Begonia's anchorage, however, was right smack in the middle of the giant bay. This is because the bay is quite shallow, particularly on the northeast side near the town. The middle is as close as our draft would allow us to get to the town of Coromandel. To complete the journey, we would need the dinghy and the electric outboard for the few hours on either side of high tide.
Some beautiful skies
at high tide we could explore up the river
Unfortunately, we were there on the day of the new moon, when the day's high tides fall just after sunrise and sunset. Our time ashore the next morning was before most businesses opened for the day, so we never got to stroll through the pedestrianized areas, with refueling stops at the pubs along the way. The grocery store was open though, and we managed to snag our haul of fresh produce before the other vultures descended. At the twenty-four-hour petrol station, we filled a jerry can, which should get us through another few weeks at least, and then it was time to take our haul back to Begonia, sitting way on the horizon at the end of a soon-to-be-muddy channel.
With those chores done, we hoisted sail and spent the next few hours tacking northward through the Hauraki Gulf to our destination at Double Island. Double Island has little in the way of diversions, as the actual island is closed for re-vegetation. For us, it was the only place along the Coromandel Peninsula's western side that offered protection from forecast strong westerlies.
Even so, it wasn't great. Strong currents ran by, which can heap up confused seas. The island itself has a big gap, hence the name, which allows the wind to come through, but it does so in fits and starts. The boat can swing around the anchor like it's a tetherball.
Moving on to Double Island
When we arrived, there were already two monohulls taking up the prime spot. We laid our anchor between them in deep water, but then backed way out into really deep water while we paid out our full chain.
That turned out to be good for us, because, while we were attached to the island with our anchor, we ended up parked in the tidal flow passing by as if we were at a La Grange point. This kept Begonia in a more stable position then the monohulls were, albeit sideways to the wind, so we used much less of our turning circle than they did. Further out, we also had the company of a big military ship that had spent the day doing maneuvers, but was now anchored on a shallow shelf about a quarter of a mile away. What impressed me was how effective the camouflage of their gray paint is. Looking in their general direction, even though they floated in a blue sea backed by green mountains, it wasn't immediately apparent that they were there. They clearly were when you were looking right at them, but they seemed to disappear completely when using peripheral vision. I guess that's the point. Unless you know exactly where to look, you might miss them entirely. They looked like half a container ship on radar, though.
Pretty scenery and the odd passing boat and PENGUIN!
Anchorage location at Coromandel Harbour >> On google maps
Anchorage location at Motuwi (Double) Island >> On google maps
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