Crew: Tunch, Murray, Geoff.
Day 1 – Nelson to Punt Rails
Yesterday, after wrapping up the Nelson Regatta with prizegiving and dinner, we turned our attention to getting Halo ready for the sail home to Wellington. Provisions, water and fuel were topped up, the dinghy packed away, the liferaft secured on the foredeck, the trip plan finalised—and, of course, one last careful look at the marine forecasts.
We made an early start, slipping our lines at Nelson Marina at 0715 hrs. After logging our trip report with Maritime Radio, we motored out of the harbour in company with Grenadier, Tamerlane and Expresso. The skies were overcast, the wind negligible, and the day had that slightly muted feel that often comes with an early departure.
As we neared Pepin Island a pleasant 15-knot breeze filled in, so we shut down the engine and settled in to enjoy some sailing. Tunch put a line over the stern in hope of fresh fish for dinner.
At 1235 hrs we entered Current Basin on the approach to French Pass and dropped our sails, preparing for the passage ahead.
According to the LINZ tide tables, the stream would begin flowing to the northeast at 0935 hrs and turn back to the southwest at 1507 hrs, meaning we would be transiting with the current at full flow. In the past I’ve always aimed to go through French Pass at slack water, but during a discussion with Brent on Gucci the night before, he assured us we’d be fine—so off we went.
After making our “All Ships” call on VHF Ch.16, and with a healthy dose of trepidation, Halo led the way into the infamous French Pass. The other boats held back to see how we fared. The transit went smoothly, and at 1246 hrs we flew through the pass at up to 15 knots boat speed over ground.
I called back to the others to confirm all was well, with the advice to keep to the right-hand side of the channel to avoid the worst of the whirlpools. They all transited without incident, although a firm hand on the tiller was required as they negotiated the occasional whirlpool.
After consulting with the other skippers, we decided—rather than stopping at Catherine Cove—to press on around Clay Point, past the Chetwode Islands to Guards Bay to try our luck on the Punt Rails Club mooring. We motor-sailed into a wet and breezy headwind, carrying a reef in the main.
We were pleased to find Punt Rails Bay beautiful and calm on our arrival at 1630 hrs, with the club mooring unoccupied. Halo picked up the buoy initially, then passed it over to Expresso—as the biggest boat in the fleet—once they arrived.
A very pleasant and relaxing afternoon followed. Tunch went ashore to gather mussels for dinner, while Phil, Ken, Martin and I headed off for a hike up into the hills to take in the views, finishing up with a refreshing swim.
Day 2 – Punt Rails to Wellington
The forecast for today’s Cook Strait crossing looked fairly benign: southerly 15 knots easing to variable 10 knots in the evening, sea slight, with a southeast swell of around 1 metre.
After a good breakfast we packed away the dinghy, filed our trip report with Maritime Radio, and at 0940 hrs followed Tamerlane out of the bay to begin the passage south.
With a pleasant tailwind we made good progress past Cape Lambert.
As we approached Cape Jackson we could see a distinct line of white water ahead. We transited the area at 1130 hrs; the sea became a bit rough for a time, but there were no problems for any of the boats.
We then sailed across the top of Queen Charlotte Sound to transit the gap between The Brothers Islands and Cape Koamaru at 1300 hrs. We were heading southeast with the tide pushing us along, but with wind against tide the sea state was initially fairly choppy as we took care to remain well clear of Awash Rock.
As we neared Makara the sea state eased, but with the wind now on the nose we were forced to motor-sail for most of the remainder of the passage.
At the entrance to Karori Rip, before rounding Thoms Rock at around 1530 hrs, our speed over ground increased to over 10 knots and we held on tight as the bigger seas hit us.
Before long we were past it and the seas eased as we motor-sailed around Palmer Head and into Chaffers Passage.
We finally docked at Chaffers Marina at 1815 hrs. Waiting on the dock were the family—Graciela, Jenny, Isabelle and Max—banner in hand reading “Welcome Home Grandpa.” A perfect welcome after a great adventure, and nice indeed to be home.
Halo Log Book 