Musings on Cruising in the Malborough Sounds New Zealand

 

We arrived in Wellington from Sidney BC on March 3^rd after a reasonable flight from Vancouver via Auckland.  Our friends Jan and Tony picked us up and we were off to their Lotus 1280 Alishan in Seaview Marina.  Then the planning and waiting game began.  The trick to getting from Wellington to the Queen Charlotte Sounds on the top of the South Island is to manage the tides, currents, and wind to get the incoming tide at Tory Channel.  Of more importance is getting to Karori Rock (The Karori Rip) at slack tide (an hour after high water Wellington).  The added and driving complication is the Cook Strait, where swell and waves can stop ships.  So you’re looking for a wind forecast that is around 15-20 knots (30-40 kmh), and ideally wind with tide. 

After considering all this, watching the forecasts and figuring the rest of the variables, we ended up leaving at 03:30 on Monday.  A lovely crossing but not enough wind to sail, but enough to at least have the mainsail up and get a bit of help from it. 

Jan and Tony maintain their membership in the Mana Cruising Club that gives them access to safe and well-maintained moorings around Queen Charlotte, and Pelorus.  Very handy this time of year especially as there are not too many boats out cruising.  When got into Tory Channel, we headed to Ngaruru Bay and picked up the club mooring.  We settled in for a few days, again waiting and planning for the next leg of the trip to around Cape Jackson into Pelorus Sound.  Did some fishing and Tony managed to get enough Blue Cod for dinner, thanks to my amazing ability to catch bait fish!  

Ngaruru Bay

Moonrise in Ngaruru Bay

Friday we headed north in Queen Charlotte to Burny’s Bay for the night.  Met up with another boat, Papillion, for a few glasses of wine, very civilized.  Philip and Suzanne are wonderful people and hopefully we’ll get together again, but time and tide will dictate that.

 Burny’s Bay

 Morning at Burny’s Bay

 Saturday we were off again at 07:30 to get the right tides, current and wind at Cape Jackson at the top of Queen Charlotte.  Again, the planning balances wind, current and tides so that you arrive at Cape Jackson at more or less slack tide in nominal wind conditions.  The challenge of sailing here is driven by the wind.  The Cook Strait is the notorious for southerly and northerly gales, and this year, we seem to be getting more than our fair share!   We had another uneventful trip, sailed for a bit and picked up a mooring Homestead Bay in Port Ligar near the top of Pelorus Sound.  

 Homestead Bay Port Ligar

Sunday, the morning forecast was not too bad so we headed south further in Pelorus with a plan to explore for a few days.  We anchored in in Ngawhakawhiti Bay.  Tony and I went out looking for diesel in Elaine Bay about 4 miles away.  Found the pumps but no internet connection so no fuel!  The forecast however became a problem.  The wind forecast went from a 20 knot northerly to a 40+ knot northerly followed by a 40+ knot southerly.  We had a rough night as the winds increased and we got hit by willy-wahs, essentially linear water spots caused by localized winds that accelerate down the steep hills, slamming into the boat.  We got hammered by these all night and by 07:00 realized that we had to get out.  The challenge was to get the dinghy up on deck.  We waited for a lull, pulled it up with a spare halyard and then got hit by another big gust of wind that took the 110lb dinghy out of our hands and turned into a sail that flew straight out from the top of the mast  and out the length of the halyard (16+ meters).  When the wind died off, the dinghy swung back and smashed into the wind generator, breaking off one of the blades.  We finally got it under control and secured on deck.  We got the anchor up (it was dug in deep in the mud) and headed out into a 30-40 knot northerly.  We got hit by more willy-wahs on the way north but not too much drama.  Top wind speed in the gusts was 48 knots (around 100 kph).  We could see them coming this time and they were amazing to see.  The power of the wind is not to be taken lightly!

Ngawhakawhiti Bay Pelorus Sound