SV Roam

Waiting in the Bay of Islands

Enjoying New Zealand's Bay of Islands while waiting on weather for the passage to Fiji

Jim

— 3 min read
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Waiting in the Bay of Islands
Roam Anchored in Otaio Bay, Urupukapuka Island, Bay of Islands, New Zealand

I am learning to let go of what I want and make the most of what I have. The weather has not cooperated with our plans. It often does that. We had planned to be in Fiji already. But a suitable weather window hasn't presented itself.

We have a saying in aviation, "there are emergency landings, but there are no emergency takeoffs." Meaning, don't complicate your life by taking off into bad conditions. The same applies to ocean sailing.

Instead, we and our Fiji crew have made the most of the situation by sailing up New Zealand's North Island coast from Tauranga to the Bay of Islands. We've had spectacular fall sailing conditions. We enjoyed stops at Slipper Island, Great Barrier Island, and Urupukapuka Island before tying up in Opua's Bay of Islands Marina.

200 nautical miles of spectacular downwind sailing from Tauranga to the Bay of Islands.

Emily and Rebecca left for Fiji yesterday. They went via an Airbus A330. It goes upwind in about 3 hours. A little quicker than the trip by sailboat. They had hoped to sail up there with us. But their time has run short. They want to spend a little time in Fiji before heading back to work in the US.

Our friend Al remains aboard here with us. We were hoping early next week would bring a new weather opportunity. But as the departure time grows closer and the weather picture more clear, it doesn't look like this one will be good either. Too rough for us.

The locals here in NZ think May is too early to sail north anyway. Most of them start thinking about making the trip in June or July. It looks as though that will be the case for us.

Pam is going to head back to the US, and I'll follow her a week later or so. We'll be back in mid-June to see how things look then. Maybe we'll have good conditions for the trip to Fiji. Or, maybe we'll just stay here.

A Few Photos:

Roam anchored in Rarohara (Ungunu) Bay near Quoin Island, Port Fitzroy, Great Barrier Island, New Zealand. Photo: Emily Carpenter
Great Barrier Island's library
Kiri and his daughter (center) run the Kutai Shack in Port Fitzroy on Great Barrier Island. They cooked up a mess of fresh seafood for us. L-R Jim, Pam, Kiri, Kiri's daughter, Al, Emily, Rebecca.
Dawn departure from Great Barrier Island. A great sail lies ahead.
The off-watch snoozing in the saloon on the long run from Great Barrier Island to the Bay of Islands.
Cape Brett lighthouse defines the mouth of the Bay of Islands. We were racing fading daylight into our anchorage after an 11-hour spinnaker run from Great Barrier Island.
The town of Opua. Home to the Bay of Islands Marina. The furthest north customs clearance port and the closest place to Fiji from which you can depart.
Well-fed sheep on Urupukapuka Island. Fabulous hiking on this island.
Lunch at the Sage restaurant, Paroa Bay Winery, near Russell. L-R Jim, Pam, Al, Menno (Eyra), Dave (Meander), Valerie (Eyra). 
Phillip Duncan is a Kiwi meteorologist with a YouTube channel focused on New Zealand and South Pacific weather. He is part of our weather briefing every evening.
Sunrise over the town of Russell and Matauhiti Bay in the Bay of Islands.