Vela Huang

Vela Huang

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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
3 likes
Cruising NZ
Whatuwhiwhi
December 28, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
This morning was a little bit of boat admin (cleaning) before we made a short hop over to Mangonui. Today we were greeted by an additional five crew members; Daniel returned with Atusa, as well as Max, Jenny and Nathan M.

Max arrived first, but after a big night previously he went downstairs to rest. While we waited for everyone else to show up, we were treated to a spectacle as a pod of orca showed up. The orca hung around for about 30 minutes, and had upwards of 8 individuals, including a very large male and a couple of juveniles.

Afterwards Daniel and Atusa arrived and Nathan treated the team to an ice cream, Jamie was particularly happy with his lemonade popsicle (cheap date).

Nathan and Jenny arrived with all the provisions for the boat, and after we had packed everything and everyone into Starling, we set off for the Karikari peninsula. After about an hour and a half of motoring through a slightly uncomfortable sea sea-state and some fog, our first spot was not particularly comfortable with the boat lying perpendicular to the swell. So we tucked in a bit closer at Whatuwhiwhi and found a flat anchorage for the evening.

Another wicked meal by Vela with sous chef Max and everyone set off to bed for an early night. Fingers crossed for some decent weather tomorrow and some snorkeling!Read more
Wow, the orca looked really close to land. How many were there? [Jeanette]
12/28/23Reply
TravelerThere was somewhere between 8 to 10 (hard to count) and yeah they were right up in about 4 or 5 meters of water. This was just off the Mangonui fish and chip shop.
12/28/23Reply
Even more WOW. Yea I recognized Mangonui :) [Jeanette]
12/29/23Reply
2 likes
Cruising NZ
Whangaroa to Doubtless Bay
December 27, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
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
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Cruising NZ
3
Boxing Day at Stevie's
December 26, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 21 °C
We woke up in the morning to blue sky! We hadn't seen any for a couple of days so Nathan got excited to do a load of washing, unfortunately the blue sky didn't last long...

Leftover croissants for breakfast while we motored over to Stevie's to take Emma and Josh for a snorkel. We shot a couple of fish, with both Jamie and Vela shooting their first fish with a spear gun! Vela shot a nice Red Moki (yes we known you shouldn't shoot them, but there are heaps around and it was a good first fish for Vela!) And Jamie shot a big fat Silver Drummer. We experimented with the Red Moki as sashimi, but quickly decided it was better cooked, and the Silver Drummer, while not the most luxurious fish, was edible in a curry for dinner.

We pulled out the headsail on the way back to Whangaroa where we said goodbye to Emma and Josh. Both enjoyed their short stay, but unfortunately got a little queasy from the waves.

Now we're completely sick of the damp drizzle, but the forecast is looking up for the next few days, so hopefully Nathan will be able to get that washing dry...Read more
Traveler Vela looks like a secret agent
12/27/23Reply
Traveler🤫
12/27/23Reply
Traveler😂
12/27/23Reply
3 likes
Cruising NZ
Christmas Day
December 25, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
A slow day for Christmas, as it should be! Nathan whipped up a batch of breakfast pizzas (pancakes) and we picked up Nathan's sister (Emma) and hey boyfriend (Josh) from Whangaroa Marina in the afternoon.

Nathan, Emma and Josh went for an epic paddleboard around the bay, playing with the eagle rays in the shallows by the mangroves for a long time.

After being threatened by Vela that we only had pumpkin for dinner, we endeavored to catch a couple of fish for dinner. We managed three small Kahawai which Vela turned into a delicious meal.

We finished the night playing some board games and polishing off a bottle of red wine, when a gust blew Emma's paddleboard off the boat, resulting in an all hands on deck rescue mission (which was successful).Read more
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Cruising NZ
Christmas Eve in Waihi Bay
December 24, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
After our hike up the Duke's nose, it was time to drop Daniel off back on shore so he could spread some Christmas cheer (aka crayfish).

We motored into Whangaroa Marina, spotting a couple of shark fins behind the boat (they really seem to be everywhere at the moment!) and dropped Daniel off. Afterwards we headed back out to find a nice quiet spot to settle in for the evening. Waihi cove looked perfect and there were no other boats in sight.

We spent the rest of the evening paddleboarding around the bay (in between the rain) spotting heaps of eagle rays, Parore, Kahawai snapper and more from the surface. Nathan hooked a baby kingfish and even after playing with camera angles still couldn't make it look big.

We traded in the Pig Fish and Goat Fish from previous days for some "Cow Fish" (steak) for a change, which Jamie cooked to perfection. And we ended the evening with a nightcap (or six) and tried out a little bit of night time photography.

The bay was perfectly still, and we had a very peaceful sleep, with just the sounds of Morepork and Kiwi calling in the bush.Read more
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Cruising NZ
The Duke's Nose
December 24, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
Christmas Eve morning. After a couple of days where we didn't do a lot, we thought it was time to stretch our legs and do some sightseeing. So after a slow morning, we had trevally pita's for lunch and launched the dinghy for a shore excursion.

We landed at Lane Cove hut and hiked up the track to the Duke's Nose, roughly 30 min and 180m elevation. The track was a bit muddy after the wet weather, but super interesting with steep sections held together with tree roots and a couple of sections where you have to scale a cliff (aided by a safety pole).

Although it was cloudy, the views were still epic, and brought to mind scenes from Avatar.

After a photo shoot at the top, we headed back down the track for a dip in the water to cool off.Read more
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Cruising NZ
Stevie's to Whangaroa Harbour
December 23, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
Nathan and Daniel started the day by getting into their wetsuits for a 7am dive. A relatively short dive as Nathan's mask was fogging up badly, but it yielded some good results. Two Goatfish and two Painted Moki going into the fish bin. Both species are very striking, the Painted Moki with it's bold stripes, and the Goatfish with it's electric blue markings on its face and fins.

After that the weather closed in and we had light drizzle or worse for most of the day. In one of the few breaks in the weather, the team packed the boat up and headed for Whangaroa Harbour. The rain didn't stay away long and Nathan was very quickly nominated to be at the helm in his wet weather gear.

Cruising through the Whangaroa Harbour entrance, and with the misty rain and low cloud it felt a little like we were in Milford Sound. The Duke's nose was still quite an impressive feature as well, hoping we'll be able to climb it in the coming days if the weather improves.

Vela fried the Goatfish whole with ginger, garlic, soy sauce and oyster sauce for a delicious dinner. The Painted Moki will be delivered to Nathan's parents for smoking (possibly our last chance to get smoked fish).

Fingers crossed we get some better weather for Christmas!Read more
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Cruising NZ
2
Stevie's Island - Butterfish Bonanza
December 22, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 21 °C
Yesterday was about the crayfish, today's theme is the Butterfish.

This morning we woke up to find our anchorage had gotten a little bumpy overnight. So after everyone had crawled out of their beds, we packed up the boat and left to find a calmer spot at Stevie's Island.

Once we got out of the shelter of the Cavalli's, the sea state was very uncomfortable. Daniel went a bit green and quietly made a contribution to Tangaroa off the back of the boat. After about an hour and a half, the water got a little bit calmer as we got around the Western side of Stevie's. We found a likely looking spot and put the anchor down for lunch.

Unfortunately the swell was bending around the corner, so we opted to try and tuck in a little closer and succeeded in a marginal improvement in comfort. Nathan and Daniel jumped in for a dive, setting a couple of ground baits to try and lure in a snapper. Although there were a couple of legal snapper feasting on the busted up kina, nothing was worth taking so we let them be.

Nathan did bump into a nice fat Butterfish, and popped a nice shot off just behind the gills. After a little bit of extrication from the seaweed, Nathan ticked off another target species, and we had a beautiful feed for dinner, adding to the Butterfish Daniel shot previously.

It was a bit of a miserable afternoon with rain showers, so indoor activities prevailed for the rest of the afternoon (excluding Nathan catching and accidentally releasing a nice Kahawai).

For dinner, Vela whipped up a soup using the bones of the Butterfish, as well as her Chinese pork belly specialty dish, while Nathan and Daniel crumbed and fried up the Butterfish.Read more
Traveler That swaying 🤢🤢🤢
12/22/23Reply
TravelerYeah, that's what did Daniel in, I think we all felt a little bit off because of it for a little while
12/22/23Reply
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Cruising NZ
Crayfish Craze
December 21, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
Today we found a good Crayfish spot at the Cavalli's (sorry it's a long one)

But first, we left our anchorage at Waiiti Bay to explore more of the Cavalli Islands. On our way to the northern end of the island group, we passed the rainbow warrior wreck. Unsure whether we'd be able to see it, we threw Daniel in the water to have a look. While he could get down far enough to see the seabed, he couldn't spot any sign of the wreck. Given the sea was pretty lumpy in that area, we pulled out and headed for some calmer dive spots.

We found a likely looking spot, and Daniel and Jamie headed off while Vela and Nathan chilled out and had some lunch. A pair of very successful divers returned with 3 legal red crayfish (the 3 smallest in the photo).

Nathan and Vela jumped in next. Nathan headed straight for the reef (Vela was still getting ready) but in about 2 meters of water saw the silhouette of a shark just on the edge of his vision. After a calm swim back to the boat we spotted the shark again as it circled the boat a couple of times before losing interest and swimming off. Not sure if Nathan has bad luck or just smells good (Sharkbait hoo ha ha).

The team regrouped and Vela, Nathan and Daniel braved the water again. The spot was mint with awesome visibility and fish all over the place. Nathan and Vela were playing with the fish just 50m off the back of the boat while Daniel went hunting for more crayfish. There were Sandager's Wrasse, Butterfish, Leatherjackets, Parore, 2-spot Demezel, Black Angelfish, Red Moki, Eagle Rays and more! Nathan and Vela fed the friendly Wrasse a couple of kina.

On the way back to the boat, Daniel found one last Red Crayfish (the second one from the right, the big one is the Packhorse from yesterday). Nathan's trigger finger felt a bit itchy and there was a Leatherjacket that was taunting him, so that got speared and brought back for a post dive snack.

A plan was made for the Crayfish (we had a few favors owing) and the Packhorse, affectionately nicknamed "Pinchy" was selected for dinner. While Vela was whipping up a feast, Jamie dropped Nathan and Daniel back in the water for a dive back towards the boat.

Nathan ticked another species off his hit list, spearing a nice pig fish which will go well with Daniel's Butterfish from earlier.

Vela cooked an epic feed, cooking rice noodles in the crayfish head with a garlic sauce for an entree followed by a Japanese curry with the rest of the cray.Read more
TravelerSounds like Velas restaurant is the place to be in Whangaroa. You guys are so lucky.
12/22/23Reply
TravelerVela’s restaurant love it 🥰
12/22/23Reply
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Cruising NZ
Regroup at the Cavalli's
December 20, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
After running some errands in town and stocking up on some essentials (cooking gas, beers etc) Nathan and Daniel rejoined Jamie and Vela in Matauri Bay. After a quick lunch of smoked fish wraps we headed back out to the Cavalli's for a dive.

Nathan was feeling decidedly average (possibly a minor concussion from hitting his head while packing up the gamefishing boat) so he stayed on the boat while everyone else went for a dip. Daniel managed to pull another nice legal packhorse crayfish which is being kept for dinner tomorrow night. The video shows Daniel grabbing and releasing a female packhorse crayfish, which was unfortunately in berry and then Vela showing us how beautiful the underwater landscape is in NZ.

We returned to Waiiti Bay overnight and had a big feed of fish thanks to Vela (we're nearly through everything we shot/caught the other day now). Even through the overcast skies we had a sweet sunset to watch before turning in for the night.Read more
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Cruising NZ
2
Gamefish & Chill
December 19, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Today the team split up.

Vela and Jamie chose to stay on the yacht to chill out, while Daniel and Nathan headed back to the BOI to go gamefishing with one of Daniel's friends.

After trying for kingfish (unsuccessfully), we headed out wide to find an early season marlin, but unfortunately no big fish today. We did see a couple of Sunfish chilling on the surface which was neat.

Determined not to go home empty handed, we stopped at the Nine Pin for some Kahawai and Snapper. The team are planning to reconvene on the yacht tomorrow for some more adventures.Read more
Traveler 钓到什么？
12/19/23ReplyTranslate
TravelerDidn't get anything 😞 only some Kahawai and a Snapper
12/20/23Reply
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Cruising NZ
Cavalli Islands
December 18, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
An early morning visit into Matauri Bay this morning and we found our good friend Daniel waiting on the beach with his dive gear. So we picked Daniel up and headed out to the Cavalli's to check out what was going on.

In the water for about 5 minutes and Nathan had popped a decent blue Maomao and Daniel had a fat little kahawai. The place was teeming with fish! Nathan had his new 3mm wetsuit which made a massive difference to being able to get deep and take a full breath (compared to the 6.5mm suit). We headed in to the rocks to look for crayfish.

The first spot didn't yield any crayfish, but Daniel found a big pig fish and Nathan shot a fat Parore and another Maomao. Vela and Jamie jumped in for a dip as well and we played with the 360 camera amongst the schools of blue Maomao.

The second spot produced better results for crayfish. After finding some females in berry (with eggs), Nathan found the first potentially legal one and took it back to the boat to measure. While it looks large, it's a packhorse so the tail has to be 216mm long. We one fell just shy of the mark. After some more searching, Daniel yelled out that he had found a monster, and it really was! Nathan also ran into a big Porae to add to the freezer.

After a bit of figuring out how to deal to the cray, Vela cooked up an absolute feast. Looking forward to finding some more of these delicious treats over the coming weeks!Read more
Love the underwater video. Making me jealous with all the fresh seafood. :) [Jeanette]
12/19/23Reply
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Cruising NZ
2
The "Main" Event
December 18, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Today was big for a number of reasons.

Firstly, while dodging rain showers, Nathan and Jamie hooked the repaired mainsail (thanks to Willis Sails) back up to the mast furler. This was a very fiddly job, trying to feed the sail through a small slot in the mast and tighten shackles inside the mast through tiny peep holes with pliers. But we managed and once again we have a mainsail on board!

After this, we fired up the engine in the glassy conditions and finally escaped the BOI! This feels like a big milestone on our trip as we've never taken Starling this far north before. We took an obligatory selfie with the Nine Pin on our way past. Now the real adventure can begin!

After passing the Nine Pin, we were greeted with a bit of breeze so we quickly pulled out our like-new mainsail and took off towards the Cavalli Islands. We stopped for lunch (smoked fish wraps & sandwiches) at Kahangaro island before continuing on to our overnight anchorage at Waiiti Bay on Motukawanui.

While preparing to get in the water for a snorkel, Nathan spotted a shark off the back of the boat, so delayed this excursion. Vela put her drone up (still learning, but a stunning photo regardless). And we also pulled the 360 camera out and braved the sharky waters for a test run.

A little bit of paddleboarding, and another dip in the water to refresh, before spotting the shark cruising past again (a very big fish, 2m+, most likely a Bronze Whaler). Then Vela put together a delicious meal of snapper fillets, chili & garlic noodles, and some fried potatoes.

We settled in for the evening watching the sunset.Read more
TravelerYou're in for a few scorchers over the next few days. Apparently the best place for bugs is on the outside.
12/17/23Reply
Traveler Nate, you and Jamie look a wee bit roasted!
12/18/23Reply
TravelerNah, just sun kissed. Worse after today...
12/18/23Reply
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Cruising NZ
BOI Day 9 (Team Racing)
December 16, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 21 °C
Today started pretty overcast and glassy. Nathan and Jamie motored Starling up the Kerikeri inlet where they spotted the Kerikeri Cruising Club 420s heading out for a sail. Nathan's old high-school coach, Reuben, invited Nathan to jump in for a sail later on (which got Nathan fizzing).

But first, we popped into the marina to grab Vela as well as Nathan's parents. We parked back out in the inlet and cooked up a pancake brunch with the 420s teams racing behind for some entertainment.

After brunch, Nathan jumped in a 420 for a couple of races, winding back the clock to his high school teams racing days. Nathan's team managed a couple of wins (despite Nathan getting penalized on the start line - incorrectly according to Nathan) but once the exhibition teams were put together, Reuben and his team had the edge and made a clean sweep.

Thank you to Kerikeri Cruising Club, it was great fun jumping back in the little boats!

Afterwards, we dropped Nathan's parents back at the marina, topped up with some fuel, and headed out to Whale Bay for the night. Smoked kahawai and veg for dinner.Read more
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Cruising NZ
BOI Day 8 (Legal Snapper)
December 15, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
Well it took us a week to find them, but finally we managed to locate some legal snapper.

We started the day slow, but after the sun came out we headed over to the northern half of the BOI for some fishing. After not much luck (more baby snapper) we took a break for some smoked kahawai sandwiches (YUM! Thanks dad!).

Rather than waste the skin, we thought we'd try it out on a hook. This quickly resulted in a legal (but still small) snapper being pulled on board. We also pulled in a blue Maomao, which we kept for bait.

We parked up for the evening in front of Marsden Cross, and while we ate the earlier snapper for dinner (delicious salad courtesy of Jamie), the snapper came on the bite. We pulled in an extra three snapper, with the largest measuring 37cm. We also bagged a small kahawai which will be perfect as tomorrow's bait.

We finished off watching the sunset and enjoying being back in the wild.Read more
TravelerJust two lads, watching the sunset in the wild ♥️💓💕💞♥️❤️
12/15/23Reply
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Cruising NZ
BOI Day 7 (Return to Roberton)
December 14, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
Last full day today with James and his family and friends. Nathan and James shot out for an early morning fish targeting kingfish - no luck - before returning to pick up the rest of the clan to head back to Roberton Island for the afternoon.

James had a fish from the rocks while Nathan went for a dive. Nathan came out the winner, shooting a Parore and a Leather Jacket for dinner.

Afterwards, everyone said their goodbyes (there is a chance we'll see everyone briefly again tomorrow, but just in case) and Nathan and Jamie headed back out to Moturua Island to spend the night.Read more
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Cruising NZ
BOI Day 6 (Go Away Wind)
December 13, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 20 °C
Another quiet day, trying to hide from the wind. Nathan's parents came over to Russell for lunch and to take Vela to the airport (off to Christchurch for her work Christmas party).

After lunch, we set up a crayfish pot at the Black Rocks and left it to soak overnight before heading up the inlets looking for some shelter. We found a Blue Maomao and a legal snapper but that was all we managed.

Early night.

One smallRead more
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Cruising NZ
BOI Day 5 (The Tour)
December 12, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 20 °C
Very windy day today. So we left the boats where they were and had a little tour of Kerikeri.

Nathan took the team to the Stone Store and Kemp house, and we went to the Plough & Feather for lunch. Afterwards we went for a walk around rainbow falls, then stopped in at Nathan's parents house to say hi to the cats.

Finally we went up Pungaere Road to KeriCorn to get some fresh fruit and veg before heading back to base for dinner.Read more
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Cruising NZ
BOI Day 4 (island hopping)
December 11, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 15 °C
Today was a bit of a family day. The three families (boat family, James' family, and Jordi's family) split themselves between the yacht and the power boat and headed off to Roberton island (Motuarohia) for a picnic and an explore.

When the yacht arrived, they found that the powerboat had been parked a bit close to shore and with the outgoing tide was a little bit beached. A slight learning curve still for James, but a pretty painless lesson really.

After a quick snack on the beach, we split into two groups, one group walked up to the view point, while the other group explored the rocks. When the summit group returned, the rock explorers had found some decent sized crabs, which led to 30 minutes or so hunting crabs for tonight's hotpot.

Afterwards we moved on to Otehei Bay on Urupukapuka Island for a drink and some lunch. After a quick walk to another viewpoint, and checking out the schools of Snapper, Trevally and Parore around the wharf, we departed. We dropped a group back to the yacht while the main group headed for home base on the powerboat.

The yacht group enjoyed a pleasant sail back in about 10kt of wind. A delicious hotpot for dinner which used up the rest of the fish from the other day, followed by a couple hands of poker to round out the day.

Forecast for the next couple days is for stronger wind, so we might be looking at some shore based activities.Read more
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Cruising NZ
BOI Day 3 (the finned friends)
December 10, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
Today was about making finned friends.

We started the day by splitting up. Vela went for a bike ride with James and his family, while Nathan and Jamie opted for a more chilled day on the boat. As Vela was leaving, a pod of dolphins came and played around the boat for about 30 minutes (are we lucky or what?!)

The boat set sail for the sheltered area between Motukiekie and Moturua islands (fondly referred to by us as "the gap") and cruised there at about 4kt - no rush, we had all day! We were greeted with tropical scenery and beautiful water.

We went for a swim with the speargun and found another big fat Porae, and Nathan also decided to take a Parore to try - as we had seen them everywhere but didn't know if they were any good to eat. After about an hour in the water, Nathan and Jamie were knackered so swam back to the boat. On the way, Nathan gathered a few kina for the team back on shore to try.

Before leaving, Nathan dealt to the fish and we were greeted by some very cool (and a little scary) bronze whalers.

A late lunch of Parore wraps (delicious by the way) and we headed for home. James' girls had made a pretty awesome little sand sculpture (got to remember not to fall in when we walk back to the boat later).

Dinner was more fish from yesterday's efforts, including the eel (yum but a little finicky with all the bones) and the rock cod which were also pretty good. Full credit to the chefs!Read more
TravelerShit fish 😂😂
12/11/23Reply
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Cruising NZ
BOI Day 2 (the fish)
December 9, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
Today was all about the fishing.

An early alarm to get James' fishing boat in the water to see what kaimoana we could find. After a quick stop in Russell for some fuel, we set off. Target for the day - kingfish! And hoping to augment the catch with snapper and some other fish.

Our first main stop was out at the nine-pin, where we were greeted with absolute scenes - masses of Parore on the surface feeding. We dropped our lines to the bottom in search of snapper, but only found fish just on the 30cm mark which weren't worth keeping. We did catch a number of rock cod (apparently a delicacy in China, but thrown away in NZ) Grandaddy Hapuka (delicious!) and also three eels (also something I'd usually throw back but James and his family were keen to keep).

We tried a couple of lures after we saw a kingfish chasing a sinker back to boat, but still no luck on that one.

Sick of catching baby snapper, and keen to show a bit more of the bay to the visitors, we shot over to bird rock to see what was on the other side. We found amazing blue water on this side, so we parked up. Here we caught a few blue Maumau, a brace of pink Maumau, a couple more Grandaddy Hapuka, but we were still plagued by 30cm snapper. In hindsight, Nathan wishes he'd jumped in the water here with his spear gun to have a look around given how beautiful the water was.

With a colorful bin full of fish (and empty of bait) we called it a day and went back to base.

We spent the afternoon cleaning and eating the fish (in a range of different dishes) and playing on the beach and in the water. Ready for bed and a Sunday sleep in!Read more
TravelerI caught one of those red spiky fish, grandaddy hapuka? The other day but threw it back as we weren't sure what it was 😄 what is the best way to cook them?
12/9/23Reply
TravelerThey are delicious! Also known as Poor Man's Crayfish, or Scorpion Fish. Personally I like them just pan fried in a bit of butter and maybe a little bit of garlic.
12/9/23Reply
TravelerOh yummmm, I feel so dumb for throwing it back. Hopefully I can get another one
12/9/23Reply
TravelerThey are slow growing so the big ones are probably older than you. Also a favourite of mine. Carefully fillet them out anad cook them in a Mornay sauce and you will think you are eating crayfish.
12/9/23Reply
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Cruising NZ
BOI Day 1 (the beginning)
December 8, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 15 °C
We started today by ticking off a maintenance item. We pulled the mainsail down - something which hadn't been done since the boat was bought three years ago as it has an in-mast furler. After we figured out how to get it down, we motored across to Doves Bay (getting a bit of office work done on the way) where we met up with Nathan's parents.

We received a delivery of essentials (beer, milk and some fresh fruit and veg) and handed over the mainsail to be delivered to a local sailmaker for some repairs and upkeep.

An unexpected side-effect of dropping the mainsail was the foil (the piece which the sail rolls around) clattering around inside the mast. After a little bit of problem solving we managed to stop this for the most part - otherwise there would have been no sleep on the boat - and we headed off to find a spot for a fish and a dive.

We pulled into the Black Rocks, but unfortunately nothing was going on there for us, just a few undersized snapper on the rod. Nathan jumped in with his spear gun for a look around, but was only greeted with schools of Parore, two spot Demezel, and a couple of red Moki (which you aren't supposed to shoot as they're long lived and mate for life), and no sign of any crayfish.

Vela put together a delicious snack platter, and we cruised over to Tapeka to meet up with James, the owner of the boat for dinner. James, his family and friends have a bach booked for the week, and it handily comes with a mooring for Starling.Read more
love the Pōhutukawa photos. miss them. [jeanette]
12/9/23Reply
TravelerThey're all just coming into blossom now, look awesome 😊
12/9/23Reply
5 likes
Cruising NZ
Bland Bay - Oke Bay
December 7, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Today we made it to home waters.

After some running repairs were made to a couple of small tears in the mainsail, we left Bland Bay to head into the Bay of Islands.

Almost immediately the wind dropped away to nothing, so unfortunately there was a bit of motoring again today. We made a plan to stop on the southern side of Cape Brett to go for a fish and maybe a dive. As we approached the spot we had picked, we noticed some birds working the water. A quick change of direction and we were straight into some fish.

We trolled for some kahawai and quickly pulled in 5 decent fish. We then thought we'd try a couple of deeper lures to see what might be underneath this massive ball of fish we had found. We pulled up a couple of small snapper before Nathan hooked something significantly bigger, unfortunately it broke off so we didn't get to identify what it was, but our best guess was either a large snapper or a small Kingy. Jamie hooked a nice little pan sized snapper and with a boat full of fish we called it a day.

We motor sailed around Cape Brett into Deepwater Cove where we planned to spend the night. We had one of the smallest kahawai for Sashimi, while three have been prepped to go into dad's smoker tomorrow (one gifted to mum and dad of course), while the rest were filleted and have gone into the fridge.

We moved spots down to Oke Bay after the South Westerly wind came in and made Deepwater Cove a bit uncomfortable. Vela cooked up the Porae from last night Chinese style with some courgettes and other goodies for dinner, and we watched the sun set with the R Tucker Thompson providing a pretty backdrop.Read more
3 likes
Cruising NZ
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 overnight 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 unsuitable. We pulled the pin a couple of 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
TravelerThink many more challenges are ahead - all part of the journey :)
12/7/23Reply
6 likes
Cruising NZ
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.

In the 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 tomorrow. Fingers crossed the weather holds... 🤞Read more
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