Kaiarara Bay, Great Barrier (Aotea) Island, NZ
Thursday, 26March2026, 0440 UTC, 36 10.9s 175 21.8e, Log: 10605
All is well. Now, anyway. We are presently anchored with Chaos and Fundango after motoring over from our previous anchorage in Kiwiwiri Bay. We plowed through some of the heaviest rain I’ve ever experienced. 30 to 35 knot winds with gusts into the 40s. The strong winds and heavy rain made for difficult visibility. Fortunately, the Port Fitzroy area is sheltered, and the seas were flat.
Why were we out motoring around in such deplorable conditions?
At about 1445 local, all three anchor alarms sounded. Two successive bursts of 40-knot plus winds had broken the anchor loose, and we were dragging toward Midnight Sun and the islets behind us.
I quickly got the engines started and the plotter on the helm up and running so we had charts. It took nearly all of our engine power to keep the boat pointed into the wind so we could start the process of retrieving the anchor.
I managed to foul the anchor bridle on the chain, which made it impossible to raise the anchor. In between gusts, Pam and I would swap places, me on the bow and her on at the helm, and make a little progress unwrapping the bridle. As the chain came up, we found a large fishhook bent around it. It wouldn’t pass through the windlass, which meant we had to free it by leaning over the crossbeam.
An hour and a half later, we had everything recovered, and we set about looking for a new spot to anchor. The anchor had a large metal strap bent around it that Pam had to free. That may have compromised the holding.
The inner part of Kiwiwiri Bay had room, but the boats already there were skewed in all different directions with the swirling winds. It is difficult to precisely anchor a boat in a gale. We’d be a threat to the other boats. Instead, we turned around and headed out of the bay in search of a better protected spot. A cautious hour later, we motored into Kaiarara Bay and, with some guidance from Scott and Joanne on Fundango, settled into a spot up against the hillside.
The wind and biblical rain raged all night, but we held. The next morning, it was calm and sunny.
We handled a difficult situation. A big credit to Pam, who is always calm in a crisis, and to our magnificent Yanmar 4JH57 engines, that were up to the task.
Departed: Thursday 26March2026, 0152 UTC
Log: 10,605 | Generator: 912 | Port: 1466 | Starboard: 1466 | Barometer: 1014.6-