Відео

@@johnlord7854 loved it. NZ will always be special to me.

It's a union 32 cutter.

Thanks!

Thanks for the QSO, and thanks for watching my channel.! 73

Thanks for the comment Brian. The unicycle has been one of the best things I purchased for cruising. It has been like owning a car. I have well over 7k miles on it now and have had it for 5 years. I will not be without one. I will do a video on it so people can see what they are about. Looks can be deceiving, they aren't difficult to ride, don't require exceptional balance, and feel very safe and comfortable.

Thanks for your reply and I’ll look forward to seeing the vid. Apologies, I got your name wrong. I now realise it’s Barry

Thanks so much! The band was really noisy here. I'm right in the center of the city. 73 barry

Thank you for the kind comment.

Thanks Brian. I'm sure it won't be my last time in NZ.

Since I arrived in NZ I have been getting on most evenings. Always CW, and some JS8 digital.

Awesome! Thank you so much. I use js8 for tracking while at sea, and to receive msgs from friends and family.

Thanks Fabio. It was a pleasure. I was about 400 nm north west of NZ.

No comparison to the hg in performance, but super easy landing, light and portable. Perfect for lazy day soaring.

Hi hi, I flew hang gliders for years so this wasn't a huge difference.

Thanks Jeff. I'm having a great time.

Thanks for the comment. I have seen the Australian opossum, which is invasive. They're trying to eradicate them. I saw penguins, giant albatross, zebra seal, eel's and lots of birds but nothing in the way of land animals. Hopefully I will see more when I return.

Thanks for the comment Brian. I had a fantastic time in New Zealand and I'm looking forward to returning. I'm sorry to hear about your video editor. Hopefully you can find a replacement, or upgrade your computer soon. 73

You`re welcome !^^^

Yes, it's the island resort and you can easily walk to all the various survivor sites including the tribal camps.

Hal, thanks for the fun qso. I'm heading back to Fiji soon and will look for you when at sea. Sailing is like flying but in two dimensions. I used to own a beech Sierra, and loved flying it but like you life took a turn and I ended up crossing oceans. 73, and hope to see you again soon.

Thanks Steve. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

New Zealand is difficult getting too and difficult leaving

No, I haven't seen them.

Looks like you're making good progress.

Thanks Patricia. I'm using opencpn with the weather routing climatology and grib file plugins. I download the gribbs over HF radio via sail docs using the winlink system. Once I have received the grib file I open with opencpn, then select my start and stop point. Select departure date, and chose my boat polar's. Then it does an hour by hour calculation displaying the route, wind speed, seastate, boat speed etc. The reason I did not follow the route calculated for me is it was taking the east. If the normal South westerlies had set in and I was too far east it would be a tough slog back. I chose to be becalmed and motor instead. If I had followed the weather there routers advice, it would have worked out well. I'm just not sure I trust it yet. I'm sailing back to Fiji soon and I intend to use it 100% this time, and yes, this is a difficult stretch of water.

Part 2 is already loaded up. It will be out in a couple of weeks

Next one is out in two weeks. I'm happy you enjoyed it.

Very cool. Thanks for the info.

Probably so. I could see its potential it just wasn't happening on the day I was there.

@@sailingmakai2127 The caption to your video (which I really enjoyed by the way) states that you made it "5 months ago" which would have been like around October, right? The thing is, surf season on the South Shore of American Samoa doesn't start until November, so you were there just a bit early for that. At the same time, I have seen Sliding Rock occasionally go off even when it was out of surf season, but that was only occasionally. As you noted in your video, it is protected from all but the most south-easterly of Trade Winds. So that wind protection along with the fact that, as you say in your video, it is a "swell magnet", well that almost always makes it a spot worth checking even though it well off of the main road. And during surf season, it can hold up to 10', and at that size rivals Pipeline or Teahupo'o (and can be just as dangerous)! But bigger that that, well sometimes it gets too big to surf and the whole channel can become nothing but one big closeout! At such times, all one can do it is watch and marvel at the power of the ocean. Speaking of watching, the bluff there is a good spot for watching humpback whales as they pass by in the distance during their migration westwards (which I think starts in September and goes on for like 2-3 months). You might have noticed that there is a large break water at the base of the cliffs (I could see the grass in your video which grew over the top of it, when it was first built it was just bare concrete). That break water was put in post-2009 tsunami, and unfortunately has had a somewhat negative effect on the break, creating a backwash into the line-up starting at mid-high tide that used to be present only at the highest of tides and biggest of swells, and could make for a somewhat wild and bouncy ride at times! Word of caution: That entire stretch of coast is wild and treacherous and has claimed the lives of several people, including surfers, swimmers, and fishermen as well! Starting in 1997, I lived and surfed in American Samoa for I would say about half of the last 25 years. My latest time there was from 2016-2021, when I moved back to Hawaii. Hardly anyone was surfing there when I left, and for most of the years I lived there, there would be as many as maybe fifteen or so surfers on the whole island at any one time. Thus, it wouldn't be all that unusual to be surfing perfect waves not just at Sliding rock but at any of another dozen or so breaks with maybe two or three other people out in the water, or even all by yourself! Anyways, as I left American Samoa in September 2021 and sort of miss the place (but really not all that much) it was great to see your video which brought back fond memories to me. Also, as former and avid bike rider there, I must say that you are a very brave man to ride that one wheeler on the streets of American Samoa like you did. Bravo sir! Bravo!

No, I just increased the resolution on my position reporting to be more accurate. It's now accurate to within about 30 feet.

That was in the pass just north of the main Anchorage. Avery special place. I saw the snapper spawning while there.

Hi Eric. Thanks so much for the comment and qso. I remember the last time from French Polynesia. This time I was running a QCX mini qrp radio putting out about 5w. It's an amazing little radio. It's still summer here so the wx is quite nice. I'm looking forward to the next time, perhaps when on my way to Fiji. 73 Barry KD6XU/ZL, SV Ma Kai Whangarei northland New Zealand