Tuesday 24 April 2012

Greetings from Tiare Taporo III at Island Head Creek lat. 22 degrees 21' S long. 150 degrees 39' E

As you can see, we are now at Island Head Creek, having arrived here from Port Clinton. Only a total of 20 miles today so not so far. We stopped for lunch in Pearl Bay which is a sheltered but slightly rolly anchorage in a pretty bay. We had a good sail for a time after that but then the wind died again and veered all over the place so we started motorsailing again to ensure that we got in before dark. These anchorages are very tricky with shallow entrances so it's necessary to concentrate on the chartplotter to pick the channels. In addition we are now getting into an area centered on McKay which has much bigger tide ranges than the coast north or south so takes some getting used to. Just getting in here our speed was down by a knot and a half - doesn't sound much but it represents 30% of our average speed. As we approached there was quite a nasty sea kicked up by wind against tide and we were "pooped" by a short breaking sea which flooded the cockpit. Murphy wasn't letting us get away that easily!! However, we came safely in and have had another very good dinner courtesy of Dennis - marinated steak and veges. The Laphroaig sadly is now finished but we've plenty of red wine and beer - and another bottle of a lesser brand of whisky found in the dim dark reaches of another locker!
Tomorrow we leave for Hexham Is. and then the famous Percys but one has to be very careful where anchoring because of the big tides and tidal currents. All is well on board and we are looking forward to some island hopping instead of these dingy muddy creeks!
More in due course............
www.tiaretaporo3.blogspot.com

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