Tauranga to Mayor Island

We made the most of the marina facilities before leaving, getting a load of washing done, filling up the water tanks, and topping up on Diesel before leaving Tauranga harbour on the slack tide. We sailed across to Mayor Island in an easing westerly breeze, able to beat the northerly sea breeze which was filling in.

It was great to see some amazing blue water again, and as we approached the island, we could clearly see the bottom 10m down. We tried a couple of different anchorages, looking for a spot with decent mobile coverage so Vela could join her afternoon meetings, but no luck. So we dropped the pick on the south western side of the island, where Vela grabbed a fishing rod and drifted out on the paddleboard, hoping to find a grandaddy hapuka which we had been advised were in abundance. No luck.

On Vela's return, the northerly sea breeze had filled in and our spot had become a little lumpy, so we moved to the south eastern corner of the island. Here we were greeted with crystal clear water, which must have been 20 degrees or warmer. With no other boats around we got a little bit cheeky and jumped in for a skinny dip.

We watched a very pretty sunset, even counting down the sun as it disappeared behind the Coromandel Peninsula. A few hours later and we were ready to settle in for the night, but unfortunately our night didn't end there...Read more