Ngaruru Bay to Picton to Lochmara Bay – Friday 9th Sept
After our Cook Strait Crossing last night and a good night’s sleep we had an 8am start from the club mooring at Ngaruru Bay off to Picton with Emma on helm. Lovely calm morning in Queen Charlotte Sound with light winds on the nose meaning we had to motor-sail much of the time.
We arrived in Picton and tied up at the Interislander terminal drop-off jetty so that Emma, Murray and Eduardo could jump ship to catch the 10 am ferry.
Now sailing solo I motored Halo round to the Picton Visitors Jetty and went into town to stretch my legs and have a flat white at Le Cafe. Back on Halo to rest and prepare myself a nice lunch on board.
Tamerlane eventually arrived in Picton and tied up beside me at 4pm. Bill dropped off Rob and Denise who were catching the evening ferry back to Wellington.
After a quick visit to the Fuel Dock to top up the diesel tank we headed off to Lochmara Bay.
Grenadier was waiting for us tied up at the private jetty of Evans Bay man Mike de Ruyter who has a bach on the east side of Lochmara Bay. His section and bach has unfortunately suffered damage from the recent heavy rains and slips. He kindly let us tie up at his mooring for the night.
A memorable day as we heard the sad news that Queen Elizabeth II had died. Francis on Grenadier hoisted their NZ flag to half mast.
Lochmara Bay to Ship Cove – Saturday 10th Sept
After a restful night on the mooring we awoke to a fine morning with a slight southerly breeze. We decided to take the three boats with Phil and Francis on Grenadier, Bill on Tamerlane and me on Halo, in convoy for a sail up Queen Charlotte Sound towards Ship Cove.
We had a wonderful day of ‘champagne sailing’ in 5-10 kts tail wind with headsails poled out ‘goose-winged’ as we criuised past Allports Island, Blumine Island, Long Island and Motuara Island.
A fleet of dolphins playfully swam around the boats as we sailed slowly up the Queen Charlotte Sound:
We arrived at Meretoto/Ship Cove at 1415 hrs and rafted the three boats up to the wharf. Had picnic lunch at the Cooks Memorial area (thanks Francis!) and used the facilities.
As the wind was coming from the south we decided not to spend the night on the club mooring at Ship Cove but to go around to the Cooks Cove where the mooring is supposedly sheltered from the southerly winds.
We rafted the three boats up on the club mooring and rowed the dingeys ashore to explore the Cooks Cove beach accompanied by the sounds of screeching kiwi. Being low tide we discovered some lovely big mussels on the rocks so we scraped a few off to cook up.
After our respective dinners Geoff invited the others over to Halo for steamed mussels and white wine. Delicious! We got the ukelele out and had some fun with singalongs from the Pete Seeger songbook.
As we got ready for the evening we noticed that the sea state was coming up and the three boats were now dangerously banging against each other on the shared mooring. We decided at about 9pm to separate the boats. Phil took Grenadier over to a a nearby private mooring and I motored Halo off in the pitch black rainy night to the Ship Cove mooring.
Unfortunately I found that another large boat had since occupied the club mooring. OK, plan B, I’ll tie up at the wharf. All went well and lines and springs were all secured. I was in my sleeping bag dozing off when I realised that it was now high tide and the wharf was not a floating jetty. So back out in the rain to ease off the lines so that the boat doesn’t tip over when the tide goes out!
Ship Cove to Endeavor Inlet – Sunday 11th Sept
Woke to a cloudy day after a fitful night tied on the wharf with Halo banging around on the loosened lines. I went for a walk ashore then cast off at 0930 hours to motor round to catch up with the others in Cooks Cove.
The three boats then sailed round to Endeavour Inlet. Geoff called ahead to check with Punga Cove Lodge to see if we could tie up on their moorings. Yes, of course we’d be welcome they said!
We secured our boats to the Punga Cove moorings and dingied into the jetty. The jetty bar and cafe was closed due to slip damage but we walked up the hill to the restaurant and enjoyed a lovely lunch with wonderful views across the bay.
After lunch Tamerlane and Halo continued up Endeavour Inlet to Furneaux Lodge and Grenadier headed off south towards Picton.
We arrived at Furneaux Lodge at 1430 hours and tied up our boats to the lodge moorings. Went ashore and enjoyed the hot showers! That night Bill and I had dinner at the restaurant followed by a game of pool. Bill won 🙂
Endeavour Inlet to Waikawa – Monday 12th Sept
Great night on the mooring and woke to a still and misty morning. After a flat white at the lodge we cast off at 1000 hrs. We motored around Endeavour Inlet checking out the club moorings at Camp Bay and Tawa Bay. I then started my solo trip back to Waikawa while Bill on Tamerlane headed off to explore more bays for the next few days.
Had a great sail down the Queen Charlotte Sound with the northerly pushing me along nicely. Eventually arrived in Waikawa Marina at 1400 hrs and found my berth on pier 1W right under the window of Anne in the marina office. After closing down all systems on Halo I got a lift into Picton with the marina manager. Dinner at Le Cafe and then caught the evening ferry back to Wellington.
Halo Log Book 