A new toy for navigating.  Brookhouse Instruments makes a “box” that you attach your instruments, GPS and AIS to that makes all the data available via WiFi on your iPad!

What’s nice about this is when we’re under passage, we’re usually sitting under the dodger, not back behind the wheel where the instruments are.  Now with the iPad we can see windspeed, direction, SOG, etc as well as GPS info and AIS targets without having to run around between the helm and the cabin (where GPS and AIS reside).  Nice.

Was pretty easy to install.  You just have to wire the instruments into an easy to use bus on the outside of the box.  www.brookhouseonline.com for any of you “yachties” who are interested.  Here’s a couple pics of the iPad showing the instrument info and chartplotter.

Here's the chartplotter screen (click to enlarge). You can see Charisma (the blue triangle mid screen), the three AIS targets shown as brown boxes with boat names and the data boxes on top that show numeric data if you cursor over them.

Here's the AIS data block for the yacht "Arnamentia" when I clicked on them. The box scrolls down with more info as well.

Here's a partial screen showing the data screen. You can click on any of the boxes for more detail and in many cases a graphical depiction of the info.

We also bought a waterproof case to house the iPad in case an errant wave splashes as we’re using the device.  To use the chartplotter you have to purchase iNavX for the iPad and for charts, xTraverse.

Just nice to have redundancy.  This also gives us a back up chartplotter in the cockpit, since Charisma’s built in chartplotter is in the cabin at the nav table and not visible from the helm.

Morning of our third day. The final dive for the Open Ocean Dive Certification

Yup, if this day went well we would be “Certified”, no longer merely “Certifiable”.  We were headed for the Poor Knights islands-about an hour boat ride off of Tutukaka.   None other than the late Jacques Coustou has called this spot one of the top dive spots in the world.  It has been a designated marine sanctuary since 1981.  We were anxious to see if it lived up to it’s reputation-no, no, we were anxious period.  This was our final dive to get certified.  We would have to go down 30 feet under the water and prove that we could take off our facemask, remove our air regulator, then put both back on, blow out the water and not panic in the process.  Yeah, right.

Well, turns out it all worked out.  The boat was ready-an hour late due to a leak, but no worries mate as they say down here-and our “final exam” was a non-event.  So…we had time to explore one of the top dive spots in the world.  And it was.  Just stunning!  We really were almost speechless as we came out after our first dive of the day (there were two)  So, we hope you enjoy a bit of the experience through these photos-our first ones with the new Go Pro camera that we bought for Christmas.  Not too bad for a first try.

Here's Ann swooping down into the depths

Getting ready to drop into the depths

We went into a cave....

...and swam with a friendly sea turtle

One cave was large enough that the whole boat fit inside

The skipper took us through some of the arches (we went through the one in the background)

....and heading back to the mainland after a long but exhilarating day of diving-and we have our certificates!

So we’re still biding our time getting ready to leave to go north into the tropics again.

It’s getting colder here and the weather is getting “wintry”.  That’s the tricky part of getting out of here.  You have to wait for a “window” out of the wintry weather to get back into the tropics.  Kind of a Alice’s looking glass kinda thing.

So…today I played golf with Alistair and Orcinius John.  It was a glorious day and as I noted to Alistair-when you’re hitting it good off the tee golf is good.  I was.  My short game left a lot to be desired, but I was pounding the ball off the tee.  A really fun day.

Ann went paddleboarding with Lisa today and then hiked up the mountain (again).

OK John, now that YOU have a beer-making kit, you HAVE to buy Lisa a paddleboard!

Ann showing great form on here paddleboard

So…tonight was the Sunday BBQ and we were telling Lisa that our word for this season is “serendipity”.  After laughing hysterically, she said; “that’s a really BIG word!”  Well, that’s how we’re calling it.  Simple, no schedule and take what comes.  That’s this year’s plan.  Between May and November, whatever we see and where ever we go is up to the wind and waves.

Speaking of serendipity, we noticed that Saturday afternoon there was a French boat in the harbor that was putting on an acrobat/slapstick/circus show.  Basically they tie their boat up near the bridge and do a fun, funny, gypsy kind of thing with a hint of Circ de Soleil.  They call it their “circusnavigation”.  Hard to explain, but really fun to watch the show.  We have been paralleling them since Mexico and this is the first time we’ve seen the show.  Really fun.

The acrobats in mid-performance

So, time to get to work studying for this week’s Dive lessons.  Wednesday-Friday culminating with a two dive day at Poor Knights which is supposed to be one of the best dive spots in the South Pacific.  We’re looking forward to the week!

The full moon is shinning through the trees and the Southern Cross is rising directly behind us.  What more incentive do we need to cast off and once more head out into the blue?

Can’t wait.

“Soon”. That’s the catch. We’re actually pretty ready, but we need to just set a date to go. Without a date to work against we’ll find many reasons to procrastinate and not go. We’ve made so many friends here, it’s easy to just stay, but that’s not what “cruising” is all about.

So, what about that date? We’re now aiming for May 10th. There, now we’ve said it. We’re committed!

In the meantime, we’ve signed up for dive lessons next week to get our PADI certification. Fiji is one of the best places in the world for diving. Would be a shame to miss that.

In other news, we had a great time last night at the weekly Sunday night BBQ in the boatyard. Lots of great conversation. But the memorable line of the night-from me to John on Arnementia, who is “veddy, veddy British” (a former tank commander in the British Army I believe) after he fired off a long unintelligible sentence; “OK John, say that more slowly in English and without the accent”. The look I got might have stopped a tank but was quickly followed by hysterical laughter from everyone within earshot! A fun night indeed.

And some final boat work.  Yup, it’s Fall turning to Winter down here in the southern lattitudes and soon it will be time to heard north up to Fiji.  Warmer climes.  I was doing some research today and there are over 300 islands in the Fijian archipelago so we’re going to be busy exploring.

But first things first.  Number one, we need to work on our paddleboarding technique now that we each have one.  We’ve been paddling every morning before the wind comes up and makes it too hard to be fun.

"I want to go this way!" "Nope, we're going that way!"

"OK, you win, we'll go downriver today and see the new bridge".

Once we got our exercise, Bob did more boat projects and Ann went provisioning with Blue Rodeo Anne and Lisa.  On the boat project list we’re definitely down to the short list.  It’s nice to know that the big projects are behind us and Charisma’s ready to go.

On the provisioning front, Ann’s stocking six months worth of basic stuff.  Pasta, flour, toilet paper, paper towels, and lots of other stuff that we generally find hard to source in the islands (or really expensive).

"Hmmm...more paper towels, or more wine...?"

"OK Lisa, you get in the car and I'll start throwing the stuff to you."

So, right now between the last of the boat projects (which means all the tools are scattered everywhere and not put away) and the provisioning, there is barely room in the cabin to sit down.  I think tomorrow will start the “putting away stuff” project so we can move around.

About another week or so and we’ll be ready to leave Whangarei.  Then a short shakedown cruise up the coast or maybe out and back down here-we’re not sure yet. Then we just wait for a weather window.  Since it’s turning winter down here, the weather is getting colder and raining a lot.  Low pressure zones (i.e. crappy weather) are sweeping by every few days.  The trick to getting north is to wait until one is passing and then as it’s just about on top of you and it’s raining and windy, you leave.  That way you get the wind to push you quickly north away from New Zealand  and up into the tropics.  If you’re lucky you get far enough north (about 400 miles generally does the trick-or about three to four days sailing) to hit milder weather and the southeast trade winds that will take you to Fiji.

That’s the plan anyway.    😉

What can I say.  It was fantastic!  Everyone said it was the best they had been at.  In any case, we enjoyed it and had a great time.

Lisa welcoming our guests

Tohu, our Maori minister was wonderful!

Ann was (and is!) most lovely.

We really enjoyed the ceremony

...and of course the cake....

Such a good time with 25 or so of our cruising friends and of course Janette and Alistair at Riddlesden B&B which is where everyone should stay when in Whangarei.  Fantastic place!

So now, we’re down to the final projects.  I finished installing the porthole in the head today and Ann was out “provisioning” with Blue Rodeo Anne and Lisa.  We not only have commodity foods (i.e. pasta, canned goods, etc), but are also stocking up with gifts for the islanders we meet.  Ann found some great New Zealand Rugby hats for a buck apiece. Nice giveaways.  We also have some beach balls for the kids we meet as well as school supplies.  We’re a couple weeks and counting before leaving.

Also, we have been using our (my) new paddle board each morning.  Great exercise to go up-river for an hour or so via paddleboard.  Today we went up under the bridge and back.  Nice!

Blogging by Ann…

After two weeks land cruising we are back on Charisma. What an incredible trip we had. And we only hit about half of the North Island of New Zealand! We drove through gorgeous country, enjoyed fabulous hiking, learned (at least for me) how to mountain bike and even enjoyed kayaking on the biggest lake on the north island. And no words could do it justice! The most amazing part…everyone tells us that this is nothing compared to the South Island! Next year we will hit the South Island and let you know!

Our return was bitter sweet. We were having a fabulous trip and would have loved to extend it but not only was Charisma calling us but we needed to get back to complete our wedding plans! Yep, the big day is this Saturday! We promise to post pictures!

Our to do lists (they are never ending) include wedding tasks and the final boat chores. Yesterday I was able to finish covering the seat cushions in our main cabin and I am very pleased with the result. And Bob is pleased to have it done AND the sewing machine put away. It takes up a lot of room.

Bob was able to repair a leaking prism in the deck today and found a sheared screw that held on the hand rail, which he also repaired. Two leaks repaired! Yeah! Tomorrow sends Bob up the mast to replace the bent windex- thank you boobies, and the VHF antenna. Important jobs.

This morning Bob test drove a stand-up paddle board. And I got to play too! It was a beautiful morning and one cup of coffee was enough to get us going! Did I tell you how much I love paddle boarding? Sorry spin class, this one gets me outside too and if I don’t fall in the water, which neither of us did, it is a lot of fun, good exercise! So now Bob has one too (thank you Marily and Tom for this part of our wedding present) and now we can play together since I have one we bought in Mexico!

Ann testing MY new board!

Again, testing MY board, but also using her new, super fancy paddle...

Home sweet home, exciting days ahead!

Got our land cruising pictures up.  Go back in the archives to March 22 and forward from there (or start here and scroll down to the 22nd) to see pictures of our trip from Whangarei down to Wellington at the tip of the North Island and back again.  Great trip.

We’re back in Whangarei and on Charisma. Yay! But…we really enjoyed our two weeks of land cruising and look forward to seeing much more of New Zealand next season when we’re back (Novemberish).

We drove from Hamilton (yo, JHam) four hours back to Whangarei. Made it past Auckland this time on a Saturday, so no significant traffic.

Coolest part of the day-stopping at SheepWorld! OK, sounds a bit “iffy”, but turned out fascinating. With full irony we started our visit with a Lamb Burger. I have to say it was delicious and much less fatty than a hamburger. They just need to find a better name since you do think of a little cuddly lamb when ordering…

After lunch, we went to the “show”. I was prepared for an overpriced, under delivered experience, but it was more fun…The farmer who owned the place turns out to be a natural showman and did a fabulous job showing us all how he manages his sheep. It started out with an awesome demonstration of his dogs herding the sheep. A Border Collie and a local NZ dog called a “Huntaway”. Incredible how they can herd the sheep and how they take commands. The show went on with demonstrations of shearing sheep that actually made the whole process fascinating. There is actually a choreography that the shearer goes through as he/she maneuvers the sheep with his legs and arms through the whole range of shearing from one side to the other. The farmer then demonstrated how to put a sheep to sleep by just using “pressure points”around the sheep’s ears. It literally fell asleep on the stage!

Amazing!

Well, that’s what we all do for entertainment here in New Zealand!

SheepWorld!! (OK, some of us are more excited than others)

Sam the New Zealand Huntaway (that's the type of dog-specially bred in New Zealand to herd sheep)

Boyd the Border Collie in action. Amazing dogs!

A live demo on sheep shearing. It was too dark for the action shots, but here's how they hold the sheep so they don't squirm. Amazing the choreography involved in shearing.