Charter Link Compass Adjusting

True North

Rob is hiding on Silverstream

Bella Rosa

27 October and off to Auckland to swing a few compasses for Rob Thexton of Charter Link. He keeps several privately owned yachts in survey and handles the chartering and maintenance of them. Always a pleasant experience to work with Rob. Bella Rosa had two compasses and the other two boats one compass each. Lovely day on the Waitemata with light winds and sunny sky.

Raglan Charters

Islay Mist II

25 August and a trip to the west coast port of Raglan to swing the compass on the Islay Mist II. Working out of Raglan involves crossing a sand bar into the Tasman Sea and can be a trial at times so for smaller vessels it is a calm weather exercise. Luckily the compass swing was done in the harbour even though it was a bit breezy. Cargo ships used to work this port but no more and the old cement silo has been converted into living accomodation.

Mussel Barge Charters

Koromoemoea

Maata II

On 24 August it was time for another trip to Coromandel to swing a couple of compasses on the Mussel Barge Snapper Safaris vessels the Maata II and the Koromoemoea. These vessels take people out fishing amongst the mussel farms and are an interesting way to see the mussel harvesting operation and layout of the farms. Harvesting releases and disturbs heaps of material which acts as food and burley to the hungry snapper which gives folks a chance to catch a couple for their own use.

Compass Adjusting on the Yacht Sirocco

This yacht which is looked after by by Charter Link in Bayswater NZ needed a compass check with the chart plotter running and with the plotter turned off. Two separate swings were done on a fine, calm and sunny day on Auckland Harbour. Rob as usual did his expert job of steering while I did the easy bits. The operation was a success and the charterers are pleased with the result. Charter link has a fleet of yachts ready for people to charter and can be found at http://www.charterlink.co.nz/. Photos are of Sirocco before heading out into the harbour.

Compass Adjusting on the mussel barge M.V. Gulf Trader

After a sunny trip to Whitianga on Wednesday,  I drove to Coromandel on Friday in showery to rainy weather. It was blowing a gale of wind in Thames, NZ and further along the coast as I headed for a Compass Adjustment job on a special purpose mussel barge near Coromandel Town. Once driving over the steep and curvy bits of highway the weather calmed down and conditions were good in the sheltered bay off Te Kouma Road. I had a short wait as the crew offloaded about 30 tonnes of mussels in large bags. These were hoisted off with the boat's crane then picked up with a forklift to load into trucks. Once that was completed we headed off into the bay for the compass swing and adjustment. Back at the wharf the crew got the news that more mussels were wanted at the factory so they were off for another load which left little of Friday afternoon for R+R. Over the hill on the way home it rained again so having nice weather for the adjustment was a bonus.

Compass Adjusting on DOC Boats in NZ

It was a warm lovely autumn day on Wednesday 19 May when John MacKinnon, Compass Adjuster NZ, drove the scenic route from Katikati to Whitianga to do compass swings on two of DOC's runabouts. Sunny day, low swell and very nice people to work with. The compass on Triplefin needs replacing but I removed some of the error on N/S and E/W headings. Three of the intercardinals were problem children and we are hoping a new compass will help cure this. The compass on Kuaka was fine and after a couple of hours or so on the harbour it was time to go home to face the paperwork.

Compass Adjuster NZ

A modern way to find an old service. It is sometimes a balancing act to adjust a compass on a small vessel even in the relative calm waters of Auckland Harbour.

MV Westport Compass Swing

On 13 April 2010  swung the compass on the MV Westport in Western Cook Strait using a far off oilrig for an analysis swing before we headed north into strong northerlies. Visual bearings and the GPS were used for the swing. 

Constitucion in Constitucion, Chile

A new way to find an old-fashioned service by John MacKinnon, Licenced Compass Adjuster NZ. I saw this boat while on a motorbike ride in Chile but never got a chance to see if they needed their compass adjusted.