Where are we going …?

Posted byfreedomsailPosted inUncategorized

Wednesday 22 January 2020

Western Port Marina

NZ2020 – In the wake of Captain Cook … is billed as …

“… a 113-day New Zealand voyage aboard the good ship Chimere, conducted in multiple stages between Saturday 25 January and Saturday 16 May 2020*

* Terms and Conditions apply, see store for details.

In summary, the sailing itinerary looks a bit like this …

A voyage in 9 stages …

But of course, before we embark on Stages 2, 3, 4 and so on, we must first complete Stage 1 … the Trans Tasman delivery voyage. Which looks a bit like this …

Around 1,400 nautical miles, Melbourne to Picton … might take a cruise ship 3 days, but for us it’ll be more like 10 or so

In essence … we’ll hang a left turn once we’re out of Western Port, then keep the sunrise on the bow and the sunset on the stern for about 10 sleeps and hey presto, we’ll strike New Zealand.

The boom and sails are removed, the standing rigging disconnected and the crane sling attached and ready to lift the mast from the deck … only problem was, the aluminium mast had “swollen” in the stainless steel mast step, making it impossible to remove. In the end the whole mast step was unbolted from the deck, adding an extra hour to the process, and removed from the bottom of the mast later in the rigger’s factory.
After 12 months in the water the PPG anti-foul paint had obviously done its job, with very little growth in evidence
Craig Freeman, takes the 18m mast away on his very long trailer to start the task of re-rigging – the date was Tuesday 7 January and we were planning to leave for New Zealand in 18 days on Saturday 25 January – a very tight schedule.
After a water-blast on the slip, Chimere was placed in a cradle in the yard for a good sanding and paint job below the waterline.
Big Job !! With just 18 days from slipping, to our planned departure for New Zealand, every available minute was devoted to completing the work below the waterline, while the mast was being re-rigged in a shed nearby
Barry Stewart applies his exacting dental skills to re-sealing the deck hatches and anchor well
Testing for leaks in the new anchor-well hatch seals … with all the locks on the outside, it requires a degree of trust in your co-worker
Boat co-owner, Barry Crouch does some important strengthening work on the mast spreader while it’s in the shed. Barry carried out the same strengthening procedure on the other side of the mast in 2017 sitting in a bosun’s chair while hoisted 10 metres above the deck. No prizes for guessing which was easier.
Cathy West and Matt Latimer grab lunch at the Westernport Marina between jobs aboard Chimere
Matt took charge of disconnecting all the many cables that ran through the deck from the mast – everything from the radar and radio to the navigation lights and chartplotter GPS
Chimere’s mast is loaded aboard the rigger’s trailer for the short trip back to the factory
Friends, Liz and Murray pose in front of Chimere’s lovely new paint job
Linda in her safety vest helping with preparation jobs aboard . With just 18 days between being lifted out of the water and our planned departure date for New Zealand the schedule was very tight

With two and a half days to go before the Border Force customs officials pay us a visit to formally “clear us out”, our attention is currently focused, however, on getting our mast re-installed tomorrow morning. After that, we can start to relax a little, with minor things like buying food, tidying up around the place and getting the sat-phone weather and tracking system operational.

After just 2 weeks on the dry, Chimere returns to the water on Tuesday 21 January 2020, still lacking one vital component … a mast; which is having the finishing touches done to its new rigging in a nearby factory. The mast is due to be re-installed in just 2 days,a and 2 days after that we plan to departure for New Zealand
Chimere is a mess, but at least she’s back in the water again after her 14 day clean-and-paint on the hard
Chimere’s mast, complete with new rigging, is returned on Thursday 23 January ready for re-installation.
Craig Freeman coordinates the re-installation of Chimere’s mast
The mast step was finally removed from the base of the mast and re-conditioned prior to reattachment to the deck
The mast is back in place, with the many cables about to be poked through the deck and re-connected below
With two days before departure for New Zealand, Chimere is not only back in the water, but she also has her mast back with new standing rigging. Things were starting come together!
During our time of preparation for departure to New Zealand, we got to meet sailing icon Lin Pardey who was living aboard a nearby yacht called Sahula, with her friend David Haigh. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_and_Larry_Pardey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_khg0g5fao
The bushfires up the east coast of Australia cast a smoky haze over everything
Smoke from the bushfires, hundreds of miles, hung low in the morning … and even made it as far as New Zealand

Smooth seas, fair breeze and stay tuned…

Rob Latimer

11 thoughts on “Where are we going …?”

    1. Lovely to hear from you Don and Beryl. I’m just catching up on the website and comments etc. We cleared customs here in Picton yesterday and are just soaking up the sun … and catching up on sleep.
      Cheers
      Rob

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