Around the World: SailBlogs

Mansion House Bay

Michael and Jackie — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:25:00 -0600

Kawau is quite a large island just within the North Western corner of the Hauraki Gulf. Cornish miners came here in the 19th century to dig for copper and other minerals. They left mine workings and towers that are very similar to those seen on the North Coast of Cornwall. The island was later purchased by one of New Zealand's early governors, Lord Grey who converted the manager's house into an attractive mansion for his use when not governing the country. The mansion house has been restored and sits resplendent at the head of a bay with a garden with many European trees and plants. Attractive walks radiate from this point to the mine workings and other neighbouring bays. We have anchored here for the last few days, enjoying the walks and swimming, while strong winds 35-40 knots according to the forecast have shot past our sheltered spot. All we have had is the occasional swell caused by the wake of passing boats. Very pleasant. (View Post...)

Cruising Again

Michael and Jackie — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:25:00 -0600

We're off. We finally set sail on Tuesday. It's very difficult to get going when you haven't been sailing since November. There is always something else to repair, sort out etc. Perhaps the weather will be better tomorrow etc etc. Everything feels new and scary. Once you set sail the routines come back again. Anyway we set off, refuelled and sailed or rather motored all of five miles to the absolutely glorious island of Tiritiri Matangi. The island is effectively a bird sanctuary. It has been re-colonised with native bird species and native plants. On Wednesday through to the weekend a ferry brings bird lovers to the island. We were able to be there without the people. Walking at dusk the sound of the birds was amazing. It was not the cacophony of a British dawn chorus but more of a serenade of tunes. Birds in New Zealand rarely fly, but do make remarkable sounds. The paths were empty except for beautiful green parakeets, Tuis with their curious white throats, and Takahe. Takahe are curious creatures, quite large with scarlet red bills and blue heads. They walk around in their lifelong pairs pecking the grass and calling each other. They are very rare and are related to the more common Pukeko, a black bird with long gangly legs who you see walking in its curious way all over the North Island. Most of the birds here have been relocated from other sites so that they can thrive away from predators like rats or possums. It was a pleasure to see and hear so many of these birds, particularly since much of New Zealand's bush is so quiet and lacking in birds. A product of either the ravages of possums or the ravage of the poison they put down to kill the possums. (View Post...)

Tsunamis and EPIRBs

Michael and Jackie — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:25:00 -0600

Back in New Zealand. Lady Kay has been hauled out, her bottom painted with antifouling, her topsides polished. We are now proud possessors of a new mainsail and sail bag, new batteries etc etc. The subsequent relaunch was uneventful. More cleaning and polishing to get rid of all the dirt and muck accumulated while we were in the yard. We did a safety audit, serviced the liferaft and found that we needed new life jackets. Our EPIRBs were sent off to get new batteries. An EPIRB automatically alerts Falmouth Coastguard of our position if it is activated either by us or going into the water. We discovered an incompetent technician can also do the same. The technician set off the alert. Falmouth immediately contacted Jackie's daughter but while they were on the 'phone in England a message came through from Auckland that it was a false alarm. At least we know the system works. We did some small trips in the motorcaravan, including notably sitting out a Tsunami alert at Piha Beach. Piha is to the West of Auckland. On minute you are in Auckland's suburbs then you emerge into an area of hilly orchards and vineyards. The road narrows and steeply ascends high hills. Just as the views of Auckland disappear you see the harsher West Coast. Piha is a long dark sandy beach with pounding surf and curious rock formations standing out to sea. The sand stretches almost two miles along in front of a bank of sand dunes. Behind the sand dunes the road is dotted with mostly simple beach houses, Kiwis call them Baches. We camped on a park just behind the dunes. The atmosphere is very laid back and there is a feeling that nothing much has changed since the 1960's. On the Sunday we woke to a tsunami alert, caused by the Chilean earthquake. There was no time to return to the boat so we sat it out. Piha has tsunami evacuation points marked and sirens. None went off and being on the West Coast there was little risk. Officially the beach was closed but there was no sign of it and the lifeguards were still out watching the surfers. The alert passed without incident although there were unusual waves on the East coast. However, there was a bit of artificial media outrage the following day about the irresponsible surfers of Piha who kept on surfing. (View Post...)