With every buoy occupied, we anchored in 8 metres at a new spot immediately west of Weka Point. In the act of anchoring, the windlass packed a big sad. It's a great anchorage and we will return here. 

Spent a very pleasant Christmas Day. Around mid-day hooners and biscuiters came out and roared around, which was fun. Then it all went quiet again. Especially towards the end of the day the weather was lovely, hot and calm. I had caught a small snapper already, but in the afternoon—having deployed the prawn heads as burley—Nina was near one of the rods when we caught a big snapper. She reeled in handsomely and (for the first and only time in years) we had actually caught a snapper in sight of Snapper Point... and on Christmas Day! 

 

Boxing Day we loafed about in the morning, and were paid a visit by Brett Stanaway from Seabee, anchored across the way. Seabee is not exactly a sister, being a little smaller than Orion. Like Orion she was built at Paremata. In the afternoon we hauled the anchor by hand and headed in. Nina cooked the snapper on passage and we sat at the table down aft in warm sun.

Labour Day weekend 2023

We had a couple of good dolphin encounters. It felt very spring-like in the sounds with lots of shearwaters and rarer sooty shearwaters too. Cooler temperatures kept us in the wheelhouse most of the trip. Parked in Ketu two nights and steamed 54 nm.

Ship's dog

Old shipmate

 

Stewart Ball worshipping the Gardner

My old shipmate Stewart Ball blew in from Australia planning on continuing down wind to his home in England. Accompanied by his wife Caroline and daughter Jessicah he was spotted in Orion's engine room down on his knees in front of the almighty Gardner 8LXB.

Yarning

While we could generally corroborate our stories, the precise details took some time to return. A day was not enough, but travel itineraries waiteth for no man.

KBW23

 

Take-in Bay

Poppy

 6 a.m. in the Kenepuru 

Red sky in the morning

Trying to warm up

It looked like King's Birthday Weekend would be a non-starter, but a one-day window opened up on the Saturday. We went aboard Friday night and sailed at 9 Saturday morning. Got to Take-in Bay—our old haunt—late morning. It was a beautiful day. Joined by a seal and millions of small fish in the late afternoon (about half tide up, full moon). Spectacular morning light as we headed in. All fast H8 by 9.30 and home for lunch. This is the weekend Nina did the second part of her PADI course and qualified.

Nina at Dive Wellington

Beginning-of-winter cruise

Foggy day in Beatrix

Seagull raiding the bait table

Dolphin guiding us in

Sailed on the Friday, on the club mooring in Mary's Bay that night. Next day dawned foggy... thick fog. Got underway mid morning and mooched about fishing. A few cod, but not keepers. Beautiful views as the sun penetrated the fog. Wonderfully quiet and calm. We were headed north for Piripaua, the narrow neck separating Beatrix from Forsyth, when we were joined by a dolphin who rode the bow and showed us the way. That night—Saturday—we anchored in Mary's Bay, Lady Allison lying to the club mooring. Headed south on Sunday, 45.5 nm.