Sailing New Zealand - Part 1

Sailing around New Zealand for the summer in our newly refurbished beautiful 50 foot aluminium sailboat!
(Following a 6 month refit in Whangarei, Northland.) Read more

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Trip start
December 10, 2024
Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Splash Day in Whangarei
December 10, 2024 in New Zealand
Finally got our beautiful Fin Explorer in the water!!
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Onerahi
December 11, 2024 in New Zealand
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Whangārei
December 11, 2024 in New Zealand
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Urquharts Bay
December 11, 2024 in New Zealand
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Marsden Cove Marina
December 11, 2024 in New Zealand
Lots of systems trouble shooting before we got going. Just motored today.
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Kawau Island
December 13, 2024 in New Zealand
First day of the sails up!!! Just a short sail around Marsden Cove, then back into the marina for the fridge/freezer guy to come fix those again…
Then a night sail (some motoring when we lost wind) to Kawau Island!Read more
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Hibiscus Coast
December 14, 2024 in New Zealand
Shorter day with a stop for lunch. Sunshine and sailing!
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Rangitoto Island
December 14, 2024 in New Zealand
Orca at the Anchorage in the morning!!! And got the spinnaker up in the afternoon!!!
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Hobsonville
December 15, 2024 in New Zealand
Our final day sailing (and motoring) with the instructor, up into Auckland! Stopped at a couple of marinas on the way for docking practise and ended up anchoring up the river to breathe for a few days!Read more
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Oneroa Bay, Waiheke Island
December 17, 2024 in New Zealand
Our first sail just the two of us!! Started out strong winds, 18-20knots and gusting to 25, then settled out around 10-15 and was a beautiful sail all the way to Waiheke Island to anchor for a couple of days!Read more
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Rocky Bay, Waiheke Island
December 20, 2024 in New Zealand
Moved to the South side of the island to get protection from the switching winds.
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Man O War Bay, Waiheke Island
December 22, 2024 in New Zealand
Moved to the East side of the island for the night as planning on heading North to Great Barrier the next day.
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Smokehouse Bay, Great Barrier Island
December 23, 2024 in New Zealand
Amazing sail to Great Barrier Island with gannets everywhere, dolphins bow riding and cruising along at 8 knots (max speed 9.3!!).
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Harataonga Bay, Great Barrier Island
December 29, 2024 in New Zealand
We moved over to the East side of the Island as the weather shifted to a South West wind. A sporty sail and an even sportier anchorage as we waited out the weather before continuing South!
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Stony Bay, Coromandel
January 2, 2025 in New Zealand
Sailed down from Great Barrier Island back to the mainland. Time to head South!
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Kennedy Bay
January 3, 2025 in New Zealand
Sporty sail with some strong gusts (35+ knots). Found a good semi-protected anchorage where we will sit for the next couple of days to wait out the weather.
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Whangapoua
January 5, 2025 in New Zealand
Quick stop to run to the store and for a walk on the beach.
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Opito Bay
January 5, 2025 in New Zealand
The wind was very finicky! Squirrelly and squally and all over the show; coming from every direction except North and from 0-25 knots and everything in between.

Wasn’t our original anchorage plan but due to shifting winds made an on the fly call and ended up definitely being the right one!

Ended the day going through a proper rain squall at the end with gusts up to 25 knots.
The evening was super calm once settled!

Super nice bay we stayed for an extra day!Read more
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Rocky Bay, Mercury Island
January 7, 2025 in New Zealand
Little to no wind today! We tried sailing initially but eventually had to turn the engine on if we wanted to get anywhere!

The first spot we were going to stop was absolutely packed so we just kept going to our anchorage spot for the afternoon/night.Read more
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Opito Bay
January 8, 2025 in New Zealand
Back to Opito Bay just for one night on our way South. Nice sail, although short.
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Maramaratotara Bay
January 9, 2025 in New Zealand
Awesome sail today. Perfect wind 12-17 knots, all three sails out. Just a short sail as we had to stop at a specific town for provisioning.
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Hahei Beach
January 10, 2025 in New Zealand
A short (motor) hop over to Hahei beach with very little wind.
We would anchor up here for the day to go for a walk to Cathedral Cove and explore the coastline.

Another beautiful day!
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Whale Cave
January 10, 2025 in New Zealand
Took the dinghy to check out these sea caves. Really awesome!
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Hot Water Beach
January 10, 2025 in New Zealand
With very little wind this spot which is usually pretty exposed was nice and calm (although a little swelly).

We anchored for the night so we could go ashore and dig our hole in the beach in the morning. There is hot water below the sand at low tide and it really is HOT!Read more
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Sailing New Zealand - Part 1 Traveler
Orua Sea Cave
January 11, 2025 in New Zealand
Took the dinghy to check out this massive sea cave! So cool!!
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