Whangaroa to Doubtless Bay

This morning we finally left Whangaroa to continue our journey north. Sunny weather again so Nathan re-ran yesterday's washing and managed to get it dry today (yay!).

No wind so we motored to Waimahana Bay where we stopped for lunch and a swim. The water was a little bit green and we were all keen for a bit of snorkeling so we headed around the corner into Taemaro Bay where the visibility was better.

We checked under every boulder and in every crevice, but couldn't find a crayfish for the table. Nathan managed to shoot a Butterfish (he missed a shot on a second Butterfish - grr) and a Pig Fish, while Jamie also pulled in a Pig Fish on a line. It was good to be able to put some fish in the fridge as we've got 8 people on the boat from tomorrow until the new year.

To top everything off, Jamie hooked a donkey of a Kahawai as we were heading into Takerau Bay. The Kahawai almost spooled him (crappy old reel) but we managed to get the yacht stopped and the fish turned towards us. Nathan thought it might have been a rat Kingy with how it was fighting, but no it was a big fat Kahawai.

Once we were anchored in Takerau, Nathan filleted up the fish, most for the fridge but with one of the Pig Fish going in the hot pot for dinner. Another nice surprise was a couple of big fat golden bars (roe) in the Kahawai, which also made its way into the hotpot.

During dinner, the line at the back of the boat went off and Nathan reeled in a nice little trevally which we added to our fridge stocks.

Afterwards, we settled in and enjoyed a nice little sunset, which we haven't seen for a few days. Looking forward to having a bunch of our mates on board for the next few days!Read more