We sailed to Great Mercury Island and anchored right by Michael and Ally. Going ashore in the dinghy we had a great hike to the other side of the island and spectacular views of the rugged coastline. We spent two nights here and then sailed for the Huaraki Gulf. A brief rain squall passed and we caught two skipjack tuna and a kahawai which yielded poisson cru and Carol made fish tacos (in flour tortillas) for dinner the next night.
We anchored in Elephant bay so named because a rock formation looks like one, but on the other side of the entrance to the cove was some rocks that looked like a rhinoceros.
The next day we left and our plans changed not once, not twice, but three times. Rain squalls and wind creating lee shores drove us to Matiatia Bay on the island of Waiheke. Good thing was the ferry to Auckland docked there. Bad news was the ferries to Auckland docked there; every half hour...
Walking in to town we found a community cinema that was showing a movie that night called The Mercy about Donald Crowhurst and the original Golden Globe race in 1968. Good dramatization of this sad, true story. We squeezed in a delicious Indian meal after the movie and then caught a pretty good show by a Trump impersonator. We told him he used too many different and big words than the real Drumpf and he said he wouldn't have an act if he used that few words!
Saturday the 11th we took the ferry to Auckland to see the Volvo Race Village and watch the in-port race. Great displays and while the wind was light and shifty, the race was somewhat exciting as boats passed each other and then got passed themselves. Carol and I had some great conversations with the people who were around us and decided we REALLY like New Zealand! Wonder if they need air traffic controllers ....
Sadly, just this week we heard news that one of the sailors on Team SCALLYWAG was lost overboard in the Southern Ocean and presumed lost.
Since the weather was perfect for our return to Auckland, we spent the $$ and went up in the Sky Tower for a great view of the city.
You can take an 11 sec drop from 50some stories up like this guy!
Yep, we paid $29NZD to go up and sightsee. Funny seeing the German tourist that was afraid to walk on the 38mm thick glass panel floor.
Cindy and Ian had touched base with their new friends Warwick and Jean and they had invited us all to dinner at Jeans gorgeous beach house just outside of Auckland. A great lamb chop dinner and several bottles of wine later we missed a ferry by 5 minutes and had to wait an hour and a half for the last ferry to Waiheke. Very long day, but fun.
Meanwhile cyclone Hola was heading our way so we went grocery shopping and prepped for a big blow. That lasted about 36 hours with wind gusts pushing 40 knots the harbor. Even so the weather was still pretty nice as shown in this screenshot of the weather forecast.
When things settled down a bit we all went ashore; Carol and I hiked up the West side of the island and back into town to meet up with Ian and Cindy. While we were hiking we passed a trail coming down the hillside intersecting the trail we were on. There was a sign saying that (the trail we were on) was FOR EXPERIENCED TRAMPERS ONLY. Uh, yep!
Afterwards we took off and next up was a night around the other side of the island just because, then we sailed/motored to Rangitoto, formed from a now extinct volcano. Of course we had to hike to the top and were rewarded with nice views of Auckland.
One day we pulled up a couple of starfish attached to our anchor chain.
Cindy relaxing on the "Lido deck"!
Next we went to Kawau island. Stopped at Mansion Bay and went to see the Mansion that was built in the early 1800s. Turns out it's only open from 12 to 2 and it was 3pm. I sweet talked one of the young women caretakers (Tope) and she decided to open the house for us so we got to see the mansion. Then we motored further in the cove and had dinner at the Kawau Boat Club.
We had to be in Marsden Cove Saturday the 17th so we slowly made our way up the coast the next few days. Since it was light we were going to set the spinnaker but then the wind started to pick up. This happened twice and the second time it was for real. The start of very strong forecasted winds, like 35 knots+. We got to Marsden and the wind was really pushing the boat around trying to dock. The diver inspected the bottom and now it's really blowing. We went out and anchored in Urquharts Bay where we had started from almost a month earlier and stayed 3 nights there because of the high wind. 30+ gusts. A couple in their 70's actually had to be rescued coming down the coast near us and their boat was totaled on the rocks.
Boat on rocks
Finally on Tuesday it let up and we left and sailed up the coast to Tutukaka and stayed in the marina for the night.
Rainbow as we sailed up the coast to Tutukaka.
Carol and I saw a boat flying the Confederate flag and they said it was because they were rebels without a clue! Carol said she agreed with them!
Of course the inner child in me had to come out once I saw this fantastic tree.
Wednesday the 28th we sailed to Poor Knights islands and snorkeled and took the dinghy into this huge cavern. Way cool! We then head back to the mainland and went to Whangaruru Harbor and Puriri Bay.
Screenshot of my Nav program showing where we snorkeled.
Unbelievable colors inside the cavern.
Post snorkeling clean up.
Cindy, Ian and Carol
Thursday we sailed to Bay of Islands and just outside of the Albert Channel we stopped in 50 meters of water to put out all the chain so it could get untwisted. While pulling it up the windlass quit because the alignment pins came out. Ian fixed that and we finished bringing in the anchor.
Going around Brett Head we passed the hole in the rock as well as the lighthouse.
Coming in to the Bay, Cindy heard someone on the radio she knew, so we anchored by them and had them over for dinner. The wife was a retired ATC from England and her husband a pilot who I probably have talked to as he flew overseas flights to Orlando!
We also stopped at Roberton Island and did the short hike to the top for a great view.
Cindy and Ian with their boat in the background.
Local penguins were a frequent sight.
On the last day as we were sailing the last few miles (in the rain) a fish hit and Carol reeled it in, filleted it, skinned the filets, and cooked them!
Fresh Kahawai for dinner!
So now we are in Opua waiting to meet up with Don who owns SEA AVENUE, the Oyster 54 we will be crewing on for the next several months. Doing lots of boat chores and repairs.
The weather is still delightful, but noticeably cooler overall than month ago but shorts and Tees are the daily attire.
Once again I get to go up the mast to take care of things and snap a few pics.
The boat from 70' up!
Bay of Islands Harbor, Opua, NZ
Ian replacing a faulty windlass switch.
I thought maybe being down under on the other side of the world would bring me some good luck. Nope, still didn't win a damn thing. Guess we'll just have to stick to Plan A
Stay tuned for the next update!
