Location: 38 degrees 17 minutes south latitude 178 degrees, 24 minutes east longitude
Saturday November 11th, 2000
But to go back a couple of days:
We undocked from the Viaduct harbour at 1115 on Saturday 11th November, to the cheers and waves of quite a large group of friends and relations, and people who have helped us over the past few weeks and months in a way that most will never realise. We couldn’t have done it without you. The list is very large and will be acknowledged as soon as possible just let me get my sea legs first if that’s OK. To Mum especially – thanks for the thousands of chocolate chip biscuits that you baked.
A couple of hours later we were on our own as we headed out through the Motuihe Passage towards Cape Colville. The wind was too light for us to sail and the seas calm until we rounded the end of the Coromandel Peninsula when the big easterly swells and fresher head winds slowed us (and made even me feel queasy) until we anchored for the night in the lea of Great Mercury Island to recover from the rigors of the last few weeks of preparations. (NZ Customs approved the stopover so don’t worry).
After a good sleep we up-anchored after breakfast and headed out towards East Cape, in very little wind but big, lumpy easterly swells that slowed us a knot or two. We are slower than normal due to the ice-grids installed over the propeller tunnels to later on stop big chunks of Antarctic Ice from damaging the blades, but we are prepared to put up with the reduction in speed with the extra security they offer. Fitting them on arrival in Ushuaia would have been difficult, and we certainly don’t have room for them otherwise. The only problem to date is a blown “diode” an electrical device that converts the electricity produced by one of the main engine alternators. Another is being delivered to Gisborne for a pick up this afternoon, as our course southwards to better winds will take us close by anyway.
At dawn this morning, the lights of homes in Hicks Bay were away to starboard, and at 0600, East Cape was abeam strong tides, large swirls in the water, and remote farmhouses in the distance with the backdrop of the very rugged but beautiful country that probably not many people are fortunate enough to view from the sea.
Sir Peter Blake
"Having vision is not enough. Change comes through realising the vision and turning it into a reality. It is easy to espouse worthy goals, values and policies; the hard part is implementation."
Learn about Sir Peter Blake and his journeys around the globe
