Month: April 2022

Apr

2022

The Raven Logs: Even More North Island Cruising

…continued from an email dated Mar. 19, 2005

“The next day Anouk and I left the guys on the boat and took the ferry across the bay from Russell to the slightly larger town of Paihia, where we had a good time browsing through the shops. I came home with boating shorts, a sarong, and Maori pants, all of which are quite different from my usual wardrobe at home but are eminently suitable for the sailing lifestyle, especially when the weather is warmer in Fiji and Tonga this summer.

Saturday we sailed out of Russell and anchored off another idyllic island where we rather overdid the exercise routine. After lunch Mike and I went on an even more challenging up and down hike around the island. This track is touted as an archaeological tramp, featuring multiple remnants of early Maori habitation and fortifications. We passed close by a fishing camp that was established by Zane Grey. To me, he is known as a famous and prolific author of American western fiction, but in New Zealand he is celebrated as a famous fisherman from back in the 1920s.

Being suitably hot after the hike, a swim looked good so I donned mask, snorkel, and fins and swam from the boat to the beach and back, which probably came close to half a mile. Mike worried about me so he came to my rescue with the dinghy but was sent back passenger-less as I wanted to swim both ways. I seem to have a lot of built-in natural flotation and the swim fins make it easy.

This morning Anouk and I went for an early morning shortened version of yesterday’s hike, did some gym exercises at the top of a knoll, went back to the boat and swam boat-beach-boat again, and then decided it was a perfect day for scuba training – so out came the tanks and gear. Anouk gave me a good introductory briefing and then we dove down to the sandy bottom where she drilled me on several diving techniques that are important from a safety standpoing, and then we paddled around underwater for a bit.

Needless to say, that was a pretty vigorous morning. I have decided the very best feature of this boat is the hot freshwater shower on the stern swim step. As we board the boat after a swim or dive, we can immediately rinse the salt off with nice warm water and even shampoo our hair if so desired.

Tonight we are back in a big marina called Opua Marina. This is the departure and returns port for ocean-going yachts headed from New Zealand towards distant shores, returning again at the end of the cruising season. Raven will be stationed here again in late May, looking for a weather window to make the 1,000-mile passage to Tonga. In the meantime, we plan to rent a car tomorrow and travel to the slightly bigger again town of Kerikeri for some sightseeing and shopping. Hopefully, we’ll be able to purchase our own dive gear in town and stop borrowing Rod’s and Anouk’s stuff.”

Apr

2022

A Celebration of Dolphins

Last Thursday was National Dolphin Day. I’ve been pretty busy fulfilling orders for my Mother’s Day sale but I had time to post this image on Facebook and it got a lot of attention. I thought it would be fun to share some more information about this rather unique shot.

I’m quite proud of this photograph. It was awarded a prize in an exhibition held at the San Diego Museum of Art a few years ago.

We were sailing off the coast of Southern California early one morning, embarking on a passage north to spend the summer in British Columbia. I was perched on the bow of the boat, legs hanging over the side but with one arm wrapped securely around a stanchion for safety, shooting straight down at a pod of dolphins that were riding the boat’s bow wave.

With the rising sun low in the sky to port, the starboard side of the boat’s hull was in deep shadow, which enabled me to capture a clean image with no glare. The result is so abstract that often viewers guess at the subject matter! What you see is the back of a dolphin rising to the surface, dorsal fin just breaking clear of the water as bubbles from his exhaled breath cascade down his back.

This is a true SOC (straight out of camera) image. I love to put my personal touch on my photographs back in my digital darkroom, but there was literally nothing I could do to improve on this image.

Here’s another shot I captured the same morning. These are Pacific white-sided dolphins, abundant off the west coast of North America as well as other parts of the world. Luckily for me, they are renowned for their fondness of riding the bow waves of boats!

Apr

2022

The Raven Logs: More North Island Cruising

…from an email dated Mar. 19, 2005

“It took a few days to get our internet connection going. There always seems to be some catch every time we come into port and try to get online. However on this stopover we have a wifi connection being broadcast throughout the marina where Raven is presently berthed, enabling us to sit in the cockpit and surf the web with ease. Very nice for a change!

After we dropped Amy back ashore after our outing to the Poor Knights, we started cruising north towards the Bay of Islands at the very northeastern tip of New Zealand. The weather is warmer and more settled here and the wind and waves have been more moderate. Good conditions for Mike and me to practice boat handling without too much stress. Navigation is interesting, due to all the islands and shoals, but we have a really cool computer program called MaxSea that runs on the computer and shows our live position and current course via GPS overlaid on accurate charts of the area. Really simplifies steering!

Every anchorage we stop over at is located in some beautiful little bay with a pleasant swim or snorkel or dinghy ride to shore and some kind of vigorous hike around the island. Since all the hiking tracks start at sea level, they all strike off directly uphill – no switchbacks in New Zealand – the path goes straight up! When you arrive at the top, the path then heads straight down again in order to allow you the privilege of climbing straight up again on the next ridge!

A storm with lots of rain was forecast but never materialized, so we have been having truly wonderful weather day after day with the exception of a five-minute downpour on our shopping day in Paihia.

Anticipating the above bad weather, we headed to civilization this past Thursday and anchored near a town named Russell. It was once quite notorious as a wild and wooly hangout for whalers and other assorted seafarers but now is peaceful and charming. Russell was the site of the so-called War of the Girls inby 1830. It started when two Maori girls got to fighting over the favors of a visiting whaling captain. Their argument deteriorated to insults and slapping, and their families joined in to avenge the insults to each side. The result was an actual war in which hundreds were killed before the local missionaries negotiated a peace settlement.

The local church is the oldest in New Zealand, scarred by musket fire and cannonball. Some of the funds for its construction were donated by Charles Darwin on his way by aboard the HMS Beagle. We joined in on $10 steak night at the local Boat Club and shopped every store in town.”

Apr

2022

Bragging About my Sister

“Sunset Silhouette © Patty Hosmer, HoofPrints Fine Art Photography

I did NOT take this photo!

That honor belongs to my photographer sister Patty Hosmer, who recently was awarded an amazing “3rd Place – Honor of Distinction” in the 15th Annual International Color Awards photography competition. This is a worldwide photography contest that drew 7,000 entries from more than 38 countries in the professional division that she entered. What an incredible achievement to place in the Top Three! This same image also won 1st Place in the professional division of the Silhouettes Category.

Another of Patty’s award-winning photographs is this beautiful Western Lifestyle image “Gathering With God’s Rays” which won Best in Competition in the Calgary Stampeded’s 2017 Photo Competition. Patty and I traveled together to Calgary during the Stampede to accept her prize.

“Gathering With God’s Rays” © Patty Hosmer, HoofPrints Fine Art Photography

Patty was taking beautiful photographs before I ever got started. As a matter of fact, I bought my first professional camera gear from Patty when she was making the switch from Nikon to Canon. It’s fun to share our passion with each other, from ideas to editing techniques. Best of all, we have traveled worldwide together taking advantage of exciting photo workshops.

Our very first joint venture was to Prague in the Czech Republic way back in 2007. Since then we have shared adventures to Africa’s Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya, the Katmai Wilderness in Alaska, an Icelandic Horse Farm in Iceland, Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, Kauai and the Big Island in Hawaii, Mammoth in California, Photoshop World in Las Vegas, and next summer we have plans to travel to France to photograph the beautiful white horses of the Camargue.

© Patty Hosmer, HoofPrints Fine Art Photography

Patty is a lifelong horse person, a trait she and I both inherited from our mother who was an avid horsewoman all her life. Here we are at ages 9 (Patty) and 11 (me) at the Barrington Horse Show in Illinois.

Patty started her equine photography career specializing in champion Quarter Horses on the show circuit. Her in-depth knowledge of horse behavior and conformation helps her produce superior equine portraiture. From horses her business expanded to include portraits of girls with their horses, and eventually to high school senior portraits taken in natural surroundings. Even to this day, I always invite her to photography my own horses because she has such a good eye for best showcasing their quality. This is a head shot of my Holsteiner stallion Clintord I.

“Head Portrait of Clintord” © Patty Hosmer, HoofPrints Fine Art Photography

These days Patty is an avid Welsh Corgi fancier as well, competing her homebred dogs in both conformation and agility with great success. Of course Corgi portraiture is another of her talents!