Delivery

On Sunday October 28th we set sail from Bayswater Marina in Auckland bound for Tauranga via Great Mercury Island, and Whangamata.

The sailing on the Sunday was fantastic, with blue sky and winds from the NE at 7-10kts.  The swell from the NE was larger than ideal, but not a major concern.  We were joined on several occasions by dolphins along the way.

We anchored in Mercury Harbour, on Great Mercury Island and spent our first night at sea on Kiss Kiss.

We woke the next morning to rain and poor visibility.  The weather forecast had altered dramatically, with rough seas and high winds on the nose for the second leg of the trip.  We carried on, battling colliding swell from the NE and SE, and an ongoing problem with fuel delivery from the diesel tank.  On one occasion about 1 hour north of Whangamata the engine died altogether.  We quickly raised the main in heavy seas, and learned through our mistakes both how capable the NS30 is...and how every oversight at sea can lead to difficulty and bruising!

A few hours after this photo was taken it was impossible to hold a camera!

We elected not to continue to Tauranga (a further 6hrs of horrible conditions) and put into Whangamata Harbour on low tide.  We crossed the bar with 100mm under the keel!

Safe and sound in Whangamata Marina