Fire sparks bed appeal?

The crew of the Maggie B is settling in well in New Zealand. We are already finding favorite restaurants, laundromats, bookstores, cafes, and bars. The Nelson marina has more interesting boats than anywhere we have been, with the exception of Antigua during Classic Race Week. New photos should be up on the web by tomorrow.

We are in the midst of the usual series of little fixes, adjustments and preventative work. Owen and Theresa are making new pendants for the main sheet attachment to the boom, Bori and Hannah are re-sewing a protective strip on the mainsail batten pockets. We have taken "Strika," the kayak, to get a nose fitting so we can tie her up alongside. The boat cover for the Reep is getting patched. Our "T-joint" for the dual oil pressure sensors is getting replaced by something more permanent (the Mauritian one failed after two months). Our new steering compass is getting swung tomorrow. Theresa finally found a pesky leak in the vent for the diesel space heater. Tomorrow I overhaul the toilet (whee!).

Nelson is the biggest commercial fishing port in the Southern Hemisphere (they say). There is absolutely every marine-related service organization right nearby. They have successfully come to specialize in integrated refits for commercial and pleasure craft.

New Zealand is very enlightened in many areas. One amusing area is that they have legalized prostitution and made it subject to "standard workplace regulation." We don't know nor will we find out just what that means. We did see yesterday one of the most marvelous articles in the local Nelson paper. The headline is "Fire sparks bed appeal." It goes on to say: "A Napier brothel is soliciting donations of old beds so that it can resume operations after a fire....'Club 100 has been giving out to Hawkes Bay for more than 25 years, now it is time for Hawkes Bay to give back to Club 100', said manager Paul Hale."

All is well.

Location: 41° 15.8 S, 173° 16.8E
Monday 12:00, 05.07.2007

The Schooner Maggie B arrived in Nelson, NZ this morning at 0700. We are currently safely tied up in the Nelson Marina at 41° 15.8S, 173° 16.8E. The gale last night was about 50 miles East of us in the Cook Straits, where the wind tends to funnel. We got very little of the weather, which was fine with us. The crossing of the Tasman Sea was rather routine, with not much more than 30 knots. We thought that the area was rather over-hyped until we saw the large sloop moored next to us when we arrived, which had been dismasted two weeks ago coming here from Australia and heard the story of another sloop that had been rolled over three times after it had set out for Tasmania, and returned rather chastened.

Nelson looks lovely and we look forward to discovering it. We will have more news soon.

All is well.

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

Location: 41° 12S, 163° 24E
Friday 12:00, 05.04.2007

At noon on May 4th, the Schooner Maggie B was at 41° 12S, 163° 24E. We were making nine knots on the rhumb line for Cape Farewell. We have come 785 NM from Hobart and have 431 to go to Nelson. We have come 214 NM in the last 24 hours, and 611 in the last three days.

The wind has been steady at 25-30 knots from 330-340 degrees, or 70 degrees off our port side. We took in the fore sail before lunch and now are under full jib and the main with one reef. The Maggie B loves these conditions. The waves have made up a bit to 3-5 meters, but though they are fairly short and sharp, they are on the beam, so she shrugs them off with aplomb. Every now and then, though, she throws up a fair heap of water off her hip into the cockpit, as if to remind the Watch that this is real stuff.

We are anticipating frontal passage sometime fairly soon. Bands of rain showers, 12-15 NM wide and 3-4 NM thick have been marching past behind us, but we haven't been in one yet. We expect some more wind with the passage of the front, then it should back to the NW and West and lighten up a bit. We don't think that the actual front will be too severe because the barometer has stayed fairly steady at 1010 mb the last 12 hours.

Shy Albatrosses (Thalassarche cayta) have joined the aerial circus following us.

One marvelous new sight is a little pocket rainbow that appears in our bow spray as we plunge along. When the sun is just right, it is quite bright though just a few feet long.

Our Furuno autopilot is doing a marvelous job. We are charging along at just about hull speed in somewhat confused seas and it keeps us on track to Cape Farewell with just an occasional one degree starboard or port "touch." The autopilot is "adaptive," which means it learns the performance of its vessel. It sure has figured us out. It is also a compliment to Nigel Irens and North Sails that we are perfectly balanced with zero helm, most of the time, even in these complex conditions and with the fore down and the main reefed.

Sunday night in Nelson, if the elements are willing.

All is well.

“Four Cloves” en route to NZ

We had a lovely lunch of garlic/ginger chicken breasts sautéed with broccoli and carrots accompanied by a garden salad with the Captain's infamous "Four Cloves" balsamic vinegar dressing.

Location: 41° 39S, 158° 46E
Thursday 12:00, 05.03.2007

At noon on May 3, the Schooner Maggie B was at 41° 39S, 158° 46E. We have come 545 NM from Hobart and have 658 NM to go to Nelson. We did 204 NM in the last 24 hours. At noon we were under all plain sail, doing 8.3 knots in a 15-18 knot NW'erly breeze. Perfect sailing. The clouds have mostly cleared up and we are booming along.

The forecast is still for a fair bit more wind and the barometer is just beginning to fall. We had a lovely lunch of garlic/ginger chicken breasts sautéed with broccoli and carrots accompanied by a garden salad with the Captain's infamous "Four Cloves" balsamic vinegar dressing. Then we reefed the main down to the first reef. We also tightened the lashings on the Reep, the anchor and miscellaneous deck boards. Dorade vents are sealed off. Perhaps a bit much for 18 knots of wind, but all easier to do in a nice afternoon than at night in 30 knots. "If you're thinking about reefing, it's already too late."

Nelson in a bit over three days.

All is well.

Location: 42° 02S, 154° 17E
Wednesday 12:00, 05.02.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 42° 02 S, 154° 17E at noon on May 2nd. Ship's time has been changed to +11 GMT. We are finally sailing with all plain sail, doing 7.8 knots for Cape Farewell, New Zealand in 13 knots of wind from the NNW. The swell is somewhat confused and the skies thinly overcast with a few bands of rain showers about. We have come 349 NM from Hobart and have 843 NM to Nelson, which is a little over four days.

Last night we had a huge halo around the almost-full moon. Being three fists-at-arms-length away, old salts would say we have some dirty weather coming three days away. Owen and I also saw a star(?) low in the south, flashing red and green. It could have been an airplane, but it was entirely stationary.

We have a large flock of Grey Headed Albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma) following us. Their wingspan is up to two meters. One reference book says that those nesting on Macquarie Island are mellow enough that they have been known to preen the hair of researchers as they allow their leg bands to be read at their nests. Looking at the hair of the crew of the Maggie B, probably they are following us not for food scraps, but to help out with our coiffeur. More recently some Black Browed have joined the squadron. Owen is reading Robert Hughes' excellent book on Australia called "The Fatal Shore." In it he quoted Joseph Banks saying "The Tahitians made love...but [the Maori]... live entirely on fish, dogs and enemies." Up pipes Theresa: "So why are we going to New Zealand?"

Two random thoughts: it is amazing to me that the USA hasn't taken up one and two dollar coins like Australia and Canada. They make life so much easier. Australia has also given up the penny, which also makes great sense. Second thought: I feel very lucky that the Maggie B was built in Canada as most all our screws are Robertson, which means various sized squares in the head rather than the simple slot of most screws or the "X" of Phillips-head. It makes screws so much easier to insert and extract, it is amazing to me that their use is still mostly restricted to Canada.

We will probably take the main down one reef before nightfall if the wind continues to freshen. The prediction is for about twenty knots from the NW, which would give us a lovely beam reach for Nelson.

All is well.

Tips on handling customs duties and VAT/GST taxes

Customs duties and VAT/GST taxes can come to significant numbers and it can add up to real money. Many countries, including Australia have mechanisms for "Boats in Transit" to avoid or recoup those taxes, but just try to actually make it happen! Australian GST is 11%. In theory it is refundable when you leave, but the rules make it essentially impossible. First you have to sign into a "scheme" (yes, that's what they call it) which, besides paperwork, requires you to pay $38 for each crew member. That $190 for us would mean that we would have to have spent more than $1727. But just on goods, not services. Goods and services mixed in a bill? Sorry, not deductible. Then if it is just goods, you must be able to prove it is being exported. Paint, painted on already? Sorry, can't tell. Rope made up into halyards? Sorry. Did you know it also has to be exported within 30 days of purchase? Sorry. And you don't get 100% of what you spent due to unspecified charges. I talked to three Customs officers and a "question line" at the Capitol, and got the impression that it had never actually happened.