Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

We checked out of Marsden Cove Marina soon after the office opened and with a little help from some passers by we were off our slip and out into the river in no time. I’d uploaded our detailed tracks from last year and were able to follow them in via the ‘back entrance’ into Taurikura Bay where we anchored.

We were last here on December 15th last year. The water, then, was 10F (5.5C) warmer.

We ate lunch then prepped the dinghy to go ashore. We found a small beach round the corner which I figured would reduce the distance we had to walk to the trail head for the Mount Manaia climb.

Sticking our feet in the water to tie the dinghy to a tree was a shocking experience and one we hope will improve rapidly. From there it was a comfortable walk of about a mile to the trail head. We climbed Mount Manaia last year when Sam and Ben were with us and we were accompanied by John from Sea Mist. Then, we’d already had a few hikes and were becoming conditioned to steep climbs. This time it’s our first real hike for a while and we felt it. The steps seemed to go on forever but eventually we made it to the look out where we briefly rested before pushing on to the summit and the excellent views.

The way down was much easier of course. The water wasn’t any warmer when we waded the dinghy back out. The rest of the day was spent reading and relaxing.

Unfortunately it looks like we won’t be able to rendezvous with the Bamboozles so that will have to wait until next year. We plan to just hang off the hook for the weekend before heading up the river to the Town Basin on Monday.

Short of provisions we hired a car from the marina for the day. At NZ$20 plus fuel it’s not a bad deal.

Our first stop was Bunnings on the outside of town where we picked up some anti damp stuff which we’ll leave in the boat when she’s left on the hard.

Next stop was Norsand boat yard where we firmed up our haul out date – now set for November 17th. High tide is about 1pm on that day and that sets the approximate time of our haul. Finer tuning nearer the time. We also made clear our need to be placed somewhere we we can have crane access to the back of the boat for when we have the work done late Feb/March.

Next we parked in town near the Town Basin Marina. There we changed our booking to next week as we’re not in a rush to head up the river. We checked mail just in case and there was none. We then wondered around town for a while and packed in a fast food lunch which ended up less satisfying than hoped for.

Finally it was back in the car to visit a few vodafone stores to pick up a wireless dongle (done) and then visit the mall with The Warehouse in and the Countdown for food shopping. Being in the Warehouse took me right back to how we were feeling in April on our last day here in Whangarei before sailing north to prepare/wait for departure to Fiji. Where has the time gone?

Heading back the Marsden Cove Marina the drizzle that had been dropping all day turned into cold rain. Someone had not returned the marina trolley so we couldn’t get all our food to the boat in one go. We left that which we could in the boot (trunk) of the car and will fetch it when we return the keys this morning.

Overall it was pretty strange coming back to somewhere we actually know. We’ve not done this before to this extent. We did revisit a few places in the Caribbean but this is quite different. It almost feels like ‘home’ but only in some ways.

Today I will put some attention to the water maker and replace the end cap. We’ll be leaving the marina today or tomorrow. To be decided later.