The day started off quite windy and the bay was choppy so we stayed aboard the morning generally relaxing. Around lunchtime we got busy (Helen before I did) sealing a leaky window, cleaning the winches, a bit of varnishing and a few other bits and pieces.
By mid afternoon the bay had settled so we lowered the dinghy, pumped a bit of air in and took off to the shore. We walked along the road a way then came back along the shore rock hopping our way around. We then headed in the opposite direction towards a pub where we thought we may go for an evening meal. In the end we decided to stop for a beer and return to the boat eating aboard.
The easterly winds have set in and are forecast to remain there for some time. This puts Great Barrier Island out of reach for a bit. But tomorrow (Thursday) the seas are forecast to have calmed and the winds will be quite light. That may give us a chance to motor sail down to Kawau Island which is supposed to be quite nice. We’ll probably move the boat this afternoon nearer the mouth of the river to reduce the journey, if we go, on Thursday.
We have a few niggling issues to resolve. The head (toilet) in our side of the boat is playing up. The joker valve (it’s no joke changing it) is failing to hold stuff back so the bowl slowly refills. Looks like a messy job there. Also, every now and then, the water pressure pump goes off suggesting a leak somewhere. We found a bit of water beneath the immersion tank but that could have happened while we’re on the dock so we mopped it up and will look again later.
I’m continuing to enjoy the boosted range on our AIS. A couple of days ago I picked up a vessel 28nm away – far better then we ever had before. From our current anchorage, still with hills around us, we can see more of the vessels out at sea. I’m looking forward to getting out there and seeing what we can see from there.
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