Urupukapuka Island: pirate days
Urupukapuka Island: pirate days
An excited old kid dropped the mooring at 9:25 this morning in near calm conditions and under a sky of high clouds. Unfortunately that was the day’s only excitement.
I powered past the ferry crossing before unfurling the jib as a gesture of hope. Cats-paws on the water were not created by measurable wind.
Finally, an hour later, just north of Russell, I felt a breath against my skin. I put the engine in neutral and watched our SOG steadily drop from 5.1 knots to 2.2; but there it held; so I killed the engine and raised the mainsail, which brought us 3.1 knots and my first gannet since my return, soaring across our bow. I have not seen any hunting in Opua as in the past.
I hoped for more breeze out in the open part of the bay, but as I followed the day trip boats around Tapeka Point, what little wind there was veered from southeast to south.
By following it I made the decision for Paradise Bay rather than Whangamumu, which wasn’t going to happen today unless I powered all the way, and I really wanted to sail.
The breeze was so light, there was too much lee helm for the tiller pilot, so I did what I almost never do: got out the tiller extension and steered myself.
In another hour and two or three miles, the sun burned away clouds and wind, and the bay glassed over.
I let THE HAWKE OF TUONELA drift no where in particular while I ate lunch of salami, hummus and rye bread in the cockpit.
After thirty minutes in which no wind returned and I felt myself cooking, I turned on the engine and powered the last few miles and anchored at1310.
In all we covered about eleven miles, most of them under power.
Even now at 3:30 p.m. there is only the slightest of breezes. The few boats nobly trying to sail are painted in place.
While not good sailing, the morning was an easy first test of my newly limited vision.
I began wearing my normal photosensitive prescription glasses, but quickly found the blurry overlay from my right eye distracting and put the pirate eye patch over it. This was an improvement.
When the sun broke through, I added the dark OverCast sunglasses over everything.
With the boat as flat and steady as the water, moving about the deck was not a problem. However, I did find that my depth perception made it more difficult in the morning’s flat light to see the camber of the sails, and as I approached the anchorage to judge the remaining distance. Neither of these are significant problems. I now just have one more reason to anchor farther out than everyone else.
So I can sail. I never doubted that I could. But sailing is no longer an unalloyed pleasure. There is pain in being on deck all the time. Perhaps that will improve with time. Offshore where I don’t have to be on deck will be easier.
I like to make early starts, but unless there is wind in the morning, I will try to curb my enthusiasm tomorrow and wait.
The high is filling. I would not be surprised to find even less wind tomorrow than today.
But if there is wind and I think I can sail most of the twenty miles to Whangamumu, I will. If not, I’ll try to sail some of the way back to my mooring.
Last Saturday I passed the yacht broker’s office and happened to find him in. You may recall that THE HAWKE OF TUONELA has been listed for sale for almost a year, but half-heartedly at an unrealistic price of $89,000 NZ.
I stopped and talked with Jason. Doing so clarified my thinking on several contradictory points. One is how little it costs me to continue to own THE HAWKE OF TUONELA: only $300 to $400 US a year. Another is that I really should haul and anti-foul her. I had been thinking it was done a year ago; but in fact it was two.
I told Jason my possible plans for GANNET, and that if I do start sailing her across oceans I don’t see how I am going to spend much time on THE HAWKE OF TUONELA for the next two to four years. This is a significant amount of my remaining life expectancy. I told him that I am considering a significant drop in the asking price. He asked to what figure. When I said, $49,000 NZ he whistled: the winches alone on HAWKE are worth more than $20,000 in New Zealand. Even reducing the amount by 20% at current exchange rates to get US dollars and paying his commission, it would still be considerably more than THE HAWKE OF TUONELA would sell for in the U.S.
I did not tell Jason that I definitely want to lower the price, only that I am considering doing so.
However, as is in the nature of things, this morning before I dropped the mooring I went online and found an email from Jason saying that he had changed the listing and advertising in next month’s NZ boating magazines to reflect the new price. I could have emailed him not to; but I didn’t.
It would be moderately ironic if just after writing about the best mooring in the world, I were to sell it. I do love it here. But I am not certain that I am ready to spend the remainder of my life in the easeful contemplation of beauty.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012