Opua, 835NM SW of Minerva Reef
After dinner we watched the darkening skies with wary eyes. Two occluded fronts were due to pass us, bringing buckets of rain and thunder.
Somehow the first one missed us, and there’d be a few hours before the second one, maybe enough to reach harbour? Once we got to the lee of New Zealand, we dropped sail and started the engine.
Navigating into an unknown port in the dark is always interesting. The channel to Opua is well lit with lateral marks and sector lights, but it was still useful to have two pairs of eyes on deck interpreting it all. We managed to reach the quarantine dock before the second row of thunderstorms. New Zealand, we made it!
- Distance today: 34NM
- Engine hours: 2.3
| Time |
Position |
Course |
Speed |
Log |
Weather |
Remarks |
| 06.11. 5:00 Z |
34°52'8"S
174°17'33"E
|
227°
|
4.3kt
|
21101.7NM
|
wind
17.6kt
14°
sea state 3/10
clouds 8/8
visibility 6/10
baro 1014 hPa
|
bergie on watch
|
| 06.11. 5:59 Z |
34°55'52"S
174°14'51"E
|
187°
|
5.6kt
|
21106.1NM
|
wind
16kt
356°
baro 1014 hPa
|
Hourly position log
|
| 06.11. 6:01 Z |
34°55'55"S
174°14'49"E
|
202°
|
3.6kt
|
21106.2NM
|
wind
15.5kt
4°
baro 1014 hPa
|
Contacted Taupo Maritime Radio on 6215 kHz (and follow-up VHF 67), received "Welcome to New Zealand"
|
| 06.11. 6:23 Z |
34°57'24"S
174°14'32"E
|
181°
|
4.2kt
|
21107.7NM
|
wind
13.8kt
345°
baro 1014 hPa
|
New Zealand territorial waters
|
| 06.11. 6:59 Z |
34°59'29"S
174°13'57"E
|
177°
|
3.6kt
|
21109.9NM
|
wind
14.7kt
346°
baro 1014 hPa
|
Hourly position log
|
| 06.11. 7:59 Z |
35°3'5"S
174°13'8"E
|
194°
|
3.5kt
|
21113.6NM
|
wind
13.1kt
331°
baro 1014 hPa
|
Hourly position log
|
| 06.11. 8:36 Z |
35°5'10"S
174°12'34"E
|
191°
|
4.5kt
|
21115.8NM
|
wind
12.7kt
346°
baro 1015 hPa
|
Maersk Rio Blanco crossing our stern at 6NM, lights visible
|
| 06.11. 8:59 Z |
35°6'32"S
174°11'56"E
|
203°
|
3kt
|
21117.2NM
|
wind
13.9kt
340°
baro 1014 hPa
|
Hourly position log
|
| 06.11. 9:47 Z |
35°9'9"S
174°10'43"E
|
193°
|
3kt
|
21120.1NM
|
wind
8.9kt
341°
baro 1015 hPa
|
Sails down, motoring
|
| 06.11. 9:48 Z |
35°9'12"S
174°10'42"E
|
179°
|
2.6kt
|
21120.2NM
|
wind
8.5kt
352°
baro 1015 hPa
|
Motor stopped, sailing with Main (2nd reef), Staysail
|
| 06.11. 9:50 Z |
35°9'16"S
174°10'41"E
|
203°
|
2.7kt
|
21120.3NM
|
wind
10.5kt
348°
baro 1015 hPa
|
Sails down, motoring
|
| 06.11. 9:59 Z |
35°9'54"S
174°10'33"E
|
184°
|
5.6kt
|
21120.9NM
|
wind
12.4kt
347°
baro 1014 hPa
|
Hourly position log
|
| 06.11. 10:59 Z |
35°14'2"S
174°6'52"E
|
219°
|
4.8kt
|
21126.1NM
|
wind
20kt
342°
baro 1014 hPa
|
Hourly position log
|
| 06.11. 11:59 Z |
35°18'44"S
174°7'18"E
|
175°
|
2.6kt
|
21131.3NM
|
wind
10.7kt
352°
baro 1013 hPa
|
Hourly position log
|
| 06.11. 12:06 Z |
35°18'48"S
174°7'21"E
|
153°
|
0kt
|
21131.4NM
|
wind
11kt
359°
baro 1013 hPa
|
Stopped
|