9 November 2024 -New Zealand- Marsden Cove Marina to Kawau Island.

After the supper Keith and I had Erika and Joyce came back from the beach with a couple who lived nearby and who had given them a lift back from Ruakaka Beach. They had given a bag of lemons and grapefruits and what they called loquats -which taste a bit like pears and which they all grew in their garden.   

We were woken early again by the Nimble 11 – which was annoying. However, it was a nice day so I go up and was soon into the day. We had breakfast and a cup of tea and then we went to provision. There was a supermarket at the marina which was helpful and a bakery which had a limited amount of bread selection but we bought a loaf and a few cakes.

We returned to Stormbird I went and paid and we prepared the boat and packed the shopping away. The birdsong was lovely and serenaded us as we worked. By half past 10 we were off and had just about enough tide to ease up the channel from the marina and into the main channel for Whangarei.

We headed out to the channel and kept to the eastern edge of the channel next to the red buoys which demarcated the edge of the channel. We passed a few tugs which were waiting to assist the next cargo ship navigate to the wharf.

As we headed out the channel and the markers ran out we headed down toward Tawharanui Peninsula and Tokatu Point which seems to demarcate the beginning of the Auckland huge Bay. We were able to get the sails up at about 11.30am once out of the channel and were soon doing 7 kts in about 10-12 kts of breeze. We could see a number of islands to the North and west of u – the Hen and Chicken Islands, Taranaga Island and more offshore the Little Barrier Island and further out the Great Barrier Island. We did not have time to visit them and sailed the best course we could.

The wind was relatively light and during the day went from about 9 kts to 20 and mainly from the Northwest. We had to adjust from time to time but essentially we sailed a reasonably direct course. We saw lots of sea birds of all types including gannets, seahawks, seagulls etc and the sea was relatively flat. Over time seahorses formed and we had a little swell of a maximum of a meter.

We had a sandwich lunch on the hoof and enjoyed the calm sailing watching the islands and the coast with its beaches, hills and sand dunes from time to time. We could see a couple of yachts hugging the coast but we were the only yacht where we were. We sailed on well but the wind backed more Northwest and so we had to sail further away from the wind and so in the end we passed Tokatu Point and continued with Kawau Island on our right until we got opposite its Southern end some 6 nm out and then we gybed and headed for its Southeastern end on a beam reach and a faster point of sail doing 7.5-8kts.

We had to avoid a few reefs and rocks on the way and before long we reached the Island and took down the sails and motored into Bostaquet Bay of Kawau Island.

Kawau Island is part of the Hauraki Gulf. It is unique in NZ as the only access is by sea and there are only two short roads on the island. It is a popular destination for cruisers. As we came into the bay there were quite a few yachts at anchor and a number of motorboats. However, there was plenty of space and we anchored in what was a cold wind.

Supper had started to be cooked below and once we were in the cabin we were warm and had a drink. We had come 51.86 nm in 7 hours or so – an average of about 7.4 kts.

We had an enjoyable supper of fish courgettes with beans and mashed potato which was nice and filling and warm. Joycie cooked a rhubarb crumble from what she had been given last night and so we eat well.

We are now nearing Auckland and can see the city in the distance and lots of islands around. We have a couple of weeks to enjoy this area before heading to a marina. Erika will get off on Monday/ Tuesday and Joyce about the 17th.

We will explore more of Kawau island tomorrow which has lots of bays and coves.

The picture of the day is of us just at anchor at Bostaquet Bay.

Opportunity Year Two

In year two I will be going from New Zealand in early January 2025 across to Sydney and up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025. I will need some more crew.

If there is any interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com