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Cruising NZ

November 2023 - March 2024
Sailing a 45ft sailboat around NZ, exploring islands, diving, and sharing our experience with mates along the way Read more
  • 110footprints
  • 1countries
  • 121days
  • 945photos
  • 53videos
  • 4.1kkilometers
  • 1.9ksea miles
  • 334kilometers
  • 138kilometers
  • 36sea miles
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  • Cruising NZ
    Day 2

    Auckland - Kawau

    November 27, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 19 °C

    After a delaying leaving Auckland by a day as Nathan managed to catch a cold, we finally set off on our round NZ adventure!

    With the boat fully stocked (more noodles, wine and beer than I've seen in my life) and the water tanks brimmed, we pulled out of Westhaven this morning. We cruised past the CBD as everyone else would have been just getting to the office, morning coffees in hand. With a very light 5kt SW wind, we pulled out the mainsail and genoa and drifted out of the harbor with the tide.

    Rounding north head the breeze steadily built until we were rapidly approaching Whangaparaoa so 8.5kt. Vela nearly started an international incident with the NZ Navy, receiving 5 blasts on the horn from a naval patrol boat, the boating equivalent of "get the #&@% out of my way." (In her defence, Asian female driving bit done in the trip)

    We made a quick pitstop at Tiri for lunch before we continued over to Kawau, maxing out at 9.7kt boat speed.

    All anchored up in Bon Accord harbor for the night and looking forward to some fishing adventures tomorrow!    Read more

  • Cruising NZ
    Day 3

    Kawau

    November 28, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Bit of a chill day. Started off with a beautiful calm morning before Vela got stuck into her new remote working routine, while Nathan pumped up the paddleboard and went for a lap around the bay.

    After lunch we popped out into the channel where Nathan caught a couple of small (but legal) snapper - which got turned into delicious fish wraps for dinner in mansionhouse bay.

    Parked back up further down Bon Accord harbor for the night, bit bumpy in here with not much protection from the 20kt westerly, here's hoping the forecast change in direction comes through and it settles down for us to get some sleep.    Read more

  • Cruising NZ
    2
    Day 4

    Kawau - Leigh

    November 29, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Small side quest to Snell's Beach today before sailing around the corner to anchor in Omaha Cove for the night. A nice 15-20kt westerly was blowing us along at up to 7kt with just the headsail up. Very relaxing sailing with a great view of little barrier in the background.

    A lackluster effort on the fishing by Nathan meant chicken stir fry for dinner - not as good as last night's snapper.

    Anchorage is a little bit rolly with the waves bending around the point, but the wind is supposed to die out overnight so hoping we'll still get a good night's sleep. A little bit of star gazing before bed - 5 points to whoever can identify the star on the last photo.    Read more

  • Cruising NZ
    Day 5

    Leigh - Hen & Chicks

    November 30, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Pretty special day today. Vela started her day with a paddleboard around Omaha Cove, before we finally left the Auckland region, bound for Northland.

    Today we had a very light SW breeze, no more than 5kt, which meant a lot of motoring. But we were greeted by two separate pods of dolphins on the way which was pretty neat.

    We approached the Hen & Chicks with the aim of finding some kaimoana, and immediately found a small boil up on the surface. Throwing the lure out behind the boat, we quickly landed two very fat kahawai (Vela made sure to point out that hers was bigger than mine).

    One fish for the freezer, and the other went into the hot pot at dinner time.

    After dinner, we had an awesome treat as a pod of dolphins circled the boat, putting on a special private show, just for us! Jumps, flips and tail slaps were all on display as the sun set behind the mainland. We could even hear them talking to each other while underwater.

    A very special day indeed!    Read more

  • Cruising NZ
    Day 6

    Hen and Chicks

    December 1, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    This morning we awoke to a beautiful calm bay. After firing up the espresso machine, Nathan pulled on his wetsuit (with Vela helping him tuck in the "spongy bits") and jumped in the water. Hopes were high for shooting a butterfish or finding some crayfish.

    Vela must have been thinking of how amazing and efficient her husband is at hunting in the ocean when he returned after just five minutes... But unfortunately he was scared out of the water by a 2m bronze whaler shark. While bronzeys are not typically aggressive sharks, Nathan wasn't particularly keen to tempt fate, particularly while diving solo.

    Instead, we upped anchor and found a spot on the southern side of the chicks to shelter from the north easterly wind forecast to build overnight. While here, Nathan suited up again and took the paddleboard over to the rocks. More success this time, with a porae and a leatherjacket both getting bagged.

    Vela turned the porae into a delicious stir fry for dinner while Nathan enjoyed a beer for his hunting efforts.    Read more

  • Cruising NZ
    Day 7

    Hen and Chicks - Tutukaka

    December 2, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Today we made another little hop up the coast. With a forecast of strong northerlies coming, we thought it best to make our move north from the Hen and Chicks this morning while we still had a 10-15kt easterly.

    It was perfect sailing with a near-flat sea state, and with Vela on the wheel we made quick work of the trip.

    We ventured ashore to have a look around, and turns out it was their monthly local market! So we loaded up with some freshly picked strawberries, smoked cheese and sweet treats before heading to dinner at Schnappa Rock. We had some of the freshest oysters we've ever tasted, a delicious smoked venison entree, and Vela ordered a confit duck for her brain while Nathan stuck to his roots with a steak burger.    Read more

  • Cruising NZ
    Day 8

    Tutukaka

    December 3, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Crap weather today. We started our day with pancakes before giving Starling a thorough clean on the inside.

    After this, we hung around Tutukaka and decided to rent a berth for the night. This meant we could do a proper load of washing (cute tokens for the machines), have proper showers, and fill up our water tanks. Chicken liver pate, fried oysters, and wood fired pizza for dinner at the marina kitchen.

    Tutukaka is a beautiful, peaceful little marina, and we're looking forward to a good night's sleep before heading out to the poor knights tomorrow morning!    Read more

  • Cruising NZ
    Day 9

    Tutukaka - Tutukaka (via Poor Knights)

    December 4, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    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 are anchored up again in the bay.

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

  • Cruising NZ
    Day 10

    Tutukaka (again)

    December 5, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Bit of a rubbish day today.

    Crap wind. Crap rain. Crap.

    We spent the day hibernating onboard, Vela working, Nathan attempting to learn Mandarin.

    This evening we went ashore during a break in the weather and bumped into our good mate Jamie! Who just so happened to have his sleeping bag and gear with him, so we welcomed him aboard. Good thing we restocked the fridge this morning.

    Plan is to have another crack at getting out to the Poor Knights again tomorrow. Fingers crossed the weather holds... 🤞    Read more

  • Cruising NZ
    Day 11

    Tutukaka - Bland Bay

    December 6, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    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

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