Morley and Morley

All aboard

Cool socks

Hello Sailor

Beam me up

So wonderful that this happened. The next day it felt like we'd been dreaming. We got great weather with sunshine and light airs by day and flat calm nights. Cooler than it has been, so good for sleeping, but not quite warm enough for swimming. Terns and penguins, but not so many gannets. Surrounded by school fish each night. Visited Richmond Reef, Ketu Bay, Homestead Bay, and Long Bay on the Kenepuru. Caught cod, and barracuda, and a small kahawai. Grape Escape showed up on the Sunday morning and we exchanged news. Back on the berth after three nights out and logged 72 nm.

Waitangi

Not a groper

Dolphins near Bird Island

Dolphins near Bird Island

Hallam Cove

Gardner atmospherics

Poppy was joined by Fergus for this three-day foray into Pelorus Sound. See the Sea Dogs page for the pictures. Beautiful weather shaped the trip, sunny and never too hot. A SE breeze died away on the first day out giving way to variable 10 for the rest of the trip. Ketu Bay the first night, Homestead Bay the second, and Hallam Cove the third where Mark caught snapper and gurnard. We got out to Ninepin Rock on the Chetwodes twice, once for cod, and once for groper which turned out to be sharks. Bird Island produced an amazing dolphin experience, and we saw dolphins again in Port Ligar. Logged 101nm. 

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

                                                    

Three somethings wine

Orion at Richmond Bay

Sue and Sandy

Kahawai

At Richmond Sandy caught a beautiful Kahawai, a great specimen. Her tackle was a Shimano Kid Stix 341 (lime green) with a 3/0 jig head and plastic squid skirt. We were careful to bleed the fish. Next day, at Yncyca, we cooked it whole in the oven. We stuffed the cavity with herbs, especially with mint, and put late harvest wine and an orange and some fish stock all in foil around the fish. Cooked for 25 minutes at mark 9. It was very nice to eat, and an easy way to deal with the bones.

It's hard not to catch cod, and of course they have to go back until December 20th. We extract the hook as gently as we can and return them to the water with the net and mostly they swim away fine.

Heard goats at Stafford, but didn't see them. Saw a black billy goat at Richmond.

Stafford the first night, then Richmond the second. Yncyca was a lunchtime stop on the third day. Very hot weather with light winds and a sea breeze in the afternoons. A total of 51.3 miles.

Easter 2018

Bex and Ryan, damage control party

With a strong team, nothing is scary or too much trouble. In the picture above Orion's crew fix up the clears after a strong gust carried them away. In the same gust Foxy Lady, anchored nearby with a charter party on board, was laid on her ear.

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We sailed Friday at 10.00 for Port Ligar. Busy Easter, so we picked up the buoy in Māori Bay. Saturday found us pinned down by a strong NW'er with occasional very strong gusts, one of which layed Foxy Lady down nearly on her beam ends and which carried away our clears. A damage control party got to work and quickly made good.

On Saturday afternoon we got underway and headed down the western side of Forsyth Island around Bird Island past Warwick Bay to Allen Strait. We passed through the swirling water of the strait to look into Annies Bay but there was a short period 1-metre swell coming in from Cook Strait, and two boats already occupying the mooring. We came back through Allen Strait and headed back to Ketu Bay nodding into a fresh breeze and a moderate sea and were treated to a warm and sunny evening and a quiet night.

Sunday we went out late morning and fished off Goat Point, and Ninepin Rock. We spotted seals swimming in convoy and leaping, an unusual sight. Fishing in the Te Kakaho Channel Ryan netted a fat kahawai, and everyone had two on at some point but our gear was too light to net them. In the afternoon we headed north and anchored in a familiar spot in Chance Bay.

On Monday morning Bex steered us up the channel which is getting quite familiar to her now. Back alongside in Havelock for lunch. Distance steamed 100 nm.

Christmas 2017

Mohitos!

A = Ketu Bay, Snug Cove, Xmas Day
B = Ketu Bay, Onion, Boxing Day

A fine day in Ketu Bay if you exclude
the rain, the cloud, and the wind

Good fishing

Pusser's Rum decanter

Xmas shenanigans

(spot the dog)

Poppy opening her presents from Pinot and Sam

C = Ngawhakawhiti anchorage, Wednesday, Thursday

Orion in Ngawhakawhiti Bay

Namaste dropped anchor nearby

D = Hallam Cove, Friday

Grape Escape in Hallam Cove

We were on board for ten nights, from Thursday, December 21st to Saturday, December 30th and went back to Picton on New Year's Eve. We spent four nights in Snug Cove (Friday - Monday). Grape Escape came alongside Christmas morning and we had breakfast together. We moved to Onion on Boxing Day when the forecast suggested it was going around south-easterly. Wednesday we avoided cabin fever by steaming down to Tennyson Inlet where we caught up with Dion and Sarah on Nightingale. We were at anchor in the southern arm of Ngawhakawhiti Bay for two nights and then steamed to Hallam Cove where we met up again with Grape Escape. The trip was defined by the south-easterly breeze and generally changeable weather. We logged 89 nm.

Nan, Gary, and friends

At Ferndale

Gary and the shore party

Martin and Moira

Letting a mussel barge go by

We went aboard on the Thursday night and sailed Friday lunchtime for Ferndale. The Friday evening was beautiful, but the Saturday was cool with a moderate breeze from SE. Read our books. Sue was in touch with Nan and Gary and they arranged to come out on the Sunday by water taxi and bring lunch with them. They had friends from Switzerland staying, and they came too - Martin and his daughter Moira. The weather was great and we passed a pleasant day, coming in mid afternoon on the top of the tide. There was an unusual amount of traffic in the channel.

Waitangi weekend

Unpromising start Thursday evening

Window washer system

Ryan with Gurnard, Penzance

Gurnard, keeper

Whakamawahi Point, looking into Beatrix Bay

Windy weather, bad hair

Ferndale, out of the breeze

Departed Havelock Friday for Tennyson Inlet, trolled most of the way, picked up the buoy at Penzance Friday night. Saturday morning caught up with Dion on Nightingale in Tuna Bay then fished on and around Richmond Reef. Saturday night in Waitata Bay. Sunday fished near the gannet colony at the head of Crail Bay then went up the Kenepuru to Ferndale. Caught kingfish, kahawai, gurnard,  blue cod, mackerel, perch and pipefish, also one barracuda. Saw big rays in Ferndale. Fine sunny weather, but windy. All Orion's systems worked flawlessly, including the window washer system. Great holiday weekend.

Nightingale

Nightingale departing Havelock

Very exciting! Dion has bought Nightingale after a long period of negotiation, and with friend Sarah is taking her to Tuna Bay, Tennyson Inlet. This is a new lease on life for this grand old boat, so full of character. We shall enjoy to visit them there some time over the summer.

Sticky moment

It doesn't look it in this photograph, but the wind was NW 25 knots with frequent gusts of 35 knots. Nightingale stuck on soft mud on the eastern side of the entrance but was towed off by Pelorus Image, seen here standing by as Nightingale gets lined up for the channel. 

They spent the night in Maori Bay. It was a wild night with strong gusts and that strange swirling thing it does. We were relieved when next morning Dion texted us "Just coming into Tennyson, sun's out for arrival". 

Week-long cruise

We steamed 144 miles around the Sounds in a week, starting from Havelock and visiting: Ketu Bay, Goat Point, Maori Bay in Port Ligar, Waterfall Bay, Orchard Bay, Richmond Reef, Waitata Bay, passing close by Maud Island, Tawhitinui Island, Penzance, World's End, Duncan Bay, Te Rawa Lodge in Wilson Bay, Chance Bay, Raetihi Lodge in Kenepuru Sound, and on the last night Putanui West and North buoys as we dodged the weather. We caught kingfish, blue cod, gurnard, garfish, and a ray. We saw penguins, gannets, terns, and a seal. All systems worked well except the big freezer, but eight bags of ice almost made it to the end of the trip. Great mission!