Owhanga Bay: perfect
Owhanga Bay: perfect
I had a fine sail up here, but not the sail I expected.
The sun was just rising above Urupukapuka when I raised anchor at 8:00, but the wind was west, a land breeze that I expected would back southeast as predicted. It did, but not until noon; and by then I was almost here.
By 8:30 I was beam reaching at seven knots across the bay toward Cape Wiwiki. One other sail was visible, coming around Tepaka Point.
Beyond Wiwiki, you have to go either inside or outside the Cavalli Islands, a half dozen or so rocks and small islands near the shore. Inside is shorter, and I almost always go that way; but today I thought I would continue north and go outside, setting the spinnaker before the expected southeast wind, and jibing from starboard to port when I was clear of the islands and ready to make the turn west for Whangaroa.
However the wind initially only backed south, blanketing the jib and slowing us until I turned northwest, which filled the jib, jumped our SOG to 7.5 knots; and meant that once again I was going inside the Cavalli Islands.
It was beautiful sailing a half mile off green hills and sheer cliffs in smooth water with the south wind still a land breeze.
I experimented more with the new double main sheet and discovered that greater than expected friction in the system disappeared when I pulled the sheet free of cam cleats rather than through them.
I also experimented sailing without prescription glasses.
The eye patch had a short life.
I had already ordered a pair of eyeglasses for driving, but I can in fact see well enough to sail without them, and in some ways better, such as looking at the chartplotter.
I sailed most of the day with just regular sunglasses, putting on my prescription glasses only when passing through the narrowest part of the passage between the Cavalli Islands and the mainland, where the charts show an isolated unmarked rock that I have never seen, and didn’t today either; and a half mile off the little more than a hundred yard wide entrance to Whangaroa.
Beyond that entrance is a harbor more than three miles long. With that much water draining in and out, naturally tidal currents are strong in the entrance. We entered only an hour after high tide and lost a knot of boat speed.
Usually I anchor at one of two coves on the west side of Whangaroa; but with the wind finally southeast, I came to this cove on the east side. A beautiful quiet place of heavily wooded green hillsides and shining water.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011