More images from the Hauraki Gulf

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Hauraki Gulf Adventures

Our time in the Hauraki Gulf provided us with some of the best cruising we have experienced in New Zealand as well as a variety of weather patterns including Cyclone Hola (which passed well east of us while were at Gulf Harbour Marina), a Gale warning at Coromandel, beautiful beam reach sailing, the occasional rain shower and brilliant sunshine.  Over the past 10 days have sailed in company with Bonnie Lass, Blue Summit, Lola II, Mahia and Udder Life at Waiheke Island, and enjoyed a brief visit by the crew of Summer Lovin’ here on holidays from Melbourne.  Also with Blue Summit we had dinner with Rob & Jenny and Doug & Althea (Morepork) while in Gulf Harbour.

When we departed Gulf Harbour after the cyclone had passed with Bonnie Lass, Malakite and Manuhaea joined Blue Summit and ourselves at Coromandel.  A mini ICA Pacific Circuit 2017 Rally reunion!

Daily walks over coastal headlands presented us with spectacular views of the islands, waterways and sometimes a glimpse of Auckland in the distance.  Harvesting mussels from the dinghy, diving for scallops and collecting cockles as well as a catching the odd snapper added to our enjoyment. 

 Plus the inevitable beach clean up, a small contribution to addressing a universal problem.

Sunset drinks were planning sessions for the next day when our tour leaders - Jenny and Rob and their fellow NZ sailors shared their local knowledge and many useful tips that added to the experience.  

We enjoyed a few shared meals, mussels 4 ways on Bonnie Lass, a beach BBQ where we cooked our catch of cockles and scallops provided by Mike, then a grand Saint Patricks Day feast on Malakite - Guinness with scallops, smoked salmon with a Citron Vodka chaser, mains of roast vegetables, Collcannon Pie and fresh peas, then an amazing desert banquet of green jelly and macaroons with croissant bread and butter pudding followed by Bailey’s Irish cream and chocolates!  - with the odd Irish Jig playing in the background and a few Irish jokes there was much laughter.  

This was our last evening together as a group and sadly we farewelled Bonnie Lass and Manuhaea the following day and sailed back from Coromandel to Ponui Island where enjoyed a final sundowner with Malakite.  

Many thanks to Rob & Jenny for organising a fantastic 10 days showcasing their local cruising grounds and to Glen & Jillian (Malakite), Mike & Pete (Manuhaea), Justin & Linda (Lola 2), Wally & Celia (Udder Life),  Malcolm & Pauline (Mahia II) and Brian & Lisa (Summer Lovin)  for coming and contributing to a great experience for us visitors.  And of course our fellow visitors Steve & Kate (Blue Summit).

New Zealand arrival 2018

We arrived in New Zealand in Opua on Saturday March 3 after a swift 7 day passage from Australia.  

Many thanks to our weather router Bruce Buckley for assisting us on our passage across the Tasman.  After a small stop in Marsden Cove to check a blockage to the port engine ( all clear, no problems) we motored in to Opua for our Customs and BioSecurity clearance, then around to our berth in Opua Marina.  

Ben’s wife Helen arrived from Auckland along with our sailing buddies Kate and Steve (Blue Summit) for welcome drinks on Lettin’Go then dinner at the Opua Sailing Club for traditional Fish’n’Chips.

Sunday saw us enjoying a fantastic breakfast at the marina cafe then into Kerikeri to replenish the fresh produce before our departure on Tuesday.  Ben and Helen provided their transport and assistance with getting ourselves organized. Ben had another trip up the mast, this time to the very top to straighten one of the wind vanes that had a visible bend - probably the result of a seabird trying to land on it during the last few days of our passage.  

We enjoyed the Sunday Roast at the sailing club to round off the day.  It was sad to farewell Ben and Helen on Monday, Ben had been with us for over a month since arriving in Australia to help us our before we departed for NZ.  Many thanks to Ben for all his assistance and to Helen for supporting us from afar.

We enjoyed our motor/sail south to the Hauraki Gulf passing a traditional waka sailing canoe and the Queen Mary 2 as we departed the Bay of Islands.  What a contrast.

We had overnight stop at Matarouri  Bay then on to Kawau Island to meet up with Blue Summit where Kate & Steve hosted us for dinner.   The next morning saw us leaving in heavy rain and strong winds before it eased for a great day sail down to Waiheke Island where we met up with some fellow rally boats from last year.  

Bonnie Lass - Rob and Jenny whose back yard we plan to explore are giving us visitors (Lettin'Go & Blue Summit) a tour of their favorite anchorages, walks, restaurants and wineries.   More of that in the next post.

Let's do it again...!

We enjoyed our Pacific adventures that much last year, plus we have much unfinished business that we have decided to do it again. This year we plan to do more cruising in NZ before heading for Tonga in May. Our time in Tonga was very short last year due to weather delays leaving NZ and a fixed time to arrive in Fiji with the rally. This year we are sailing independently and plan to spend about 6 weeks in Tonga before heading to Fiji to explore areas we didn't get to last year.

Its Thursday March 1st, late afternoon and we are 147nm from North Cape, New Zealand. Today is day 6 of our passage from the Gold Coast, Australia and we hope to be in Opua Saturday afternoon/evening.

Friday 1st February Lettin'Go arrived at Boatworks, Coomera to undertake the normal antifoul and out of the water boat maintenance jobs. We changed our antifoul paint which was a much bigger project and we were fortunate that Craig from Signature stepped up to make this happen in our time frame.

The engines needed the cooling systems attended to plus the hydraulic steering required new seals and the replacement of the hydraulic fluid.

Our friend Ben from New Zealand who is crewing with us flew over on Feb 3 to help us out and took on the task of the waxing and varnishing in the amazing 35 plus degree heat we experienced in February. Ben also assisted us with many other tasks and over the two weeks we spent at Boatworks including repainting anchor chain markings and the hydraulic system project.

We had the opportunity to catch up with fellow sailors from our Pacific Circuit Rally and enjoyed a few meals and sunset drinks with them. Thank you to Wind of Change, Jams, Alexandra, Kena for being there to share our stories and give us an excuse to have a break from boat jobs.

Cyclone Gita delayed our planned departure date and we spent a week at Hope Harbour Marina completing many of the smaller jobs, last minute shopping plus cooking for the passage. Friday Feb 23 our planned departure date saw us heading to Southport Yacht Club for Border Force clearance. However as we passed the Gold Coast Seaway and saw waves breaking in the seaway we delayed our departure by a day.

Saturday Feb 24 and we were heading for New Zealand in heavy rain squalls and confused seas. The seaway had settled overnight and it was not long before we lost sight of the Gold Coast high rise in the clouds and rain.

A little bit of excitement occurred during the afternoon when Cran heard something metallic drop onto the deck while he was having a rest. He retrieved a bolt from the deck and we identified the culprit - our spotlight located above the radar had an alarming wobble. Ben volunteered to climb the mast to the crows nest with a screwdriver and secured the light. Many thanks Ben, a problem solved in challenging conditions. That evening we also had a toilet holding tank Y valve issue that will have to be fixed once we reach NZ. Thankfully not too messy!! The benefits of having 2 toilets on board, no need for a bucket when one toilet is out of service. 😱