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Dear Friends:
We are on board Taleisin in Puerto Montt, delighted to be reunited with our
special floating home, but definitely slightly worn out from the merry-go-round
that has been the past month of our lives. For most of the previous year we had
been looking forward to two special regattas in New Zealand, the Mahurangi Regatta
and the once every three year, International Classics. Jonquil, the lovely 1914
Nat Herreshoff designed Buzzards Bay 25 we maintain and race for her owner is
such a kick to sail, the two regattas are unique and the competition keen but
friendly. We worked to make sure Jonquil was ready for both, practiced for these
regattas getting out sailing when ever we could and did all sorts of tweaking
to her gaff-rig. Then Larry wanted to buy her a brand new nylon drifter as she
has only a tiny headsail (100 square feet) and very large mainsail (450 square
feet). I could not really feel comfortable with spending $450 US for a sail we
would use only for six days of racing, and did not feel we could ask her owner
to buy it. I lay awake one night, hating myself for saying no to anything Larry
wanted. Then I had a brainstorm - from memory, the head stay angle on Jonquil
was similar to the staysail stay angle on Taleisin. I have always wanted a spinnaker
staysail to help us ghost along in very light beam reaching conditions. Sure enough
when I suggested this to Larry, he got out the sail plan and the two boats could
use the same 250 square foot nylon sail.
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We hated to say good bye to our Kawau cottage,
just when the New Zealand weather was at its best, but hurricane seasons wait
for no sailor. |
For two days before the Mahurangi regatta it blew 25 to 35 knots from the south.
The Mahurangi River is 12 miles south of our New Zealand base. So we waited both
down at mouth with the thought of missing out. Jonquil, though 32 feet on deck,
is not a sea boat. She has an old fashioned open non-self-draining cockpit, 3000
pounds of lead on the bottom and if knocked down will sink like a stone. On the
morning of the regatta, we got up a 0600 and the forecast was even worse - 30
gusting to 45. But we decided to put three reefs in her oversized mainsail then
poke our noses outside our cove, assuring ourselves we could just run back home
if we had to. Once outside we found the sailing extremely brisk but manageable.
Then we saw a squall bearing down on us. Decided to get lots of room between us
and two islands to leeward then heave to through the first blasts of wind. Larry
then put a reef in the little jib and we got underway in gusts to 40 knots. He
asked me why I seemed a bit tense "you've sailed in a lot more wind than
this," he commented. "Yes, but this is someone else's boat, there is
only one nikopress fitting (Talerit) holding up this whole rig and if we heel
to far she can fill with water and sink." He laughed then suggested I keep
my hand on the mainsheet. Good thing because we did get one extra gust on the
beam that laid her over until green water came over the cockpit coamings. Had
to pump for about five minutes but we did make it to the Mahurangi River and in
spite of not getting to the race start in time to register for the regatta, we
went for the line. Committee yelled out "Hugh Gladwell (a good friend and
commodore of the Mahurangi Cruising club) saw you coming and paid your entry fee.
We shook out one reef and joined the fleet of fifty others who raced in spite
of gale force winds and gusts that we all later learned were up to 50 knots. Our
hard work and my blistered hands were rewarded when Larry helmed us in to take
our class and the Herreshoff trophy too. Grand barbeque ashore that evening. Next
day the winds dropped, the sun came out and we had a wonderful sail home, with
me feeling far more confident sailing what is essentially an open boat.
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But it is grand to be back on board our floating
home. Now I have everything back on board, the forward cabin feels cozy and inviting. |
Then we set to work on the last project at Mickey Mouse Marine, fixing a favourite
clients toe rails, a job that at first looked like two days work, but unfortunately
turned into 9 days of 12 hours each due to unforeseen underlying problems. This
really put a rush into our lives as not only did we have to get Jonquil ready
for the really big regatta but also pack for our return to Chile only two days
after that five day event.
We actually got everything done and the boat packed and ready to go with half
a day spare. We used that to sail her down to Auckland and lucked out as the highly
changeable New Zealand weather gave us a beam reach over smooth seas. The five
day regatta was one to remember, light wind sailing which Jonquil loves, grand
competition with some of the most beautiful classic boats in the world among the
fleet of 84, and a fine crew to boot. The Neil Bekin, the boyfriend of Jonquils
owner and Sybil Bloomfield, her 18 year old daughter joined us as we raced from
Auckland back to our island the first day, then did two days of racing in the
area we know best, with barbeques each night on the island, then a magic race
back to Auckland and a fifth race in Auckland on the final day. The new red nylon
drifter worked a treat and became known as the Red Baron among the fleet as it
definitely stood out against the beautiful blue skies we enjoyed. Best part of
it all was showing the New Zealanders what a magician Nat Herreshoff was. Jonquil
literally sailed past top local boats 20 feet longer in winds of 5 to 8 knots.
Better yet, we got into five days of close competition with several smaller boats
and had the fun of crossing tacks, jesting with the other crews and laughing about
it all at the end of each day of racing. We were delighted to get second in our
class of 45 boats at the awards ceremony. Then a month later we received an email
saying, "Unfortunately in the rush to figure results so awards could be presented
the same evening as the last race, there were errors made. We have had to revise
the final standings, Jonquil placed first overall."
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I wish the main cabin looked as organized
as this all the time. |
In a well orchestrated last two days in New Zealand, we left Jonquil with
her owner in Auckland, caught a late water taxi back to our home on the island
(complete with a car load full of gear we'd carried with us on the regatta) then
packed up and closed the boatyard including pulling our pontoon ashore, relaunching
the barge we had rebuilt during all this rush, moving everything into storage
sheds and packing 180 kilos of luggage and getting to the mainland in time to
meet with the editor of Cruising World in Auckland to discuss the seminars we
will be giving in the US in January of 2004. By the time we got on the plane we
were wiped out and I don't remember much of the flight back as I slept through
it all.
Taleisin had been wonderfully cared for; Puerto Montt is as charming as we
remembered. But we had removed everything from inside the boat and faced a week
of getting it all back on board. Due to time lag etc, slept most of the first
two days after our return. Now ten days later Taleisin is back to being a fully
found and outfitted home, we have scrubbed every inch of her interior, Larry has
built a new wind vane frame and removed her lower spreaders to fix some minor
damage caused by the wear and tear of sailing around Cape Horn. If all goes well
we should be ready to sail in about ten days. That coincides with neap tides at
the Canal Chacao, the final barrier between us and the Pacific, a five mile pass
with tides that can run at up to 9 knots.
The tide range here in Puerto Montt is up to 21 feet, at Ancud just though
the pass the range is only 5 feet. Will be an interesting gamut to run. Both of
us are ready and eager to be at sea so we can catch up with ourselves. Would love
to spend six months just exploring Chile, but also want to sail north this year
and miss the hurricane seasons along our route. So we might not be updating this
web letter as often over the next few months, as there may not be internet connections
at some of the islands we'll be visiting. We will however, telephone and ask our
webmaster to include updates as to our locations when possible.
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This photo was shot in the Chesapeake Bay
by Stark Jett. Hope we can have reaching like this when we get underway. |
Meanwhile, we have been asked to present some seminars and slide shows in Victoria
and Vancouver in October and also Atlantic City and Chicago in January. Are going
to be at the Port Townsend Woodenboat Festivals, with or without Taleisin, in
September. We will keep you posted as to exact dates and details as soon as we
can. (Here we go, breaking our cardinal rule about avoiding fixed dates as we
cruise, now we've turned our voyage north into a race so we can have Taleisin
with us at the festival.)
Wish us fair winds; we'll need them as we have lots of miles we want to cover.
Sincerely,
Lin and Larry on board Taleisin at Puerto Montt
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