Going Home........Booo Hoooo

Photo: Kabuki sailing out of the Bay of Islands, Cape Brett in the distance.

Well after trying out the commuting thing from Opua to Whangarei for 2 weeks we decided to up anchor (drop mooring) and head back to Whangarei. Paul was having to start work at 7am so it meant He had to leave Opua by 6.15am, and then He wasn't getting home until 7 pm. It was just a bit much.
On Friday the 26th we left Opua at 5.30pm and did a night sail back to Whangarei, unfortunately the wind which was supposed to be SouthWest was more south and was pretty much on the nose. But we managed to sail till about 2am on Saturday morning, then we had to start the engine when the wind died. By the time we got to Whangarei Heads the wind had picked up so we were able to sail from the Heads to the Basin.
As we left the Bay of Islands a pod of dolphins came and played in our bow wave, at last I was able to get a video of it (after many failed attempts in the past). It was a lovely night to start with, but the clouds came over later obscuring the stars. We arrived in the Whangarei Harbour on the outgoing tide, so we sailed slowly up the harbour getting stuck in the mud of the channel near Ray Roberts Marine, funny thing was that we had been in 4.5 ft of water then it deepened to 6ft and that is when we got stuck, go figure. We were being a bit cheeky trying to get up at low tide.
So here we are back on our mooring, and life returns to the rat race pace again. Have we done the right thing in coming back? Who knows................
Is this the end? ...............No

Moored in Opua

Paul and I returned to Opua after spending a few days out in the Bay. We visited Paradise Bay on Urupukapuka Island, and it was paradise. Lovely clear water, white sandy beaches, fish galore under the boat (baby Kingfish). It was a lovely way to wind up our BIG adventure.
We have now moored up in Opua, preparing to start work again. Paul starts on Monday 15th and I will not be too long after that.
One bit of news is that Paul has at last succumbed to buying me an inflatable dinghy. If you are not aware, I have a long running love/hate relationship with our 6ft 9inch clinker style fibreglass dinghy called Milligan. Being only just under 7ft Milligan is very light and skittish. A number of times I have nearly ended up in the drink, and I severly bashed my knee on another occassion. I had suggested getting a inflatable, but Paul was dead against them as they don't row well.
Long story short, we purchased one yesterday (I wore him down). We put the outboard on and had a bit of a blat around. THEN last night Paul did a rubbish run in the new dinghy. Next thing I know He is blatting all over the place, with this huge smile on his face. Yes....... my Paul is a rev head under that traditional Yachty Facade.
Any way the other news is that I have been offered the opportunity to apply for a job at Seaview Resthome in Whangarei as the Activities Co-ordinator, 20 hours a week Monday to Thursday. Paul is hoping to only work Monday to Thursday as well so it would be perfect. I will be off for an interview on Monday, so we will see.
Anyway our yachting adventures will still continue as we continue to explore the Bay on our long weekends (thats if it all pans out).

Whangaroa and Tsunami........

Up the Canyon, near Lane Cove Cottage. Whangaroa.

Paul and I spent a lovely evening at the Whangaroa Gamefish Club on Saturday night, we had anchored of the township of Whangaroa. We did a load of washing, a bit of shopping for fruit & Veg and had showers. At 2am my Mother called (we had signal) to warn us that an earthquake had occurred in Chile and a Tsunami was supposedly coming. We got up and listened to the latest news on National Radio, the Tsunami was expected at about 7am. So off we went back to bed, but we got very little sleep.
At 6am we were up and listening to the radio again, we decided (Paul the skipper) to head out to sea, and spend the day sailing back to the Bay of Islands. This meant we were leaving Whangaroa 2 days earlier than planned, and the sea conditions were not in our favour. The forecast was for Easterly winds 15knots, and a 2 metre easterly swell, all well and good unless you want to go in an easterly direction.
Needless to say the day was a wee bit rumpty, and the sail was not the greatest. Eventually we motorsailed from the Cavalli Islands to the Nine Pin, we then turned off the engine and hoisted some more sail from there to Opunga Bay. We did not see any sign of Tsunami activity/surging, from all reports any activity was reasonably handled.
So we are now on a mooring at Opua, we are going to rent the mooring for a few months and keep Kabuki up in the Bay. Paul is having to go back to work on the 15th March. I will stay on the boat in Opua and He will commute from Opua to Whangarei for work each day. This has all happened earlier than planned, as one of the guys at Paul's work left unexpectedly.
We still have nearly 2 weeks before we need to get serious again, what a bummer.




Whangaroa Harbour morning mist.