{"id":3835,"date":"2016-05-19T03:21:56","date_gmt":"2016-05-19T03:21:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/?p=3835"},"modified":"2016-05-19T03:21:56","modified_gmt":"2016-05-19T03:21:56","slug":"on-the-road-again-sort-of-maybe-opua-bay-of-islands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/?p=3835","title":{"rendered":"On The Road Again (sort of, maybe) – Opua, Bay of Islands"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_0745\"We\u2019re delighted that Geoff and Scottie have been able to join us on the passage to Fiji. As many of you know, Geoff Sherman (aka \u2018Sherm\u2019, aka \u2018The Pirate\u2019) is very familiar to Toucan, having travelled with us from the Caribbean to the Marquesas last year. Last time we saw Scottie was in 2010 when we were crewing together on \u2018Secret Men\u2019s Business\u2019, in the Sydney-Hobart. So it was wonderful to see them both step off the bus from Auckland last Wednesday ready for the next exciting chapter in Toucan\u2019s travels.<\/p>\n

Finding a weather window to leave New Zealand is a tricky business, due to the series of low pressure systems that relentlessly march across the Tasman Sea at this time of year. The first window cracked open on Friday last week, but it was too soon for us to take advantage of it. Having been out of the water for so long, and with new crew on board, we needed a \u2018shake down\u2019 sail to make sure everything was working OK before heading offshore. After a crew photo op at the dock, we said our farewells to all and sundry and motored out of the marina. Free at last!<\/p>\n

\"It's
It’s been nice knowing you Town Basin Marina, but we’re glad to be on our way…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There was the small matter of requesting a bridge opening, but then we were out in the channel and on our way.<\/p>\n

\"The
The ‘fish-hook’ bridge at Whangarei opens on demand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There wasn\u2019t much wind, but we didn\u2019t care \u2013 we motorsailed to Tutukaka, a sheltered little fishing port 15NM north of Whangarei Heads, where we enjoyed our first night at anchor in many months.<\/p>\n

\"sundowners
sundowners at Tutukaka<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"dawn
dawn at Tutukaka<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next day was a bit more challenging, with 20kts on the nose all the way to the Bay of Islands, but once there we tucked into a lovely sheltered anchorage at Urupukapuka Bay where we re-connected with our buddies Jack and Marce on \u201cEscape Velocity\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Approaching
Approaching ‘Hole in the Wall’ Bay of Islands<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"rounding
rounding hole in the wall – the washing-machine effect reminds me of Barrenjoey Head!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cape
Cape Brett and lighthouse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Escape
Escape Velocity at the lovely calm Urupukapuka Bay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next day we moved to beautiful Motuarohia Island, which is a popular summertime destination, but fairly quiet at this time of year. We took a walk ashore and climbed to the top of the hill for a stunning view of the bay, and the sight of our boats at anchor below made our hearts sing. It\u2019s so very wonderful to be back on the water!<\/p>\n

\"motoring
motoring to Motuarohia Island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Scottie
Scottie on duty!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The Bay of Islands in all its’ glory<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Now
Now there’s a sight to gladden the heart!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We were hoping to get on our way this week but the windows seem to be slamming shut almost as soon as they open \u2013 and who in their right mind wants to be caught out there when a 40kt frontal system catches up with you? So instead we\u2019re practicing a zen-like state of mind, and cultivating patience. (yes, well, I did say practicing<\/em>). Sherm and Scottie have taken the opportunity to do a few days of land-based exploring, and we\u2019re now tucked up in the anchorage at Opua, taking advantage of the excellent caf\u00e9 and facilities while the frontal systems continue to blow through. Tonight we\u2019re congregating at the Opua Cruising Club with other yachties, and you can bet your bottom dollar there\u2019ll be only one tune on the songsheet \u2013 \u201cWe gotta get out of this place, if it\u2019s the last thing we ever do\u201d. We like you, New Zealand, we really do – but it\u2019s time to let us go, pleeease!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re delighted that Geoff and Scottie have been able to join us on the passage to Fiji. As many of you know, Geoff Sherman (aka \u2018Sherm\u2019, aka \u2018The Pirate\u2019) is very familiar to Toucan, having travelled with us from the Caribbean to the Marquesas last year. Last time we saw Scottie was in 2010 when … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “On The Road Again (sort of, maybe) – Opua, Bay of Islands”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-svtoucan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6B46t-ZR","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3835"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3855,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3835\/revisions\/3855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}