SVMagenta Ship's Log

Getting Settled in New Zealand

New Zealand is definitely a first world country, and a big change from Tonga and the other island countries we have visited in the South Pacific. Everything is available here, and so is the temptation to buy too much of it. There are many similarities between New Zealand and the Pacific Northwest or Vancouver, but so far without the rain. The ocean, hills, trees, daily temperatures and people speaking English seem very familiar. But many things about New Zealand are different and unique. For example, the drug store is the 'chemist', and you don't try something here, you 'give it a go'. The most obvious difference is people walking on the left side of the sidewalk, and driving on the left side of the road. We bought a used Toyota van, and driving along the road isn't too bad, but it takes some thinking when coming to intersections and parking areas etc. Generally we put on our turn signal, but the windshield wipers come on. Sometimes we get into the car, and the steering wheel isn't there. So we pass each other while circling to the other side and hoping no one is watching us. The Kiwi's must get a good laugh at all this. Also, since we are now guests in their country, we are the ones with the strong foreign accent.

We expect to 'give it a go' here in New Zealand for about six months, and will do more posts and picture albums from time to time.

Arrived in New Zealand

Today we arrived in Port Opua, New Zealand, which is on the east side of the North Island. Clearing customs was straight forward, and we are in a great marina in a beautiful new country. Lots of other cruising boats are here that we have come to know over the past two years. But it is much cooler than we have become used to in the tropics. Our timing was good, though, as Tonga is experiencing it's first tropical depression of the cyclone season. Not a cyclone, but certainly very strong winds.

When we get settled and have a good internet connection, we will update this website with some new stories and picture albums.

Challenging Weather

The past 24 hours has really been a mixed bag. We were doing OK last evening when the wind switched to the south (right where we wanted to go), and grew to 25 knots and big seas. After fighting with it for a while (couldn't sail and too rough to motor) we hove to (stayed where we were) for a few hours waiting for something different. This morning there was no wind again, so we motored. A few hours ago the wind went to the south-west at 25 knots, and we are really hauling in the right direction for a change.

All of this has put us back a bit, and we now plan to arrive in Port Opua, New Zealand tomorrow morning. We have 53 miles left to go.

Good news! Kim just caught a big tuna! I guess we'll have a celebration dinner after we land in New Zealand.

Some Strong Winds Out Here

As we approach New Zealand, King Neptune has one more challenge for us. Since earlier this morning the wind has strengthened to 20-25 knots and swung around to the southwest. Hopefully this won't get any stronger. We've reefed the sails down to very little, and we seem to be handling it quite well. The benefit to the strong winds is pretty good mileage. We have 155 miles to Port Opua, New Zealand, and if this settles down a bit, we could get there sometime tomorrow (Thursday - NZ time, Wednesday - North America).

Heading for the Barn

Fairly high winds (20 knots) and large seas last night, but both calmed down this morning allowing us to motor-sail. We are currently motor-sailing straight on a course for Port Opua, New Zealand, with 260 miles to go.

Sailing Lessons

This passage to New Zealand is some difficult sailing. A lot different than bobbing along on the east-west trade winds. It is often frustrating, but probably really good for us and our attitude, as well as our sailing ability. It has to be a combination of patience and skill - not forcing it, waiting for the opportunities, and then taking advantage of them.
Yesterday afternoon and evening a big cold front came through with lots of wind from a good direction, so we were able to get a bit of a boost from that. But it was really cold and dark! After dusk, we couldn't see a thing anywhere for about six hours. A new high pressure has now filled in behind it, bringing clear skies, but the wind is once again right on the nose coming straight from where we want to go. But we are hard on the wind (as we have been this whole trip) and making something out of it. The waves are big enough to take motoring out of the equation for now. We now have 365 miles to New Zealand.

Finally Some Wind We Can Use

Last night was completely calm and very pretty with a clear sky and a full moon. Since there was no wind at all we took all the sails down and both slept all night. We motored for two hours this morning, and the SW wind finally came up. We are currently doing OK, and will try to use what we get to our advantage. 440 miles to New Zealand.

Sailing, Motoring, Drifting

During the past 24 hours we've had good winds (from the wrong direction), motored, and sometimes just drifted looking for wind. The forecast for the next few days is light winds from the south (right where we are going). We obviously can't fight with nature, as nature would win every time. So we just have to work with what wind opportunities we get. No wonder the New Zealanders are such good sailors. 470 miles to New Zealand.

A Different Day Today

What a difference a day makes. We were doing fine until our wind died at 1:00am last night. So we ran the engine for seven hours. This morning the wind had swung around to directly south, so we actually hove-to until 11:00am. Then the wind got to the south-west, where it is now. We are currently sailing close-hauled, the wind is about 25 knots, the waves are about 10 feet, and it's a little rough. But at least we're moving in sort of the right direction.

What a Wonderful Day

Today was beautiful blue skies with puffy white clouds. moderate wind from the right direction and relatively flat calm seas. The air is cooler than the tropics, but the sun is very warm. Add in a beautiful sunrise and sunset as bookends, and the full moon in a clear sky all night. What a magical experience! We now have 600 miles to go to New Zealand.

A Very Good Day

Today was the best of the passage so far. Strong winds and moderate seas gave us lots of mileage. We now have 700 miles to New Zealand.

This passage is the first time we have hired a professional weather forecasting service. It can be a tough passage if you don't get it right. Commanders Weather told us when it was good to go, and projected our winds, seas, and estimated positions for the whole passage. So far they have been right on. We also get our own weather charts, etc., using the HF radio. So far, so good.

Day 2 in Sunshine

We are now about 180 miles southwest of Nuku'Alofa, Tonga. Winds and waves have dropped to very comfortable conditions, and we have about 870 miles to go to Port Opua, New Zealand. Everything is going fine.

A Good First Day

We left Nuku'Alofa, Tonga about 10:00am this morning (Monday, Nov. 7), and are currently about 50 miles along on our 1,050 mile passage to New Zealand. Winds (15 knots) and seas (about 6 feet) are moderate, and everything is fine on board.

As a coincidence, there are two other boats sailing within sight of us - both Canadian boats. They are Meikyo from Toronto, and Merkava from Vancouver. So including Magenta, we are three Canadian boats starting with the letter 'M'. Hope that's a good omen.

Mou Nofo A (Goodbye) Tonga - Sailing to New Zealand

After three wonderful months in Tonga, we are ready to leave on Monday, November 7, and sail for New Zealand. The hurricane season is November through April in the tropical areas of the South Pacific, and we want to be in higher latitudes to avoid them.  This will likely be one of our more difficult ocean passages, as the higher lattitudes mean more robust weather systems.  We should complete the 1,050 mile passage from Tonga to New Zealand in about 9-10 days, and we will try to post daily updates on this website by radio as we move along.  When we get to New Zealand we will get better internet connections, and we have lots of stories and pictures to add when we get there.