Greetings from A Cappella

News Flash

Thu, 17 May 2012 09:42:16 +1200

We've been at the Opua Marina in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, for about ten days now. We daysailed from Oneroa Bay at Waiheke Island, stopping at Omaha Bay and Tutukaka on the way up here.

The guidebook says that it is not a good idea to go into Tutukaka when there are winds from the east. That is what we had on Saturday, May 5. However, the winds were only about 7 knots so we took a chance, proceeding through the narrow opening into the anchorage, and it was not a problem. However, when we woke up Sunday, the winds were at 20 knots, still easterly, and we would have to fight the wind and the swells to get out. We managed it, but weren't thrilled with what we found out there. Winds were pretty steady at 20 – 25 knots, with gusts up to 35 knots when squalls passed through, which was fairly regularly. We also had short period swells hitting us on the beam, which does not make for comfortable sailing. Needless to say, we were thrilled to make it around Cape Brett into the Bay of Islands where we took shelter from the wind and seas at Deep Water Cove Sunday evening. Monday morning we had a short trip into Opua, arriving about noon.

Opua has been lots of fun. We've run into old friends from boats we knew before and have met and made new friends. A bunch of boats left last week in a questionable weather window, including a group rallying to Vanuatu. We decided to hold out for the next weather opportunity. It looks like that will be here tomorrow.

We expect to arrive in Fiji in about ten days. We may stop at Minerva Reef on the way (about 2/3 of the way to Fiji), depending on our course and the weather and a possible need to slow down in order to avoid entering Fiji on a weekend. (It is expensive to check-in there during non-business hours.)

It's been stormy here recently, with cold winds from the south (Antarctica). We're looking forward to the warm weather!

Ed and Cornelia
s/v A Cappella

News Flash

Thu, 3 May 2012 13:12:19 +1200

One of the cruiser sayings is that plans are what are written in the sand at low tide. We tend to be a group that makes quick changes of decisions based on the conditions and how things “feel”.

Yesterday we departed the dock at West Park Marina as planned, heading east on the two-hour journey to the Auckland customs wharf for our noon appointment to check out of New Zealand. While en route, we realized that we didn't feel ready to head immediately offshore (once one has checked out of the country one can't stick around except due to sudden bad weather or an emergency). It had been 18 months since we did any significant sailing and we were feeling a bit rusty. Also, we were tired from all of the preparations for departure and last minute repairs. We called ahead to Customs and cancelled the appointment.

We are anchored now at Oneroa Bay on Waiheke Island ‚Äì a few hours sail east out of Auckland. We've been here before ‚Äì it is gorgeous. The weather is sunny, although a bit nippy ‚Äì New Zealand's winter is around the corner. Our plans are to make our way slowly north up the coast to Opua, and then depart from Opua for Fiji in the next weather window.

We are thrilled with some of the improvements to A Cappella. She is motoring faster after an adjustment to the propeller, and our new North Sails mainsail is fabulous. We sped out of Auckland yesterday towards Waiheke. Of course, the 18 knot winds helped!

We'll keep you posted on when we finally depart for Fiji.

Ed and Cornelia

A Cappella Greetings #60: West Park Marina, Auckland, New Zealand

Tue, 1 May 2012 21:21:46 +1200

Photos for this entry are here.

Today is Tuesday, May 1, 2012, and, if all goes according to plan, this will be our last night in New Zealand. We have an appointment with Customs to be at Marsden Wharf in downtown Auckland tomorrow at noon to check out of the country. A Cappella is now looking gorgeous with her new coat of paint and new main sail. We believe that all systems onboard are now in good working order.

We had originally thought we would sail north to Opua before checking out of New Zealand. However, we have been delayed here with last minute repairs, and what is supposed to be an excellent weather window for sailing to Fiji has opened up. We felt we should take advantage of that. We've heard stories that last year cruising boats waited for weeks for a good weather window. Some got tired of waiting and left in questionable weather. They were sorry, suffering difficult conditions. One never knows when the next weather window will open up, so we'll try to take advantage of this one.

It's been several months since we reported on our arrival back in New Zealand in mid-February, after spending eleven months in the States. We spent a few weeks at Bayswater Marina and then, on March 5, moved to the West Park Marina where A Cappella was hauled out of the water for her facelift. You'll see from the photos that there was a lot of growth on her bottom that developed during the time we were gone. We didn't put her on a regular cleaning schedule since the plan was to have her bottom painted when we returned, before departing New Zealand.

A Cappella's mast was removed and she was placed in a shed for painting. We moved into a nearby motel. Ed spent his days at the shed overseeing the boat work. Cornelia spent her days at the motel working on business-related issues. We decided that Cornelia would return to the States for a few weeks, which she did, spending time in both Walnut Creek and New York, including a fun Easter weekend with Jasper and Josie, and our former dog, Riley, who now lives with them, in Milford, PA.

Meanwhile, Ed continued to oversee the work on A Cappella including the inspection and, where necessary, repair of, numerous systems. We also had the interior cushions re-upholstered at the same time. After A Cappella emerged from the shed, her mast was re-installed with a crane, and she now has new running rigging. We have a new mainsail and boom cover, and had the protective sunbrella replaced on the two foresails.

A Cappella has been back in the water for about a month now, in a slip at West Park Marina. This is a nice little sailing community with lots of marine repair people, a restaurant, cafe, laundromat, small grocery store and chandlery.

While back in Auckland we have had some fun experiences, including attending a St. Patrick's Day party at the club of Kiwi friends, Les and Mary Motion, attended as well by Barbara and Allen Stephens, David and Jeannie Blaker, and Les and Barbara's father, Alan.

We were also here when the Volvo Ocean Race (formerly called the Whitbread) boats made a stop-over in Auckland. This was a big event for New Zealand. We visited the Viaduct area, where the racing boats came in, several times during the festivities – once before the boats arrived (they had been slower than expected sailing here from China) and once when the boats were in. On the first visit, we were with Roberta Lampert and her husband, Jim Piper. Ed had met Roberta for the first time as an adult when there was a reunion for his 3rd grade class in Southern California in late December. He and Roberta determined then that they would be in Auckland at the same time, and we had a fun get-together, including a trip up the Auckland Sky Tower. We later watched the Volvo in-harbor race and then the boats' departure for Brazil the next day from the Bayswater Marina.

We had a chance to do a little local sightseeing, although we had hoped to do more. One day we drove to the west coast of the North Island and took a walk on the beach and had dinner at Piha, a scenic ocean town.

A big issue, before we could depart, was selling our car. We didn't want to sell it too soon, thus being without transportation for longer than we wanted to be. But, of course, the downside of waiting is the suspense. We advertised it online on trademe.co.nz, and almost sold it to one party who backed out at the last minute. Finally we took it one Sunday to the Ellerslie Car Fare where, for $35 NZ one can display one's car to a large number of potential buyers from 9:00 a.m. to noon. We sat in our folding chairs, watching a lot of people show interest in the car, but no offers. Finally at 11:30 a.m., we got our offer. We accepted and arranged for them to pick up the car the following Thursday so we could use it to do our final provisioning before giving it up. We' had planned to depart West Park Marina over the weekend but, on the morning of our scheduled departure on Sunday, discovered a problem with our (now full) freezer. That was repaired yesterday. We've now been without a car for 5 days. It's not too bad. We have the services described above at the marina, and there is a bus every hour that we can take to go the approximate 5 miles to a large shopping center.

We have loved New Zealand and have enjoyed being part of the Bayswater, West Park and greater local communities. We will miss it. But, now on to Fiji...

Cornelia and Ed.
s/v A Cappella

Current position: 36 degrees 49 minutes S, 174 degrees 39 minutes E

We have posted photos of our journey at our website which you can view at http://www.v42-acappella.org.

We love hearing from you in response to these logs. If you do write to us when we are likely to be at sea, please start a new e-mail so that it won’t include a copy of what we sent out. It’s just too slow receiving e-mail via radio to get all that back again. Thanks!

A Cappella Greetings #59: Bayswater Marina, Auckland, New Zealand

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:06:57 +1300

Photos for this entry are here.

Hello from A Cappella! We returned to her in New Zealand on Saturday, February 18, 2012 after losing a day, having departed San Francisco on Thursday, the 16th. We were relieved to find A Cappella still settled happily in her berth at the Bayswater Marina, just north of central Auckland. All is well on board except for the layer of dirt everywhere, inside and out. We've begun to tackle that. A Cappella has now had a once-over, but the deep-cleaning, including an inventory of what is located in every nook and cranny, will be ongoing for awhile.

We also arrived with seven pieces of luggage, two of which contained boat cushions (“Sport-A-Seats - they have backs for use in the cockpit – our old set had completely warn out) and fabric to re-upholster A Cappella's interior. The other five were full of boat parts and clothes which we need to find places for. With the limited space on a boat, finding places for five suitcases of gear means that some items must leave the boat. We are making the hard choices, deciding to live without some items which we are giving away (there is a place in the marina to put things one no longer wants – they are generally quickly claimed by someone else), and setting aside others to take back with us to the States the next time we return.

We plan to remain in New Zealand until late-April/early-May when the end of cyclone season in the tropics will allow us to sail to Fiji. In the meantime, we have an appointment to have A Cappella hauled out of the water in a few weeks for a paint job and minor repairs (we have also ordered a new mainsail that will be installed after the new paint). After that we hope to do some touring of the North Island before selling the car and departing New Zealand.

Cornelia and Ed.
s/v A Cappella

Current position: 36 degrees 49 minutes S, 174 degrees 46 minutes E

We have posted photos of our journey at our website which you can view at http://www.v42-acappella.org.

2011 Holiday Greetings from A Cappella: Walnut Creek, California

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:39:03 +1300

There are no photos for this entry.

For those of you following the journey of A Cappella on our website, you will note that the last entry was on March 13, 2011 when we were still in New Zealand. Since then we've been taking a “vacation from our vacation”, enjoying time back in the U.S. reconnecting with family and friends and our land life. We plan to remain here until mid-February 2012 when we will fly back to Auckland to re-join A Cappella.

Highlights of our time in the States have included:

• Rejoining old friends in Cornelia's book groups, Ed's poker group and at the Oakland Yacht Club.

• August visits from son, Jasper, and his fiancee, Josie, who live in New York; and from daughter, Anna, and her friend, Doug, who live in England.

• September/October trans-Canadian railroad trip with Cornelia's mother, Mary; aunt, Sally; and uncle and aunt, Chuck and Donna.

• Taking up Duplicate Bridge, which we have played regularly at Rossmoor several days a week; we also made trips to bridge tournaments in Las Vegas and Monterey.

• Once again, attending San Francisco Giants baseball games.

• Purchase of and move into a different condo at Rossmoor (this one is larger with 3 bedrooms, allowing for a guest room, and with a great view of Mt. Diablo from the large rear patio).

• Attendance at Strawberry Music Festival near Yosemite in May and late August.

• Some medical issues – Cornelia had hip problems which are now mostly resolved, and Ed had gallbladder surgery.

• Numerous trips to Southern California to visit Cornelia's father and other family and friends. We had two spectacular Thanksgiving dinners – one with Ed's cousin Jez and her husband Don, and one with Cornelia's father and sister, Rosemary.

• Finally, Jasper and Josie are getting married here in Walnut Creek on December 28. We are excitedly finalizing the wedding plans.

Following the holidays and the wedding, we will prepare for our return to the cruising life. The current plan is to return to New Zealand in mid-February. We'll remain in that country until early May, during which time we will have some boat work done and hopefully tour more of the North Island The beginning of May marks the end of the cyclone season in the Pacific, at which time we will sail north to Fiji. We expect to spend several months there and then move on to Vanuatu and New Caledonia before landing in Australia in October 2012 (when the cyclone season begins again).

Please keep in touch as we continue our journey.

Happy holidays to all of you.

Cornelia and Ed
s/v A Cappella

Current position: 37 degrees 53 minutes N, 122 degrees 05 minutes W