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Posted By:
Hal Brown
Date Posted:
Apr 15, 2011
Description:
Catching up with a SeaRey can be as tough as shooting a moving target. In this case it required trans-oceanic relocation.
After Fiji, the SuRi sailed to New Zealand with its SeaRey cargo. It stopped at the place where it was originally outfitted as a yacht: Whangarei (on the North Island). That’s where the SeaRey was offloaded to the wharf and storage in a boat shed to await another flying adventure.
After catching up there wasn’t much for me to do. The weather wouldn’t cooperate. Low clouds and rain that had been absent for months from the north island returned for an extended stay.
Date Taken:
Apr 15, 2011
Place Taken:
Whangarei, NZ
Owner:
Dan Nickens
File Name:
Another_Port.jpg - Photo HTML
Full size - <img src="/show.php?splash=SZP840000h">
Medium - <img src="/show.php?splash=SZP840000m">
Thumbnail - <img src="/show.php?splash=SZP840000s">
Category:
446, Yacht Tending NZ
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Read what others had to say:
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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With unusual cool and rainy summer weather, there was no flying opportunity. Farmers were welcoming the rain following two months of drought. An invitation from the SuRi captain to visit his farm was an inviting change from the increasingly smaller ship.<br /> <br />The bad flying weather also gave me time to check in with a local flight instructor for some ground school. “Fast changing” island weather was a theoretical discussion in the face of contrary evidence.<br /><br /> “Don’t rely on the forecasts because this is a maritime climate, subject to rapid change.”<br /> <br />“Really? That’s hard to believe based on this never ending rain.”<br /><br />“It will end. Beware of the winds. We get some good ol’gales.”<br /><br />“Gales?”<br /><br />“You can get blown away. With these hills, it can get rough as guts.”<br /><br />“Sounds tough.”<br /><br />“It’ll rattle your dags. Watch out for Marlborough Sound. The wind gets funneled into the channel and accelerates like a venturi.”<br /><br />“Yeah, I know about wind.” Later I found his warning echoed in the official A.I.P. (Aeronautical Information Publication).<br /><br />“And watch out for high lines.”<br /><br />“High lines?”<br /><br />“Power lines across valleys and between islands. We have heaps.”<br /><br />“Heaps?”<br /><br />“Many of ‘em.”<br /><br />“Right.”<br /><br />How to get a weather briefing, radio communications, and regulations provided what I figured to be a more practical introduction to Kiwi air operations.<br /><br />There was also time to repair a leaking hull on the SeaRey. A hard water landing I was horrified to witness in Fiji caused a crack in the bottom. After much consultation and cajoling, the decision was made to replace the old hull with a much more robust carbon fiber version. In the meantime, however, operations would continue after a local professional patched the offending leaker.<br />
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Grounded in the Country
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Don Maxwell - Apr 15,2011
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Whew! For a minute there, Dan, I thought we were in some kind of Down Under time warp--with yet another cracked hull--until I finally noticed that the photo date is 20 December 2010.
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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History is known to repeat itself, Don, but not if I can help it! Sometimes, though, it has already happened before I get around to noticing it.
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Martin West - Apr 16,2011
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Oh, Dan. That all takes me back a few months. I lived just outside Whangarei (for 7 years!) up until August last year, and I was learning to fly LSA (Tecnam Eaglet) at Whangarei Airport. Who was the local flying instructor you talked to? And yes, I can confirm local expressions can sometimes cause a raised eyebrow amongst 'foreigners'!
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Dan Nickens - Apr 16,2011
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Hmmm....the place was Quantum Aviation, Martin. I initially talked to Simon Hilford, but I ended up in a class room with an excellent instructor with fresh wings.
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Martin West - Apr 16,2011
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Ah - I don't know anyone at Quantum - I was learning with Whangarei Flying Club, in hangar 10, at the far end of the line of hangars. Website: <a href="http://wfc.org.nz/">http://wfc.org.nz/</a> Great club and a good cheap way to learn to fly as it is a non-profit organisation, with flying instructors being club members too.
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Martin West - Apr 16,2011
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Just to clarify the expression 'Rattle your dags', for those who don't know. A sheep's fleece, when its a bit long, tends to accumulate small balls of poop, about golf ball size, in the area around their bum. These are 'dags'. Hence when a sheep moves rapidly the fleece tends to shake, and therefore so do the 'dags'. So violent movement by an aircraft can 'rattle your dags'. The expression can also be used as an inducement to get a move on for someone who is a bit slow in reacting to an order/request. For example, husband to wife: 'We're late. C'mon darling, rattle your dags or we'll never get there in time!'
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Dan Nickens - Apr 16,2011
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That makes it the perfect expression for many situations, Martin. Thanks for the elucidation!
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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The boat had to leave before the weather cleared, leaving the SeaRey to its own devices. Its only device was to depart from the dock, ducking under the clouds. After checking with the port manager and staging security guards to keep unsuspecting visitors from getting in the way, the SeaRey was ready to launch.<br /> <br />As I taxied to the sheer edge, a small car with a mother and some kids cranked up and pulled into view. Frantic waving by the security guys got her attention. She stopped clear but close to my runway (dock).<br /><br />I kept a close eye on the car as I pushed the throttle full forward. Flashing by I saw four little wide-eyed faces pressed hard onto the car windows. I was off in half a dock.<br /><br /><br />After being freed from the dock, the SeaRey flew to the coast past the high heads overlooking the harbor (or harbour, in the local vernacular…which takes some getting used to because “wh” is pronounced as “fa” so the town is called “Fongerae”…that creates a little confusion when a Yank makes foreign enunciations in the airport traffic pattern).<br /><br />The high reaching Whangarei rock heads were pushed up by a tremendous, eons long collision of two gigantic crustal plates: the Australian and Pacific plates do battle just off the east coast of the North Island. The battle zone stretches down the coast, cutting across the sound between the two main islands, following a massive fault southbound before exiting off the west coast of the South Island. Volcanoes, geysers, hot springs and earthquakes are a natural consequence for the “Shaky Isles.”<br />
| | Attachments:
Whangarei Heads
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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When flying a SeaRey in unfamiliar territory there is nothing better than being over water. Even though there were plenty of green fields available, blue water is a SeaRey’s best friend.
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Going Coastal
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Martin West - Apr 16,2011
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I see this photo is titled 'Near Ngunguru'. Anyone tell you how to pronounce that one?? No, its not as its spelled. Locals call it Nungaroo. Think that's odd? Try Paraparaumu, near Wellington. Everyone knows that as Paraparam. NZ's a wonderfully idiosyncratic place. Everyone should go there once in their life. Jillie and I miss it terribly!
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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The combination of beaches, fields and an occasional rock confirmed the coastal routing as a “beaut” diversion.
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Nice Grouping
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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Not all the coast was nice for SeaRey beaching. “Rough as guts,” a Kiwi might say. It was, however, a spectacular view.
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Hard Rockin
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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The coast is not always clear: sometimes the clouds close with the waves. Fortunately when one door closes, a clearing gap in the hills showed the way ahead into the big bay.
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Unclear Coast
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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The Bay of Islands was exactly as advertised: a beautiful bay densely packed with islands. It is a favorite vacation location for New Zealanders. It’s a wonderland for SeaReys.
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Bay with Islands
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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As predicted by my local briefer, there was evidence of serious wind in these here parts. Great tree-lined wind barriers provide scant protection for airborne travelers.
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Breaking Wind
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Don Maxwell - Apr 15,2011
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What neat little boxes! (Does 'Breaking Wind' mean that Kiwi fruit gives you gas?)
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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I didn't eat any Kiwis when I was downunder, Don.
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Martin West - Apr 16,2011
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Those will be Avocado, Kiwi fruit and Orange orchards, the main agri-crops up in the Far North. The only other main agri-businesses are sheep, (declining), dairy farming (increasing) and beef. Once you get out of Whangarei there is very little industry at all.
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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The Bay of Islands is well named. There is a bay, but it is stuffed full of islands. (Don’t admit to being “stuffed” after a big meal….being “stuffed” is colloquially equivalent to being pregnant.)
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Lots of Land
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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Even in a green, verdant land some lifeless colors match those of the rocks. Death and danger in paradise? How is that even possible?
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Death on the Fringe
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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Out on the tip of the cape, clouds smoothly covered the rocks. Offshore, the sky was clear and blue.
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Capped Cape
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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At the tip of Cape Brett there is a shortcut through the rocks. The sailboat passed around the rocks. So did the SeaRey. Only the jet powered adventure tour boat took the tunnel detour.
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Tight Passage
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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Out at the mouth of the bay a lonely sentinel stands against the South Pacific waves.
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Lonely Breakwater
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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There are some blooming beautiful beaches hidden in the intricate web of islands.
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Beach Blooms
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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There is not much chance that storm surge will wash this sand from behind these protecting barriers. Outside of the rocky barriers rests the Rainbow Warrior.<br /><br />In 1985 it was parked at the Marsden Wharf, safely in port at Auckland. At midnight an explosion ripped the ship open and it began to sink. Photographer Fernando Pereira ran back to get his camera. A second explosion sent the boat to the bottom in less than four minutes, a time too short for the photographer to escape.<br /><br />Rainbow Warrior was Greenpeace’s flagship. It was scheduled to sail to Moruroa to protest the planned French nuclear warhead test. In the appropriately named “Operation Satanique”, two French agents made sure it would not interfere with state business.<br /><br />The police got the Satanique agents. They were convicted of manslaughter. France threatened a crippling embargo. The government of New Zealand settled for an apology and $13 million in damages. The Rainbow Warrior was raised, resurrected and moved to the Cavalli Islands where it lives on as a haven for sea life.<br />
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Overly Protected
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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This beach had just the right amount of protection still allowing it to be its natural self.
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Nicely Protected
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Frank A. Carr - Apr 15,2011
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So Dan, did you beach the Rey here, or on any of these gorgeous beaches?
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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Patience, my friend. You're just going to have to wait for the rest of the story and see.
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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With an onshore cool breeze, the air had only to lift landward to bring in the clouds.
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Clear Coast
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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The beach went for miles in a smoothly curving arch encircled by the Karikari Peninsula. When Captain Cook was exploring the area, he saw this and wrote in his log book: “Doubtless a bay.” Duh.
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Curvaceous Beaches
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Martin West - Apr 16,2011
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Did you call in at Carringtons on the Karikari Peninsular? Its a very high quality resort hotel with tournament standard golf course, tennis courts, vineyard, winery... I'm surprised they don't have a Searey, come to think of it. Hmmm... now there could be a job...
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Martin West - Apr 16,2011
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In Doubtless Bay is a small settlement called Whatuwhiwhi. Now using the proper NZ (ie. Maori) pronunciation that Dan talked about, that is pronounced 'fatufifi'. But if you say what you read its 'wotaweewee'..... Strangely enough many people don't do the Maori pronunciation (wh=f) except for places like that. I wonder why.... :-)
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John Robert Dunlop - Apr 17,2011
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Ah... Martin, I really must get down there sometime. The vernacular is wonderful!
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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The Ninety Mile Beach sits at the north end of the North Island. No problem with (visible) overcrowding at this beach!<br /><br />The northern tip ends at Cape Reinga. There the Tasman Sea collides with the South Pacific. According to Maori legend, that is the departure point for souls returning to their eternal home. I had no intention of leaving any time soon, so I turned back south.<br />
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Miles of Sandy Shores
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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It seemed I was always chasing the chopper (cheerfully referred as “the Squirrel”). Sometimes I even caught up with it.
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Chasing the Copter
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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The helicopter got to land on the lawn. The SeaRey got the beach. No pesticides on the beach. SeaRey wins.<br /><br />Off in the distant background is Moturoa Island. It is unconnected with the mainland except by a thin strand of power line. One advantage of being in a small flying boat over water is that it fits easily underneath a 160’ high line.<br /><br />As the thin line flashed by overhead I heard Molly Hatchet singing, “I’m traveling down the road and I’m flirting with disaster, I’ve got the pedal to the floor and my life is running faster. We’re flirting with disaster, ya’ll know what I mean, and the way we run our lives it makes no sense to me. When we gamble with our time we choose our destiny.”<br /><br />A choice of destinies? It occurred to me that a perfect plane in a perfect place with improbably promising prospects might induce impaired perspective.<br /> <br />“Naw.”<br />
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Un Equal Access
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John Robert Dunlop - Apr 15,2011
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Spectacular Dan! Thank you for taking us along for the ride once again.
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Frank A. Carr - Apr 15,2011
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Thanks again for the great photos and observations Dan. I take it you were unaware of <br />the 'high line' until it flashed overhead?
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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The high line was right where it was shown on the chart, Frank, and, yes, I had checked the chart. Now, if only I always knew where I was going, life would be less exciting...
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Dave Forster - Apr 15,2011
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Great photos!<br /><br />Thanks as always for sharing your adventures and writing the stories to go with them.
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Thomas Alexander Bowden - Apr 15,2011
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Is this the old plane before it sank and your just now posting? Or is this the replacement plane and this is resent stuff? I'm lost here.
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Dan Nickens - Apr 15,2011
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Being lost is an opportunity for discovery, Thomas, as I can attest from a lot of experience. Standby for more implausible revelations, fabricated explanations, and a gut drenching conclusion: same tale teller, same web space, same web channel.
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Steve Kessinger - Apr 20,2011
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Y'know Dan, your travels would be a great candidate as a 'print on demand' book. <a href="http://villagebooks.com/espresso-book-machine-print-demand">http://villagebooks.com/espresso-book-machine-print-demand</a>
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Dan Nickens - Apr 20,2011
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Y'know, Steve, maybe I could get my mom to buy one, but everyone else would just get it for free right here!
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Barry Eaton - Apr 16,2011
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Hey Dan, Great to hear your up and running again and in NZ. Will you be down motueka again?Autumn and winter are usually good calm flying in the south Isld,so hope you make it.Give me a call.Barry.
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Dan Nickens - Apr 16,2011
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Er....well..., Barry, I will be in Motueka again....some time. It's a real long distance call from Howey in the Hills, Florida today though.
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