We left Mansion House Bay on Tuesday (May 8th) on another clear, sunny morning. The wind was still steadily from the southwest so we decided to let it us blow us across the Hauraki Gulf towards the Coromandel Peninsula. Although we had driven over much of that peninsula, we had not visited any of its anchorages.

As we sailed close-hauled across the Hauraki Gulf, Randall saw a bottlenose dolphin and we were periodically surrounded by flocks of fluttering shearwaters and pairs of Australasian gannets. Once we had passed between the northeast corner of Waiheke Island and Horuhoru (Gannet) Rock, we turned downwind to go due east towards the Coromandel Peninsula. We had a choice of several anchorages that would have protection from the southern winds and Randall selected Deep Cove on the north side of Whanganui Island.



Despite the name, we were able to anchor in 20 feet (6 m) of water, a comfortable distance from the shore, with good anchor-holding. Gusty winds whistled around the western headland and into the bay providing good power for our wind turbine, Wendy, but the water remained delightfully calm. Each of the two nights that we stayed there, we shared the bay with one other boat. The second of these was a small motor vessel called Mintaka which is the same name as Robyn and Mark's sailboat, which they are still working on in the boat-shed in Whangarei. I am sure that they are really looking forward to being anchored-out again in places like Deep Cove.



A rocky outcrop near the shore of Whanganui Island

On Wednesday afternoon, after we had inflated and launched the dinghy, I rowed around the bay. The water was just clear enough to explore the rocks and shallow spots that might have been good for snorkeling in warmer conditions. But with a water temperature of 66°F (19°C), the clarity would have had to have been much better to entice me to don my snorkeling gear. There were many small oysters on the rocks so I had to be very careful not to rub the rubber dinghy against them. The area is apparently very suitable for shellfish because we watched several large boats tending to a big shellfish farm to the north of us, off Waimate Island.



Looking northwest out of Deep Cove in the late afternoon

Whanganui Island is privately owned and a sign above the beach warns visitors not to trespass. As I was rowing, I watched a sport-fishing boat disgorge its passengers on the beach but they all carefully wandered around below the high-water mark. It was a little frustrating not to be able to explore the island, so as we planned our next destination, access ashore became an important consideration.