Paradise Had No Internet

Waipao Bay, Moturua Island, Bay of Islands Marina, North Island

Monday 5 July 2021

In the end, the rolly-ness of last night’s anchorage did not prevent us from all getting a good sleep.  It was a lazy start to the day, with grey clouds covering the sky until the sun finally broke through and made an off-and-on appearance throughout the day.

We had been liaising via text, with James and Eva – who are due to be arriving late tomorrow – about what they should bring and what they can leave behind.  They were letting themselves start to become really excited about the impending holiday … so much so that they were actually starting to pack their bags.  As it turns out, Eva has altered their flights six times so far, in order to adjust to the various COVID travel restrictions.  And she hasn’t even booked their return fight, no doubt waiting till the last minute to minimise the likelihood of having to do it again.

Meanwhile, here on Chimere, we decided not to launch the dinghy and motor ashore, instead up-anchoring to explore more of the bays and waterways of the area.  This took us around the north side of Moturua Island and back through a narrow passage keeping smaller Motukiekie Island to port.  Both islands are privately owned and here’s an article from 2009 that’s of interest … HERE

Once clear of the southern tip of Motukiekie we headed north again, passing through the very narrow Waewaetorea Passage.  It was then on to Deep Water Cove about three miles away where we dropped anchor.

John’s sister, Mara, who jointly owns a catamaran which she keeps in the area, had mentioned Deep Water Cove as a lovely place to visit, and she was spot on.  You’d never guess what makes the place so distinctive … it has something to do with the water … it’s … it’s … Deep.  Hence the name Deep Water Cove?!  It’s certainly deeper than other places we’ve visited in the region, but, in keeping with the cruising guide, we were able to drop the anchor in about 9 metres of water about 200 metres from the shore.   

By now it was lunchtime, and after some snacks and a bowl of noodles … plus a sleep (that was only me) we were ready to explore ashore while bathed in wonderful sunshine – no water bathing for us!

Our onshore exploits were very modest … just a 15-minute walk up the valley through bush, then a 13-minute walk back again down the same track.  As you can see from the photos, there’s a rugged beauty to this particular cove, framed as it is by the steeply wooded hills that surround it.

The wind – as predicted – had moved throughout the day, from South east, to east, and now to north east, all the while light, but set to strengthen throughout tomorrow, reaching 40 knots by evening.  This is the sort of weather we’d prefer to avoid, and so it was decided to return to a more sheltered bay, closer to Opua, for tonight, so we can more easily return to the marina by around lunchtime tomorrow. 

This will kill a few birds with the one stone … assuming we’re still allowed to say such a thing without defining the species of bird we intend to kill, whether we have a licence, and the type of stone to be used … namely, to 1/. avoid the more severe weather predicted for the afternoon, 2/. chase-up the salt water pumps for the water maker and air conditioning unit AND 3/. be ready to welcome James and Eva aboard tomorrow night when they arrive!! Sound very positive don’t I?!

Which brings me to the title of tonight’s Post … as it tuns out, we have had pretty good internet and phone coverage all over the place here in the Bay of Islands; even in steep sided Deep Water Cove. 

Not that we are the sort of people who need to check our emails, texts and messages every 12 minutes … (hang on, I’ll just check) but there are a few things we really DO need communications coverage for.  Matt, in particular, does work in the robotics and automation fields and there are times, quite a few times actually and mostly afterhours, when he needs to connect to this or that manufacturing production line, or control system, to overcome a “bug”, or (mostly) “human error”. 

All part of keeping the wheels of industry turning … which I stopped doing a while ago on account of retirement.  That said, I AM a big supporter of the yacht maintenance and allied trades industries … as my bank account can attest.

Anyway, so the big task ahead of us now was … “where to drop the anchor for the night” … somewhere that … 1/. will give shelter from a northeast wind … 2/.  is remote, or at least free of any other boats … and 3/. is without a rolly swell.  

Our return from Deep Water Cove brought us inside Hat Island, and as we looked in the direction of our chosen anchorage, we notice that six other vessels had the same idea and were already parked – definitely a FAIL on criteria number 2.

Moving on, we now focused in on the very small Awaawaroa Bay on the privately owned island of Moturua Island and the closer we got the more beautiful it became.  Seeing luxury houses in the next-door bays, we were half expecting to spy a big house around the corner in this bay.  But no, it was perfect.  It really had everything, it was a little slice of paradise … or at least that’s what we thought.

This was only discovered after we’d dropped the anchor, attached the snubber and were starting to lounge around and relax – chilling out for the night ahead.  It was Matt who first raised the flag … “do you have any bars on your phone father?”  he asked innocently enough … “I’ll check … mmmm no, not a one … maybe try it up on deck, or stand on the coach house”, I replied. 

Meanwhile Cathy started climbing the ladder to the first crosstree, phone in hand, or between her teeth, I couldn’t tell …  “Nothing up here”  she cried. 

“Matt really needs the internet and phone for the business … but this bay is perfect”, commented Linda.   

 “Maybe we could run the dinghy out beyond the point” suggested Matt  … “Or hoist the phone up the mast as a hot spot” … I was running out of ideas.

So that’s how we set the record for the minimum amount of time spent at anchor in the one place.   Turning our backs on paradise, we headed up and around the coast, where we found Paradise 2.0 … almost as remote, no other yachts AND most importantly … 3 bars on the display … there IS a slight roll, being close to where we anchored last night … but it’s hardly discernible.

Anchor down for the second time in 30 minutes, Linda declared that dinner was almost ready!  And so were we.

On the James and Eva front … we just received a photo of them traveling by plane from Canberra to Melbourne; the first of three flights on their journey.  They’ll stay with Eva’s family tonight and resume their travels tomorrow – it’s starting to feel real?!

Smooth seas, fair breeze and Paradise Had No Internet

Rob Latimer