Stopover in Wellington NZ

Date: Sunday 11 January 2004

Day: 169

Local time: 1200 GMT+13

Leg Number and name:Stop-over in Wellington, New Zealand

Position - Latitude, Longitude: 41.17'S 174.51'E

Position relative to land: Chaffers Marina, Lambton Harbour, Wellington,

Notes: No Notes posted on this day.

Date: Monday 12 January 2004

Day: 170

Local time: 1200 GMT+13

Leg Number and name:Stop-over in Wellington, New Zealand

Position - Latitude, Longitude: 41.17'S 174.51'E

Position relative to land: Chaffers Marina, Lambton Harbour, Wellington,


Notes: Sunny day. 0330 Nick left to fly back to Melbourne until 22 Jan.



Igor, MC and I visited the Royal Forest and Bird offices and met the team who have so effectively set things in motion for the albatross.



We don't have too many things to do for the boat: set up the standing rigging, change the oil and filters in the Mercedes engine, tighten the steering, etc. This is lucky since many people are still on their summer holidays.



We saw the two pieces which were on Saturday night's TV news and we were encouraged to see the Fisheries minister responding positively on the subject of the albatross.



Into the mist...


John Ridgway

Date: Tuesday 13 January 2004

Day: 171 Local time: 1200 GMT+13

Leg Number and name:Stop-over in Wellington, New Zealand

Position - Latitude, Longitude: 41.17'S 174.51'E

Position relative to land: Chaffers Marina, Lambton Harbour, Wellington,

Notes:

"Martes trece: Tuesday 13th," says Igor. "Like Friday 13th in England!"


Well, for me it signalled the end of awful gloom: "A fool and his money are soon parted", "No fool like an old fool".


At very long last, after Tenerife, Cape Town and Melbourne, I actually met someone who really could do the job. Chris Sturrock, mechanic. Sixteen years self-employed and solo after five years apprenticeship as a tool and die maker. It was an inspiration to fetch and carry and pass him his tools all afternoon. He rebuilt the steering, wrongly assembled since we got the new pedestal after Greenland 1999.


Surely there must be some life left in me?


Into the mist... John Ridgway

Date: Wednesday 14th January 2004

Day: 172

Local time: 1200 GMT+13

Leg Number and name:Stop-over in Wellington, New Zealand

Position - Latitude, Longitude: 41.17'S 174.51'E

Position relative to land: Chaffers Marina, Lambton Harbour, Wellington,

Notes:

Sunny. Such blue, blue skies. Such fresh air. People running, jogging, speed-walking, roller-blading, cycling along by the edge of the sea: people who tell you how they WILL do things. Just the inspiration we need. What a refreshing change from the legions who specialise in defining, precisely, why things can't be done.


Come on--shoulder it up!


Into the mist... John Ridgway

Date: Thursday 15 January 2004

Day: 173

Local time: 1200 GMT+13

Leg Number and name:Stop-over in Wellington, New Zealand

Position - Latitude, Longitude: 41.17'S 174.51'E

Position relative to land: Chaffers Marina, Lambton Harbour, Wellington,

Notes:


Standing rigging coming along well. Steering complete. Panda working again.


Provisions stowed. More interviews. Preparation for Te Papa Museum talk on 22 Jan in hand. Francois Nouailhas (50) of Brittany, France, joins crew on Jan 20. Outlook for Cape Horn--rather better.



Into the mist... John Ridgway

Date: Friday 16 January 2004

Day: 174

Local time: 1200 GMT+13

Leg Number and name:Stop-over in Wellington, New Zealand

Position - Latitude, Longitude: 41.17'S 174.51'E

Position relative to land: Chaffers Marina, Lambton Harbour, Wellington,

Notes:

Return of the curse of the Panda: Tenerife, Cape Town, Melbourne and now Wellington, it has defied engineers all across the world. Too complex. If only we could get it to simply work manually. Francois (50), our new crew member from Brittany teaches mechanical boat engineering, he arrives on 20 Jan. He says he can fix it. Will we hear the great Gallic shrug, cry "Poof!"--and worse, I think it must be.



At least Wellington is about the best place on Earth at this moment. And it is exciting to have the chance to go round Cape Horn with a really knowledgeable ornithologist like Brent Stephenson who has actually discovered the Storm Petrel which was thought to be extinct.



Another development: five minutes ago we found a huge cache of Christmas presents from Val Green Haigh. There is hope after all.



Into the mist... John Ridgway

Date: Saturday 17 January 2004

Day: 175

Local time: 1200 GMT+13

Leg Number and name:Stop-over in Wellington, New Zealand

Position - Latitude, Longitude: 41.17'S 174.51'E

Position relative to land: Chaffers Marina, Lambton Harbour, Wellington,

Speed:

Distance travelled in last 24hrs:

Distance travelled since last port: tbc miles

Total distance from Ardmore: tbc miles

Barometric pressure:

Wind direction:

Wind Speed:

Cloud cover:

Temperature:

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Sea conditions:

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Notes:


A day of meeting people from the past. We can't leave the boat, so people come here to say hello, some after an interval of thirty years or more. We looked at each other.



Later MC and I went to see an exhibition of paintings by Stanley Spencer. It opened with a self-portrait at 18, looking at a self-portrait at 64, four months before he died. Blimey! Not many albatrosses are living that long anymore and it gives me only another three years. We both know the vicarage of Cookham, by the Thames, where he lived and painted all his life.



Into the mist... John Ridgway

Date: Sunday 18th January 2004

Day: 177

Local time: 1200 GMT+13

Leg Number and name:Stop-over in Wellington, New Zealand

Position - Latitude, Longitude: 41.17'S 174.51'E

Position relative to land: Chaffers Marina, Lambton Harbour, Wellington,

Notes:

Marie Christine's birthday. For the very first time, we both get into the cinema at half price. Will people now start kicking sand in our faces on the beach? Two old fogies at last, 40th wedding anniversary 21 March. Plodding around Botanical Gardens. News talk NZ radio for albatross in morning.

Date: Monday 19th January 2004

Day: 177

Local time: 1200 GMT+13

Leg Number and name:Stop-over in Wellington, New Zealand

Position - Latitude, Longitude: 41.17'S 174.51'E

Position relative to land: Chaffers Marina, Lambton Harbour, Wellington,

Notes:

Steadily working through lists. Then thinking (in the middle of the night) of other disasters waiting to happen between Wellington and Ardmore via Cape Horn. Most of my optimistic friends are dead. In Cape Town I was a "greyhound in the slips" at 0530 in the morning. In Wellington a "Spaniel in a basket." Maybe I'm saving something for the second half. Already we're into "catch-up rugby." At least it's not "grey."

Date: Tuesday 20 January 2004

Day: 179

Local time: 1200 GMT+13

Leg Number and name: In Wellington between Leg 4 and Leg 5,

Focus of leg: The role of international agreements and advocacy

Position - Latitude, Longitude: 41.17'S 74.51'E Wellington

Position relative to land: Chaffers Marina, Wellington

Notes: Southerly wind and rain, which is rather good as it may mean better weather for our start on Saturday.



People return to work today from a national holiday weekend. I'm getting a bit jumpy about the outstanding jobs on the boat but we should be alright.



Francois (50) joined the boat today. Let's hope we all come together a team. He doesn't speak/understand English too well.


Into the mist...

John Ridgway

Date: Wednesday 21 January 2004

Day: 180

Local time: 1200 GMT+13

Leg Number and name: In Wellington between Leg 4 and Leg 5,

Focus of leg: The role of international agreements and advocacy

Position - Latitude, Longitude: 41.17'S 74.51'E Wellington

Notes: Heavy winds and driving rain continue. Unseasonable weather connected with cyclone which passed close to the NE of NZ a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully it will clear for our departure on Saturday. But for now, work on the standing rigging has been halted for 5 days and the old nerves are beginning to play up.



Francois and Chris spent most of the day servicing the engine, so that is a relief.



MC and I made a TV film for a series, interviewed by two teenagers. We encouraged them to think for themselves about the albatross - far out at sea.


Into the mist...

John Ridgway

Date: Thursday 22 January 2004

Day: 181

Local time: 1200 GMT+13

Leg Number and name: In Wellington between Leg 4 and Leg 5,

Focus of leg: The role of international agreements and advocacy

Position - Latitude, Longitude: 41.17'S 74.51'E Wellington


Notes: Disaster! Nick back but much slack to take up. We had to run the engine to charge batteries for the computer to run.



I thought I'd just check the belts running off the engine, before switching it off. I lifted the boards and saw ... a rising swimming pool.



Classic 'collective irresponsibility'! Francois and Chris had both thought the other had tightened the jubilee clips on the various short rubber hoses for the sea water cooling system.



Neither had!



A pipe had become dis-connected at the top of the engine. The engine was pumping seawater all over itself at high pressure particularly over the alternator.



Suddenly I was on the stage in the Te Papa National Museum. Walter Mitty still breathes! A record turnout, they said. Sadly many were turned way. Funny old game - life.



Into the mist...

John Ridgway

Date: Friday 23 January 2004

Day: 182

Local time: 1200 GMT+13

Leg Number and name: In Wellington between Leg 4 and Leg 5,

Focus of leg: The role of international agreements and advocacy

Position - Latitude, Longitude: 41.17'S 74.51'E Wellington


Notes: On the one hand, the Prime Minister of New Zealand and other Local Ministers are coming to see us off tomorrow, with maximum publicity and speeches for the albatross.



On the other hand, the alternator returned and failed to charge. Rippling down from the drowning of the engine, other electrics begin to fail. Everyone is doing their best. Better keep calm and adapt to whatever comes to pass.



Into the mist...

John Ridgway

Now go on to the next two weeks 24 January to 6 February 2004 as we head off for the Falklands via Cape Horn.

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