Tag: Bay Of Islands

2021, Bay Of Islands, February 2021, Whangarei

Away We Go

Our turn back to Whangerie took a bit more time than expected. The doctors wanted to run some bloodwork and tissue sample tests on my “bites”. Turns out they are not bites at all. In fact, after a battery of tests they still aren’t sure what is causing the lesions on my body. What we do know is that the anti fungal medication they gave me is working. After six days it has decreased the size of the large one and completely removed the other two. This, even though the test for fungal infection came back negative. Yes, leave it to me to be the weird medical freak who stumps doctors all over New Zealand. So, since the medication is working we decided it is time to get moving again. We’ll never be more than a few days away from medical care and sitting around weeks waiting to see a Dermatologist seems ridiculous so we topped off our provisions and hit the waterways and away we go!

Exiting the Hatea River

It is another beautiful New Zealand summer’s day today. The sun is high and warm and there’s a little breeze blowing. We say our goodbyes to our dock mates, Tony & Nicki, and we cast off the lines. This time I’m feeling confident that we will make it past Tutukaka but I’m trying not to tempt fate so I’m just enjoying each and every sight along the way.

There wasn’t supposed to be much wind today. We planned for a motor trip but as we get down river the winds are blowing 10-15 knots so we put up the main and turn off the engine. Aaahhhhh! Now THAT is what we like to hear….nothing but the wind blowing across the sails and the water lapping at Dazzler’s hull. It’s perfect and we’re both smiling these huge Grape Ape like grins!!!

We turn the corner at the mouth of the river and there’s still a great wind so we throw up the jib and the next thing we know we’re cruising along between 6-8 knots. Of course this is New Zealand so the winds can do some pretty weird things. One minute you’ve got 15 knots on your port quarter then it dies completely. A few seconds later and you’ve got 25 knots on the nose. Yes, sailing in New Zealand requires you to be ready to change tactics at a moments notice and today is no exception. Of course Dan has it down and we make it to Tutukaka in under four hours. Anchor down beers came a bit earlier than expected today. BONUS!

It’s quite a change from our previous stay here. There’s not even half as many boats in the anchorage. And, the anchorage isn’t roly at all. It’s rather calm and serene. We drop our anchor almost directly on top of the spot we did the last time. I like this spot beside the little rock island. It’s quiet and very pretty. Since we’re only staying one night we never even drop Sparkle in the water. We just sit back and enjoy the views. Unfortunately since there are fewer boats the show isn’t as good but the views more than make up for it.

After some down time Dan cooks up a couple of delicious New Zealand filets and sweet corn on the grill. The meat in this country is AMAZING! Later we watch an after dinner movie and then it’s off to bed because we have a big day ahead.

Route from Whangerie to Tutukaka

Rise And Shine

Morning comes more quickly than I anticipated. Dan is rousting me from the bunk at 0630. Time to make tracks. We’ve got a long trip up the coast from here to the Bay of Islands. I am barely awake when he fires up the engine and heads to the bow to take off the snubber. I stumble around getting dressed then make a final sweep through the cabin to be sure everything is secured. All is clear so I don my headset and take my place in the cockpit.

Before leaving the bay we put up the main and then make our way to the ocean. It’s another gorgeous day here. The winds are perfect for sailing and we’ve got a nice tail current pushing us along. The further north we get the more incredible the coastline looks. Soon we see Cape Brett in the distance. I remember seeing the light from the lighthouse there on our first trip into New Zealand in 2018. I was on watch that night and was delighted to see the first lights of New Zealand. It had been a pretty rough trip down from Tonga so seeing this beacon of light made me feel like we were almost home. Of course we’d traveled some 7500 NM to get here. Anyway, it was sort of nice to see the lighthouse once again.

Cape Brett, New Zealand
Cape Brett and Piercy Island

Just off of Cape Brett is a rocky island called Piercy Island. It’s really beautiful and looks just like a woolly mammoth standing in the water. I am always fascinated by the animals and faces you can see in the rocks of these islands. If you ask the islanders they will tell you it’s part of the mana or the soul of the islands. Ever since I learned about mana I see it everywhere.

WE MADE IT!

We round Piercy Island and Cape Brett and it’s official Dazzler has reached the Bay of Islands! WOOHOO! We’re so excited to be here after all we’ve been through with my medical junk and a couple of boat issues. It’s difficult to explain just what it looks like here. As I keep saying it’s rocky and rough but it’s also quite beautiful. Everywhere you look there are small coves where a boat can tuck in for a night or a few weeks. It’s just magical.

Since we never have been really certain we would make it this far I guess we both just didn’t think to stop and plan where we were going to go when we got here. It’s very unlike us not to have some sort of plan but here we are without one. 

The winds are coming out of the southeast so we take to one of the cruising guidebooks and start looking for a place to spend the night. We finally settle on Paradise Bay which is on the west side of Urupukapuka Island. Yeah…say that three times fast! As we make the turn from Albert Channel to head to the anchorage we notice quite interestingly that there are boats anchored in the bays on either side of Paradise Bay but none actually in it. Hmmmm….Is it because there’s some issue that we don’t know? It’s always hard to tell with these things.

We decide we’re going to take our chances. After all, we prefer an isolated anchorage to one teeming with other yachts. We head in to find a place to drop the hook. This is where it gets a little odd for the Dazzler crew. You see, we’re not used to anchoring in shallow water. We draw 1.8 meters (6 feet) but we typically like to anchor in 5-7 meters. Being off shore a little has its advantages and disadvantages but the biggest advantage is that if you do drag your anchor you have some room between you and the shoreline. And, we don’t mind a little rolling at anchor. That’s what reminds us that we are actually on a boat.

Here at Paradise Bay in order to get into the bay and get protection from the shore you have to come in pretty far. It’s shallow everywhere here so we are actually anchored in 3 meters which is feels strange to us. From what we understand this is going to be the norm as we move around the islands. Either the bays will be shallow and require shallow anchoring or, as in the case of Marlborough Sound, they will be very deep so you will need to get close to shore to find anything shallow enough to drop your anchor. You also need to be close enough to get a line to shore because the winds coming off the mountains can be fierce. Of course this is all just part of the adventure.

For now, we’re enjoying this peaceful bay all by ourselves as we sit back with a couple of anchor down beers and delight in the fact that our circumnavigation has truly begun!

Until next time,

Jilly & Dan

Coming through the pass at Albert Channel in the Bay of Islands…Click Below For Video

SV Dazzler at Urquharts Bay
2021, January 2021, New Zealand, Whangarei

Preparing To Move On

We’ve spent quite a bit of time tied to the dock in the past year and quite frankly, it’s just not our brand of rum. No, we like moving around, meeting new people, seeing new things and having wonderful adventures. And while we do adore Whangarei and the amazing Kiwis we’ve come to know & love here, we are both really thirsting to get back to what it is we are meant to do….sailing. So, since it’s cyclone season in the islands and most of the borders are closed anyway we’ve decided to take off and circumnavigate New Zealand’s North Island. After all, we’ve seen a lot of New Zealand by land so now it’s time to check her out from the sea.

Depending upon who you ask, New Zealand has the highest number of boats per capita in the world. And the Bay of Islands is listed as one of the top seven best sailing grounds in the world. So, it only makes sense that we would take the time we have left here in New Zealand and head out to enjoy the great sailing and beauty she has to offer.

Departing Town Basin

With Dazzler’s stores fully provisioned with food and a variety of pirate spirits such a rum and beer, we cast off our lines and head down the river. It’s a perfect day to begin our journey with the sun shining brightly overhead and a ten knot breeze coming over the stern quarter! Dan gets on the radio and calls the bridge tender to open the Hatea River Bridge as Jilly stands on the bow taking in a few final views of the basin area. Jilly tears up a bit as we pass under the bridge. Yes, we’ll be back here but it will be a few months and this has sort of become like home to us.

Hatea River Bridge. It is supposed to resemble a Māori fish hook.

One final call to the bridge tender to thank her for the lift and we’re free! We’re finally free! Within a week or so we will be sailing the world class cruising grounds of the Bay of Islands. Then it’s up and over the top of New Zealand, down the west side and into Cook Strait where we will sail Marlborough Sound for a few weeks before coming up the eastern side of the North Island. What’s there? The Bay of Plenty, Coromandel Peninsula, White Island with it’s active volcano and the Great Barrier Island. Yes, there’s plenty of adventure ahead of us and we are both feeling excited and thrilled to be on our way.

Map of route around north island
We will head north and go up over the top then come down and across Cook Strait to the east side of the island. This is the recommended course by the Kiwis.

Before we can just take off we have to address the issue of Dazzler’s not so sparkly bottom. After spending a few warm weather months in the town basin we knew she was going to need a good washing down. You see here in New Zealand many marinas simply will not let you in if you cannot prove you have either cleaned the bottom within 30 days or put on new anti foul within 6 months. Yes, it’s quite a big deal here and the worst part is they won’t let you clean the bottom of your boat unless you are more than two miles offshore. Not sure about you but bouncing around in swells two miles offshore doesn’t sound like a really safe way to handle it to me. No, we’ll pay the price and let the professionals do it.

First Stop…Urquharts Bay

We couldn’t get an appointment at Marsden right away so we decided in the interest of getting the show on the road we would head out to Urquharts Bay at the mouth of the Hatea River to hang out for several days while we waited to do our haul, clean and splash. It’s not quite an hour from the bay to the marina and it’s a really great place to spend a little time with it’s beautiful bay and incredible scenery. The bay is large enough for plenty of boats without having to be on top of each other which is always nice. There’s some great hikes to be had at Breams Head Preserve onshore. And, one of Jilly’s favorite things is the port across the channel where the big ships come and go. It’s always fascinating watching the tugs pushing them around.

Plus there are fishing boats everywhere and you can dive for clams here. On the weekends at the point of Mount Lion the fishing boats are almost on top of each other. It reminds Jilly of the days of Tarpon fishing in Boca Grande, Florida. You could almost toss a beer to your neighbors they were so close. And, of course, with this many boats out here you have to believe there are fish right?

Where’s the Fish?

If you know us you know that we absolutely LOVE fishing. In Mexico we killed it! Dan even gave seminars to other cruisers about the best way to catch, filet and cook these tasty morsels from the sea. Unfortunately since we arrived in the South Pacific in 2018 these salty swimmers of the deep seem to elude us. Yes, we caught a few in the Marquesas and in 2019 we managed to pluck some of these slippery suckers from the waters of Fiji but nothing like we’re used to catching. So, you can imagine how excited Dan is to get back to fishing when he hears from the Kiwis that the Kingfish and Snapper are running and the catching is easy!

Dan & Jilly Fishing

The first afternoon we drop the dink in the water so we can go on an exploratory mission. No poles….just a ride around to check out the potential fishing grounds. We take off and head around the point to the other side of Mount Lion. Here there’s a small beach and anchorage but the weather has to be just right to anchor in Smuggler’s Bay which is why most yachties prefer Urquharts. All around the point the water is perfect for fishing. It’s deep and rocky which is what the pelagic fish like so we’re hopeful that the following day will yield a nice catch for dinner.

The following morning we head out while the waters are still calm and the sun is warm. It’s summertime here but I’ll tell you this…it still gets rather chilly when the sun isn’t directly on your skin. And with the breeze here you always have to have some cold weather clothes available. Anyway, Dan prepares the rods and reels while Jilly sets about preparing some liquid refreshments for the trip. Soon we have Sparkle loaded up and have a line in the water as we troll the area.

Fish On!

We’re not gone from Dazzler ten minutes when we run through the pass between the head and Frenchmans Island. We’ve got a hit! WOOHOO! Dan starts reeling it in and just about the time it gets a few feet from the boat the hook comes flying out of the water and over Jilly’s head. Darn fish spit the hook back at us. OK, that’s alright…at least we know we’re where the fish are biting right???

Or maybe not….A couple of hours of fishing around the point and back across Smuggler’s Bay leave us empty handed. After the first bite we got nothing. Not a single little nibble. Guess we’ll be eating filet tonight instead of fish. Well, guess it could be worse. Turns out we didn’t catch a fish the entire week we were here but nevertheless we certainly enjoyed our stay.

At the end of the week the time came to move over to Marsden Cove Marina to get Dazzler cleaned up. We enjoy the haul, clean and splash system they have in place. It’s absolutely no stress at all with the very cool hydraulic trailer they use. The entire process from lift to splash takes right around an hour too so it’s very efficient too. Adam, Remi and Mark make the job look so easy and Brent, Emma, Brian and Valerie in the office take excellent care of you as well.

Jilly with the yard guys from Marsden Cove Marina

We were a bit shocked when they hauled Dazzler to find over a third of her bottom covered in barnacles. Nothing sinister there but lots and lots of barnacles. We just put new anti foul on in March last year. When we hauled her in August it was just a slime coat but oh what a difference a couple of warm weather months make. And the thing is, we move her every seven to ten days to go to the pump out dock. Simply cannot imagine what some of those boats look like that never move. Anyway, the guys scraped her down and we were back in the water forthwith.

After one final night in the marina we are off. We have cast our lines from the dock and are making the four hour trip north to Tutukaka for a few nights. After that we’re Bay of Islands bound. Let the adventure begin!!!

Until next time,

Jilly & Dan

Entrance to Hatea River at Breams Head