Kawau to Great Barrier Island Life at sea

Janet

***

Written from Smokehouse Bay at Great Barrier Island.

I will catch up my posts soon, promise. *** Monday 7 January, Domesticity. Cleaned the oven today. I'm not very domestic and had managed to ignore it for quite some time. Yesterday David invited Obsession for breakfast and made pancakes and bacon.

"This oven's not very clean," he declared as he peered into the metal cavity to light the flame.

"David!" admonished Lisa, "you never comment on the state of a women's oven, or the size of her bum."

A bit sexist but I have to concur, and there would definitely be trouble at sea if he did the latter. It has to be said that this was not actually a directive for me to clean the oven. We have Richard coming to visit tomorrow so I'm going to lift my usual slovenly standards and give Navire's interior a bit of a lick and polish.

***

Tuesday 6 January, Navigation.

We were on our way to collect Richard Moss, an old friend of David's from Wellington. I stared at the landscape. We were off the coast of Sandspit, north of Mahurangi. The scenery wasn't moving. I looked at the log. Point two of a knot. David gunned the engine. Looked at the land again. Nope, we were definitely not moving. We'd run aground. In my minds eye I could see Richard standing at the wharf, bags at his feet, looking at his watch, wondering where the hell Navire was, then disconsolately starting to walk back to Warkworth.

Navire does a little slide, sort of a lurch each time the engine revs. And again. We were moving again. In fact we weren't in any danger, the bottom was and and the tide was rising. We were focused on the harbour master's instructions for getting up the river, on depth in the river not the depth in the bay where we should have been watching the depth sounder and chart. Somewhat relieved, we navigated up the river and tied up to a mooring. David rowed in to the wharf and collected Richard and we headed east back to Kawau. Fortunately we didn't run aground again given that I'd managed to set a course right over a rock! Not a good day on the navigation front.

*** Kawau Island, Friday 9, Water. We are on a mission to find water to replenish our ship. We filled up 10 days ago in Auckland and yesterday we changed to the second of our two water tanks. Navire carries about 240 litres. We'd been told we could get water at the yacht club here, but when I called them up this morning they gave me a tale of woe. Their bore had run out and they couldn't even open the bar. I called the Mansion House and DOC but no water available there. Later we got our hands smacked for pilfering water from the toilet sink at Mansionhouse Bay.

Great Barrier Island is our next destination so now I'm tracking down the harbour wardens for each area and finding out what the water situation is there. Rain is forecast on Wednesday next week but that is a long way off. No showers today for this smelly crew.

Lovely couple of days with Richard. An indolent time, much eating and drinking. A new found opportunity in which we are reveling is that now that we have fewer deadlines we can wait for the right weather to sail, and not motor so much. There is just a whiff of wind predicted for Sunday so we wait.

*** Sunday 11 January, Travelling.

"Maritime Radio, Maritime Radio, this is Navire, Navire."

"This is Maritime Radio, what is your call sign?"

"Zulu Mike Victor 5709, ZMV5709"

"Navire, Navire, go ahead please"

"This is a trip report. We are leaving Kawau Island and heading for Tryphena Harbour on Great Barrier Island. Two people on board. ETA 1500."

"All copied Navire, this is Maritime radio on channel 16."

"Many thanks Maritime Radio, Navire out" *** Fishing. "19 miles to go," calls David from the nav table. In yachtie lingo we talk in nautical miles. "Four or five hours till landfall," I calculate. We are sailing at four to five knots in a fine southwest breeze.

 Its perfect sailing out here. We left early on our six hour journey. A local friend advised to get to anchorages early in this region before every Auckland yachtie arrives and takes up all the good spaces.

"How many fish today?" I ask David as he pays out the fishing line.

"Mmmmm, three I think." We laugh. We've dragged our lure hundreds of miles on this trip and not caught a thing.