Overnighting on the waters

Kim has had several boats in his lifetime.  He has had his current one for a couple of years but we’ve never taken it much further than around an hour from Auckland, let alone on an overnight trip.  It’s something we’ve wanted to do for more than a year but sometimes the weather conditions aren’t conducive.

This year’s drought means that we have hot, calm, dry weather.  This summer, we’ve eaten on our deck countless times whereas most summers perhaps a couple of times.  This seems like the best possible time to make the overnighter.

We set off from home after 0700 to Bayswater Marina in rush hour traffic with Greg, a friend.  After a bit of prep and the marina, we departed around 0745.  After leaving the Marina,  we travelled approximately in the NNE direction for 2h40 to get to the outside of Port Fitzroy.  It was a smooth journey with the good weather conditions.

Entering Port Fitzroy, we went and forth a little to find our way before mooring near the ramp and burger bar which we had visited once before on a flying visit.  The weather was cloudier than I had expected.

The navigation in the harbour, deciding on the best mooring spot etc all took time and soon it was noon.  Kim and Greg went ashore to explore facilities around here in case we could have dinner on land.  They found the answer was a big fat “No”.

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For a change of scenery, we shifted ourselves to Smokehouse Bay.  After a lunch of chicken and chickpea salad which I had made last night, we went ashore.  Smokehouse Bay is true to its name.  Kind souls have built several smoking cabinets for smoking fish.  There was also a pizza oven, laundry, wood-fired bath house and long-drop toilets.

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The weather was clearing a little.  I put on a brave face and led the others into the water for a swim.

In the late afternoon, we shifted back to Fitzroy and tied up to someone’s buoy, hoping that they wouldn’t be using it.  We had a simple dinner of sausages which Greg purchased ashore and an open sandwich.

The stars were glorious as we chatted on the back deck of the boat.  We settled into our staterooms for our first night ever on a private boat (as opposed to a ferry or a cruiseliner).  The water was so calm it felt like I was sleeping on land.  I couldn’t believe our luck.