Tory Channel, Marlborough Sounds

Date: 6/06/15 Position: Hitaua Bay, Tory Channel, Marlborough Sounds

We had a pretty good night anchored in the lee of Sinclair Point at Holmes Bay, Pigeon Bay. We'd have to rate it as one of the best SW anchorages we have been in when a gale has been blowing. The anchor held extremely well in the sticky mud, the trees on the hillside broke up the wind and apart from the sound of the wind in the rigging Ambler was very comfortable as the 40 knot winds raced overhead. We even managed to collect 40L of rainwater from our cockpit awning.

After several consultations and cross references between the grib files, NZ Met Service VHF marine radio coastal forecasts and looking out the port holes at the changing conditions in the bay we decided to weigh anchor at 1600 and ride the back of the southerly change before it died away completely.

As we motored out of Pigeon Bay the sea was very calm and there was not enough wind to sail. A complete contrast to one hour earlier when the wind was recorded to be blowing SW 36kn not far away at Le Bons Bay on the eastern side of the peninsula. We enjoyed a lovely sunset with the lights of Christchurch in the distance beginning to come on and passed a huge container ship waiting to enter Lyttleton Harbour. We continued to motor with the mainsail up for another three hours before we caught up with the wind.

At last we were able to turn off the engine and sail with a full main and headsail with the wind coming from the SW to W sector between 15 - 20 knots. We flew along at about 7kn as we also had 2 knots of current with us. We continued broad reaching throughout the night and at midnight put one reef in the main as the wind began to increase. We passed the hauntingly beautiful Kaikoura Range at around 0300 with the moonlight lighting up the extremely high snow capped peaks that rise to a great height quite close to the coastline. It was an incredible sight. At the same time we sailed over where a deep trench drops suddenly to 1000m quite close to the coastline. Apparently there is a resident population of sperm whales that feed on deep sea squid found in the trench. Although we peered into the darkness and listened for the pppshhh of a whale breathing close by we weren't lucky enough to see any.

On Friday morning at 1000 the wind changed to a southerly and increased to 25 knots so we dropped the mainsail and sailed under headsail alone. We could still see low mountain ranges running along the coastline which were bare of any foliage. We were constantly accompanied by Cape Petrels which although they look quite small have a wingspan of about 90cm. They often fly in small groups and more commonly in pairs. It is interesting to watch a pair as it looks like they are playing 'Follow the leader' because the second bird does everything the first bird does only seconds later. We saw only about a dozen albatrosses but between them were three species; Royal, Bullers and White-capped.

At midday we were abeam of Cape Campbell and the wind was steady at S25 with a 4m following sea. The first mate chose not to look behind at the waves as they reared up behind Ambler! At 1220 we turned into Cook Strait and poled out the headsail because the wind was right behind us. By mid afternoon the wind had abated to S20 knots and we could make out the hills of the north island and the headlands around Tory Channel in the distance as they appeared and disappeared in rain squalls.

At 1815 we reached the leads for Tory Channel and turned the engine on and dropped all sail. It was a very dark night as the moon had not yet risen and the sky was heavily overcast. The Captain did an outstanding job of navigating our way into Tory Channel following the leading lights amid swirling currents of 4 knots in our favour. We motored for an hour into the channel before negotiating our way into Deep Bay, our chosen anchorage for the night. We sounded our way cautiously into the bay successfully avoiding the shallow sandbar at the entrance. After scanning the narrow bay with torch light we dropped anchor at 1915.

This morning when we went on deck we were greeted by a great scene which of course we weren't able to appreciate the night before in the dark. High pine clad hills surrounded the jade green water of the narrow bay. An isolated house sat nestled in the trees halfway up a hill. We could hear a stream running into the bay and a gannet circled overhead before diving from a great height. Its one metre high splash was the only movement in the bay before a proud cormorant surfaced close to Ambler showing off a fish it had caught before swallowing it whole, making its neck look twice as wide as normal. We soaked up the relaxing atmosphere of Deep Bay before weighing anchor at 1400.

We left Deep Bay and made our way out into Tory Channel passing several fish farms. A fur seal basked on the rocks in the afternoon sunshine and another seal was having a good old scratch in the water nearby. Several large inter island ferries passed us heading for either Wellington or Picton and a few motor boats whizzed by with fishing rods hanging over the stern. We entered Hitaua Bay 7nm further inland from Deep Bay just as the sun dropped behind the hills and the cold afternoon chill set in. We are tucked in behind a small headland and several houses are dotted among the tree clad hills.

All is peaceful on board. Kathy and Wayne

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