First boating weekend of the season...

[Larks]

Looks like a really big version of a letter opener that I have on my desk (a bit redundant these days so I might just say it’s a miniature of this Pou......... but the letter opener kinda reminded me of this -

[John B]

I remember that!
The advantages of shallow draft..7 ft deep in 8 ft of water.
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[John B]

Same place , a couple of days ago. One of my standard Dad jokes for the last 30 years has been " An aerial shot of..."
Meaning of course the photo is taken from the vhf aerial on top of the mast.
Full circle, my son takes an 'aerial' photo of Riada from his mast.
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[John B]

Rainbow II in Assassination cove a few days ago. I mentioned Rainbow a few posts back and I'm sure previously in this thread over the years. The first truly internationally successful Kiwi boat in the 1969 one ton cup. She was absolutely leading edge for Sparkman and Stephens in that year.
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in one of those six degrees of seperation things her Skipper , Neil, is a man we met in the early 80's when we first had Waione, we were the youngsters. His father Harry had owned our Waione in the 1940's and although he'd sold her by the time Neil was born, his older brother was a kid aboard. In yet another coincidence our new neighbours were also friends with Harry .
And Neil owned Roiaata , famously rolling it on a trip to Fiji in the 60's,a boat which has appeared in the Antipodean thread as being restored.
Its a small world.

[RFNK]

Nice looking boat!

[Hwyl]

Looks like a Swan 48 (the S&S one).

[Graeme Forrest]

She is the "Roundabout" design, 36ft One Ton Cup boat.

[John B]

If I knew that design name I'd forgotten it. Thanks Graeme.I always look out for your old boat , but she's gone from the last mooring I saw her on.
Like most rule classes the One Ton Cup started with quite small boats and worked their way up over a few years to over 40 ft IIRC.

3 nights out in less than ideal weather, the Kubota dawn pic Jim commented on 4 or 5 days ago might have been a better portent than metservice afterall.
A favourite of mine and many others for more than one reason is Arethusa. ( and photos of her are already in this thread) She was owned by Pickmere as a gaff rigged sailing yacht. Converted to a fishing launch and now pleasure boat way back. Pickmere as I've said before was the man who surveyed the inlet I now live on( Kerikeri) and much of Northlands coast. If I glance to my right I'll look at the very start of the Pickmere channel , the photo I often bore the bilge with in the photo competition thread.
We have a couple of his guides and they're important to me.
He also charted the Yasawa islands and I have a copy of those charts which we used cruising that area in Fiji.
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Its Bay of Islands race week, running home yesterday we were presented with the whole fleet lined up over a mile or so, all on stbd windward. Most tacked inside our course but a few carried on. The challenge for us to as usual, keep out of their way and not disturb their flow. Better to viv up to windward for a bit and cross him than to bear away and give him dirty air for longer, plus I was expecting him to tack. About 25 knots , plenty of 30 at the wind station out further in the bay.
Even just with a reefed mizzen and half jib we slid along fine.
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[John B]

This the Kubota dawn snap from 5 days ago..
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And right now just after an impressive squall and rainburst went through..
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If you can make out the stbd pile mark centre shot, that's the Pickmere Chanel.

[RFNK]

Nice sailing shot JB!

[John B]

Nice sailing shot JB!

Cheers, Rick. I have a better one but the site won't accept it.
We spent most of the time out under our DODGER for reasons of wind, rain or both.
a degraded version..
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[RFNK]

Also nice!
Okay, okay, there is DODGER progress ...

[John B]

Well thats been a week of hell. We received a small amount of ribbing for baling out that thursday( last post) , ran home in 20 to 30 as mentioned for a wet afternoon and a wetter friday. Nothing too bad for us up here in the north , but at our old home town of Auckland an unprecedented rain event caused city wide flooding , a lot of property damage from water and slips , I expect at least many hundred millions of dollars worth. Its a mess with many prestigious homes on cliff edges made worthless in 2 or 3 hours. The same in the subdivisions built on lower ground with even houses on foundations/ piles ( as opposed to concrete slabs) being flooded to various extent... but also people in elevated positions where the water simply arrived in a wall from a higher road , overwhelmed any drainage in place and just ran through their houses and apartments.
Several people lost their lives, 4, I believe.. in a way its amazing there weren't more.
There just hasn't been anything like this in this city's history, not a hint in my life there, my mother's, or her parents, its easy to point fingers at local govt and they need it for their failure to maintain the city groundwater and drainage infrastructure, and yet no one could have expected this on this scale.
Since then the weather has continued to be what , hmmm, lets say less than optimal/ depressing. Drizzle , overcast, damp, humid, sick to death of it.
Our friends headed out in 2 boats to a bay close by yesterday in the showers, we said no way. But yesterday hatched a plan with other local friends to fizzboat out to them this am and take breakfast.
So bright and early at 9 am thats what we did, launched the utility boat, the Tongan panga, and buzzed on out there for 20 minutes with pancakes, bacon and maple syrup for 8, and made a fine morning of it( at a civilised time) The morning extended as 2 more arrived in a catamaran, we made it home at 4.
Something different. Something to take the mind off the other stuff.
Mull 30. A kauri cold molded boat. #4 of the Chico 30s
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Lidgard 42 Regardless design, in charge of coffee . Another 3 skin kauri boat with many thousands of sea miles under her.
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[RFNK]

Wow, nice morning but what a disaster for so many! Sorry to hear it, especially the loss of life. Kindest wishes to all affected!

[Hwyl]

We were thinking of you and yours during the Auckland floods. We’ve just had extreme cold here. Minus 25 C with high winds. I’m afraid we’ve messed up the planet.

[Priscilla]

JB how’s the Cavalier Bremworth holding up on Riadas decks looking very tres chic.
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[John B]

Wow, nice morning but what a disaster for so many! Sorry to hear it, especially the loss of life. Kindest wishes to all affected!

Thanks Rick, its actually quite depressing to see whats happened there. We were to be there this weekend just gone for a family event. That was cancelled , the highways have been damaged , I was looking for any excuse not to go to be honest. After a lifetime of being the responsible one, the go to guy , it was really quite neat to see my grown kids rallying and working to help one another, doing what was necessary.
( wet vac/ dehumidifier, ripping up carpet etc)

[John B]

We were thinking of you and yours during the Auckland floods. We’ve just had extreme cold here. Minus 25 C with high winds. I’m afraid we’ve messed up the planet.

Thanks Gareth , regards to you both and since this summer here seems to be a write off in so many ways, I hope it warms up for you.
I heard from my other Evi connection recently. They may be coming here soon.

[John B]

JB how’s the Cavalier Bremworth holding up on Riadas decks looking very tres chic.
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Good spotting , P. Thats the sum total of boat work this season. There were three consecutive dry days , I did about 8 or 9 hours work . A few ( very few ) days actually out using the boat in decent or semi decent weather. end.
Maybe it'll change for later feb and march.........

[Priscilla]

Maybe more to come…
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[John B]

I can't write what I said.

[Mike1902]

Do you think it may be time to ditch solar panels and rig up more hydro electric power systems, I dunno...just a thought.

[Priscilla]

I’m working on a amphibious mower for the ranch.
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[John B]

Get the revs high enough you might get a rescue craft job at the airport.

We might have 3 or 4 days before the next event, so..
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[Mike1902]

Between bad weather, bad luck, bad timing and a touch of bad management, Janet has yet to have a first boating weekend of the season.
This will happen on Saturday 18th Feb with the annual Art Deco Harbour Chase Race, though there may be a chance this Saturday before the %$#@ hits the fan.

So today, with new fuel pump kit installed into the mighty Yamaha 4 hp OB, she made her way to the travel lift for a bottom scrub in readiness.

A couple of before and afters...it was due.

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She went straight back in but will be out again next month for a coat or two.

A 121 year old 90% + original hull right there.

[Mike1902]

Get the revs high enough you might get a rescue craft job at the airport.

We might have 3 or 4 days before the next event, so..
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Idyllic.

[John B]

Okahu island,Mike. I see your 90 percent original hull !!.
See this.. a genuine transpac hero right there. Ichiban, Bill Lapworth. Now there's some 1960s history for yawll.
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[Mike1902]

Ichiban, scratching the grey matter a bit but I'm pretty sure she was based here in Napier for a while.

[John B]

She was, we met them at Gt Barrier one year, next year they were in the paper being rescued as the boat was taking on water off the coast somewhere. Next.. boat sat on hard, new owners.. might have been skinned iirc.
We saw another Lapworth 50 in Fiji in 17, there were only 6 or 9 built, they're credited for boosting his reputation and status after the unexpected Transpac success.
And that's the boat that did it.

[Mike1902]

That's right. They hit something solid off East Cape or thereabouts, container, whale, who knows but it opened up the seams and became an insurance assessment.

[auscruisertom]

Okahu island,Mike. I see your 90 percent original hull !!.
See this.. a genuine transpac hero right there. Ichiban, Bill Lapworth. Now there's some 1960s history for yawll.
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Wow another surprising bit of yachting history you guys have a nack of attracting ,collecting and preserving character yachts.

I’m more familiar with the Lapworth 36 history by Winsome lll executing her three year winning streak in the Swiftsure overnighter up the Juan the Fuca straight returning to Victoria frequently under Spinnaker.
I also had the privilege of regularity racing and cruising alongside another L 36 when living on Vancouver Island .That particular boat was strip planked by Taylor in Vancouver.

[John B]

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[John B]

From that to Cyclone Gabrielle. Cat 3 , something in the 960's and approaching us now, nowcasting wind speed out in the Bay of Islands , 40 knots with 70 knot gusts . I suggested an anchorage for our friends who are out there in their Elliot, it won't be very nice but the best given the conditions I believe. I think they went there, its certainly where I would have gone. We're somewhere around the star, perhaps a little bit higher up...maybe the star is Priscilla more like.... anyway the system heads south east and at some point does a hook more s or sw , yet to be seen.
The challenge for my friends anchored out is as the system moves the wind direction will back progressively from SE to S and then SW and West tomorrow. If the eye comes over thats fine , you get a calm to shift anchorage in.
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[Mike1902]

My rather worn wet weather gear is needing a little extra help.
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I'm onto the second can in a month.
Bit reluctant to break out the yellow PVC's this time of year.

[Larks]

Looks nasty JB, ‘hope everyone is OK there. My MIL still has a very snug and well protected mooring up the creek down the bottom of Pa Rd - though I have no idea how well maintained it is