Tutukaka - Tutukaka (via Poor Knights)

Today was a good lesson in planning, and the weather. The forecast the previous evening was for next to no wind, which had us very optimistic about getting out to the Poor Knights for a snorkel (one of the big things we want to tick off on this trip). Unfortunately the forecast this morning had changed, with a 10-15kt northerly coming through instead, coupled with a 1m northerly swell. Given the geography of the Poor Knights this was unlikely to give us anywhere sheltered to explore and snorkel.

After a couple of coffees from the local barista, we were optimistic and thought we'd go and have a look anyway.

On our sail out, we thought it a little strange we couldn't see the islands, but we had our heading from the charts and continued. The sea state and wind slowly built as we approached (there were definitely some 2m swells out there, and we saw 20kt on our wind gear which we think under-reads). About 5 miles out from the islands, we still couldn't see them, which was beginning to feel truly bizarre.

Quite suddenly we were engulfed in fog. It was a very eerie feeling. Fog in summer is very unusual, but even more strange with 15-20kt of wind. Vela and I checked in with each other, and while we were both a bit disconcerted, we chose to carry on.

About a mile out from the islands the fog cleared, but there was still a low cloud hanging around. The sea state had not improved and neither had the wind. We had picked that our most likely spot to find any shelter would be Nursery Cove, nestled in the middle of the island group, but the swell appeared to be funneling right in. We got close enough for a look, then made the call that today wasn't the day.

We turned back, and after checking the forecast for the rest of the week, thought Wednesday might present another opportunity to get out and explore this bucket-list destination. So we sailed back through the fog towards Tutukaka. With Nathan on the helm through some rain squalls, we anchored up again in the bay.

A delicious, nutritious dinner made by Vela capped off today's adventure.Read more