Late one afternoon, a large boat called Codene (pictured above) motored past us and anchored ahead of us and to the left in a much too crowded spot, especially as the wind was forecasted to be strong out of the southwest that night.  Bob noticed that the skipper let out lots of chain but did not appear to back down and set the anchor.  We also noted about eight people on board, all who looked like crew.  That night Paul got up check things out at 0230h and reported to Mary that the wind had picked up from a slightly different direction and Codene looked to be quite close to us.  Well, it was hard to get back to sleep after that observation.  At first, every time we opened our eyes, we could just catch a glimpse of Codene’s anchor light way forward through our bedroom window.  Then we could see that the placement of the anchor light through our window was moving aft.  When Mary sat up and said, “Paul, they are right beside us”, we could no longer ignore the fact that they were dragging anchor and would pass us by but were heading for a reef.  Paul immediately called Codene on the VHF radio but no response.  We were amazed that their radio was not on and that no one was on anchor watch, given the size of the boat and that it was crewed.  Paul then tried using short blasts on a whistle (which did nothing except wake up Bob and Julia!) and, finally, resorted to loud shouts.  At last, a light went on in the bridge deck and we could see some people movement.  They slowly hauled up their anchor and rotated and motored out into the centre of the large bay where they should have stopped in the first place.  We motored by the next morning to take a picture of Codene as we went on to another anchorage.  No one from Codene has ever acknowledged our assistance in preventing them from landing on the reef.

We spent the last few days of Bob and Julia’s visit in the Port Fitzroy area.  Port Fitzroy is considered one of the most secure anchorages in New Zealand, with many small bays.  Bob and Julia had already booked a ferry ride back to Auckland for Friday, January 8, but the weather forecast was not looking great for that day.  The ferry would be cancelled in winds of 30 knots.  Bob and Julia had another engagement for January 10 and had to get back to Auckland before then so they decided that it would be best if they took the ferry ride on Wednesday, January 6.  We were disappointed (as they were) but we understood.

January 6 –23, 2010

We headed over to Nagle Cove in Port Abercombrie and settled at anchor for a few days of relaxation.  We had been told that Nagle Cove is where dolphins were often seen doing tricks.  Sure enough, later that afternoon and into the evening several dolphins went from boat to boat and performed some spectacular leaps.  There were children in dinghies following them and even one small boy on a boogie board.  One older man was snorkelling with the dolphins and the next day Paul had his first (and hopefully not last) opportunity to swim with dolphins.

Here is what Paul wrote in an email to our children later that evening:

“Hello kids.  You have to be the first that I tell about how I have just spent 45 minutes swimming with dolphins in the wild.  Since yesterday afternoon a family of three have been milling about the bay in which we are anchored. 

Last evening there were half a dozen children, a couple in dinghies, one on a boogie board, and four in the water with the dolphins who were weaving in and out of the cluster of children.  Every five minutes or so the dolphins would move a little away from the children, the children would follow, all would re-join and a flurry of activity would begin again.  The squeals of the children and the snorting of the dolphins could be heard throughout the anchorage.  It was infectious.  This went on for nearly two hours with the group of children and dolphins moving from one area of the anchorage to another until very near sunset.  The water is quite cold and I was amazed at how long the kids were able to last in the water.  Although I was tempted, I allowed the water temperature and the preparation of dinner to provide me with excuses not to join them.

This morning dawned calm, warm and sunny.

We woke at sunrise to the sounds of these three dolphins blowing and making a racket by slapping their tails vigorously on the surface of the water as if to say get up sleepy heads, come out and play.

By 8:00 a.m. the kids were back on the water with the dolphins.  When the group of kids and dolphins moved to within a few boat lengths of Bella Via, I couldn't resist the cold water any longer.  I donned my snorkel, and fins and joined the group.

It was SPECTACULAR and will remain permanently etched in my brain as one of the most memorable 45 minutes of my life. 

I was able to swim right along with them.  Though I was often only inches away, they would never allow me to touch them.  The moment I reached out with my hands, they seemed to be able to sense it's proximity and they would boost up the power and effortlessly swim away, often twisting and turning under or around me.  I would dive down with them, head to head, and they would turn their head and look me right in the eye.  Sometimes they would disappear from view only to have all three swimming directly at me, only a few feet away from my nose before veering away to pass me with one veering to my right, one to my left and the third passing under me.  Frequently I would have the big male swimming tight circles around me while I worked hard to twist my body around to continue facing him.  They are such big creatures and appear to be so solidly built.  Another special moment was watching one of them blow an air bubble when under water.  All of this was happening within feet of me and immediately off the stern of Bella Via in mom's full view.  Although they stayed in the immediate area in which I was swimming, it still took a tremendous effort on my part to swim along side them as they twisted and turned, under, above and around me.  There were three dinghies rowing in the area, watching the activity and I would occasionally run into one of them, oblivious of anything else around me except the dolphins.  There seemed to be no end to how long they were willing to stay and play.  After 45 minutes I was exhausted and reluctantly left the water.  When I did so, the children were a bit disappointed because the dolphins moved on as well.  A woman rowing one of the dinghies commented that she thought it was my activity in the water that continued to capture the attention of the dolphins.  What an experience!  It took me an hour to stop shivering afterwards.

Everyone is gone now, the kids, their parents in the dinghies and the dolphins, but my memories of swimming with the dolphins will last my lifetime.

I have shot rapids on the French River, watched a baby loon and its mother on a misty morning in Algonquin Park, crossed paths with a big moose on a portage in Algonquin and been in the path of breaching whales.

I have been blessed.”  End of Paul’s email message.

It was our intention to circumnavigate Great Barrier Island and so we set off up the west coast and around the top to the Needles on the northeast tip.  Paul wanted to do some spear fishing and we had been told that this was the best place.  At the same time we learned by VHF radio that a Comedy Net member, Christian from the boat Donella, was at Great Barrier Island but in another anchorage.  Paul has wanted to meet Christian for some time as he is an excellent free diver and has even survived a shark attack some years ago.

We learned the next morning that Christian was planning on being at Arid Island (only three miles away) that evening so we moved.  What a delight it was to finally meet Christian and his wife, Honelora.  We hope to see them again when we are next at their home port of Opua.

Over the next few days we continued our circumnavigation of Great Barrier Island and ended up back at Whangaparapara on January 13.  We spent another week back at Port Fitzroy and enjoyed a few more of the many anchorages.  Paul’s birthday on the 23rd was spent with new friends Peter and Val from the catamaran Duet and their guests Debbie and Shane from Australia.

January 24, 2010

We had been told about a group of islands between GBI and Whangarei (our destination at the end of January) called the Moko Hinau Islands and encouraged to go there if the weather was good.  The forecast for the next few days was for calm weather with only 10 knots from the southwest and then eventually east.

We sailed north to the Moko Hinau Islands under a beautiful sunny sky and perfect sailing conditions, although with somewhat lumpy seas from the southwest wind.

The electronic chart of the area was not detailed enough and we only had a photocopied chart from a guidebook so Paul kept a close lookout as we entered this group of small islands.  We settled at anchor in a small narrow cove and set a stern anchor, which brought us close to shore in deep water and out of the one-half metre swell.  It was a very comfortable spot.  The exceptionally clear water gave us good visibility of the rock-strewn sea floor.  We never tired of watching the incoming or outgoing tide create little waterfalls amongst the rocks at our stern. 

Paul immediately jumped in the dinghy and went for a wild and wet ride around the group of islands and came back raving about the many caves and waterfalls that he saw.  Mary was able to experience this ride the next day when the sea had calmed down.

Regular readers already know that Paul has become an avid spear fisher, aka “spearo”.  Mary could just barely keep him under control here at the Moko Hinaus where the abundance of both quantity and variety of fish to spear is astounding.  Normally we would be able to add whatever Paul speared to our freezer, however, with our impending departure to Canada, we plan on emptying the freezer and turning it off while we are away.  On our last day at the Moko Hinaus Paul watched a group of a dozen spearos spearing in pairs for most of the day.  Late in the afternoon he approached one of the two boats and chatted with the group of people.  He learned that they were part of a two-day competition to determine which team of spear fishers would represent New Zealand at the up-and-coming world championships in Fiji.

January 30, 2010

We left the Moko Hinau Islands on Wednesday and travelled the 30 miles to Whangarei and up the river to our usual anchorage at Norsand Boatyard.  We then went into the Town Basin Marina on Thursday and secured Bella Via to the pile berth that will be its home for two months while we return to Canada to visit family and friends.

We will travel to Auckland on February 2 by bus and stay with Craig and Liz (Scarper family) for one night.  Then we fly out of Auckland the next day and return on March 24.