Vela Huang

Vela Huang

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Cruising NZ
2
Penguin Bay - North West Bay
January 23, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 22 °C
This morning started unexpectedly at 5am to the sounds of wind gales, pelting rain, and the boat getting itself on a 20-30 degree heel. Nathan quickly jumped out of bed to check everything was ok, and sliding back the companionway hatch was immediately soaked by rain getting in through the (closed) zips in the cockpit bimini. Nathan quickly gathered up anything precious, and got the pillows downstairs so they wouldn't get any wetter, unfortunately he wasn't quick enough to save a couple of items from blowing out into the water.

After everything was secured, Nathan went back downstairs to wait it out and was met with a sleepy looking Vela. He sent Vela back to bed, saying everything was under control and it looked like an isolated weather front. About 20 minutes (and a bit of thunder and lightning) later, everything settled down and the day turned into a stunner. We resumed our usual Tuesday programming, starting with coffee service before getting into some work.

We hopped spots a few times throughout the day, looking for stable internet and shelter from the wind which was still hanging around, but spent most of the day in Jacob's Bay which was surprisingly sheltered. After all Vela's meetings were finished, we made one final hop into North West Bay to spend the night.

Nathan pulled in a nice Gurnard (which attempted to escape before getting unceremoniously flicked into the fish bin, and also a spiny dog fish (small shark) which we decided to fillet and have a go at cooking as well (tomorrow nights dinner). Nathan also pulled in a Barracouta, which was released. We chilled out for the rest of the evening, enjoying the peace and quiet of our anchorage.Read more
Very nice office :) [Jeanette]
1/26/24Reply
TravelerThanks yes so lucky 😊
1/27/24Reply
7 likes
Cruising NZ
Havelock - Penguin Bay
January 22, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
After staying at Havelock Marina last night, we decided to make the most of the amenities and had a bit of an "admin" day. We started off with a cafe breakfast and coffee before stocking up on some more groceries and fishing tackle.

We then headed back to the marina to make use of the washing machine, getting our bulky items (sheets & towels) along with some clothes clean and dry. We also topped up our water tanks, filled up on diesel, and vacuumed our holding tank. When the tide was deep enough, we cast off our lines and headed back out into Pelorus Sound.

Penguin Bay looked a likely spot to stay, so we plonked our anchor down and settled in.

A short time later the waters went wild, and Vela hooked a decent Kahawai which unfortunately self released right next to the boat. Straight back down went Vela's line, and immediately came back up, this time with a disgruntled (and it made sure to let us know) Gurnard on the end, which Nathan safely netted.

Although the fish continued to break the water all around, nothing else wanted to bite. So as the sun went down we packed it in for what promised to be a very still, calm nights sleep... Or so we thought...Read more
5 likes
Cruising NZ
Anniversary Day (Wedding Anniversary)
January 21, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
We woke up to vastly different conditions. Barely a breath of wind around and the water was like a mirror. We got the paddleboard out before coffees and enjoyed gliding through the shallows. On his tour of the bay, Nathan spotted 3 eagle rays, one the largest he'd seen with a wingspan of at least 1.5m (maybe closer to two) and he also spotted a giant Short Tailed Stingray, he swears it wouldn't have fit in Starling's cockpit.

The conditions were so still that Vela put the drone up to get a couple snaps of us anchored in the bay. Vela then cooked us her famous noodles for lunch. We had a final game of Catan and a quick swim before pulling up the anchor to catch the incoming tide. We were lucky enough to get the sails out for a short period before we lost the wind behind one of the many peninsulas throughout the sound.

We made it back to Havelock in time for dinner at the world famous Mussel Pot (kitchen open this time), enjoying fresh mussels, calamari, and burgers before a dessert of tiramisu and cheesecake.

One more night in Havelock Marina before we head back out to explore Pelorus Sound this week, slowly making our way over into Queen Charlotte Sound towards the weekend.Read more
6 likes
Cruising NZ
Exploring Pelorus Sound
January 20, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
5am and the alarms were going off. Nathan got a good telling off from Vela when he turned the lights on to get dressed - he proceeded to return the telling off and hurry Vela out of bed so we wouldn't miss the tide. Outside was a steady drizzle, but no wind, so not too bad for getting out of Havelock Marina and the narrow channel.

We negotiated the lights of the channel (too dark to see just yet) and slowly made our way out to deeper water. After an hour or so we decided to stop for a nap, Nathan fired up the coffee machine and stayed up, attempting to catch a fish.

Another workup appeared and Amin pulled in a nice Kahawai to be added to the fridge. Cil and Amin prepared a mini continental breakfast with a range of delicious spreads and preserves (which absolutely hit the spot).

We then continued on towards Portage, seeing close to 30kt from our wind gear, before finding a sheltered spot to stop for the night. All in all it was a little bit of a "meh" day because of the weather, but we introduced Amin and Cil to Catan, so that (along with some pina colada's) proceeded to take up the rest of the afternoon/evening - I think they're hooked!

Vela cooked up the Kahawai in a hotpot with her famous fried potato dish for dinner, and we cracked a bottle of soju to share as wellRead more
6 likes
Cruising NZ
Havelock
January 19, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
Getting into Havelock was our main objective for today. Being a yacht and needing at least 2.2m of water to stay afloat, and some areas of the approach into Havelock having just 0.5m of water at low tide, we needed to plan this around high tide.

So after our usual morning routine we started making our way towards Havelock. High tide was 4.30pm, so we weren't in any extreme rush, but we did want to get in with time to get to the four square for some essentials. Before we left, Nathan managed to pull in two very nice (and delicious) Gurnard. Fried in butter with salad made for a delicious and nutritious lunch.

As we got closer to Havelock, we spotted a work up on the surface. Out came the Kahawai lure and we welcomed three mid size Kahawai aboard Starling. The Nathan got to work and we kept the fillets in the fridge for dinner tomorrow with Amin and Cil.

We negotiated the narrow and shallow channel into Havelock, with just 0.6m under the keel at times. We made it to the four square before it closed and even had time for a delightful land-shower at Havelock marina before Amin and Cil arrived.

We went into town for dinner at the mussel pot, but being 8pm in small town NZ, the three restaurant establishments had all closed their kitchens... We managed to get a couple of pizzas at the local pub before retiring to the boat for the evening.

Early morning departure for tomorrow as the high tide is about 5am... Forecast is not ideal with wind and rain, but it will be preferable to be stuck out in the sounds rather than the marina.Read more
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Cruising NZ
1
Into the Sounds! (Through French Pass)
January 18, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
Today was a bit of a big one. We made the hop from Tasman Bay into the sounds. Nerves were a little bit high, because to gain entry, we had to travel through French Pass.

French Pass is a very narrow channel between the top of the Sounds and D'Urville Island. The navigable section is about 100m wide, and if you traverse it while it's at its strongest you can experience currents up to 7 knots, whirlpools, eddies, and many strange phenomena caused by the strong current and irregular sea floor.

We had been doing our research on the pass, obviously it's safest to travel through at slack water, but the window is only about 20 minutes. Due to a bit of an uncomfortable anchorage, Nathan was awake at 3am and went over all the documents and tide charts again.

After doing some travel maths and allowing for a bit of safety time, we set off from Okiwi Bay. As we approached French Pass, we saw another yacht, Syzygy, coming through the pass from the other direction. Their speed on AIS jumped from around 6kt to over 9kt as they went through. Nathan radioed them to ask about the conditions, and they confirmed that we had our calculations and notes correct and our timing for slack water was right. Phew!

Feeling better about everything, we slowed down a little to time everything correctly, had a bite of lunch and continued to approach. All in all it was a very uneventful passage (the result of good planning) and we pushed into only 1kt of current - we had experienced significantly more going around Cape Reinga. There were a few eddies and whirlpools which pushed us around a little, but nothing we couldn't handle.

After heading through, we started navigating up Pelorus Sound, heading towards Havelock where we have a berth booked for tomorrow night. The landscape is very different to the Abel Tasman with tall mountains, narrow passages, and a lot more bird life (we must have dodged over 30 little blue penguins). We stopped overnight in Wilson Bay and enjoyed a fantastically calm and picturesque anchorage - now it's time to catch some fish!Read more
Glad your Plans worked for French Pass. Seen it from land when I lived in Nelson and it was impressive when its not in the Slack Phase [Jeanette]
1/18/24Reply
Enjoy Pelorus Sounds- Have some Green Mussels for me :) [Jeanette]
1/18/24Reply
Another great photo. [Jeanette]
1/18/24Reply
5 likes
Cruising NZ
Abel Tasman - Okiwi Bay
January 17, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
It was starting to feel like it was time to make a move. Vela spent her morning QS'ing - sorting out contractors and being a superstar at saving her company time and money. Meanwhile Nathan played boat husband, sweeping, vacuuming, and otherwise sorting things out so we'd be ready to leave in the afternoon. We also had a very cool bi-plane give us a top gun style fly-by.

After the hard work, Nathan cracked open a hazy (very nice drop by the way) and put the cricket on, watching the NZ batsmen smash Pakistan all over the park. Around 3.30 we motored away from Adele Island, pulled out some sails, and pointed our bow East towards Okiwi Bay. We had about 20-25kt of wind so started with just the mainsail, but once we were able to turn downwind a little further we pulled out the little staysail (re-tied leech cord working perfectly) and our speed was consistently around 8.5kt, reaching up into the low 9's.

We were smashing it across Tasman Bay. Nathan decided to join in on the smashing and his little toe paid the price - our first injury on board and hopefully the worst we get (don't look at the last photo if you don't like feet/blood/injuries). Vela made a comment about the conditions being hazy, which reminded Nathan he was feeling thirsty so another hazy came out of the fridge.

We were escorted by our friend Jason (Seagull) along the way. Which brought some laughs and smiles as he glided along behind us.

As we approached the eastern side of Tasman Bay, the wind lightened off, so we changed up to the big genoa, and eventually had to start the engine. We had made great time and were heading inside the harbour a little over 3 hours after leaving.

Once inside the harbour we seemed to be surrounded by wildlife. Nathan spotted a rather peeved looking seal just next to the boat (might have woken him from a nap), a penguin floating around, a shark fin gliding past our stern, and even a bunch of goats grazing the mountainside. The waters feel much more alive after leaving the Abel Tasman...

Vela whipped up some more of her epic garlic noodles with eggs and cucumber for dinner and we dropped anchor in a beautiful, calm Okiwi Bay for the evening. Unfortunately the anchorage was quite rolly overnight (although it remained glassy and we couldn't see any of the swells causing the rolling), but we chose to tough it out. Tomorrow afternoon we're heading through French Pass and properly into the Marlborough Sounds - unfortunately it looks like we're in for a bit of wet weather for the next few days...Read more
TravelerIf you fail to plan then you have planned to fail. Well done. Luck is for the unprepared.
1/18/24Reply
5 likes
Cruising NZ
Adele Island - Work Day
January 16, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Nothing too exciting today, we didn't even lift the anchor. Tuesday is Vela's busiest day with meetings and getting on top of her work for the week, so she spent most of her day in front of her computer screen.

Meanwhile, Nathan was catching up on a bit of boat maintenance. Firstly and most importantly was sorting out the water maker which was only working intermittently, after a phone call and a bit of investigation it was a simple fix of replacing the 5 micron pre filter (which we carry a spare for) as the one in use was completely gunked up and black.

Next was to sort the accumulator for our fresh water pump. The accumulator is mildly faulty, causing the pump to come on more quickly and for shorter periods than it should. The temporary fix is simple though, just draining the accumulator and we get a good 3 or 4 weeks of the pump working normally.

Nathan had noticed the leech cord on our staysail needed to be re-tied at the head of the sail, so we dropped the staysail on deck and sorted that one out too. Nathan had also noticed some wear on the furling line for the big genoa, and on closer inspection spotted the line was run the wrong side of the feeder onto the furling drum. Not sure when that was done or how it took so long to notice, but it was an easy fix to re-run the line correctly.

Vela then cooked a delicious lunch with scrambled egg, noodles and a chili garlic sauce. We hid from the sun in the afternoon, and made a plan to head over to Okiwi Bay tomorrow afternoon. We also started to do some research on heading through French Pass, which has the strongest currents anywhere in NZ (commonly 5 - 7kt, creating large whirlpools) and only a 20 minute window of slack tide being the safest time to traverse it. The plan is to head through on Thursday afternoon into the Marlborough Sounds, at roughly 2pm before the current starts pushing us in a northeasterly direction (helping) which gives us a little leeway.

We ended our evening watching a movie inside - Death at a Funeral, we laughed from start to finish!Read more
TravelerOne of the best office environments in the world. So many people would be jealous 😜
1/16/24Reply
4 likes
Cruising NZ
Awaroa Bay
January 15, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
With Vela having Mondays off, we decided to explore a bit further afield. We're a little bit restricted during the week as we need to find settled spots with mobile reception so Vela can get her hours in. So we decided to head to Awaroa Bay and try the pizza at Awaroa Lodge.

As we headed up the coast we noticed a bunch of dead trees, turns out they're pine trees that have been poisoned. They poison them rather than felling as it gives the surrounding forest a better chance to recover before the trees are blown over in a storm.

We attempted to stop at Shag Harbor to explore the estuaries - we'd received a tip that you could find baby seals playing in the shallows too. Unfortunately with a slightly lumpy northerly swell, we weren't comfortable anchoring. We did see an adult and a baby seal from afar, but not close enough to get a photo.

A little over an hour after we left, we arrived in Awaroa Bay and after a short relax onboard, we headed ashore for lunch. Nathan ordered a Hop Federation Hazy with a burger while Vela went for a Thai chicken salad. A cheeky Weka tried to join us for lunch as well.

In the afternoon, we attempted a bit of snorkelling/spearfishing, but it was unfortunately very dead. The whole of the area was covered in a fine silt, and even the boulders in the shallows had no seaweed on them - all in all the marine ecosystem did not appear to be healthy... As far as marine life went, all we saw were a few little spotties, a marble fish, a couple of anorexic kina, and some starfish. Rather disappointing...

We planned to spend the night at Awaroa Bay as there was good reception (which surprised us as the rest of the Abel Tasman has nearly no reception) but the breeze and swell got up and made the whole area very uncomfortable. The increase was forecast, but being from the East we thought we'd be sheltered. Unfortunately this wasn't the case.

After a dodgy packing up of the dinghy (took three attempts to safely transfer the outboard from the dinghy onto Starling) we pulled up the anchor and headed back for the inside of Adele Island. You can see we were a bit annoyed at having to head back to the southern end of the Abel Tasman - but we very much need our beauty sleep. We had a big black backed seagull escorting us on our way down the coast - we named him Jason (Seagull).

Adele Island may be the only sheltered spot on this entire bit of coast tonight, so we have a bit of a crowd, and there's still a bit of roll, but we definitely made the right call to move when we did. Fingers crossed we can get a decent sleep tonight - forecast has the wind and swell dropping away by morning.Read more
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Cruising NZ
Bark Bay Beach/Lagoon
January 14, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 21 °C
After spending yesterday enjoying the waters of Bark Bay, today we decided to explore the beach, lagoon and waterfalls. After waiting for the tide to fill the lagoon, we launched the dinghy and headed for the golden sands of Bark Bay. We motored straight up the lagoon to the swing bridge by Falls river where Vela jumped on the paddleboard to make the most of the flat water.

We navigated the entirety of the two estuaries before landing on the golden sands and swimming in the warm waters of the lagoon. Amin and Cil both had a go on the paddleboard, but spent more time sitting down or swimming than standing up!

We headed back to Starling and made some lunch - beef burger patties on wraps (because the burger buns had started to go mouldy). By this time the wind had built, and it was reaching a point where we wanted to move Starling to a more sheltered anchorage.

We upped anchor as the wind was really getting up, and headed back down the coast for some shelter at Observation Beach, inside Adele Island. On the way, we recorded 34kt of wind at the top of the mast (which is notorious for under reading) and saw 41kt from the now cast at Separation Point. The wind was blowing us along at almost 5kt without a motor or any sails up.

Fortunately it was much more sheltered at Observation Beach, so we relaxed with a couple more card games while we waited for the tide to improve at Marahau. After a seamless delivery of Amin and Cil back onto dry land, we spent the night at Observation Beach, enjoying a moody sunset which cast some amazing yellow light onto the clouds.Read more
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Cruising NZ
Bark Bay
January 13, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
With everybody freshly caffeinated, we made the move out to Bark Bay. We stopped at the reef to try our hand at fishing, with limited success. We pulled in an undersized blue cod and a small Koheru. We opted to fillet the Koheru for a small taste of sashimi, which was delicious even if not very filling.

We then moved into Bark Bay itself and set up camp for the afternoon/evening. We enjoyed the water and some some drinks in the sun, including delicious local beer and Pina colada's. And after such an exhausting morning/afternoon we took a well deserved nap while hiding from the sun.

We got a little too competitive with some card games, so Vela took the tension down a notch with a delicious dinner of Kingfish, fried potatoes with Chinese spice, and some cabbage.

A delicious dessert wine supplied by Amin and Cil and another round of Pina colada's rounded out the rest of our evening.Read more
TravelerNathan and I are very jealous of the Pina coladas in the sun! Looks likes you're all having a wonderful time!! 😊
1/13/24Reply
3 likes
Cruising NZ
Fisherman Island
January 12, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
This morning, Nathan was very keen to head somewhere that might yield a fish for the freezer. So we upped anchor and headed for Fisherman Island - with a name like that we're sure to find something right?

Fisherman Island is gorgeous, with amazing white sandy beaches and a sheltered little anchorage. Nathan got the rods in the water and opted for the couch fishing method, where he could chill on the squabs in the shade.

After a while, with next to no action, Nathan chucked the paddleboard in the water and went for an exploration mission. The southern side of the island was truly beautiful, with rock arches, still water and eagle rays cruising the shallows.

Heading back to the boat, Nathan pulled the line in with the soft bait, and finally enticed a bite. Whatever was on the other end was a reasonable size, pulling line and running all over the place. Vela got the net ready as it got closer to the boat, but unfortunately the hook pulled out and we never got a look at what it was. Best guesses are; a decent trevally, a small kingfish, or a small stingray. We spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about "the one that got away".

Around dinner time, we made the short jump over to Marahau to meet Amin and Cil who are joining us for the weekend. In hindsight we wouldn't do another pickup from there due to the very long flat beach, meaning pulling the dinghy a long way through the sand - or maybe we'd plan around the tides a bit better...

We had dinner at Hooked on Marahau and then motored over to Adele Island to spend the evening.Read more
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Cruising NZ
2 1
Onetahuti - Watering Cove
January 11, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 23 °C
The forecast today was for gusts up to 35kt, so we headed off to find a bit of shelter. Vela also had some work to do, so we had to find a spot with some wifi - which unfortunately meant heading closer to civilization.

The best spot we found with a bit of shelter and some decent reception was Watering Cove, so we put the anchor down and pulled out the laptops. It turned into an absolute scorcher of a day, so we spent most of it hiding from the heat, encouraging the breeze to blow through the boat.

Nathan's fishing exploits culminated in catching a starfish, and a bunch of seagrass. The waters don't seem to be laden with fish down here, possibly a result of all the motor boats blasting up and down the coast...

Once most of our work was done and it got a little bit cooler, we took the dinghy ashore and walked 500m up the hill to find a view. We spent over an hour enjoying the scenery and getting artsy with some photography.

Afterwards we headed back to the boat and Vela cooked up her always amazing pork belly with some potatoes and egg plant on rice.Read more
really neat phot [Jeanette]
1/13/24Reply
TravelerYeah I'm very happy with how this one turned out
1/13/24Reply
Another Great photo [Jeanette]
1/13/24Reply
5 likes
Cruising NZ
Stilwell Bay - Onetahuti
January 10, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
We started our day off right by jumping ship to visit Lissa and Andrew onboard Cape Landing - espresso machine in tow! Nathan whipped up coffee for everyone, using the fresh straight-from-the-cow milk we picked up in Nelson. Vela was rather impressed with the cruising catamaran setup and is now "encouraging" Nathan to get a better paying job so it might open up this option in the future.

Afterwards we headed back to Starling to get a bit of work done before heading deeper into the Abel Tasman for some peace and quiet. I have to say there are a few things that have surprised me about the management of one of our most beautiful national parks... Ski lanes inside the national park, motor boats, jetskis and water taxis screaming around all over the place with no regard for the 5kt rules. I have to say I don't feel it showcases the beautiful nature of the Abel Tasman to overseas visitors in the way that it should...

So Nathan went for a quick dive to gather some mussels (thanks Lissa and Andrew for the hint!) then we headed for Onetahuti. Inside the Tonga Island marine reserve area we found a much more peaceful anchorage to enjoy, and we cooked up the mussels for a delicious lunch, especially enjoying the big fat orange ones.

We spent the afternoon relaxing, swimming, and taking a nice walk along the beach, leaving only footprints behind. We were absorbed by the beauty around us, with braided rivers being etched into the sand, music of the tiny waves breaking onto the beach, streams of bait fish no more than a meter into the water, and even a big stingray gliding past.Read more
4 likes
Cruising NZ
Nelson - Stilwell Bay
January 9, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
We started off the morning with our friendly electricians paying us a visit to install our new engine bay extraction fan. This took about 10 minutes and once it was done, we filled up our water and diesel tanks and set sail for the Abel Tasman.

After heading out of the shelter of Nelson marina and the port, we were greeted with a lovely 15kt Southerly which had us flying across the bay to Abel Tasman at nearly 9kts. About 30 minutes in, we hit a convergence zone as the sea breeze filled in and we ended up sailing in a 10-15kt northerly for the rest of the way (still doing about 8.5kt). Photos 4 and 5 show the before and after of this wind shift.

We pulled in just south of Adele Island around 1pm for lunch ("Chinese flag" soup with noodles) and a spot of fishing, before we moved further in, to Stilwell Bay. We enjoyed a dip in the beautiful water and a paddleboard around the bay.

After dinner (hotpot with some fish from the freezer), Lissa and Andrew from Cape Landing (a Lagoon 42), who are undertaking a very similar trip to us, joined us for a couple of drinks. Nathan knows Lissa from when they both used to work for LiveSailDie, when Nathan would drive Lissa around in a RIB to photograph yachting events. It was really nice to be able to catch up with familiar faces who are doing similar things, and share our "war stories".

Tomorrow we're looking forward to trying to catch some fish and continue exploring the Abel Tasman!Read more
So Jealous :) [Jeanette]
1/9/24Reply
3 likes
Cruising NZ
Nelson Day 3 (attempted departure)
January 8, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Today we were lucky to have Amin take a day off work (he didn't seem too upset at having to do this) to drive us around Nelson and prepare for setting sail towards the Abel Tasman. We stopped at a couple of local fruit & vege shops which had an amazing array of locally grown produce, including fresh milk straight from the farm (can't wait to make some flat whites with that!)

After we had gathered everything together and had one of the best butter chicken pies, we headed to the boat. Unfortunately this was where we ran into a hiccup.

When Nathan started the engine, we were greeted with a lovely, long, loud warning tone. After checking the panel, we had a battery warning light. On further investigation, Nathan discovered that we had no reading from our engine battery. This seemed very strange, but we were able to start our engine anyway so Nathan voted to head off to the Abel Tasman regardless and figure it all out once we were there. Intelligent and clever as always, Vela asked "what about our anchor" and we quickly scrapped the plan to head off as we had no power to our anchor winch... Bugger.

On even closer inspection, Nathan managed to find a blown fuse. So thinking a replacement fuse was all we needed, off we trotted to Burnsco. Unfortunately the new fuse immediately blew, so the problem was deeper than we were able to diagnose.

Some frantic googling and phone calls ensued and we managed to find a marine electrician who wasn't still on holiday and able to promptly pop down to visit us. After a couple of hours and managing to hunt out some electrical diagrams from online, our electrician had to call in the big guns (his boss) to help him figure out the issue.

Eventually they were able to pinpoint the issue to the extractor fan in the engine bay. The extractor fan creates a negative pressure environment in the engine bay, ensuring no nasty fumes leak into the cabins. The bearing in the fan (which is 8 years old at this point) had given way, drawing too much power and causing the fuse to blow every time we tried to turn the engine on.

By this time, it was too late to get hold of a replacement fan, so we booked another night at the marina and will have a new fan installed in the morning before setting off.

Boats... Right?

After all the excitement, it was time for Vela and Nathan to make a decision as to the rest of our journey. We have two options available to us:
Option 1 - continue South to explore Stewart Island and Fiordland
Option 2 - spend more time in the Abel Tasman and Marlborough Sounds before continuing North

After some serious consideration, we had more or less reached a decision when there was a knock on the hull. A man named Bill who also owns a Oceanis 45 (exact same make and model as Starling) had come over to say hello. After chatting for a bit, it turned out Bill was an experienced boaty and had cruised Stewart Island in the past. We asked his opinion on our decision and he said we would be too rushed to do Stewart Island and Fiordland justice. So that confirmed our thoughts and we've made the decision to keep our trip to the top of the South Island before heading up the east coast of the North Island. This allows us to spend more time in cruising hot spots such as the Coromandel and Great Barrier Island, and a possible third attempt at the Poor Knights.

Afterwards, we invited Amin and Cil down to the boat to celebrate and enjoyed a wine together while watching the sunset.Read more
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Cruising NZ
Nelson Day 2 (Kaiteri, icecream & beer)
January 7, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
This morning we were greeted with a beautiful, sunny, blue sky Nelson day. Our amazing hosts, Amin and Cil, prepared coffee and breakfast for us, including home made bread.

Afterwards, Cil was unfortunately called in to work, but Amin played an amazing tour guide for us, taking us for a quick walk around downtown before heading out to Kaiteri, stopping at a little river for a walk along the way.

After soaking in the sun on the golden sands at Kaiteri, and a dip in the water, we stopped at the Riwaka Hotel for a beer and a late lunch. A final treat of real fruit ice cream before heading back into Nelson.

Unfortunately we said goodbye to Jamie today, who has to be back at work tomorrow. Jamie has been with us for the last 4 weeks (since that awful rocky night in Tutukaka) and has been awesome to have on board. It's been awesome having Jamie's competence on board continue to grow, to the point where it felt like Vela and I had a personal driver, only getting the wheel handed to us if we were getting close to things we might hit, or a tricky anchorage. We will definitely miss having Jamie on board, but there is a chance he joins us again for a shorter stint once we get closer to Auckland.

We ended the evening back at Amin & Cil's with wine and cheese on the lawn before retiring inside.Read more
Traveler😹🐱 Jacky and Seb noticed your new friends Vela.
1/7/24Reply
Traveler😂
1/7/24Reply
4 likes
Cruising NZ
Nelson Day 1 (food & beer)
January 6, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
We got into Nelson marina at 3am in the morning, and after a short celebratory rum, we put our heads down for a nap. We already had plans to catch up with Amin and Cil (who live in Nelson) and were woken by a phone call at 10.30am to catch up.

After quickly sorting everything with the marina, we packed the boat and ourselves up and met up with Amin and Cil. Straight to a lovely little cafe for breakfast and coffee before spending the afternoon/evening at a couple of the local breweries.

Amin and Cil gave us the full sales pitch for moving to Nelson (we're still not convinced they aren't on a commission from Nelson city council...) Amin has a wider tour of the Nelson area planned for us tomorrow.Read more
TravelerTheir sales pitch is sooooo convincing though!! Can't wait to hear what you get up to ❤
1/6/24Reply
TravelerYour impression will only get better after sailing in the sounds.
1/6/24Reply
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Cruising NZ
West Coast Day 4 (arrival in Nelson!)
January 5, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
We woke up this morning to a bit of a grey drizzly day. Unfortunately we didn't get a sunrise over Mount Taranaki, but still managed a nice photo. We did manage to find some signal off the Taranaki coast to update friends, family and Coastguard of our whereabouts and wellbeing.

After checking the updated forecasts, we found that the last little rush of a 15kt Westerly into Nelson wasn't going to happen. A low pressure system seemed to be dragging the wind away with it, leaving us with a 5-10kt Southwesterly. Unfortunately this is a tricky angle to sail at, and means that we will have to keep the motor on to make good time into Nelson.

We threaded our way through the oil platforms and a couple of big cargo/tanker ships, and kept chugging South. It was nice to see a bit of humanity, even though it was very industrial. Vela cooked up some veggies with chicken for lunch, good to fend off the scurvy and get away from the standard snack food grub.

As we welcomed Farewell Spit... we started to encounter some wildlife. We saw a pod of what we think were pilot whales, Dusky dolphins, numerous albatross, seals, and a couple of pods of other whales which we couldn't identify as we only saw them spouting off in the distance.

To help pass the time, and because it was well overdue, Nathan got Jamie to give him a haircut, looking semi-respectable and suitable for contact with civilization again.

Once we got close enough to shore and had some decent reception, we were able to contact Nelson marina and book a berth for a few nights. We are planning to catch up with some more friends in Nelson and are likely to be land based for a couple of days. Our current ETA is to be tucked away in our berth by 3am tomorrow morning.

We can't wait to get our hands on a proper barista coffee and some eggs bene tomorrow morning!Read more
TravelerHey Jamie you missed the but below his chin and above his navel
1/5/24Reply
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Cruising NZ
West Coast Day 3 (making miles)
January 4, 2024, Tasman Sea ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
The wind completely disappeared today. Don't worry, we expected and planned for this! We put the headsails away for most of the day and motored straight towards Taranaki with just the mainsail out.

We were once again visited by a couple of albatross, which are simply majestic, beautiful animals. They glide across the water with almost no effort, turning to "surf" down the faces of the waves.

After whipping up some "zhoushed up" 2 minute noodles (with meatballs and some spring onions), the team took a breather and put our swim gear on. Safety first though, we slowed the boat down to less than 1kt, had two lines trailing in the water for safety and a third line ready to throw if needed, and always kept one person on the boat. We then proceeded to enjoy a dip in the gorgeous blue waters of the Tasman Sea.

The water was warm and clear, but at 1500m deep there was little chance of seeing the bottom. After a couple of dives, a short drag behind the boat and some obligatory manu's, we climbed back on board, dried off, opened a couple of cold ones, and continued South.

The forecast Westerly breeze started to fill in, so we pulled the big genoa back out and made good progress, at times cracking 8kt. Unfortunately the breeze didn't build as we had hoped and we've been averaging closer to 6.5kt since. Regardless, we made a heap of miles in the right direction today, and the mood on board has been very light and happy.

Plan is to head in close to the Taranaki coast to get some updated weather forecasts, and update family, friends, and Coastguard of our whereabouts and eta into Nelson. Fingers crossed we'll get a beautiful sunrise with Mount Taranaki in the background in the morning!Read more
TravelerSoooo jealous. Never got that opportunity. Great updates🤗
1/5/24Reply
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Cruising NZ
West Coast Day 2 (the slog begins)
January 3, 2024, Tasman Sea ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Today was a bit of a grind. We settled into our watch shifts nicely - essentially three 4 hour shifts; 4 hours on watch, 4 hours off watch (but upstairs and ready if needed) and 4 hours asleep (only called upon if necessary). We also decided to split the 4 hours on watch and 4 hours off watch into two 2 hour segments, trying to break up the monotony and tiredness of hours straight concentration behind the wheel.

The watch system worked really well, and we all got in our rest. Those who were on watch were greeted with plenty of wildlife, dolphins (or maybe small whales, difficult to tell from a distance), Sunfish, petrels and other seabirds, and even a visit from an albatross!

Unfortunately, the predicted Westerly change did not come through, and we spent most of the day tacking upwind, trying to make the most of the light and shifty winds. We did manage to turn the motor off for a few hours and we enjoyed the serenity. The water had turned an amazing azure blue, and the only other sign of human life was the occasional plane overhead leaving a vapour trail.

Around 5.30pm, with the wind lightening further, we decided to roll away the genoa (which we pulled out early in the morning as the wind had lightened), and we turned the motor on, pointing the bow towards Taranaki. While it had been nice trying to sail, it was feeling like we weren't making any ground towards our destination even though we were traveling at close to 6kt. This speed meant we were only heading towards our destination at 3kt at best as we had to zig zag our way South.

With the headsails both away and the engine on, we were making between 5 and 6kt directly towards Taranaki which was ticking the miles off significantly faster.

Status quo was maintained through the night watch, and we came up with a more realistic arrival time into Nelson of late Friday or early Saturday morning.Read more
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Cruising NZ
West Coast Day 1 (around the top)
January 2, 2024, Tasman Sea ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Today was D-day. The start of the big part of our adventure, and our longest, most intimidating sail yet. Around the top of the North Island, down the West Coast, past Taranaki, and finishing up in Nelson.

After spending a disappointingly rocky night in Maitai Bay, we completed a few last minute preparations before pulling up the anchor; securing the dinghy, tying some jackstays (to tether onto if we have to go to the bow) and a spot of light breakfast.

A very light easterly wind greeted us, and we pulled the mainsail out to assist the engine, heading for North Cape at about 6 knots. Our maths have us arriving into Nelson late Thursday/early Friday - assuming favorable conditions. However we are prepared for the journey to take longer, and set our Coastguard Trip Tracker App to expect us in around Friday evening.

Unfortunately, conditions did not start out exactly how we hoped, we seemed to have got our timing all wrong and were consistently pushing into 1kt of tide. It felt a bit like sailing through mud.

We rounded North Cape at about 3pm and turned our bow towards Cape Reinga, about 15 miles away. We now had a nice 10kt northerly breeze, which encouraged us to roll out our big headsail (genoa). The nowcasting was still advising that there was 15-20kt from the South at Cape Reinga, so we were on the lookout for the change to come through.

Vela was downstairs and heard a mayday call over the radio from a boat somewhere near the Three Kings. We were over 6 hours sailing to get to the area, and with other vessels nearer and better suited for a rescue attempt, we did not respond. After listening in to the chatter, all vessels were eventually told to stand down. The details were a little unclear but we were advised all were safe, possibly a false alarm.

With Nathan on the helm, the wind went light and a very obvious new breeze from the South was coming in. We tacked the headsail across, and hooked into a beautiful 12kt southerly. The breeze continued to build to about 15kt, so we rolled the big sail away and pulled out our smaller headsail (jib). It was a good thing we had plenty of breeze, our speed through the water was consistently over 8kt, but the tide against us was sometimes closer to 3kt. The mud we were sailing through earlier had turned to quicksand!

The closer we got to Cape Reinga, the rougher the seas got. It really is a nasty piece of water. There were large breakers a long way out past the Cape, so we stayed well clear.

We rounded about 6.30pm, and after some obligatory selfies, Nathan handed over the helm and braved going downstairs to cook some Spaghetti Bolognese for dinner.

Afterwards, we settled into an upwind sail in tricky conditions. Heading mostly Southwest, hoping to find a Westerly change to take back in towards the coast. We felt a little behind where we expected to be, but all onboard were safe and well, and we were mostly headed in the right direction!Read more
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Cruising NZ
New Years Day
January 1, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
This morning a S/SW wind picked up, so we headed across Doubtless Bay to Takerau Bay. We chilled out, recuperating from last night, and Nathan and Daniel went for a dive, hoping to run into a school of Kingfish or other nice eating fish or locate the eligible crayfish. Unfortunately the water was a little unproductive, and we came away with just a couple of Parore.

Afterwards we headed into Mangonui to drop off Daniel, Atusa, Nathan M, Jenny, and Max, with just Nathan, Jamie and Vela staying on board for the passage down the West Coast to Nelson. After topping the fuel tank up (once Nathan finally figured out how to put in the right pump number...) we pulled out some sails and headed out of Doubtless Bay to spend the night in Maitai Bay. A few other boats are anchored in here with us tonight as well.

We will have a bit of a planning session tonight for the journey South. But the brief version is that we'll head around North Cape and Cape Reinga, before heading south down to Nelson. The trip from Maitai Bay is roughly 470 miles which we expect to take around 3-4 days. The weather window is looking really good and we are excited to keep exploring our beautiful country!

Time to get a good night's rest tonight, and we'll touch base again once we're back in cellphone reception.Read more
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Cruising NZ
New Years Eve! Whatuwhiwhi
December 31, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 23 °C
After breakfast, we had one last hunt for some crayfish on the Karikari peninsula (unsuccessful) before it was time to find a spot to anchor up for our NYE party.

We headed further west back to Whatuwhiwhi where the water was flat and we had shelter from the 20kt northwesterly wind.

Junk food, drinks, disco lights and music was the order of the evening. And as a crescendo to our new year's count down, Nathan M and Daniel went for a midnight splash.

Good fun, good vibes, lots of laughs and an all round awesome way to see out 2023!Read more
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Cruising NZ
Maitai Bay
December 30, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
Beach day!

With the best weather forecast for a couple of days, the team voted to head around the peninsula and spend some time at Maitai Bay.

We stopped on the way for a dive, hoping to chance across a couple of crayfish. Unfortunately no luck on that, but Daniel did shoot a couple of pig fish for lunch.

After a couple of hours chilling at the beach, we headed back to the southern side of the Karikari Peninsula for some shelter (it was a bit too rolly at Maitai Bay to spend the night).

Quiet day ahead of what will likely be a big one tomorrow...Read more
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Cruising NZ
2
Whatuwhiwi - Karikari Peninsula
December 29, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 21 °C
After a very peaceful night, we woke up to some beautiful cafe quality coffees before heading for a brief sail along the peninsula. We returned to the bay where we stopped briefly last night, and found it a much more comfortable anchorage with less swell and a better wind direction.

Nathan and Daniel went for a dive, with Nathan M and Jenny snorkeling nearby and Jamie mothering the group from the dinghy. After a pretty quiet start, as we all swam towards the headland, the water came to life with fish of all different varieties. 2-spot Demezel, Koheru, Snapper, Red Moki, Butterfish, and even a school of Kingfish. Daniel managed to put a shaft through a nice Kingfish, much to everyone's excitement!

Wanting to contribute, Nathan ducked back into the water and found a brace of beautiful butterfish to add to the haul. Both Nathan and Daniel also shot a Koheru each, rumored to make delicious sashimi (and proven to be true!)

The afternoon was spent dealing to the fish, and finding some neighbors to deliver some fresh Kingfish. There was also some paddleboarding and swimming. For dinner, Daniel cooked up the Butterfish and Kingfish for some wraps.

We were treated to a gorgeous sunset, and we all know "red at night, shepherds delight", so fingers crossed for an awesome day tomorrow!Read more
Traveler Max's finger guns 😂
12/29/23Reply
Traveler Need to put this photo in the Herald photo competition
12/29/23Reply
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