Crew: Geoff, Malcolm, Justin and Hamish.
After sailing from Wellington to Lyttelton as part of the Island Cuising South Island Rally we were invited to join the Pigeon Bay Boating Club on their annual Lyttleton to Pigeon Bay race. We would stay there the night for the party and sail back to Lyttleton the next day.
Malcolm brought along his two nephews Justin (18) and Hamish (14) for the trip. It would be their first time sailing. Their parents, Alan and Sharee, brought them (and lots of yummy food) down to the marina and after fitting the boys out with life jackets and doing a safety briefing, we cast off at 1000 hrs. Hamish was first up on helm and after some brief instruction quickly picked up the skills and was soon steering like a pro.
The race started at 1100 hrs but we just happily cruised along behind the fleet of about 20 boats, slowly tacking out way out of the harbour into about 10 kts NE headwinds. Once we passed Godley Head and into the open seas we took a right turn and headed south around Banks Peninsular. A beautiful calm and sunny day. Perfect for the first-timers.
At the entrance to Port Levy we did one last tack before settling into a leisurely beam reach and lunch. Great lamb rolls prepared by Sharee.
Ay 1425 hrs we passed Pigeon Point and sailed on a run with a tail wind into the bay. We poled out jib with the spinnaker pole and cruised down Pigeon Bay passing a couple of boats including our Wellington friends on Bellatrix.
We crossed the Pigeon Bay finish line opposite the clubhouse at 1511 hrs. The next step was to find somewhere safe to anchor. A few boats were going over to Holmes Bay so we pottered over there. I wasn’t too keen on that location as it was blowing a stiff breeze and there didn’t seem to be much protection from the wind. I called the club on the VHF and they confirmed that yes, with our boat’s draft we could safely anchor close to the clubhouse, so back we went. We dropped the anchor and let out 20 mts of rode. Holding felt good.
The friendly people at the club provided a dinghy taxi service for all the anchored boats so we went ashore. After a walk around exploring the bay and camping ground we joined the club people for a drink and sausage sizzle followed by the prize-giving ceremony.
Back on board Halo Malcolm cooked up a great pasta dinner. I played a bit of ukulele and Malcolm even treated us to some dulcet tones on his flute.
After a restful night’s sleep we woke early and went back to the clubhouse for the breakfast. Back on Halo we lanched the dinghy and the boys had fun learning the art of rowing backwards. We then jumped in the water for a lovely swim to the swimming platform and back.
We weighed anchor at 1120 hrs and started the trip back home. As we were motor sailing up Pigeon Bay we were visited by a couple of small Hector dolphins with their Mickey Mouse ear dorsal fins. First time I’ve ever seen these dolphins as they only inhabit the South Island.
Sailing back into Lyttleton Harbour we were visited a by a pod of 20 or more common dolphins who escorted us down the bay. Great excitement!
We did some exploring visiting Purau Bay and Diamond Harbour before tying up back at our berth at Te Ana Marina at 1430 hrs.
Halo Log Book 