The anchorage at Waima Cove turned out to be quite good, just a little chop coming in over the reef, but I had a good night’s rest. Today I want to head south but the forecast further south is not nice, particularly around Castlepoint where gale force winds are happening. I have it in my mind to travel a bit further south and anchor at Tolega Bay awaiting an improvement in the weather.
Going down the coast we had light w’ly breeze with calm patches. A beautiful day well suited to motor boats.
By lunchtime we arrived at Tolega Bay and I prepared to anchor. I found a suitable spot just off the long jetty where the local youth were having a great time jumping into the water and swimming around. The wind gusts, the sandy bottom, the ground swell and the exposed nature of the bay put me off. I don’t think Truce would have been happy there and I didn’t feel comfortable anchoring in that position. A bigger boat would be OK or in very settled weather it would be acceptable for Truce. I lingered in the bay, restowed the anchor and thought few the possibilities. I had to lose some time before heading further south or we would run into bad weather.
While in Tolega Bay I took the opportunity to check out Cooks Cove, a place where he carried out some needed maintenance to the Endeavour. A great cove, providing shelter from wind and sea. It looked very inviting and I would have liked to get in and anchor there for the night. However, the cove is silted up and a check with the satellite feature on google maps confirmed that it is very shallow, drying out considerably at low water.
With my anchorage options reduced I decided to head out offshore for the night and slowly work my way down towards Portland, to be ready to go south when the weather improved.
The evening was very pleasant, a light N’ly breeze set in slowly pushing us South. An Albatross came to visit for a few minutes, circling Truce and looking down as if examining the rig critically before heading off with hardly a wing beat. Was he carrying the soul of a deceased sailor? Later the Cruise Ship ‘Silver Muse’ slipped by, all lit up.
That was about all the activity for the night. I settled into a routine of cat naps, cups of tea and the never-ending contemplation of the weather.
The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson 
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