New Zealand

I need to get one thing off my chest ... to fellow cruisers planning their South Pacific voyage: New Zealand is NO longer an inexpensive place to have boat work done. There are long faces everywhere from this years cruising group. Not sure if it is inflation, exchange rates or just too much demand. Some of the costs come in weird ways and are unavoidable - like having your electrical system certified (100,if you pass otherwise double) propane tanks certified (40, yes even brand new ones if they are not NZ). Lots of mark ups on all parts etc - a guy needing to replace his engine got a quote with a 2,500 mark up over the U.S. or U.K. - now shipping might be a tiny portion of this but taxes are not as you buy everything tax free as a foreign boater in NZ.

Fortunately, we had lots of cosmetic things but nothing major, we are definitely re prioritizing our work list though.

The adjustment to NZ has been difficult, the relief of safely making it through all the passages, the uncertainty of what you will do with yourself now that the schedule is blank for 6 months, and the cold..... we are freezing. We are also looking forward to the holidays with family back in WA State so a bit distracted and excited.

We have decided to buy a car and go camping as our way of touring NZ, that way we are sure we can get down to the South Island, which otherwise would be a 2,400 mile round trip sail. Used cars are very inexpensive though you are picking up a beater for sure. Ours is a Ford Taurus, wagon, 1996, with 80,000 miles, though clean on the inside for 2,700.

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To New Zealand

We left this past Monday for our last South Pacific leg of this cruising season. A trip of about 1,100 miles from Tonga, so expected 7-10 days. This is passage is notorious for bad weather and the problems always occur near to New Zealand so therefore difficult to depart Tonga with a reliable weather forecast.

We are now on Sunday, 67 miles to go and have had a good passage overall. The first three days were typical trade wind sailing with us running a SSW course across the winds to it was boisterous. We then ran into the high pressure system and horse latitudes where winds are usually light. They were for us and we pushed ahead under motor, our goal to get south of 30s before a strong low moved through.

Usually the lows move south of 35-40s so if one is to pass your course you slow down, because it will invariably have gale force winds a very rough seas. This one though was running well north so we hustled and did make 32s, avoiding the low and the worst of the weather. We did have to go through the associated cold front and got 20 knots of wind on the nose thus pushing us backwards for about 12 hours, but managed that well.

So the last few hours of our trip, weather is very clear, we are motoring in calm winds, and hope that it stays that way. Oh ya and it is cold...... we are all in winter wear.

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