Tutukaka - Bland Bay

Well that was the worst night's sleep we've ever had on a boat. During the night, the wind changed direction and meant we ended up lying side-on to the swell coming through the entrance to Tutukaka. Although everything was reasonably tidy, we could hear kitchen items flying around the sink as the boat rocked through about 60 degrees of heel (that may even be understated).

We all got about 2 hours of sleep (if that) and as soon as it was light enough, we pulled anchor and got out of there.

Conditions outside the harbour weren't much better. The 25kt SE wind from the night before left a very confused and rough sea state, with some of the bigger waves over 2m. We were ever optimistic about getting out to the Poor Knights however, so we set our course and soldiered on.

As we approached the islands, we could tell that there wouldn't be any shelter there again. The forecast was for an easterly swell, but it was significantly further south than that, making many of the anchorages untenable. We pulled the pin a couple miles out. It clearly wasn't meant to be at this stage of our trip, but we might have a go at coming back towards the end, weather and time permitting.

Instead we made a plan to find a much more sheltered spot to catch up on some sleep. We headed off to Bland Bay, and upon arriving around lunchtime, we were greeted with a beautiful flat anchorage. We were able to tuck around behind the islands enough to get shelter from the swell coming into the bay.

After a lazy afternoon, Nathan jumped in the water with his spear gun to have a look around the rocks, but visibility was poor and there wasn't much fish life around. After dinner (Thai green curry with the remainder of the kahawai we caught at the Hen & Chicks) Nathan managed to hook a fat Porae on a soft bait. We'll figure out how we're going to cook that for dinner tomorrow!Read more