The Devil Wears Foul Weather Gear

 MIMU - Length 17.78m, Beam 5m, Draft 2.1m And what is the purpose of the black strap tied to the stripper's pole at the bottom of the companionway steps? We use the strap on a starboard tack, sailing downwind or in lumpy seas. Prevents us from accidentally being thrown across the boat. At the galley sink, you can brace yourself in using your feet, legs and hips.  A daily workout! All electric with hot and cold running water, salt water foot pump, dishwasher and icemaker (both currently not used), gimballed hob/oven combo with a separate single burner induction cooktop, fridge, freezer, microwave, kettle toaster, crockpot, toasted sandwich maker, food processor.  Big storage compartment under the galley floor and easy wipe down corian benchtops. Top opening fridge with door for access into the lower compartments. Separate top opening freezer to the right of this pic. When sailing our passages ... Breakfast is DIY - cereal, muesli, porridge, toast, muffins Lunch - soup, pasta, toast

  You could say the beautiful township of Picton is abroad ... it feels like we have crossed an ocean to get here!  Have enjoyed a whole week of sunshine and blue skies, balmy temperatures, happily settled into marina life ... flush loos and hot showers plus industrial size washing machine and drier less than 30 seconds walk away. Shore power ... heating ... it's positively tropical onboard Mimu. Just like fancy apartment living. Experiencing dinners on other boats, drinks with the local fisherman plus fish for the freezer, chatty marina dwellers and locals passing the time of day. A 5 minute walk into a vibrant town center, the best library you can imagine, a $4 bus ride away from the big metropolis of Blenheim, picturesque cafes along the harbourfront, views of the Cook Strait ferries arriving and departing. Spending this downtime bringing Mimu back up to scratch and to put a smile on our Skipper's face.  It is never a hardship to be involved in boat maintenance and there is

 Well ... the news is ... a new turbo has been ordered from the States, a 10 day wait time, rigging expert onboard tomorrow to sort out the genoa furling.  Skipper, Commodore and crew are now on the InterIslander heading to Wellington followed by flight to Rotorua and home to Taupo.  Jean staying onboard Mimu, jobs to do ...  (a huge thank you to the Maple Store team for allowing me the extra weeks off work, a heartfelt thank you). Joined by Troy of Lionheart.  Final crew bonding session - changes afoot. Lamb rack @ Mimu 5 Star Restaurant. Farewell Mimu ... but the circumnavigation will continue.  All going to plan the next leg Picton to Napier in a couple of week's time followed by final leg to Auckland in Mimu with all systems go.

 Left Mimu for the day, hired a car and headed to Blenheim for a bit of sight seeing and girly shopping ... Aviation Museum for the boys. Bubbles, Sav, Pinot at Cloudy Bay Winery.

 A stunning day in Picton ... getting into the maintenance whilst waiting on news re the engine. The push button furler has spat the dummy so resorting to old fashioned muscle power to winch out the genoa and winch back in again in a more tensioned and tidy fashion. Our brawny Farmer Cam has been a great addition to Mimu - what a bloke!!! And where would we be without Alan - hard at work resoldering the VHF cables ... and the best cup of tea maker onboard.

Definitely needed a night of letting our hair down after some tough times!   Our Peachy Queen's shaken not stirred. Well deserved fun times. Alan has rejoined us for the Napier leg ...  Into our 7th week of sailing and turning into raving alcoholics! Can recommend The Oxley for great food, great drinks, great vibes and awesome service.

  The right decision made to change course and head into Picton for repairs. Maui dolphins accompanied us into Picton Harbour. Heading to Picton with the BlueBridge behind us. Marina berth booked. Repairs, rest and recover. Mermaids looking a bit weather worn and tired!... and slightly squiffy by this stage. A great dinner out!  Making the most of our change of plans. Have mechanic coming tomorrow, a trip to Burnsco planned, maybe the hairdresser, movies.  Will be here for next few days sorting out repairs, a boat haul, plus we are handicapped by the weather forecast.  Plan is to head straight to Napier once we have a clear weather window.  Alan joining us tomorrow to make a crew of 5 heading north.

 Decided to carry on to Port Jackson before making the decision of whether to continue on to Wellington or head to Picton for engine repairs. Full sail, engine off, wind NW15 knots heading east, 1-2m swells. Rising wind behind us, perfect conditions for goose wing sailing Autohelm off and hand steering under goose wing.  Tricky conditions with light winds, swell and engine on.  The last thing we need is an accidental gybe! Congratulations in order as we cross our original track down from the North Island. And then ... on bringing in the genoa in light winds, the furler just stopped furling!  Nothing was stuck or caught, everything looked in order ... Skipper managed to hand wind the last of the sail but it left us with a baggy sail up front and the decision was made to head through the Queen Charlotte Sounds to Picton for repair.  This means we have lost our weather window and may now be delayed by a few days but safety is paramount.

 So there we were having the best sail of the trip.  Genoa and main up, bimini stacked back.  Absolute silence with the engine off ... perfect everything for heading to Wellington. 10am we put the genoa away, wind gone very light, engine on ... At 1500 revs no smoke, higher revs and full pollution.  Tried reverse at 2000 revs and dislodged (we think) a massive clump of kelp. Black soot and fluctuating revs. Diver Dan (ala Farmer Cam) to the rescue.  We bobbed around mid ocean for Cam to dive under and check there was nothing further jammed around the prop. Drifting under main in Te Kakaho Channel. And it had been a perfect day - sunshine, blue skies, azure seas. Commodore still smiling!!

 Up at 6.30am, breakfast and departure from Kupe Bay in the drizzle and mist.  We had a westerly of 16+ knots blowing, sailing under genoa and destination Wellington.  Motored through French Pass at the top of the tide.  Timed to perfection.  The colour of the water was unexpected for NZ. In places like a mirror and then whirlpools and eddy's with white ruffles on top.  There is a house at the top of this staircase. An eddy just at the end of the pass.

 Great sail across Tasman Bay, genoa and engine assist, 1-2m swells, 5 knots southerly. Navigated into our anchorage in the dark, anchor down at 18.45pm in Opotiki Bay, D'Urville Island.  Darkness all around apart from the lights of what we presumed to be a couple of farm houses on the island. Had a hideous night's sleep - squally gusts and swells, rain ... we were all up at different times checking the anchor and conditions. Most husband's treat their wives to flowers or maybe dinner out to celebrate Mother's Day ... in our case the skipper and Cam (a borrowed husband) laid on an amazing treat of 4-5 orca whales circling us in the bay.  It was an incredibly special sight!  Also a little bit scary when 2 orca's went under the boat. In the mist and rain went for a bit of a tiki tour with Farmer Cam. Mimu all alone in the mist and gloom.

 The weather worsened and we decided to put out a second 40kg anchor. Although the water looks calm, the wind was gusting, low visibility, swell ... the pics just don't do justice to the conditions. The wind funnelled down the hill in front of us and whipped spray off the water.  Gusts over 28kts made it all the more difficult to get the anchor off the dinghy in the right place.  It took two attempts to get it to 'dig in'. Success! We had the second anchor out for most of the afternoon then made the executive decision to bring it in so that we could have a quick getaway with a favourable weather window in the morning.  What a mission!  Even with brawny Farmer Cam's brute strength, the anchor was lodged securely and did not want to budge.  With the light rapidly disappearing, we brought up the main anchor and endeavored to lift the second anchor.  Commodore on the helm, bow thrusters working overtime, we secured a halyard to the anchor chain and winched the anchor free.