Oyster Bay (Lat 41 17S, Lon 174 07E)
Tuesday 11 February 2020
Our night at Ship Cove was tranquil and calm, giving us all a wonderful night’s sleep; even our new adventurers Dean, Sandy and Samantha, this being their first night aboard.
We were up to see the sunrise, with Dean completing his drone, aerial video footage from the night before.
By 8:30am we were letting go the mooring and setting a course south of Motuara Island and out into Cooks Strait keeping White Rocks, Stella Rocks (there really are a lot of rocks here) and Cape Koamara on our right.
We were now out into the “big blue”. Beyond the confines of the Sounds and heading south towards our chosen destination for the night … somewhere in Port Underwood, around 40 miles away. Not a long way, but a respectable distance to ease everyone into the movement and life at sea, so to speak
With so many rocks about, the fear is that one day there might be a rock named after me – for all the wrong reasons. I had read that Captain Cook almost came to grief in this vicinity; a combination of strong tides and weak winds. And as we rounded the headland, there to our left lay Cook Rock, right near another called Awash Rock … how good are chart plotters!
The breeze increased from the north west as we found open water, but all the while our speedometer kept registering low numbers … 3, 4, even 2.5 knots at one point … the result of very fast tides, in the wrong direction. Certainly, the water looked confused and in some places like it was boiling, as eddies and whirlpools often merged into short choppy seas that appeared to be bouncing up and down on the spot.
We were soon past Tory Channel, the narrow opening to Queen Charlotte Sound taken by the large ferries that shuttle between Wellington and Picton several times a day.
A little further the water took on a blueish cloudy appearance, almost like a glacial lake as we entered Cloudy Bay and Port Underwood.
Along the way we had seen a couple of happy looking seals, plus an albatross, but still no dolphins or whales … or fish; only tuna from a can
Heading up into Port Underwood we figured that Oyster Bay would afford the most shelter and a short time later we came to anchor in about 8 metres of still, still water. It was sunny and warm and after a quick excursion ashore for a walk, a swim for Samantha, and some time gathering more wild mussels on the nearby rocks for Rob and John, we all watched the sun’s rays retreat up the nearby hills that surrounded us, extending long shadows across the bay..
The onboard-guitar got its first work-out, from both Samantha and Dean today and it really adds a wonderful feel and atmosphere
Just like last night, dinner was preceded by a feast of mussels in the cockpit, washed down with … I was hoping to be able to say … “an Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc” … but sadly no.
Big thanks to double-act chef-duo Matt and Sandy for their 10 out of 10 Spag Bol which topped off a wonderful day.
Smooth seas, fair breeze and Cloudy Bay really is cloudy
Rob Latimer
NZ2020 