Varekai NZ

The forecast for the next couple of days is for NW -S 35knts. as a cold front passes over. We are tucked in behind the cliffs at the north west end of the bay. All around us is getting bashed by the full 35knts, but we are receiving around the 18-20knts. Some guts are reaching 25knts. We have a scope of 7:1 on the anchor chain; 35 meters out in 5 m of water, so we should be fine. Everything movable is lashed down. Should all be gone by Wednesday.
Saved two star fish on the beach today. They were stranded on the sand. A quick rinse in the surf and placed on the rocks, below the surface. They soon curled around their new habitat. Neither said thanks though.

Yesterday we decided we needed a little grocery shopping. Of course that isn't that easy when you are twenty kilometers from the nearest supermarkets! Looking online and at the charts, the nearest supermarket to a reasonable anchorage for SW, W to NW winds was at Manly. Not Sydney, but the Whangaparoa peninsula. Gusty SW to NW winds of up to 20 knts being the forecast. However a wind window of 15 knts should get us there. Varekai sailed there at an average of 6 knts in18-20 apparent, beating into a South Westerly, with full main, thats not much bigger than a ankerchief, and staysail. Confidence builder for the girls.
The return journey saw her close reaching, 35°off the wind. With same sail combination, but a gustier 20knts, we sustained 6.5knts, reaching 7.9knts for extended spells. Now bearing in mind we are talking about an all furling rig on 26 tonnes of big boat, that flash! With a new slab main and reworked staysail and genoa blocks, we will be cruising around the 8.5 to 9 kt mark for those conditions! Can't wait!

We are sitting relaxing in our new spot, just off the moorings, in Ngaio Bay. The place is another beautiful location. We came over from Kawau, via Moturekareka and Wreck Bay. We researched the sea life along the Rewa wreck. Found some nudibranch, cucumbers and copious rock oysters. Walked over the island and explored the rock pools.
nice trip across the Gulf to Mahurangi.

We ha e been based around Bon Accord Harbour for the last few days. The weather has been a little unsettled, with showers and fine spells. Winds have been in the region of 5-10 knots, but from a variety of different directions. So we have moved about the harbour to stay smooth for the sleeping hours. We are at present still in Mansion House Bay, check out my Facebook page for photos. Tomorrow, Southerlies permitting, we hope to pop over to Motorekareka and explore the wreck in the bay. Probably returni g ro Bon Accord for the night.
The photo is Lady's Bay, 20 minute walk from the Mansion House, only accessible at low tide.

We have spent two nights here in Smelting Cove. This is a return to the idilic anchorages, similar to Port Fitzroy. There is a theme now; they fill up for the weekend, by Sunday afternoon they start to empty of weekenders and we get them to ourselves. Friday saw us share this spot with 20odd, now it's just us.
The chart plotter did a dance as we entered the harbour. See the picture of the screen on my Facebook page. The cursor took us for a ' walk' through some nice woodland foliage before returning us to our location. That's with GPS being corrected by cellphone towers....not that correct though! They are not to be trusted. In the anchorage at Tiritiri Matangi it had us 50m from our exact location and that showed us on rocks too. Can't beat a bit of eyeball and transit bearings to confirn your spot.

We left Bayswater Marina this morning and headed north to Tiritiri Matangi. The two and a half hojr trip across the Gulf was the flatest we've experienced. The sea was like glass. We saw, probably, a hundred blue penguins along the way.
We anchored off Paa Point at Hobbs Beach and rocked pooled withe the Unsworth whabau who are staying on the island. Unfortunately the anchorage has become a bit rolly so we have moved for the night to Army Bay, north side off Whangaparoa peninsula. We will return in the morning to watch DOC release 150 giant weta on the island.