Maiden Voyage of The Great White Shark (Lyttleton Harbor and Quarry Island)

Waveney and I take the scenic route to Lyttleton to a small bay just east of the town proper. Jilley and Marie are already there waiting on us. We launch out and start padding to Quarry Island. Quarry Island is in the middle of Lyttleton bay and has some caves and a ships graveyard. It takes about 35 minutes to cross over. The wind is coming in the mouth and the tide is slack the waves hit us abeam and are just enough to wash over the decks. We start to circle the island and land up on the back side where its sheltered from the wind. When I get out the cockpit is sloshing with water. More water than I can justify. I empty the water and then we have a little lunch. Between them the girls have packed enough food for 6 people. The start handing me things to eat and I tell them that’s why I didn’t bring any food as I figured they would have more than enough. We launch out and continue on to the ships grave yards. By this time the tide has changed and started to ebb. The wind is has picked up and is blowing about 15-20 knots in the opposite direction so the wind waves are really standing up now. But their combined affect is to negate each other. But the crossing is exciting and Marie and Jilley are pushing hard to get a cross.

Once across I notice that the boat is still filling with water. I can’t see any holes in the hull so I suspect that the foot peg bolts are leaking. When we get back to Waveney’s house we put it up on a stand and I dump some water in the cockpit and sure enough the water is pouring out of the bolt holes. So I dismantle the peddles and notice that the builder has screwed up the drilling and then tried to make up for it by using strips of wood as a spacer. I run down to the local hardware store and purchase a set of O-rings but then when I go to put them on I realize that I have to get shorter bolts as I have removed the wood strips. I go back to the hardware store and the guy says that he doesn’t have any stainless steel bolts but he calls his supplier in town and he does but I have to run down and pick them up. So I run in to town but it turns out that this place only does wholesale not retail. I explain that the retailer sent me and the saleman there say alright. He goes to ring them up and it’s such a small order that the computer doesn’t have a price set up so in frustration he just tosses me the bolts and tells me not to worry about it. I run Back to S&W’s and put everything together and it I discover that the wood spacers were needed to allow one of the peddles to clear the deck. It just rubs so I just file down the top of the peddle and it all works fine. I do the water test and no leaks.

By now its 5pm and I had planned on leaving town right after my paddle around noon. Sandy had come home from work and tells me that he could have made me neoprene washers at work. Oh well. As they are expecting guest from out of town I climb in the van and start heading for Timaru to see my cousin Sally. I had emailed her but never got a response. I called the number and it was invalid. I decide that I will just cut straight across to Arthur’s pass and paddle at Lake Brunnel.

I make the base of the pass and find a little picnic stop that has a small grove of trees for cover. I back in the van and make a quick dinner and study the map for tomorrow’s attack of Arthur’s Pass.