We are not very good on keeping track of Holydays.
When we arrived in Dunedin it appeared to be Good Friday and “everything” was closed. But the needs are the mother of invention. At Speight’s Brewery we joined a tour which included a rich taste procedure… The only place you could get a beer in Dunedin that day.
The weather for the next period included sun, no rain and wind from north, not the wind we want for our trip north. Instead we rented a car and spend four days touring Central Otago, Wanaka, and Queenstown. The second night we spend in friend’s house in Wanaka. It was really a nice reunion. Of course we have been e-mailing over the years, but last time we physically met was in Turkey 2003 during their circum navigation.
Back in Dunedin Björn had an appointment at the dentist to fix his, in Stewart Island, broken tooth. The procedure of getting a visa extension was also started. It turned out that we had to get special allowance to stay the extra three month, we ha not understood that we had come to overstay the rule “not more than 12 month in an 18 month period”. We finally where given our extra three month, but with the demand that we then have to stay out of NZ for the next 14 months after leaving. Rules are rules wherever you are.
Monday morning we got an e-mail from Ricci living in Dunedin. She had been at the Yacht Club and seen our Swedish flag. Having spent the last three years living with her boyfriend in Gothenburg, Sweden, she was of course exited. Together with her boyfriend they found our website and e-mail address. Tuesday we had lunch together in Lindisfarne and later dinner in her fathers’ house.
The next visit, somewhat more planned was already the next day. Friends from Gothenburg, in a campervan on tour around NZ came to visit us in Lindisfarne. A long and pleasant evening with a lot of chatting about home, boats and everything… They where scheduled to leave the campervan in Christchurch a week later. Maybe we see each other again.
The weather continued to play with us, but on Wednesday, two weeks after arrival, we found something that looked like a possibility, although quite windy.
We left Otago Yacht Club early Thursday morning, 15 of April, and sailed north to Akaroa Harbour. During daytime the wind and rain was gentle, but after dark the predicted strong southerly with heavy rain came and we surfed along with only a reefed main. Only reefed main because we know that we had to gibe at least one time during dark and being on deck, gibing the whisker pole is not either safe or fun under those conditions. We had to gibe three times during the night because of backing and veering wind, before arriving to Akaroa on the south side of Banks Peninsula at noon. The rain stopped at midnight and the sky cleared. Moonshine and stars made it possible for us to see the four – five meter high sea, breaking from behind, blowing average 35, gusting 50 knots. The roar when that "seventh" wave came was somewhat “exiting”! Our autopilot did a really good work, keeping up with the swell and wind from behind. Some surfs was just to much, and we broached 30-40 degrees getting some water on deck…
We got some splash water into the cockpit, but thanks to our back wall to the dodger, it stayed in the aft part.
During the night it was a relief to know that the Akaroa entrance had no bar, only nice wide and deep water, making it safe to enter in almost any condition. We even manage to time the tide. With the high swell we had, we didn’t need the extra effect of tide against swell! Now the approach was without any surprises and completely safe.
We found an excellent anchorage in the western arm at the head. The northerlies came as predicted just before dusk.
The weather now became quite settled and nice for the next three days, so again waiting for the southerlies we stayed at this anchorage for three days, enjoying a lot of walking ashore.
Before dawn next Monday we weighed anchor and reached open water just after dawn as the south wind slowly increased. The 50 miles around Banks Peninsula to Lyttelton Harbour became one of our best sailing days. Nice downwind conditions with NO REEFED SAILS. Full speed, and a lot of Hector’s dolphins around the boat for hours.
We anchored in Diamond Harbour over night on the opposite side to Lyttelton Harbour, and got a berth in the marina the next morning. It was the very old marina with fixed wharfs. The new marina with floating pontoons was washed away during a storm nine years ago, leaving 30 boats and pontoons on the bottom.
The marina is everything but safe in strong south wind conditions as you can understand of it's history. No place to leave the boat for days without a bullet-proof weather forecast.
Lyttelton is the “Harbour town” to Christchurch, only a tunnel away.
Kay and Lena, our touring Swedish friends came only hours after we where moored. They where scheduled to fly to Europe in two days, but the Volcano on Iceland and all it’s ashes made the airliner close down the business for safety reasons. After lunch we made a trip in their campervan over the mountain, also a volcano, and into Christchurch. After some sightseeing and shopping we returned to Lyttelton via the tunnel and had a very pleasant dinner together in Lindisfarne.
The next day our friends had to visit the airport to get flight information. Due to the closed down situation it was hopeless to reach the airliner by phone. We joined them into Christchurch where we where to trade our old camera lenses at a very well sorted camera shop that we had been recommended, Photo and Video International.
Kay and Lena came back from the airport and by then we where ready to leave for Lyttelton. Having got prices for new and old lenses to consider, we spent most of the evening after our friends left us, reading specifications and test results for the eventually new lenses.
Thursday morning when Annika was ashore having a shower, friends from the Dutch boat Drifter came and offered us a ride into town. After Björn had quick shower we where on the run into town with all our lenses. Our friends left us at the camera shop and we didn’t use their offer for a return. Our camera business had to be solved without any time limit, important decisions should not be stressed!
Two hours later we strolled through the town to the bus station, less four old lenses, but two new lenses richer. The latter can be discussed, professional lenses don’t come cheep!
For the photographer among you, here comes the details; Canon EF16-35, f/2,8 L II USM , Canon EF70-200, f4 L IS USM, Canon extender EF 2X II, these lenses are compatible with full format and 1,6 format. The tripod; Manfrotto 190X PROB with the head 804RC2. We kept our Canon EF50, f/2,5 Macro lens together with it's life size converter.
Later that afternoon, back in Lindisfarne, we studied the gribfile. There where no signs of southerly wind for the next five days. We decided to rent a car and do a two days tour to Kaikoura and the Sperm whales. Initially we intended to stay a few hours at Kaikoura, sailing north. But we have understood that the sea condition during such an action will not give us any good photos.
Suddenly we where looking for no wind condition in the gribfiles! We found a possible window for Thursday morning. We rented a car before noon on Wednesday and drew the 200km to Kaikoura. We got a reservation on the first Whale watch boat next morning and then it was only waiting. We got a nice room and walked the little village. One Pub and one restaurant later we where back in our room preparing for an early start.
Thursday morning came with perfect flat water and almost no clouds, couldn’t get better (later we learned that it was possible!)
Just before eight o’clock we left the marina with the Whale-boat together with more than twenty exited tourists, all of them paid 145$ each.
Soon enough we spotted our first whale, but there where more to come. While the first whale was breathing, another whale came in the opposite direction. What would become out of this? The second one disappeared, only to show up in front of us, attacking the first whale. Now even the guides where exited! After the attack, the two whales continued to breathe normally and shortly after they dived, one at a time, giving us very good photo opportunities!
As if this was not enough, we got a third whale.
On the return to the marina, we saw some Dusky dolphins doing their fantastic acrobatics.
So now you know how we learned that things could get better.
Going back to Christchurch we took the inland road and saw some magnificent colures on the autumn trees.
We did some food shopping before leaving the car, getting ready for an early Saturday start to the north. Not to be caught by the south wind in the marina, we anchored Friday evening on the south side of Lyttelton Harbour, a wise decision it turned out. The south wind came suddenly and unexpected well before dusk and it was somewhat exiting to leave the marina in that choppy swell.
Saturday 1 of May, five years since we left Gothenburg and Sweden, we started the 600 nm trip to Coromandel on North Island. We had to choose a weather system with two passing fronts to be able to do this trip without a landfall. We know already from the start that we would have to “live through” one day with strong headwinds when a second front should pass us and it was important that we where well north of Cooks Strait before that headwind.
The first day we had rain all around us, but not a drop on Lindisfarne. We actually had clear sky above, in spite it was raining in all directions. The swell increased, but nothing compared with our trip to Akaroa and further south. During the first two days we had excellent progress in strong tailwind and following current. When the wind started to decrease and veer, we where well north of Wellington, Cook strait and east of Cape Pallister. Later Monday morning when the NW wind increased we sailed with eased and pretty reefed sail 50 degrees off the wind and swell, only to wait for the wind to veer back to SW. Our only ambition was to make it as comfortable as possible and not go more than necessary to the east. The VHF weather forecast where now talking about the gale in Cook and Castlepoint now being upgraded to storm warning in southern Castlepoint area. We where already north of that area, but the wind was strong enough. Luckily the sun was shining the whole day and that’s make life so much easier. Monday evening after dusk the wind decreased and we could once again head towards our waypoint at East Cape, still east of us. Looking back we can see that our strategy was a success. We and the boat had not suffered that much during those boring ten hours and we where still west of the East Cape!
During the night the wind continued to veer and the morning saw us sailing downwind with outpoled sails. Before lunchtime we had gale force from behind, doing great speed to the north. Eight o’clock in the evening we passed East Cape and could change our course to northwest and Great Mercury Island, still with out pooled sails. Just before dawn the wind almost disappeared. With the jib and reefed main, together with low revs on the engine, good  we still made 6,5 knots in very light wind from behind. Wednesday became a boring (motoring all day) story, but not in any way to compare with the boring Monday. But this time it was because nothing happened. Until we heard a NZ warship announcing some canon fire! They didn’t answer our call when we tried to locate the dangerous area. We thought that if we could hear them, they could hit us! Obviously Maritime Radio heard our call, and they informed us about a five-mile security area around the warship. Our AIS plotted the warship 25 miles to the east, and that solved our problem. We are still a bit puzzled why they didn’t answer in spite they ended their call telling us that they listen on channel 16. Before dusk the warship passed 5 miles to the north in silence, heading back to Auckland. They must have heard our conversation with Maritime Radio and could see Lindisfarnes name on their AIS…
One hour before moonrise we entered Mercury Islands and the anchor was set in a cove on the west side of Great Mercury Island in the first light from the rising moon. Four and a half days and 600 nm since Christchurch, quite a good result under the circumstances we had.
After a calm and comfortable night we woke up to a cloudy sky after five days of sunshine. At noon we launched our dinghy and went ashore. Great Mercury Island is privately own, but visitors are welcome as long as certain rules are followed. We recognized almost all of them as our normal rules from back home when you hike in the wilderness, and very reasonable rules, mainly minimising the risk of fire. Very nice to be allowed to stroll around without having to use tracks between bushes. Here the sheep and cows keep the landscape nice, tidy and very walkable.
After two nights on Great Mercury Island we sailed west around Coromandel and anchored half way to Auckland in Elephant Cove at Moyukahaua Island. This was a fantastic little Volcanic Island, with many fantasy rock formations. One of them of course looked like an Elephant, hence the name of the cove.
After a lot of photos the next morning we sailed into Auckland and Westhaven Marina, where we moored at dusk.
Now we are to meet up with friends and then wait for the south wind to sail to sail comfortable to Whangarei and do some boat work, getting prepared for “the Islands”.

10 May 2010
Annika & Björn
Lindisfarne

www.sailaround.info
radio@ailaround.info
mail@sailaround.info