San Diego, California

It's almost four weeks now since my surgery and I'm almost back to normal and we are looking forward to going back to New Zealand next week and getting started on this years cruising season. This last month has been very quiet and I have been able to do quite a bit of reading. I never had the opportunity to watch daytime TV before and it is mostly quite apalling. I can tell you that I really don't like Joy Behar and her pals. I have also been looking over my logs for last year and I have compiled some stats from the last season. October 26 2009-November 7 2011

• Days cruising 378, I spent 376 days on the boat and the Admiral 266 days.


• Total distance covered 11,234 nautical miles. Under power approximately 3000 nautical miles Under sail 8,234 nautical miles.


• Days at anchor or mooring 192 Days at sea 144 (part of one day counts as a full day) Days in a marina 42.


• Countries visited 9, Islands visited 28.


• Maximum wind at anchor 45 kts. Maximum wind at sea 50 kts.


• Biggest wave 20 feet.


• Fastest sustained boat speed 10.5 kts


• Diesel fuel used 2245 liters or 590 US gallon or 498 Imperial gallons.


• Engine time 607 hours Gen set time 690 hours


• Major engine failures 2 ( I hate Volvos)


• Lightening strikes 1 Groundings 2


• Biggest fish a 55 pound 60 inch Wahoo caught on a cedar plug. (Mexico)


• New experiences Too numerous to count


• Hours spent doing surgery 0


• Number of phone calls from patients 0


• Days wearing socks, long trousers or shirts with a collar 0 Haircuts 2 (under duress)


• Gallons of red wine and beer consumed too difficult to calculate


• Air miles flown by the Admiral 55,265

San Diego, California

The Admiral and I are in San Diego, where I am recovering from some elective surgery on me. I can tell you that it was a humbling experience and that it is much better to be on the giving end of sharp instruments than the receiving end. All went well and prognosis is good and we look forward to resuming our cruising activities in May of this year. We should be back in New Zealand at the beginning of April and Callisto will get a haul out and bottom paint and some electronics and engine work.
We plan on leaving for Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia in early May. There will be crew opportunities on the trip to Oz from New Caledonia in October

Whangarei, New Zealand

In case any one was worried we did not even feel the earthqhake that struck Christchurch in the south island. The news from down there is pretty dire and it will take them a long time to recover from this double blow.
We are getting ready to go back to San Diego on Saturday where we will spend the next month. It was good to get back aboard Callisto after our two weeks of wandering the North Island. One of the high points of the trip was our visit to White Island which is a an active volcano about 30 miles offshore. You can only get there by boat and the photos below do not do the place justice. It used to be a sulphur mine in the early 1900's until the volcano erupted and killed most of the miners. Lots of steam and sulphur emerging from fissures in the rock. We were issued hard hats and respirators which we needed due to the acid laden steam. The water at the bottom of the crater is said to have a pH of less than one and will disolve your shoes in rapid time.
White Island was a special place and on the way back to Whakatane we saw many dolphins and humpback whales.
Next stop was Rotorua home of redwood and larch forests and numerous mud pools and spas. The lake itself looked full of rainbow trout but unfortunately all the fishing guides were all booked up so I didn't get to try my luck with a fly rod. We also saw Lake Taupo which was quite touristy but very beautiful.
From there, we travelled up the Coromandel Peninsula but, unfortunately, the weather did not comply and we were not able to see much of the spectacular scenery due to rain and fog.
We ended the trip in Auckland and met some friends from the yacht Delos and we spent a pleasant evening reminiscing about out Pacific experiences.

North Island, New Zealand

Lake Rotorua

Lake Taupo

Huka Falls

Redwood forest, Rotorua

More redwoods up to 200 feet tall

Approaching White island

Mud pots, White island

Sulphur deposits, White island

Steam and sulphur, White island

The Admiral and I in protective gear with high pressure corrosive steam emitting from the bowels of the earth

Steam

Brown trout

New Zealand's pristine wilderness

checking my blackberry, New Zealand style

Whakatane, New Zealand

We are about a week into our road trip of the North island of New Zealand. We have been living out of suitcases for the past month and I'm looking forward to staying in one place for a little while.
Ann and I have travelled thousands of miles since leaving San Diego for London on January 12th.
After our London trip, I spent a few days on the boat and went down to Auckland to meet the Admiral and we took a look around New Zealand's largest city before taking the train to the capital, Wellington.
The train took almost 12 hours and was a very good way to look at the center of the country. The weather was a little overcast but we were able to see the varied landscapes of the the North.
We spent 2 days in Wellington and unfortunately the weather was windy, cold and wet which precluded any outdoor activities. Wellington was a wonderfully set out city, quite reminiscent of San Diego with a vibrant down town area. We visited the Te Papa National Museum which was excellent and it traced the history and natural history of New Zealand and the South Pacific and we had an excellent overview of all the places we have visited over the past year. On seeing all the exhibits, we had seen many of the places and people depicted which had special meaning for us.
From windy Wellington, we went up the East coast of the North Island to Napier, the Art Deco Capital of New Zealand.
Following a massive earthquake in in 1931 the entire town was rebuilt in Art Deco style and has preserved in that state ever since.
From there, it was on to Gisbourne where Captain Cook first landed in New Zealand in the 1760's. Again the weather was rainy and the town itself quite uninteresting, so we took off to Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty.
Whakatane is a small fishing and beach town and we took a boat trip to White Island which is an active volcano. The trip was fascinating and a full reprt and photos will be posted in a day or two.
The weather today is perfect and we are off to Rotorua and Lake Taupo.

Masonic Hotel Napier
Fountain on the beach in Napier

Bed and Breakfast in Napier

Art Deco Rothman Building, Napier

Movie theater, Napier

More Art Deco, Napier

Waterfall , Napier

Queen's Wharf in windy Wellington

Maori carvings in the Te Papa Museum, Wellington

Train ride to the south

Bucolic splendor of central North Island

Camden Lock, London

The London skyline from Primrose Hill on a wintery afternoon

San Diego sunset from our apartment

Auckland, New Zealand

The Admiral and I are in Auckland doing the tourist thing. I was up to Whangarei for a few days to check on Callisto and she seems to be laying in her berth at the Riverside Drive Marina without problem. She needs a good clean again but none worse for wear.
We have spent two days in Auckland and we leave tomorrow for Wellington by train and then will drive slowly back to Auckland and see all the sights of the North Island of New Zealand.
We should be back in Whangarei by the 20 th of February to await the Amel riggers who are going to do some mast work on Callisto.
Photos to follow if internet permits

San Diego, CA

I'm back in San Diego watching the US Navy move billion dollar aircraft carriers about from the patio.. We had a great trip to London and saw lots of family and old friends from my medical school days. The weather wasn't too brilliant but at least there wasn't any snow and it wasn't too freezing cold.
I'm leaving for New Zealand again today and we will probably tour the north island during February.
Will post again when I get there and some photos from England