Thanks to Alex Ross for the photo of Bella Rose.

Same trip as yesterday, but early to beat the high winds and afternoon showers. Conditions were perfect, came home on a beam reach at about 6kts.

Strange day on the water today. Got to to the ramp to find a nice easterly. The forecast was 10-15kts from the SW. Given the wind direction I headed for the east end of Pakihi Island. Mucked around with the drone, got it up and landed back on the boat. But don’t think I got any video or photos. The glare from the sun on the waterproof case meant no images! Carried on over the sand bank (it was high tide), then turned behind Pakihi Island, still with an easterly with a touch of north at about 8-10kt’s. Very pleasant so far. Checked the wind ahead on Passage Rock, 8kts SW! Saw a yacht coming from the other direction in wind from the SW. Checked Windy which showed a south westerly of 14kts, although getting lighter towards the Firth of Thames behind me. So I sat back and waited for the expect gibe from the wind shift. The wind shift happened about halfway past Pakihi. All of a sudden we gently gybed and I on was in an 8kt southwesterly. About halfway accross Wairoa Bay the southwesterly was up to 20kts. The first kink in the course was to put a single reef in the main. A single reef was not enough, and it was getting quite choppy, so I motor sailed close to the wind with just the main up to get to the shelter of Maraertai. Eventually I put a second reef in the main and sailed with just a little Genoa out. There was still a lot of heel, and I was seeing wind in the mid to late 20’s. I turn around just before Mataetai, and sailed on a beam reach with just a little Genoa for a bit. This was quite slow, given the wind was consistently over 20knots, so I put the main back up with two reefs. I was off. Smoked it back to Kawakawa Bay. Coming into the ramp, the wind got up. I had a 24 knot westerly on the beam as I was tying up. After weather watching for about a week, it was not the sail I was expecting. That said, any sailing is good sailing. The ongoing learning is to reef the main early, and still allow for enough genoa. If there is too little genoa, she was to round up in the gusts, especially with a side window in for comfort!. Ps, I may investigate a third reef in the main. Pps, ignore the wind direction in the photo. It was not picking up the rotating mast. That wind was on the beam, so the apparent was also the true.

Giving a lift to an X’er on the M.

Mixed bag!

Left early from Port Fitzroy, ahead of the main/faster fleet. Light breeze through the broken Island’s, then motor sailed a little once in the open Gulf to keep speed-up. Soon the motor was turned off, for a pleasant sail accross the notorious Colville Channel. Winds spiced up a little once I got over the channel, and started to sail down the peninsula. Started getting gusts up to 30kts off the land. We broached and rolled up a couple of times. I reefed the head sail, but that just made us super slow between gusts. Once I got away from land, we went into a dead spot, and actually motor sailed again to keep the pace up. Once Elephant Cove, I decided to set course for home a couple of days early (which was Plan A before I knew the fleet was moving down to Te Kouma) rather than follow the fleet to Te Kouma.s

Left Huse Bay about 9am after a quick work call. Stared out with a good Southerly of about 12 kts and drizzle. I started the day with a reef in the main, but the wind dropped, so I shook the reef out. As the wind died, it also turned South West, so I gull winged. The others in the fleet were straight to spinnakers, and went all the way under Spinnaker. I wish I had done the same in hindsight. About 2/3’s of the way over I finally hoisted the spinnaker. It was just too slow going with the Genoa. I gull winged with the spinnaker for a few miles, then once adjacent to the destination, went to reach under spinnaker. Once the Spinnaker was up I was a good 1.5-2 kts faster. Had a massive pod of dolphins swim with me for a few minutes. Now rafted up with the fleet at Smoke House Bay, Great Barrier Island.

Left Huse Bay, Waiheke early, headed for Kawau. Still a northerly, so motored north and sailed west. When I let the Genoa out, the line to the roller furler broke, so I was stuck with too much sail up. I therefore sailed west to Tiri for shelter to fix the roller furler and for some lunch before motoring straight into the wind to Kawau. Quite comfortable with the cockpit enclosure up. The trailer boats went to Kawau, while most of the keelers went straight to the Barrier. Tonight the trailer boats are raft-up in Bostaque Bay, Kawau. It is raining, so some of the fleet ended up under my new BW Yachts Bimini and cockpit enclosure. We are expecting a north-westerly, then southerly, change tomorrow morning that will take us to the Barrier a day later than planned.

Left from Kawakawa, but forgot to start the trip. Motored into the northerly to the meeting point at Huse Bay, Waiheke Island. The fleet will stay here tonight. With more northerly forecast tomorrow, Sunday, we are likely to delay crossing to the Barrier until Monday when a SW change is expected.

After finding rain water in the bilge, and the damn drainage leak that caused it, I motored home early to dry thing out. There was a hasty squall just as I got to the ramp. Was clear by the time I had her out of the water.

12 knots, sometime’s 15 on the starboard beam. All the cloth out. Sailed nicely in 12 knots. A little over powered in 15.

Already ready for the summer sun.

After cooking up some bacon for breakfast, it was out into the Tamaki straight for a nice down wind (and surfing down waves) trip home. Was a great first of the season shakedown cruise. Got the StarLink mounted and working, got the generator onboard (which will be needed because the StarLink sucks the juice), tested disolvable loo paper and potty liners (now a must onboard) and pleased to again be a dinghy with an inflatable keel. Now we just need some warmer weather!

Plenty of motoring up wind.