Tag: Opua

Sunset BOI
2021, February 2021, Kerikeri, Rangihoua Bay, Russell, Wairoa Bay, Waitata Bay

The Great BOI Shuffle

We love exploring BOI! (Bay of Islands). But, after a few fabulous days of fishing in Wairoa & Rangihoua Bays we had to head into Kerikeri so I could have my now famous “bites” analyzed by a skin specialist. They were getting substantially worse and Dan refused to continue the circumnavigation until we had them under control.

So, we stopped in at the Kerikeri Cruising Club for a few days. They have a nice little marina with clean showers. The only issue is that it’s a bit remote. There’s nothing in the area there. There’s no shops until you get to town and the one restaurant there is only open on Fridays and Sundays. We arrived on Monday and left on Wednesday.

Dan's Birthday Pic

It was Dan’s birthday on the day we awoke to head to Kerikeri so I had decorated the salon while he was sleeping and had his gifts waiting for him on the table when he came out in the morning. Nothing too cool….just a new shirt, some lollies and a DVD. He was a bit surprised that I was able to pull it off though. As a bonus I even made him a cheesecake with black cherries for dessert that night.

We headed out from the anchorage around 1000. It was a bit rainy and wet out but fortunately we didn’t have far to go…just a few miles. It was the Waitangi holiday so when we arrived the marina office was closed. We docked Dazzler in the assigned slip, took garbage in and had a nice warm shower. The rest of the afternoon we just chilled on Dazzler.

Kerikeri Cruising Club
Kerikeri Cruising Club Marina and Anchorage as see from the restaurant up the hill.

The following day we had arranged to have Kerikeri Taxis pick us up and drive us to the very small airport there to pick up a rental car. Getting from the marina into the airport was a $60 NZD cab ride. OUCH! But, the driver, Cameron, was a nice enough mate. He’d just recently started driving a cab. Before that he was a farmer. We enjoyed our chats with him and to be fair it is a pretty good distance from the marina to the airport so the price was reasonable.

The BOI Airport is so small that when we returned our rental car there was literally no one other than us inside! Apparently the workers only show up when planes are arriving or departing.

Rental car in hand we headed out to do some provisioning and then visit the doctor. Turns out that these are not bites at all….they are definitely some sort of skin infection. She called them Granuloma Lesions but honestly there are a million reasons you could get them so we will likely never know how or why they came to be.

Dr. Dowd said she thought I just had not taken the antibiotics long enough so she gave me more Trisul and put me on a month long course. I’m happy to report that two weeks later they are all healed!!! HOORAY! Of course I’m going to have the beautiful reddish purple scars on my arms and legs moving forward but I’ll just consider them permanent souvenirs from Kiwiland. What else can I do? It’s not like I thought I was going to win any beauty pageants anytime soon anyway.

From Kerikeri we headed back to Rangihoua Bay where Marsden Cross is located. We stayed there a day then were off to Patunui Bay. There was weather coming in and this little bay would offer some excellent protection. There’s absolutely nothing there to speak of and quite honestly it wasn’t even very scenic but sometimes you just have to take shelter.

From there it was back to Marsden Cross to wait out more weather. When you live on the water you have to move depending upon where the wind and swell is coming from. Sometimes this can be a daily event. It’s okay though. We enjoyed a couple of rainy days. Even broke out our set of Dazzler custom dominoes so I could kick Dan’s butt!!! I’m sure he will dispute that but you know, whatever. LOL  When the weather cleared we headed on to Waitata and finally into Russell. In two weeks we crisscrossed our way around BOI enjoying little anchorages and interesting scenery along the way.

Sharks, Sharks Everywhere In BOI!

Dazzler Waves

On our way into Marsden Cross the second time it was pretty nasty out with rain and rough seas. As we turned into the bay Dan said, “Look! A Shark!” There was a Bronze Whaler shark about a meter or so long swimming right beside the boat. A minute or two later we saw another then another and before we knew it we had a school of eight or ten of them swimming on either side of Dazzler. None of them were really big but there were enough that I knew I wasn’t going to be swimming in this bay.

Then on our way to Waitata a couple of days later I was on the bow filming and taking pics when I looked off the starboard side and low and behold I see a Hammerhead shark come swimming along. He was well over a meter long. What the??? If I ever even thought that I would want to swim in the cold waters of New Zealand this has certainly set that notion aside.

I’ve done a bit of research and they say the bays here in BOI are full of these Bronze Whaler sharks. They can grow up to 3 meters!!! No more bleeding the fish over the side of Sparkle either. Just what I want is some shark to come chomping down on a fish and end up taking out an inflatable tube. No, we will bleed them in the bucket moving forward.

And I just read where a little further south on the North Island some guys were out fishing on their tinny. That’s what they call the aluminum fishing boats here. These things are everywhere. Anyway, they hooked onto a Mako Shark and the thing leaped out of the water so far that it landed on the top of their boat smashing the windscreen and bending the bow rail before bouncing back off into the water. These guys, who are seasoned fishermen, said it was easily the biggest shark they’ve ever seen in these waters. One of the men estimated it to be about 4 meters long!!! Yes, I think I’ll just enjoy the water from above! Thank you. Besides…it’s too cold for this cold puss anyway. (To read about their experience here…click here)

Tsunami Warming

Tsunami Warning Sign
This sign was posted at the entrance to the Kerikeri Cruising Club that morning.

One other interesting item of note….One morning in Kerikeri I found myself wide awake at around 0300. Not wanting to keep Dan awake I crawled out of the bunk and sat in the salon playing on my iPad. We were tied to the inside of an end tie at the marina and all of the sudden I started feeling something odd happening with the boat.

I stepped out in the cockpit to try to access it. We were moving quite a bit side to side but there was no wind. There was just enough light from the docks reflecting on the black water for me to see lots of swirls and quite a bit of current. It was odd, but nothing so odd that I thought I should wake Dan. It was only our second day here so maybe this was normal. Maybe I had slept through it the prior morning. I decided I’d just keep an eye on it for the moment.

I went back below and continued reading the news and checking out what the friends and family were doing back home on Facebook. At about twenty till six I came across a post on one of the cruiser forums stating that there had been a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in New Caledonia which had resulted in a tsunami warning for much of the South Pacific….New Zealand’s north island included. Okay….this may be something I should wake Dan up to discuss.

Mind you this was a full hour and a half after I had noticed the strong currents. I’m not sure he was really happy to be woken up but the fact is…he’s the Captain and it’s his job to assess these things. I made him coffee while he read up on the events of the morning. Turns out we were just to expect some higher than normal tides and strong currents…. AHA! That’s what I witnessed earlier that morning. My first tsunami effects! In the end that’s about all we noticed. THANK YOU LORD!

Back to Russell

After a week or so of island hopping we headed back to Russell to work on provisioning and prepare for the next leg of our journey which is to head over the top of New Zealand and down the west side to Marlborough Sound. You have to really watch the weather closely and plan accordingly as the west side can be wild and woolly. And, there’s really no place to pull into if you get into bad weather. They say this trip is not for the faint at heart. But, it’s just a four day jaunt so why not? The reward will definitely be worth it.

  • Shots Around Russell
Just a few shots from our anchorage in Russell.

While in Russell we visited a couple of museums. The Russell Museum and the Pompallier Museum (New Zealand’s oldest printery) where we took in a little of the area’s history. Russell was the original capitol of New Zealand in 1840. It has quite a history of missionaries, shipping, whaling and even some cannibalism. Of course the museums don’t talk much about that. I guess it’s not PC to talk about how the Māori used to eat their enemies.

Dan checking out the 1/5th model replica of Captain Cooks’ Endeavour (Left), Jilly & Dan outside of the Pompallier House Shop (Middle) A shot form inside the printery at Pompallier House (Right)

If you ever make it to Russell we highly recommend the Bayside Restaurant & Bar. It’s a great little place located right on the water. We ate there five times in a week and tried something different each time. We were never disappointed. The owners are wonderful too. And, the views of the wharf and the bay are simply gorgeous. Make sure you tell them we sent you!

Dan Loading Sparkle on Deck

It seems our time in BOI has come to an end for now. We’re all provisioned up…Sparkle is on deck and our window of opportunity has arrived. Tomorrow we’ll be leaving the Bay of Islands and heading north. We may make a stop or two along the way or we may just continue on. Only the weather can determine that for us.

We will keep you posted along the way. 

Until next time,

Jilly & Dan

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The Chaos of Opua
2021, February 2021, Opua, Russell

From Serenity To Chaos

We wake up in the beautiful and peaceful bay here at Kahuwera Pa this morning and it’s just amazing. It’s calm on the water and the sun is shining with very few clouds hanging about. I don’t know. It seems each day here just gets better and better. It’s easy to see why this is considered one of the top cruising destinations in the world.

We ease into the morning with a bit of coffee and internet time.  Around 1000 we decide we need to get going so we weigh anchor and make our way around the corner into Opua. We ordered a cruising guide for Marlborough Sound and it’s waiting for us at Burnsco Marine. 

It’s another very busy day on the water here. Seems this place is always teeming with boats scattered from shore to shore. But, it is the summertime mate and this beautiful weather won’t last long so I guess I can understand the need to take full advantage of it.

The leg from Kahuwera Point to Tapeka Point is a short 3.5 NM. We take the corner wide as there are lots of rocks jutting out from the shore. And, quite frankly, there are boats cutting in and out and around so we just take it slow and steady. From the point to Opua is another 5.5 NM or so. It’s a gorgeous trip down the waterway here even if it is a bit chaotic with boats everywhere you look. On the western side of the bay we see the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in the distance and then the small town of Pahia. On the eastern side is the adorable seaside town of Russell. We’ve been there by car but this is the first time we’re seeing it from the water.

Tapeka Point

Boats Are Everywhere!

As we get nearer to Russell and Opua traffic picks up with ferries going in every which direction. There’s the car ferry that runs from Russell to Opua which takes just about five minutes but saves forty-five if you have to go around in your car. And, there are ferries running from Opua to Pahia and Pahia to Russell. Every little cove is packed full of boats at anchor or on moorings. If we thought Paradise Bay was a carnival like atmosphere then this truly is the Ringling Brothers & Barnum Bailey Big Top Circus! 

We make our way through the hustle and bustle of the boats and finally arrive at the entrance to the Bay of Islands Marina in Opua. We’re only planning to stay a few hours so we start looking for a place to anchor just outside of the marina. Well, this turns out to be an adventure all on its own. There are literally a couple hundred boats out here and the vast majority of them are on moorings so we can’t just drop the hook anywhere. We spend about a half an hour winding our way through the moorings looking for a spot. Finally we find an area near a small island. It puts us about .6 NM away from the dinghy dock, a little further away than we hoped, but it’s all good.

We tip a couple of anchor down beers then Dan puts the motor on Sparkle and off we go to shore. On shore we pick up the cruising guide we had ordered at Burnsco and then check out Cater Marine for anything else we might need. Next we stop at the little grocery store. It’s more like a fancy convenience store than a grocery store. I guess if you are here in Opua and have no other option then this place could be of assistance. But the things we were looking for like meats and veggies were slim pickings. We will wait until we get to Russell to do our shopping.

We are only on shore for about an hour and a half but in that time the winds picked up and the anchorage became pretty darn choppy. We decide it’s time to get back to Dazzler before we get soaked. The ride back is definitely a bit wetter than the ride in. Dan’s stellar dinghy driving skills keep us from being doused! No swamp ass today. Thanks Dear!

Moving On!

Back on Dazzler we decide we definitely are not going to stay here for the night. It’s just far too much hullabaloo for us. So, we weigh anchor and make our way the 2.25 NM back to Russell. Yes, there are quite a few boats here as well but it’s a lot quieter than Opua and there are a few restaurants on shore so we’re happy yachties.

As we arrive in the anchorage we see a fabulous yacht. Her name is Odyssey and she’s truly spectacular. She’s 190’ of pure luxury. Just off her bow is her “mini me” called Odyssey II. She’s 45’ and looks like a miniature version of the mother ship. Of course I have to go online to do a little checking on this yacht. If I don’t I’m certain they will strip me of my Mrs. Kravitz title. It turns out that Odyssey was originally owned by Graeme Hart. He’s New Zealand’s richest man. He started out in life as a tow truck driver and a mechanic and he’s a high school dropout. Somewhere along the line he obviously did something right. He owned the Odyssey pair until 2020 when a mystery buyer purchased them. 

Odyssey & Odyssey II

We thought maybe we’d put in an offer to buy the $115 million USD yacht but then we decided the upkeep and staff would become a bit of a hassle so we’ve elected to keep Dazzler and continue our journeys in a more simple and economical way. After all, sailing as we do we leave a very small carbon footprint. I’m just guessing but I’d bet that just firing up Odyssey’s engines puts off more pollution than we do in a year! Ahhhh…but she sure is pretty to look at out here!

Back to reality now. We’ve dropped our anchor and decide to head to shore to grab a bite to eat. The weather is perfect and there’s a few nice little restaurants along the shore. We arrive at the dinghy dock and tie up. Dan decides not to put the chain and lock on Sparkle because it looks to be pretty safe and the dock is right next to the shore so we can see her from the little cafe we are headed to for lunch.

We head up to the Bayside Restaurant and order a couple of beers before sitting at a picnic table along the wharf to wait for our food. It’s a picture perfect day and we’re just happy to be alive. The food here is very tasty, the staff pleasant and the beer is cold!!! 

Saving Sparkle

As we watch the comings and going of people and ferries we note three men arrive at the dinghy dock. One immediately heads to shore and walks over to the Four Square grocery store on the corner. The other two are sitting on the dock with their feet in the water. The “runner” went into the store and came back to the dock with a bag full of beer. 

At first it all seems very innocent but then they start eyeballing and touching Sparkle. At one point one of the guys pulls her over close to him and begins looking inside.  He seems to be taking a very serious interest in her. We hate to sound like we don’t trust people but sometimes you just get a vibe and you know something isn’t right. We were going to go over to the grocery store but we decide it’s probably better to pay up and get Sparkle away from these guys. We can shop tomorrow.

Dan goes in to pay and I see the guy who now has his hands all over Sparkle reach into the dinghy near the anchor locker. Right where his hand goes is where our fuel tank is located. I stand up from the table and I’m dogging them. I have a neon pink shirt on so every time they look up they see me. I want them to know I’m watching!

When Dan finishes paying I tell him what I saw and we head to the dock. This is when I see Dan put on his “police” face. I don’t see it often but I know what’s coming next. His shoulders go back, his chest puffs up a bit and his voice lowers. His speech is very stern and strong and the air about him is one that says… “don’t mess with me today boys!” 

He excuses himself as he reaches around the touchy guy to get our line. These guys surely realize we have seen their ill intent because their laughter and joking came to an abrupt halt as we walked onto the dock. Dan frees the line and we get into the dinghy to leave. We both look down to see the flap on the fuel tank cover has been tampered with so our suspicions do not appear to be unfounded.  I hear one of the men say, “That’s her“…. and then he mumbled something else. Something tells me they saw me watching them from the shore. Whatever the case at least we know that today they did not get the chance to nick anything from the Dazzler crew.

When we return to Dazzler we take a little extra precaution and hoist Sparkle up along the side of the boat. We always take the motor off and secure it to the rail and that’s likely what they would really want anyway but hoisting her above the water just insures we’d know if someone tries to take her during the night.

As for me, I grab our alarm fobs and test one to make sure they are still in working order. I love our 130 decibel alarm. I’m quite sure if we light it up in the middle of the night whoever is trying to board us or steal something will make a rapid retreat.

Anyway, the rest of our evening is rather uneventful and we’ve decided that we will not be staying in this area any longer than necessary. We will get our provisions and move along.

Until next time,

Jilly

P.S. Guess I just need to get this off my chest. When we arrived at the dinghy dock in Opua my hockles went up and my frustration level rose. Why? Well, I’ll tell ya Shoutie. It seems every dinghy dock in every part of the world has the same issue….rude and inconsiderate yachties who tie their dingy to the dock using the shortest painter line they can find. They leave no room for others to come in behind them and it drives me absolutely crazy!!!! So, if you’re a yachtie and you have a dinghy you take to shore, PLEASE for the love of God, PLEASE use a longer painter so that others can get access to the dock as well.

OK! I’m all better now. Thanks for listening to me vent!

Just in case you needed a visual of the right way versus the wrong way.