I just received a message from Linda: Somewhat over half-way to Tonga, their boom broke; they have returned to Opua for repairs. This is a pretty dangerous event, but apparently neither was hurt.
I'm sure Opua is a nice place, but returning there under these circumstances must be pretty bitter.
They will fly to the U.S. "in a few weeks".
Mark_
15:20 26 July 2011
Showing posts with label Lark. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lark. Show all posts
26 July 2011
21 June 2011
_Lark_ still in Opua
_Lark_ /again/ in Opua, actually. Their windvane broke on deployment a few hours (?) after departure "Monday". (_Their_ Monday, presumably.) Sea-state was rough, so they decided against 10 days of hand steering (or using battery in their electric auto-pilot).
Back to NZ while awaiting a part from Germany.
Mark_
22:00 21 June 2011
Back to NZ while awaiting a part from Germany.
Mark_
22:00 21 June 2011
12 June 2011
_Lark_ departed?
Linda's computer was online (Skype) today, so perhaps they have not yet effected their departure.
I didn't speak to her, but Skype showed her machine as being "available". I can think of no way that this could be the case except that it actually was within a hundred feet or less of a wi-fi station <i>on land</i>.
Mark_
22:00 12 June 2011
I didn't speak to her, but Skype showed her machine as being "available". I can think of no way that this could be the case except that it actually was within a hundred feet or less of a wi-fi station <i>on land</i>.
Mark_
22:00 12 June 2011
11 June 2011
_Lark_ is off for Tonga!
I have just had a brief text iChat with Linda. They have tanked up, provisioned up, and they expect to depart their berth in Opua in about 1/2 hour (as of 14:00 PDT) for their 10-day passage to Tonga.
She had just completed a Skype session with her mother. Isn't this all great?
Mark_
14:04 PDT 11 June 2011
She had just completed a Skype session with her mother. Isn't this all great?
Mark_
14:04 PDT 11 June 2011
06 June 2011
Blog Updates & Pix from _Lark_
Linda has posted updates and pictures. Excellent! (Apparently they still haven't departed for Tonga. Less excellent.)
Mark_
12:20 06 June 2011
Mark_
12:20 06 June 2011
30 May 2011
_Lark_ is Ready
During a Skype session this evening, Linda & Brad advised us that they have completed the last of their major projects, and that _Lark_ is ready for their passage from Opua, NZ, to Tonga. The remain at anchor off town, awaiting a weather window.
Along the way, they hope to stop at Minerva Reef, which appears to be a "thin" spot in the middle of the Pacific, roughly 250 miles SW of Tonga:
23°38'23.62"S 178°54'53.64"W
Google Earth doesn't know it by name, but paste that position into G.E. to zoom into the center of this nearly complete circular reef.
Mark_
22:19 30 May 2011
Along the way, they hope to stop at Minerva Reef, which appears to be a "thin" spot in the middle of the Pacific, roughly 250 miles SW of Tonga:
23°38'23.62"S 178°54'53.64"W
Google Earth doesn't know it by name, but paste that position into G.E. to zoom into the center of this nearly complete circular reef.
Mark_
22:19 30 May 2011
28 May 2011
_Lark_ Update: Still in Opua, NZ.
Apparently things aren't going quite as Linda & Brad had expected. His visa was to have expired already--and hers, too, some time after his. Guess they have gotten extension(s).
Mark_
21:40 28 May 2011
Mark_
21:40 28 May 2011
05 May 2011
_Lark_ is in the Water
Linda says that their boat went back into the water Wednesday morning, "as planned" (Tuesday for us, I believe--I neglected the International Date Line issue in a previous report); they are tied up between pilings upriver a bit, doing a bit more work. They hope to sail north "early next week."
She promises more before they depart.
Mark_
21:26 05 May 2011
She promises more before they depart.
Mark_
21:26 05 May 2011
02 May 2011
_Lark_ update
In response to my query, Linda has just e-mailed an update:
• Back into the water tomorrow morning. (Tuesday afternoon, our time. I think.)
• More work, while moored between pilings @ Town Basin Marina, in the Hātea River, Whangarei, NZ. [Wikipedia article]
• Thursday: By car, retrieve the last of personal effects left in Watawhiwhi.
• Sell car back in Whangarei.
• Shakedown to Opua, NZ [35°18'46.85"S 174° 6'45.75"E].
• If everything works, sail for Tonga as weather permits.
She says that they have been working hard, and are ready to relax with a "nice tropical winter".
I have asked to be advised when they sail for Tonga.
Mark_
• Back into the water tomorrow morning. (Tuesday afternoon, our time. I think.)
• More work, while moored between pilings @ Town Basin Marina, in the Hātea River, Whangarei, NZ. [Wikipedia article]
• Thursday: By car, retrieve the last of personal effects left in Watawhiwhi.
• Sell car back in Whangarei.
• Shakedown to Opua, NZ [35°18'46.85"S 174° 6'45.75"E].
• If everything works, sail for Tonga as weather permits.
She says that they have been working hard, and are ready to relax with a "nice tropical winter".
I have asked to be advised when they sail for Tonga.
Mark_
02 March 2011
S/V _Lark_ from Space
We cannot actually see the boat, but we can see the neighborhood. Paste this into Google Earth (for example): 35°44'23.09"S 174°20'19.11"E
That's Dockland 5 Marina.
That's Dockland 5 Marina.
Note that although Linda has changed the name of her web-log, it remains at the old Web-location (URL):
I have been hoping for live web- or traffic-cams. Still working on that.
--Mark_
12:59 02 March 2011
23 February 2011
News of Linda & Brad (S/V _Lark_)
Linda has said, by e-mail (ca. 2025 hrs today) that they are safe and well--far from trouble--and busy completing cabinetry upgrades, rebuilt nav station, bottom paint, shaft seal & cutlass bearing, and repair of a rudder crack.
This is in Dockland 5 marina, Whangarei, Northland, NZ, where it is "warm and humid".
--Mark_
22:24 23 February 2011
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