Ahoi, land ahead! At dawn the first contours of New Zealand become visible. The gentle wind that brought us here all the way from Fiji has now turned into a stiff headwind. We should have stayed in the lee of the east coast for shelter. Engine on. Speed over ground only 2 knots, what to do ?….
The anchorage at Kawau island, a former mining area, is a large deep bay called Bon Accord harbour with many jetties. It is well known for its walks and we will all look forward to that, time for a good workout. The nearby floating jetty is a safe place for the dinghy and it is easy to step on land.
Sailing to Tauranga in the bay of Plenty for quite a few important reasons: to have our headsail repaired, to catch a glimpse at the interior of New Zealand for the first time and to meet a highschool friend who immigrated here many years ago. Stefan has not seen her for 46 years….
After 2 two restful weeks in the marina it starts to itch again. Where shall we go? Burton Sails Tauranga truly are a quality company and they keep their promise: the sail is back so lets go! Escaping the marina with the invaluable help of lads in a dingy that stopped us from bumping into our neighbour….
Beaufort wind scale 5 to 7 broad reach to beam, a bit inconsistent. Mostly reef one in genoa but sometimes reef two and a half when it is gusting forty. A bit more heeling than is comfy but grand, we make great speeds. The odd wave splashes on our sofa and by the time it is dry it happens again….
The sun was rising at 6:15 as we sailed with the wind behind us nicely out of the Bay of Islands New Zealand. Leaving in a rush with the only weather window we could see before my flight in 10 days time. The passage looked a bit challenging with the last two hours of tacking in 25 knots gusting 35….