Humble apologies for the delay in this latest post folks, we’ve been awfully busy getting the boat back in the water which doesn’t leave much time for anything else. The boat finally went back in the water on the 7th October, which coincidentally was my birthday. It all went fairly smoothly and apart from a diesel tank hatch leak that flooded the sleeping quarters floor and a couple of teething problems with the steering the boat is quite sweet, just a lot to do on electrical and general cleaning up stuff that has deteriorated during the record attempts. The wiring is in a bit of a state as most of the navigation gear is in the process of being changed and there are a lot of bits that have been added on that need tidying up.
We had to get the boat around from Kaipara Harbour on the west coast to Auckland harbour for the 16th October as we had the grand launch function and Ady Gil had come from Los Angeles to see the boat. Despite a bit of weather coming in we exited Kaipara bar on Saturday afternoon and hit a barrage of 5 to 6 metre waves that were coming in directly over the bar. I got my first experience of the boats wave piercing capability and at times the boat was very nearly totally submerged. The new Jetski mounting frame was only mounted to the deck temporarily and it came adrift, the Jetski and frame bouncing about 3 foot in the air at one stage and coming down onto the deck with a massive and frame devastating whack. The Jetski very nearly went overboard.
The trip northward was OK at first and then later on in the evening we started having trouble with the steering. The swivel bolt on the starboard rudder had come adrift and I had to go overboard early in the morning to put it back in. The water was pretty cold and only a taste of things to come I’m sure. We made it to the Poor Knights island in the late afternoon in time for a photo shoot of the boat coming out of a huge cave that goes in under one of the volcanic overhangs. The cave goes in about 75 meters through a narrow entrance and then broadens out wide enough for Pete to turn the 78 foot boat around quite comfortably and come out for the “emerging” video and photos. When we’d done there we headed south for Auckland and docked at the New Zealand Maritime Museum at about 3.30 in the morning. The southward leg of the trip was really cool as we had flat seas and hardly any wind.
We did maintenance on Monday and replaced a bent steering ram and bled the steering. We met Ady Gil and Persia White on Wednesday morning and set out a few hours later for Kawau island just off the coast North of Auckland. Ady is a the guy who’s putting up the money for the boat for Sea Shepherd. He’s a shrewd and savvy Israeli that’s gone to the States and made good in the large screen projection business. Persia is a gorgeous and street smart cookie, a keen mind and pretty hilarious when having a few wines. Apparently she’s famous as she’s been on a series called “Girlfriends”. I can’t say I’ve ever heard of her before but anyone who knows me would know that that’s not my area of expertise.
We spent the night in a beautiful little bay called Bon Accord, wooded hills all around us and some fantastic looking homes on them. These Kiwi’s recreate in style. Persia and Ady cooked a really cool Vegan pasta for us with sun dried tomatoes and olives with a good tomato sauce and it was a bit of light on the horizon as the boat is going Vegan shortly. The wind blew up a bit on the return trip and we stopped with Auckland in the background to raise the Sea Shepherd flag on the radio aerial.
The grand launch was on Friday and all the volunteers put together a bloody well executed shindig with four live acts and loads of free wine from some pretty generous sponsors at the Floating Pavillion, the old headquarters for the Ahlingi team when the Americas cup was held in New Zealand. There were sponsors and some members of the public and a good contingent of Sea Shepherd supporters and sympathisers. Everyone had a hoot and there may have been a few sore heads the next morning if I’m any judge. Apparently we were on TV3 although we didn’t get the live slot we were hoping for for the breaking of the bottle over the bow.
It looks like I’ve found a buyer for my boat and we’re in the process of doing a deal. He seemed like a really nice bloke and has a lodge called “Stray Possum lodge” on the Great Barrier Island, Northeast of Auckland. I’m hoping we can take the boat out there on one of the trial runs as he was saying he could gather the community if we popped in at a days notice. Apparently the community there is a very environmentally aware bunch and would be very supportive. I’ve put a verbal condition in the agreement that I’d like to have to visit the boat at the lodge occasionally.
Sunday we went to Waiheke Island with one of Pete’s long term sponsors, the Waikato Motor Group for their 20th Anniversary. The whole group fell under the leadership and spell of the owner, Tracey. A clever, vivacious and absolutely charming lady who took us to lunch. Yum, yum on both accounts.
The coming week will be preparation for the Australia leg and lots of finishing touches to the boat. We’re getting more and more good ideas for strategies for the Yellow bastards, all of which can’t be related openly as we’d like some surprises up our sleeve when we get there. Lots to do and not that much time left. I’m starting to notice a pattern here…….
I’ll catch up soon.
Well done with the blog Larry. It is a great way of providing insight into the mission as you’ve stated. Good luck to you and the rest of the team. It’s humbling to know that there are people out there who are prepared to put their money where their mouth is and their lives on the line in an effort to help the rest of the life on the planet have a fighting chance of survival in the face of human greed and ignorance. There may yet be hope for the human species! I look forward to reading more of this story as it unfolds. All the best!