We bid our farewells to Kathryn and Mark on Monday morning as they headed to the car rental place and driving on the left down towards the south island with a few stops along the way. They were great boat guests and delivery agents. Sorry they arrived not feeling great – but it was probably good they could recover on board rather than trying to tramp several kilometers feeling crappy. After the farewell hugs, we got on with non-stop laundry and getting ready to pull out of Auckland on Tuesday morning. We did manage to get a nice dinner out for a birthday celebration that evening between reorganizing the boat for "two" again.
On Tuesday morning, we headed out of Pier 21 towards Kawau again. We managed to not see any blue penguins with Kathryn and Mark aboard – but on this trip we saw at least 50 of the little critters. We also saw a circling hammerhead shark – hopefully he's not dining on the blue penguins! We made it to Bon Accord Harbour and found a good spot near the Kawau Boating Club. It was fun to watch the boats roll in after we were anchored. It filled up – so lots of good anchoring entertainment. We are doing a few projects, but Barbara is having to recover as she's managed to get a bit of the funk our guests seemed to have. But a slow day, lots of sunshine, oranges and relaxing will hopefully make the cold a short one. We hope to leave for Whangarei tomorrow (Thursday) with the winds predicted to be form the SW which would be good. We haul out on Feb 25.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Moving On
Guest blog from Kathryn Sobocinski
We got back into Auckland without much ado, but did get to witness many, many boats on a busy Sunday in Auckland harbor. Ferries, sailboats, tankers, cruise ships, fishing boats, we saw it all. After some laundry, we took a walk around Auckland, including a trip up the Sky Tower (the Space Needle-like thing). We got some nice views of the city and out to the islands we visited. No one bungee jumped from the tower while we were there, but it was a good diversion. We went back to the boat and showered up before heading out for fish and chips—Barbara's choice for birthday dinner (a day early). We had a few beers, ran the restaurant out of tomato sauce (aka ketchup), and with full bellies but still a need for dessert, we walked back the long way in search of ice cream. Wah-wah-wah. The gelato stand was closed by the time we got there. We headed back to the boat for what was promised as a final special drink. Barbara pulled out a magnum of champagne from New Caledonia! Amazing! I have never had a magnum of champagne before! They are surprisingly difficult to pour from! ;-) There was a rather large Indian wedding going on at the waterfront event venue, so we drank down the champagne and listened to all manner of bad pop for a few hours before calling it a night way past cruiser's midnight. What an awesome end to the trip aboard Astarte. We are now off to Tongariro National Park and will hopefully have a nice day tomorrow for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. That should tire us out!
Thanks to Barbara and Michael for another wonderful trip. We hope they stay healthy (fingers crossed) and have a successful and trouble-free haul-out.
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We got back into Auckland without much ado, but did get to witness many, many boats on a busy Sunday in Auckland harbor. Ferries, sailboats, tankers, cruise ships, fishing boats, we saw it all. After some laundry, we took a walk around Auckland, including a trip up the Sky Tower (the Space Needle-like thing). We got some nice views of the city and out to the islands we visited. No one bungee jumped from the tower while we were there, but it was a good diversion. We went back to the boat and showered up before heading out for fish and chips—Barbara's choice for birthday dinner (a day early). We had a few beers, ran the restaurant out of tomato sauce (aka ketchup), and with full bellies but still a need for dessert, we walked back the long way in search of ice cream. Wah-wah-wah. The gelato stand was closed by the time we got there. We headed back to the boat for what was promised as a final special drink. Barbara pulled out a magnum of champagne from New Caledonia! Amazing! I have never had a magnum of champagne before! They are surprisingly difficult to pour from! ;-) There was a rather large Indian wedding going on at the waterfront event venue, so we drank down the champagne and listened to all manner of bad pop for a few hours before calling it a night way past cruiser's midnight. What an awesome end to the trip aboard Astarte. We are now off to Tongariro National Park and will hopefully have a nice day tomorrow for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. That should tire us out!
Thanks to Barbara and Michael for another wonderful trip. We hope they stay healthy (fingers crossed) and have a successful and trouble-free haul-out.
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Saturday, February 14, 2015
To the Volcano
Guest blog from Kathryn Sobocinski
Despite Barbara plying us with more micro-brews—including one that came with 3-d glasses—and red wine, we were up early for the hike to the volcano on Rangitoto. We loaded up (2x breakfast), rowed the dinghy ashore navigating a very slippery boat ramp, put on our stout walking shoes and headed up the dirt road toward the summit rim. With binoculars in hand we were on the hunt for NZ birds, but Barbara insisted we were making too much noise to see much of anything. A few fantails flashed their rear-ends at us and we saw a tui or two, but not much in the way of rare birds. There are kiwis here according to the newly placed sign we saw the Department of Conservation installing last evening, but I guess they only come out at night. It was pretty hot for 8:30am and we were glad to be starting out so early! After a bit of a walk and a few hundred steps, we were at the crater rim, where there was no molten lava, but a few very cool tree ferns and some other plants. We walked around the rim to the summit, where there was a WWII armament and a fantastic 360 degree view of the the Hauraki Gulf.
We caught our breath and headed down a different path towards some lava caves that proved to be good fun! Save for the head-bumping. The walk back took us on more of a path through the forest, which offered some nice shade, before reaching the road we took up where we headed for the Yankee Wharf (where we had appropriately left the dinghy). We didn't see many birds or other animals, but we did see a lot of animal traps. It seems the Department of Conservation is doing quite a job trying to eradicate rats and other invasive wee beasties that are fond of native bird eggs. We were glad to see the landing after about 4 hours of walking. While the rest of the wimps hopped in the dinghy, I decided to make the swim back to Astarte. It was quite refreshing...which Barbara and Michael have deemed "really f-ing cold." Everyone did brave the water at some point today for showering purposes though, so credit is due.
We chowed down on some meat pies and L&P (a lemon soda), continuing on the NZ theme for our trip. We also had some soup to help warm up from the cold dips in the salty sea! And having won the "# of Boats in the Anchorage at Daybreak" contest (23, and my guess was 20, playing with "Price Is Right" rules, I won) I was absolved of dishwashing duty for the day. Woot! Naps and relaxing were in short order after the morning adventure and bellies were full!
The sailing forecast is set to be an 8 tomorrow (1-10 scale, the higher the better) and it shows by the number of boats in the harbor! And they keep coming in. We will leave sometime mid-day for the return to Auckland, where Mark and I will gather our items, due a bit of laundry, and have a look at the city (perhaps celebrating a birthday with a cook's night off), before we try our hand at driving on the left on Monday. Like they say, time flies when you're having fun...and you've regained your health and good humor.
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Despite Barbara plying us with more micro-brews—including one that came with 3-d glasses—and red wine, we were up early for the hike to the volcano on Rangitoto. We loaded up (2x breakfast), rowed the dinghy ashore navigating a very slippery boat ramp, put on our stout walking shoes and headed up the dirt road toward the summit rim. With binoculars in hand we were on the hunt for NZ birds, but Barbara insisted we were making too much noise to see much of anything. A few fantails flashed their rear-ends at us and we saw a tui or two, but not much in the way of rare birds. There are kiwis here according to the newly placed sign we saw the Department of Conservation installing last evening, but I guess they only come out at night. It was pretty hot for 8:30am and we were glad to be starting out so early! After a bit of a walk and a few hundred steps, we were at the crater rim, where there was no molten lava, but a few very cool tree ferns and some other plants. We walked around the rim to the summit, where there was a WWII armament and a fantastic 360 degree view of the the Hauraki Gulf.
We caught our breath and headed down a different path towards some lava caves that proved to be good fun! Save for the head-bumping. The walk back took us on more of a path through the forest, which offered some nice shade, before reaching the road we took up where we headed for the Yankee Wharf (where we had appropriately left the dinghy). We didn't see many birds or other animals, but we did see a lot of animal traps. It seems the Department of Conservation is doing quite a job trying to eradicate rats and other invasive wee beasties that are fond of native bird eggs. We were glad to see the landing after about 4 hours of walking. While the rest of the wimps hopped in the dinghy, I decided to make the swim back to Astarte. It was quite refreshing...which Barbara and Michael have deemed "really f-ing cold." Everyone did brave the water at some point today for showering purposes though, so credit is due.
We chowed down on some meat pies and L&P (a lemon soda), continuing on the NZ theme for our trip. We also had some soup to help warm up from the cold dips in the salty sea! And having won the "# of Boats in the Anchorage at Daybreak" contest (23, and my guess was 20, playing with "Price Is Right" rules, I won) I was absolved of dishwashing duty for the day. Woot! Naps and relaxing were in short order after the morning adventure and bellies were full!
The sailing forecast is set to be an 8 tomorrow (1-10 scale, the higher the better) and it shows by the number of boats in the harbor! And they keep coming in. We will leave sometime mid-day for the return to Auckland, where Mark and I will gather our items, due a bit of laundry, and have a look at the city (perhaps celebrating a birthday with a cook's night off), before we try our hand at driving on the left on Monday. Like they say, time flies when you're having fun...and you've regained your health and good humor.
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Friday, February 13, 2015
Waiheke Explorations
Guest blog from Kathryn Sobocinski
The anchorage in Putiki Bay afforded a much better night's sleep! We all slept in a bit, in hopes of staving off or recovering from illness. But once we were awake, Barbara cooked up some delicious blueberry banana pancakes and with full bellies we were convinced we needed a day's adventure. We had picked up a "Walks of Waiheke" pamphlet while in Oneroa, and luckily, a few departed from our side of Putiki Bay. We chose to dinghy over to Dead Dog Bay (of course) to begin our walk, #6, Te Whau Coastal Trail (we later learned it is pronounced "Te Fau"). After getting the dinghy up on the grass, we were welcomed by a reader board saying, "Shhhh! Rare Wildlife." That's right, we were shushed by a sign. And we didn't see any wildlife, rare or common. We set out up, up, up the track (a pathway, well maintained and well marked) through a forest and then onto a road where we went up some more. We passed our first winery, but decided it was too early in the walk to load ourselves down with bottles. We did enjoy the view of the island from the ridge though!
We carried on through a mixture of roads and trails (and saw a Tui and a few other birds of uncertain identification in one forest reserve) and ultimately got to Kuakarau Bay (in the next major bay to the east from Putiki). Here the trail picked up along the shore in a never-ending series of up-down-up-downs along various little points of land. It was a beautiful walk, with views of neighboring bays, Waiheke, and Auckland. By the time we popped out onto the road at the end of the coastal trail, we were very glad Barbara had forced us all to eat extra pancakes! Here we came across our second winery, Te Whau, and decided we were close enough to the end to have a look around and see if it was worth bringing home a bottle. Upon entering, the proprietor remarked that it looked like we'd "just trekked in from the Himalaya." We were a little riff-raffy at this point, but stuck to our guns, got a seat, and then decided to just taste some wines. It was an interesting tasting, with a rose starter followed by 4 different vintages of their flagship wine, a red blend. They were very different and very good! I liked the 2009 the best, but at $70, a little steep for my wallet! So, we chatted with the owner, finished the tasting, and headed on our way. Now it was back down, down, down from the ridge. We passed some alpacas, some olive trees, a few very nice views of Astarte, and made it back to Dead Dog Bay, sweaty and ready for a few snacks!
We got back to Astarte, and while I was busy cleaning myself in the salty sea (not as cold as I thought!), snacks were produced and we recharged (Mark by sleeping, the rest of us by snacking). We relaxed and when the cold wind chased us inside, we enjoyed a delicious chicken curry made by Barbara and a little more chit chat. A nice end to the day.
Highlights of the day:
Barbara: "A wonderful hike with some of my favorite people, ending in a glass of wine."
Michael: "Coming around one of the points on the 1,700 ups and downs and being able to see Auckland."
Mark: "Spending 17 hours in bed...not necessarily a highlight."
Kathryn: "A nice hike, followed by some tasty wine, and then a dip in the coolish water!"
Today, we did a short walk in "town" before hoisting the anchor and heading to Rangitoto Island, where we are now at anchor in Islington Bay. We will climb the volcano in the morning! Better rest up!
MEK: Birds of note: a tui, a kingfisher, oystercatchers, herons (maybe white faced?), and shags...but no blue penguins yet!
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The anchorage in Putiki Bay afforded a much better night's sleep! We all slept in a bit, in hopes of staving off or recovering from illness. But once we were awake, Barbara cooked up some delicious blueberry banana pancakes and with full bellies we were convinced we needed a day's adventure. We had picked up a "Walks of Waiheke" pamphlet while in Oneroa, and luckily, a few departed from our side of Putiki Bay. We chose to dinghy over to Dead Dog Bay (of course) to begin our walk, #6, Te Whau Coastal Trail (we later learned it is pronounced "Te Fau"). After getting the dinghy up on the grass, we were welcomed by a reader board saying, "Shhhh! Rare Wildlife." That's right, we were shushed by a sign. And we didn't see any wildlife, rare or common. We set out up, up, up the track (a pathway, well maintained and well marked) through a forest and then onto a road where we went up some more. We passed our first winery, but decided it was too early in the walk to load ourselves down with bottles. We did enjoy the view of the island from the ridge though!
We carried on through a mixture of roads and trails (and saw a Tui and a few other birds of uncertain identification in one forest reserve) and ultimately got to Kuakarau Bay (in the next major bay to the east from Putiki). Here the trail picked up along the shore in a never-ending series of up-down-up-downs along various little points of land. It was a beautiful walk, with views of neighboring bays, Waiheke, and Auckland. By the time we popped out onto the road at the end of the coastal trail, we were very glad Barbara had forced us all to eat extra pancakes! Here we came across our second winery, Te Whau, and decided we were close enough to the end to have a look around and see if it was worth bringing home a bottle. Upon entering, the proprietor remarked that it looked like we'd "just trekked in from the Himalaya." We were a little riff-raffy at this point, but stuck to our guns, got a seat, and then decided to just taste some wines. It was an interesting tasting, with a rose starter followed by 4 different vintages of their flagship wine, a red blend. They were very different and very good! I liked the 2009 the best, but at $70, a little steep for my wallet! So, we chatted with the owner, finished the tasting, and headed on our way. Now it was back down, down, down from the ridge. We passed some alpacas, some olive trees, a few very nice views of Astarte, and made it back to Dead Dog Bay, sweaty and ready for a few snacks!
We got back to Astarte, and while I was busy cleaning myself in the salty sea (not as cold as I thought!), snacks were produced and we recharged (Mark by sleeping, the rest of us by snacking). We relaxed and when the cold wind chased us inside, we enjoyed a delicious chicken curry made by Barbara and a little more chit chat. A nice end to the day.
Highlights of the day:
Barbara: "A wonderful hike with some of my favorite people, ending in a glass of wine."
Michael: "Coming around one of the points on the 1,700 ups and downs and being able to see Auckland."
Mark: "Spending 17 hours in bed...not necessarily a highlight."
Kathryn: "A nice hike, followed by some tasty wine, and then a dip in the coolish water!"
Today, we did a short walk in "town" before hoisting the anchor and heading to Rangitoto Island, where we are now at anchor in Islington Bay. We will climb the volcano in the morning! Better rest up!
MEK: Birds of note: a tui, a kingfisher, oystercatchers, herons (maybe white faced?), and shags...but no blue penguins yet!
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Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Hauraki Gulf
Guest blog from Kathryn Sobocinski
After a long trip from Corvallis, Oregon (Portland-LAX-Sydney-Auckland), we arrived at Astarte a little worse for the wear, but mostly upright and with lots of luggage. Now, we were asked to be the boat mules, but I think it served as a convenient excuse for us to pack an extra giant bag and bring more toys and clothes. This was a tough trip to pack for, with potential weather from bathing suits to puffy jackets, as we continue our trip in the mountains of the South Island. This is my first trip to the southern hemisphere and NZ, and upon landing it reminded me a little bit of Ireland and a little bit of Oregon.
As we walked down the ramp from dry land to the boat, I saw my first NZ wildlife: a large (~1m wingspan) skate or ray cruising the shallows between the floating pier and shore! Off to a good start. Once settled, we decided a walk around the waterfront was a high priority so we could stretch our legs and check out the many, many boats. We were bummed to miss the fish market, as it was closing, but maybe on the flip side. It was nice to walk a bit after being cooped up in metal cans for the better part of the last days—and the fresh air was wonderful.
We got a much needed shower and then Barbara cooked up a wonderful dinner of salmon and salad. It was perfect! And we got champagne! We called it an early night and enjoyed a nice night's sleep while tied up at the marina. We awoke to a good breeze and a not-so-promising weather report, but after getting caffeinated, we untied and headed for Waiheke Island, not too far away. We were afforded a very nice view of Auckland from the water—a compact and modern-looking city, with its own version of the Space Needle. We were feeling at home.
The motor-sail was nice, with periods of fine (good weather) and a few opportunities to see some new wildlife—especially the common salty birds. We were on the lookout for the "rare blue penguin" but did not see any. We will keep looking, but I'm beginning to think this may be Barbara and Michael's version of that thing they tell the kids to go looking for while at summer camp so the counselors can have a break. At any rate, we passed some nice islands and evaded many a fast-moving ferry and were anchored up in Oneroa Bay in no time. We had a sandwich and set off exploring on shore—there are numerous walking paths on the island and the town is sort of touristy, but close by with a full complement of services. I have been suffering a head-cold, so a short tour was all I had in me and we headed back to the boat for a nap and some relaxation. Another awesome dinner (lamb and red wine) capped the day and it was another early night.
Unfortunately, the weather gods were not smiling upon us as we spent the night in quite a roll. This involved employing a few appendages as outriggers to make sure I stayed bed-side. While I slept okay (perhaps jet lag and illness actually helped in this situation), it was clear that the more seasoned sailors among us were not happy with the rolly conditions. After breakfast, we did a reconnaissance walk to the other side of the island to check some of the southern anchorages. This is a hilly island and we did our fair share of up-down, up-down giving the legs a little exercise. We returned to the boat with the decision made to move along. We pulled the anchor and next thing I knew we were dropping it in another bay—I had a nice snooze on the passage! We relaxed in the afternoon and then began our evening activity of the day: craft beer tasting and sausage sizzle! Yum! We saw a bunch of boats headed out for an evening race, but it was just outside the bay enough that we couldn't see much. Oh well. We tasted some very good beers—it seems NZ is almost as ripe as Oregon when it comes to beer-making!
We will soon make a decision on the plans for the day. While I'm recovering, I think Mark is down for the count. This may be the last invite we get if we leave a wake of snot aboard!...but then again, I suspect there may be a need for more boat parts in the future and we have strong backs!
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After a long trip from Corvallis, Oregon (Portland-LAX-Sydney-Auckland), we arrived at Astarte a little worse for the wear, but mostly upright and with lots of luggage. Now, we were asked to be the boat mules, but I think it served as a convenient excuse for us to pack an extra giant bag and bring more toys and clothes. This was a tough trip to pack for, with potential weather from bathing suits to puffy jackets, as we continue our trip in the mountains of the South Island. This is my first trip to the southern hemisphere and NZ, and upon landing it reminded me a little bit of Ireland and a little bit of Oregon.
As we walked down the ramp from dry land to the boat, I saw my first NZ wildlife: a large (~1m wingspan) skate or ray cruising the shallows between the floating pier and shore! Off to a good start. Once settled, we decided a walk around the waterfront was a high priority so we could stretch our legs and check out the many, many boats. We were bummed to miss the fish market, as it was closing, but maybe on the flip side. It was nice to walk a bit after being cooped up in metal cans for the better part of the last days—and the fresh air was wonderful.
We got a much needed shower and then Barbara cooked up a wonderful dinner of salmon and salad. It was perfect! And we got champagne! We called it an early night and enjoyed a nice night's sleep while tied up at the marina. We awoke to a good breeze and a not-so-promising weather report, but after getting caffeinated, we untied and headed for Waiheke Island, not too far away. We were afforded a very nice view of Auckland from the water—a compact and modern-looking city, with its own version of the Space Needle. We were feeling at home.
The motor-sail was nice, with periods of fine (good weather) and a few opportunities to see some new wildlife—especially the common salty birds. We were on the lookout for the "rare blue penguin" but did not see any. We will keep looking, but I'm beginning to think this may be Barbara and Michael's version of that thing they tell the kids to go looking for while at summer camp so the counselors can have a break. At any rate, we passed some nice islands and evaded many a fast-moving ferry and were anchored up in Oneroa Bay in no time. We had a sandwich and set off exploring on shore—there are numerous walking paths on the island and the town is sort of touristy, but close by with a full complement of services. I have been suffering a head-cold, so a short tour was all I had in me and we headed back to the boat for a nap and some relaxation. Another awesome dinner (lamb and red wine) capped the day and it was another early night.
Unfortunately, the weather gods were not smiling upon us as we spent the night in quite a roll. This involved employing a few appendages as outriggers to make sure I stayed bed-side. While I slept okay (perhaps jet lag and illness actually helped in this situation), it was clear that the more seasoned sailors among us were not happy with the rolly conditions. After breakfast, we did a reconnaissance walk to the other side of the island to check some of the southern anchorages. This is a hilly island and we did our fair share of up-down, up-down giving the legs a little exercise. We returned to the boat with the decision made to move along. We pulled the anchor and next thing I knew we were dropping it in another bay—I had a nice snooze on the passage! We relaxed in the afternoon and then began our evening activity of the day: craft beer tasting and sausage sizzle! Yum! We saw a bunch of boats headed out for an evening race, but it was just outside the bay enough that we couldn't see much. Oh well. We tasted some very good beers—it seems NZ is almost as ripe as Oregon when it comes to beer-making!
We will soon make a decision on the plans for the day. While I'm recovering, I think Mark is down for the count. This may be the last invite we get if we leave a wake of snot aboard!...but then again, I suspect there may be a need for more boat parts in the future and we have strong backs!
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Saturday, February 7, 2015
Awaiting Our Guests
Astarte has safely arrived at Pier 21 in Auckland from Kawau and is getting her final clean-up for Kathryn and Mark who arrive on Monday afternoon (if all their flights and connections work!) We had a lumpy motor-sail for the 30 mile trip as the wind was right on the nose – on every leg. It seemed whichever way our course took us, the wind would also turn so we would be right into it. We did tack to try to keep the main pulling...but it was a slow trip. Upon arrival at the marina, Pier 21, a first visit for us, we were lucky to have Jan and Jack from "Anthem" around to tell us where our slip was and help grab the lines. That evening we enjoyed a reunion with them over a few beers.
The last few nights at Kawau in Schoolhouse Bay was a bit blustery and we were glad we were in good holding. We did have a French-flagged boat anchor a bit on top of us making it a bit more stressful than it should have been. But, overall it was a good stopover to get the cleaning done. Astarte is looking pretty.
As this is being written, Michael is topsides giving the decks a good wash-down thanks to a hose and freshwater! They haven't been done for quite some time and we got a good salt water spray soaking on our trip to Auckland yesterday. Some laundry was done this morning and a provisioning run will be made this afternoon to pickup fresh fruit, veggies and breads. A fish market run tomorrow should complete the last of the foodstuffs before we bus to the airport to meet our guests.
The weather unfortunately doesn't look great for the first part of the week – but we hope to take off Tuesday morning. The wind direction will determine where we head and how far.
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The last few nights at Kawau in Schoolhouse Bay was a bit blustery and we were glad we were in good holding. We did have a French-flagged boat anchor a bit on top of us making it a bit more stressful than it should have been. But, overall it was a good stopover to get the cleaning done. Astarte is looking pretty.
As this is being written, Michael is topsides giving the decks a good wash-down thanks to a hose and freshwater! They haven't been done for quite some time and we got a good salt water spray soaking on our trip to Auckland yesterday. Some laundry was done this morning and a provisioning run will be made this afternoon to pickup fresh fruit, veggies and breads. A fish market run tomorrow should complete the last of the foodstuffs before we bus to the airport to meet our guests.
The weather unfortunately doesn't look great for the first part of the week – but we hope to take off Tuesday morning. The wind direction will determine where we head and how far.
----------
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Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Auckland Bound
We have untied the mooring lines from the pile moorings to make our way down the river and out into the Hauraki Gulf towards Auckland to meet our incoming guests Kathryn and Mark. We made it off the pile moorings without any loss of limbs and made it through the bridge. The bridge has some issues in hot weather. It seems the civil engineer must have missed the class on expansion of various materials in heat and this beautiful, award winning bridge cannot be opened during really hot weather. The poor bridge tender has to take hourly measurements of the "gap" to make sure it is wide enough to open. If not, boats just have to wait until the cool of the evening sets in. We got out in the morning after "rush hour" when the bridge also cannot be opened. We had a good trip down the river putting the engine to a good test after all the work Michael has done. This was a better trip than coming up river as we had the tide going out with us – giving us a good knot push, plus we had more water under the keel. Some spots on the river near town are quite shallow.
We anchored for the night at Urquharts Bay – a spot we spent some days at during our previous trip to NZ. We had planned to stay a few nights here and get some cleaning aboard completed. The weather however looked like it would get a little ugly towards the end of the week – so we decided to spend only one night here and move on towards Auckland.
On Tuesday, we left the anchorage at 0700 and put up the main sail which had just been re-cut because round one was measured incorrectly. But oh-oh – there was a jam at the top – a crease that wouldn't shake free. So back and forth in the channel we went trying to undo the jam. We brought it in then out, then in and out...no luck. We dropped the sail and then un-jammed it manually. Meanwhile, still going back in forth in a narrow channel avoiding markers, we got the sail back up in the furler and it came out smoothly.
After 45 minutes of that effort, we were on our way under full head sail and main. It was a fabulous sail with a steady 12 knots just ahead of the beam and we saw 7.2 knots several times – but averaged close to 6 knots. There were a few dead spots where we drifted along, but we made the 41 mile trip in good time. We anchored off a place called Schoolhouse Bay on the island of Kawau. Mansion Bay where we had hoped to drop the hook was packed. It is still "silly" season here and New Zealanders are all out and about using their boats. It is a pretty island with lots of pretty bird sounds and enough traffic to enjoy the "bay movies." We will watch the weather and decide when we will take the next step towards Auckland. It is suppose to blow 20-35 knots late Thursday/Friday so we may try to leave here Thursday morning or wait it out until Saturday morning. We only have another 35 miles or so to go before Sunday – when we have a berth in the "Pier 21" marina booked.
The smell of disinfectant soap and Murphy's wood soap is pretty strong aboard right now after a full morning of scrubbing down the headliners, walls and heads. Guests are great for the serious spring cleaning effort. Plus we have to make room for two more people aboard and all the stuff they are bringing for us! Before we left Whangarei, we found a laundromat with super sized washers and dryers so we could get all the blankets, duvets and mattress covers laundered. Astarte will be spic and span to welcome our visitors.
Also, before leaving Whangarei, we took delivery of our new dinghy. We bought a 2.8 Southern Pacific inflatable with an aluminum hard bottom. We had the old dinghy "Air Mary" since our first cruise in 2001. Though it was in the garage for a good 7 years, it served us well the last six that we've been out cruising. We'll use it as another excuse for some champagne with Kathryn and Mark and have a christening celebration.
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We anchored for the night at Urquharts Bay – a spot we spent some days at during our previous trip to NZ. We had planned to stay a few nights here and get some cleaning aboard completed. The weather however looked like it would get a little ugly towards the end of the week – so we decided to spend only one night here and move on towards Auckland.
On Tuesday, we left the anchorage at 0700 and put up the main sail which had just been re-cut because round one was measured incorrectly. But oh-oh – there was a jam at the top – a crease that wouldn't shake free. So back and forth in the channel we went trying to undo the jam. We brought it in then out, then in and out...no luck. We dropped the sail and then un-jammed it manually. Meanwhile, still going back in forth in a narrow channel avoiding markers, we got the sail back up in the furler and it came out smoothly.
After 45 minutes of that effort, we were on our way under full head sail and main. It was a fabulous sail with a steady 12 knots just ahead of the beam and we saw 7.2 knots several times – but averaged close to 6 knots. There were a few dead spots where we drifted along, but we made the 41 mile trip in good time. We anchored off a place called Schoolhouse Bay on the island of Kawau. Mansion Bay where we had hoped to drop the hook was packed. It is still "silly" season here and New Zealanders are all out and about using their boats. It is a pretty island with lots of pretty bird sounds and enough traffic to enjoy the "bay movies." We will watch the weather and decide when we will take the next step towards Auckland. It is suppose to blow 20-35 knots late Thursday/Friday so we may try to leave here Thursday morning or wait it out until Saturday morning. We only have another 35 miles or so to go before Sunday – when we have a berth in the "Pier 21" marina booked.
The smell of disinfectant soap and Murphy's wood soap is pretty strong aboard right now after a full morning of scrubbing down the headliners, walls and heads. Guests are great for the serious spring cleaning effort. Plus we have to make room for two more people aboard and all the stuff they are bringing for us! Before we left Whangarei, we found a laundromat with super sized washers and dryers so we could get all the blankets, duvets and mattress covers laundered. Astarte will be spic and span to welcome our visitors.
Also, before leaving Whangarei, we took delivery of our new dinghy. We bought a 2.8 Southern Pacific inflatable with an aluminum hard bottom. We had the old dinghy "Air Mary" since our first cruise in 2001. Though it was in the garage for a good 7 years, it served us well the last six that we've been out cruising. We'll use it as another excuse for some champagne with Kathryn and Mark and have a christening celebration.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
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