Dolphin Delights

Kaikoura – Gooch Bay 

Wednesday 12 February 2020

Oyster Bay met all the criteria for a top spot to drop the pick … calm, sheltered and very good holding.  Which basically means the anchor stays where you plonk it, along with all the chain and by default, the boat.

Before us lay around 80 sea-miles to Kaikoura, then a further 80 miles or so on to Lyttleton Harbour (Christchurch); our final destination for this leg.  We had studied the weather forecast and of course the preference of every (gentleman or lady) sailor, is to have the wind coming from behind, or at least on the side.  But definitely NOT from the front … or, “on the nose”.  Too much of which can definitely be on the nose.

Unfortunately, our weather forecast for the next couple of days was something of a mixed bag.  Wind from the north-east (good) for part of the way, turning southerly (bad) sometime over the next 24 hours, plus some westerly (also good) for good measure

The dilemma we faced was whether to stay tonight at Kaikoura, the half-way point, or continue on through the night and into tomorrow, so as to miss the worst of the forecast southerlies

No matter what we ended up doing, though, the first thing was to get away early … which we did, leaving Oyster Bay around 6:15am into a still, chilly and misty world.  First it was out of Port Underwood, across Cloudy Bay, past Cape Campbell and south towards Kaikoura

The motor got a fair amount of use throughout the day but for a time we were touching 8 knots before a fresh nor-easter, with the mainsail out one side and the jib poled out on the other, wondering whether we should start reefing the sails.  But even when the wind died off were still able to maintain 6-7 knots by firing up the Perkins.

We were now sailing … motoring … through the famed Kaikoura Coast, where tourists pay good money to view the big, majestic creatures.  We figured it was just a matter of time and we’d be fending them off with sticks.

Then the cry went up, “dolphins!!”  … and sure enough, a small group of what John identified correctly as Hectors Dolphin, (New Zealand’s only indigenous dolphin) kept us company for a while.  They really were different to any dolphin I’d ever seen before, but like all such creatures, they knew how to play and frolic at the bow of a boat.

We then saw some seals jumping around, followed by albatross and even little blue penguins … but still no whales – maybe further down the coast; not that we were ungrateful for the wildlife already revealed.

The further we travelled, the more we could see of the stunning coastline … in particular the backdrop of the Kaikoura Range, rising to 2,000m just inland.  No snow, being summer, but still, a wonderful accompaniment to the misty shoreline less than 10 miles off the starboard side.

Around 8:00pm we dropped anchor in Gooch Bay, on the southern side of the Kaikoura township, where we stopped briefly to make dinner and finally decide on the next course of action.  The wind was light, and we predicted to remain light for the next 18 hours … till 2:00pm tomorrow afternoon, according to the forecast. 

In the end, the rolly-ness of the anchorage, coupled with the desire to keep moving while favourable conditions prevailed, meant that all were in favour of carrying on through the night.

Prior to dinner, we ate the second half of the mussels gathered yesterday, making this the third such feast.  I’ll never want to pay for such an entrée or meal, ever again – just what we’ve all consumed would have to run to around $200, if bought in a restaurant.

While dinner was being prepared, I retired to my cabin to write the day’s blog (or at least the blog from yesterday or the day before) I heard a piercing alarm sound out from the cockpit area.  “Oh, the anchor alarm”, I thought, “Better go out and check” … which I did, only to discover that no one was doing anything, everyone was calm, and certainly no one was at the chart plotter figuring out if should be concerned or if it was just the effects of the wind or tide, spinning us around .  “Oh, that was the smoke alarn”, said Sandy calmly “we’ve put it under a t-towel” …

“Fair enough”, I thought … but it does bear an uncanny resemblance to the Anchor Alarm.

After a two hour Kaikoura stop-over it was back to sea around 10:00pm for a night sail, under near-full moon, to Lyttleton … the port of Christchurch.  We were all excited, with Sandy and Samantha in charge of the search lights in the bow making sure we didn’t fall foul of one of the many craypot bouy-lines that we spied on the way in.

Smooth seas, fair breeze and dolphin delights

Rob Latimer