The big event of the day (relatively speaking) was moving the boat. We’d begun to get a little fed up of the chop that had built up within the bay where we were as well as the sudden slams from chunks of wind that would find us around the hill.
With the winds now forecast to be coming from the south east for sometime we headed for nearby Shoal Bay where we’d last visited in the dinghy to find shops. On the way over we left our shelter of Mulberry hill encountering 40 knot winds just south of the hill where the land allowed the wind through. It gave us an idea from what we were sheltering ourselves from.
Shoal Bay was less protected from the wind than where we were but it was sheltered from the incoming swell. What is more, the wind was more even which promised some return on the wind generator which hadn’t been helping much in the strong occasional gusts we’d been experiencing. We first attempted to anchor in a big gap in the mooring field but our anchor slipped. That may be why there were no moorings in that spot as the holding may not have been good. Our second attempt was just outside the mooring field where the anchor set solid. We put out a lot of chain and settled down.
The first thing we realized is we have no internet access here. Oh well. We’re cut off. It’s not a bad thing from time to time. We expect it and plan for it up in the islands but it’s not expected here less than 50 miles from New Zealand’s biggest city. Just goes to show how remote NZ can quickly get. So all our email chats will just have to wait until we reconnect with the world.
NZ coastguard and their maritime service communicate regular weather forecasts on VHF and we can still download weather data via the SSB so we can still make our departure decisions from here.