A G Cameron

This was the final leg of the 1200 mile passage from Tonga to Whangarei, New Zealand. After stopping at Minerva South Reef to make final preparations we set off heading clockwise out of the pass to see if we could catch some fish to stretch our provisions. The plan worked and we landed two large wahoo which yielded a total of 120 steaks. We then had 2 days of motor-sailing in light winds before encountering heavy seas up to 5m leading to green water over the deck and some soggy cabins. This lasted 3 days and some sailing was possible although we also had to motor at times. As we approached Tawahi Rahi island the waves moderated while the wind stayed above 12kts allowing us to sail the last few hundred miles, even flying the asymmetrical for a time. As we closed on the coast we saw more wildlife including dolphins, pilot whales and a possible sighting of a sei whale. Arrival into Marsden Cove Marina was straightforward and well marked. We tied up to the 'Q' berth overnight to await customs and biosecurity clearance together with 4 other boats, one rafted up.

Sunday 26th October we set sail from Minerva Reef North for Minerva Reef South. It's about a 20 - 25 nautical mile journey which we had to do mainly on engine. We did raise the asymmetric for about an hour but it only gave us about 3.5 knots which meant arriving around 2300 and we didn't fancy entering the atoll in the dark. When we arrived, about 6 hours later, there were only 2 boats anchored inside the reef, both widely spaced. We dropped the anchor in just under 3m (it was low tide) half a mile or so from Goose, whom we met briefly back in Tonga. Indioko looked like a Caithness or Murano ornament in a sea of glassy green. It looked so fabulous i decided to go for a swim round the boat. It turned out my timing was quite good as one of the local grey sharks cruised by about an hour later after I was dried off and sitting down to an excellent carpaccio dinner prepared by Iain.

Checkout was remarkably straightforward although navigating through the construction yard to get to the customs office was a challenge. After clearing the decks and stowing any loose items Brioni raised the anchor and we motor-sailed north-east out of the bay at around 1400. We've started on a roughly 4- hour watch pattern. That gives everyone 8 hours off but it's interesting getting to sleep inside a washing machine. With 20 knot winds and 2.5m waves that's what it was like! After a glitch in an electronic alarm system led to dash up top i had a brief episode of seasickness. Some fresh breeze and a dramamine took care of that and probably helped me sleep too. Day 2 Rinse and repeat. On watch 0200 to 0600. Several squalls requird sail changes accordingly. Wind still generally 20-25 knots and the sea swell 2.5m so we now had one reef in the main and 2 in the genoa. It was a relief to see the sky brightening in the east as sunrise approached. Next watch conditions had calmed down a lot to 10 - 15 knots and 1.5-2m swell. Time to fly the "Kraken", a custom asymmetric spinnaker which pulled us along at 8 knots instead of the 5 knots we had been doing. By sunset the wind had freshened again so we altered course to windward and set genoa and main sails for night running. After a hot meal, bed, to rest before another early morning watch. On approach to Minerva Reef two other sailing vessels appeared on the horizon. We flew the Fachan to get up some speed but couldn't quite get ahead so we finally dropped the anchor in 5m inside Minerva Reef.

So this is the end of the 2025 season as we've major works planned and a crewing trip with Sailing Red Seas coming up. A quick dash to Rhu to fill up with their very nice diesel then back to RB Marine to be hauled out and tucked up in the yard.

Last chance for a proper sail before hauling out for the winter. Also a chance to enjoy an excellent lunch at The Blairmore in... Blairmore! Conditions were good with a fairly steady WNW F4 but our outward passage was stalled when one of His Majesty's nuclear submarines surfaced ahead of us. After heaving to for 20 minutes we decided to track south of the boat, which was now doing doughnuts, so that we could make our way up the west side of the loch. That kept us well clear of the sub and its attendant tugs, police and Royal Marines escort. Arrival off Blairmore was made more exciting by a dragging anchor and the failure of the remote for the electric windlass due to a dead battery! After plugging in the wired remote and resetting the anchor the new dinghy and a high tide made landfall relatively simple. After lunch the return trip was a breeze (literally) with only one gybe and a short stretch on engine to moor up.

Final muster of the 2025 season for the Scottish Moody Owners Association. Kip would normally be an easy sail but beating into today's fickle conditions was exhilarating and exhausting. Peak wind speed was 25 knots but others reported 30 and still another 15. It just depends on where you were and when. The MOA are a very sociable bunch and proceedings kicked off with a wine reception aboard Blue Max, a Moody DS45. Plenty of room for the 36 sailors who came along. Tomorrow we'll see another 18 who aren't sailing but will join for the craic. Actually we're here for the visit to the whisky distillery tomorrow but 'here for the whisky' doesn't scan so well ;-)

The plan was to take a quick trip out to the Sugar Boat, drop the hook, have some lunch, and head back. In the event conditions were too rough so after hitting 6kts in force 5 winds I headed back to our home mooring and had lunch there. This was slightly disappointing considering the number of tacks I'd had to make while heading upwind but it was great sailing fun!

Grabbing a weather window to get some sailing in before the end of the month. Chris kindly agreed to crew and helmed us expertly all the way to Holy Loch and back including some pinpoint accurate docking and mooring. Winds were almost perfect with up to 15kts true giving us plenty of time well heeled at hull speed. The only dull spots were exiting and entering the Gareloch. £7.50 for 2 hours alongside at Holy Loch wasn't ruinously expensive but a bit annoying considering that we only came ashore to have some lunch in the marina itself. Lunch at the Holy Loch Coffee Shop was excellent by the way.

Just a little bimble about the bay because it's so frustrating seeing a boat and some wind and not using it! Stayed to the east on the way out to avoid a dinghy regatta out of Helensburgh Sailing Club but didn't head further because there was a nasty-looking rain cloud sitting over Greenock. So we turned back and drifted along with the wind back to the mooring. There then ensued an embarrassing attempt at mooring under sail which totally failed! Worse than that, after starting the engine it took another 3 attempts before we were secure. I blame the gusty wind...

Hopes of a good day's sailing, buoyed by more than one forecast, were soon dashed by a fickle force 2. Although we did manage to raise sails off Hunterston it was slow going. The last straw came after 4 tacks trying to pass Inverkip jetty and SOG dropped to 0.8 knots before Cloch lighthouse. On the positive side it didn't rain and the Waverley was taking on passengers at Largs as we passed. 7 hours after dropping the mooring in Millport we were secure on our home mooring and heading for a long, hot shower. Lovely!