Rogue, now home in Wellington
Most sincere apologies, the laptop was on the fritz but am back up and running and so is Rogue. She's now located in Evans Bay Marina, Wellington, waiting for a berth in front of the yacht club at Clyde Quay.
The journey across Cook was made at the last minute waiting to see if the weather would change. At 4PM the decision was made; Gavin, Lawrie, and Rob accompanied me on the 2AM ferry to PIcton after which we boarded Rogue and quickly set sail for Wellington.
The crossing itself couldn't have been much better. Leaving Tory we decided to test the mainsail before heading into the actual Cook, and it's a good thing too because anything more than a strong breeze and the huge sail plan has you leaning over without restraint. To cross the strait on a boat this old in what looked like building winds we put in two reefs which worked like a charm and more than sufficient.
There was a moment crossing that deadly piece of water, when I wished my field of vision were wider. This moment of surfing the swells on such a beautiful yacht, looking up to try to take in the entire wooden mast, long boom practically extending beyond the counterstern, and an enormous sail plan on the same sail used in the 20's as the tail end of the boom would occasionally slap another swell on the other side of us, and then we'd drive on through climbing another swell with ease.
After a good hour of sailing along but not going anywhere in the Wellington rip, we began to tack up Wellington harbour. It took a bit of practice but after four tacks we had it down. Being an older beauty she takes a bit of momentum to get going, so cheating into the wind is counter productive, however when she gets going steadily racing along with the water swishing by on this massive white national treasure, there is perhaps no better feeling.
Over the past couple weeks I"ve been real busy with work but on the weekends I have started restoring the inside. Gavin helped sand everything down by hand and I've put down a coat of internal anti-foul, primer, and three coats of white epi-gloss on one side. The comparison looks incredible.
I'm currently in Southern California but can't wait to get back to Wellington to continue the good work with Rogue. More updates and pictures of her now sailing to come soon.
For those interested, the Classics Regatta has been schedule for February to coincide with Line 7 and is looking to be a great day in the water. This will be the culmination of my hopes of raising awareness of these incredible national treasures and one I hope you can come along to and enjoy.
The journey across Cook was made at the last minute waiting to see if the weather would change. At 4PM the decision was made; Gavin, Lawrie, and Rob accompanied me on the 2AM ferry to PIcton after which we boarded Rogue and quickly set sail for Wellington.
The crossing itself couldn't have been much better. Leaving Tory we decided to test the mainsail before heading into the actual Cook, and it's a good thing too because anything more than a strong breeze and the huge sail plan has you leaning over without restraint. To cross the strait on a boat this old in what looked like building winds we put in two reefs which worked like a charm and more than sufficient.
There was a moment crossing that deadly piece of water, when I wished my field of vision were wider. This moment of surfing the swells on such a beautiful yacht, looking up to try to take in the entire wooden mast, long boom practically extending beyond the counterstern, and an enormous sail plan on the same sail used in the 20's as the tail end of the boom would occasionally slap another swell on the other side of us, and then we'd drive on through climbing another swell with ease.
After a good hour of sailing along but not going anywhere in the Wellington rip, we began to tack up Wellington harbour. It took a bit of practice but after four tacks we had it down. Being an older beauty she takes a bit of momentum to get going, so cheating into the wind is counter productive, however when she gets going steadily racing along with the water swishing by on this massive white national treasure, there is perhaps no better feeling.
Over the past couple weeks I"ve been real busy with work but on the weekends I have started restoring the inside. Gavin helped sand everything down by hand and I've put down a coat of internal anti-foul, primer, and three coats of white epi-gloss on one side. The comparison looks incredible.
I'm currently in Southern California but can't wait to get back to Wellington to continue the good work with Rogue. More updates and pictures of her now sailing to come soon.
For those interested, the Classics Regatta has been schedule for February to coincide with Line 7 and is looking to be a great day in the water. This will be the culmination of my hopes of raising awareness of these incredible national treasures and one I hope you can come along to and enjoy.
posted by SF BUCKALEAU at 9:36 PM
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