#96 NOW March 24, 2006 1000UTC +12 hours (New Zealand Standard Time) Anchored in Hakana Bay S4117.7 E17410.9 Temp 57, Gusting to over 50 kts! Good Morning, Did you notice the wind above? That is not a typo! I will get to that later if I'm still here. Last Sunday I departed Robinsons Bay and proceeded out Akaroa Inlet. I enjoyed a great run, with dolphins playing alongside most of the way. The weather was being cooperative at least for the 8 hours it took me to get to Lyttelton, the harbour town for Christchurch which is a few miles away. I anchored into Diamond Harbour, which is just across the inlet from Lyttelton. Diamond Harbour is protected by steep banks to the South and East. It also has a few boats tied to pilings and a small dock where a ferry carries commuters across the inlet to Lyttelton. This turned out to be the perfect location. I offloaded my kayak and paddled ashore where I could enjoy some of the hiking trails and a small store at the top of the bluff. On Tuesday, I took the little ferry for $5 NZ over to Lyttelton. Walking around this little town was like walking into a bit of New Zealand history. Ships have been coming into this port for the last 150 years, providing Christchurch with its link to the outside world. It is still one of the busiest seaports in New Zealand. I was concerned about the next two legs up to the North end of the South Island. Each leg is about 85 miles and just a little too long for a daylight run. In addition, the first stop at Kaikoura had very poor protection, just being an open bay in the lee of the Peninsula. New Zealand has an excellent weather reporting system. The South Island is broken up into eleven different areas. Every four hours the latest weather and three-day forecasts are given for each area. I have found them to be very accurate and not exaggerated as is quite often done in some places. If they say there is going to be winds of 50 knots, well that is what you will get. Once again, I found a small window of opportunity. The weather was good up to Cook Strait where there was a Gale blowing, but dying out by Thursday morning. This was to be followed by another gale on Friday morning. So I left at 11:00 am Wednesday with the decision to go straight through to Underwood Inlet, which is in Cook Strait. All went according to plan, with six foot following seas. As I got to Cook strait things picked up a bit, but after 26 hours I made it into Underwood inlet and went about eight miles up the inlet and around the corner into little Hakana Bay. I put out the anchor in 35 feet of water, let out 200 feet of chain and the full bridle (which is 25 feet), back powered at 1200 RPM for one minute and the anchor didnt budge. This looked like the perfect spot to wait out the next gale, which arrived during the night. I have never encountered any winds anywhere, which compare to what is coming through this bay right nowone gust after another to over 50 knots. It literally picks up the water and turns it into a fine spray. Fortunately, the bay is small enough so that no waves build up. Checking the latest weather report, they have now upgraded it to storm conditions with winds in the 56 to 63 knot range. Happiness is being in a snug harbor with an extra large anchor securely set. Life is a Cruise, Larry -- Larry Rick Done Dreamin' Nordhavn 40 #33 Site: http://gricknet.homedns.org/Dads%20Web/doneDreamnHome.htm