Christmas 2019

Off Richmond

At anchor, Ketu Bay

Callum and Nina

Exchanging Christmas presents

Inflatable banana thing

Callum with four good cod

Anchor party

Callum joined us late morning in Havelock and we sailed at 1615 for Ketu. Oh, the long days of summer! Anchored in Ketu. Beautiful weather over the whole Christmas week and not too hot either. Exchanged presents with Grape Escape on Christmas morning. Visited World's End and Chance Bay, Callum caught gurnard, and we all caught cod down by Bird Island. Saw dolphins, penguins, shearwaters, and gannets. A total of 85.5 nm. 

First day of spring

Leaving Richmond

Friday evening the tide didn't serve until well after dark. Big spring tides usually mean driftwood, detritus from the forestry, so it's not so good steaming after dark. Leaving in the morning at this time of year can mean fog, so these are risks one has to manage. 

We elected to sail on the Saturday morning and as it happened there was fog, but by the time we were ready to sail around 9am it had already cleared. We steamed to Richmond and it was all very pleasant, we saw dolphins about a half mile to the west of our track, but we didn't give chase. We saw shearwaters further south than usual. We saw penguins at Tawero which is not unusual. Next day, Sunday, we steamed to Ferndale. 

The Monday was beautiful and we idled in the middle of a flat calm Kenepuru talking on the phone with Nina before heading in on the top of a big tide. Barometer 1025 mb or better the whole time. 60 nm in all.

New Year cruise

Shore leave

Nan and Gary swam each day

The Lytton Water and a nor'wester sky

Nan and Gary joined us for a short New Year cruise. The days were very hot, but the fresh NW breeze made it all bearable. The first afternoon - Sunday - we went up to the top of Nydia to look at the Lodge on the Track. Nan and Gary plan to walk the track. Then we went into Chance Bay and dropped anchor for the night. There were fish and birds and it felt unusually alive. New Year's eve we went and fished over Richmond Reef and scored four good cod. We went over to Yellow Cliffs in Waitata Bay for lunch, a fresh breeze kept us cool.  Later we made our way back to Richmond and picked up the Pohuenui Buoy for the night. We caught a gurnard, which is always the plan. The cod, filleted by Sue and cut into inch-long pieces, fried in FogDog g.f. breadcrumbs, complemented the scampi tails we had bought at Guytens. We had a bottle of Veuve Cliquot, and Nan and Gary brought a bottle of Moet - worse things happen at sea. We loafed around at Richmond in the morning and then steamed for home in the afternoon, all fast by 1640 having covered 63 nm in all. 

Gum Emperor moth
Found on deck after we got in