47 South
06 March 2014 | Evening Cove, Port Pegasus South Arm, Stewart Island
Disregarding the weather forecast altogether, we dinghied into Golden Bay to deposit a monthâs worth of rubbish, followed by a nice walk into the township of Oban which is situated on the pretty Halfmoon Bay. It reminded me of Port Ellen on Isla, Scotland. Halfmoon Bay looks appealing but is not a recommended anchorage. We had a nice lunch in the South Sea hotel (green lip mussels) and did some grocery shopping. There is a well stocked Four Square with good fresh vegies and fruit. The yachtie can also purchase liquor, diesel and water. Sadly, upon our return to the dinghy for the 2 nm trip home, Paterson Inlet was seething whitecaps with 30 knots of SW blowing. No way could we return in the little RIB. Fortunately I was able to hail a water taxi which took us and our dinghy back to Kaipipi for $50. Best $50 I have ever spent. We had a fantastic dinner with Graeme and Kath from Casteele who had arrived as well. The visitor in Oban can also sample wonderful crepes at the French Kiwi Creperie, have a meal at the Church Hill restaurant right next door to the Presbyterian kirk, visit the museum and DOC centre, do numerous walks, hire bikes and scooters, bus tours etc etc. For the crew of Diomedea the next activity was the walk into town via the old logging tramway from Kaipipi bay. Very muddy and not very scenic it did allow us to stretch our legs before the next part of our southern voyage. A still night was followed by heavy fog which did not really clear until midday. Diomedea plodded down the coast to Port Adventure in no wind and lumpy seas, courtesy of a deep low to the east. This bay has many features reminiscent of Recherche Bay, Tasmania. Gold and white sand beaches abound, lovely rivers and the quaintly-named anchorage, âAbrahamâs Bosomâ on the western side. The Port is generally affected by easterly swell and would be untenable in easterly gales. We rolled somewhat at anchor but the sun came out in a blazing blue sky. We have not had that for quite a while. And best of all, no sandflies!! Fortune continued to favour us in another way. We had afternoon tea (beer) with a party of hunters camped on the nearby river and they generously gave us about 4kg of freshly killed venison. A small amount was cooked in red wine with blackcurrants. Excellent. I would like to say that our final leg southwest to Port Pegasus was a lovely reach in beam winds, flat seas and sunshine but I would be lying. Diomedea cleared the heads of Port Adventure just as a westerly front of 20 or so came in. Our course was 230 M which is 250 T. Yes, a dead muzzler. We punched around the Breaksea Islands and eventually found the ebb tide setting down the coast. However, the combinations of swell, headwinds and tide made for an extremely rough ride and the 31 miles took five hours. As we rounded Seal Point the wind sat at 25kts in a little acceleration zone but then finally the granite slabs of South Passage appeared and Diomedea made her entrance to the South Arm of Port Pegasus. I cannot begin to tell you how much this means to us. It is our nil plus ultra.