Yachting & Boating -updated 15 March 2010

Our girl Phillippa Wood at the Australian Regettas - according to Dad

Well where to start……………

 Arriving in Australia in late December  coming from New Zealand is like climbing out of a fridge and jumping into a fire! Don’t know if we really acclimatised by the time we left. Never drank so much water either.

Well we got Phillippa’s boat organised, which included going through the official measuring system and getting a stamp on everything. Then it was off to find our free accommodation. Well it wasn’t to bad or so we thought, a couple of beds in a tin shed at the back of a house one hour’s drive away from the yacht club. What we didn’t realise at the time was that we would not be able to get to sleep before 12pm every night as the heat inside the shed was excessive, and would be awake by 6am plus the two hours travelling a day didn’t help either. Not good for some who then also has to sail for 5 to 6 hours in 20-25 knot winds!!

The first regatta that Phillippa did was the Australian Laser nationals. The sea breezes really did show off and every day except one they were 20-25 knots. The last day they dropped and Phillippa came 6th in the first race and then they abandoned the racing after that…… not strong enough for them.

 The sleeping arrangement was taking its toll on Phillippa so I decided to move at great expense into a Hotel ( with air-conditioning) close to the venue of the second regatta, which was held after one days rest. This regatta was the Australian Youth nationals and was also the qualifier for the first ever Youth Olympics which are to be held in Singapore in August this year. The heat was now up to 43 degrees and when this happens the wind behaves funnily and the sea breezes do not come in the way they normally do below 38 degrees.

 So this regatta ended up being a light air regatta which as it turned out was just great as the Olympic venue is in Singapore which  normally has wind around 0-5 knots so hopefully the right people would make it through in this regatta.

 Phillippa didn’t have a wonderful first day, I think she was catching up on all the sleep, but as each day progressed she climbed the leader board, getting a 2nd and a 1st. On the last day and second last race she was coming first in the girls. Well dad couldn’t sit still to save his life! The pressure was on and unfortunately she didn’t get a clear start in the last race and got forced out to the right with a big group and came in 20th. Luckily she could  drop it but she lost her first position, but came in second girl and finished 9th overall out of 48 odd boats.

 This meant she had now qualified New Zealand for a spot at the Youth Olympics. However she still has to work at getting her spot on the NZ team which is the next step. In order to do this she now has to travel to France and compete in a regatta  and class of boat in which the Olympics will be sailed in. This regatta is also an open qualifying regatta for those countries who have not yet managed to qualify. The regatta is the BYTE CII World Championships to be held in Cannes France from the 6th to the 11th April 2010. So all the fundraising starts again……

Phillippa Wood Conquers Cook Strait - June 2008

Cook Strait Crossing Record

We left Nelson at around 9.30am on Saturday, 14 June and headed for Picton, a tiny port in the Marlbourgh Sounds and the docking point for the ferries that  ply the Cook Strait.  The support boat was launched at Waikawa Marina, with the supplies and safety items loaded on and Phillippa’s boat strapped across the pontoons at the back – not much room left for four men, two being the TVNZ Close Up crew, and Nicolle and Phillippa.  The 5.8m Naiad looked incredibly diminutive amidst the yachts and launches moored in the marina.  Interviews and photo opportunities over, and time for good-byes - for Caroline almost harder being left behind and not in the thick of all the action!

Phillippa skippered us out of the harbour, with Andrew running along the marina wall to get in the last farewell.    45 minutes later she eased us on to the shore at Te Weu Weu Bay, about two thirds of the way up the Tory Channel, where we were staying at a friend’s bach for the night.   The Close Up crew interviewed Phillippa and I, and Phillippa got her boat ready for a 6.00 am start, in the dark of a wintery morning, with the light only seeping in at about 7.15 am. The “support boat” for the support boat came in about 4.30pm and went back out again fishing until dark.  We felt another boat standing-by just outside the Tory Channel Heads was a good safety measure, in case our boat broke down!  About half way across we switched across to Mana Coastguard who were doing exercises in the area – just in case they were needed.  The Cook Strait is a notoriously dangerous stretch of water, with winds changing in an instant with strong currents and rips.

A few sundowners on the deck, followed by a delicious home-cooked meal by the fire and an early night. Up at 4.30am (someone forgot to change their mobile phone time from daylight savings!). For some strange reason, no one was impressed. So tossed and turned for another hour, a quick breakfast and transferred all the kit in the dark down to the boats. Luckily, a surprisingly mild winter’s morning, although someone still had to row out and retrieve the boats from the moorings! Wind chill kicked in on the 25 minute trip up the Tory Channel to Perano Head on Arapawa Island - the drop off zone. But wind chill zeroed out by adrenaline! The shore here is dramatic - rocky cliffs, jagged rocks and pounding surf. We got as close as we dared, pushed Ngulube into the inky water, Phillippa climbed in with head light on, got her compass bearing and – on her way! The horizon was just starting to show, as dawn and a spectacular sunrise greeted the start to her attempt.

Our friendly weatherman phoned advising 24knots being recorded in the vicinity, but more like 5 knots with the wind switching due to the towering cliffs a few meters away. Headway was slow, and with a lumpy sea and having to look at her compass, it wasn’t long before Phillippa felt queasy! Feeling worse with every swell and starting to overheat – snugged into a dry suit and this in New Zealand’s mid-winter! Getting into the dry suit requires some Houdini like tactics and 3 people, so getting out of it, whilst feeling seasick and trying to sail a boat is near nigh impossible! As it was a Guinness Book of Records attempt, all we could do was sit and watch. A battle of wills between Phillippa and a dry suit zip, but she won, managing to get an arm out and took off her beanie and gloves. About an hour later the wind started to pick up and she had only just zipped herself back in when a rogue wave crashed into the side of the boat, drenching her – it may have been "warm", but the water is still icy!

The destination was Ohau point, ‘dropping’ around the corner into Makara Beach. But - the Cook Strait had other ideas! With the lack of wind at dawn, the accursed current had already pushed Ngulube off course and heading south instead. It’s a very little boat, in a very big sea! The closer to the North Island we got, the stronger the current. The wind also picked up here, being squeezed against the hills, and the current in full ‘throttle’. Realising what was happening, Phillippa changed course and started to beat up to Cape Terawhiti, having been on a reach until this stage. The whole perspective of the North Island is so very different when on the water at wave level, and not looking at the map in the comfort of your home!

Meanwhile, an anxious Caroline, Stuart and Andrew were on the Bluebridge ferry, and wheedled their way onto the bridge, with the Captain plotting our course on radar, and Phillippa’s sail a minute white fleck glinting in the sun, amongst the white caps – through the binoculars! The Captain, having sailed the Straits for years, was advising that with the currents and wind strength she would not make Makara Beach – and if she kept going would end up in Lyttelton Harbour, Christchurch! Not something Caroline really needed to hear! Luckily, cell phone coverage was still good ............ However, the concerned Captain radioed Rescue Centre Wellington, who in turn contacted Picton Maritime, who we had already lodged a trip report with. Calls backwards and forwards, advising that no one was in danger – at this stage – and of our plan to now get Phillippa ashore somewhere along the equally rough and rugged coast of the North Island.

Phillippa was being pulled towards the Karori Rock Lighthouse and the Karori Rip, where two tides meet and known to be rough even on a calm day! Not a good place for a little Optimist. Phillippa tacked away from the North Island, trying to get back up to Cape Terawhiti - the first time she had changed sides in four hours! She was now on a starboard tack and aiming for Oteranga Bay, where the underwater power cable from the South island comes ashore. She would get opposite the Bay, then tack onto a port tack and head back to shore – no such luck as soon as she was on a port tack the current had other ideas and pushed her all the way back to the beginning – twice!

Meantime, the "land crew" had arrived in Wellington and were making their way to Makara Beach! A quick message to advise them to head to "Cable Bay" - not the real name though and not on any map! Oteranga Bay is also a restricted area and permission is required to enter ................ which we did not have and no idea how to get it either!

While the land crew were hunting down bays which did not exist, the support boat crew decided that with the wind getting stronger, Phillippa getting tired, it would be best just to make shore anywhere. After all the whole exercise was to cross the Cook Strait and any shore would do as long as it was safe! While she headed in the general direction of shore we went ahead on a sortie to locate a safe passage amongst the rocks.

We found one, dropped off the television crew to film the arrival, and went back out to support Phillippa. Five and a half hours after starting she made landfall on the North Island, becoming the first person to cross the Cook Strait in an Optimist, a 2.3 metre dinghy – and probably the youngest solo sailor too!

Interviews, hugs, kisses and no time to waste! Ngulube was loaded onto the Naiad - no room at all, camera gear getting sprayed and motored up wind to Oteranga Bay (aka Cable Bay!) where we hoped to find the land crew waiting. No cell phone coverage and no idea whether they would be there. Ever resourceful, however, the land crew had wangled their way through security, left the boat trailer in a horse paddock and wended their way over mountain passes, with jagged outcrops and spectacular views, dropping down to Oteranga Bay. No boats, no contact, no idea ............ had they made it, current sucking them south? Back up to cell phone coverage, and back down again – Phillippa had sailed her dream! A jaded camera crew offloaded, and Ngulube strapped onto the vehicle. That part of the adventure over, but crew still to offload and Nelson Yacht Club’s Naiad to be retrieved – another 18 nautical miles to Wellington Harbour and a boat ramp, going with the wind but still getting absolutely soaked!

Still not over, as we had to get back to Nelson – that "*&^%$#" stretch of water to be crossed yet again! We all got to go onto the bridge of the Kaitaki – very impressive. Helps having a "celebrity" with us, with the phone ringing for live radio interviews! We finally got to bed at 1.30 am, more interviews before going to school .the following morning, and the attempt being aired on Close Up. More telephone calls.

Anybody who is interested in the media articles can either Google "Phillippa Wood Cook Strait Crossing " or click on the link below and you should be able to read a couple of items and watch the Close Up video clip.

Sponsorship was disappointing, but hey, she’s done it!