3 April

This morning, John and the children went ashore for more beach and grassland exploration. I stayed on board and did a workout and prepared for our lengthy sail to The Cove. We had lunch and pulled up the anchor. We had our most beautiful sail yet to The Cove. We have not had internet/cell service for a couple of days. We passed only one other ship on our voyage of 6 hours. Hall is falling in love with sailing. He said, “Daddy, I don’t just like this. In fact, I don’t like it at all. I LOOOOOVE it!” He asks question after question and jumps in readily to help. Dalton is much more our cruiser. She likes to read and enjoy scenery from the trampoline or cockpit. We emptied the sewage tanks and did laundry underway. It’s amazing how much laundry we generate- even with most things being clirty for a few days! My mom, who truly loves laundry and appreciates a clothesline more than anyone I’ve ever known, would be in heaven. Today’s sail was a great first test of sea-sickness, and everyone faired well… Ah, success! 

We pulled in to The Cove around 5pm. It was surprisingly smaller than expected, and the 5 other boats had taken up plenty of space, so our anchorage was tenuous. As much as we wanted to stay, John did not feel comfortable and could not find a suitable anchor.  The immediate issue was that there was nowhere else to go that would be protected from the weather. We had no wifi or cell service to assess our options, and the weather was coming in. After dinner, John studied the guide book and found a bay about an hour away. Everyone was on board (literally) with this last minute call, and all hands were on deck in our foul weather gear. We pulled up anchor in the dark and headed out in the rain. Surprisingly, these moments are treasures. 

We had a surprisingly smooth passage and arrived in Rangiwhakaea Bay on Great Barrier around 8:45pm. John  felt much better about the anchorage, with only one other fishing boat, plenty of space, and a pleasant wind. We all rested well.

S/v Nogal