35 13.13S 174 13.48E - Bay of Islands
Aurora_b
Mike and Liz Downing
Fri 20 Apr 2012 10:46
|
Back in the Bay of Islands, anchored in Paradise Bay on the
island of Urupukapuka. The passage from the mouth of the Whangarei river was
just over 65 sea miles and with much better winds than yesterday it took
just under 11 hours, so an average of 6kts. It was interesting that the forecast
for today was exactly the same as yesterday, but the weather was quite
different. The day was overcast (which always makes it seem worse than it is),
but the winds were much more consistent, although quite a
bit stronger than predicted. This was particularly true on departing
Whangarei where the onshore winds and swell created an hour's slog into big
rough seas. The rollers were dead on the nose coming down the only channel out
and so there was no real option other than to plough through them, and on a few
occasions, plough was a more than apt description. When waves came very
close together the bows slid down the trough between them and the
next wave was so close that it broke over the bows before they had time to
lift, spraying the whole boat and creating rivers of sea water
down each deck. It took the scuppers sometime to get rid of it all.
This part of the passage reminded us of leaving Brighton marina with a strong
southerly blowing - not something to do unless there are no other options
(like staying where you are until the winds change!).
At the other end of the passage, rounding Cape Brett, the wind
had risen to 25 to 30kts with a much bigger swell than expected - the sea was in
turmoil with white horses everywhere. But at least this time, the wind and
swell were both behind us - far more comfortable! For the 50 miles or so in
between Whangarei and Cape Brett, good winds on the starboard beam allowed
great sailing with speeds up to 7 1/2 knots, achieved with a double
reefed main and a well reefed working genoa. It also allowed us to get in
before darkness fell, with the anchor hitting the seabed just as the last light
of the day disappeared, so pretty good timing.
 Cape Brett, as we turn into the Bay of Islands. We
had planned to do a controlled gybe to turn the
corner, but the winds were so strong we thought
better of it and opted for tacking all the way
round.
This worked well and avoided the risks associated
with gybing (controlled or uncontrolled) in very strong
winds
 Just to the south of Cape Brett is the island with
the hole through it. The 'hole in the rock' is a big
tourist attraction here and, in much better
weather, the tourist boats go right through the
hole.
|