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Post by sheila on Jul 12, 2012 10:19:51 GMT
Thinking and talking about you both last night while out with Martin & Louise. There's just no stopping you is there? Our greatest admiration to you both. Good luck on the next part of this epic voyage.
Lots of love from us all
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Post by brian (Blue Bear) on Jul 26, 2012 22:52:25 GMT
Arrived at Russell after a short period of anchorage in a wonderful little Village Sandspit, a little village that has been preserved as a Museum type place but is also a holiday village Brilliant idea...... We only anchored to avoid winds that were forecast to rise above 40 Knots Don't think my two new Crew Members would Appreciate rough seas first time out.....Checked out Opua our Check out Port... Customs Building But no Customs and no answer on the Alternative Phone number Supplied The river is very Dirty and we are covered in Bites from a One night Anchorage Emailed customs but No reply as yet so Don't Know when we Will be able to leave will update soon with some photos if Possible
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Post by brian (Blue Bear) on Aug 1, 2012 8:34:54 GMT
Well done NZ..... at least as much as I want to...... hopefully customs tomorrow morning will go without a Glitch I'm waiting at the Bay of Islands, the Sailing Mecca of NZ ,while It has many good points including many well charted Anchorages It's Cold wet and Windy, NOT the Winter-less north I had expected... Had Quite a time with Friends.. New and old, a few ventures from the safety of the Marina into the sometimes blustery NZ weather..... Unusual weather I am told but this is becoming the old story.......A few days Afloat with Friends and Family....PRICELESS..... still onward too?  ? New Caledonia?? NO!!! don't go there a few seasoned sailors Advise "ok but,, No expensive non Friendly" Vanuatu! thats well worth a visit, so, never met these People before English and Welsh..... but Advise difficult to gain so far from the cruising belt.... this is the new Plan..... VANUATU .....around 1000 miles or a little less winds not in our favor, but what the heck waiting on the Sea or in a Harbor for the right wind becomes immaterial lets go!!Hopefully a few Photos first of what and who I admired in NZ while I have good Internet..  Kaya Quite a Helms Person for her age  and the only one to catch a fish on the day  Dispite all the Extra lines on some boats Dwaynne would like to be the skipper of BLUEBEAR when he Grows up hope he sets his sights much higher  Brent And Jenny Old Friends Well not "OLD" spend our last Night with us at Tuaranga on Bluebear trying Boaty food AS if it is different to any other.......  Relatives from OZ visit us so we take a trip inland to the Apparently highest commercial white water rafting waterfall in the World.... |
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Post by sheila on Aug 1, 2012 13:20:54 GMT
Oh, lovely Brian. I bet it's with some sadness though that you will be leaving NZ and your friends and family. I hope it's not going to be another three months before we hear from you again. Bon Voyage and Stay safe.
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Post by brian (Blue Bear) on Aug 1, 2012 21:19:01 GMT
Leaving bound for Port vila Vanuatu New Hebrides around 1000 miles north of here
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Post by brian (Blue Bear) on Aug 15, 2012 6:50:10 GMT
Arrived Vanuatu glad to be out of the cold windy wet conditions of the New Zealand winter the last straw was watching my tender, Motor attached spinning around several times landing upside down while tied behind our boat at Russell Yacht club...... the yacht club very friendly with a great location but not sheltered enough to stay too long moved up to Opua to Do the Laundry and customs Formalities great to find Diesel was duty free and water was totally free. Left New Zealand on the Back of a Low which hung around with it's centre on the western edge of Northland making the Bay of Islands an uncomfortable place to be. we estimated 10 days to Vanuautu motoring for 40 hours to escape a low which had already developed below Australia and would be upon us within a few days but the further north we could get the less the affects would be on us... It caught us and made short work of my newly repaired Mainsail I decided to repair the sail myself this time can't blame anyone for Poor workmanship If I carry out the work myself having Purchased Sailcloth from the sailmaker....The Sail from NZ was pretty Varied Motoring,, Strong winds forcing some pretty fruitless tacks seven Knots over ground translating into one knot course made good while hammering uncomfortably through large swell , then calms and variable winds UNTIL 20 degrees south....SE Trade Winds Force 4, goose winged 6+ Knots smooth Great sailing all the way into the Quarantine Area Port Vila Vanuatu but poor visibility and Drizzle prevented a good view of the ever spouting Volcano Yasur on the island of Tanna which we passed so close to...... No Officials present to Clear us in because they are joining Street Parties just a few 100 feet away with loud music and the sounds of happy people laughing and cheering, we will have to watch from the boat  but feeling good the water 26 degrees air temp 25 degrees vibrating tropical music What a start to our trip home... |
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Post by brian (Blue Bear) on Aug 18, 2012 23:19:51 GMT
Plan is on for leaving bound for Papa New Guinea been researching different possible stops with the help of some fellow Cruisers here (all of which Cannot wait to leave here) the autorities here apparently a Nightmare and want loads of Cash...... Myself on checking in to Immigration after paying 5000 vt was told to come back tomorrow for the Receipt,,,, Strange one that.... of course I didn't wait until the Morning after Giving it some thought around 10 mins I demanded at least a hand written receipt they then gave me a proper receipt..... Customs ? Customs had no boat to Check us in was the reason we were Given for being left aboard our Boats waiting... Yachting World Embarrased by the situation took us to customs in thier boat, all seemed Contrary to what I was expecting, so was the Checking in carried out Properly? we'll see, ( an Australian Yacht was fined 600a$ for not carrying out the correct Procedure even though he had contacted and was advised by Customs and immigration.. Checking out can be worse, (hearsay) which made me cautious about checking out further north shame it is very enchanting here.... We'll see Monday Pirates on the Next part of our Journey? ? the apparent feeling amongst a few Cruisers is that the only Pirates are Customs and Immigration officials locals generally not a Problem.... We are planning every move based on fellow cruisers comments Austrailia will be too expensive to stop at for a very short period so will try to miss that but it seems thier influence extends Past their shores even outlying Countries may pose a problem Thankfully French Infuence is practiced at some islands on our route so a few Oasis's in a very big Ocean comming up.... Papa New Guinea mixed comments most good really a few raise eyebrows from people who know of people that have been there but have not been there themselves the Yacht club at Port Moresby seems quite attractive |
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Post by brian (Blue Bear) on Aug 20, 2012 2:04:27 GMT
Checked out!!!! All excellent a little expensive but the Duty free bottle of Rum and Fuel free water more than offsets Port Costs Customs very Good In and out of here.......
Surprising amount of Scare Stories about I wonder If it is always the same people who have the problems......
Tomorrow AM bound for Port Moresby PNG.....
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Post by allan on Aug 20, 2012 6:53:24 GMT
Good to hear you are doing OK. How did you cope with watchkeeping when there was just two of you?
Allan
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Fred
Member of CYC 
Runagane
Posts: 274
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Post by Fred on Aug 20, 2012 11:38:13 GMT
Plan is on for leaving bound for Papa New Guinea been researching different possible stops with the help of some fellow Cruisers here (all of which Cannot wait to leave here) the autorities here apparently a Nightmare and want loads of Cash...... Myself on checking in to Immigration after paying 5000 vt was told to come back tomorrow for the Receipt,,,, Strange one that.... of course I didn't wait until the Morning after Giving it some thought around 10 mins I demanded at least a hand written receipt they then gave me a proper receipt..... Customs ? Customs had no boat to Check us in was the reason we were Given for being left aboard our Boats waiting... Yachting World Embarrased by the situation took us to customs in thier boat, all seemed Contrary to what I was expecting, so was the Checking in carried out Properly? we'll see, ( an Australian Yacht was fined 600a$ for not carrying out the correct Procedure even though he had contacted and was advised by Customs and immigration.. Checking out can be worse, (hearsay) which made me cautious about checking out further north shame it is very enchanting here.... We'll see Monday Pirates on the Next part of our Journey? ? the apparent feeling amongst a few Cruisers is that the only Pirates are Customs and Immigration officials locals generally not a Problem.... We are planning every move based on fellow cruisers comments Austrailia will be too expensive to stop at for a very short period so will try to miss that but it seems thier influence extends Past their shores even outlying Countries may pose a problem Thankfully French Infuence is practiced at some islands on our route so a few Oasis's in a very big Ocean comming up.... Papa New Guinea mixed comments most good really a few raise eyebrows from people who know of people that have been there but have not been there themselves the Yacht club at Port Moresby seems quite attractive Brian We have pirates in the Bristol Channel their called Marines ad Minehead Harbour Fred |
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Post by sheila on Aug 21, 2012 17:37:49 GMT
Happy 30th Anniversary for today/yesterday Brian & Sue. Thinking of you and sending love.
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Post by brian (Blue Bear) on Sept 2, 2012 0:02:57 GMT
Arrived PNG port Moresby the Yacht club arranged the Officials, Quarantine and customs and the Taxi to Immigration at the airport very straight forward... The trip much quicker than expected 9 DAYS!!! wind constantly over 20 Knots a little surfing on the swell building up over the 1400 miles we added to the log an amazing 19.48Knots at one point GPS... To add to the fun we caught (well Not Caught just hooked) a Marlin, We had 2 lines out one on the rod and the other a trawling line which I wrapped around the Sheet winch we had lost several Lures even with steel traces, without seeing what was taking our line so War!!!The line was big enough to tow the boat steel trace biggest swivels and hooks we had, the winch would pull a fish in or pull the boat Backwards... Didn't go to Plan wrapped the line around the winch the wrong way,, sitting in the cockpit warming ourselves with Sugary milky tea when the winch started rattling away like a fishing reel the spare line leaving at an alarming rate despite my efforts to slow the line until the end which was tied off stopped it the line broke something big had taken the lure again we were then blessed with a huge leap from the Marlin alongside us The size much larger than we had imagined easily over 3 metres, Glad that one escaped we were able to catch a few Dorado which is my favourite fish and big enough to last a few days The thermals were brought out of storage as the trip became very wet almost constant rain and constantly overcast the winds here in the Marina reach 30 knots almost Daily but with the almost constant Sunshine and wind the Batteries are always fully charged, internet expensive and poor quality almost every boat in the Marina is live aboard the Royal Papua Yacht club reasonably priced friendly very Busy good food and is run like a hotel with room service to the boat call reception and arrange your breakfast in bed ON THE BOAT!... two other cruisers here one american and one German,,, the Germans left Europe a few months before us and followed similar routes but timing was to be that we never met but they met People we have met and we were able to talk of the Places we have visited..... both of us staying several weeks (almost 2 months) at Grenada Yacht club. Babs and Kristoff SV Taurus We last met in Papeete were also the topic of conversation with our new found German friends.... Thanks Sheila for the good wishes  Alan we keep 3 hour watches although Rigid we can see between ourselves if one needs more rest and will sometimes extend the watch to as long as possible there are 3 of us travelling now so 3 on 6 off Pretty easy going at the moment |
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ishtar
Member of CYC
Ishtar
The original Ishtar
Posts: 970
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Post by ishtar on Sept 3, 2012 18:43:22 GMT
Marvellous stuff. Fantastic.
It's a pity you didn't get a photo of that Marlin, Bri. You could have put it in the fishing section and said 'Beat that'.
It would have been a while before one of the boys caught a bigger Marlin off Sully.
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Post by brian (Blue Bear) on Sept 5, 2012 22:18:40 GMT
Always the same story the biggest is always the one that got away but would need some pretty serious gear to catch the fish they have here at ROYAL PAPUA YACHT CLUB granted the royal status 4 Feb 1977 with a pretty amazing History starting 1921 especially through the Pacific warbetween 1942 to 1945 a few Reminders in the shape of Memorials made from ships that were sunk....
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Post by allan on Sept 5, 2012 23:39:01 GMT
Brian, not sure if you are aware of it but Mojomo has overtaken you and is just north of Darwin. It seems they are avoiding Oz as well.
Allan
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Post by brian (Blue Bear) on Sept 6, 2012 1:47:37 GMT
Yes Alan but I thought they (Mojomo) were to stop in Darwin But they are due in Bali I think we may catch them up there if we do make that stop our next stop will be Dili East Timor around 1300miles we may apply for a cait there for indonesia Interesting read his comments on passing through the wriggly windy Torros Straits.... Strait as in Strait Jacket  |
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Post by brian (Blue Bear) on Sept 7, 2012 0:07:59 GMT
All ready to move on 1300 Miles through the Torros Straits to Dili East Timor will leave in the next few hours after Clearing with Customs around 12 days maybe less to do this leg I calculate but will consider anchoring if the going gets tough apparently visibility can be a Problem on times...... down to a crew of 2 which will make the navigation of the straits very exhausting....... Can't wait though........ such small channels with shallows should make it a wonder to see already having visited the Barrier reef My expectations are high.....  Our Previous crew member enjoyed catching fish as much as we enjoyed eating them this fish weighed in at 16lbs  A big thanks to the Royal Papua Yacht club......They really deserve the ROYAL in the title...... Excellent Facilities, staff Friendliness and helpfulness outstanding Cleanliness, Members and visitors outstanding Number one all-rounder to date(After CYC of course Can't wait for a Couple of pints of Brains ummmm or Strongbow) ..... surrounding the club, well stocked Supermarkets make restocking a Pleasure, Gas was difficult with our bottles but was easily overcome with the help of the local boat maintenance workforce and American Cruisers Mark and Brandy Restless in Seattle... A few Long term Cruising Boats which we have had the Pleasure of meeting are also following similar Paths East Timor or Indonesia the onward destinations.... |
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Post by brian (Blue Bear) on Sept 8, 2012 0:24:02 GMT
Still waiting for Customs may be several days before we leave now because of the weekend Surprising how the Authorities can make a place unattractive to visit no matter how good and friendly the People are..... at least we are kept waiting while free to roam others are confined to their boats..
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Post by brian (Blue Bear) on Sept 20, 2012 8:34:49 GMT
Through the Torros Straits Most of the trip was in Darkness but what stunning waters the winds were strong through the Straits beam to the waves made wet sailing we eventually used the cockpit cover. the waves not large but side on and steep they continually broke over the side once through the straits passing so so close to Australia's northernmost Islands.... the smell of ??SANDALWOOD??? strong in the air really tempted us to stop and visit risking the Wrath of Australian Authorities,,,,, but NO!!! $50000 fines Possible, Far more hostile than Pirates.......It would be More risky than the Gulf of Aden.......(could give 96 hours notice to prevent Problems) First Impressions East Timor a relaxed Place Facilities seem very Poor but food supplies very good people a Pleasure to be amongst the Authorities almost apologise for a $30 immigration charge which is Standard Customs treat you as Guests not as Money Machines.... |
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Post by sheila on Sept 20, 2012 8:39:02 GMT
At this rate Brian you will be home in no time. What a party we'll have to have for you!
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Post by brian (Blue Bear) on Sept 20, 2012 8:49:09 GMT
will stop off in a few places as we return for the essentials Wine port etc miss the French and Portuguese wines (well not so much Portuguese East Timor Has Portuguese Influence) so quite cheap here
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Post by sheila on Sept 21, 2012 8:28:20 GMT
If you are stopping off in Portugal, don't forget to stop at Tavira and call in to see Carol & Graham (ex Blythe Spirit) who are out there now. We are going out to visit them ourselves at the beginning of December, £120.00 return flight for the both of us (including one piece of hold luggage too!) Can't do better than that can you!
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Post by brian (Blue Bear) on Sept 23, 2012 5:32:59 GMT
It will soon be time to move on, we MUST beat the Cyclone Season between us and Madagascar, December the start of the season ,but early ones are possible, the trip should be a quick one,,, hope I,m not tempting fate there but even a slow voyage we should see South Africa in our Sights around 70 days...... that would be Direct from here but we will possibly stop Rodregues Mauritius or/and Coco Keeling....... this is a real long voyage even taking into account the Pacific it will be our greatest challenges yet loaded with extra foods and water just a little get up and go is missing at the moment BUT Monday 24 pm local time if the wind is right to see us right for the first 200 miles into the trade winds Internet here not good so will Probibly wite next in a few weeks
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ishtar
Member of CYC
Ishtar
The original Ishtar
Posts: 970
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Post by ishtar on Sept 23, 2012 20:18:46 GMT
Best of luck with this Bri. I wondered whether you'd risk the Red Sea, or the Agulhas current. I'm sure you know what you are doing, but if you don't already have one, a short wave radio with SSB would help a lot with weather planning.
Louise and I may be off by the time you post again, so all the very est to you both.
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Post by brian (Blue Bear) on Sept 23, 2012 23:12:17 GMT
If we complete the Journey in one it's a little over seven thousand miles....... quite a task!!! but will be able to change our plans later if we decide to..... so more than twice the distance Across the Atlantic or Panama to French Polynesia....... weather? ? when you are 10 days from any Shelter a weather warning not really good for Morale we use wind Direction wave Patterns Cloud formations and Barometer........If in doubt we just fully reef.... Cyclones have a definite series of indicators I believe,, hope I don't have to test my Knowledge of them, the Barometer really does show very severe weather conditions wind direction then helps to indicate where it is coming from.... so no SSB radio for this trip anyway....Have developed My own set of Superstitious rules.... but with hindsight I would have had one fitted before leaving the UK..... have a good time on your Passage......Evans we met in Lanzarote described the trip across the Atlantic which he had done many times described the trip as Prision with a chance of Drowning....... it gets Tedious but the more tedious it gets the better the Landfall and the more satisfying the Adventure....... Apoligies for any Spelling Mistakes the sun is JUST TOO BRIGHT!!!!  |
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Post by sheila on Sept 24, 2012 6:29:16 GMT
Best of luck to you both. You remain in our thoughts.
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Post by brian (Blue Bear) on Oct 28, 2012 8:29:03 GMT
Reading my last entry the total miles was to be under six thousand but we were unable to complete the full journey as planned because of a major or almost, when pushing the boat to its limits making incredible headway more than 150 miles per day two of the rigging wires snapped the first the Baby stay then the port hand lower Shroud almost causing the loss of our mast will try to update when we are able
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Post by simpleered on Oct 28, 2012 9:13:05 GMT
You and Sue are still an inspiration to many of your friends and members. I sincerely hope you come through this latest challenge unscathed. We all look forward to each of your messages. Stay safe and keep posting .Good luck for the rest of your travels. Brian King.
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Post by allan on Oct 28, 2012 11:59:59 GMT
Brian, where are you now? If you need anything sent out just ask.
Allan
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Post by sheila on Oct 28, 2012 12:32:17 GMT
Congratulations on making Mauritius Brian & Sue. Couldn't read the whole of your post, it went off the page somehow. Martin & Louise set sail for the Canaries on Saturday morning, the first leg of their trip down to the Carribbean, crewing for their friend. Every one is going away! Looking forward to hearing more from you. In our thoughts as always. Funnily enough I was telling someone else in the club about you yesterday!
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? New Caledonia?? NO!!! don't go there a few seasoned sailors Advise "ok but,, No expensive non Friendly" Vanuatu! thats well worth a visit, so, never met these People before English and Welsh..... but Advise difficult to gain so far from the cruising belt.... this is the new Plan..... VANUATU .....around 1000 miles or a little less winds not in our favor, but what the heck waiting on the Sea or in a Harbor for the right wind becomes immaterial lets go!!Hopefully a few Photos first of what and who I admired in NZ while I have good Internet..
but feeling good the water 26 degrees air temp 25 degrees vibrating tropical music What a start to our trip home...
