We’ve had an awesome day. Well, it did not start well but got better.
I always start every day by checking the weather. To do this, I roll onto my back, look up through the hatch (open in good weather & closed in bad). From this position I have a good view of the sky and can see the anenometer (sp?) at the top of the mast so can judge sky and wind state. I have to lie very still to judge sea state. I then roll over and go back to sleep for half an hour. Well I don’t always bother to roll over. Sometimes have to do this three or four times before I consider I have studied weather sufficiently to get up. And hopefully this co-incides with Rob making coffee, if not, I study the weather for a while longer.
Today it is overcast & feels like wind has swung around to the south. Well I thought I needed to bank a few more points in Zinkwazi’s black box so decided to check the bilges – always a good thing to know we are not taking on any water. And they were water free but there was plenty of milk in them. Our fridge has a drain and a milk bottle had leaked so fridge and bilges got a good wash down. (black box – every boat has one and points are banked for every act of good seamanship. These are withdrawn in dangerous situations or for stupid actions. And it is a very good thing to have lots of points just in case…..)
We then went upstream in the tender to the Pukenui wharf, got chatting to a couple who live in a mobile home and they recommended the local bakery. We had cream donuts for lunch and very good they were. Did a bit of shopping at the 4-square and had a beer at the pub.
We’d see advertisements for a hover-craft tour and it sounded like fun so we booked a trip. All a bit hard because there is very poor cellphone coverage so we had to use a pay phone. Won’t be long before they are quaint relics!
We met the hovercraft at the Houroha Fishing Club jetty – it can seat 6, but there was just Rob & I. We crossed the channel – most of Houhora is sand flats and left the harbour to get onto the crescent beach that skirts Ranganau Bay. This is a big bay, took us a couple of hours to cross so would be at least 12 miles across. We went along the beach on the waterline bouncing across the waves to Rangaunu Harbour and did a bit of a tickey tour. Stopped at owners house for coffee and then headed back to Houhora There is amazing bird life on the sand flats. Was a fantastic experience.
Tonight we are having meat loaf and baked potatoes for tea. It is overcast and a bit chilly so good soul food.
We are now half-way through our trip (distance) being 205 nautical miles from Auckland (this is a 2-day sail). In total we have done 353 nautical miles since leaving Auckland. Not at all bad for a sail boat. We have spent ~$150 on diesel, but use engine for freezer and to re-charge batteries so need to run every day.