After
owning Rapport for 16 months we now know her pretty well and have
plenty of confidence in her cruising ability and reliability.
Although we bought her as being “ready to cruise” that turned out
to be not the case and the first three months or so were spent adding
equipment and bringing
up to our high standards. For the past several months we’ve cruised
extensively and clocked 129 nights aboard and 329 engine hours.
A
huge surprise for us has been Rapport’s remarkable economy. She’s
powered by twin 375hp Caterpillar 3208s and we generally cruise
around 1,400rpm
giving us about 8
knots. She’s
capable of the 21 knots we achieved during our pre-purchase sea trial
with full water and fuel plus five adults aboard, but Di and I prefer
the more sedate 8-10 knots although we do
regularly
run her faster for up to 30 minutes in order to load up the engines.
We’ve found that we’re averaging about 15 litres/hour each engine
for a total of 30 litres/hour and this includes running our 7.5Kw
genset for an average of three hours daily. I had honestly expected a
figure nearing double this and combined with Rapport’s huge 2,800
litres diesel tank capacity we
have a big cruising range with refuelling being a rare occurrence.
For example since our last refuel on 27 December we’ve spent 58
days cruising clocking 133 engine hours, only refuelled once and
still have over 500 litres in the tanks.
Here
is an edited version of an article shortly to be appearing in Pacific
PowerBoat.
You
can easily
miss a lot
when sitting aboard your boat anchored a couple of hundred metres
offshore, but
if you take the time to jump into your dinghy and explore the nearby
coastline you’ll
be well
rewarded and
gain a better appreciation of your anchorage, for
example
knowing
where any
rocky
outcrops
and shallower patches begin
(keep a
lead line in your dinghy to check depths).
If
you have young children aboard you
can make
your dinghy
trip a real
adventure for
them too as
well as letting
them drive the dinghy and teaching
them about
about
“messing about in boats”. Last
but not least, surprisingly
large snapper can be caught close to inshore
rocks in
just a couple of metres of water using
floating lines and
large baits,
especially
in the subdued light of early mornings and late afternoons although
I must add
that we don’t like fishing from inflatables as they are too prone
to being punctured by spines.
If
we’re going ashore on
Hauraki Gulf island
beaches we
often take a small rubbish bag to gather any
unsightly litter. As
my background is in the plastics industry we’re a bit sensitive to
the inaccurate negative publicity related to what is really an issue
of littering, not technology. I must say that despite
publicity about littered beaches we rarely find more than the
odd plastic
bag or
container, a few bottle tops and an old jandal. Sometimes
we literally can’t find a single item of rubbish. Maybe
other folks
are regularly
cleaning up
beaches too?
Here’s
some examples of dinghy trips we’ve enjoyed.
Rangitoto
Island’s Islington
Bay is one
of the Gulf’s most popular and sheltered anchorages and we’ve
anchored here countless
times during
40 years cruising.
It’s
sheltered from all except S to SE winds so generally like the
proverbial millpond except for some residual wakes from passing
ferries and large launches. From
out in the
bay Rangitoto’s
rocky
coastline
looks much the same, but
as you cruise close to shore a different world opens up of small
coves and the remains of small jetties and launching ramps not
visible from afar.
At the
northern end of the bay Rangitoto is
separated from Motutapu
Island by a
narrow estuary heading north under a bridge into Gardiner Gap, a
shallow bay separating the two islands. Within
about two
hours or so each side of high water this estuary is completely
navigable by small dinghy, but be ready to duck going under the
bridge. Unlike Islington Bay itself the estuary has clear water and
is a good place to have a swim, though watch out for rays which often
glide
across the bottom searching
for small fish and shellfish.
Likewise
Gardiner Gap is good for swimming close to high tide. If
you beach your dinghy near the bridge you can walk east over the farm
lands of Motutapu or follow a track around Islington Bay’s
coastline. There
used to be dozens of baches here built mainly in the 1920s
and 30s and these were
rustic
simple dwellings unlike many
of today’s
small mansions that people rather ironically still call baches.
Many were later
removed after
disputes about land leases,
but you can still see where they were located along with remaining
chimneys and foundations. Fortunately
a few
baches remain
reminding us how
people then travelled
here by ferry to enjoy
their simple
holidays at
a slower pace of life.
Another
very popular anchorage is Kawau Island’s Bon
Accord Harbour. This is particularly sheltered in easterly winds and
the harbour’s depth allows anchoring well up the bay’s head
between Emu
Point
and Moores Bay.
Take your dinghy on a trip into Swansea Bay on the north eastern
corner up to a couple of hours either side of high water, passing
through the mangroves and into the creek. It’s
possible to navigate several hundred metres up
this creek into
a delightfully tranquil valley of bush where the only sounds are
birds singing and jumping fish splashing. The water is clean and
easily clear enough to see any obstructions such as submerged
branches. Kids
love it if you pretend these logs are in fact crocodiles and
embellish the story accordingly. Up
this creek are several fresh water pools, ideal for a dip to wash the
salt off.
If
you’re visiting Coromandel Harbour a great dinghy trip is
navigating the creek to Coromandel township. Anchor your vessel
south-west of the Coromandel wharf and set off about an hour before
high tide. Be
aware the sea can become
choppy in strong westerlies so
don’t overload your dinghy.
In
this area life jackets must be worn, not just carried aboard and
this requirement is enforced by
particularly vigilant authorities.
The channel is evident and you’ll see some fairly large fishing
vessels moored alongside makeshift jetties either side of the
fairway. After a few hundred metres you’ll come
to a bridge
carrying the main road across the creek and a large area where you
can beach your dinghy. The township has
an eclectic mix of people (read
as people who became hippies in the 1960s and got stuck in the
groove) and
ranks as
one of the most picturesque we’ve seen while
providing
all the cruising supplies
you may
need. In
the old days we’d often go into the pub for a cold beer, but we’re
now more inclined to have a doughnut and coffee at the bakery.
There’s also a very good takeaway offering tempting fish and chip
lunches. Don’t lose track of time though as the creek does get
shallow as the tide recedes. On
our very first trip here we moored our 6 metre runabout to the wharf
and were shocked to find it high and dry when we returned, giving us
no choice but to return to the pub.
A
trip we want to do soon is to anchor off Arkles Bay and do a dinghy
trip up the Wade River to Silverdale. Enjoy
your dinghy exploration and find your own favourites.
