Panarama, Pa and Paul

Woke early (even before the birds?)to a beautiful morning in Whangaruru, having arrived there last night and anchoring in the upper reaches of the harbour, near Bland Bay.

Such a nice morning, we decided to go ashore and explore.  According to the local tourism blurb..."Bland bay is an undiscovered piece of Northland Paradise with a huge reputation for great fishing, diving and recreational water sports.
 - 65kms north of Whangarei, 30kms south of Russell
- Fishing and diving at your doorstep

Evidently this area is of particular significance to Ngatiwai, who are the tangata whenua (Local tribe).  Uhimoanariki, the first ancestor of Ngapuhi, named this place "Whangaruru" while sailing up the coast. Legend has it that iIt took Puhi a long time to find a good sheltered place to settle, so when he did he named it "Whangaruru" Whanga (to wait), ruru (to shelter), or alternatively the sheltered harbour.  There are a number of Pa's (fortified Maori settlements) like this one we climbed just outside the cluster of holiday homes. You can see the ridges that were made for the fortifications on the right side of the hill.

Decided to head further down the coast to Teal Bay after contacting an old buddy, Paul Mcintosh who was up at the family bach for the weekend. Tried to find a suitable anchorage within the bay in several locations, but were either on a lee shore where we would be reluctant to leave the yacht unattended, or we couldn't find good holding.  The wind was gusting up over 15 kts but we eventually found shelter near an almost completed multi-million dollar house being built by, according to the locals,  a Russian millionaire who had purchased the local farm for $15mill in order to get access to the beach-side property.  It was great to catch up with Paul and Christine, there with their oldest daughter, Alice.  Paul and I were part of the legendary Balunatix, infamous as much for their practical jokes as their singing prowess and mastery of the well-known "Dead-Ants" antics - well before 'planking' became popular!

We headed back to the boat late afternoon in the ever-reliable rubber ducky with the little 2.5 Merc doing a splendid job on the 2 kms leg across to the other side of the bay.  The wind was predicted to back from the NW into the South, so we decided to head up the coast to one of my favourite anchorages, Whangamumu.  A deep enclosed harbour which is a safe anchorage in almost any wind direction. Some of the yachts were expected to hold up there on their way back after completing the Coastal Classic race from Auckland to Russell the previous Friday.  We had seen some of the stragglers on our way down from the Cape.

Unfortunately the wind stayed very light and stubbornly in our faces so we ended up motoring most of the way  on the 13 nautical miles back up the coast.  The new prop and serviced engine are going really well, with 2300rpm giving us 5.6-5.8 kts.  We tried a range of revs to see what worked the best - with 2900rpm pushing us to our theoretical hull speed of 6.8 knots.  Throttling back to 2200-2300 is however, a lot more economical!

We set up way-points on the marine GPS as we expected to arrive on dusk and the entrance to Whangamumu is quite narrow and long, with jagged rocks either side about 100m apart.

About half a dozen boats already anchored still left plenty of room and we cooked a late dinner of steak and pasta to top off another great day.

Going Coastal with Canny

As I sit in the cockpit in the upper reaches of of Whangaruru supping a good NZ Pinot Noir with the smell of Thai Green Chicken curry wafting from the galley... life is good!

Yesterday my old sailing buddy, Brian (Canny) Caston and I set off from Opua for a bit of coastal exploration.  We had intended to get around Cape Brett and head down the coast but 25 gusting 35 knots of NW meant that it was a little like a washing machine and, not being in a hurry, we detoured to Awaawaroa (Pipi) Bay for the night till the front blew through. Went ashore in this gorgeous bay and bushcrashed along the ridge (so Canny could get cell coverage!) - the necessities of the modern electronic sailor!

Gradually ticking off my maintenance list - scraped, sanded and refinished the tiller while Canny rewired all the flourescent fittings to work on my new led energy efficient tubes. The old ballast system had to be disconnected but they now work great.

The SW front disappeared overnight and we were up bright and early to get some other jobs done (after some nice poached eggs on Vogels toast). Replaced the solar ventilator (which fortunately fitted into the same screw holes and did a few other little things before setting off toward Cape Brett in a gentle NW breeze.  We saw some of the Coastal Classic yachts which had raced up from Auckland on Friday to finish at Russell.  A few of the smaller yachts were still finishing and the big boys were already motoring flat out back south.

The breeze stayed in the north all day and we had a brilliant relaxed broad reach from the cape down the coast, averaging 4-5 kts in 8-10 knots of wind.  Must get a light air sail sometime...

Decided to continue on to Whangaruru, arriving a little after 5pm and motored deep into the harbour anchoring in 2.5m at nearly low tide.  A great day!

Canny taking his ease!

Cape Brett Lighthouse

Sunset in Whangaruru

Sailing and an overnighter...

Great patch of weather in the Winterless North (I hear it has been raining in Melbourne) - too good to sit around the dock contemplating my list of jobs.  Last time I spent 15 days here I sailed on three of them and the rest of the time was spent either on the hard or waiting for the storm fronts to pass.  

So Carpe Diem, as they say, and yesterday afternoon I set with a beautiful Northwester up my date (Kiwi for wind from behind!)

Making 6-7.5 kts on  a broad reach through to Tapeka point then eased sheets and cruised through behind Roberton Island and with a fading breeze dropped the pick in Waipiro bay... Still a breeze blowing through the gap in the hills, but gradually calmed down as the day faded.

Tiller Pilot steers great - allows careful skippers to take photos from up forward! No drama at over 7 knots on a calm sea...

 Beautiful sunset ...
...and only moored boats in sight - aahh the serenity!

This morning, no doubt to the singular amazement of close family members,  I was up early and under way by 0700 with a cup of char and a zephyr to steer by I ghosted out past Urupukapuka and through the last of the islands, close-hauling out toward Cape Brett before tacking back in a building Northerly breeze., 

B

 Under a cloudy sky the breeze strengthened to near 20 kts and I even wound in the Genoa (albeit briefly)a few turns to ease the strain - my newly mounted inclinometer in the cockpit had us on a tight reach at 15-20 deg most of the way back to Tapeka Point, then sheets eased and powered up the estuary on a flooding spring tide.

Home, showered, shaved and shampooed to await the arrival of Canny Caston tonight bringing more gear and edible supplies for our Labour Weekend expedition.

I've already sailed more than the whole of the last trip over - must have my priorities right this time, I reckon.  Jobs can wait for rainy days!!! 

Sailed, shopped and re-connected

Up early this morning I saw young James the Marine Mechanic outside his new business "JB Marine" which he recently took over.  They did the bulk of the work on Kalai the past couple of times.  James just got married so we had a yarn for a while and then I wandered down to the General Store to get some breakfast, lunch and dinner supplies.  

Unfortunately the Tall ships left yesterday for Auckland, was disappointed not to have have seen the seven sailing vessels which had raced here from Sydney last week. Several were here in Opua n Sunday for people to have a look through...

Back to the Dianes's cafe for a delicious strong flat white - she showed  me the beans they use from an Auckland company "Roasted expresso" which had won some awards - sure tasted good!  Over to Cater Marine for a couple of bits for the hose so I can fill the water tanks on my own.  Filled tanks and then did a couple of the jobs I had planned, but it looks like some of the tasks need an extra pair of hands - might wait for Canny arriving later in the week.

Such a gorgeous day, my plans to just mooch around were abandoned and I quickly organised sheets and lines and cast off around 2pm - the new prop sure has a little more bite in reverse, but poor Kalai's bottom is a little cretinous with growth from sitting for a few months...

Turned on the Suunto to track progress and it seems pretty accurate.  The motor and prop sound a lot better now and we were making over 6 kts at 2300rpm with a lot less vibration than before.

I thought I was seeing Barry's old boat, Masumi, coming toward me - close, but no cigar! Still, it was the same paint scheme on the old H28!











Brilliant day for the para-gliding company towing two, no doubt delighted, clients through the brilliant spring sunshine.

Lo and behold, one of the tall ships was still anchored off Russell - amazingly beautiful craft...

I was going to pull out the Genoa and head back... but it was such a beautiful sailing breeze I couldn't resist tacking over toward Paihia and then, what the heck, may as well put up the mainsail and managed a couple of beats back toward Tapeka Point before the wind dropped.  The tide was just starting to turn so I dropped the main and pottered along under headsail for half an hour with a light northerly breeze and making 1-2 kts. Put the Tiller Pilot on and relaxed on the stern seat with a cold one and some Kettle Chips... tough life!

All of a sudden the wind switched around to the south-west and kicked up to 15-20kts so was able to have a great beat straight up the estuary under just head-sail making 5-6 kts right thrugh to the marina.

Brilliant day-sail with a finely engineered chicken pasta dish for tea washed down with a Taylor's Shiraz.  Should sleep well tonight!

Arrived and at 'Home'

I'm sipping on a glass of Shiraz listening to Sibelius on the Exogear waterproof speakers connected via bluetooth from the newly arrived ship-based ruggedised laptop having connected the new Wifi Antenna  which has improved the network connection immensely for us far-end-of-the dock-dwellers.. I can't imagine why various family members thought that most of my 28kg of checked luggage was gadget related?

An early start today but a nice flight on Emirates 380 Airbus - I managed to book seat 43C, and must remember that particular row in future.  Right at the front of the lower level with heaps of leg-room without the designation of an 'exit' row.

Caught the shuttle into town straight away after a long wait at the baggage carousel - Over 500 passengers' bags take a while to unload, I guess.

Stopped at my favourite cafe in the arcade near the bottom of Queen street, then sorted out bank cards and phone card issues and thought I would see if anyone was at home at Roger and Ryoko's place.  Sure enough the windows were open and Uncle Roger was in residence... Good to catch up, have a cold drink and a piece of his famously delicious home-made raisin toast.

Beautiful day in Auckland with fluffy white clouds, blue sky and sea breeze.  They have had heaps of wind as we have in Melbourne recently, so this was one out of the box. Forecast looks pretty promising for this week at least...

Said farewell to Rog and over to the Naked Bus terminal at 5pm where 'Jonno' my driver from the last trip was waiting.  I said: "Heavy Bag, mate!" and he said with  chuckle "Ohh if its more than 20kg that's another HUNDRED BUCKS! You can load it yourself then... it needs to go right at the back 'cause you're last off!"
At least this was a full size bus with decent seats - unlike the last time in a 14 seater van!

It's a nice relaxed trip up, taking just over three hours for the 225kms.  I managed to track the journey on the gps watch so knew how far we had to go at various points.  Jonno dropped me at the top of Opua hill as the last light of the day faded and I hauled bag, backpack and camera down the long hill (no street lights here, mate!) and along to E pier.

Everything looks OK on Kalai and I'll just need to drop along to the General Store in the morning to pick up some of their freshly baked sourdough and a few other supplies.

It's good to be back!  Might even sneak out for a sail in the next couple of days if the weather is as good as it is supposed to be.

Time for some sleep - 10:25 pm in Melbourne, but 12:25 am here...

Readying to go...

2yr old Samuel

A busy weekend with a wedding (Karl and Laura) most of Saturday in a delightful part of Victoria (Macedon ranges) at the Bringalbit Retreat.  Then a Church Forum this morning and our beloved grandson Samuel's second birthday this afternoon at Yarra Glenn with friends and family.

Nearly finished packing tonight for my October NZ visit to visit(in probably this order) Kalai the Yacht, Barry and Ruby (in-laws), Whangaroa Harbour and perhaps the Poor Knights Islands, Roger and Ryoko in Auckland.

I leave on the early Emirates flight which gets me in to Auckland at 1345 local time, catch the shuttle into the city, visit the bank to activate the new credit/debit cards and then catch the 17:15 Naked Bus to Opua Hill, walk down the hill admiring the sunset and towing my heavy bag... along the marina foreshore and out E pier to E63 (home of Kalai) arriving about 9pm Monday evening.

Hope to get a few maintenance jobs done (yes, I have a list!) and then 'Canny' Caston is arriving Thursday night for a bit of serious coastal exploring over the next 4-5 days.

Must get to bed and get a few hours sleep before the early morning dash to Tullamarine...

SkipperG

This week I am at attending a Wellspring run silent "Retreat by the Sea" at Santa Casa in Queenscliffe, a beautiful town on the Bellarine peninsular.  I've even managed to bring a couple of my sea kayaks with me, and some photography gear, so hoping to find some sacred spaces on the water and through the lens.

The key thought as we begin comes from a James McAuley poem "A letter to John Dryden":

Incarnate Word in whom

all nature lives

Cast flame upon the earth;

raise up contemplatives

Among us, those who walk

within the fire

Of ceaseless prayer,

impetuous desire,

Set pools of silence

in this thirsty land

Looking forward to a week of quiet and discovering some 'pools of silence'...