Fiji – New Zealand

On board a fishing vessel

11^th part 2008.04.15 – 05.07

(translated by Laszlo AA7UY)

Ship repairs in Fiji

2008.04.15 (day 570)

Ross Macdonald: http://www.ross-macdonald.com/ I like his drawings

Bobby came over with a diving bottle at 8 in the morning, and together we looked for a fitting hose, the size of the cooling water outlet. Finally Tony, the owner/manager of the nearby diving base gave us one. Blew the cooling system with compressed air, so it couldn’t have been blocked by anything, but even then the water didn’t go through. Then hitchhiked to Lautoka and spoke with Dan the mechanic. He could only come out tomorrow morning to look at the problem. I should go and print the ships and my personal insurance papers and other important official papers, those are good to present sometimes J.

Shopping in town:

- 1 liter polyester 15 FD (there’s still some hardener in the ship)

- 1 large bucket 2 FD

- 1 liter vinegar and a few cans of fish, vegetables 7 FD

Afternoon chores in the marina:

- entered the water and examined the possibility if it’s possible to remove the foot of the engine under water. It’s possible, held by 4 bolts only, not complicated.

- installed and swapped the connection to the new and old autopilots.

The ship is in the water again, squeaking constantly, the stresses are evening out a little.

Dined with Geoffrey (Fijian).

2008.04.16 (day 571)

A few days ago I was given an old HF radio from a French couple, it doesn’t work on all HAM bands but it might come in handy.

Had bread with guava jelly for breakfast.

Morning chores:

- replaced the switch of the electric horn and now it’s working again

- disconnected the clock in the switchboard because it wasn’t accurate, only loud

- finished gluing the cabinet

- sealed a few spots on deck with silicone

- measured the old dipole antenna, seems OK but should be tested

After noon the mechanics Dan and David came over to look at the engine. I must order an impeller from Japan because the local warehouse doesn’t have this type. I’ll try to get one from New Zealand, but that’s fairly uncertain. I may have to wait for weeks.

The fishing vessel Boobook sails for New Zealand during the weekend and they need a crewman. Possibly I’ll go with them. Spoke with the captain today, also with the owner yesterday and the day before.

The ship is a 55-ton motorized wooden fishing boat approximately 30 years old.

Watched movies at the Yacht Club in the evening.

Recommended book:

Timothy Ferries: The mind’s sky

Brice Bryson: A short history of nearly every thing.

2008.04.17 (day 572)

A good friend of mine recommended the books of István Jankovich. So far I couldn’t find them in downloadable format on the Internet. His books: Why are we living on the Earth?; Reincarnation; I survived my death etc. “the law of loving harmony, that ‘runs’ the universe”.

I have decided to go to New Zealand. I have a little time since I’m waiting for the water pump and I am interested how it feels like sailing in and old fishing boat. The captain will pay for the return plane ticket.

Went to town in the morning to photocopy maps, parts of books about Vanuatu-, Solomon- and PNG for Larsen and myself. Cost: 32 FD. Hans gave me the maps in the morning. Bought a satchel for 10 FD for the trip plus a 12V cigar-lighter connector for 5 FD, because the connector of the pencil battery charger broke a few weeks ago.

Saw the mechanic too, talked about engine repairs. This operation isn’t so simple with the ship being in the water.

Afternoon: bused to Ruben in Banaras, but didn’t stay long. Then went over to the Boobook fishing vessel in the marina in the evening to talk with the captain about the voyage and the ship.

I should mention the name of Jacques Yves Cousteau as Earth Day’s date nears. “Educating people to understand, to love, to protect the water systems of the Planet, marine and fresh water, for well being of future generations.” Cousteau

“Cousteau consecrated his life to teaching the world about marvels that are at once exotic to us and yet ordinary in the abyss off the ocean. Through his lyrical writings and his films, that took your breath away, he placed the underwater world at the door of an audience as expansive as the oceans themselves. I always learned with him.”

AL GORE

Jacques Yves Cousteau (1910 – 1997) mariner, scientist, photographer and researcher. Member of the French Academy, who also took part in the development of the scuba diving breathing apparatus. He made the first French underwater movies at the beginning of the 40’s. His book of those times: The Silent World. In 1950 he established the French Oceanographic Campaigns (COF) and started on refurbishing the ship Calypso. He organized an unbelievable number of expeditions during the 50’s and filmed constantly. His prizewinning film at the Cannes Film Festival: Silent World (1956). Developed the “diving saucer” SP-350 with Jean Mollard underwater craft that was usable to 350 meter depth. Then in 1965 they succeeded in expanding it to 500-meter depth. In 1957 he became the director of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. Afterwards he took part in gradually more serious research, i.e.: underwater housing, long-term underwater residence. He became increasingly more popular and well known. In 1960 he organized the boycott of radioactive waste dumping, previously approved by European Atomic Energy Commission. Made a TV series “The Underwater Odyssey of Commander Cousteau” with American TV networks (ABC, Metromedia, NBC). In 1973, with his two sons and Frederick Hyman, established the Cousteau Society in the interest of protecting the oceans (now more than 300,000 members). He published 120 TV documentary films and more than 50 books!! Many famous composers wrote music pieces and songs for him. In short: he became a legend!!

Cousteau Society: http://www.cousteau.org/

His son owns a hotel near Savusavu, called Cousteau Resort. One of my acquaintances works there as diving master. We sailed by with Paul and walked on its beach, nice area.

2008.04.18 (day 573)

Further checked the importing possibilities of the impeller. Contacted two firms.

http://www.importedmarinefiji.com/; http://www.ovlov.co.nz

The Yamaha store could import it from Japan in 3-4 weeks. The NZ company could do it in perhaps 1 week. Worked in the Boobook ship all morning. We fabricated a wooden compartment, then painted the ship. Afternoon went to the Customs Office to ask for a document, stating that the ship is waiting for me here and an airplane ticket is justified in my case.

Bought 3 pairs of used socks for 12 FD, it will be colder in NZ!!

After noon a priest friend visited, invited me for his Sunday’s service and lunch. Then Bobby gave me a crewcut. This way is more comfortable.

Evening: the sailors got together at the Yacht Club. We drank and talked, listening to good live music.

2008.04.19 (day 574)

A good acquaintance of mine sent me ship propelling possibilities. http://www.kiteboatspeed.com/

http://www.skysails.info/index.php?L=1

Worked on the Boobook fishing vessel morning and afternoon. Mainly woodwork.

Had a light salad and salt crackers for lunch. Nowadays I eat salads with everything. All it needs is 1-kg onions 1 FD and 3 cucumbers 1 FD with a little salt, vinegar and olive oil. This quantity is plenty for me for 5-6 days.

I again have four infected sores on my hand, Keep cleaning and soaking them in hot water.

The VHF radio is OK since Carina has been in the water, much better ground (no more background noise).

2008.04.20 (day 575)

http://www.religioustolerance.org/

In it you can read about Islam. 21% of the Earth’s population is Muslim. There are many in Fiji. They arrived in the 1800s with the Hindus. They follow the Islam calendar.

Early morning I laundered twice in machine also hand-washed a few white polo shirts. I’m forced to hand wash the delicate whites with wash-soap. A wash-soap costs 2.5 FD and lasts for months.

Went over to the Boobook in the morning to talk with the captain. Then hitchhiked to Lautoka to my priest friend’s Mass of Pasta Apate. It is important for one to have a priest of psychologist acquaintance/friend to talk with sometimes J.Then had lunch at his place: chicken soup, fish lolo (fish in coconutsauce and dalo leaves) with kasava. 12 children live in his house whom he constantly keeps an eye on and gives them strong religious education as well. One, Josef will enroll in the Biblia College of Suva next year. Who knows what may become of him? Perhaps a priest. I was among all kinds of good people.

Early afternoon got acquainted with Ram, owner of the neighboring motorboat who invited me. Perhaps will once… (Nowadays everybody is asking how I can survive it?

Afternoon worked on the Boobook ship. One of my duties was to secure barrels of diesel reserve on deck with ropes.

Evening: dined lamb chops in Boobook.

2008.04.21 (day 576)

QRZ Ham Radio: www.qrz.com

A Fijian radio amateur (3D2II Lautoka) lives in the neighborhood, I haven’t talked with him yet. Karesz found him on the Internet.

Helped on the Boobook all day. Pressed the usual carpenter work, then we went to test the ship among the islands in the afternoon for a couple of hours. Everything looks OK with both the ship and the captain.

We tried to solve some of the usual problems:

1. Seepage

2. Making some shelves and finding the place for everything.

3. Replacing a few electrical switches/connectors/lamps

4. Securing the gas bottle

Had a fine vegetarian dinner at Hans in the evening. Then later talked with the other sailors in the Yacht Club.

2008.04.22 (day 577)

Went over to the Pelorus Jack sailboat in the morning (about 50 foot cement ship):

www.robinsoncrusoeislandfiji.com/sailing.htm

The name’s origin: that’s what they used to call a famous dolphin near NZ, several persons saw it between 1888 and 1912, 4 meters long, white with a gray stripe. Saved several ships – according to the legend.

Nico (Fiji) and Merer (Fiji Indian) have been working on the hull for two weeks.

Worked around Carina all day:

1. cleaned the ship (found an ant’s nest in the ship that I eliminated)

2. hand washed some clothing (waterproof, socks, hats)

3. pumped out the bilge water, several liters, I don’t know where it came from. There was no water in the bow compartments though.

Then had some beers with Hans in his ship, drinking his always good and cold homebrew “yacht” beer as usual. Then bused to Ruben to say good by, will sail for NZ tomorrow.

Evening: talked with Tye near my ship. He’s a 21 year old American, sailing with his father and uncle in a 55 foot catamaran. Basically he works as a diving master in Central America. He can do somersaults and

can do other gymnastics as well…

Fiji, Lautoka – New Zealand, Nelson

Sailing in the fishing vessel Boobook

I helped in the ship’s sailing as a crewmember.

I worked for nearly free, the ship owner pays my airplane ticket back to Fiji.

MV Boobook (Fishing Motorship, Carvel)

Gross Tonnage: 87.61t; Net Tonnage: 55.75t;

Stem: Straight, Stern: Transom; Rigging: Nil;

Builder: Ballina, New South Wales

Engine: Single Screw, 6 cylinder Diesel, Compression ignition, Single Acting 4 cycle

Built and registered: 1970.

Material: wood

Length: 16.24 m; Width: 5.18 m; Draft: 2.65 m;

Average speed: 9 knots

Single decked, single mast.

2008.04.23 (day 578)

Today was kind of dense. Early morning I filmed Tye’s jumps, then thoroughly washed down Carina outside and put away everything in the cabin.

After 9 went over to Boobook with my luggage and after briefly packing my things away we moved to the fueling dock, where we took on 5000 liters of tax free diesel fuel between 10 and 12. Normal price 1.82 FD/liter, we paid 1.40 FD. Since the ship is in transit, the international rules say she doesn’t have to pay taxes. There was also a Customs Official to check the quantity. Additionally we bought 50 liters of lube oil. Afterwards we motored over to the Customs Pier in Lautoka to officially take leave of the country.

Departed at 3 p.m. It was a pleasant, sunny day with brief showers (still in the rainy season). Our course is set for Navula passage, making 7.2 knots. Reached the passage in darkness around 7 p.m., navigating by map and lights in the passage. We easily transited with the help of GPS.

I left my home, the marina and Carina to sail to an interesting island, New Zealand in an interesting, old fishing boat, but I shall return yet! Said good bye to my friends, Fijians and sailors alike. Some I shall never see again.

I discovered after the night watch, that I left my credit card in my ship. No problem, it’s more interesting without money J. Spotted only one ship over night, very scant ship’s traffic around here. Brenda doesn’t feel well and has fever. What’s going to happen later? The sea state is 2-3, or 2-3 meter waves. There is a 0.5 knot westerly current in the area.

My book for today: Tahiti, the other side. (Not too interesting).

Souvenir from Fiji: an infected, slow healing sore on my hand that also hurts.

2008.04.24 (day 579)

The fishing boat smells, noisy and rolls constantly. I like her regardless.

We change watches every 4 hours at night, but I can see the majority dozing at the wheel. Luckily, the going isn’t too comfortable, so they frequently wake up.

Sunshine, weak Bf.3-4 winds. Smaller waves than last night but the ship still rolls constantly. Brenda and Charles (the captain) are seasick. Not me, I eat well and read all day at the wheel. After Carina I don’t get seasick easily.

Charles looks at the weather fax every day.

The frequencies:

10:00 LT 5807 kHz (being sent every hour, refreshed every 6 hrs)

09:45 LT 9459 kHz (being sent every hour, refreshed every 6 hrs)

These maps show atmospheric pressure (isobars/tr) The L and H areas are well visible with their direction and speed of movement.

11:00 (19-19S; 176-20E)

Our speed is a steady 6.5 knots on a 200° course. I’m at the wheel all day, after noon checking the engine with the captain (i.e.: oil level).

My book for today: Fiji Coups in Paradise by Victor Lal.

This book is very depressing. The people in power are generally more idiotic than the average. At night I turn the watch over and finally sleep 6 straight hours in the common cabin.

Vessels have to have tools for repairs and maintenance. I have three plastic toolboxes. A small one for basic tools, a larger one for extra tools that I use less frequently, and one for repairing electronic problems. Ships usually don’t have much room, so only the important tools are worth carrying. In general, there is no room for collecting. I think good quality tools are important though I have many cheap, poor quality tools too. Sometimes a used tool is cheaper and also better (tried and tested).

2008.04.25 (day 580)

Most people use tablets, skin patches or a watch-like thing attached to their arm against seasickness. Two advices: massage slowly and deeply on the top of the hand next to where you can feel your pulse, or massage just above the entrance to the stomach, in the middle where the ribs join. Of course most sailors recommend some rum J.

Brenda woke me at 5:30, my watch begins. I walk over the length of the deck every morning at 7. This is when the sun is getting up and I collect the flying fish from deck. There were two today, but, since everybody is seasick except me, I threw them back.

Sunny day with pleasant, weak wind. The circumstances are quite normal.

12:00 (21-51S; 174-58E)

The ship has a good Robertson auto pilot that keeps on working well. When we transmit over the HF radio, the ship naturally turns off course. On duty means monitoring speed, engine and the surrounding ocean. The ship’s radar is inoperative, so the person on duty also has to watch out for ship traffic.

The ship has a regular refrigerator that runs off 220V, so we run the generator daily.

We caught a 4-kg mahi-mahi in the afternoon with artificial lure. So dinner was fried mahi-mahi with rice.

Charles and Brenda still do not feel well, they slept all day, so I sat at the wheel reading.

We radio every day (ICOM, M710 NZ). At 19:00 LT on 4.445 MHz with Russel Radio (NZ) and at 18:30 LT on 4.417 MHz with another ship we know (she’s in the NZ area).

Turned the watch over to the captain at 1 a.m.

2008.04.26 (day 581)

- The engine room is on fire – was, how the captain woke me up at 7 a.m. Since we are still in the tropics and the weather is pleasant, I was sleeping in a pair of shorts only. Jumped out of my bunk without thinking and ran to the after deck.

- Stop the engine! – Brenda shut off the engine. Charles turned on the seawater pump and two of us went down to extinguish the fire. Charles directed the hose…

This is an old wooden ship and the wooden frames caught fire in one place that Brenda noticed on her watch. This first happened at 5 a.m. then again two hours later.

The reason: the muffler – the exhaust pipe, where hot gases exit from the engine – broke in two places and directly heated the ship’s framing. After extinguishing the fire we built a wooden stand to hold the muffler. We then repaired the broken exhaust pipe with fiber tape, copper sheeting, cuff and heat resistant aluminum tape secured with copper wire. This work took “only” three hours.

Dinner: fried chicken with mashed potatoes and vegetables. At these times I eat good portions, it was worth coming along just for this J.

I sat at the wheel on duty all afternoon, evening and night. The others basically slept, being seasick.

2008.04.27 (day 582)

The electric output of the wind generator: P=K*E*D²*V³, where K=0.0653; E the mechanical efficiency, which is 30% in most cases; D is the blade diameter, V is wind speed. Naturally, every relevant handbook lists the output indicators,

Got up at 7 a.m. and relieved Brenda. Charles is no longer seasick, but unfortunately Brenda isn’t feeling better.

Rained in the morning, making visibility less than a mile. Wind Bf.4 and waves around 3 m, the ship keeps rolling.

12:00 (26-33S; 173-32E)

The weather improved by afternoon. In general this is a boring trip, nothing happens. I like it though, I can read and have time to think as well.

Here, the roles develop spontaneously. Everybody cooks and washes dishes. Though I was doing more at first, the others being seasick. Charles also cooks and washes dishes. Brenda does a little less because she sleeps more or is sitting on deck.

There’s something to repair in the ship every day, but these are basically routine duties. Interestingly the ship has 12V, 24V and 220V parallel systems. For example: there are 12V, 24V and 220V bilge pumps. The cooler, microwave oven and stove and a few lamps use 220V, but the majority uses basically 24 and 12V.

The water keeps seeping along the main shaft, a sensor detects it and turns on a pump. Sailboats have a similar system for bottom pumping.

How do people team up? What is necessary for this? Its beauty is that it isn’t complicated at all, All it takes is time and some normal people. Conversations should not be forced… I have been alone nowadays and sailed alone, but I do like to sail with others, I too am a social being.

2008.04.28 (day 583)

Among several reasons, I think this trip is useful because I can view the ocean from the point of view of an average fishing boat. It’s a different world.

We haven’t seen any ships since the first night. Ship traffic is very scant around here.

Got up at 7 a.m. Sunny all day, and pleasant, weak wind.

Our speed is 6 knots. We reduced speed from 6.5 to 6 knots since the fire to run the engine cooler. Course 173°, our goal: Three King Island (belong to NZ). Distance: 330nm. This is a nature conservation area where many protected species live, you can anchor but can not go ashore.

Caught a 3-kg mahi-mahi in the morning that we ate for lunch.

Interestingly, this is no longer the tropics, theoretically there shouldn’t b e any mahi-mahis, but tuna for instance.

It’s warm, the sun is shining, just like the tropics.

12:00 (29-04S; 173-05E)

We passed Norfolk Island 300 miles on our beam.

Afternoon: general cleanup, then transferred 800 liters of diesel from the forward- to the two middle tanks. New technical problem: a leak developed where the pipe is attached to the pump, that we noticed at the routine inspection. Stopped pumping. Hosed the engine room deck with salt water, then pumped the bilge.

The clamp that secures the hose to the pump got loose, fortunately all we had to do is tighten it.

Later topped off the shaft’s bearings with lubricating oil

At 19:00 as usual turned on the navigation lights: Port, Starbd, Masthead, Stern. Naturally we are not using the Trawl and N.V.C. lights. Sometimes we turn on the deck lights at night, because it attracts the flying fish, jumping on deck when we’re lucky, so we can have fresh fried fish for dinner.

The vessel’s water tank is 2000 liters. The toilet uses fresh water and, because of the many showers we have only a few hundred liters left. We shall have to watch consumption from now on. Charles fabricated an ingenious water collector on deck, so it’s filling the tank when it rains. Rained in the afternoon and we moved from deck to the wheel and into the lounge.

The community cabin is too small and there’s little air, so we use it for sleeping only. The long trip visibly affects the crew, they’re not used to it. The mood is good regardless. Most people can’t bear doing nothing and restricted movement for very long.

Spotted a ship’s lights at 10 p.m. in very poor visibility, so it couldn’t be far. Perhaps 3-4nm, which seems practically nothing on this huge surface.

2008.04.29 (day 584)

“Fighting for peace is like

screwing for virginity.”

“Make love, not war.

Hell, do both

Get married!”

Sorting maps. Now, the INT600 also turns up besides the INT606.

Increasingly getting colder as we are progressing southward, so I made a zulu (traditional Fiji skirt for men) for myself.

The weather fax forecast shows a suspicious L (low pressure area) west of NZ. Though it moved west compared to yesterday, but it could easily wait for us and there’s another L on the other side of NZ as well. We could be caught in a sandwich, the captain is optimistic though.

We set another line for fishing in the morning.

12:00 (31-39S; 172-36E)

Generally we are reading and talking with each other all day. IT IS COLD!

We pulled out the North Cape map (N.Z. 41), the coast is getting closer.

I was on watch until midnight, then we poured 20 liters of lube oil into the engine. We passed 1000nm and even the indicator at the wheel showed the need for it.

2008.04.30 (day 585)

In 1993 Sydney – Hobart racer (John Quinn) fell into the water and they only found him 5 hours later. He survived. He said, that he concentrated continuously not to panic. “Don’t panic!”

Up at 7 in the morning. Everybody is still asleep as usual, that doesn’t make me happy. They don’t take their duties and watch seriously. It seems they don’t feel responsible, or they don’t know how dangerous it is. Went on watch at the wheel. We are 25nm from Three Kings Islands, and the island group is clearly visible. We are seeing land again after one week. The sea is rather wavy, we are getting it on the beam and rolling. Occasionally a brief shower catches up with-, then passes us by, creating beautiful rainbows around.

The captain and his girlfriend are seasick again, plus they hardly slept all night because the waves increased since last evening (3-4m) and the cabin is like being in a food processor. So they had no breakfast.

I however slept well and had breakfast too.

At 9 o’clock the weather fax showed the Low beginning to move toward us. Charles decided that we’ll anchor and wait in the southern bay of the Great Is. (Three Kings Is.) (You can’t step ashore because of the protected birds).

We also listen later to the weather over the VHF radio on ch. 68: forecast 35kt southwest winds with 3-4m waves, could last for several days.

After 10, a game fishing boat passes us, Charles calls them on ch.16 then talks on ch.6 They tell us they caught fish and there is pleasant fishing weather. They’ll return to the North Cape anchorage for the night, not to these small islands.

13:30 Anchoring (34-09.4S; 172-08.8E)

Repairing broken bilge pumps after a good lunch.

Afternoon: resting, reading. Sometimes an occasional shower and strengthening wind break the total silence, which is unusual after a week’s engine noise.

Typical English dinner: fried onions, mashed potatoes and fried sausage. Then watched the Da Vinci Code on my machine, read the book about a year ago, which was better in my opinion. A few dolphins swam nearby in our bay, we only heard-, didn’t see them.

2008.05.01 (day 586)

It was very cold at dawn. Wore a pullover, blue jeans and a hat under my blanket, still, I was cold.

The dolphins were still swimming there when we got up in the morning. The dolphins, the island and it’s birds, and of course the hot tea gave me energy, I feel good! A perfect day!

The neighboring two fishing boats left at dawn to fish, there were only two “game fishing boats” other than us in the bay. One of them, that we talked on VHF yesterday, came behind us and gave us hooks, squids and crayfish.

According to the weather map we’d still have strong headwinds and large waves today (the low pressure area started moving west, thus possibly going by us), so we stayed. The wind is turning southerly therefore we move to the North Bay around noon.

New anchorage position: (34-09.0S; 172-07.5E)

A ‘game fishing boat’ anchors next to us, and they’re fishing. We start fishing too from the boat.

This is the best fishing spot in New Zealand. We caught 11 then quit:

- 7 red snappers

- 4 trevarily (small gray fish, but the best tasting in this area)

Dinner is naturally fried fish and crayfish (homár).

Watching Mr. Bean movies and reading sailing-theme books the evening.

2008.05.02 (day 587)

At dawn Brenda spotted seals near the ship feeding on squid. Alas I was asleep and missed it.

Weighed anchor at 9 in the morning. Just before departure we secured everything on deck (chairs, buckets, laths…), the going will be rough.

The problems:

1. anchor windlass. The remote control hasn’t been working so we could only weigh anchor from the steering position, and had to loosen the windlass for lowering. Now the windlass keeps stalling during lowering and constantly has to be helped by hand and crowbar.

2. Loose V-belt on the engine. There’s no spare, perhaps will last until Nelson .

Brief showers, then 2-3 rainbows all at once. Wonderful sight, the ship is constantly rolling and shaking in 3-4 meter waves (“food processor”). The wind sometimes increases to Bf.6. Brenda is seasick again.

12:00 (34-13S; 172-11E)

Course: 145; spd: 5 knots (4-4.5kts when the waves slow us down).

First headwinds, then veering to the beam.

The toilet drain is leaking. Charles tried to fix it without success, so we secured it instead.

Caught a 4-kg tuna in the afternoon. It has to be skillfully cut along the flippers on both sides letting the blood out (artery). Best tasting this way. Afterwards I hosed the deck for 10 minutes, everything was bloody. The filleting is similar to other fishes, but easier. The bones must be carefully cut with the edge of knife from the tail along the backbone. Charles’ favorite recipe: fried in butter with garlic, we made it so, it was perfect.

The east coast of New Zealand would’ve been more pleasant (smaller waves and mostly weaker winds), but we chose the shorter route on the west side. New Zealand’s west coast is windier and wavier, there are the best surfing locations. A continuous, wonderful surfer’s Paradise from North Cape downward for 90 miles.

I was on duty until 00:30 at night. Charles and Brenda followed my watch. They mostly slept again.

2008.05.03 (day 588)

Got up after 7 in the morning. The waves are big, steadily 4 m. The ship is rolling.

We are using the old water closet system, buckets since the toilet became inoperable. Charles and Brenda are seasick because of the waves, they’re taking Scopoderm TTS 1.5. They don’t feel tired from it, they say that’s the best medicine against seasickness.

12:00 (35-58S; 173-05E)

Brenda noticed an unusual smell in the afternoon. I ran to the engine room while Charles takes the motor out of gear.

- The engine is smoking!

The exhaust pipe broke in one place because the engine got overheated. The reason: the cooling system leaked and we lost the cooling water. We replaced the broken heat resistant rubber hose. Then repaired the broken part with fiberglass and aluminum tape. Poured 100 liters of fresh water into the cooling water tank, leaving hardly any left. This repair also took 3 hours.

Later added oil to the engine shaft. When checking, we noticed a 1-liter/minute leakage along the shaft seal, which is normal with this type of ship. Tightened the bolts but it didn’t help.

Took a salt-water shower on deck late afternoon, we can’t use freshwater for this purpose anymore.

We couldn’t make contact with the HF radio and sailed closer to the coast so we could send a message via cellular (mobile) telephone to Geoffrey (the owner)

Course: 145, speed: 5.5 knots, map: NZ 42.

2008.05.04 (day 589)

Using new map: NZ 43.

Everybody slept in this morning, I was on duty.

12:00 (37-54S; 174-15E)

After noon washed dishes in salt water, waves sloshing in, (and rain). Must wash dishes sometimes because without it we’d soon reach a level of disgust and that in general does affect people’s mood.

Rained all evening and night with stormy winds (Bf 6-7). Charles called the Port Radio on ch. 12 because of poor visibility, asking for directions to find the harbor entrance. Though we had a map (NZ 4432), the visibility was very poor and there are numerous shoals near the entrance, so one mistake could be bad news (the tide was ebbing).

The radio operator saw us on his radar and readily explained the approach route.

Arrived at Port Taranaki at 01 (New Plymouth) POS (39-03.3S; 174-02E).

Slow but safe tying-up to a green fishing vessel. Then came the cordial and polite officials (Customs, Immigration, Port Health…) and admitted us into the country in half an hour. They confiscated certain foods: eggs, vegetables, fruits, chicken…

I have no airplane ticket yet, but they accepted my situation and gave me no trouble. (I even had no money because I left my credit card in Fiji, but they didn’t know this). I have a pair of pants that was soiled and wet because of engine repairs and rain. My heavy pullover is also grease soiled, so I hardly have any clean clothes.

2008.05.05 (day 590)

Kia Ora – welcome in the Maori language.

We took showers in Geoffrey’s hotel room in the morning. Then the others went to lunch while I interneted briefly. Then we escorted Brenda to the airport, she’s flying to Auckland to start a job tomorrow.

Afternoon: got familiar with the town, mostly the downtown area, streets and a few interesting churches. Then visited the Taranaki Museum where there were several exhibitions:

1. Maori (original natives) culture, myths and legends

2. Origin and spiritual history of Taranaki volcano

3. New Zealand fauna (i.e.: kiwi)

4. The history of New Plymouth, where I found a picture of a Hungarian: Loui Kuthy, (captain of the Geneva May fishing vessel, founder of Fresha Fisheries).

Many Hungarians live in New Zealand. They fled the terrors following the Second World War and the 1956 revolution. Many immigrate nowadays as well: higher standard of living, to live near Nature and many other reasons.

Later walked on a 7 km long connected coastal walkway, though in rain.

Maori Village: www.maoriculture.co.nz; Maori Culture Centre (Te Puia): www.tepuia.com

We all had dinner together in the evening. Naturally I ate fish and drank Steinlager, which is one of the best New Zealand beers. It was interesting to listen what Geoffrey said about Sinbad (film based on Krudy’s book) during dinner. Incidentally, his favorite actor is Zoltán Latinovics.

The neighboring fishing boat returned, late after 10. Originally they left for a 3-day fishing trip but the sea was stormy (Bf.8) and the waves large. We had to start the engine, maneuver and tie the ship up again. They are next to the dock, we tied to them again.

It was very cold at night and I was cold. If somebody knows of a good meditation method to tolerate very cold, send it to me! After Fiji, the fall in New Zealand is cold/windy/rainy, besides I only bought a thin blanket with me and my clothes are damp. This requires some special meditation. Dried my clothes and warmed near the gas stove. Drank hot tea every few hours, this way the night and sleep were bearable.

2008.05.06 (day 591)

“Ki mai koe ki a au, he aha te mea nui tenei ao: He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.” (Maori)

(If you ask what is the greatest thing in the world, the answer: the people, the people, the people.)

We talked with the neighboring fishermen in the morning. The are just filleting and transporting yesterday’s catch.

It isn’t raining, nor cloudy, so the Tanaraki volcano, that captain Cook named Edmond’s Mountain, can be seen clearly, everybody is using its original Maori name however: Tanaraki.

Geoffrey arrived around 9 in the morning, we had breakfast together and scanned the morning papers:

www.nzherald.co.nz; www.tanarakidailynews.co.nz

The weather is better than expected, so we’ll depart tonight for Nelson, probably arriving tomorrow morning.

Morning: ship cleaning, then installed a new switch for the pump, the old one was broken. This switch senses the rise in water level and turns on the pump.

The anchor windlass up/down switch also was bad at the steering position, luckily the problem was only a loose wire. Then many other small chores, i.e.: splicing ropes.

Went to dine in a nearby eatery, then departed for Nelson.

Muffler repair materials we used:

1. Holts Gun Gum (Gas Tight Silencer Repair Paste)

2. Permatex Exhaust Repair (Muffler & Tailpipe Putty), this can withstand up to 100°C. Black sodium silicate based sealer. Safe for catalytic converters, long lasting, shock resistant. www.permatex.com

Departed at 18:00 for Nelson. Distance 140nm.

We had pleasant weather all night.

2008.05.07 (day 592)

Spd: 6.5-7 knots; course 170

Sunny all day, so it almost feels warm. I wasn’t cold.

Dolphins follow us all morning. They come close, swimming along the ship, then take off after a few minutes. I think they leave because we’re too noisy.

Using a new map: NZ6142

(The magnetic variation in the Southern Pacific Ocean is typically 20° E, which is quite different from that of the Mediterranean).

15:30 tied up at Nelson. POS (41-15.5S; 173-16.8E)

We sailed 1550nm from Lautoka.

Later we all went to rest, dine and sleep at Geoffery’s house. (It was cold in there).

New Zealand:

Form of government: constitutional monarchy.

Capital: Wellington

Area: 270,534 km²

Population: 4,141,766

Composition: White (78%), Maori (10%), Polynesian, Chinese, Indian

Official language: English

Religion: Anglican 21%, Presbyterian 16%, Catholic 15%, Methodist 4%, non-attached 20%, other 24%.

Time Zone: Hungarian time + 11 hours

Money: New Zealand dollar. 1 NZD = 0.782 USD

Weather: tropical ocean. Rainy season from November until March. Thanks to its geographical position westerly winds dominate, from light summer breeze to roof-tearing hurricane. On the South Island, the Southern Alps act as a water separator mountains, the areas east from it are dry, the areas west have heavy precipitation. There are no such conditions on the North Island because of the different geological characteristics. Its climate is rather oceanic than continental with tropical characteristics in the far northern portion.

Visa: not required.

Its Islands: Kermadec-, Antipodes-, Auckland-, Campbell-, Three Kings-, Snares-, Solander- and Bounty Island.

External Possessions: Tokelau-, Niue-, Cook Islands, also the portion of Antarctica that belongs to the country – loosely attached areas of New Zealand.

New Zealand’s name in Maori is Aotearoa or Aetearoa that translates as Long White Cloud. Niu Tireni is the Maori translation of the English New Zealand. The people often call it Aotearoa New Zealand, which is almost entirely unknown in the West. The country was named after the Zeeland province in Holland.

Links:

http://ujzeland.lap.hu/

http://ujzeland-kepgaleria.lap.hu/

http://www.ujzeland.co.nz/

http://ujzeland.linkcenter.hu/

www.newzealand.com/travel

www.nz.com

www.natlib.govt.nz

Animals:

Before populated by humans, 80% of New Zealand was covered by forests. Numerous rare species of vegetation and birds (i.e. kakapo) can be found as a result of its isolated location. There were only two kinds of bats, the only land mammals before humans arrived. That’s how large, flightless birds could survive (i.e.: kiwi, takahe, pukeko, weka) in the forests. Also here lived the largest bird ever, the moa, which was probably extinguished as a result of being hunted by the first Polynesian immigrants.

History:

One of Earth’s latest populated lands. Polynesians came between 500 and 1300 AD and developed the Maori culture. The first Europeans spotted the coast of the North Island from a Holland ship (in 1642 Abel Jansoon Tasman). A boat full of sailors rowed ashore, suspecting nothing. They had tough luck though, as they became dinner on the table of local natives that evening. That flesh cutting adventure unnerved European travelers for some time. Next to come was Captain Cook in 1769 who landed under the British flag and promptly declared it British territory. The Island got populated but slowly. Partly because of the great distance from Europe, partly because the British were preoccupied with Australia. From 1832 the Island was governed from Australia. The Maori inhabitants were hostile against the “intruders”, but later became friendlier with them. In 1836 arrived James Busby, British subject, with the assignment by the king to colonize the area. The new colony didn’t get into the limelight until an adventurous, spirited Frenchman landed and offered to defend the Maoris from the intruding English. Of course the British didn’t take this too kindly from their then archenemy, so they sent captain Hobson there in 1840 and named him Governor of the new land.

Hobson first had to settle the differences with the Maoris. He asked Busby to mediate. That’s how the Treaty of Waitangi came about. The Treaty assured the Maoris, that England will provide their defense, in return they’ll sell some of their land. The Treaty was signed after two days of negotiations, but it seems that not all the Maoris are in agreement with it even to this day. Interestingly, since the Maoris had no written language, the British wrote it down as they heard it. European immigration began in 1839, after the establishment of the British New Zealand Company. The European settlers formed their first government in 1856. New Zealand became a self-governed dominion in 1907. In 1931 it became a full-fledged member of the British Commonwealth, that was ratified only in 1947 by the country’s Parliament. In 1945 one of the founding members of the United Nations.

The English - or more accurately their sheep - slowly populated the Islands. New Zealand became completely independent of the British Crown in 1947. Today, the only connection with the United Kingdom is the appointment of the Governor General. The position roughly equals to that of a head of state, mainly representative in nature. The freely elected Prime Minister of New Zealand recommends the appointment of the Governor General and the British Crown has to approve it. Regardless, the picture of the British Queen can be seen on all local monies, even if only as a custom.

New Zealand is located on the exact opposite half of the Globe, between southern latitudes of 35 and 47° and eastern longitudes of 167 and 178°. Some 3.8 million people live on this double island, separated from their nearest neighbor, Australia by 2000 km, and more than a 30 hour flight from Europe.

The two islands extend 1600 km from the sub-tropical northern territories to the permanently snow covered peaks of the Southern Alps. New Zealand is a country of contrasts: forests of ferns, sheep pastures, glaciers, palm trees, 6,000 km coastline… It is famous for being called a Paradise on Earth, but even this Garden of Eden has been affected by illnesses of the World economy: growing unemployment and inflation.

New Zealand is a country of natural wonders: Snow covered mountains, fast running rivers, clear lakes, beaches, endless forests and of course exotic fauna. It is the Mecca of open country sports: bicycling, surfing, skiing, mountain climbing, hiking, rafting, parachuting and for the crazies: bungee jumping. The simple tourist can sunbathe, fish, swim with the dolphins, watch the kiwis and sheep. Wellington, the capital lies in a magnificent harbor. Wellington is also a city of excellent restaurants, seafood, wines and festivals.

They’ll find a cause to celebrate every month.

Famous buildings: Beehive (the old wing of the Parliament), Government Building (the largest wooden building in the World), museums, and the house of the famous poet Katherine Mansfield. Also interesting is the zoo with a vast number of exotic animals. Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city, which is bordered by sea on nearly all its sides, and is built on volcanic mountains like Sydney. Famous for its port-, many sailboats-, and of course its bridge. Auckland can boast the largest Polynesian population. Interesting to see: Auckland Museum, (Maori arts), and Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World (living world of the ocean), Kohimarama and Mission Bay beaches, the One Tree Hill volcano and the Otago- and Southland national parks. Otago is also famous for its wildlife: one can find penguin, seal, albatross and many aquariums and museums. There are two large lakes in the national park, the Hawea and the Wanaka. Northland is the cradle of Maori and Pakeha cultures, and the first whaling community as well. Numerous interesting museums, dazzlingly bright beaches, and colorful sea life can be found here.

New Zealand’s Tongariro National Park

Found in the vicinity of Ruapehu volcano, is Tongariro National Park, also called the land of restlessness, first admitted to the list of World Heritage in 1900, then its area was enlarged in 1993. As it is well known, New Zealand consists of two large islands, with a smaller one in between. The still active volcanoes Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro are part of a mountain range in middle of the large northern island.

This wonderfully beautiful place with a special history forms the 79,000 hectare national park. New

Zealand’s natives landed on the beaches of the islands about 700 years ago. As they arrived at different beaches in their seagoing canoes, they settled in different areas, and formed separate clans over time, taking the names of their canoes. So evolved the Arawa, Aoea, Matatua and Taiui tribe. The first European to make connection with the natives, the Maoris, was the famous British captain Cook in 1769. The natives of the canoe Arawa settled in the area of the Tongariro National Park, they consider themselves the descendants of their mythical chief Ngatoriorangi, attributing to him the heroic deed of carrying fire to Tongariro. According to Maori accounts, the place has a magical history. Once upon a time ancient gods reigned high over the center of North Island and appeared as mountains to the people. Tongariro was the greatest among all the others, residing not very far from the maiden Pihanga, who was considered an exceptional beauty with her dark green brush-cape pulled tight over her fragile shoulders. All the mountain gods were seeking her favors, but she only let the white-haired Tongariro approach her. One of the gods, Taranaki, couldn’t stand the lovers happiness any longer and, in his jealousy, provoked the goddess. Tongariro couldn’t tolerate that, and a war broke out between them, with all the other mountains getting involved, letting their emotions run free by belching fire and ash into the sky.

When the war ended, the two lovers came even closer to each other, and the jealous Taranaki tore himself out of his place and started moving west to follow the setting sun. The fighting afflicted deep wounds on Tongariro, with a cold water river flowing from his side, that healed him. This river today is called Wanganui, with birdsong filled green forests along its sides.

The legend-world of the islands isn’t simple either, yet their biological, geological history is even more complex. Their soil consists mainly of dark colored, grauvaca rock deposits that could not have been created by volcanic action.

In time it was discovered, that New Zealand was part of the ancient continent Gondwana.

The flora of the ancient land, that broke into pieces 150 million years ago – America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand – almost completely corresponds with that of South America’s most ancient ones. With the exception of mankind and two kinds of bats, all the ancient mammals found are without placenta, all the ones with placenta only evolved later. The seed of Tongariro National Park was donated to New Zealand’s people by Chief Te Heuheu Tukino on September 23, 1887. Seven years later it became the country’s first national park. There are five volcanoes in the park: the more than 20,000 year dormant Kakaramea, the Tihia and the Pihanga, also the still active Tongariro and Ruapehu, which had three major eruptions during the last few decades. The significance of the national park, for which it was admitted to the World Heritage, is the defendable ecosystem and its – for Maoris – spiritual character.

Its vegetation is decisively made up of brushes and orchids, with New Zealand beech-trees or different members of the myrtle family at the higher locations. More than 50 species of birds inhabit the land, among them such rarities as kakapo and several types of kiwi. Besides the native New Zealand bat, mammals are represented by the imported: cats, weasels and red deer, that are endangering the native animals.