May 30, 2021
We spent about a week in Whangaroa, hiding from high winds. It was magical!
Most of this was shot while we were anchored in Lane Cove below a rock formation called “The Duke’s Nose.” We had this bay to ourselves all but our last day there.
We chose well as I don’t think we saw even ten knots of wind during our time in Whangaroa, while the rest of the North Island was having a major weather event with gusts to 50 knots and 30 foot seas in places. It was so calm that we made a bad decision to leave, thinking the weather had passed. The winds were gone but the seas were still really bad – worse than forecast.
We got the idea that something major had happened as we motored through what seemed like entire forests floating in the ocean. We had very uncomfortable bits and pieces of two days getting down to Tutukaka, where we now sit safe and sound in a lovely marina.
This week looks like it’ll be too rough, and have wind from the wrong direction, so we’ll happily sit here until we get better weather. -Rich
