Auckland

Date: 20/07/15 Position: Pier 21 Marina, Auckland

The southerly change come through around 3am on Wednesday night with thunder, lightning and heavy rain. Thankfully it was only a light southerly change of 15-20 knots and not gale force strength which seems to be the pattern lately when a change comes through. This southerly change gave us a two day weather window to reach Hauraki Gulf before another pre-frontal northerly was due to start.

On Thursday morning we left Tauranga Harbour on the high tide after waiting for the pilot to guide a heavily loaded container ship through the harbour entrance channel. Once in the outer channel we were met by a three metre northerly swell that had developed as a northerly gale had been blowing for the previous couple of days. The swell died down as the morning progressed and it was a really pleasant sail up the coast of the Coromandel Peninsula to Opito Bay where we anchored for the night. We saw numerous flocks of what we think are fluttering shearwaters and diving petrels. The diving petrels are quite entertaining little birds. As Ambler approached a raft of these little birds they would either dive under water and disappear like penguins do, or they would flutter their wings madly and lift themselves just off the surface. But some did not fly high enough as each wave crest would hit their belly as they fluttered over the water, before landing with a plop a short distance away. When the fluttering shearwaters were all airborne and flying in unison it looked marvelous as they were either all black or white depending which way they turned.

On dark we approached a channel called Hole in the Wall. This we passed through in the dark before conning our way into Opito Bay with the help of the radar, the depth sounder, the moving map display and our keen eyesight. It was a nice calm night on the anchor with just a gentle swell rolling in.

On Friday morning we departed at first light and as the sun rose we were greeted by views of a picturesque bay with lots of small rocky islands silhouetted by the morning sun. These islands dotted the outer entrance to Opito Bay with some larger islands offshore which helped to cancel any leftover northerly swell. On looking back towards the channel called Hole in the Wall we could see where it got its name from as we could see a huge hole in the cliff face.

Friday was another pleasant day of sailing with warm sunshine and a light south westerly breeze. Throughout the day we passed a few seals sleeping with a flipper raised in the air and spotted a few Little Blue Penguins swimming along. In the afternoon we rounded Cape Colville at the northern end of the Coromandel Peninsula and sailed into Hauraki Gulf. Here the breeze became too light and turned more to the west becoming a headwind so we motor sailed for a time then sailed again. Wayne spotted a whale spouting about a mile away but unfortunately we weren't able to see the whale itself. The rest of the afternoon was spent soaking up the warm sunshine and reading. As it grew dark the lights of Auckland lit up the skyline as we made our way to Whangaparaoa Peninsula which is 15nm north of Auckland.

The AIS watchmate system came in very handy as we had to cross the main shipping channel. We chose a gap between three outbound ships which were almost impossible to see due to the profusion of lights of Auckland in the background. We entered Gulf Harbour Marina just before midnight and tied up easily in our pre booked berth.

The northerly hit hard on Saturday with heavy rain and gale force winds in the morning and evening. We managed a walk in the middle of the day when there was a lull in the weather.

Sunday was spent further insulating areas of the boat against the dreaded onslaught of moisture and mould as well as a general clean and tidy up.

Today we left Gulf Harbour about mid morning and sailed to windward with a 25 knot south westerly blowing as we headed to Auckland. It was a fast trip with a double reefed main and full headsail. We saw lots of shearwaters scooting over the waves as well as flocks of terns and gannets diving. We had a few rain squalls pass over and before we knew it we had covered the 19nm to Auckland. We are now tied up alongside at Pier 21 Marina which is a stones throw from the city centre.

All is well on board.

Kathy and Wayne

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