Figure Eight-igator Statistical Roundup

[Kyle]We did it! We were sailing fast on a starboard tack across the entrance to Opua Harbor toward the town of Russell when we finally crossed our outbound track. We have now completed a clockwise circumnavigation of North Island and a counterclockwise circumnavigation of Stewart Island and that one in the middle.

Our track (with a few gaps - we clearly didn't sail over land!)
Track sourced from Cruisers Sat

Here’s the numbers:

We left Russell 156 days and 3,230 nautical miles ago. Of that, our North Island loop took 97 days and 1,550 nautical miles. Our South/Stewart Island loop took 59 days and 1,680 nautical miles.

We have made a total of 60 stops in New Zealand. 34 so far on the North Island, 21 on South Island and 5 at Stewart Island. Of these, we had 15 stops where we did not leave the boat, mostly because of bad weather and my sore back. We had 5 more stops where we left the boat to explore by dinghy/kayak, but didn’t land, mostly because the terrain wouldn’t allow it, but occasionally because there was no way to get inland past "Private Property" signs.

The moment we crossed our incoming track - New Zealand Circumnavigation complete!

Our longest stops were in Dunedin (11days), Norsand Boatyard (10 days) and Napier (6 days). We had 17 stops that were only for one night. The shortest was at Whangaruru on the way between the Bay of Islands and Whangarei in November. Our shortest shore excursion was at Barrier Island, where we climbed the hill behind the beach, realized my back was killing me and then limped home. Our longest time ashore was the 2 ½ day trip off the boat to drive the Southern Scenic Route on South Island.

Our longest sails without stopping were Onetahuti Bay in Abel-Tasman to Milford Sound (462 miles, 3 days), Ship Cove in Marlborough Sound to Ahipara Bay, North Island (397 miles, 3 days) and Napier to Wellington (230 miles, 2 days). Of the 156 days total, 78 of those days were sailing on at least some part of the day.

The longest we spent aboard without leaving the boat was 7 days between Ship Cove, Marlborough Sound and Maitai Bay, North island. Second and third were six-day ties. One in December in the Hauraki Gulf because of my back, the other between Lake Cove in Fiordland and Adventure Cove in Stewart Island. That one was because of weather.

And, finally, the coldest water that we recorded was 8.3°C (47°F) at 46°30’S on the passage between Stewart Island and Dunedin, South Island. We were in the deep ocean far from the coast, which generally had 13°C (55°F) water. The warmest was 29.7°C (85.5°F) at Town Basin marina, Whangarei, North Island. They are at 35°43’S. Mostly, the water at the northern end of North Island is about 21°C (70°F).

So there you have it, one more thing to tick off of the list of random goals. We have been surprised to find that very few people attempt such a trip, even the Kiwis, so I think there’s going to be plenty to talk about at the Opua Boat Club when someone asks, “What did you do all Summer?”

New Zealand Memories - in no particular order