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North Cape stopover


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Marlborough sounds are horrible all pine trees and slips,Abel Tasman is nice but overcrowded with kayaks and fizzys.Stewart Islannd and Fiordland are the best cruising spots in New Zealand by far.

Tend to agree really. Gusty winds in the sounds so mostly motor everywhere and very few places you can anchor - too deep. Golden Bay is nice but quite a small area and only 3 or 4 reasonable anchorages. For the sounds and Durville island you need to become a Pelorus or Mana member to use the moorings. While we were at Durville a Given cat from Noumea had real difficulty retreiving their anchor as it was jammed under the many logs in the anchorage. Fishing down there is not great either with Blue Cod under severe restrictions. As WV said Fiordland and Stewart leave it for dead. Port Pegasus is one of my favourites, need to be prepared for the remoteness though. Waiting for weather at the top both Rangaunu and Houhora are great. Houhora - anchor just out of the channel just above the island near the entrance. There is also quite a reasonable anchorage east end Spirits bay inside the the little island in reasonable weather. Three Kings are interesting but need very settled weather. 3 wee anchorages there, Cascade on the SE possibly the best. Give Reinga and Van Dieman a wide berth to avoid the adverse tide rip. In February on a cruise to the Kaipara we stopped for lunch at Ahipara. Quite nice there also in good weather.  Kaipara is great cruising - spent a month there and could have stayed longer but local knowledge a help. Need 1.5m or less swell for a safe bar crossing and generally travel inside the harbour on an incoming tide. New Plymouth is ok but not much room to anchor and not good in a stiff northerly. Been around the top 10 times now and never had a real rough one but always watching the weather like a hawk and using plenty of diesel ie calm conditions. Always only been up there in february or march.

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Anchoring in the sounds is fine. There are heaps of anchorages, it’s just different to the hauraki Gulf. It’s common practice in the sounds to anchor close in, and use a stern line to a tree on shore. This way you can normally get out of the wind if you are in the right place for the conditions. You don’t have to use the moorings, and are not entitled to unless a member of Waikawa, Pelorus, or Mana. That’s why the moorings have WPM on them. The cruising guide for the area tells you where to go and in what conditions an anchorage is good. It’s still one of the best guides I’ve seen anywhere. If you are anchored in the wind, your in the wrong place.

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Tend to agree really. Gusty winds in the sounds so mostly motor everywhere and very few places you can anchor - too deep. Golden Bay is nice but quite a small area and only 3 or 4 reasonable anchorages. For the sounds and Durville island you need to become a Pelorus or Mana member to use the moorings. While we were at Durville a Given cat from Noumea had real difficulty retreiving their anchor as it was jammed under the many logs in the anchorage. Fishing down there is not great either with Blue Cod under severe restrictions. As WV said Fiordland and Stewart leave it for dead. Port Pegasus is one of my favourites, need to be prepared for the remoteness though. Waiting for weather at the top both Rangaunu and Houhora are great. Houhora - anchor just out of the channel just above the island near the entrance. There is also quite a reasonable anchorage east end Spirits bay inside the the little island in reasonable weather. Three Kings are interesting but need very settled weather. 3 wee anchorages there, Cascade on the SE possibly the best. Give Reinga and Van Dieman a wide berth to avoid the adverse tide rip. In February on a cruise to the Kaipara we stopped for lunch at Ahipara. Quite nice there also in good weather.  Kaipara is great cruising - spent a month there and could have stayed longer but local knowledge a help. Need 1.5m or less swell for a safe bar crossing and generally travel inside the harbour on an incoming tide. New Plymouth is ok but not much room to anchor and not good in a stiff northerly. Been around the top 10 times now and never had a real rough one but always watching the weather like a hawk and using plenty of diesel ie calm conditions. Always only been up there in february or march.

good intel

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Yep, if you are anchored in the wrong place in heavy conditions, the downdrafts off the hills can be accelerated well over windspeed. I learned this early on with the same experience as above - the admiral and, at that stage, young kids were somewhat unimpressed. Oh, and the dingy flipped too, with the motor on it....

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Ah yes the propeller above the dinghy in the sounds. I'm a member of that club. Got it going again but it sounded like a concrete mixer.

That aside a nice cruising area. We had a 36' keeper in Waikawa for four years and never picked up a mooring once. Anchoring is fine, just takes a bit more thought than in the Gulf

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