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sailing from mangonui to kerikeri inlet - tips?


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dear all,

 

i and one other crew will be sailing from mangonui to the BOI, within the next two weeks. both of us have some experiences (i have been offshore several times) but we have not done this particular passage. it does not look difficult on the chart, but some of you may know better! so, what are some of the things to take note of? :roll: in particular,

 

1. can it be done in one day of moderate winds at this time of the year? (we are doing the trip on a 26-ft cruising yacht, new to us, and plan to embark at crack of dawn)

 

2. what is a good routing? are there "passes" that should actually be avoided? how far to stay from shore? should i steer north of all the islands en route?

 

3. is the route you recommend relatively free of semi-submerged rocks and boulders? (our boat draws 1.4 m)

 

4. if we break the trip into two legs with stopover in whangaroa, where should we anchor for the night? does the marina there cater to casual visitors? (we would prefer some safe anchorage near the mouth of the harbour.)

 

5. aside from whangaroa, are there "safe havens" en route?

 

6. what VHF channel to get weather for that part of the coast? any 3G signal reception possible? (i use telecom)

 

many thanks! joseph

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I'm not that familiar with the Cavallis ... certainly not as familiar as some on here so will leave discussion of that area to others.

 

Whangaroa Harbour is a fabulous, well protected harbor with plenty of safe secure anchorages close to the entrance or in any of the arms that lead off the main harbor The entrance to the harbor is lit at night and its fairly hard to find during the day just by eye (no problems with a chart plotter or chart and GPS though). There's good fishing inside the harbor if you anchor out, or if you want to get a marina berth there is a small marina at Whangaroa township. It doesn't look like a particularly flash marina, but there ya go. At Whangaroa itself, there's a pub and a shop and that's about it. Possible shelter depending on wind direction can also be had in the lee of Stephenson Island about 5 miles off the entrance to Whangaroa but there is foul ground around the island.

 

Banaari would be the Kerikeri Inlet expert .... sounds like he's personally sounded out some of the mudbanks lately. I'm sure there are others with plenty more to share about that piece of coastline.

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It is a pretty straight forward, basic seamanship applies, if you have a GPS, (handheld is good) you can plot your course to miss any rocks that are close to the direct route. Passing through (inside) the Cavalli's shortens the trip a little and is worth it, just to experience sailing in confined waters as you exit the southern channel, try and time it so the tide is in your favour. There is a rock that has caught several yachties out near the southern part of the Cavalli bay, GPS will show it or / and check it on a paper chart. It would be on your Starboard side. Or you can sail around the outside, keeping a reasonable offing to to have clear air if the wind is anywhere from the SW through West.

Make sure that the GPS is set to WGS84 so what you see on it is actually where you are. For those of us who have done it many times it is not a biggy, take it easy, plot your course carefully and mainly enjoy it.

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.... sounds like he's personally sounded out some of the mudbanks lately.

That's about the full and complete extent of my knowledge!! _IF_ your intentions in the Inlet include the Pickmere Channel and above, then it is most definitely tide-restricted... drawing 0.6 my current rule of thumb is 1/3 tide minimum and then proceed cautiously.

But I'd be consulting the likes of Bimini Babe, Sealegs, etc.

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hi everyone, many thanks for the advices. my destination is blacksmith bay past doves bay, where i have secured a legal mooring. also, in this part of the country, do they encourage people to call up the coast guard and let them know about a trip, and also call them when it's done? thanks. joseph

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Below radio info

Definatly do Whangaroa if you have time, and don't worry about a marina unless you need supplies as there are plenty of places to anchor

It's about 20 nm to Whangaroa then another 35 to Keri Keri aprox so it's doable in a little cruiser with a favourable breeze but it will make the trip if you stopover.

You will be in ph range the whole way

 

CG nowcasting

Location Channel

Doubtless Bay 20

Bay of Islands 21

Or CG on

Whangaroa 84

BOI 86

 

Far North Radio

VHF Channels: 60 East Coast,

VHF Weather Broadcasts: 0730, 1330, 1730 and 1930 on request

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Hey Joseph, google earth says 19 miles to whangaroa, 25 roughly into the cavalli islands area /general bay and 45 to moturoa island / kerikeri inlet, so that sounds like 2 comfortable legs or 1 longish day trip in a 26 footer to me.

The cavalli area is good in pretty well all winds and is lovely. Waiiti or horseshoe on the big Cavalli in maybe N but certainly NE to E, or hop over to the mainland in N through to SW or even south. Lots of bays there from mahinipua in the corner down to say matauri.

Particularly sneaky rocks? well, that one that Steve mentions around the cavallis, and the one off the Northern/western side of Moturoa that tends to catch a few boats.

You need to get a copy of the old RAYC cruising guide.

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You need to get a copy of the old RAYC cruising guide.

 

that would be this?

 

COASTAL CRUISING HANDBOOK, Tenth Edition.

By Royal Akarana Yacht Club. Hardcover. 312 pages, 160mm x 230mm, black and white diagrams.

The Coastal Cruising Handbook is a comprehensive cruising guide to New Zealand’s coast and off-lying islands from North Cape to East Cape. Since the first edition was published in 1972, steady demand has indicated that this publication fills a very real need for the navigator in North Island waters.

This tenth edition, while remaining true to the spirit of the original and the intentions of the founding editors, has been extensively revised to take into account recent changes to buoyage and marine developments.

 

NZ$62.00 + delivery.

 

http://www.boatbooks.co.nz/cruznz.html

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thanks for the book link, which i visited. shown there is also this title:

 

NEW ZEALAND'S NORTHLAND COAST (new edition of - Northland Coast Boaties' Atlas; this is the second edition).

By David Thatcher. Hardcover, 297 mm X 210 mm, 192 pages, full coour photographs and charts.

Click here for a Java enabled browse through this book.

 

This is an entirely new edition, with the same hard cover, sewn binding and full colour as the Hauraki Gulf Boating Atlas - which is its companion volume. It is fully indexed, with 192 pages and considerable addition to content. The guide covers in detail the harbours and coastline from Whangarei to Cape Reinga, and the Three Kings Islands.

 

The section for Whangarei covers the marinas and details of the large water area from the Whangarei Heads to the Town Basin.

Coverage from there comprises Tutukaka and Whangaruru and the coast in between. The Bay of Islands section starts at Whangamumu and on its own is an extensive and invaluable guide to the region. Coverage includes the Waikare inlet and the extensive water area in the approaches to Kerikeri.

 

Thence coverage extends to the Cavalli Islands, Whangaroa and The Far North. For Doubtless Bay and northward, including the Three Kings Islands, much effort has gone into obtaining photos, narrative, charts and plans. This constitutes a unique component of this guide to New Zealand's Northland Coast.

 

As with the Hauraki Gulf Boating Atlas, in presentation and content this is a guide produced to the highest international standards and will make an excellent gift. NZ$82.00 + Delivery.

 

any comment about its quality? if i don't go cruising farther than whangarei, would this be a better choice? thanks. joseph

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Yes thats it, but I have much earlier editions. usually a tenner in second hand bookshops.That and Pickmeres atlas. I don't know anything about the later Thatcher books but I'm sure they're good.

You need to get a copy of the old RAYC cruising guide.

 

that would be this?

 

COASTAL CRUISING HANDBOOK, Tenth Edition.

By Royal Akarana Yacht Club. Hardcover. 312 pages, 160mm x 230mm, black and white diagrams.

The Coastal Cruising Handbook is a comprehensive cruising guide to New Zealand’s coast and off-lying islands from North Cape to East Cape. Since the first edition was published in 1972, steady demand has indicated that this publication fills a very real need for the navigator in North Island waters.

This tenth edition, while remaining true to the spirit of the original and the intentions of the founding editors, has been extensively revised to take into account recent changes to buoyage and marine developments.

 

NZ$62.00 + delivery.

 

http://www.boatbooks.co.nz/cruznz.html

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As the others have said, do it in two days with a stop at either the Cavallis or just inside the Whangaroa entrance. Through the Cavalli Passage (ie inside the islands) is shorter and more scenic - the way through is relatively easy if you know how to read a chart or use a GPS. As you head further down on the second day, don't stick too close to shore as there are some rocks off the northern side of the Purerua Peninsula (in saying that you would need to be quite close in for them to give you any problems). There's plenty of water inside the ninepin rather than having to go around the outside. Howe Rock sits off Howe Point once you're in the Bay, but you will be easily outside that. Stay outside Motuterakihi and the Te Pahi Islands, inside the Black Rocks, keep an eye on the Brothers (isolated danger mark) as you enter the Kerikeri / Te Puna inlets and you're home and hosed. Hook up to your mooring and have a rum....

 

Yes - file a trip report with Coastguard and don't forget to close it off each night. It only takes a minute.

 

It's a great little sail that one - have fun!

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thanks all for the very, very useful info and advices. now i've got the route in the GPS and re-checked the points too. my plan is if i can get to whangaroa before 1:30 i will skip and head for cavalli, which is about halfway, and anchor there.

 

question: what does "breezes" mean in the met forecasts? a guy told me it meant 15 knots mol. is that about right?

 

cheers! joseph

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Hi ,

I have stayed overnight at all the anchorages shown in Jon's (Danaide ) emails --all are great --my favourite was out at the Cavailli .

I had a 1020 in those days and easily did BOI to well inside Whangaroa in a day but l was in cruising mode (and with that the motor came on easily )--havent done the bit from Whangaroa to Mongonui yet but the people l talk to say its a long day from mongonui to BOI in a small boat --l would listen to the advice provided and do an overnight somewhere and my choice would be the cavalli option .

I also use the i-pad navionics Jon has shown and when its overlaid with google earth is a great support in sussing out where to spend the night (and back up any other GPS/Chartplotter ).

Enjoy the trip .

Andrew

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TRIP REPORT :D

 

hello all, we made the trip! it was a long day, and we eventually did not make any stopovers, as circumstances allowed, and i and my crew had other things to do the next day.

 

we started at 5:30 am on saturday at mill bay, mangonui harbour. we had to do it early to beat the tide which would come in at 7. there were moderate winds but sometimes we had to motor a bit. when we passed whangaroa it was just around noon. the weather was good, and we sailed on. at 3 we were at the entrance of the cavalli passage. so we decided we could make it. then at 5 or so, the winds piped up and we had 15-18 knots gusting 20 for the next four hours. the boat handled well. it was a gaff-rigged schooner, wooden with wooden masts, and bilge keels. so all three sails were up and it was doing like 6 knots, with the helm a bit heavy at times with winds mostly from the beam and aft (no autopilot). we had a minor mishap just when passing the rocks as we turn into the BOI -- the main sheet cleat block got pulled off. fortunately we were careful to have turned the engine on before the passing. when we came into the inlet area it was already dark, and we fumbled our way and ended up grabbing the tallest mooring buoy which belonged to one of my kind neighbors. on shore at 11:30 pm, it was an 18-hour thing. great trip, though it wasn't quite 15 knots broad reaching all the way.

 

i want to thank all of you for giving me sound advice and encouragement! joseph

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