CRUISING DOWN UNDER : FellowShip in New Zealand and Australia: FellowShip in New Zealand and Australia

By Andrew, Sally

Book Id: WPLBN0100750254
Format Type: PDF (eBook)
File Size: 31.85 MB.
Reproduction Date: 6/5/2024

Title:	CRUISING DOWN UNDER : FellowShip in New Zealand and Australia: FellowShip in New Zealand and Australia
Author:	Andrew, Sally
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Non Fiction, Geography, Anthropology, Recreation, Cruising New Zealand and Australia
Collections:	Authors Community, Adventure
Historic Publication Date:	2024
Publisher:	Sally Andrew

Member Page:	Sally Andrew
Citation APA MLA Chicago Andrew, S. (2024). CRUISING DOWN UNDER : FellowShip in New Zealand and Australia. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Description
In the early days of our travelling through the islands of the Ha'apai group in central Tonga, we met up with a Kiwi couple in a quiet anchorage. Alan and Liz had recently sailed to Stewart Island in the far south of New Zealand with their kids and were keen to share their impressions. Perfect time for an exchange of ideas! Over numerous cups of tea, they shared their thoughts on cruising New Zealand – listing places to visit and tips for amazing adventures. New Zealand was a great place to sail, they said, but Stewart Island was extraordinary. I was all - “Wow! Penguins!” but Foster was more - “Windy. Cold.”. He was being practical and thinking of the realities of high-latitude sailing. I was being a romantic. Even in summer conditions surviving the Roaring Forties demands vigilance and well-honed sailing skills as well as a tough, well-maintained sailing craft. It was, however, something to seriously think about. Imagine the photo opportunities ! So off we went, returning several times to North, South and Stewart Islands in New Zealand, and both Tasmania and mainland Australia's east coast following wind and whims.

Summary
The land down-under is another world entirely. It's not Britain, although the ties are strong. It's not Europe. It's not America. It's not really the South Pacific either, although New Zealand has the largest Polynesian population of any Pacific island nation. And they all speak a funny English and like meat pies with mushy peas, pasties, sausage rolls followed by pavlova, Anzac biscuits, and lamingtons for dessert. Or so I was told. Down under is down under. Fabulous. Friendly. Fun. So we decided to sail there.

Excerpt
This was the moment we experienced our most hair-raising event, ever. While running dead downwind with winds of Force 10, a tremendously tall sea with a face many times longer than FellowShip came up from behind, lifted us bow down into the trough, pushing us along. My heart stopped. Would we pitchpole, submarine, or swamp from both ends? This rogue wave passed slowly under our keel until we were no longer horizontal but bow to the heavens and staring at the sky. OMG! Time stood still in a stretched-out frightening moment. Then, as if in answer to my prayers, I heard B.B. King singing “The Thrill is Gone”. The liquid mountain of water moved on and we kept rolling on. The thrill was still there. B.B. lied. Hail pounded noisily on the decks, decreasing visibility dramatically and flattening the crisp edges of the waves. The colossal swells were breaking violently along the shore and against the rocks of the narrow harbour entrance. Seals were playing in the rough water and foam rose and fell about them. Seabirds were being driven in from the ocean, seeking shelter from the shower of hail smacking their wings. Then suddenly, like magic, the hail stopped and we slid swiftly and silently into the protection of Lord's River. Anchor down. Huge sighs of relief. In the west, slanting beams of sunlight broke through the lead grey sky. The message: Be grateful. We had gone to New Zealand to avoid the season of dodgy tropical cyclones and instead we had discovered a dot of wilderness that must be one of the windiest places in the South Pacific. But the splendid isolation, the total wildness, and the challenge of sailing to a place far off the beaten track made it one of our best destinations, ever!

Table of Contents
PART ONE LANDFALL NEW ZEALAND : CYCLONE ON OUR TAIL GOOD AS GOLD IN GOD'S OWN - Bay of Islands WARRIORS ONCE AGAIN: TE AURERE'S EPIC VOYAGE ENDS BUSBY’S DREAM CADILLACS AND CANOES – historical perspective ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER ADVENTURE AFLOAT (Great Barrier Island) HANGING OUT WITH A LEGEND : DR. DAVID LEWIS (We, the Navigators) FIORDLAND MAGIC STEWART ISLAND : WILD AND WINDY CHARTING STEWART ISLAND : OUR RETURN ON OUR WAY TO POVERTY BAY (Napier and Gisborne) FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY (White and Great Barrier Islands) WINTER IS COMING : TIME TO MOVE ON (return to Bay of Islands) PART TWO TO THE LAND OF OZ WE HAVE NO PLANS, AND WE'RE STICKING TO THEM! - SYDNEY CRUISING TASMANIA - COWARDS CROSSING : BASS STRAIT OR BUST SPOOKED ON TASMANIA'S EAST COAST : SKELETONS BAY TO ISLE OF THE DEAD THE FLESHPOTS OF HOBART LIFE IN THE WET TIMES THE CHARM OF THE CHANNEL BEYOND THE DUCKPOND MOOCHING DOWN THE CHANNEL ESCAPE FROM TASMANIA CRUISING KU-RING-GAI ESCAPE IS NICE, BUT SO IS CONNECTION LORD HOWE IT GLOWED WHAT NEXT ?