FAIR WEATHER EXCURSION

23 January 2023

This morning all was peaceful in Whangaroa Harbour, flat calm, quiet and clear skies.  I sat in the cockpit with an early morning cup of tea and savoured the tranquillity as the sun rose above the hills. This the best time of the day.

Today looks like a good day to move along a bit, the forecast is showing settled weather for a couple of days.  There are a couple of anchorages close to here that I would like to visit.  The first is Whangaihe Bay and the second is Waiiti Bay in the Cavalli Islands.

Our first destination is Whangaihe Bay, its only about five miles from Whangaroa.  No need for an early start so we had a leisurely breakfast and waited for a breeze to arrive.  Nothing much was happening with the wind so we weighed anchor and headed around to Whangaroa wharf for a walk ashore.  One thing led to another and we had lunch at the Whangaroa Sport Fishing Club.  Then an afternoon tipple followed, we managed to get back on board Truce around five in the afternoon.

Time to move on, soon we were underway motoring out of Whangaroa Harbour and around to Whangaihe Bay where we dropped anchor just after six in the evening.  The anchorage was beautiful and a delight to be here.  The head of the bay has a long curving beach with some dwellings and grassland.  Pine forests populate the hills with a rugged shoreline on both sides of the inlet. 

I have passed this bay a few times when travelling up and down the coast but either the weather or time has prevented me from visiting.  The bay is open to the north and subject to swell, the right weather conditions are needed for a visit.  Today was the right weather.  After we anchored two other boats arrived and anchored a little further out.

The evening was calm and the sunset spectacular, illuminating the hills and trees in a golden light.  Sundowners were special this evening, but still no rum.

After a calm night at anchor, only a low northerly swell disturbed the peace, Truce rolled gently all night.  This morning we moved around to Waiiti Bay on Motukawanui Island in the Cavalli Islands.  First motoring into an easterly breeze to Flat Rock and then sailing down to Waiiti Bay.  We anchored just before lunch time and were surprised to find about seven other boats in the anchorage.  It seems that a few have come up from the Bay of Islands to visit the Cavalli islands in the nice weather window.

There was a bit of easterly swell entering the bay causing us to roll a bit, but not uncomfortable.  After lunch we went for a walk ashore, little swell waves on the beach made for a fun landing from the dinghy.  There are good views from the shore back to the mainland and the surrounding islands. 

This evening we are dining on fresh snapper that we caught earlier.  Then more relaxation, music and book reading.  Not much stress around this evening.  But still no rum for sundowners.

Tomorrow it looks like the fair weather is starting to break up, there is a tropical depression heading down towards new Zealand.  Too early to know how it will turn out but we will move back to Whangaroa Harbour where we know shelter can be found from all wind directions – and we like the place.