Breaksea Sound

Date: 28/02/15 Time: 5.30pm Position: Third Cove, Breaksea Sound

We've had a brilliant day. We left our anchorage in Dagg Sound early to try and catch the south easterly that had been blowing overnight. As we left the entrance to Dagg Sound we saw a yacht motoring north and a cruise ship heading up the coast towards us. Low cloud hung over the mountains along the coastline and the sky line was a dark, ominous grey that held the threat of rain. There was a southerly wind blowing so we tacked to windward covering 17nm down the coast to Breaksea Sound. It was a great trip down the coast and we really enjoyed the sailing. As we got closer to Breaksea Sound the sun broke through and the cloud began to lift.

There are several large forested islands spread along the beginning stretch of Breaksea Sound, before it splits into two arms at its head. Breaksea Sound is 33km long and is connected to Dusky Sound by a passage that runs north south between the two sounds called Acheron Pasage.

Not long after entering the sound we had three albatrosses land in the water behind our boat. We think they were use to hand outs from the fisherman as they trailed our boat for quite a while, flying to catch up to us and landing their huge body gracefully in the water beside us. It was great to see these magnificent birds close up. They didn't have a feather out of place and looked quite serious with their grey faces and dark eyebrows. We were also fortunate to see many Fiordland penguins as well today. Quite a few have been busy floating on their backs, preening themselves. As we neared our anchorage we saw about four dolphins and a small group of seals sleeping in the sun on an exposed rock. Since entering the sound we enjoyed a tailwind that enabled us to sail all the way to our anchorage in Third Cove, halfway along the sound. As we turned into the wind we dropped the anchor and lowered the mainsail at the same time. Third Cove is a nice little cove surrounded by forested hills and a rocky beach. Wayne had more success fishing this afternoon and caught a Blue Cod not long after we anchored. Blue Cod are very common in the fjords and are delicious.

All is well on board. Kathy and Wayne

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