day 181
Naomi here We hunkered down, there was wind, there was rain, it was wet, it was cold, it was miserable. There was hot pools on shore and we couldn’t even rally for the dinghy ride to shore because it was too awful of a dinghy ride. Today we awoke to, well it was pretty foggy for a while but THEN it got sunny and we dried out, Matt and mims went to shore while Jamie and I messed around in the bilge trying to discern where all that waters coming from. Just put paper towels down they say, you can see so easily where the waters coming from. Well they haven’t seen our bilge , up forward where all the bilge pumps and sump pumps and hoses are, with the keel bolts all jammed up in there too. In any case after much sponging and wiping and , well we don’t even have paper towels but we sure have toilet paper we don’t use, we narrowed down a few locations. I’ll tell you where it’s not coming from tho is the keel bolts so that’s good. The project did involve rearranging everything in the stern lazarette and also the mines of moria. If you would like to know where the leaks are from txt STOP to 233. Soon enough our errant crew returned and we were on our way out into a very strong outgoing current and 17 knots of headwinds, giving us flashbacks to the gnarly passes of the tuamotus. Standing waves and all. Raising the main when we were finally past the worst of it was disappointing as we realised somehow one of those handy little hard plastic pockets where the batten goes into, what attaches to the slide on the main, was broken, the backing plate somehow completely gone. Now we have had some troubles with the slides before (day 3 of our trip I believe) and I do like to keep an eye on my dodgy sewing job which has so far held up,, and it is fairly obvious when part of the main isn’t being held on to the mast, so it’s a mystery when this happened. After sailing a while in 11-14 knots with just the jib we cracked on with the job of stealing a backing plate from a lower batten beneath the reef so we could at least raise the reefed main to help us on our way. Not an easy job at sea and not an easy job if you’re almost 4’11” either. Anyways we have decided what with the wind forecast which won’t change between now and then will it? To do a quick detour to mayor island and anchor in this very tight little nook before (maybe going back to Tauranga to replace the part for our broken main and then) heading south towards Wellington! But first to do a little tiki touring on mayor island tomorrow.
Jamie here, Cool to be in tauranga where I’ve misspent a bit of youth. Plenty of time hunkered down in the stormy weather to watch hunting and fishing videos. Skinny mobile has a great endless data plan for $36 a month. My phone (the oppo) then provides internet for the entire boat via a hotspot.I had 2gb of high speed data to use and it engaged while I was napping. Woke up an hour later, hello, no high speed data left. After some questioning it was found that our noble captain had spent it all watching videos of turkeys chasing chickens chasing cats chasing mice. Cool. Amazing to be back in tuhua (mayor island) for another look! Ready to go for a dive tomorrow morning and try and get another feed and look around in this amazing visibility. Also looking forward to going to shore and seeing the resident ranger to pick their brains about the island and see what’s around, maybe find some obsidian. Already we’ve had kaka fly over the boat. Tonight’s WOD comes from our very own Matt. A wordsmith from way back. WOD- paultry. Paultry - not very much, scarce. Used in a senny: duck is good, but chicken is my favourite paultry.
Miriam: My shore mission was motivated by the hot pools. I evidently prioritise bathing more than the rest of the crew as it was a solo mission while Matt walked again to the far off grocery store. I felt so grateful for a long soak even if the vibes were more classic rock and rowdy children than quiet hot springs. But I found the hottest pool, had it all to myself, and properly indulged. I even got a little yoga practice in on the side and found a sink in which to wash my undies. Matt and I had made plans to meet afterwards at the dinghy though I had also promised I’d go on a beer run. We just missed each other at Mauruuru and I set off into the busy touristy downtown towards the bottle shop. A bit of a walk, especially laden with beer, but I found the shortcut on the way back through a craft fair (with a stop for a pork belly sammy), along the esplanade, and back to a patient Matt waiting at the dinghy. Back to Bluebird and off we went!
When we decided to fix the mainsail on the go I stepped in as a reacher for the short (I’ve got about a foot of height on Naomi) and ended up strapped into the boatswain’s chair hauled a ways up the mast to access the part. Said chair is like a Jolly Jumper seat that you strap yourself into and then hook into a halyard to be cranked upwards. No spring unfortunately but I do want to rig it up again when we’re not underway and make it to the top of the mast. The chair and multiple hands on the project made it possible though without losing any screws and what a relief to raise the main again and make it to Tahua right at sunset. I’m excited for more explorations of this incredible island.
Matt: Rain changed to mist in the grey hour when Grand Princess drifted in, massive screen on the lido deck glowing like saurons eye, flashing scenes of surf and maybe buffet promotions to no one in particular. The oddly graceful, agile tugs of Tauranga kept it close, one prodding its bow while another held a lead from its stern. Little boats rolled to their gunwales as the Great Dame inched along, nodded sideways in the channel by the ever-watchful tugs until she finally occupied a berth recently vacated by the white hulled Kowhai, hauling white painted refrigerated containers to places unknown