The Devil Wears Foul Weather Gear

 Tuesday evening the weather turned against us. We are heading straight towards that dirty piece of orange ... The sky filled with ominous black clouds, rain and wind squalls back to back.  We experienced multiple booming thunderstorms and lightning strikes that lit up the whole night sky. It was a rough night with squally gusts of wind reaching speeds of over 50 knots at times.  The bimini took a real hiding in the severe winds and the odd rogue wave came over the port stern quarter and spilled into the cockpit giving it a good flush out.  We have almost zero visibility.  The radar is switched off as it continually beeps due to the severity of the rain.  We are keeping a constant lookout. The report we read today on Stuff is there were over 2000 lightning strikes in the Taranaki area overnight.  We were in the middle of this! Everywhere on deck is soaking wet, the seas have taken on a dark, oily look which is never a good sign and we have big rolling ...

It is typical in the Bartley household to have taco's on a Tuesday.  We had a stunning few hours of blue skies and sunshine and consequently we were able to have a delicious lunch of chilli prawns, guacamole and corn chips sitting in the cockpit.  

  But wait there’s more ... On our second  night at sea we could hear the slap/slap of a loose halyard (Code Zero - which is the rope located on the mast to pull up the spinnaker). Under the difficulties of working under an inky black sky, we accidentally caught this halyard in the staysail furler whilst bringing it in.  Took a team effort of four of us working on it, 2 on the bow and 2 on deck to resolve the problem..  Luckily some good luck came our way with calmer conditions and a gentle down wind roll. We have had a beautiful night of true downwind sailing (typical of trade wind sailing).  We enjoyed a beautiful sunset whilst eating dinner in the cockpit with gentle rolling waves on the starboard quarter, northerlies between 12 and 16 knots and we could see the light of a full moon above the clouds. At around 4.30am this morning our radar alarm went off. With 2 of us scanning the horizon every 10 minutes we were unable to see the lights of any traffic. ...

After leaving Mangonui at 7pm the seas gradually became rougher and rougher.  We said goodbye to the lights of Karikari Peninsula and headed off towards North Cape.  As we approached North Cape with head to wind, we needed to tack and at the exact time we were undertaking this manouvre, we were slammed by a fairly heavy, rain ladened squall.  Zero visibility, driving rain, gusting over 40 knots with the addition of thunder and lightening.  We clawed our way to windward, under engine and staysail, for two long hours before clearing North Cape.  Visibility was as black as the inside of a cow.  We made the call to put the staysail away but as we went head to wind to furl the sail, we came around too far and in the pitch black, 2.5m swells, fighting all the elements, we lost our sense of direction and fell right off the wind.  It took half a minute or so, with the staysail backed to re-establish ourselves.   Furling in under these hideous conditi...

 Its 2.20am and have been on the night watch since midnight. Currently on with Don. A miserable night. Wind gusting 30 knots right on the nose. Motor sailing under reefed staysail. Can see the lights of Cape Reinga in the distance, approx 12nm away. Drizzle, currently being hit by a squall 34 knot winds! Skipper down for a quick hour of shut eye, Commodore sleeping in the best seat in the house, set up in the big bean bag and blanket in the cockpit for the night. Alan snoring happily away in the main saloon. All taking turns on the 2 hour or so watches. Very uncomfortable down below. Thunderstorms forecast for the morning. Looking forward to rounding the Cape shortly ⛵️ 3.45am blowing 40 knots, on the nose. Absolutely hosing down! The night watch timetable.

 Heading off from Mangonui this evening into the unknown!! Rain!!  Heavy!! Thunderstorms!! Wind!!  16 knots. Mimu alongside at Mangonui.  Fuel and water and last of the supplies from the local Four Square. Intrepid crew ready for departure. And we're off!! 7pm we left the dock, a delicious hot dinner of chicken casserole in the cockpit.  It's now 19.40 and almost dark. We're all wearing Scopoderm patches to help with any sea sickness.  Everything is tidily stowed away, we have headed out of the channel ... and then the Skipper says "there's just one more job to do"!!  This entailed, by the First Mate (one of the precious mermaids) emptying out the forepeak, in a rolling swell, of bags, musical instruments, bedding, mattress etc to get to the staysail circuit breaker!  Not sure where the strong pirates were during this procedure.  All sorted but I think when we get to harbour the blokes owe me a drink for this one. There is a bit of rocking an...

 A good night's sleep for all in Mangonui, with just a gentle rocking on the water.  Woke to drizzle so a lazy start to the day.  Preparation is the order of the day as we leave tonight around 8pm for our big sail Mangonui down to Picton 500nm, 928 kms, approx 4 days of non stop sailing.  Laundry to be picked up, last supplies purchased, dinghy stashed onboard, stowing of any UFO's etc. Commodore cooking up a storm.  The less we have to do in the galley, the easier it is on the crew. What would we do without our Commodore looking after us!! A double check of the safety gear.  PFD's and tethers for all 5 of us. Essentials at the ready for the night watch. Lee cloths at the ready. The plan is to head off tonight around 8pm, heavy rain is forecasted so we all have our winter woollies and foul weather gear at the ready.  45nm to North Cape, another 20nm to Cape Reinga which we hope to be able to see at dawn, all going well Auckland the following dawn, Tara...

  Team still together after heavy seas adventure. Taking time out for a roady to hit the high lights of Mangonui. Dinner out at The Thai (best Thai restaurant in New Zealand, says the Commodore) Main dish - "Angry Pig" For starters - "Slightly annoyed hampster"   A shot out of the 80's!   Disco dancing at the Mangonui Pub.

 We had a rough night at anchor with squally gusts of wind coming in causing the boat to jerk, strain and shudder on the anchor. A wee navigational tutorial -  "Don, do you need to visit Specsavers?" Left at 10.40am in drizzle and squally conditions.  First time the crew all wore foul weather gear.  Pretty rough conditions leaving Whangaroa Harbour with rolling swell, white caps and strong wind gusts.  Gusts 26-28 knots = Force 6 on Beaufort Scale (large waves, extensive whitecaps) We all had on our PFD's today. Skipper doing what Skipper does best! Top speed today 9.2 knots, wind gusting 30 knots under reefed staysail going into Mangonui.  3 hours of blustery but exciting sailing!  A delicious lunch on anchor, bit of a nana nap this afternoon and out to the local Thai restaurant tonight.  Mangonui is home for Graeme and Alan so they have kindly taken all our laundry, Raewyn has organised premade meals to be picked up tomorrow and we are looking a...

  Oh my goodness ... hot flush ... what a rock star ... check out those abs! Ready for the tropics. The crew thought Skipper was adjusting the halyard but Commodore had other ideas! Los tres amigoes! Alan, our legendary, skilled helmsman hit the fastest speed this trip - 8.9 knots. 4pm coming into Whangaroa Harbour. New Zealand's best kept secret! Stunning, superb, amazing, fantabulous, exhilarating, other-worldly - this is a place to put on your bucket list. Waitupipi Bay, our anchorage for the night.  The scenery looks like something  straight out of Jurassic Park.   Sometimes you just have to borrow a pic from the internet to really showcase something special.  This is how Whangaroa Harbour actually looks.  The landscape is just incredible.  It's from another world. Don is in the galley cooking up a storm.  Crew lazing on deck after bubbles and nibbles.  An end to a perfect day!  But wait, there's more  ...  there's a T...

 A great night's sleep with the front hatch open and starry skies overhead.  The day began with a dive off the plank into crystal clear 17.6 degree waters, brioche for breakfast, anchor up at 9am.  Destination Cavelli Islands for lunch. Had a cracker of a sail with a warm nor easterly 16 knots.  So good to feel some heat in the wind finally.  Dropped the hook for a lunch/swim spot just around the corner from where the Rainbow Warrier was scuttled.   Set sail again under full genoa and one reef in the main.  Honking along at an average of 7 knots rising to 8.9 at one point.  Wind easterly blowing SE 15 knots.  Today has been the most exhilarating sailing day of our trip.  Finally less of a swell, a steady breeze - perfect conditions. A refreshing start to the day! Champagne cruising! Destination Fiji!

  Skipper and his Mermaids out for lunch (it's not all hard sailing!) Assassination Cove - our last night in the Bay of Islands. Beautifully calm anchorage. Happy hour views!   This is absolute heaven. Fine dining by candle light.  Beef strog, steamed broccoli and rice, followed by apple crumble with ICE CREAM!! And full on Monty Python humour!

 After a night on anchor we motored into Opua this morning and have spent today alongside the dock, preparing the boat for the next stage of our adventure.  Three new crew have arrived; Don from Taupo and Graeme and Alan from Mangonui.  The plan is for Graeme to get off once we get to Mangonui and for Don and Alan to sail down the west coast to Picton.  This gives Mimu a crew of 5 in total for the big sail.  Getting into serious sailing now - the red line is a continuous line running from the cockpit to the bow, both port and starboard.  This is our safety lifeline to clip onto. The Mimu safety rule is for crew on the night watch to be wearing  PFD's and attached by tether to the safety line.   We now have a fourth reef in the main ready for ... severe, extreme, hideous, gale force winds.  A shocking forecast for next week!  At this point we will wait and see.  No point heading out into bad weather.  It's hard on the boat,...

 It was a superb 24 hours but time to rejoin the mother ship Mimu and catch up on all the happenings.  The Taupo Brown's had joined the boat for a day of sightseeing and the arrangement was for me to be picked up from the fuel dock in Opua.  It was so exciting watching Mimu coming in!  Felt like a homecoming! I thought there was a possibility I may have lost my crewing position but now safely back on board! A big sigh of relief 🤗 A beautiful late afternoon motor across to Russell for dinner out on the waterfront.  Thank you Suzanne and David.   Great food, great conversation, great company. Russell beachfront, tranquil seas and moody skies. A wonderful end to a brilliant 24 hours.  Looking forward to pushing those buttons on the electric winches tomorrow!!

  It was all hands on deck (no winches) to hoist the sails, a really strenuous workout with three pulling on the throat of the sail and three on the peak.  The full sail complement is 9 sails in total.  Talk about muscle building! It was so much fun, real teamwork and great communication required. Mimu nearly lost me .... I really loved this old fashioned, romantic way of sailing.  We visited Russell, Pahia and finished in Opua which was the end of the 3 day sail for the guests on board. So many great experiences ... Holding onto the monkey's fist and swinging out into the crystal clear waters. It was quite a height from up there! A whole new experience for me ... I repeated it 3 times! You can't sail a tall ship without climbing up the ratlines. The views were superb ... just don't look down! Harnessed in so totally safe but man were those rope ladders hard on the soles of your feet!  Really need to toughen up!