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Below are some of our members' stories, extracted from our quarterly newsletter: May 2006: WMA’s DALDY EXPERIENCE by The Ancient Mariner Light overcast speckled the sky. It was humid, the sun was barely over the horizon and the faint north east breeze seemed to be freshening as I headed toward downtown Auckland to catch the ferry to Devonport for the start our Daldy experience. Crossing the harbour I could see the 70 year old steam tug William C. Daldy alongside, waiting for passengers, exuding her telltale smoke. All aboard at last, gangplank lifted and stowed and we pulled away from Devonport, amid various comments as to how we could have unberthed better. Around North Head, steaming away to the north, smoke billowing, as a very large and modern Princess Line cruise ship made into harbour. Once beyond Rangitoto Lighthouse, we set course for the Whangaparaoa Passage, between the mainland and Tiritiri Matangi Island. The north east breeze had now stiffened to around the 25knot mark and Wm. C. rolled gently beneath our feet. The 30nm journey melted away as we were entertained by the Lex Pistol Jazz Band and, in the relative calm of the Passage, munched into the on board bbq lunch of bangers’n bread or patties’n bread complete with cholesterol rush and obligatory ‘train smash’. We had only a short time ashore at Mansion House before being whisked over to Sandspit for the second half of the journey – bus to Kaipara Flats and train back to Auckland. All in all, it was a lovely day sitting down being driven everywhere, seeing new sights, together with entertaining company.
How do I get a job on a super yacht? By Deanna Douglas Agencies, brokers, word of mouth, in the right place at the right time... You really have to be on the door step of agencies to get a job, they will not fly you from NZ for an interview so if you are serious many people hang out in Ft Lauderdale in a crew house till they get a job. We do have 37 South in Auckland who does a great job of putting people on boats but again because you are in NZ the opportunities are limited. Boat brokers are great as they sell boats to new owners then help them find crew. You can find crew agency email addresses on the web via searches, some are better than others and some charge a fee to join up (you don't always have to join up with these agencies as some of the best agencies don't charge). Most are based in Ft Lauderdale and Europe. There are lots of crap boats and owners who want a lot for not much, be fussy it is hard to find good crew and if you are good it wont take long to become sort after and well paid. BUT sometimes you have to put up with a bit to gain experience on your resume many captains have put up with crap boats for 2 years to get some experience in the industry before finding the job they really want. A lot get jobs through word of mouth too. Well you are looking for work you can pick up day work on boats, cleaning, delivering etc; If you are in the right place between seasons when boats are finishing one season and getting ready for the next, pay rate 12-15$US per day or engineers more...deliveries dependant on boat size... Pay rates in US$: Stewards/esses $1800-$5000 US per month. Mates $3000-$6000 per month, Engineers $4-$7000 per month, Captains $5-10,000 per month (depending on boat size and experience) if you are on a charter boat you work ridiculous hours but the tip is 10-20% of the charter fee, on a boat which charges 20-$40,000+ per day it is a great perk...divided evenly amongst crew (normally) Provided: all food, sometimes booze, uniforms and deck shoes. So saving is easy, travel is mind blowing - the European season for 4 months (South of France, Italy, Sardinia, Corsica, Turkey etc etc) - the Caribbean for 4 months, the rest of the time travelling and completing refits..... If you get seasick forget about it as often boats will travel through the night to the next destination and taking one month to deliver to Europe/Caribbean is normal..... Crew do take seasickness tabs to get them through but depends on your job....If you are an engineer, engineers are sort after as qualified ones are in short supply. NZ captains tickets mean nothing, you need a minimum of Class 4...(not sure whether NZ does these yet...) and experience is everything...It is a great way to see some interesting places and an excellent way to save money but be warned a lot become heavy drinkers... I can be contacted through the NZWMA if any more information is required...
On a telegraph and a prayer By Sally Fodie The Kestrel’s large Crossley engine chugs away as we head out of the city basin to cross the harbour to Devonport. I keep the engineer on standby until I clear the end of Queens wharf. One long blast on the whistle resounds around the harbour. If there is traffic my full astern on the telegraph will be responded to. At around 300 tons the old Kestrel does not pull up short. The conditions are bad. A strong westerly wind and a 3.4 metre tide on the quarter ebb. Conditions that sort the men from the boys and put hair on their chests! But I am a girl, I wouldn’t know about that! I keep the Kestrel up harbour heading towards Stanley Bay and the Navy Base. I glance at Bean Rock Lighthouse down beyond Devonport. This will be my transit when I line up for the berth. In the old days I would have headed for the inside berth and the tide would have pulled me alongside, but that option went with the wharf development and the arrival of the new ferry. I am committed to berth the vessel with wind and tide astern pushing me down and off the berth. The prop will also pull me off as it goes astern. Even the old dolphin piles that protected the vessel if you missed are gone. They have been removed to make way for the modern catamarans. I have got to get it right! At the Navy Base, swinging on wheel, engineer on standby, telegraph on slow ahead, and Bean Rock light house out of sight behind the Devonport wharf shed. I have to keep Kestrel straight and while wind and tide have doubled the speed towards the berth I have to keep the power on as long as I dare. To lose steerage way is to lose all chance of getting alongside. I trust the engineer to the max. The air bottles are full. When I want full astern he will give it to me. I reach the end of the wharf and ring for stop. Bean rock has reappeared and with all my might I am swinging on the wheel hard to starboard. The piles flash by as I grab the telegraph and ring full astern. There is a hiss of compressed air and a blast of black soot from the funnel. There was no time for slow astern, her props pull her off the wharf allowing wind and tide to push her stern further out. I have not heard the mates whistle to indicate the line is on aft. Is she going to pull up before the chains and concrete at the end of the berth? We have passed the gangway and slowly her props bite. With a couple of metres to spare she goes astern. I keep the momentum on. The wheel is now hard to starboard and I struggle to put it on the becket. I risk being thrown out of the wheel house if I try to hold it. She kicks like a mule. The vessel is now roaring astern. The wheel house is level with the gangway. I ring full ahead on the telegraph! Another hiss and a roar, and she cuts ahead pushing her stern against wind and tide, she roars up the berth past the gangway. Still no whistle from the mate. Full astern again. Roaring back past the gangway. Full ahead! This time she bites and her stern screws in towards the wharf, while her bow heads out and away. There is the gangway again and the mates whistle. I have already rang full astern. Her forward momentum has stopped and I ease her up on the line. Slow ahead and her bow slowly swings in. As the passengers go ashore the engineer arrives on deck with a grin, “you are lucky, I was running out of air”. The mate tells me how far he threw that line and I think that after the next berthing at Devonport the tide should begin to ease. The Kestrel was launched in 1905. A double ended wooden vessel of 123ft length, with a prop and rudder at each end. In 1951 she was converted from steam and fitted with a 6 cylinder Crossley reversing diesel engine with a compressed air start system. She is now berthed in Tauranga and used as a restaurant. It was my privilege to be master of the Kestrel for a decade.
2005: My First Love By Sandy Pierce I guess my first love of the sea came about when my mother was pregnant and had cravings to put her feet in saltwater. The love of boats was at 1 week old when once again my mother wanted to go fishing, so I was wrapped up and placed in the bottom of the 12 ft clinker dinghy my Dad had designed and built while my three older siblings sat on the beach and Cornwallis. The next nine years was spent going backward and forward to Waiheke Island where we had a tiny Bach. I mainly remember the ‘Baroona” and the old “Tangaroa”. The sound of squeaking timbers down in the hold much like a donkey endlessly braying in triple time, the hot smells wafting up from the engine room, the racing dolphins and not to be missed Bean Rock Lighthouse (my house!). From Auckland to Orewa, in 1952. My father built another 16ft clinker cabin boat and I was to learn a great deal for a 10 – 11 year old. So I grew up. Got married went fishi9ng, had two sons. moved back to Orewa and bought a 7 day & night restaurant. Our first break away from the business we had a day’s game fishing on the ‘Kitty Jane.’ My husband landed a marlin and the paranoia set in, I lived and breathed game fishing for many many years that there’s far too may stories to fit in here. We found a 34 ft Carl Augustine hull and decks for sale and became backyard boat builders, by the time “SandGuy” was ready for launching in 1972 I was an expert as screwing, gluing, filling, sanding and fibre-glassing and painting!! During that period of long hours and hard work I had decided that if I was to have confidence in taking the boat out on my own then I had better start learning about the mechanical side of things. I took a correspondence course in “Basic Diesel Engines” with the international Correspondence school. One part of three of Engineering course, From maths to algebra to oil refinery, viscosity of fuels etc to diesel engines I received my signed and sealed certificate in October 1971. I was able to sensibly converse with the engineers who did the finishing work on “SandGuy” so there was nothing I didn’t know about our own boat. We shifted to Tutukaka in 1979 to become commercial fishermen-woman; in other words, long liners. My husband and I had worked together for many years in the restaurant with no problems whatsoever, but after 6 months of being a deck hand I decided trying to pick gear up in 40 knot winds without yelling at one another was not very good for a marriage so “I’m out of here.” I took a part time jog as deck hand on the “Lady Jess” and when the owner sold I worked part time on the “Amakoura” mainly divers, string Pullers and sometimes game fishing. Previous to then and after that if you get my drift (no pun intended) I ran the fish shed for the 32 commercial fishermen working out or Tutukaka. Lots of sleepless stormy nights if they weren’t’ in the harbour, particularly if they were the ‘little boats.’ In 1983 I decide to sit my skippers ticket (M .R. C.). Only female in the classes but after a few sniggers the first couple of day’s things settled down and we all worked hard together. Having achieved that I went back deckhand part time on the “Balsaal.” After that a brief stint on the ”Malacia” and then back to shore life. We sold our “SandGuy” in the early 90’s. Like losing a baby – a very sad day. My ‘Sea Life” new rowing my little dinghy for 40 minutes a day when possible in winter. But if anyone asks me to go fishing, then once again “I’m out of here’!! During all these phases of my life there are dozens of interesting stories to tell. Maybe one day….. Sandy Pierce. Blame It On Pieces By Mary Armitage Being born back when, grass was mowed, COKE was a cold drink and POT was something you cooked in, ROCK MUSIC was Grandma' s Lullaby and AIDS were helpers in the Principal’s office. I guess I was part of the last generation that was so dumb as to think you needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder we are so confused and there is such a generation gap today. Confused! Yes, it took me 22 years to get savvy enough to realise that travelling on top of the water was a better idea than trying to dive through it and swim in it, and I bought my first boat. That first 14fter didn’t last long, neither did the first husband, one was flat bottomed and rode hard, the other being a marine engineer, just rode from port moll to port moll. Still confused I soldiered on, and invested in new husband and, around about the same time, a 16’ ply runabout, which closely resembled a time bomb with its inboard petrol motor. (Is there a message there). I survived both investments. The next 40 yrs progressed through first an 18’er; which took us to the Bay of Islands gave us 2 wonderful weeks holiday and had the decency to break down only as were leaving Russell harbour for the trip home; a 24’Pelin Empress; then to our last boat a 35’ sedan launch which owned us for 25years. No. I didn’t know the first thing about handling big boats finally getting to grips with it when I actually discovered the blunt end did the turning. On the strength of that, I bluffed my way through a MoT Restricted Launch Licence. Of course this confused old darling knew everything about boats at that stage! Back then dual motors were a rarity, catamarans were Paper Tigers or HobieCats and a big outboard was 120hp. (Dates you doesn’t it?). Arrogantly thinking I was good enough to teach ladies and first time launch owners how to handle boats, I hung out my shingle and the School of Launchmanship was born. Beating inauguration by 6mths of a similar launch handling school in Chesapeake Bay. The next 11years saw me skippering all manner of charter boats at Ranger Charter Boat Co., interspersed with teaching launch handling. Finally I moved to total management and skippering a large, fast charter boat for corporate owners. It was a challenge bringing a good boat up to charter scratch and better, working with fair but exacting owners, meeting varied clientele and being able to give them happy, enjoyable and safe experiences afloat. The most memorable trip was the night of celebrations New Zealand, and in particular Auckland, indulged in when we retained the Americas Cup. I had 25+ guests and owners aboard and on the trip home about 10pm decided to try to get in the narrow entrance to the Viaduct Basin. All the action ashore was rocking around the viaduct after the win, but the Harbour Master stopped me saying a fireworks display was about to start, pointing to a barge some 50m away. Asking if I could anchor and watch he suggested I move a little further off. Moseying 100/150 metres away I dropped the pick and we waited for the show to start. So it was that we ended up virtually on top of what felt like the loudest, biggest, most awe-inspiring fireworks display, that I have ever witnessed in my life. The proximity of the booms and pops of the big skyrockets blasting into life, echoing around the canyons of the high rise building of downtown Auckland and exploding into great spectacular showers of multicoloured lights seemingly right overhead was truly jaw-dropping. The sound just went right through your body – the memory of the noise still sends tingles up my spine. After 20 ear shattering awe-inspiring moments the fireworks finished. I think the ensuing relative silence caused a lapse of sanity on my part and I took the big boat into the maelstrom of boats inside the Viaduct - just to ‘give the punters a feel of the place and wild celebrations going on’. Still don’t know how I got us all out of there in one piece. You could say I exited the viaduct harbour that night like an opossum that had been dazzled by headlights - thankful to again reach the safety of the dimmer harbour outside and head back to the absolute safety of the marina berth! I’ve just about retired now, but the NZWMA committee and relieving charter skippering is keeping my interest in the sea well and truly alive. In closing, ladies, always keep in mind……. What you put your attention on will grow stronger in your life. The Sailing Dream By Kim Scott My sailing life began with my trainee 10-day voyage 454 on ‘The Spirit of Adventure’ in 1993. From there I returned several times to be a leading hand on other 10-day voyages, both on ‘The Spirit of Adventure’ and ‘The Spirit of New Zealand’. While on board a trip I made up this poem/song. I dream a dream, In 1998, I was selected to be a cadet on ‘The Spirit of New Zealand’, taking 18 months to complete my Inshore Launch Masters. During this time I did some volunteer work on the Ted Ashby and with Subritzky Shipping, gaining commercial sea time and meeting David, the ship's marine engineer (now my husband!). In 2000, I was selected for a Maersk (the worldwide container shipping company) cadetship. I completed 6 months of theory before becoming a full-time mum. David and I now have two children, Marie 3 yrs 8 mths and Edward 10 mths. The family Trust owns a property in Schooner Bay, Tryphena, Great Barrier Island. There is a main house with 3 cottages. David and I are also looking at building a mud brick house on the property sometime in the future. David and Ted (his father) are directors of ‘The Great Barrier Island Ferry Company Limited’ and are in the process of building a vehicular ferry to run from Port Charles, Coromandel to Tryphena, Gt Barrier Island. Now at the age of 29, I am a member of the NZWMA, a committee member of the Spirit of Adventure Trust, Auckland Regional Association, and a volunteer 2nd Mate on ‘The Spirit of New Zealand’. I have been able to crew, with the support from David, as watch Leader on a 10-day voyage when Marie was younger, as a mate on the America’s Cup and other day sails, and more recently, on a 5-day trainees with disability voyage. Also, I am enlisting in the Naval Reserves to keep up my practical sailing experience. This is part-time with Parade practice on a Monday night at Ngapona and the occasional weekends at sea. PS: Like to know more about joining the navy? Call toll free on 0800 NZ NAVY. For general information about the Navy try the website www.navy.mil.nz.” |
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