June 2018

Communicati ons for cruisers - Peter Mott AGM - Committ ee positi ons available

Southwesterlies - Bob McDavitt Crew Dynamics - Dawn Bates

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2 | Tell Tales

IN THIS ISSUE...

Commodore’s Report...........................4CMC Design - Calendar Sponsor............5Prizegiving Report................................6Communicati on for Ocean Cruisers - Peter Mott ZMH 292.........................8-9Dawn Bates on Crew Dynamics...........10 Social events for June.........................11Youth sailing.......................................11Weather Patt erns - MetBob McDavitt .12ITM Bay Of Islands Calendar Sponsor..14Support the Rahui rollover..................15June Calendar of events......................16

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Tell Tales | 3

COMMODORE’S REPORT

As this is my fi nal report as Commodore, I’d like to begin by thanking our Committee Members for all their hard work and support over the past 2 years.

I’d also like to thank the many people who volunteer to support our Club on an ad-hoc basis as without them the various events and activities in our Sailing and Social pro-grammes would not be feasible.

We are also fortunate to have the many people who ‘pitch-in’ for the less glamorous duties such as collecting/cutting/stacking Firewood and Working Bee’s etc. A big ‘thank you’ to you all as well.

Prize Giving this year was a very well attend-ed event – see details later in this issue – it was pleasing to have such a strong ‘turn-out and get so much positive feedback.

Th e recent departure of our Cruising Mem-bers’ and their guests signals the beginning of our Winter season so, by the time you read this, the Club will have commenced Winter Trading. For anyone unsure of what this means, the Club Bar and Kitchen will now be open Wednesday – Sunday inclusive.

Our next major event is the Mid-Winter Dinner – for which tickets are now on sale. Given that tickets for Prize Giving were completely sold out, if you would like to join in for the Mid-Winter Dinner, I recommend buying your tickets in advance rather than hoping to turn up on the night.

At the Mid-Winter Dinner, we will hold the Dave Hesketh Plumbing Members Draw which was deferred from Prize Giving. Th e prize of a $1,000 travel voucher will go to

At the Mid-Winter Dinner, we will hold the Dave Hesketh Plumbing Members Draw which was deferred from Prize Giving. Th e prize of a $1,000 travel voucher will go to the lucky winner drawn from the weekly after-race draw results held throughout the Spring and Summer Racing Series’. By way of clarifi cation, the winner does not have to be on the premises to receive the prize.

Th e Members Draw is a very generous ges-ture by Dave Hesketh Plumbing that I hope will be acknowledged by your patronage.

During the week following the Mid-Winter Dinner we will be holding our Annual Gen-eral Meeting, this is a really good opportu-nity to fi nd out more about your Club ask any questions.

As at the last Committee Meeting there were still some vacant positions for the new Com-mittee. Being a part of the Committee adds an additional dimension to Club Member-ship and can be very enjoyable. So if you would like to get more involved, now is the time to do something about it.Positions available include Vice Commodore, Race Offi cer, Bar/Kitchen Liason, Youth Sail-ing, Webmaster, Publicity, & Sponsorship .

Expressions of interest in joining the Committee should be sent to Cam Murray at: info@transmarinepro.co.nz or by phone to: 027-932-6815.

4 | Tell Tales

Please support our sponsors Without the kind support of all our advertisers and sponsors, the OCC simply wouldn’t

be able to produce this magazine. So please show your support in return, and use the products and services advertised in Tell Tales whenever possible. Thanks!

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RACING | CRUISING | SERVICE | COVERS www.nz.northsails.com

Local KnowledgeBay of Islands

Tell Tales | 5

BOAT BUILDING AND RESTORATION We specialise in timber restorations and alterations. 25 years in the business and an expert team means we have gained an enviable

reputation in the North for precise quality workmanship.• Joinery and custom woodworking • Doghouse and window repairs• Decking and exteriors • Plugs, molds, keels, patterns and more• Small alterations and large restorationsMany thanks for your brilliant organisation and for your faultless choice of expert staff and third party specialists. ~ UnrealYou have been so great in this restoration and so glad you came on board Craig ~ Te Tainui Craig worked on our boat, Gypsea Heart, and does excellent, high quality work ~ Sandy Hollis

Lady Crossley restoration completed by CMC Design which went on to win the CYA trophy for best presented launch 2017.

CUSTOM PROJECTSCMC Design offers a bespoke design service for all manner of builds. Looking to cut parts for your own projects? We are home to a large scale CNC router ready to precision cut out 2D and 3D designs. We also off a CAD service to get your ideas from drawings to reality. • Bespoke kitchens and bathrooms• High quality furniture• CAD and CNC machining• Prototypes to production runs• Custom project specialists

Craig McInnes CMC Design Opua Unit C Opua Commercial Estate,

Opua 0200(09) 4025020 | 021344158

info@cmcdesign.co.nz www.cmcdesign.co.nz

JUNE CALENDAR SPONSOR - CMC DESIGN

6 | Tell Tales

Thanks to Luke at Romeyn Woodcrafts for another round of brilliant trophies and to Peini and her team for another wonderful meal, and to Brigitte for excellent service at the bar. Thanks also to our numerous volunteers for making the end of season prize giving evening a great success and for hosting our generous sponsors. A big thankyou to Cater Marine, Road Runner Tavern, Bay of Islands Boatyard, Northland Spars and Rigging, Seapower, Burnsco and Dave Hesketh Plumbing.

The prized “Member of the Year” went to Ernesto and Vera for always being ready to help in all areas for our club, from organising cruising weekends to racing and much more.

It was a season of mixed fortunes with Rus-sell Boating Club taking away the Interclub Trophy after about 6 years above the OCC Bar. However, OCC redeemed ourselves by winning the revived Epiglass Trophy in a competition against the Kerikeri Cruising Club, Russell Boating Club and Bay of Island Yacht Club. This will be a 3 race series next season.

The Race Officer’s Marlin Spike Trophy went to Paul Braun this year. We also appreciate the support from Judy, Gregg, Ian, Manuella, Anna, Andy, Paul Smith, Derek, Garry, Cam and Vera during the season.

Congratulations to winners and place getters in our various series. Cheers to another year of competition and fun on the water!For more photos and the full list of prize winners see www.opuacruisingclub.co.nz

PRIZEGIVING 2018

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YOU GOTTA BE IN IT TO WIN IT!Th e winner chosen by our online randomiser this month

is Ruth Walley in the Spot the Yot competion. Well done for spotting the little tiny yacht hidden in the Tauhora Electronics Advert in the May edition. Nick Webley at Burnsco has your 20 litre Burnso dry bag for you.Another 20 litre Burnsco branded dry bag is up for grabs this month. All you have to do is search our Sponsor’s adverts in this issue and let us know where you have found the little yacht, to go into the draw.Email info@opuacruisingclub.co.nz by June 24th to go into the draw to win.Th e winner will be announced in the July issue.

SPOT THE YOT AND WIN A PRIZE!

Opua Cruisers Net VHF 770800 Monday - Friday

Arrivals, Departures, Buy, Sell, Swap, News, Events, & Weather

If you have a basic knowledge of websites and know your way around Wordpress you could become the next OCC Webmaster.

If you want to create something and know Indesign or have a hankering to learn, you could be our next TellTales editor.

Both of these Committee positions need to be fi lled at our AGM on June 19th. You’d need to be able to spend only a few hours per month on these vital roles. Th ey could be done by the same person or as we do now one Webmaster and a separate Publicity (TellTales Editor).I’d be happy to answer any questions about either of these roles. Please contact me with any queries.kerrypayne@gmail.com | 0274633659 | or at the Opua General Store weekday morn-ings. ~ Kerry Payne ~

FANCY A CHALLENGE?

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COMMUNICATION FOR OCEAN CRUISERS In the golden age of maritime radio, ships had radio offi cers. Th ese men and women were professionals who understood both operating procedure and the technical aspects of radio.It was wireless telegraphist Harold Cottam aboard RMS Carpathia who received the distress message from Jack Phillips aboard RMS Titanic on that fateful night in April 1912. Of course, many other ships on the Atlantic also heard the call for help, although some were a long way away.

Th is was in the very early days of collective security for ships at sea. Everybody looked out for each other, always an ear to the radio in case another ship needed assistance. Maritime coast stations also played a very important part by maintaining a continuous watch on the distress frequencies.In Titanic’s day, wireless telegraphy (Morse code) was used to transmit and receive messages. In years to come, voice communication became possible, fi rstly with AM (amplitude modula-tion) and then around WWII, SSB (single side band) technology.

Th e concept of collective security for ships at sea has remained to this day. A big change did occur in 1999 with the introduction of the GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System) and DSC (Digital Selective Calling). Radio offi cers on ships were no longer required to listen to the MF/HF radio for distress calls from other ships.

New DSC technology enabled any ship to call an individual station, or all stations when a distress or urgency message needed to be sent. A DSC DISTRESS call is received by multiple Rescue Coordination Centres, in particular RCCNZ, as well as EVERY ship over 300 gross tonnes that is within radio range.A VOICE DISTRESS call will not be heard by any ship, and only by coast stations within range for the time of day and the frequency you have chosen and that maintain a 24/7 voice watch.It is for this reason, I tell people that MF/HF radios without DSC are of limited practical value in an emergency.

When things go wrong at sea, you want the closest most capable resource to come to your aid, and quickly. If you want your radio to be part of your emergency communica-tions, please choose a DSC capable MF/HF radio and test it to be sure it works before going on an ocean passage.

Tell Tales | 9

PART 2 Peter Mott

Now I hear you saying, “but I’ve got an EPIRB for emergencies”. I hope you do. When you activate your EPIRB, it uses GPS to identify where it is, and transmits its position and a unique 15 character HEX ID. This data is sent to the RCC for the Search and Rescue Region (SRR) you are located within, and also the RCC in the country in which the EPIRB is registered.The RCC for the region you are located within will open an incident, look up the beacon database to establish which vessel, aircraft, or land unit activated their EPIRB and take the ap-propriate action to get assets on scene to render assistance. If in ADDITION to activating your EPIRB, you also send a DSC DISTRESS call by simply pressing the red distress button on your MF/HF radio, you short circuit the response process by notifying all ships within radio range that you need help. They receive your ship MMSI number and your position.

Ships receiving your call will contact their nearest RCC to advise they have received your request for assistance. In many cases, they will also plot a course and start heading to your position prior to being asked to do so by RCC.

Another advantage of making a DSC DISTRESS call, is you get confirmation it has been heard (usually by a coast station, but potentially also by a responding ship). Having a profes-sional but friendly voice on the end of the radio can be very comforting when things go bad at sea.If you only have your EPIRB activated, you have to trust that help will arrive. It almost always does, but you don’t know when or who is coming to your aid.

A satellite phone can only ever make a call to one person, and for that reason I advocate its use in an emergency as a last line of defence. It’s a good idea to store all of the RCC phone numbers for the search and rescue regions you are transiting into the sat phone, and call them to test prior to departure. Be aware that some of RCC’s do not speak English as a first language, and at times may not speak English at all.

In my next article, I will talk about operating your MF/HF radio. Some simple do’s and don’ts to make the experience either more enjoyable or less frustrating. Sometimes both.

Peter Mott lives permanently in Russell, Bay of Islands NZ, and owns private maritime coast station

NORTHLAND RADIO ZMH292 providing recreational vessels completing ocean passages with a free of charge

daily check-in service via marine SSB radio.https://northlandradio.nz peter@northlandradio.nz

10 | Tell Tales

CREW DYNAMICS Dawn Bates

Stepping on board a boat as a new crew member is not only exciting but it can also be some-what daunting, especially if there is an already established crew on board; even more so if you are a woman and there is, or are, other women on board.Being on board a new ship as a crew member has so much to offer. There are new ways of do-ing things, new people to meet, stories to be shared and new adventures to be had. For those new to the lifestyle of shared living it can be a massive step up; making sure the shared living spaces are clean and tidy, all our personal belongings are put away, instead of being left around, isn’t something everyone is good at. We have to learn to live with different lifestyles and eating habits; ideas about the world and people from different cultures, religions and dare I say it… social classes. Stepping on board we have to know these people, who we’ve have never met before, will pos-sibly have to save our life if things take a turn for the worst. We all hope it never comes to it, but it is something we have to face up to, be aware of. We all have to ensure that we get along in the confined spaces of the boat, and any differences need to be dealt with or a put aside as soon as possible. Petty arguments and behavioural traits are not healthy anywhere, but espe-cially not on board a boat. How the skipper chooses to deal with it will say a lot about him or her and their leadership qualities; how the crew respond will either make the boat a happy one or one of the most miserable time we’ve ever had. Knowing our fellow crew members have our back is essential; because once we are on passage, if we don’t trust the other crew members, then we are pretty much stuck with them until we hit land. As a boat owner, or as Captain or Skipper, making sure we are selecting the right crew is as much a part of safety on board as making sure the rigging is in good working order, or the EPIRBs are working and registered correctly. It isn’t something to be taken lightly or overlooked. If we want our crew to be the ‘hired help’, to eat and socialise separately, not interacting with us as the owner, then we must make sure they are aware of this beforehand; it will prevent any animosity arising along the way. If however we are of the mindset that all are equal on board, and eating and socialising together is part of the sailing experience, then we are more likely to learn and gain more from the journey ahead of us, simply because the more we learn about others the more we learn about ourselves. It will also ensure everyone feels secure on board, and isn’t that what we all want? To feel safe and secure on board?

Dawn is a Coach, Mentor, & Writer. Currently exploring life and the world as a Hitchiking Mermaid. www.dawnbates.com | e: hello@dawnbates.com | Facebook Dawn Bates

Tell Tales | 11

12th May - The Jam Roasters 26th May - Open Night, bring your instrument and play a tune. 9th June - Scarlet Fever 23rd June - The Jam Roasters

Everyone WelcomeCheck us out on

Facebook

** LIVE MUSIC ** @ Opua Cruising Club

Saturday Nights 6.30pmMid-Winter Dinner Saturday 16th June 2018

Come and join us at the Club!

Adults $35, Children $15 Tickets available from Sheila in the office or at the bar.

12th May - The Jam Roasters 26th May - Open Night, bring your instrument and play a tune. 9th June - Scarlet Fever 23rd June - The Jam Roasters

Everyone WelcomeCheck us out on

Facebook

** LIVE MUSIC ** @ Opua Cruising Club

Saturday Nights 6.30pm

Th e AGM is on June 19th at 7pm. All Full members are invited to attend to nominate

and vote the new committee in as well as discussing the future direction of the club.

We still need helpers to fi ll the vacant roles on the committee - Vice Commodore - Race Offi cer

- Bar/Kitchen Liason - Youth Sailing - Webmaster - Publicity - Sponsorship

We have managed to get out on our Tuesday afternoons albeit cooler darker and sometimes very wet , the access at the boat ramp is not always easy with oyster barges commandeering the ramp. All this and we still manage to have fun. Molly Webley of of OCC youth sailors has been involved in the Northland Open Bic coaching scheme which is a stellar example of local clubs working together to bring our youth together and hone their skills with some outstand-ing coaching, all self funded . We are looking for a Youth Sailing person for our next Committee, for anyone wanting to be involved or any questions with youth sailing please feel free to contact me 021 262 8599

YOUTH SAILINGNick Webley

12 | Tell Tales

Humans love fi nding patterns in things. Our orbit around the sun is so repeatable and predictable that we have “seasons”. Watch-ing weather maps long enough, one can see that sometimes the same weather system (or same sort of extremes) may repeat in clusters. Th ese are called weather regimes.We know that “winter is coming” and winter brings Northland passing cold fronts, and periods of southwest winds and showers that sometimes seem to cluster or bunch to-gether. When these cold fronts start arriving predictably during May, cruising yachts shoot away seeking warmer climes. Each winter is diff erent, and some seem to have more southwesters than others. Th ese bunches of southwesterly winds are an example of a weather regime. Meteorologists have several parameters they can measure, and the fl ip-fl ops and cycles in these parameters help them to forecast weather regimes for the upcoming months.

Th e parameter we use to help forecast the “southwesterly regime” is called SAM, the Southern Annular Mode. Th is is a measure of the robustness of the Polar vortex - that ring of westerly winds which circles the planet between 40S and the Antarctic circle (66 S). SAM is calcu-lated by taking the average mean sea level pressure MSLP around 40S (P40), and the average MSLP around 65S (P65) Th en SAM is the normalized value of P40-P65. Th e value of SAM measures the north to south movement of the polar vortex. A high positive value of SAM oc-curs when westerly winds in the polar vortex are stronger than normal. Th is occurs when the air pressure over Antarctica are lower than normal, and the polar vortex is shifted southwards. Under these circumstances the isobars over NZ are higher than normal, and so there are fewer southwesterly events and more settled weather. However, when SAM is negative, the westerly winds in the polar vortex are weaker. Th is allows the polar vortex to spread outwards and thus northwards, so that there are more southwest events over NZ and these are stronger than normal.SAM tends to fl ip-fl op from positive to negative, and then to hold a phase for several weeks.I can not fi nd any real time or forecast data for SAM however a proxy of SAM is available, namely the AAO or Antarctic Annular mode (average 700hPa Z wind component 20S to 90S) as at http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/daily_ao_index/aao/new.aao_index_ensm.htm (illustration opposite)

THE RETURN OF THE SOUTHWESTERLIES

Th e variation in pressure due to the positive phase of the SAM, with the South Pole in the centre of the image. Red colours indicate higher than usual pressures, blue colours show lower than usual pressures. Directly from Renwick and Th ompson, 2006. As seen in http://blog.metservice.com/South-ern-Annular-Mode

Tell Tales | 13

‘MetBob’ McDavitt

Th is shows that the AAO was positive until mid-March and then a negative period until end of April. May started positive, but then fl ipped negative in the latter half of the month. Sure enough, Northland had a southwesterly regime late in May. When SAM jumps from positive to negative, it means that the polar vortex weakens, and the blob of cold air that has been sitting over Antarctica and getting colder for a number of weeks is able to burst outwards like a dam break. In other words: “a polar blast”. Looking at EC data of the surface air temperature forecast on windy.com and comparing 20May (near actual) with the forecast for 31May, it seems that the main change occurs around south and southeast of South America (on bottom right side of images below).

Sunday 20th May Friday 25 May, Polar blast along and east of Antarctic peninsula

So SAM is turning negative (for early June anyway) and we can expect a weather regime this winter favoring bunches of cold fronts and southwest wind changes. Th ere will still be some peri-ods of settled weather, but these are likely to be fewer and further apart until later this year. Bob McDavitt for Tell Tales

Bob McDavitt is the weather guru that uses /\/\etBoB to provide weather information for cruising sailors, primarily for those in the South Pacifi c.

14 | Tell Tales

Bay of Islands ITM is the only locally owned building supplies merchant in the Bay of Islands. Th at means we are not owned by multi-nationals and/or large corporate companies. Th e ma-jority of our timber is sourced from local saw-mills in keeping with our buy-local policy.Th e name I.T.M. stands for Independent Timber Merchants and we are part of a co-operative. Th at means we are solely responsible for where and who we buy our products from. Based in Haruru Falls, we employ nineteen staff ; have four delivery trucks including two hiab and two tip-trucks.Bay ITM is primarily a building supply merchant. However, as there are no other hardware outlets in the area, we also stock a range of D.I.Y. and general hardware products such as paint, plumbing goods, potting mix and electrical items as well as a huge range of timber and building products. We also off er a range of quality kit-set kitchens at very reasonable prices.Our friendly staff has many years’ experience in the industry and are always ready to help. Th ey know the building industry inside out and their success is totally dependent on having happy customers, so they really do go the extra mile. We always maintain a high level of customer service and look forward to meeting you!

On a cold blustery Saturday morning twelve hardy souls turned up at the club to carry out a much needed tidy up. Th e kitchen once again was given a good clean, new netting was nailed down on the dock ramp, the awning and deck were water blasted back to sparkling new, the club frontage was given a once over and new racking was put up behind the bar. Th e carpet was shampooed and lots of other wee jobs were attended to.

Many thanks to John & Wendy Goldsbury, Chris & Jilly, Andy Newton, Ailsa Routley, Ian Simon & Serena Templeman, Don Hope,Gary Lucas and Chris Ball who made the best cheese scones.

On a cold blustery Saturday morning twelve hardy souls turned up at the club to carry out a much needed tidy up. Th e kitchen once again was given a good clean, new netting was nailed down on the dock ramp, the awning and deck were water blasted back to sparkling new, the club frontage was given a once over and new racking was put up behind the bar. Th e carpet was shampooed and lots of other wee jobs were attended to.

Many thanks to John & Wendy Goldsbury, Chris & Jilly, Andy Newton, Ailsa Routley, Ian Simon & Serena Templeman, Don Hope,Gary Lucas and Chris Ball who made the best cheese scones.

Andy VanascheWORKING BEE REPORT

Tell Tales | 15

SUPPORT the RAHUI ROLLOVER !!Ngati Kuta and Patukeha have requested the Maunganui Bay (Deep Water Cove) Rahui be extended another 2 years.

Please join us in supporting the hugely successful Ngati Kuta and Patukeha led environmental protec-tion of Maunganui Bay (Deep Water Cove).The existing rahui has protected marine life in Maunganui Bay since 2010. However, it is due to expire on 29 October 2018. The hapu’s request to Fisheries NZ (MPI) will extend the existing rahui for a further 2 years.This tiny 1.6 km2 is the only no-take (except kina) area in the Bay of Islands. Within it fish can relax, grow big, get old, provide heaps of offspring into the surrounding waters, and develop a thriving marine community - restoring the mauri of our moana. This Rahui covers just 0.5% of Bay of Islands waters, which means 99.5% is still reserved for people who want to fish.The Rahui has protected marine life there since 2010 and the results are fantastic. Let’s keep this tiny corner of the Bay of Islands no-take so its inhabitants can grow old in peace.The NZ Government, together with 200 others, signed the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to help stem the global tide of species loss and ecosystem destruction.

The convention recognises that biological diversity is not just about plants, animals and micro-organisms and their ecosystems; it’s also about people and our need for food security, medi-cines, fresh air and water, shelter, and a clean and healthy environment in which to live.

Fish Forever sees no-take reserves as a vital part of acheiving that goal, alongside fisheries and customary management tools.Please send your submissions to MPI by June 11th. The easiest way is to do it via the Fish forever website

Add your comments and send the super-easy submission form at https://fishforever.org.nz/rahui.html before June 11th

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