Shortest Day, Fastest Sail

Urquhart’s Bay, Opposite Marsdens Point, near Whangarei, North Island

Monday 21 June 2021

It was an easy task of letting go the mooring line and weaving our way out of North Cove, making sure not to run over the other mooring buoys which lay on the surface here and there between the many boats.

The night had been still, but whilst a steady breeze from the south west had moved in, clouds and the potential for rain was in evidence on the eastern horizon as we left Kawau Island to starboard before gybing and setting a course north. 

When I say north, it was really north west, with our destination being the port of Whangarei about 40-odd miles away.

To be on the safe side, we’d estimated an ETA of around 4:00pm, but owing to the direction and strength of the breeze, plus the largely flat seas – on account of the offshore wind – we eventually dropped anchor around 2:00pm.  And what an amazing ride it was too.  A heel of no more than 15 degrees and speeds of 8-9 knots, touching 10 knots for one brief moment – and no motor, making full use of the “free” wind.

For most of the time we had all sail hoisted, although as the wind strengthened to around 25 knots, and the entrance to the Whangarei Harbour channel loomed, we felt it prudent to “de-power”.  This basically meant winding in the staysail, halving the size of the jib and throwing a reef in the mainsail. 

There’s always a bit of effort involved in such activities, but the effect of de-powering was instant.  It’s funny, the speed was barely affected. Only reducing by around 1 knot, to 7.5 – 8.5 knots; despite halving the amount of sail out.   The main impact was in the heel, back to around 10 degrees … plus that sense of NOT being out-of-control.   

Maybe better expressed as “bringing things more under control”, because from my experience, the seeds of bad events are sown in good times.  When things are going really well … the sun is shining, the sailing seems perfect and the weather ideal … it’s then that you run the risk of overlooking something, you don’t prepare adequately and are found wanting when conditions change.  A metaphor for life in general really, I suppose

Like the reef in the mainsail you should have put in BEFORE the wind strengthened, the fishing line you forgot to wind in before coming into port because you were distracted, or the inadequate amount of chain you fed out when laying the anchor.    

Anyway, no such issues this time.  John and I … plus our trusty crew, had things well under control!

This region is well known, in local circles at least, for the location of New Zealand’s oil refinery at Marsden Point – which just happens to be a few miles away, across the shipping channel.  We have anchored in Urquhart’s Bay in the shadow of Mount Lion, (at least the morning shadow) with the industrial chimneys of the refinery clearly visible in the distance – the regional city of Whangerei being reached by continuing up the channel a further 10 miles or more.

We chose to anchor in this small bay because it’s relatively sheltered from the wind and sea, plus it’s home to Alvin and his red steel yacht, which sits on a mooring here just 250 metres off our stern.

Readers might remember Alvin as a valuable part of our crew from Wellington to Tauranga.  Well, we caught up with Alvin late in the day.  He had come down to do work on his boat and paddled over to say hello.  It was good to catch up, to see his boat and more fully appreciate the local region

While having a visit from Alvin, we also caught up with two friends of Nicola’s, who also, very kindly, brought us some groceries – cheese, butter, bread … the basics.  Having anchored so early in the day really had its benefits – particularly with the sun going down so early these days.  It also meant there was time to knock out some scones for afternoon tea – I think that was Martyn and Annette’s doing.  You can see what sort of sailing trip this is …

Looking forward a few days, plans are still on track for my wife Linda to join Chimere this Friday the 25^th June in the Bay of Islands.  It would seem the “COVID bubble” between Melbourne and New Zealand might actually open tomorrow, as announced, once again establishing two-way, quarantine-free travel.  Given all that’s happened in recent times it’s still a little difficult to believe that it will all come off, but at this stage, all the signs are positive.

As a very special treat, I received a video call tonight from the family back in Oz, primarily to share the wonderful news that my younger son James, has had his PhD in soil chemistry accepted … with prospects for continued employment at ANU looking very positive.  Having observed the years of work James has put in to his academic achievements, there’s no doubt that this latest milestone is well deserved.  CONGRATULATIONS JAMES!!!       

After all the effort in trying, today was a very special day in the fishing department.  John finally landed a good-sized fish – a kahawai,  or as it’s known back home, an Australian salmon.  There were smiles all round and it even caused us to loosen all sail and head up into the wind for a brief time, in order to slow down.  It certainly made deciding what to have for dinner a little easier, with the one fish being enough to feed all six of us.

Looking at the weather … with the approach of a high-pressure system from Australia, it looks like a southerly wind will start to dominate over the next couple of days coming in at around 30 knots tomorrow, reducing to 15 knots by Wednesday. 

Our current plan is to get away from here in the morning and head to the offshore islands – about 25 miles away – known as the Poor Knights Islands – which is actually a protected reserve and a world class diving site.  (Rated by Cousteau as one of the top 10 sites in the world, apparently)  I’m not sure we’ll be doing any snorkelling, but if we do, by all accounts, this is certainly the place to do it.  Just got to get over the 15-degree water temperature.   

More information on the Poor Knights can be found HERE   and    HERE

At this stage I’m NOT expecting to have a phone or internet connection while at the Poor Knights, so tomorrow night’s Ships Log entry may be delayed, or get posted without photos.  

From there we will head back to the mainland, with the plan to reach Opua and the Bay of Islands Marina on Thursday – just in time for Linda’s arrival the next day

By the way … I’m still looking for crew to help sail home from the Bay of Islands to Sydney!

Smooth seas, fair breeze and shortest day, fastest sail

Rob Latimer

The Poor Knights … a bit of History

The islands were earlier inhabited by Māori of the Ngāti Wai tribe who grew crops and fished the surrounding sea. The tribe traded with other Maori.

A chief of the tribe named Tatua led his warriors on a fighting expedition to the Hauraki Gulf with Ngā Puhi chief Hongi Hika in the early 1820s. While they were away, a slave escaped the islands and travelled to Hokianga where he told Waikato, a chief of the Hikutu tribe, that the islands had been left undefended. As Waikato had been offended by Tatua some years previous, he and his warriors set out on three large canoes to attack the islands. They arrived at the islands one night in December 1823[12] and soon overpowered the islanders in the absence of their warriors. Many islanders jumped off the high cliffs to avoid being taken as slaves. Tatua’s wife and daughter were captured and taken to the mainland where a distant relative recognised the wife and helped the two to escape.

Tatua returned to the islands to find a scene of destruction. Only nine or ten people were left on the islands, including his five-year-old son who had been hidden in a cave during the attack. The islands were declared tapu and Tatua left with the survivors and went to Rawhiti in the Bay of Islands where he unexpectedly found his wife and daughter.