Category: Uncategorized

January 21, 2021

Here’s our to-do list for today, now that Joe Biden is the president of the United States of America…

1. Move American flag from it’s inconspicuous position in the wind vane to a prominent position on the backstay.

2. Fix some miscellaneous boat crap.

3. Clean some miscellaneous boat crap.

And, oh yea, one more item: try to sell all the Canadian flags we’ve accumulated in an effort to further our no-longer-necessary disguise. Anyone interested?

-Rich

February 13, 2014

We woke up to gusty wind and some rain in Woolshed Bay; so we decided to wait for conditions to lighten up before heading to our next destination, Waimate Island.

Waimate is a small island about 2 miles north of Coromandel Harbour (and about a 4-mile trip from our anchorage). This area of the peninsula becomes increasingly exposed to the effects of weather and the open ocean as one travels north. There aren’t many anchorages, and the few that do exist aren’t so much desired destinations as they are places to find shelter when traveling through through there.

I wondered if we should time our departure from Woolshed Bay to coincide with the outgoing tide, but Rich didn’t think it was necessary. By late morning, the wind and whitecaps had died down and we were starting to see some sun. As it happened, it was also slack tide. It seemed to be as good a time as any to leave.

Well, not so much. The westerly winds weren’t very strong, yet the channel was choppy and there was even some swell. By now we had a bit of outgoing current with us, but we still were only able to motor at 3 to 5 knots into the sloppy seas. It was bad enough we considered turning around and going back to Woolshed, but with conditions due to worsen the next day, we needed to get out while we could. We opted to keep chugging along.

As we motored along, we did have a good view of the harbor. On the south side we spotted the small town of Te Kouma and a few scattered houses. The north side was much drier and grassier. We checked out the unnamed bay and anchorage west of Woolshed and an exposed bay near the outer point. Woolshed Bay had clearly been the best choice. Below, a photo gallery of photos from around Coromandel Harbour (click to enlarge any photo in a gallery).

When we exited the harbor and turned north, the seas were no longer against us yet conditions didn’t feel any better. The wind had picked up to 15 knots, gusting to 20, and now we had bigger swells from the open ocean. We’d checked the weather before leaving and this is not what was advertised!

I grabbed the Thatcher guide to see if there were any interesting alternatives to this situation. As it turned out, there was something. We could turn east and get in the lee of Motutapere Island, just south of Waimate. It would be a detour but one that would make things more comfortable.

We turned east and as we headed in that direction, we got a good look at the anchorage on the north side of Whanganui island (Woolshed Bay is on its south side). It looked way too open for typical conditions and not desirable enough to visit in calm ones. We also got a good look at Motutapere Island as we motored along behind it (last photo in the gallery below) and confirmed there were definitely no anchorages there!

Once we got behind Motutapere, conditions became so much calmer and more comfortable! I worried about what it would be like motoring through the gap between Motutapere and neighboring Waimate, but the two islands plus surrounding rock islets created a protective effect for the whole area. Soon, we were in the lee of Waimate, our destination.

We headed to an area near the north end of Waimate and found a spot to anchor. The gusty winds blasted down over the hill in front of us, but the water remained calm so we felt secure and comfortable here.

Waimate was rather pretty. Our bay was gently indented, surrounded by grassy hills, a beach, and wandering cows. It reminded me of Rangipukea Island (our first anchorage off the Coromandel) but a more rugged version of it. The hills were more windswept and the beach more rubbly. Just south of us was an area of big pine trees that looked quite pretty, and I wondered if we should have anchored there. But I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth—this would do just fine!

Later in the afternoon, I headed out to the cockpit again. Much like our last bay, I felt that although this was an attractive place, it didn’t feel very good to be here. Maybe it’s the wind today, but I felt uneasy and restless. I didn’t linger outside.

We had a nice evening, having dinner and watching TV, feeling comfy while the wind blew outside. But overnight we woke to the sound of howling wind. It was only a squall but it was pretty impressive. Rich got up and saw it was at least 25 knots. Thankfully it died off and then the sound of rain began. I always love that sound, but I love it even more when I know our boat, salty form a splashy passage, is getting a rinse. Eventually we both fell back asleep. Tomorrow we’d be heading north once again.–Cyndi

January 15, 2021

This is what the excitement of the America’s Cup looked like on Legacy yesterday. I think I was still awake at this point! -Rich

February 12, 2014

Sitting in Woolshed Bay, I took a good look at the chart and was dismayed to see Coromandel Town was two miles away, at least a 40-minute dinghy ride for us! We decided to go anyway, hoping it would be a nice ride.

Once in the dinghy, we exited the bay  and found ourselves motoring right into a 12-knot wind. The water was choppy and spitty, and we were both getting splashed. I was thinking this wasn’t going to work out, but Rich veered into the little bays and indents, hugging the shore, which gave us bits of time in calmer conditions. Still, it was a long and not particularly fun ride.

We finally spotted the wharf and while there wasn’t a dock, we saw a stairway with a dinghy tied to it. Unfortunately its engine was up so we couldn’t tie up next to it without risking our dinghy getting slashed by one of its propeller blades (people who leave their engines up at a dinghy dock are being incredibly thoughtless).

We tried going around to the other side of the wharf, and then to the beach, but both were too shallow even for our dinghy. So, we decided Rich would take me to the stairs and I’d run up to ask someone if there was a place to put our dinghy. I ran up the stairs, interrupting a film crew working on some sort of Muppet production. Between the shallow areas and no dinghy dock, this was already a strange place, but this Muppet group was the icing on the weird cake.

I ran down the wharf and found a man in an office. He was nice enough, but I got the impression he’d never been asked about dinghy tie ups. He suggested we carry our dinghy up the flight of stairs to the dock. Uh, not very appealing, but it seemed our alternative was to wait an hour for higher tide so we could land on shore. This wasn’t really an option for us, and although he suggested we could tie up to a workboat there, I was worried the person might come to use it while we were in town.

In the end, carrying our dinghy up a flight of stairs was our only option. This nice man actually offered to help! We both headed down the stairs to find the wind had picked up and the water really choppy. Rich, who was holding the dinghy away from the stairs and the other dinghy’s outboard, was very glad to see me coming with someone official!

So Rich and our new friend carried our dinghy up the stairs, engine and all, and placed it on the pier, trying not to disturb the film crew. The man said he’d take care of the trash we’d brought and gave us directions to town. So far our adventure had been touch and go, but it seemed we’d see Coromandel Town after all. By now, it was obvious that cruisers in this harbor don’t generally venture into town, or if they do they wait for high tide and beach their dinghies.

The walk to town took about 15 minutes, including a walk down the long wharf followed by another walk next to the road, past a grass park and mangroves on the ocean side. The inland side was a rocky hillside covered with trees. It was actually quite a pleasant walk.

Soon, we started to see some of the town’s businesses, many of them in heritage buildings, quaint and attractive. We walked along the main street until the businesses petered out and the street became residential. This area was small, 2 or 3 blocks long. Yet because this was an active tourist town, it had an interesting mix of people: the arty individualist Coromandel types, tourists, lots of older folk, and some young attractive families. The restaurants seem to do a brisk business and the town had internet, so it wasn’t too remote. We’d checked out the eateries as we walked, deciding a place called Umu which, with its café atmosphere, indoor-outdoor layout, and pizza oven, looked the most appealing. (Below, photos of the town and restaurant–click to enlarge any photo.)

We headed into the restaurant, sitting near the big open glass doors, and ordered a pizza with artichokes, feta, capers, and other yummies. This may be a historic town, but the food here was very modern. The pizza was delicious, and it was fun to watch the interesting mix of people walking by. After lunch we headed to the market for a few items before ending up back at Umu to share an ice cream sundae and cappuccinos, giving ourselves a treat before braving the trip back to the boat.

As it turned out, we deserved that treat! I’d hoped the wind would have died down, but no, not only had it picked up to 15 knots, it was now blowing from the west, which meant we’d be heading right back into it. Rich took the dinghy down the flight of stairs, pulling it while using the back wheels to ka-thunk it down the steps to the water. It was choppy, and we knew we were in for a long ride.

For the next 40 minutes we slowly motored directly into the wind and waves, getting pretty soaked in the process. Both of our backs hurt from holding our sitting positions, and when we arrived at an indent just before our bay, we ducked in to take a rest and refill our gas from the fuel jug we’d thought to bring along. While it wasn’t much further to our boat, we didn’t want to risk running out of fuel and trying to row in these conditions. We gathered ourselves then began the final leg of the trip, getting around the headland and then beelining for the boat. Cold, soggy, sore and tired, we got onboard.

What a nice feeling to be back on board and take showers, especially since the wind was picking up and we could see it was getting rougher in the harbor. Our verdict of the day was that we enjoyed Coromandel Town, but we’d recommend visiting it by car as part of a bigger Coromandel loop trip, not by boat.

In the evening I headed out to the cockpit to look around. Woolshed Bay is indeed nice, but not as nice as the bays in Te Kouma Harbour. Part of the reason was, for me, Coromandel Harbor didn’t have a very agreeable energy. The combination of its windswept feeling, rough channel, large tides, and remoteness just didn’t add up to that cozy feeling that makes it so enjoyable to sit in the cockpit or swim in the bay.

In fact, this had more of a feeling that could make a person feel trapped as it became apparent, observing the funneled winds and considerable currents running into the harbor, that we couldn’t just get up and leave whenever we felt like it. If the weather were at all bad, we would not be going out, period. It was an unsettling feeling, and I realized I would be happy about leaving tomorrow.

It turned out the gusty winds blew off and on all night long. Our bay was reasonably calm and protected, but it was still unnerving to listen to it. Tomorrow we planned to head north again to another island off the Coromandel called Waimate. –Cyndi

February 12, 2014

What a pleasure to wake up in Squadron Bay, go outside, and be surrounded by trees, hills and so many birds. Hearing some birdsong I didn’t know sent me groggily into the cockpit before I even had my coffee in hand. It turned out to be a group of Australian Magpies, a bird not uncommon in New Zealand, but I hadn’t heard them group together and be so vocal before.

We sat outside and had our coffee, admiring our surroundings and what looked the beginnings of a a beautiful day. Aside from large birds in the trees (cormorants and those lively magpies), we saw groups of larger birds like wild turkeys and pukekos grouped on the hillsides surrounding us. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the scenes in Jurassic park with the grazing dinosaurs. This place had a similar appearance and feeling, not typical for a New Zealand anchorage.

Once again, it would have been lovely to linger in this one spot, but we needed to keep moving to take advantage of the good weather. Our plan now was to make the short trip north to the next area, Coromandel Harbour.

Coromandel Harbour isn’t really a popular destination. It edges the border of the good cruising grounds of the Hauraki Gulf. There are anchorages and some scattered islands further north, but they are rather open and rugged, lacking the pastoral prettiness of Te Kouma and some of the Hauraki Gulf’s inner islands.

The reason we wanted to go there was to visit a town called Coromandel, located at the head of the harbor. It’s a historic town dating back to the gold mining and logging eras of the 1800s, but it’s now one of those places that attracts artists, craftspeople, and those who enjoy living in a remote, somewhat difficult to access area. There is a road that goes out to it, but it’s a long and winding drive to get there.

The harbor looks large, but much of it is shallow and actually dries out at low tide. In spite of this there are a few anchorages in the outer half of the harbor, protected and suitable for a deep-draft boat. We were headed to an anchorage called Woolshed Bay, about 3 1/2 miles total from our Squadron Bay location. Technically Woolshed is on an island, Whanganui Island, but it’s more like a finger of land got split, opening a channel of water between the two ends and creating this “island.”

We pulled anchor and headed out of Te Kouma Harbour around 10am, the conditions fine until we exited the harbor and headed north. We could see what looked like a patch of fog approaching and realized it was actually a thick layer of cloudy rain. Soon, we we were in miserably wet conditions as the wind gusted up to 20 knots and the temperature dropped.

Between the rain and the wind we didn’t get to enjoy checking out this new harbor as we  headed in towards the anchorage. Mostly what we experienced was just was gray and damp, with splashy whitecaps around us. We continued towards Woolshed Bay, promising ourselves some Laphroaig (our favorite Scotch) as something to look forward to when we got to our anchorage (shown in the lower right in the gallery below–click to enlarge any photo).

By the time we got in, the rain and wind had died down, but it was still cold outside. So we went below to huddle under the covers and enjoy that Lahroaig we’d promised ourselves. While cruising there are plenty of times we get caught in less than nice conditions, and a good way to cope is to dream of the treat we’ll give ourselves upon landing. Arriving in the evening after a very long passage, it’s a long shower and champagne. Daytime arrivals usually mean a meal at an eatery, hopefully one with a view and and festive atmosphere, but any place that serves adult beverages will do. On a day like today, crawling into bed to warm up and sip some whiskey is just the ticket!

After a time, the sun came out and we went outside to look at our bay. It was very nice, well-forested with an attractive beach. We wouldn’t call it particularly special by New Zealand standards, but it was still a nice place to be.

With the weather suddenly looking better, it was time to think about heading to Coromandel Town. –Cyndi