• Join
    • Our Membership Options
    • Join the Club
    • Renew your Membership
    • Reciprocal Membership
  • Notice Board
    • Notices and Protests
    • Sailing Documents
    • Racing Programme
    • Entry and Results
  • Calendar
    • Calendar
    • Inshore Racing
    • Offshore Racing
    • Club events
    • Volunteer Rota
  • Sailing
    • Inshore
      • Port Nicholson Regatta
      • Wellington Harbour moorings
    • Offshore
      • Offshore Races
      • Offshore Race Records
      • Crossing Cook Strait
      • PredictWind Tracking
    • Race Management
      • Sailing Documents
      • Notices and Protests
      • Boat Register
  • Social
    • Coming events
      • Social calendar
    • Buy tickets
  • Clean Club
  • About us
    • Rules
      • Club Rules
      • RPNYC flag protocol
    • History
      • Learn about our past
      • Yarns
    • Contact
      • Our Crew
  • Venue Hire
  • Learn to Sail
  • Youth Scheme
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club
Login
  • Join
    • Our Membership Options
    • Join the Club
    • Renew your Membership
    • Reciprocal Membership
  • Notice Board
    • Notices and Protests
    • Sailing Documents
    • Racing Programme
    • Entry and Results
  • Calendar
    • Calendar
    • Inshore Racing
    • Offshore Racing
    • Club events
    • Volunteer Rota
  • Sailing
    • Inshore
      • Port Nicholson Regatta
      • Wellington Harbour moorings
    • Offshore
      • Offshore Races
      • Offshore Race Records
      • Crossing Cook Strait
      • PredictWind Tracking
    • Race Management
      • Sailing Documents
      • Notices and Protests
      • Boat Register
  • Social
    • Coming events
      • Social calendar
    • Buy tickets
  • Clean Club
  • About us
    • Rules
      • Club Rules
      • RPNYC flag protocol
    • History
      • Learn about our past
      • Yarns
    • Contact
      • Our Crew
  • Venue Hire
  • Learn to Sail
  • Youth Scheme
Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club
News

Sailing from Fiji to Opua on Te Whio

By Marcia Trucco28 November 2017Updated:29 November 2017No Comments4 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

At 05:00 on Friday 17 November Te Whio docked at Opua in the Bay of Islands to complete the last leg of its passage from Trinidad in the Caribbean to New Zealand via the Panama Canal and the Pacific Islands.  The passage from Fiji had taken 7 ½ days.

Craig Ryburn and Morgan Sissons who have a long association with RPNYC and sail with Phil Bishop on Helter Skelter bought the 43ft Benetau Oceanis they renamed Te Whio in Trinidad at the start of 2017.  They travelled to Trinidad early this year to prepare and provision the boat before setting off on their journey to NZ in February.  By the time Terry Steven and I joined them in Fiji in early November they had chalked up 9300 nautical miles and overcome a few challenges along the way, including a badly damaged rudder.  But that episode and others are best kept for a full report from Craig and Morgan on their adventures.

Terry and I joined Te Whio in Fiji at the Vuda marina where Craig and Morgan were preparing Te Whio for the final leg of the passage to NZ.  While November is the official start of the cyclone season, we had until December until the risk really increased and insurance exclusions kicked in but we were keen to get away and back to NZ shores in good time.  Craig was looking at the forecasts and getting advice from Bob McDavitt to pick the right weather window.  Initially we planned to get away on Monday 6 November but decided to delay due to the likelihood we would coincide with a low-pressure system passing slowly across northern NZ.  This wasn’t all bad news as we spent several nights in the Mamanuca islands off the coast to pass the time.  We finally got away on Thursday 9 November in moderate conditions.

This was my first experience of ocean passaging, so I didn’t really know what to expect and I was both excited and felt trepidation in equal parts.  One thing I didn’t apprehend is once we cleared the reef and were on port tack we would stay largely on the same tack until we dropped the mainsail as we approached Opua.  For most of the passage the wind was on the beam or forward of the beam which made for a comfortable ride.  When we had a day with the wind on the nose it was hard work bashing into the oncoming sea.  A benefit of not racing is when the wind dropped which it did for a day and a half we fired up the engine.  Two days out from Fiji after sunset we struck a dramatic thunderstorm, we put all the electronics in the oven and enjoyed the light show.

Craig had an iridium phone and he was able to pull down regular updated forecasts.  A few days into the passage the forecast started to show a low developing to the north and travelling down behind us.  Based on the forecast it looked like we should make Opua before the low arrived but we became very focused on making the best progress we could. Several other boats didn’t make it before the low, with 2 rescues happening a few days after our arrival and several other boats limping in to Opua.

After a few days on passage, we settled in to a routine of being on watch, sleeping and cooking and eating.  The days and nights blurred and then we were within a day of making landfall.  The coda to our passage was as we were motoring up the channel to Opua there was a loud bang, the boat shuddered, the auto-helm disengaged and the steering didn’t respond. This brought back memories for Craig of the previous rudder failure, but given the light conditions this was unlikely.  After we stopped the boat everything quickly rectified itself.  The likelihood is something had gone through the prop and once it cleared the prop and rudder it was okay.

Once we’d tied up at the quarantine wharf at Opua we broke out the rum for an obligatory celebratory drink (or two) as the dawn broke.

Related Posts

July Events

Seaweed? Fall in love! :)

Get amongst it – Club150 Monthly Raffle 🎟️

Comments are closed.

Key links
RPNYC Season Entry and Results

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe to our calendar
Buy RPNYC Swag

We’ve collaborated with Embroidme to offer a range of RPNYC clothing and other cool kit.

Visit the Store

FAQ

Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter
Subscribe to our calendar
Upcoming events
Jul 13
11:55 am - 3:30 pm

Winter Series

RPNYC Start Line
Jul 18
5:00 pm - 10:00 pm

🍻 Bar open from 5pm

Wardroom
Jul 18
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Airship Quiz Night

Jul 19
5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Seaweed – a love story documentary and talk

Wardroom
Jul 25
5:00 pm - 10:00 pm

🍻 Bar open from 5pm

Wardroom
Jul 26
9:55 am - 3:00 pm

Winter 2-Handed Series

RPNYC Start Line
Jul 27
11:55 am - 3:30 pm

Winter Series

RPNYC Start Line
Aug 1
5:00 pm - 10:00 pm

🍻 Bar open from 5pm

Wardroom
View Calendar
Weather and Tides
  • MetService Marine Forecast
  • CentrePort Port Weather
  • Port Marlborough Weather
  • Windfinder
  • Windy
  • Beacon Hill Webcams
  • Tory Channel Webcams
  • Tide Predictions
  • Tidal Stream Predictions - Tory Channel
Copyright © 2017-2022 Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Subscribe to our calendar
  • iOS / iPhone / iPad
  • Android
  • Outlook
    1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
    2. Tap Accounts & Passwords.
    3. Under the Accounts section, tap Add Account.
    4. Tap Other.
    5. Under Calendars, tap Add Subscribed Calendar.
    6. Type “https://rpnyc.org.nz/calendarfeed” in the Server field (to paste in a copied link, tap and hold the field and select Paste).
    7. Tap Next.
    8. Use the Description field to give the calendar an easily recognizable name.
    9. Tap Save.

    1. Go to google calendar on the web – http://calendar.google.com
    2. Log in
    3. Click the 3 dots next to add calendar and go to by url
    4. Enter: https://rpnyc.org.nz/calendarfeed
    5. To view on web make sure it is selected to show on the left hand menu.
    6. To view on phone, go to calendar app, then settings and select the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club calendar to sync.

    1. Right click on ‘My calendars’ (or any other calendar group) in the calendars view.
    2. Click ‘Add calendar’ and then ‘From internet’
    3. Type “https://rpnyc.org.nz/calendarfeed” into the location box
    4. Click ‘OK’
    5. Click ‘Yes’

Subscribe to our newsletters

Subscribe to our mailing lists

* indicates required




Sign In or Register

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below.

Lost password?