Hauraki and Sail GP (2/2)

Day 5: Nature Walks and Champagne Sailing!

Halfway through the trip!! Today we docked to the wharf in Fitzroy to get some much needed water rations - some of the crew were definitely looking forward to having a longer shower!

The Crew then went on one of the many great nature walks in Fitzroy, with Tim and David staying behind to watch the boat. We were given a talk about the history of the area by an experienced tour guide for the Glenfern Sanctuary, then we set off! Near the top there was a swing bridge out to the crown of a large kaori tree where the crew walked across, with even Wendy conquering her fear of heights!

The Glenfern Sanctuary is a nature preserve area on Great Barrier Island, where constant pest control measures are performed in order to protect the native flora and fauna. The walk was steep but we were rewarded with a beautiful view at the top!

Photo of Mick, Sam, Wendy, JF, Shaz, and Dave

We then cruised down the western coast of the Coromandel, made anchor in Elephant Cove (which is a little island off the peninsula) and got to enjoy a beautiful sunset.

Elephant Cove at sunset

Day 6: Calm Before the Chaos

Today was a bit more overcast, but we still had Mick, JF, and Dave hopping in for a morning swim. We had a relaxing sail across to Waiheke where Samantha and Dave dropped off Tim on Waiheke so he could catch a plane home. It was a live drop off with the boat sailing right through departure and return of the dingy. They got an awesome shot of the boat sailing along on the way back!

We then had a cruisy afternoon anchored off Surfdale, Waiheke, and went ashore for a pie and an ice cream before turning in the for day. The excitement for Sail GP was beginning to kick in and everyone was looking forward to tomorrow.

Day 7: The City of Sails

In the morning we went over to Sea Breeze III to get our special flag so we could anchor in the VIP area on the racecourse. They had a total of 20 boats registered for this area which was the most in Sail GP history! There was a lot of excitement not only watching the racing, but watching the super yachts all anchoring around us as we got there first and had a great spot.

David, Shaz, and Wendy were all very pleased by the end of the race day with Australia seated in first.

We then cruised back to Waiheke for the night to do it all again tomorrow!

Day 8: A Win for the Aussies!

After Mick, Dave and JF went for their morning swim, we set the headsail and almost headed directly downwind back to the same spot as yesterday. David and Shaz were very happy to be sailing and excited to watch Australia again today in their matching t-shirts.

Today’s conditions were a lot wilder than yesterday, with windspeeds of 20knts gusting to 30 - which made for some exciting racing and challenging anchoring.

We had a plan to arrive there early to get a good spot, however, the course marshal ended up changing the zone placement and we had to do multiple re-anchorings to ensure we had a view of the racecourse between the super yachts. Wendy was very pleased with Australia making the finals and then winning the Sail GP, same with Shaz and David. Mick was also very happy to see Denmark get a 1st and 2nd place in the preliminary racing. Samantha, and the rest of NZ was not pleased with the kiwis performance, but you can’t win them all! Overall, a great day of racing in very challenging conditions.

We ran into some problems when attempting to up-anchor. We found that our anchor had ended up catching on another boats. After some struggles with attempting to disconnect them, both boats opted to completely drop the anchor and chain, attaching a buoy to it with a rope to be collected another day.

This change of plans made us have our final birth in the Viaduct Harbour in Auckland City where the whole crew went out to Danny Doolans for some much needed fish and chips!

Day 9: Exploring and Goodbyes!

This morning was busy with the crew packing their things and organising their next adventures. Shaz and David set off to tour NZ, while Dave, Wendy, and JF found time to have a wander through the Auckland Maritime Museum before heading their separate ways.

All in all, we had an amazing trip. Starting in Gulf harbour, heading off-the-beaten-track to the outside of Great Barrier Island, then down the coast of the Coromandel to Waiheke, then finishing in the City of Sails.

A special thanks to Mick (skipper) and Samantha (chief mate) for keeping everyone safe and thank you to everyone else for a wonderful time. Definitely a trip to remember!