Just a quick post to say we arrived safely yesterday afternoon at Mana Marina, Wellington after a good trip from Napier. Very tired after about 32 hours but have now had a good nights sleep. Will post more later but have people to catch up with and plans to make for New Years Eve!
Happy New Year.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Napier
Thurs 23/12 - 27/12/2010
Tied up on Thursday at the Napier Sailing Club marina at Ahuriri which is on the western side of Napier. After our 33 hour passage from the Bay of Plenty we were feeling pretty tired and cooking was not an exciting prospect so we reeled our way round to a fish and chip shop for a quick meal before lurching home for an early night. The reeling and lurching all to do with the fact that solid ground had changed in the 33 hours that we had been at sea and now seemed to move as much as the deck of the boat!
Friday night we had a meal at the Napier sailing club and chatted to Canadian cruisers, Jackie and Gary from the yacht Inspiration Lady. They have been cruising for the last couple of years, leaving Canada and cruising the Carribean before transiting the Panama Canal and crossing the Pacific to Tonga and then heading to New Zealand.
Actually the day seemed to consist of sending and replying to text and email messages from around the country – what happened to Christmas cards – I know I didn’t send many and those I did will be late as I forgot to put airmail stickers on them!
The last two days seem to have been totally taken up in listening to weather forecasts and trying to plan the trip from here to Wellington. For those who don’t know New Zealand, the coast between Napier and Wellington has no decent anchorages for shelter if the wind increases or changes suddenly and it can do anything around here.
Tied up on Thursday at the Napier Sailing Club marina at Ahuriri which is on the western side of Napier. After our 33 hour passage from the Bay of Plenty we were feeling pretty tired and cooking was not an exciting prospect so we reeled our way round to a fish and chip shop for a quick meal before lurching home for an early night. The reeling and lurching all to do with the fact that solid ground had changed in the 33 hours that we had been at sea and now seemed to move as much as the deck of the boat!
Next day things were better and being Christmas Eve we headed into town for a bit of retail therapy. To get from Ahuriri to Napier town it is about a 40 minute walk around the hill or over the hill. We chose the latter which took us up a steep road with some lovely quaint old houses. These are a few that survived the large 1931 earthquake (there’s one for you to google Meg).
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| Smelling the roses.. |
The city of Napier is lovely with all its Art Deco buildings and as we walked down through the gardens the bells from the cathedral were playing Christmas carols. The town centre was packed with people doing last minute shopping.
After a bit of lunch and some Christmas shopping we hit the supermarket to buy something for our Christmas dinner.Friday night we had a meal at the Napier sailing club and chatted to Canadian cruisers, Jackie and Gary from the yacht Inspiration Lady. They have been cruising for the last couple of years, leaving Canada and cruising the Carribean before transiting the Panama Canal and crossing the Pacific to Tonga and then heading to New Zealand.
Christmas Day started with the weird Luck tradition of having pork pies for breakfast – skipped the champagne and oj’s this year though. Not sure that my brothers have continued this tradition (Richard says the Americans have never heard of them). By the time we had finished that and had a chat with Alistair from the Cav32 next door it was time to get the leg of lamb into the oven. Enjoyed having a chat on skype with Richard and Maggie in Colorado and Peter in South Africa, and Peter caught up with Justine and Jason in Wellington (apologies to them for not being there!).
After tucking into our roast lamb (new oven does a great job) and Christmas pud we felt the need for a walk along the bay. Beautiful day and good weather.
Boxing Day saw us taking another walk into town – this time around the hill by the port. Another big cruise ship was in. Town was packed with people and we enjoyed sitting at a street café watching the myriad of styles, types, shapes and sizes go by.
The area called Ahuriri where the marina is situated is a popular area of restaurants and bars in the converted wharf sheds. Very picturesque with fishing boats alongside the wharf outside the restaurants.
28/12/2010
The last two days seem to have been totally taken up in listening to weather forecasts and trying to plan the trip from here to Wellington. For those who don’t know New Zealand, the coast between Napier and Wellington has no decent anchorages for shelter if the wind increases or changes suddenly and it can do anything around here. From Napier to Castlepoint on the Wairarapa coast is approximately 15 hours (at 7 knots - that’s our average boat speed for you landlubbers). There is an area that would afford some shelter in a Southerly wind but no shelter from strong Northerly winds. From Castlepoint we round Cape Palliser, cross Palliser Bay and into Wellington Harbour making a total of about 30 hours.
Today has been blowing hard – here in Napier we have had northerly winds up to 50 knots which has been exciting, even in the marina. (I guess if we weren’t in a marina it wouldn’t be so exciting).Reports from friends in Wellington were that it hit 70 knots at the Brothers (islands on the other side of Cook Strait) and at Plimmerton it was blowing so hard it blew the new lettuces out of the ground!
2200 -The wind has stopped – its weird it is so quiet.. keep waiting for it to start howling again after a day and night of 40-50 knots.
Have just been over to the fuel wharf to fill up with diesel. We are leaving early in the morning for Wellington so I am going to post this and get some sleep so will probably have to add photos later.
If I don’t get to add anything before the New Year, best wishes to all for a Happy New Year.
A few photos from Napier
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| How to cool off in Napier |
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| Huge amounts of small fish (anchovies??) in the marina - plenty of bird life too |
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Round the Cape
0500 Thursday
From Whakatane we headed over to Omaio Bay again (being the only decent anchorage for a northerly wind). Next morning we were up to listen to the 5.30 weather forecast and decided to head for Hicks Bay and possibly anchor there for the night. Conditions moderate with 15 knot NWesterly on our beam to Cape Runaway going round behind as we followed the coast round to Hicks Bay. Conditions were improving and we decided to go and have some lunch in the bay and then make a decision whether we would carry on around East Cape and down to Gisborne or Napier.
By about 4.30 we rounded east island which lies just over a mile off the cape, having chickened out of going on the inside passage in the big swells and there being numerous crayfish pots in the area.
The sunset was spectacular over the land and not long after we had a meal the full moon rose, huge and glowing orange out of the sea. We settled in for a pleasant night motoring down the coast with the lights of Gable End, Gisborne and Mahia helping us along, and after passing the entrance to Gisborne’s Poverty Bay at 2 am we decided to continue on to Napier.
Mahia – chalky white cliffs of Portland island and stark cliffs of the peninsula cut through with deep fissures.
Now heading across Hawke Bay we have been passed by a cruise ship, the Sea Princess, accompanied by dolphins and gannets and have seen a couple of huge mollymawks resting on the water. I think it was the Shy Mollymawk but without contact lenses in I could barely make out it was a bird so will have to hope I see another one to identify it!
Eta Napier 1430. Looks like we will be here for a few days as the weather further south is still unsettled. Will be going shopping for Christmas dinner when we hit town.
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas wherever you may be.
Kate and Peter
The Sky is starting to turn orange and a band of cloud is touched with pink and the sun is not far from coming over the horizon. With a cup of tea and a gingernut there is no better time on a boat than this with the night over and now able to see the land again after a night passage. Forty five minutes later I have a full moon setting on my starboard side and a huge sun rising to port.
We left Whakatane on Tuesday morning. We felt like we had stayed there so long we were becoming locals so with an improving forecast it was time to move. The harbour exit over the Whakatane river bar was nerve wracking and exciting. The tide was out flowing and we had been told the bar was “workable with caution”. Even so there were pressure waves standing up across the entrance causing Gunner to point skyward several times. No doubt the locals had many binoculars trained on us to see how this townie handled the conditions however Gunner ploughed her way out without complaint.
We were very fortunate to have the Gwillim family come over from Tauranga on Monday to visit. It was a pleasure to meet Jenny Gwillim who was married to Don whose father Noel owned Gunner from 1957 to 1968. Jenny knew the old Gunner from those days before she had been converted and Noel and Don worked her as a fishing boat out of Ohiwa Harbour.
Their son Neil is also a fisherman and their boat the GayMaree is based in Tauranga. Sadly Don passed away earlier this year and had been looking for the Gunner after having seen a recent photo in the Professional Skipper magazine. Jenny has some fantastic photos of Gunner when she was fishing and also newspaper articles and photos of her when she went aground during the Wahine storm. We will visit them on our return from this trip and get copies of these photos.
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| Thanks to Brian Alderson for this photo of his of Gunner on the wharf at Ohiwa prior to the Wahine storm. |
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| For a moment there I wondered if my navigation was badly off - this is Table Hill (between Hicks Bay and East Cape) not Table Mountain.. |
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| East Cape Lighthouse |
The sunset was spectacular over the land and not long after we had a meal the full moon rose, huge and glowing orange out of the sea. We settled in for a pleasant night motoring down the coast with the lights of Gable End, Gisborne and Mahia helping us along, and after passing the entrance to Gisborne’s Poverty Bay at 2 am we decided to continue on to Napier.
Mahia – chalky white cliffs of Portland island and stark cliffs of the peninsula cut through with deep fissures.
Now heading across Hawke Bay we have been passed by a cruise ship, the Sea Princess, accompanied by dolphins and gannets and have seen a couple of huge mollymawks resting on the water. I think it was the Shy Mollymawk but without contact lenses in I could barely make out it was a bird so will have to hope I see another one to identify it!
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas wherever you may be.
Kate and Peter
Monday, December 20, 2010
FLOOD
20/12/2010
We are getting to know Whakatane people quite well.
The day started at 3.45 am when we heard voices on the wharf. On putting our heads up we saw about a dozen vehicles on the wharf. We got dressed quickly and were told that the river was flooding, consequently all the boat owners were moving their boats off moorings in the river. Reason for this is that debris can hook up on the moorings and quickly drag a boat under the water.
The tide was still rising and we watched as huge trees and rafts of debris came pouring down the river.
Our friendly harbourmaster, Peter was in full swing taking people out to their boats and bringing the boats back tied to the Port Whakatane boat. From being on our own at this wharf we now have numerous neighbours.
Bay of Plenty has had 200mm rain over the weekend and 60-80mm is forecast for the next twelve hours.
Its now midday and the tide is on the way out so the river is flowing really fast with a lot of debris still coming down and the water is muddy and brown and the smell is earthy.
We are getting to know Whakatane people quite well.
The day started at 3.45 am when we heard voices on the wharf. On putting our heads up we saw about a dozen vehicles on the wharf. We got dressed quickly and were told that the river was flooding, consequently all the boat owners were moving their boats off moorings in the river. Reason for this is that debris can hook up on the moorings and quickly drag a boat under the water.
The tide was still rising and we watched as huge trees and rafts of debris came pouring down the river.
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| 4 am - Debris in front of the boat |
Bay of Plenty has had 200mm rain over the weekend and 60-80mm is forecast for the next twelve hours.
Its now midday and the tide is on the way out so the river is flowing really fast with a lot of debris still coming down and the water is muddy and brown and the smell is earthy.
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| This is pure Whakatane River floodwater, nothing added! |
Hundreds of birds, swallows, sparrows and seagulls ride down the river on logs and branches and catch the grubs and insects as they come out of the wood. Ducks do some serious swimming against the tide but sometimes give up and float off down the river.
The river entrance is closed and after a walk out to the entrance you can soon see why.
The river entrance is closed and after a walk out to the entrance you can soon see why.
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| River Entrance looking back towards Whakatane |
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| Whale Island |
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Whakatane
Saturday 18/12/2010
Forgot to mention that coming back across the Bay we saw a flying fish. Didn’t know they would be so far south and I have never seen any in NZ before but this was a pretty big fish – 35-40 cm that took off out of the water and “flew” for a good 100 metres or more.
Arriving in Whakatane on Thursday we mentioned to the Coastguard radio controller, Don that Gunner probably knew her way in to the river better than we did as she had been a Coastguard boat at Whakatane back in the 70’s.
We were hoping to see if we could find out a little of her history from around this area but did not expect to get so many visitors from the people of Whakatane. It started not long after we tied up at the wharf. Harbourmaster, Peter Cavanagh was there to meet us and make sure we were secure and checked if there was anything we needed. (What – no forms to fill in, no requests for insurance details, no demands for money, no list of rules and regulations..). Not long after, Don the Coastguard operator dropped by to welcome us. Neither of them knew the boat being fairly new to Whakatane – 15- 20 years, but obviously somewhere around town the word went out that Gunner was in town. Consequently we have had a near constant stream of visitors who have been associated with the boat in somewhere in the past.
(more on that later)
Friday, the weather was pretty abysmal, shower followed shower and so we stayed inside except for an exploratory excursion to town to the supermarket and a bit later to the Irish pub at the Whakatane Hotel for a drink and to listen to a bit of live music. Arriving back at the boat we had a visit from Brian Gibbons, assistant harbourmaster and a local fisherman who owns a couple of boats and we enjoyed having a beer and swapping a few stories.
Saturday’s weather wasn’t much better – if anything the rain was heavier but by the afternoon with a slight brightening the locals started arriving to check out Gunner.
Brian Alderson, a retired fisherman, owned a boat called Abalone. Recognised Gunner from when she was owned by Noel Gwillam and fishing out of Ohiwa Harbour (Ohiwa is the harbour east of Whakatane).
Many of the people around here also remember Gunners other owner, Les Snowcil, who bought Gunner from Noel or Lloyds Insurance after she had been repaired – the brief details of what happened are that Gunner was tied up at the wharf at Port Ohope. The weather depression that created the Wahine storm (1968) in Wellingtons Cook Strait caused the high tides to rise some metre and a half above their normal level.
(For overseas readers – the Wahine storm is so named as the 9000 tonne Wellington-Lyttleton ferry Wahine was wrecked on Barrets Reef at the entrance to Wellington harbour when 150 mph winds drove her onto the rocks and she sunk about 4 hours later with loss of 53 lives).
Consequently Gunner broke her moorings and was taken on the high water many hundreds of metres into the tidal flats. When the tide receeded she was left high and dry on her side. By arrangement the insurance company, Lloyds contracted a drag line that had been working in the area to dig a channel from where Gunner lay back to deep enough water that could float the boat to the wharf for lifting out.
Then Mick Orchard turned up. He is a boatbuilder with a long history around New Zealand and it turns out that he did a lot of repairs to Gunner after the Wahine storm. Mick’s task for which he was paid $1900 was to make repairs to Gunner’s keel and planking which had been damaged when she was dragged into the channel by the dragline.
At this stage Gunner ceased fishing and was converted from work to a pleasure boat by Les Snowcill after he had tendered and purchased the boat from the insurance company.
Another man, a friend of Les’ recalls seeing Gunner on the lawn of Les’s home on the way to Ohiwa. It is here that he did the major refit, extending the wheelhouse and adding the aft cabin area.
Other visitors included, John Baker who runs a local charter boat and remembered Gunner from her days here; Bruce stopped by on his bicycle to reminisce about the Gunner as did Dave Molesworth who has built and sold yachts in the area most of his life.
Everyone remembers Les as an extremely hard worker and clever bloke with great skills as a builder, joiner, welder – sounds like a typical Kiwi. The favourite story of many of the people was when there was a bit of a party at Les’ shed for the launching of the KiaOra. A boat builder, Rodney, had too much to drink and was having a lot of trouble standing up so Les fixed things by clamping Rodney’s overalls into the bench vice which kept him upright until he was delivered home to his mother.
Sunday 19/12/2010
Another wet, windy day after a rainy, windy night. Gunner quite happy and snug tied up at this wharf.
We have now tracked down the grandson of Noel Gwillam who owned Gunner in the 50’s/60’s. Neil Gwillam skippers a fishing boat out of Tauranga and told us that his mother has photos of Gunner in her earlier days at Port Ohope. Hoping to meet Neil tomorrow and maybe get copies of some of the photos.
That about brings us up to date apart from the fact that the weather is not looking like letting up till Wednesday or Thursday. Looks like it may be Christmas Day on the high seas.
Forgot to mention that coming back across the Bay we saw a flying fish. Didn’t know they would be so far south and I have never seen any in NZ before but this was a pretty big fish – 35-40 cm that took off out of the water and “flew” for a good 100 metres or more.
Arriving in Whakatane on Thursday we mentioned to the Coastguard radio controller, Don that Gunner probably knew her way in to the river better than we did as she had been a Coastguard boat at Whakatane back in the 70’s.
We were hoping to see if we could find out a little of her history from around this area but did not expect to get so many visitors from the people of Whakatane. It started not long after we tied up at the wharf. Harbourmaster, Peter Cavanagh was there to meet us and make sure we were secure and checked if there was anything we needed. (What – no forms to fill in, no requests for insurance details, no demands for money, no list of rules and regulations..). Not long after, Don the Coastguard operator dropped by to welcome us. Neither of them knew the boat being fairly new to Whakatane – 15- 20 years, but obviously somewhere around town the word went out that Gunner was in town. Consequently we have had a near constant stream of visitors who have been associated with the boat in somewhere in the past.
(more on that later)
Friday, the weather was pretty abysmal, shower followed shower and so we stayed inside except for an exploratory excursion to town to the supermarket and a bit later to the Irish pub at the Whakatane Hotel for a drink and to listen to a bit of live music. Arriving back at the boat we had a visit from Brian Gibbons, assistant harbourmaster and a local fisherman who owns a couple of boats and we enjoyed having a beer and swapping a few stories.
Saturday’s weather wasn’t much better – if anything the rain was heavier but by the afternoon with a slight brightening the locals started arriving to check out Gunner.
Brian Alderson, a retired fisherman, owned a boat called Abalone. Recognised Gunner from when she was owned by Noel Gwillam and fishing out of Ohiwa Harbour (Ohiwa is the harbour east of Whakatane).
Many of the people around here also remember Gunners other owner, Les Snowcil, who bought Gunner from Noel or Lloyds Insurance after she had been repaired – the brief details of what happened are that Gunner was tied up at the wharf at Port Ohope. The weather depression that created the Wahine storm (1968) in Wellingtons Cook Strait caused the high tides to rise some metre and a half above their normal level.
(For overseas readers – the Wahine storm is so named as the 9000 tonne Wellington-Lyttleton ferry Wahine was wrecked on Barrets Reef at the entrance to Wellington harbour when 150 mph winds drove her onto the rocks and she sunk about 4 hours later with loss of 53 lives).
Consequently Gunner broke her moorings and was taken on the high water many hundreds of metres into the tidal flats. When the tide receeded she was left high and dry on her side. By arrangement the insurance company, Lloyds contracted a drag line that had been working in the area to dig a channel from where Gunner lay back to deep enough water that could float the boat to the wharf for lifting out.
Then Mick Orchard turned up. He is a boatbuilder with a long history around New Zealand and it turns out that he did a lot of repairs to Gunner after the Wahine storm. Mick’s task for which he was paid $1900 was to make repairs to Gunner’s keel and planking which had been damaged when she was dragged into the channel by the dragline.
At this stage Gunner ceased fishing and was converted from work to a pleasure boat by Les Snowcill after he had tendered and purchased the boat from the insurance company.
Another man, a friend of Les’ recalls seeing Gunner on the lawn of Les’s home on the way to Ohiwa. It is here that he did the major refit, extending the wheelhouse and adding the aft cabin area.
Other visitors included, John Baker who runs a local charter boat and remembered Gunner from her days here; Bruce stopped by on his bicycle to reminisce about the Gunner as did Dave Molesworth who has built and sold yachts in the area most of his life.
Everyone remembers Les as an extremely hard worker and clever bloke with great skills as a builder, joiner, welder – sounds like a typical Kiwi. The favourite story of many of the people was when there was a bit of a party at Les’ shed for the launching of the KiaOra. A boat builder, Rodney, had too much to drink and was having a lot of trouble standing up so Les fixed things by clamping Rodney’s overalls into the bench vice which kept him upright until he was delivered home to his mother.
Sunday 19/12/2010
Another wet, windy day after a rainy, windy night. Gunner quite happy and snug tied up at this wharf.
We have now tracked down the grandson of Noel Gwillam who owned Gunner in the 50’s/60’s. Neil Gwillam skippers a fishing boat out of Tauranga and told us that his mother has photos of Gunner in her earlier days at Port Ohope. Hoping to meet Neil tomorrow and maybe get copies of some of the photos.
That about brings us up to date apart from the fact that the weather is not looking like letting up till Wednesday or Thursday. Looks like it may be Christmas Day on the high seas.
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| Our port side view every six hours for the last four days when the tide brings us up to the top of the wharf. |
Thursday, December 16, 2010
GOING WEST?
16/12/10 - Thursday
We were prepared to stay for a couple of days at Omaio but after listening to the weather forecast in the morning which had significantly increased winds and no sign of a break we decided the sensible thing was to head back four hours to Whakatane – the nearest harbour that we could enter for shelter.
The entrance to Whakatane is a little daunting being a narrow channel with rocks close on either side. Because of the conditions in the bay the entrance to Whakatane is often closed if it is considered too dangerous and after speaking to the Coastguard they informed us that the harbourmaster strongly advised that we should enter the harbour rather than sheltering at Whale Island as the entrance could well be closed later. With increasing NE winds and rising seas we headed to Whakatane. Peter did a wonderful job holding Gunner on course across the bar and we happily tied up to the town wharf.
Had a great fish dinner - the fattest Kawhai we have ever seen as they had been feeding on whitebait at the mouth of the Motu River for some time. Great whitebait season around this area.
More photos tomorrow.
We were prepared to stay for a couple of days at Omaio but after listening to the weather forecast in the morning which had significantly increased winds and no sign of a break we decided the sensible thing was to head back four hours to Whakatane – the nearest harbour that we could enter for shelter.
The entrance to Whakatane is a little daunting being a narrow channel with rocks close on either side. Because of the conditions in the bay the entrance to Whakatane is often closed if it is considered too dangerous and after speaking to the Coastguard they informed us that the harbourmaster strongly advised that we should enter the harbour rather than sheltering at Whale Island as the entrance could well be closed later. With increasing NE winds and rising seas we headed to Whakatane. Peter did a wonderful job holding Gunner on course across the bar and we happily tied up to the town wharf.
Had a great fish dinner - the fattest Kawhai we have ever seen as they had been feeding on whitebait at the mouth of the Motu River for some time. Great whitebait season around this area.
More photos tomorrow.
Monday-Wednesday
13/12/10 - Monday
Pretty good nights sleep – woke up once and had a look at the stars.
After a bowl of cereal we were on our way by 8. Tairua to starboard and after passing Shoe and Slipper Islands headed directly for Tauranga.
Day slightly overcast but no wind to speak of and flat seas.
Arrived Tauranga and made our way to the Bridge Marina where we caught up with Ian and Caroline who have their boat (ship) berthed. More about that later.
Had some drinks with them and then out to dinner at an Italian restaurant, Volare. Great meal, great night. Recommend the duck. Much hilarity including six of us dancing on the bar top at 2 am. Sore heads all round on Tuesday.
14/12/10 – Tuesday
Went for a café breakfast with I & C and then crept back to our respective boats for a nap.
Shown over Ian’s current project, the 68ft “Contessa”, that he bought in the Phillipines a few years ago. Powered by twin 1400hp MTU’s and being fitted out in the most incredible stainless steel, teak, cherrywood and leather. Gunner could happily fit in the engine room!
Caught up with our old South African friends, Martin and Cecily Horne in the evening and showed them over Gunner and caught up on the latest goss. Great to see them looking so well – could be all Martins cycling and Cec’s Tai Chi that keeps them young.
15/12/10 – Wednesday
Fueled up and decided to make a start towards East Cape even though forecast was not too promising we considered we could head to Omaio Bay and wait for an improvement to get round the Cape and head down to Gisborne. Omaio Bay is about 72 nautical miles from Tauranga or 10 hours motoring and 60 miles from the Cape and is about the only place offering any shelter from NE or E winds.
A lumpy trip to Omaio but had a fish on the way without much luck at Motunau Island (Plate Island).
This is a beautiful small group of islands that are home to many seabirds – gannets, sooty shearwaters and the Little Terns. As it is a wildlife sanctuary the birds didn’t seem to worry much about us and we even had a juvenile shearwater following the boat around as we tried different fish spots. Lots of jellyfish in the waters around here.
After an hour or so of no fish we carried on to Omaio Bay arriving about 8pm. This is a beautiful bay lined with Pohutakawa trees all starting to flower in stunning deep red with high mountains rising up behind with a deep river gorge shrouded in mist cutting through to the bay.
Pretty good nights sleep – woke up once and had a look at the stars.
After a bowl of cereal we were on our way by 8. Tairua to starboard and after passing Shoe and Slipper Islands headed directly for Tauranga.
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| Slipper Island |
Arrived Tauranga and made our way to the Bridge Marina where we caught up with Ian and Caroline who have their boat (ship) berthed. More about that later.
Had some drinks with them and then out to dinner at an Italian restaurant, Volare. Great meal, great night. Recommend the duck. Much hilarity including six of us dancing on the bar top at 2 am. Sore heads all round on Tuesday.
14/12/10 – Tuesday
Went for a café breakfast with I & C and then crept back to our respective boats for a nap.
Shown over Ian’s current project, the 68ft “Contessa”, that he bought in the Phillipines a few years ago. Powered by twin 1400hp MTU’s and being fitted out in the most incredible stainless steel, teak, cherrywood and leather. Gunner could happily fit in the engine room!
Caught up with our old South African friends, Martin and Cecily Horne in the evening and showed them over Gunner and caught up on the latest goss. Great to see them looking so well – could be all Martins cycling and Cec’s Tai Chi that keeps them young.
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| Jellyfish at Tauranga Marina |
15/12/10 – Wednesday
Fueled up and decided to make a start towards East Cape even though forecast was not too promising we considered we could head to Omaio Bay and wait for an improvement to get round the Cape and head down to Gisborne. Omaio Bay is about 72 nautical miles from Tauranga or 10 hours motoring and 60 miles from the Cape and is about the only place offering any shelter from NE or E winds.
A lumpy trip to Omaio but had a fish on the way without much luck at Motunau Island (Plate Island).
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Motunau Island  |
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A really peaceful nights sleep.
Monday, December 13, 2010
THIS BOAT ROCKS
Oh yes, I forgot it’s supposed to..
12/12/2010
Finally, we are on our way – a year later than planned but who’s counting.
After Pete put in a hard weeks work painting the hull and antifouling; a busy week cleaning up the boat and packing up the house and then deciding to buy a new laptop and going mad loading everything on to it and getting it to work, we have left home and are now boat bums. Wonderful.
By about 8.30 on Sunday night we were ready to head over to the boat a
nd our neighbour Helen offered to deliver us and bring the car back. As none of us had eaten we stopped at the Love a Duck for a meal. It was now 9pm –closing time but we managed to order a Chinese feast and grab a bottle of wine only to be told we had to be out by 9.30. Scoffed it all down and headed to Gunner for a cuppa.
We were the only boat in site (a welcome change from Auckland) when we dropped anchor in 4 metres of clear water. Dinghy thrown in the water and off to check out the shoreline.
Signs on the shore indicated the area is a Kiwi zone and the beach is a Dotterel and Variable Oyster Catcher nesting area. Sure enough both were strident in their attempts to get us off their beach and we were divebombed by a kamikaze oyster catcher. No sign of any Kiwis though. We could see Rays cruising in the shallows.
End of Day One.
12/12/2010
Finally, we are on our way – a year later than planned but who’s counting.
After Pete put in a hard weeks work painting the hull and antifouling; a busy week cleaning up the boat and packing up the house and then deciding to buy a new laptop and going mad loading everything on to it and getting it to work, we have left home and are now boat bums. Wonderful.
By about 8.30 on Sunday night we were ready to head over to the boat a
nd our neighbour Helen offered to deliver us and bring the car back. As none of us had eaten we stopped at the Love a Duck for a meal. It was now 9pm –closing time but we managed to order a Chinese feast and grab a bottle of wine only to be told we had to be out by 9.30. Scoffed it all down and headed to Gunner for a cuppa.
A very grey overcast morning greeted us at 630am but we were up and away by 7. Motoring down the Waitemata harbour the Auckland landmark of the Sky Tower had its head in the clouds.
All across the Firth of Thames the land stayed shrouded in cloud but on rounding Cape Colville the sky began to clear and the sun appeared. Turned into a stunner of a day. The eastern side of the Colville peninsula is a beautiful coastline and at this time of year patches of red dot the shore with the Pohutakawa’s starting to blossom. Accompanied by a single dolphin for a short time we passed the Mercury Islands to port and at the Hole in the Wall passage had a stop at Red Bay because we spotted a beautiful beach with clear water that said “Swim time”. After the initial shock the water was beautiful. An hour later we were on our way again, past Mercury Bay and Hahei and Hot Water Beach to the small idyllic Boat Harbour. (Tapuaetahi Bay- just north of Tairua)
We were the only boat in site (a welcome change from Auckland) when we dropped anchor in 4 metres of clear water. Dinghy thrown in the water and off to check out the shoreline.
Signs on the shore indicated the area is a Kiwi zone and the beach is a Dotterel and Variable Oyster Catcher nesting area. Sure enough both were strident in their attempts to get us off their beach and we were divebombed by a kamikaze oyster catcher. No sign of any Kiwis though. We could see Rays cruising in the shallows.
Came back to the boat about 8pm and had a wonderful quick meal of refried Love a Duck fried rice and scotch fillet – boat now smells like a fast fry house and now off to bed.
End of Day One.
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