Monthly Archives: March 2017

Cruising a Sunny Hauraki Gulf

Posted on by
1

Thursday 30th March 2017

We have had a a great week sailing between the Islands of the Hauraki Gulf, the weather has been mostly kind, the sea calm and the wildlife friendly. In fact our guests, Taryn and Greg, seem to have bought the Aussie sunshine with them. Taryn, who before this holiday had never sailed, is beginning to wonder what all the fuss about seasickness, rough seas and difficult conditions below, is all about. 

Taryn enjoying the wind in her hair


Tuesday we had one of those cruising days that make the difficult days all worth while. We were in Bostaquet Bay on the south of Kawau Island, Monday evening had been stormy, we were caught out with the dingy in the water and had to venture out into the cold torrential rain to raise it before it completely filled with water and then had a sleepless night listening to the wind howl and the thunder crash. Tuesday, however, dawned sunny, fresh and calm. Just as we prepared to raise the anchor five large bottlenosed dolphins arrived and proceeded to feed right next to us. They worked together circling their prey creating barriers by producing bubbles, once corralled the bait ball of fish were easy pickings. They gave us quite a show diving under and around the boat and swimming past on their sides eying us up.

Watching the dolphins fishing


Eventually we said goodbye and set out on the 30nm crossing back to Great Barrier Island. We had a perfect sail, calm seas, 15kt winds on the beam and sunshine. Four hours later we arrived in Tryphena Harbour and dropped the anchor in pretty Puriri bay. After a pleasant afternoon of swimming, reading and fishing (Greg is another of our guests that can catch and cook our dinner), we went ashore for supper at the Irish Pub. To call the collection of buildings a village would be an exaggeration, a small grocery store, a cafe and shop, a few houses and the pub. The pub was full, a friendly bustling atmosphere greeted us and the food was great. A very good day.

Pretty beach at Tryphena

With the sun still shining, the next day, we motored up to Port Fitzroy winding around the dramatic headlands, narrow ravines and rocky outcrops. The harbour in the clement conditions was looking much lovelier than a few weeks ago and it also provided us with another close up wildlife encounter. We were befriended by a small duck who took up residence on the deck, following us around, accepting food from our hands and when we were below, poking his head into the nearest hatch to try and find us. We identified him as a rare brown teal, endangered in the rest of New Zealand, 60% of the population live on Great Barrier. His protected status had to be frequently impressed upon Rick, as the decks gradually became covered in duck poo.

Douglas the duck, hoping for some tipbits

 

Great Barrier couldn’t give us wall to wall sunshine but was hugely improved from our last visit and we enjoyed a nice walk to a waterfall. The path lead through native forest, thick with the scent of the surrounding pines and steamy from recent showers. The waterfall, despite the seemingly high local rainfall, was modest, the pools and stream way below their spring level marked on the sides of the gulley, but the scenery through the pines, kanuka and tree ferns was lovely.

Warrens Track Waterfall

Team Raya

Our sail back to the mainland was across mirror seas so calm that the light winds could even pull Raya along, for most of the crossing we kept up a steady 6kts in scarcely 8kts of wind. We approached our next destination, Marsden Cove Marina near to low tide and decided not to risk the 3m sand bar at the marina entrance and instead dropped the anchor near by in Urquharts Bay. Looking into the bay was a typical New Zealand scene, a scattering of boats, a small town and dramatic green hills, however behind us the setting sun highlighted the not so scenic Whangarei Oil Refinery.

Crowded Week

Posted on by
8

Friday 24th March 2017

Entering Auckland


As we sat waiting for the brilliant Adele to come on stage, I realised how quickly our time in New Zealand has passed. I bought the tickets for Adele Live back in November just after we had arrived. Then this concert seemed such a long time away and was a marker for the final part of our New Zealand stay. The plan now being to start slowly working our way north, back to Opua, where we will look for a weather window early May to sail up to Fiji.

Adele was of course worth waiting for, belting out her familiar songs, joking with the crowd and making the most of her extensive set, she was the true showman. Add in the buzz from the near 50,000 people seated in the Mt Smart Stadium, the chance for a good sing along and the mostly efficient organisation – we had a great evening.

Adele Live

It has been a very busy week, Sunday morning we sailed into the centre of Auckland. It was maybe not the best of days to have chosen, Auckland has the nick name ‘City of Sails’ due to the large number of marinas, one in three Aucklanders own a boat, on this pleasant Sunday morning I think most of the them were out enjoying the sunny weather. Navigation was hazardous through the crowded channel and the water choppy with wakes. We eventually worked our way through all the craft, big and small, everything from a car ferry to a guy fishing from his kayak, and tied up at the Viaduct Marina. We are stern to the dock underneath the main walkway through this busy city waterfront area. It’s a bit like being the exhibit at the zoo as hundreds of people wander past looking at all the boats. Although the smallest yacht in this part of the marina, our Southampton registration is attracting attention from the many Brits who are visiting or live here. 

Rush hour past the boat

Fun as it is to be in the middle of things, restaurants and shops a mere stroll away, the true attraction is the large chandleries and miriad of  yacht services at our finger tips. For the first time in over a year we can get things done quickly and easily, Rick has jumped at the oppotunity. Amongst other things the generator has been serviced including refurbing the injectors and hopefully sorting out the last of the problems caused by the dirty Tongan fuel. The dingy engine has also been serviced. Rick has replaced the seized dingy gear cable and the broken main outhaul and furling buttons in the cockpit.  The boxes of spares have been sorted, topped up and the inventory updated. We have cleaned inside and out, everything was ready, Raya back in tiptop condition for another season in the Pacific Islands.

Well, until last night that is, on our return to the boat, to our dismay, we noticed the fridge had stopped. Days more at the zoo were imagined, disapointed guests, friends Taryn and Greg arrive this evening, having to waste precious days of their holiday waiting around, doom and gloom accompanied us to bed. But no, this is the centre of Auckland we had an engineer onboard by 2pm, a small leak and blocked filter discovered by 2.30 and a working fridge by four. Plan A back on track.

Shaking off the Cobwebs

Posted on by
2

Friday 17th March 2017

We were well rewarded for our week of wet and stormy weather by a couple of cracking day sails as we cruised around the Hauraki Gulf. Monday morning, with the storm moving out into the Pacific Ocean and keen to start south towards Auckland while the winds were still northerly, we stuck our nose out from the protection of Great Barrier Island to find the sea less rough than we had expected. With the 15-20 kt wind just forward of the beam, Raya made short work of the exhilarating 45nm to our next stop and we arrived with the sun still high in the sky. The anchorage was calm and still, protected from the wind the warmth of the afternoon felt good after the chilly sail and the last couple of stormy days.

Rick trimming the sails as we race southwards


We were anchored in Ranger Bay near the entrance of Te Kouma Harbour on the inner Coromandel Penisular and the next morning we all got into the dingy to explore this long narrow inlet. At the head of our small bay was a grey sandy beach with rocky sides, each rock was coated in a jumble of oyster shells. Each shell looked to be empty but was still cemented firmly to the rock creating a sharp and bumpy surface underfoot. Further up the inlet the water became very shallow, the low tide revealing gravelly mud flats and incongruent bright red rocky outcrops. The hills that lined this natural harbour were of green grassy meadows, vivid and smooth in appearance, looking almost as if they had been covered in snooker table baize.

Oysters cover every rock, nook and cranny of the shore.


Wednesday we headed for a Waiheke Island and again we had a fantastic sail, this time in higher winds on the port quarter. We were heavily reefed and sailing conservatively, until that is, we spied another boat on the AIS coming up fast behind us. True to the old adage that a race is two boats sailing in the same direction, Rick couldn’t resist putting out some more canvas, we stormed along at over nine knots making it to the headland a mile in front.

We settled down for a couple of nights in Oneroa Bay, a pleasant seaside town with some much needed facilities, we restocked the fridge and rid ourselves of a weeks worth of rubbish. Unfortunately there was no where to dock the dingy, so trips ashore were taken in shifts and ideas of dinner out abandoned. 

Enjoying lunch in Oneroa Bay


So that evening while eating supper in the cockpit, we noticed the boat was covered in cobwebs, small spiders appeared all over the deck. We realised the webs were floating past in the air and catching in the rigging. Jane had read about the phenomena of  ballooning spiders, where spiderlings launch gossamer threads to create a makeshift parachute that is lifted by the wind, wafting them sometimes for hundreds of miles, in the hope that they will land in new surroundings suitable for colonisation. Fascinating as it was to see, we are hoping that sailboats aren’t one such environment.

Spider web threads caught on the rigging of the boat next door, catching the sunlight.

We have just dropped Janie and Peter ashore, their time with us having come to an end, we had a fun final day with their daughter Domini and her two children onboard, sailing an hour west to Woodlands Bay where we had lunch and the kids swam off the back of the boat. On returning to Oneroa Bay, we discovered the anchorage rocking, with a lively swell and from a large noisy garden party taking place in the house on the cliffs above us. Our lunch spot had been calm and quiet, we dropped our passengers on the beach and motored back there to enjoy the sunny evening in peace.

Stormy Weather

Posted on by
3

Sunday 12th March 2017

It’s funny how only bad weather forecasts turn out to be correct, it is now Sunday and we have had nearly five days of high winds and continuous torrential rain, the complex low pressure, dishing up today, as a final fling, a lively northwesterly storm. 

We had moved around to Nagal Bay on Saturday, ostensively because it was sheltered to the north and west but really because we just wanted a change of scene. We had sat in Port Fitzroy confined below playing scrabble and rummikub, reading, watching movies and obsessively checking on the weather. On the couple of occasions the rain stopped for a couple of hours we dingyed in and walked up to the shop, one evening we escaped and went to eat at the restaurant. The rough weather had however stopped the ferries, so supplies dwindled quickly, a chocolate ration has had to be imposed onboard.

Stocking up on essential supplies


Friday after a morning of high winds, suddenly, all was calm, the quiet was wonderful after the noise of rattling halyards, wind whistling through the rigging and waves hitting the stern. The stillness after the violence of the last two days felt precious and sitting in the fresh air, on deck, was a delight. The rest of the crew were snoozing having retired to their bunks in disgust a few hours ago, I enjoyed the peace knowing the rain would be back very soon. We are using the NZ Met Office, live time, rain radar images, good as you watch the rain move away but depressing as you watch it build back up yet again.

The whole boat feels damp, we are working hard to keep everything dry because once something is wet that’s the way it stays. As Rick discovered when he dived in fully clothed to rescue the dingy, which a crew member, who shall remain nameless, had inadvertently left unsecured. His washed sweatshirt hangs festering and dank two days later.

It really felt like we’d had enough when, checking first thing, we saw the Gale warning for this morning had been upgraded to a Storm warning. We let out another 10m of anchor chain, tied down the Bimini and everything else that was lose on deck and held on tight. Our wind gauge peeked at 48kts even in the protection of the northerly hills. Water was whisked up from the surface of the sea, waves crashed on the leaward side of the bay and the rain fell horizontally. As we twisted and rolled, we watched our smaller nieghbour being battered and were glad of our full 33 tons. 

 

2017-03-12 (2)

Forty knot winds toss our neighbours dingy in the air

Gradually things have calmed down, the sun even made an appearance this evening. The forecast is for a much better week ahead – a good forecast, can we trust it?

Stuck Inside On a Shiny boat

Posted on by
4

Wednesday 8th March 2017

Torrential rain pours down on us, high winds swirl us around our mooring bouy, hail, thunder, lightening, we’ve had it all. What is it with the weather in New Zealand. I can’t help thinking we aren’t seeing the best of the islands. We have picked a safe spot to sit out the weather, deep inside Port Fitzroy protected from the worst of the wind and swell by surrounding headlands and islands. The highest recorded gust we have had has been 30kts, the water is reasonably calm, I have just picked up a storm warning for the area , released a couple of hours ago, 50 gusting 60kts, with a 3m swell, so we grin and bear it here in relative safety.

Not too inviting in the cockpit


Sunday after a drizzly six hour crossing we arrived at Great Barrier island to a clearing sky.  We were in a pretty bay – Overlook Bay, overlooked by a huge wedge of granite 200m above us, Mount Overlook. We settled down to relax in the sunshine, Peter with his fishing rod in hand, not only caught supper he cooked it for us too. Sautéd snapper delicious.

Anchored in Overlook Bay, Great Barrier Island


The next morning we lowered the freshly pumped up dingy into the water for the first time in four months, amazingly the engine started first time. Unfortunately the control cable that changes the gears had seized, we managed an exploratory trip around the bay but eventually it broke. With no engine on the dingy we are stuck onboard unless we are happy to paddle it, no easy task. So Rick set to work and cleverly rigged a system that gives us forward and reverse but no neutral. We can get to shore ok but parking is very interesting. 

Anticipating the change in the weather we motored around the corner to the protection of Port Fitzroy. Tuesday dawned extremely calm, calm before the storm. We ventured into the wharf and up the road to the small shop. There was a pleasant, sleepy ambiance to the place, the shop 200m up the one road from the dock and a bit further on a small bar/ restaurant, unfortunately only open Wednesday to Saturday, a few huts and a couple of houses hidden in the wooded hillside. We enquired of the shop keeper as to the best place to hide from the incoming easterlies, he very generously offered us his mooring bouy tucked under the eastern side of the inlet.

So that is where we are now, stuck below, anchor alarm on, hourly checking the forecast for some let up. Currently the wind is due to drop in the next 24 hrs but the rain looks like it could stay around for the next four or five days. Joy!

 Shiny Boat

Posted on by
6

Friday 3rd March 2017

This afternoon Raya went back into the water and we are back living onboard, it feels good to be home. We didn’t quite get everything finished in time to make the tide to motor up the river today, so we are tied up to the pontoon holding our breath that everything will be ok as we sink into the low tide mud.

Raya back in the water, approaching low tide on the Mahurangi River


Sunday we started the last leg of our road trip on another very different river. We opted to drive north on the Whanganui River Road, a scenic drive. We now know that scenic route in New Zealand means steep hills and hairpin bends, cliff rock falls, pot holes and gravel tracks, sheer drops and precarious bends but also magnificent  views. This road was no exception, it folllows the deep v-shaped valley of the Whanganui for over 60 kilometres .

Whanganui River


On our final day we went to Waitomo Caves, it was a shame you can only explore them as part of a tour, the group effect taking away the ambiance of these extraordinary spaces. We first visited the glow worm caves, tiny lights cover the roof of the dark caves, every bright spot a glow worm using bioluminescence to attract insects that they capture in spider web like threads.The second cave we visited was full of stalactites, hanging from the ceiling like giant icicles. Whenever we visit caves, now setup with lighting, steps and walkways we wonder how incredible it must have been when the first explorers discovered them, turning their lamps to reveal this magical underworld.

Aranui Cave

We have had a great time over the last few weeks, the scenery on some of the drives has left us speechless, but after so long on the road we were more than ready to get back to Raya. She was looking very shiny, her keel cleaned and repainted with antifoul, the topsides polished and the superstructure buffed. The staysail furler leak has been diagnosed and sorted out, the gouges on the transon filled and polished, the anchor chain regalvonised and the anchor cleaned, the windlass serviced, the rigging checked and one of the boot tops repainted. An impressive list, unfortunately an impressive bill came with it. Everything here seems to take longer than it should, so labour costs are high and parts are also expensive, all of this highlighted by the weakness of sterling.

To save some money we finished some of the jobs ourselves, including me winching Rick up to the top of the mast to detach the topping lift so it could be shortened and then winching him back up to reconnect it a day later. I was pleased to discover that the almost paralysing fear I had the first time I did this has decreased, I was a picture of calm.

Ricks sister Jane and husband Peter, join us tomorrow and we start our cruise of the Hauraki Gulf.