Hobart to Auckland, March 1st
“The very basic core of a mans living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from one’s own adventures with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy that to have an endlessly changing horizon - for each day to have a new and different sun”. - Christopher McCandliss, Into the Wild
Welcome to country….Iain, Paul, Carla, James, Pramod, Kris, Sonia, Ulf, Dean. (at the front) Adrian, Cathy.
Silver Fern crew welcomed to country by Cathy, connecting us with the land, the river, the ocean and the animals.
Pramod, Carla, James, Adrian, Paul, Dean.
Why do we sail? Why do 10 people board a vessel in Hobart to spend two weeks in close quarters on an ocean passage to New Zealand - anticipating disturbed sleep, stormy weather, even sea-sickness. It’s the question we all discussed on our first night as we introduced ourselves to one another. For some, they come motivated for the learning, building on their past sailing experience to take on the awesome Tasman Sea. For others, it’s a journey that is part of a transition from one career to a next, from work to active retirement - a punctuation stop in the story of their life. And for some brave crew, this is their first ocean sail, an opportunity to discover if they have a passion for sailing. The most common reason though is the opportunity for adventure - to undertake a challenging journey out of our comfort zone, meeting others and discovering what an ocean adventure can bring out in ourselves.
Ulf from Germany on a epic holiday that includes a passage across the Tasman to then visit New Zealand!
James at the helm for the first time, now known as “Dead eye” James.
On the morning of our departure, we were fortunate to participate in a Welcome to Country ceremony in the shadow of the Kunanyi (Mount Wellington). With the faintly lingering smell of mint eucalyptus smoke from the ceremony, we refuelled, stowed away and set out of the harbour. It was the calm, blue-sky afternoon of Wednesday 26th February. We motored out on light winds, greeted by a pod of frolicking dolphins and even a distant sight of a pod of whales. We practiced the MOB drill and got comfortable raising the mainsail, reefing and adjusting the jib. As the light fell, we turned out into open water and settled into our watch.
Kris quickly became part of the engineering team on Silver Fern as did most of the team! Thanks guys, your help was invaluable.
During the night, the swell built to a confused state, waves of 2 metres and the wind strengthened to 17knots from the South. A few of the crew had a tough time with the rolling motion, succumbing to seasickness but mostly recovering within a few hours. Through sunrise, the wind veered around to the North East, requiring us to tack and take a northerly course, motor sailing for a few hours, until the wind picked up in the afternoon. The crew spirits were high as we transitioned to a 1st reef on the Main, undertook some tacks and all had the opportunity to learn under the steady, patient, and above-all assuredly confident guidance of our skipper Iain Wright. We headed into a more north-easterly course directly for our New Zealand waypoint, with northerly winds building to 15-20 knots.
Carla, our legal council for the trip. What happens on the boat stays on the boat, apparently.
Adrian, trying out the sextant.
Our third day began with steady northerly winds and swell from two directions, but it began to veer towards the West by early afternoon coming on our port quarter, making for some delightful sailing. The wind slackened as we went into the early evening down to 6 knots from directly astern, so we powered on the motor and settled in for a quiet night. We woke to a new horizon, blue skies, a strengthening wind from the North of 14 knots, and a lengthening swell - ideal conditions for a beam reach sail - perfect sailing. Indeed, the kind of sailing that answers the question of why we sail with a very simple answer: because it is a joyful experience where we can be at once present with nature, the people around us, and ourselves. No more reason required. - James Kavanagh
James and Iain
