Category Archives: 2023 NZ

What a difference a day makes

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Tuesday 10th January
The day after anchoring at Tindalls it was a beautiful day, sunny, warm and lots of swimming.
Then an ex Tropical Cyclone now an extra tropical storm is hitting Auckland. It’s raining and the winds have been up to 50kts (100km). We were quite protected yesterday. Not so much today. There is a 0.5m swell coming in the Bay, but out of the Bay it’s 2m. Although we are on anchor we are surfing forward with the swell, then the wind pushes us back. These are the conditions small boat anchors could let go, as they move back and forth over the anchor. Our oversized anchor and chain have proven to hold us in these conditions in the past.
There are a few boats moored around us and a short time ago a catamaran came in towing a Wharram (another type of catamaran) and anchored a short distance in front of us. They must have had some pretty rough weather getting here.
Tomorrow the wind will turn westerly so we will move across to Swann Bay for more protection.
For now it’s back to cards and movies and keeping an eye on the storm

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

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Saturday 7th January

We have been sheltered in Coppermine Bay having to put up with the constant light rain only being interrupted by heavy rain. It was time to get out the dive gear and start cleaning the hull.

At lunch time we checked the weather again. The high winds were going to die to nothing overnight and then have no wind for four days. That would have meant motoring back, so we decided to set sail back to Whangaparaoa.

We didn’t know at the time but all the Auckland ferries had been cancelled due to the high winds and waves.

With the Main reefed and Staysail out we headed off. Yes there were large waves and the wind was high, but just an average day for us out in the open ocean. We weren’t fighting the weather, Imagine just cruised through the waves while we drank our coffee.

This morning at Tindalls Bay it was quite calm but still overcast.

  • Coppermine Bay
  • Tindalls Bay

We are safe

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Thursday 5th January
Pauline left us on the 1st heading back to life on land. She intends coming out with us again later.
We immediately set sail back to Kauwau Island and Copper Mine Bay. The winds and sea were already rising and we needed shelter. For the past four days a storm has been lashing the coast of NZ. The winds have been reaching 50kts (100km) and 3m waves, but will start to die down tomorrow.
Where we are anchored is nicely sheltered from all of that, but we are up against the cliffs which block our phone and internet reception. This has made it hard to let everyone know we are not battling the winds. We decided to stay here and have seen several of the boats that left to go to Bon Accord Harbour come back the same or next day. Whilst we can swim, it’s pretty cold when you get out because of the wind. So, we’ve played a lot of cards, read and watched some movies.
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