Thursday, April 13, 2017

Whew...

Other than the start of ulcers from the stress of waiting...all is good aboard Astarte after Cyclone Cook passed.

We kept listening to radio warnings, "All ships. All ships. Cyclone Cook will approach the southern end of Great Barrier around 1300 hours Thursday. Make sure you are in a safe place and let someone know where you are because there will be no rescue quickly. 90 knots of wind are expected near the center of the cyclone." That's enough to get you scared to death.

We were well prepared. We found what we thought was the best anchorage – protected from three sides for the clocking winds. We put out lots of rode on our main anchor and then put our second anchor out and had a third ready to drop. There were six boats in this anchorage – three sailboats and three motor launches. All were pretty spread apart so we had safe room between each other.

Then we waited...and waited. We saw some squalls as the morning wore on – perhaps mid 20 knot winds and rain. Noon came...1300, 1400. We tracked the barometer and it dropped as expected, but not dramatically. We went from facing east to southest to south to south west and then west – but quite slowly. We saw blue sky to the north and figured that was the eye. Then the blue sky was south. Around 1600 the barometer started to slowly rise. It was passed. We believe from listening to reports from other boaters that perhaps the center stayed further offshore and away from Great Barrier. A later report said it was to go ashore in the center of the the Bay of Plenty which would have it put it further east.

Needless to say, we finally got our appetite back and had our first meal of the day around 1800 and felt we were both lucky and prepared and we picked our spot well. We could see more wind above the tree line.

Today we now get try to get the anchors up and stored again and the boat back in order. Thanks to all who sent us phone texts and e-mail and provided us some extra weather info especially David and Patricia from Gulf Harbor Radio via Tony's Maritime Net.

All good aboard Astarte. Hope the rest of NZ fares as well.
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At 4/7/2017 10:01 PM (utc) S/V Astarte was located at 36°11.04'S 175°21.59'E

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Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Cyclone Cook Approaches

Well, at least the remnants of what is Cyclone Cook! After hammering Vanuatu and New Caledonia, the cyclone hit the colder waters but is still heading towards NZ. We remain out at Great Barrier Island in what we hope will remain a protected anchorage. The major part f the storm should hit us on Thursday (early afternoon) – and hopefully pass through quickly. It all depends exactly where it hits land in NZ. As of this writing it's course takes it over the Coromandal Peninsula and across the country to the south. If it goes anymore west, we are in the eye. Predicted winds are 70 knots with higher gusts. Not pretty. We put out a second anchor yesterday in a lull of wind and rain. We have plenty of fuel to keep the engine running should we need it to take pressure off the anchors. It at least is moving a bit faster than originally predicted. We thought it would pass over us in the dead of the night – so at least the daylight is some consolation. We've been seeing lots and lots of rain already and 20 knots. The storm is supposed to pass with the winds clocking (so depending on what quadrant of the circulation we are in- will depend on what we get hit with. The storm didn't dissipate in the cold waters but they are saying it could be the worse cyclone to hit NZ since 1968 NZ has had so much rain in the last few weeks, flooding is predicted. That's the good news of being on a boat. It is Thursday morning so we have at least two more days of this mess. It's too bad because it's Easter weekend and normally a very busy time for the Island. Not sure many people will be crossing from Auckland or Whangarei to get out here in what is predicted to be six meter seas (20 plus feet). WE should be protected from any swell in here.

We have enjoyed our time out here up to the storm. We took two long hikes while anchored in Kaiarara Bay. The first, we went to at least seven bridges on the way towards the lower Kauri Dam. That was about a three and a half hour walk mostly uphill. The next day we decided to walk to the town of Port Fitzroy – it took a bit longer and was up and down along the shore. It was about an 8 mile trek – one of the longer ones we've done in awhile. We were pretty tired on the return. We were all disappointed because we had hoped the Port Fitzroy Boat Club would be open for a "cook's night off" - but it is closed on Monday and Tuesday. So we settled on ice cream bars from the general store (along with some bread, eggs and onions) and made the trek back. We met some interesting folks on the walk. They are from Hamilton, NZ and building a home on GBI. It is a nice piece of property with an incredible view and nice folks.

We left Kaiarara Bay and came back to Kiwiriki to sit out the predicted winds and rain. We should be pretty protected from the swells. Last night was calm but we awoke this morning to gusty winds in the low 20 knot range. We are sitting in a small inlet within the bay but it is pretty swirly in here. The boat faces one way and the wind hots us from a different direction. So we swing a lot. It will be a long few days - but we'll have full water tanks. The winds are predicted to get to 30-35...but we hope not!

We have gotten lots of small projects done while here – winches have all been cleaned, internal cleaning done and lots of baking to take the edge off the cooler evenings. We are enjoying the time out here. If only the internet was better and the storms were already over – it would be perfect!
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At 4/7/2017 10:01 PM (utc) S/V Astarte was located at 36°11.04'S 175°21.59'E

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Saturday, April 1, 2017

Great Barrier Island

Finally! We made it to Great Barrier Island (GBI) or "Barrier" as the locals call it. We really like this place. It is about 45 miles off the mouth of the Hatea River that leads to Whangarei. We had to motor / motorsail the entire way on Thursday to get here unfortunately – but it was a beautiful, sunny day with just a half meter swell. We had expected it to be cloudy and drizzly so we were pleasantly surprised. We left at 0645 – in the dark and made it to Smokehouse Bay anchorage about 1530. There were 11 boats there already – we had thought we'd have the place to ourselves.

On Friday, we launched the dinghy and Michael went ashore to check out the facilities. Last time we were here the water tank had a leak so hot showers were not available. He cut some wood and checked things out and it looked like we were in luck for a nice hot shower! We took advantage of it, followed by two more boaties who did the same. It is a great place that is maintained by volunteers and the property donated by a family. It's fun to watch the comings and goings of this very popular anchorage or "bay movies" as we call them.

It's Saturday, and we decided to move across the way because of the predicted NE winds that would pick up as the day wears on getting to about 15 knots. We aimed for a new anchorage for us – Kiwiriki Bay. It wasn't very far (you can still see Smokehouse from here.) As we entered the bay, we were greeted by two dolphins - a very large mother and her calf. They followed us all the way into the anchorage playing in the bow wake and really checking us out with rolls and eye contact. It is always a warm greeting. We had a pod on Thursday greet as we approached Great Barrier as well.

We are enjoying the place – doing projects and relaxing. Some major cleaning and reorganizing of the forward head yesterday and Michael is cleaning the mast winch this afternoon. We may try our hand at some fishing for snapper here as well. We got a book from the "Gypsea Hearts" called "How to Catch Fish and Where" and we'll see if it helps!
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At 3/30/2017 7:10 AM (utc) S/V Astarte was located at 36°11.89'S 175°19.86'E

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