Vava'u, Tonga to Opua, New Zealand
10/31/2004 - 12/08/2004
Leaving the tropics - turquoise waters, white sand beaches, warm days and nights - will be difficult for us. Here is one last shot of Whisper sitting at anchor in Tonga.
The Fast Passage to New Zealand
We thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of Tonga - warm water, colorful corals, restaurants, white sand beaches, fellow cruisers, scuba dives and shops. With cyclone season approaching, plans for the 1200 mile dash to New Zealand began. The passage to New Zealand could be our most challenging passage. Even though the distance is shorter than the passage from Mexico to the Marquesas, the wind directions and weather patterns of this passage increase its difficulty. Most of the weather gurus tell us to expect at least one gale. To help us with the challenge, we hired a "weather forecaster and router", Commander's Weather, to give us guidance.
During the passage from Tonga to New Zealand, we emailed a few folks with daily updates. What follows are the daily email updates along with some photographs.
At 8 am local time, Whisper and crew exited the pass to start the 1200 mile journey to New Zealand.
10/31/2004 - Day 1
- Latitude: 20° 42' S
- Longitude: 175° 55' E
- End of Day Miles Remaining: Around 1000
- Wind Speed/Direction: 18 - 22 knots ESE
- Boat Speed: 7 knots
We left the tropics in our rear view mirror. We started the passage from Tonga for New Zealand (NZ). The planned route takes us southwest about 1200 nautical miles to a port of entry in NZ called Opua - near the Bay of Islands. The passage will take between 8 and 13 days.
Commander's Weather routing service indicated yesterday as a good day to leave, so off we went. The prediction is for 18 to 25 knots of wind out of the southeast for the next couple of days. This means we will be sailing fast, but the seas will be uncomfy. Send positive thoughts to the weather gods for us. Christine, please tell us your visit with the Pope included our request for a safe passage.
We are extremely excited to start exploring New Zealand. At the same time, we are sad to leave the warm air, waters and beauty of the tropics.
For the first day, our friend's on Billabong sailed just a mile behind Whisper. Our boats sailed along at 7.5 knots for most of the day. As you can tell from this picture, the seas were a little bit big.
11/01/2004 - Day 2
- Latitude: 23° 04' S
- Longitude: 177° 37' W
- Miles to go: Around 840
- Wind Speed/Direction: 18 - 22 knots E
- Boat Speed: 7 knots
Many potential obstacles are charted on the track between Tonga and our current position. So far, we've managed to avoid all the volcanoes, reefs and shoals. We did pass within three miles of an Australian research vessel studying a volcano 1000 meters below the surface of the ocean. They told us not to worry about it erupting any time soon. We should pass the last major obstacle, Minerva Reef, today.
Wind speeds ranging between 15 and 25 knots throughout the trip keep us moving in the 7 knot range. Fast is good because we are trying to beat a low pressure system (aka "Don't Want to Sail In This") into New Zealand. We set a new daily record of 170.5 nautical miles for the last day. Woo Hoo!
As always, the iPod keeps us amused on watches. Since the seas were so lumpy, the thought of reading a book was unimaginable. Due to lots of squalls and big seas, music from the iPod was our primary amusement on the passage.
11/02/2004 - Day 3
- Latitude: 25° 12' S
- Longitude: 179° 07' W
- Miles to go: Around 700
- Wind Speed/Direction: 10 knots E
- Boat Speed: 7 knots
Just as we adjusted to flying across the boat while getting dressed in fleeces, long underwear, pants and coats, we received a reprieve with wind speeds dropping to the 5 to 18 knot range. Why are we leaving the tropics? Oh yeah, cyclone season is starting.
According to the forecasters, the reprieve will be short-lived. By tomorrow, Thursday, we should be entering a "squash zone". We keep hoping this means someone will be waiting up ahead with fresh zucchini or wanting to play a racquet sport. In reality, we expect winds in the 20 to 30 knot range as a result of two pressure systems squishing together to create the increased winds. Oh well, we'll enjoy the reprieve while it lasts.
Throughout the passage, squalls chased us dumping rain and playing with wind speeds. We spent most of the passage in foul weather gear, fleeces and long underwear. Jokingly, we considered turning around to head back to the warm weather.
11/03/2004 - Day 4
- Latitude: 27° 19' S
- Longitude: 179° 05' E
- Miles to go: Around 500
- Wind Speed/Direction: 20 - 30 knots E
- Boat Speed: 7 knots
We'll keep it brief since we're getting squashed in the "squash zone". Last night we enjoyed winds up to 40 knots with lots of squalls. We expect more of the same today and tomorrow. Whoopee! Visions of New Zealand are dancing in our heads.
No, we did not see these camper vans in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. Camper vans are a popular mode of transportation for folks traveling around New Zealand. We concurred that flying from Tonga to New Zealand and hiring a camper van would be a less challenging method of getting to see New Zealand. With so few pictures taken on this passage, you get to look at camper vans.
11/04/2004 - Day 5
- Latitude: 29° 03' S
- Longitude: 177° 41' E
- Miles to go: Around 400
- Wind Speed/Direction: 25 knots ESE
- Boat Speed: 7 knots
We continue along the way to New Zealand still in the squash zone. Winds remain in the 25 to 35 knot range.
The South Beach Diet appears to be the rage back in the States. While in the South Pacific, we've been following the South Pacific Diet - French bread and cheese. Now, we've switched to the Squash Zone Diet. The diet consists of only carbs and proteins high in saltwater. You only want a few bites for a meal. You must eat at an angle while balancing food with one hand. We will be svelt in no time. The best part about the diet is it only lasts until Monday.
Wait, this picture could not have been taken on Day 6 of the passage. This picture, taken as we left Tonga, will probably be the last picture of Robin in a tee shirt and shorts for quite some time.
11/05/2004 - Day 6
- Latitude: 31° 31' S
- Longitude: 176° 20' E
- Miles to go: Less Than 240
- Wind Speed/Direction: 20 knots ESE
- Boat Speed: 7 knots
The home stretch is upon us and the squash zone is behind us. If all goes well, we will arrive in New Zealand late Sunday night. Upon arrival, customs will board Whisper to inspect for all sorts of things. The obvious ones are drugs and guns, so we left all these back in the U.S.. Anything that may bring in unwanted bugs (e.g., baskets, tapas) gets inspected and possibly fumigated. Certain foods (e.g., eggs, honey, popcorn, fruits, vegetables) must be disposed. Fresh, frozen and canned meats must be declared. Over the next day, we will try to prepare Whisper for inspection as well as making our selves presentable.
Too much wind and then not enough wind. Oh well, that's the way it goes. Frankly, we thoroughly enjoyed motoring along on glass calm seas.
11/06/2004 - Day 7
- Latitude: 34° 03' S
- Longitude: 174° 52' E
- Miles to go: Around 75
- Wind Speed/Direction: 7 knots E
- Boat Speed: 6 knots
For the last 24 hours, wind speeds in the 5 to 15 knots range erased memories of squash zones. Gorgeous stars and a quarter moon filled the sky last night. Fine sailing and a bit of motoring have us racing toward the finish line. We anticipate arriving in Opua around 10 pm tonight.
Salty sailors say you can detect a change in the smell of the air as you approach land. About 110 miles away from New Zealand, Duncan thought he smelled a whiff of land. Perhaps. Or, we really need a change of clothes and showers. Either way, there is a big chunk of land up ahead and we will find it today.
Aaahh, land ho! At around 3 pm in the afternoon, Robin spotted a mountain on the horizon. If we motor fast enough, we could make it to the coastline by sunset.
11/07/2004
- Latitude: 35° 10' S
- Longitude: 174° 10' E
- Miles to go: 0
- Wind Speed/Direction: 0
- Boat Speed: 0 knots
As the sun set over the mountains of New Zealand, Whisper made her way into the Bay of Islands. By 9:30 pm, she was tied to the customs/quarantine wharf in Opua. YEAH!
The passage from Tonga to New Zealand, 7 days and 11 hours, ran the gamut from no wind to lots of wind. We averaged 6.7 knots over a distance of 1220 miles. We are thrilled to be in New Zealand after a safe, fast passage.
Whisper sits comfortably at the customs quarantine dock awaiting check in from the New Zealand officials. We arrived at the dock around 9:30 pm after customs was closed, so we spent the night on the quarantine dock.
Seven Months, 19 Islands and 7200 Miles
From March 24th, 2004 to November 7th, 2004, we sailed approximately 7200 miles en route from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to Opua, New Zealand. What an incredible journey.
With the cruising kitty dwindling, this passage is our last ocean passage for this round of cruising. Exploring the Bay of Islands, land cruising New Zealand and figuring out what to do next will be the focus for the next few months. What will be our next sailing adventure? Stay tuned.
For now, follow us on our few months of New Zealand land and coastal cruising adventures.
At 6 am, Robin peeked out the window to see a sailboat motoring down the channel. "It's Billabong" she yelled waking Duncan up. After throwing on clothes, we emerged onto the dock to grab their dock lines. Billabong sits behind Whisper at the customs/quarantine dock.
After clearing customs, we moved into a slip at the Opua Marina. After so many months at anchor, being tied to a dock felt incredible. Lots of fresh water, electric, and freedom to get on and off the boat without using the dinghy were a welcome change.
After clearing customs, KT and Chris, from Billabong, came over to celebrate our successful passage to New Zealand. Bottles of champagne and salmon sushi rolls filled our bellies as we shared passage stories.
First Stop - Opua and Paihia
The Bay of Islands is comprised of over 150 islands in addition to beautiful coastline along the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. Opua, located in the Bay of Islands, is one of the ports of entry into New Zealand for foreign vessels. The town of Opua is very small containing only a tiny grocery store, a cafe, a couple of small marine chandleries, a marina and a yacht club.
The nearby tourist town of Paihia is the big city compared to Opua. A van shuttle from the marina to Paihia conveniently dropped us at the Paihia wharf. A large grocery store, several restaurants, and lots of shops kept us amused for several visits. You may notice in the photos, we finally received proper haircuts. There was even an Indian food restaurant.
A beautiful trail along the coastline allowed us to walk from Opua to Paihia. We are still not certain whether we were tramping or bushwalking, but either way, we thoroughly enjoyed the walk and all the new plants and trees.
New Zealand's lush ferns are prominent on every walk. There are over 80 species of fern. You may remember the fern logo on the Team New Zealand race boat in the Americas Cup. Now we understand why they picked the fern as the logo.
Even though the temperatures do not feel very warm, palm trees grow everywhere...it is quite strange to see palm trees growing (naturally) in the cool forests. The palm trees will help us transition from the real tropics to this new "sub-tropical" climate.
After getting our feet on the ground and resting for a week, we were ready to start exploring beyond nearby Opua and Paihia.
Whisper will be safely tied to a dock for at least a month. Although we briefly considered buying a "beater" car for traveling the North Island, we decided it will just be easier to rent a car, returning to the boat when we get tired of traveling. Maybe taking a few smaller trips with breaks in between.
Thus begins our exploration of the northern part of the North Island.