Year 2 – 7 January 2024 -New Zealand- North Island - Auckland – the start for Sydney
Year 2 of my circumnavigation properly starts today. The plan is to sail to Sydney (about 1300nm across the notorious Tasman Sea)and to spend a little time there and then to explore the Eastern Australian Coast – Gold Coast, Whitsunday Islands, Barrier Reef etc. I then plan to join an Indonesian Cruise starting from Thursday Island and then over to Indonesia where I will spend about 3 months going round the Indonesian Islands before heading over to Singapore and then on to Thailand for the end of November 2025. This is about 5,000 nm so quite a bit shorter than year 1.
We agreed to have breakfast at 7.30pm which was bacon and scrambled egg and then we then went through our procedures for Fire, Flood, Heavy Weather and Abandon ship. Grant and Tom went off to shop for the last things and Trevor and Kevin sorted out the grab bags and made sure the handheld radio was charged which we keep in it. Trevor also changed the lead of the outhaul.
The customs lady came at about 10.15am and cleared us to leave NZ with a time of 11.00am. However, we were still tidying up and sorting things out. The new log was not working so rather than taking it out from the inside of the boat Tom and Kevin dived under to try and clean it/free it from under the water which seemed to register.
We left the mooring at 12.05pm in a 20+ kt breeze. We kept 2 crew members on the jetty and as we were being blown off we effectively walked the boat down the long pontoon with the engine and the ropes keeping her from being blown on to other boats. Then at the end they threw the ropes back on and walked round to the fuel pontoon and we had to go on the outside of three piles and it was quite difficult in the strong wind to get close enough but we managed and filled up.
Once filled we left the marina at 12.45 pm and headed out into Auckland Harbour and then the channel to the Hauraki Gulf and then on to the east side of North Island. On way we were putting away fenders and ropes and preparing the boat for sail and we had a delicious salad lunch prepared by Grant – who is a Professional Chef. I am sure it will be great to have him on board. We saw Dolphins and some Puffins as we went through the Hauraki Gulf.
Once we passed Tiriki Mantangi Island we put up the sails and we were off. We started to make good speed of about 8.5 kts and then as the breeze increased we reefed down (shorten the amount of sail) and adapted to the conditions. It was a beautiful sunny day with hardly a cloud in sight. Trevor made a loaf of bread using our usual recipe and the 44 DD cup silicon bowl.
We started the shift system and the new crew had to get used to sailing Stormbird which will take a little time. The shifts partners are Kevin and I, Trevor and Tom and Mark and Grant. We had a delicious chilli and rice supper made by Mark, aided by Grant.
We started our first night shifts and sailed on into the night with a half moon and lots of stars. However, it was quite chilly with a cool breeze that required jumpers and warmer clothes. It was a beautiful night and a good one to start with.
The picture of the day is me giving the thumbs up to the start of Year 2 as we depart Aukland.
Need/Opportunity Year Two
I am in need of more crew from April to September so if of interest do email me at hine.nick9@gmail.com
In year two I will be going from New Zealand to Sydney and hen up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025.
The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com