36:11.9S 175:19.9E

From Coromandel harbour we have sailed north via Colville on the NE corner of the peninsula over to the Great barrier Island, well named

as it provides excellent shelter from the rolling Pacific for the whole of the Hauraki Gulf. Even after 4 days of very light winds we still experienced

2m seas rolling in from thousands of miles of opean ocean.

The island is a wildlife preserve and many species extinct on the mainland are being carefully preserved here on the island.

The smaller outer islands are off limits to all and even more species are being managed to ensure that these birds do not die off.

There are many small off lying islands on the west coast that have to be navigated to get into the calmer inshore bays and anchorages. T

his one was about 20m wide but felt much narrower as we edged our way through.

                                                                The narrow channel into the bay known as Port Fitzroy