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What's life like for sailor's in the Taranaki?


Island_Moose

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Lots of dinghy's and trailer sailors around but not the greatest facilities for keel boats... which is why mine is still in Auckland. No travelift but someone does run a haulout trolley by the looks. There is a rusty old jetty that can't really be a called a marina but it does have a few boats tied to it. I don't believe there is a great deal of water under it at low tide. Fineline draws 2.6m so I care about that a lot!

 

There are a few moorings inside the breakwater although the trade-off appears to be either shallow water or somewhat exposed in a westerly. Not sure what the availability is like for them.

 

http://bit.ly/1cSbPwi

 

I was planning to sell Fineline and buy a trailer yacht down here but since nobody has stumped up the cash yet I'll just have to keep heading back to Auckland when I want to go sailing!

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I live in New Plymouth but prefer to keep a boat in auckland to go sailing, you could probably/ possibly find a mooring at the port to rent but there is really no overnight anchorages nearby, the nearest cruising area would be Marlborough Sounds which is a 24 hr sail away whereas the Hauraki gulf is a 4 hr drive away. The moorings at the port seem to be reasonably sheltered and secure, I have seen more boats wrecked at Okahu Bay than here.

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Yep, not the best place for a keeler. OK for day boats in good weather. I distinctly remember 2 unpleasant incidences boating in New Plymouth. In sept 2003 while there, the waves were coming right over the breakwater, and into the _"marina"! A huge surge inside. Not nice.

Then, for the start of the 2010 solo Tasman, it was Rolly enough to have Island Time's rails going under on the mooring - I went ashore to sleep!

On the plus side, the sounds are not as far away as you think, the people were nice and really helpful, and you get to sail in some real ocean swells!

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Great place for dinghies and trailer yachts, awesome swells (though not so great for those of us that get seasick.) Grew up there and we raced the trailer yacht during summer then towed it north to go cruising. Nowhere else to go locally.

 

When we looked at the Wellington - New Plymouth race after Christmas, some of the smaller (and shallower boats) could have got into the "marina" but the deeper boats would have been on moorings.

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