#91 NOW February 23, 2006, 0100UTC +13 hours (New Zealand Daylight Time) For you on the U.S. West Coast subtract 3 hours from your present time and add one day. S4603.9 E16639.6 Anchored in Cuddle Cove. Temperature 61 Miles to Go 85 Greetings from New Zealand (almost), With a greeting like that, I guess an explanation would be in order. As I mentioned in the previous NOW, our weather window was working out just fine. For the first three days, we had light winds and a swell out of the Southwest. However, by the fourth day, a frontal system caught up to us and with a low to the South and a High to the North, a north wind set in. At first, it was just 10 to 15 knots, but then gradually picked up to 15 to 25 knots. By the time we started closing with the Southwest coast of New Zealand the winds had picked up to 20 to 30 knots. Of course, the seas picked up also and were in the neighborhood of 15 to maybe 20 feet. This provided us with a rather rough ride, and an occasional wave would slap the side windows. During the night, we received a forecast for Gale winds to 40 knots the next day. So, with some rigging problems and a lousy forecast we decided to head for the nearest Fjord, which was about 4 hours away. We called customs and informed them of our plan. They agreed to this with the understanding that we were not to get off the boat or let anyone on the boat. This was fine with us, as all we were looking for was a sheltered bay or cove. Pulling into Preservation Inlet, we came across Welcome Bay. This Bay is protected from all South to Northeast winds, and it was nice to drop the anchor and have a little peace. The next day the wind started to shift and a fisherman came by in his boat and recommended that we tuck into Cuddle Cove a little further up the inlet, which we did. In this part of New Zealand, there is a network of fishermen that go out of their way to help each other and strangers. Every night they have a check in system with Bluff Harbour, and we were soon included on the list. Further checks of the weather revealed full Gale winds up to 45 knots everyday until next Sunday. Thus, it looks like we are going to be here for a while. Cuddle Cove has quite a history. It was the first whaling station in New Zealand. On shore, there are some old ruins from around the 1830s when this was a booming area. Later, there was a gold rush to the area, which never really panned out. Now days it is just a remote, spectacular, Fiordland that has been preserved as a national park. The steep, densely covered mountains make for a majestic area. With the quarantine flag still up, we will have to be satisfied just looking at this lovely area. During this time, we are working on various projects, reading, and catching up on some sleep. One item of concern is our dwindling water supply. We took on 220 gallons in Hobart, and with the watermaker kaput; we have had to ration our supply. Those wonderful hot showers are just a thing to wish for. We will survive. Life is a Cruise Larry, Jim, Dick -- Larry Rick Done Dreamin' Nordhavn 40 #33 Site: http://gricknet.homedns.org/Dads%20Web/doneDreamnHome.htm