Cuzzy lunch

Bill Stevenson

Mary Stevenson

Bill and Mary were on board for lunch. Passing through Picton on the ferry facilitated a two-night stay and a visit to the boat. Looks like Poppy loves Mary, but it's really Bill who loves Poppy.

Easter 2018

Bex and Ryan, damage control party

With a strong team, nothing is scary or too much trouble. In the picture above Orion's crew fix up the clears after a strong gust carried them away. In the same gust Foxy Lady, anchored nearby with a charter party on board, was laid on her ear.

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We sailed Friday at 10.00 for Port Ligar. Busy Easter, so we picked up the buoy in Māori Bay. Saturday found us pinned down by a strong NW'er with occasional very strong gusts, one of which layed Foxy Lady down nearly on her beam ends and which carried away our clears. A damage control party got to work and quickly made good.

On Saturday afternoon we got underway and headed down the western side of Forsyth Island around Bird Island past Warwick Bay to Allen Strait. We passed through the swirling water of the strait to look into Annies Bay but there was a short period 1-metre swell coming in from Cook Strait, and two boats already occupying the mooring. We came back through Allen Strait and headed back to Ketu Bay nodding into a fresh breeze and a moderate sea and were treated to a warm and sunny evening and a quiet night.

Sunday we went out late morning and fished off Goat Point, and Ninepin Rock. We spotted seals swimming in convoy and leaping, an unusual sight. Fishing in the Te Kakaho Channel Ryan netted a fat kahawai, and everyone had two on at some point but our gear was too light to net them. In the afternoon we headed north and anchored in a familiar spot in Chance Bay.

On Monday morning Bex steered us up the channel which is getting quite familiar to her now. Back alongside in Havelock for lunch. Distance steamed 100 nm.

Clang Boom Steam

Henry and Joe

Gregory Engineering have been on board servicing the gearbox. It's great to have such capable guys working on the boat. This is a period of maintenance in the run-up to Easter. Let's hope we get good weather and we can go and get it all wet and salty again.

Henry with the test rig

On the Tuesday after Easter Henry and Joe came back and set up a test rig. The oil pump stood up fine, doing its thing. But dismantling the selector valve revealed a broken spring that could explain the symptoms: a long delay, and harsh engagement.

Selector valve exploded view

Henry sourced a spring and shims from Pacific Driveline in Australia and Zane and Joe came down Friday 27 to bolt it all up and test it. Yay! No more delay. Smooth engagement too, though we'll need to steam at full power for a couple of hours to get things nice and hot to finally prove that one fixed. Well done guys, we're impressed. 

A lick of paint

Orion laying Havelock 2018

Every wooden fishing boat ever built has been repaired here and there using steel fastenings. Fishermen need to get back to work, they can't waste time going shopping for bronze bolts and spikes. So rust streaks are part of life. Here is Orion newly painted. Stephen did the bulwarks, Sue did the topsides, and Sue so neatly cut-in the blue on the belting. It'll last until the next storm!

God's backstays

At anchor in Chance Bay
Picture by Erin Giles

Nelson Anniversary Day

Windlass fixed, lying to anchor

Grape Escape in Chance Bay

Sailboat in the Kenepuru

1000 hours since the rebuild

Friday night we headed for Māori Bay, looking for a shady spot in the intensely hot weather. The buoy was occupied so we carried on to Chance Bay. Saturday night Grape Escape came and anchored nearby. Sunday morning we headed north towards Crail Bay and the gannet colony where we caught exactly zero fish. After lunch on the Hemphill buoy at Mary Bay we turned over 1000 hours since the engine was rebuilt. Monday (Nelson Anniversary Day) we went up into the Kenepuru and sweltered. In by 17:30 and 48 miles logged.

Rowleys Ahoy!

Ketu Bay

Found an old dog...

Trolling over "The Cookie Monster"

(seen through the aft deck camera)

"Cookie Monster"

Rolling home

Back in Havelock

Where we went

Saturday late afternoon the Rowley Family arrived. Richard, Maree, James, Charlotte, Emma, and Georgina stowed their stuff in the focsle; it was a big ask for them to all sleep in there in the insanely hot weather and they rose to the challenge. Sunday morning we sailed at 0800 for Ketu Bay stopping at Richmond Reef to catch cod. Moored in Snug Cove. Kayaking, swimming, and fishing occupied the rest of the day. That night Richard and James heard splashing and went on deck to find dolphins swimming around the boat.  Sunday Richard made us all bacon and eggs and then we got underway and went south through the Apuau Channel behind Maud Island to troll over the "Cookie Monster", a mark that has proved fruitful in the past, but not on this occasion. James, Charlotte, Emma, and Georgina all had a turn at navigating and steering the boat on the trip home. We berthed at Havelock at 1800 and packed up in continuing extreme heat. We steamed a total of 66 nautical miles. 

Up she rises (not)

Phil Martin

We went to heave up the anchor in Ngawhakawhiti Bay and clunk. Forty-five minutes later we'd recovered it by hand and that was both a good exercise and good exercise! Turns out a stud to the up side of the bi-directional motor was fractured, had been arcing, and had finally burnt through. The windlass has gone ashore to Phil's workshop.

Windlass motor corrosion

It's a bit hard to imagine the incident that could have started this. I mean, it's just of academic interest now, but what on earth? Everything about the windlass design protects it from water ingress seeing as it has to live on the foredeck. Weird. Fortunately, Lusty & Blundell have a replacement motor and gearbox in stock.

Christmas 2017

Mohitos!

A = Ketu Bay, Snug Cove, Xmas Day
B = Ketu Bay, Onion, Boxing Day

A fine day in Ketu Bay if you exclude
the rain, the cloud, and the wind

Good fishing

Pusser's Rum decanter

Xmas shenanigans

(spot the dog)

Poppy opening her presents from Pinot and Sam

C = Ngawhakawhiti anchorage, Wednesday, Thursday

Orion in Ngawhakawhiti Bay

Namaste dropped anchor nearby

D = Hallam Cove, Friday

Grape Escape in Hallam Cove

We were on board for ten nights, from Thursday, December 21st to Saturday, December 30th and went back to Picton on New Year's Eve. We spent four nights in Snug Cove (Friday - Monday). Grape Escape came alongside Christmas morning and we had breakfast together. We moved to Onion on Boxing Day when the forecast suggested it was going around south-easterly. Wednesday we avoided cabin fever by steaming down to Tennyson Inlet where we caught up with Dion and Sarah on Nightingale. We were at anchor in the southern arm of Ngawhakawhiti Bay for two nights and then steamed to Hallam Cove where we met up again with Grape Escape. The trip was defined by the south-easterly breeze and generally changeable weather. We logged 89 nm.

Haul-out 2017

Havelock Slipway

Hauled out on the top of a 3.2 m tide. Sitting upright and well-supported. The paint has held up well, it's two-and-a-half years since she was painted at Salthouse. The hull was pretty clean, just a few mussels on the keel where the blocks were. Fitted an additional transducer on the port side just forward of the cooling water intake, this is so the Furuno mfd can be dedicated to display the depth the whole time, and to fish-finding. We have an upgrade kit for the bowthrust; beautifully engineered propellors replace the quite basic standard ones. We're going to follow the advice of the O brothers and the Chris McMullen article and leave the anodes off. The bottom paint is Carboline Sea-Barrier Copper Black and we used about 22 litres. It's an Altex product.