As I suggested yesterday, Alex decided to anchor in Sealer’s Bay on Codfish Island for a while to await the tides.
As they approached the island a little before dawn, Alex turned on the engine, but noticed that no water was being expelled from the exhaust – this is a bad thing as it means that the engine potentially is not being cooled and could go into meltdown! So he turned it off, sailed Rusalka into Sealer’s Bay and around 4am he and Cheryl dropped the anchor without using the engine (something we’ve done a few times before).
Before they could rest Alex had to investigate the engine problem. It turned out to be a bent water pump impeller and easily replaced.
After a very short rest in a very pretty bay it was time to get going again. There was very little wind to start, so they motored out of the bay and into Foveaux Strait. It was a lovely day for a sail, although the afternoon brought a headwind sea breeze.
Quarantine and NZ courtesy flags flying
Rusalka was instructed to pull up alongside one of the jetties where the cargo ships berth – against huge tyres that were barely out of the water, making fending off difficult.
But soon the officials came through, did a thorough inspection, filled in forms, left some more to be completed and declared Rusalka fit to enter NZ. The people here are friendly, but the port is not set up for recreational boats!
Cheryl’s family soon whisked Cheryl off for belated celebrations and Jane and Alex moved the boat around to a more sensible berth just behind where the Stewart Island ferry berths. Unfortunately they are trapped on the dockside of a barbed wire fence until tomorrow morning, so hitting the town will have to wait! Tomorrow Lucy, a new crew member for the next leg of the journey, will arrive.
And so, after a rest and a meal, it will be time to turn the mind to the next adventure! Stay tuned…
