Location: 40° 20S, 171° 26E
Sunday 12:00, 05.06.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 40° 20S, 171° 26E at noon on May 6th. We were under power, making turns for 6 knots, so as to arrive at Nelson at 0800, as arranged for with NZ Customs. The wind was 3-5 knots from the west and the skies clear. We have come 1131 NM from Hobart and have about 120 to go to Nelson.

We are drying out gear, enjoying the sun and having a lovely lunch in the cockpit. We need to eat up all our fresh provisions as NZ Quarantine will seize everything.

Right after lunch we had the huge pleasure to see our first Snowy Albatross — an adult with a wingspan of at least two meters!

We then heard the NZ weather report, which changed everything. It is hard to listen to weather reports in a new area because one generally doesn’t know the demarcations: “From Cape Seggatiania to Port Whammationial, the wind will be….” But we did hear clearly that “Cook” will have a gale to 45 knots tonight. While technically we are entering Tasman Bay when we round Cape Farewell (and pass Farewell Spit, where we will spit), Cook Passage is just around the corner. At 1500, when I’m writing this, the barometer has fallen three millibar’s since noon, though just from 1018 to 1015. We don’t need any more clues. The engine is now to full cruising speed, and if we arrive Nelson early for Customs, we’ll just sort it out.

Tasman Bay, with Nelson at the bottom faces North. Not a nice place to be in a Northerly gale, but Nelson harbor should be the best harbor of refuge around as the entrance is north/south, closing to 200 meters, then with a dogleg to the West, where one is immediately protected by “Boulder Bank” with lots of room behind it to anchor, if no suitable quays are available. Should be “interesting.” ETA at Nelson is 0400 at this speed.

All is well.

Location: 40° 47S, 167° 13E
Saturday 12:00, 05.05.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 40° 47S, 167° 13Eat noon on May 5th. We have come 933 NM from Hobart and have 256 NM to go to Nelson. The first front has passed and we have hoisted the fore and shook out the furl on the main and are under all plain sail. The wind is 300 degrees magnetic at 15 knots — right on our port beam. We are making 8.5 knots in a somewhat sloppy sea with a thin overcast and occasional mist and drizzle passing over us. We “only” did 196 NM in the last 24 hours.

Port or starboard tack would seem not to make much difference, but most of us prefer port tack because our bunks are on starboard, and port tack means we can nicely snuggle into the “V” between the bunk and the hull side. On port, however, Hannah has to hang on against her lee strap. “Greater good for the greater number….”

New Zealand requires at least 48 hour warning of arrival (Australia was 96 hours!). We are in contact with Nelson Customs and have filled out their Arrival form. But at this speed, we would arrive at about 10 PM Sunday night, which is not a great time to come into a tight, unfamiliar port. Nor is it a desirable time to get Customs officers out of their bed for an inspection. We are therefore asking the Maggie B to do something that she isn’t good at — slow down. We expect the wind to fall off tonight, so we haven’t taken sails in or streamed drogues, but we may have to take a wander around Tasman Bay to allow for a more civilized arrival at 0800 Monday morning.

The Yanmar engine has been using somewhat more oil than expected and, on inspection, we found that the t-joint installed in Mauritius, to allow for an additional oil sensor, had cracked subtly. Fortunately, we had a plug to seal off the whole fitting, and we will fix it in Nelson or Auckland.

One friend wrote to say: “Your logs read as if this is some of your most enjoyable sailing yet - is that the case?” The quick answer is: “Not really.” We have been having some “interesting” weather — major cold fronts with 30 knots of wind and a chance of gusts to 45, 12 hours of hard rain, and seas that were often short and choppy. The long answer, however, is “yes.” The boat is in very good shape; I have a top crew of friends that goes eagerly and cheerfully to their duties; we have great support from shore, both moral support from friends and family, as well as weather support from professionals — we are doing something hard that we are good at. That makes even a dank midnight watch with occasional trickles of rain water or sea water down the neck or up the sleeve, a pleasure.

The ship’s time is now +12 from UTC, but on the other side of the Date Line. We’re getting closer to home!

All is well.

What We Are Reading en route to NZ

Frank - Cochrane: Britannia’s Sea Wolf by Donald Thomas

Owen - The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes

Theresa - The Odessey Homer, the Fagles translation

Hannah - The Last Grain Race by Eric Newby

Bori - For Esme with Love and Squalor by J.D. Salinger