[password] grace40
[position] 35 50.219s 174 28.107e
[status] as at 1230 hrs 20/11/19. We made it! At 0930 dock lines were tied up to the customs dock at Marsden Cove Marina for formal check-in. Right after, we moved into a marina berth to await a weather window for the day sail to Gulf Harbour Marina, our home port. The best part of arriving is knowing that tonight, and countless nights hereafter, we don't have to get up in the middle of the night to do watches. All of you who were vicariously suffering sleep deprivation with us can breathe a sigh of relief that you'll get a good night's sleep tonight.
And now for the all important trip statistics.
Total Trip Time: 8 days, 30 minutes - 192.5 hours
Total Miles Traveled: 1189nm
Average Speed: 6.2kts (our personal best)
Total Engine Run Time: 109.3 hrs (57% of trip - 4.6 days) - another personal best if you can call it that. As I said in a previous post, we are a motor boat with auxillary sails.
Total Sailing: 83.2 hrs - 43% of trip.
All up Amazing Grace performed amazing for the entire season. In no small part due to pouring unlimited amounts of money into her before heading to sea. Those that don't should stay at home and watch TV. She had no major systems breakdowns, aside from having to replace the 8-year old house batteries. No one we spoke to about this could believe the batteries lasted so long. So I don't consider that a systems breakdown. That was just my cheapness to try and stretch another year out of them. Does that mean I should have stayed home watching TV?
Two systems require special mention. The most important crew member, Mr Auto, performed flawlessly. The only time I touched the wheel to drive was when I was anchoring or going into or out of a marina berth. As I always say, If God had meant us to steer a boat, He would not have invented the auto pilot. Mr Auto doesn't require sleep, food, or toilet breaks. All he asks for is a kind word once in a while. How can you not love such a crew member.
The other system is Mr Yanmar. Some say our engine is past its use-by date with 8612 hours. My mechanic begs to differ. I say Mr Yanmar is gracefully mature. The mechanic points out that these small diesel engines should provide at least 15,000 hrs, and more, if properly pampered. Regular servicing is a must. The engine being 32 years old, means I won't have to worry about replacing him until I'm about 102. I can live with that. I know yachties who replace their engines after 3000 hours. Either they didn't take care of them, or they have way more money to burn than we do. Mr Yanmar never had a hiccup, burp, belch, or fart during the entire season, including the virtual non-stop use on the way to NZ. He got a big hug from me after we arrived, that's for sure.
And that brings an end to another exciting year sailing the fabled South Pacific. A continuing dream come true that we've been experiencing for the past 25 years. Now I'm going to sleep.
Cheers, John
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