A Whirlwind of a Week Upon Arrival

 

I flew in, hitched to Opua, and found there was a sailing regatta going on.  The little place was packed with boats from all around the country.  Araby was fine and just as I had left her, so the next day I went to the race tent to check on the happenings.  There was a race currently going on and one for the following day.  On the notice board I saw a boat looking for crew, and, what's more, looking for crew on the passage back south to Wellington.  I was excited to race but what I really wanted was a good passage offshore to get reacquainted to the sea.  And also, I knew the boat that was offering the berth, Andiamo—or, at least, I thought I did.

I found the boat after the race and it was certainly not the boat I knew.  This was a snazzy 55 foot race boat with sails as expensive as my whole boat.  (The boat I knew was Poco Andante, both Italian names with "go" in them.)  The crew thought the race tomorrow would be a good warm up for the passage, so I was on to race.  Yippee!

 

At this point I hadn't been back to Araby for 24 hours yet, and would leave in another 36.  I thought I would only be away for, perhaps, four days.  Now I haven't a clue when I will be back, could be weeks.  Funny how we step into things because they feel right, but we don't know why or where they will lead us.  Bilbo once said, "It's a dangerous things stepping out your front door.  If you don't keep your feet, there is no telling where you might be swept off to."

 

 

The race was fun but the winds were light.  We planned to leave for Wellington first thing the following morning.  They thought the passage would take three days, but this was highly optimistic.  In the end it took only a full four days.

The provisioning was outrageous.  Massive amount of lamb and bacon and steak…….and beer!  The owner had told me that there would only be a beer at lunch and a sundowner or two, but this looked more like Mardi gras (sp) or a Nascar race.  I wasn't encouraged.

Also, these guys were mainly racers, not cruisers, but Kiwis are reputed as being the best sailors in the world and there were some grizzled old salts aboard, so I still was feeling "mostly" good about things.  This was a good opportunity and there was no real competition for my time.  So we set out before eleven the next moring.

 

The drinking was only heavy by one of the crew and he couldn't helm the boat anyway.  The weather was beautiful, though we had a northerly and therefore had to motor up and around the north cape.  Once around the cape we would sail all the way to the fearsome Cook Strait were the wind collapsed on us once more and we motored into port.

We had a few fits of rain and one rowdy squall which initiated what kiwis call "a Chinese gybe" and I've always called "an accidental gybe" which is when the boom unintentionally swings dangerously across the boat when sailing downwind.  It was raining so hard the helmsman couldn't read the compass and lost his bearings.  It was a bit hairy for a while but we got it back together.  I took the helm for the rest of the night and enjoyed some invigorating sailing.  That night I logged the second highest speed of the trip, 15.6 knots under a double-reefed main and jib.  It was second best only to my trip winning 16.8 knots of the day before.  I was quite proud of this as everyone was trying to win the high speed mark and I was the guy who had never steered the boat.  And it wasn't a fluke because I had the first and second scores and on different days.

The glory was all mine!

 

I did enjoy the helm.  I got the nickname "Cptn. Aerodine" which is a NZ epozy because I was stuck to the helm.

 

Upon arrival in Wellington the rest of the crew were there to greet us (with much rum and wine and beer).  As we celebrated and told stories the owner offered me two to three days work on the boat.  I could stay aboard, eat the massive amount of food still aboard (not to mention drink the beer), use the marina facilities and I could stay for as long as I liked.

I hesitated only about a second or maybe two before I graciously declined. . .

Yeah right.  Free food!  I've never turned down free food.  Not to mention work.

 

That night I was taken out to diner with the skipper, worked a part day the next and went out again with two couples to an asian joint for dinner.  If all that weren't enough to make me feel like the gods were smiling on me, this coming Friday I was invited to sail a speedy catamaran in a rum-regatta.  There is also the Summer X-Games a block from the marina Friday and Saturday.  The National Museum is a half mile away and FREE. And if I stay long enough I may be able to hop another ride up the east coast to Auckland—that is, if I race in another regatta the following weekend.

 

It is getting hard to leave.  I'm living on a $400,000 yacht alone and the showers don't run on quarters.  I can take long showers.  Such luxury!  If only I had a change of clothes.