We set off Tuesday for Waiheke Island - our first venture out from Half Moon Bay since we arrived. After living for months as landlubbers we felt a wave of contentment wash over us about finally setting out to explore the many islands and anchorages in some of the world's best cruising grounds.
So now that we're officially 'sailors' again, and at greater latitudes once more - where tides are more substantial, we're finding ourselves reading tide tables again to ensure we don't inadvertently kiss the bottom with our keel. Half Moon Bay is so shallow that we can't navigate through the channel at low tide.
Once past the channel we had a nice 3 hour motor sail to Man O' War Bay on the southeast side of Waiheke, where we met up with our cruising buddies on Double Diamond. With a climate similar to Bordeaux France, many of Waiheke's hillsides are covered in vineyards. And how fortuitous it was to drop anchor at the heart of Man O' War Vineyards, with the tasting room right on the beach! Needless to say, we made it to shore to sample their wine (more than once), but not until we stretched our legs and burned up a few calories hiking through the picturesque hillsides.