#97 NOW March 29, 2006 1415UTC +12 hours (New Zealand Standard Time) Anchored in Waikawa Bay S4115.8 E17402.7 Temp 57, South at 10-15 kts Greetings from Waikawa Bay, Sunday the weather improved and I brought up an anchor buried in the mud of Hakana Bay. The strong winds had done a good job digging in the anchor. I skirted around Robertson Point, past Fighting Bay and finally into the protection of Tory Channel. This is the main channel used by the ferryboats connecting Wellington on the North Island, to Picton on the South Island. Once inside I had a smooth ride down this channel with good protection from all sides. Further, up the channel I came to Hitaua Bay. This Bay has quite a history. Surprisingly, it is only 1 = miles from Hakana Bay where I was the night before. Yet it took me 25 miles to go around the peninsula and up the channel to get there. History records that Te Rauparaha had been trying to attack the Tory Channel Maoris with little success. He finally got the bright idea to drag his canoes the 1 = miles across the hills from Hakana to Hitaua. There he put them in the Bay, which enabled him to make a surprise attack. Now the Bay is a peaceful little place, which I enjoyed without the fear of any attack. A misty rain fell most of the night and by morning, Done Dreamin' was fresh and clean, with all the salt washed off. I spent two nights in Hitaua. The evenings were cool and I attempted to start my Hurricane Heating system. But alas, it has failed. This system provides wonderful heat through a diesel fired hot water system. This hot water is piped through the boat to various heat exchangers (radiators) that have a fan behind them and blows out lots of nice warm dry air. I found it to be the perfect system for heating the boat on my trip to Canada and Alaska. However, it had not been used going through the tropics and now it was acting up. I have traced the problem to the igniter and perhaps the photo sensor. So, it will be out of commission until I bring new parts from the US on my next visit. I still have the reverse-cycle air conditioning system, which provides heat when I run the genset. Tuesday, I proceeded a few miles further joining Inner Queen Charlotte Sound and finally anchoring in Waikawa Bay. Actually, there is a large 500 berth Marina here, which is a few miles from Picton. Looking from the boat, I could see what looked like a nice little restaurant on the shore. In a few minutes, I was underway paddling my kayak ashore. Unfortunately, the restaurant was only open on Wednesdays from 5:00 to 10:00 PM. I hope they have some other source of income. It was three miles into Picton so with my good old Rockport walking shoes on, I headed out. Picton, being the largest town in the area, had most everything you could want. It was nice to browse through the stores, connect with the internet, and pick up a few groceries. I found a good restaurant and enjoyed some greasy fish and chips, then headed back the three miles to the boat. The exercise felt good after being on the boat for the past week. I may go into the marina for one night just to get rid of some garbage, and fill the tanks with fresh water. This is a lovely area to explore and I anticipate staying in the Marlborough Sound Area for a couple of weeks. This is an extra paragraph to answer someone's question about kelp.. "Someone asked about running into kelp. This can be a real problem. Kelp, sometimes referred to as seaweed, grows along the seashore and can be found growing in depths of 80 to 100 feet. During storms or even just wave action some breaks off or is uprooted and drifts out to sea. I have found most of it is within about five miles or less of the shore. These usually end up in clumps and can be seen fairly easy during daylight. However, at night there is nothing you can do, except run right into it. The para-vanes make wonderful hooks for catching kelp and will drag small bits for miles before breaking off. Running into a big patch can actually bring you right to a stop, and cause considerable stress on the para-vanes. The only course of action then is to bring them up, cutting off the kelp as it comes up. This is very easily done with a serrated bread knife. I have had kelp catch around my rudder, the best solution for that is to stop the boat put it in reverse for a bit letting the prop chop it up, and then proceeding on. Kelp seems to be most abundant in the cooler climates. Both Tasmania and New Zealand have a considerable amount." Life is a Cruise, Larry -- Larry Rick Done Dreamin' Nordhavn 40 #33 Site: http://gricknet.homedns.org/Dads%20Web/doneDreamnHome.htm