Te Kaihōpara is back in action! I arrived in Whangarei on Sunday evening, and joined in on the last bit of action to see Awen off back to Sydney. The Ocean Sailing Expeditions team has been hard at work getting Awen ready for her MCA Cat 0 survey, everyone working day and night to have her ready for the Sydney to Hobart race training in early December. Unfortunately the time had come to kick the crew to the curb and depart for Auckland, as Mick and I had places to be! Though a bit envious of Sharon and her crew heading out for their voyage to Sydney, we departed Tuesday afternoon for Gulf Harbor to prepare for our upcoming trip.

The first half of our team arrived Thursday afternoon, with Lynn, Robby & Roshni, and Sampad, just in time for a tour of the boat and dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant in Gulf Harbor. It was an especially important Thursday, some would say the most important Thursday of the whole year: Thanksgiving! (officially outing myself online as an American). We made a toast and enjoyed pad thai and green curry in honor of the occasion. No pie unfortunately.

Friday morning, the other half of the crew, Kate, Mallike & Jeremy, turned up bright and early for our beloved safety briefs. Briefs were given, lifejackets donned and lines slipped, and we were on our way! We had steady(ish) southwesterlies around 10 knots, with the rare gust reaching 18 knots. We used the afternoon for sail training, setting our sights on Kawau island for the night. We cruised along making about 2 knots, and one very underwhelming gybe along the way. Once we passed Tiritiri we picked up the pace, cruising along at about 6 knots under sail. Once past Moturekareka island and Motuketekete island, the crew put the sails away and we anchored in Mansion House Bay for the night.

Jeremy & Sampad sweating up the mainsail!

Sailing in between Moturekareka island and Motuketekete island

Mick kindly dropped us all off onshore to explore the historical house that overlooks the anchorage, and we wandered through the gardens enjoying the peacocks & wekas, and mosied up the hillside for the view of our lovely Te Kaihōpara and the surrounding bay. After returning to the boat, a handful of us jumped in the water, braving the freezing 21° sea temp, barely making it back out with our lives. We had a feast of chicken korma (coconut curry for the veggos) and enjoyed the peace and quiet of our anchorage.

This morning has been sleepy and overcast, and we’ve just weighed anchor and are motoring to our next destination: Great Barrier Island. The forecast is light all morning until mid-afternoon, where the wind is expected to turn Easterly, and we want to be tucked away in our anchorage before that happens, as anyone that's been onboard before will tell you: Te Kaihōpara does not happily head into wind. We’re looking forward to exploring a new spot this evening and seeing more of the lovely Hauraki Gulf!

Cheers!

-Liv

Peacocks & Mansion Houses

Surf & Turf at Smokehouse Bay

Novice hacks ‘n’ tips