Crew: Geoff – in company with Phil on Grenadier.
After the Waikawa Women’s Regatta we were optimistically planning to sail Halo back to Wellington the next day, Monday. The southerly storm put paid to that so all the crew travelled back to Wellington Sunday on the ferries or Sounds Air flights and we left Halo safely berthed at Waikawa Marina.
After closely monitoring the forecasts Phil and I eventually decided that Thursday 28th would be a good but rather short window of opportunity. The tides would fit and a light northerly breeze was predicted.
I took the Strait Feronia across on Monday arriving in Picton on a cold and wet day. What a contrast from the great weather we enjoyed the week before.
After picking up my online shopping order at the Big Fresh supermarket I took the shuttle to Waikawa. Halo was in good condition and after a nice dinner at the Jolly Roger I slept on the boat – disturbed occasionally by the strong southerly gusts blowing through the marina.
Tuesday 26th
Phil had spent the night before on Grenadier at a mooring at Double Cove and we both sailed round to Picton in the morning to meet up at Le Cafe for a coffee and chat about possible cruising options for the next two days. With the southerly still blowing we agreed that Governors Bay in Grove Arm would be a good sheltered mooring.
After lunch on the boat I motored Halo round to the Picton fuel jetty to top up with diesel and then at 1330 hrs we set off to motor-sail to Grove Arm. Noticed some nice looking holiday houses on the water’s edge.
There are two club moorings listed for Governors Bay. We arrived at 1430 hrs and found two boats rafted up on one mooring but the other, closest to the beach, was unoccupied. As hoped for, the bay was nicely sheltered from the southerly. Dead calm!
In the afternoon Phil rowed me ashore in his dinghy and I was taken out for a lovely catch-up and dinner with cousins Margot, Aubrey and Margie at their amazing new house they have built in The Grove.
Wednesday 27th
In the morning while thinking about my imminent single-handed Cook Strait crossing I decided to set up a new system for dousing the jib. With a long piece of cord loaned by Phil and a couple of small blocks I can now hoist and drop the jib without having to leave the cockpit. Perfect!
We cast off at 1400 hrs after lunch and set sail to Ngaruru Bay which would be our final night before the crossing. Using ‘Ernesto’ to steer I had some fun using the Auto Tack mode which automatically tacks the boat through 100 degrees while I only need to handle the sheets. I’m starting to get the hang of this single-handed sailing 🙂
We made fairly slow progress against the light northerly breezes and eventually turned on our engines to motor the rest of the way into Tory Channel towards Ngaruru Bay.
On entering Kawhia Bay we noticed three boats already moored in Ngaruru Bay. Kachina and Typhoo on the two moorings and Skyhawk on anchor. L’Attitude Adjustment was on anchor up the northern end so we decided to join them. We dropped our anchors at 1750 hrs in about 5 mt of water. I tested the holding by motoring in reverse. All good.
That evening Phil and I were invited over to Bob and Margaret McVeagh’s nice big 46′ L’Attitude Adjustment for cocktails and chat. We discussed the imminent crossing and Bob’s advice was that because of the big southerly swells to be expected we should exit the channel just as the tide begins setting East rather than waiting for the usual two hours. This will reduce the possibility of the outgoing current creating breaking waves against the incoming swells. He also suggested we should not motor too fast against the waves so as to avoid big slams. Good advice thanks Bob.
Thursday 28th
The big day has arrived! The forecast for Cook Strait is variable 10 kts with southerly swell 3 mts. The Port Marlborough website was showing maximum wave height of 4.86 mts and significant height of 2.89 mts. Gulp. The tide tables predict that the Tory Channel tide will start setting East at 0915 hrs.
I weighed Halo’s anchor at 0745 hrs and motored up Tory Channel in company with L’Attitude Adjustment, Wakakoa, Skyhawk and Grenadier who were all doing the crossing. We crossed paths with the Strait Feronia and then the Aratere doing their early morning arrivals. I called Maritime Radio on ch. 16 who asked me to to up to ch. 71 to report my trip report (TR).
We then all arrived in Okukari Bay at 0900 to wait for the tide to turn. Apart from one massive wave which sent water flying up the rocks, the waves seemed ok.
L’Attitude Adjustment circled up close to the exit to have a look and then they were off, closely followed by Wakakoa, Skyhawk and Grenadier. With butterflies in my stomach, securely tethered, all hatches closed and the ‘All Ships’ radio call made, I was off. I kept to the right of the channel where the waves seems less severe and motored my way carefully through the waves.
The waves always look smaller in the photos and I hung on tight while bouncing my way through the swells. After what seemed like ages the waves started to die down. I switched on ‘Ernesto’ our trusty auto tiller and set the course for the first waypoint about 3 miles south of Karori Rock.
Using my new jib hoisting system I set the headsail without leaving the cockpit. With only about 5 kts of NE breeze I decided to keep the engine going. Even though there was minimal wind it was still fairly rough all the way across the strait. I kept close to Grenadier as we agreed to keep an eye out for each other throughout the passage.
When we reached the Karori Rock waypoint at 1200 hrs the southerly swells were getting big and we saw massive waves breaking in the rip towards Sinclair Head. We decided to sail even further south to keep well away from them. The swells were indeed massive as we climbed up walls of water at times. We ended up about 4 miles south of Sinclair Head before starting our turn in towards the Heads.
We eventually rounded Barrett Reef Buoy at 1330 hrs keeping clear of the Aratere which was making her return trip back to Wellington. The northerly increased to around 10 kts as we entered the harbour and we tacked our way from Steeple Rock. As we rounded Point Halswell Murray was there to take a couple of nice shots of the ‘return of the terrible twins‘ as he called us.
I waved by goodbyes to Grenadier as I sailed past the top of Evans Bay. After closing the TR to Maritime Radio and dropping my sails, Halo finally made her triumphant return to her berth in Chaffers at 1500 hrs. Tired but happy with my first single-handed crossing of the infamous Cook Strait.
I was given a hero’s welcome by Graciela and Jenny and the kids. Murray and Bob were also there to help with the lines. Thanks guys and thanks Jenny for the welcome ‘flat white’ waiting for me 🙂
Halo Log Book 