Sailing around the Hauraki Gulf and watching the America’s Cup
Liberté
Anchored along the Coromandel Peninsula
I was never much of a sailor. I have always loved the ocean and spent time on boats my whole life but for some reason I never really got into sailing. I guess you have to start somewhere before you get into it. Growing up on the west coast of Sweden which is a very popular place for sailing, you would have thought I grew up with sailing, alas, that was not how it was. As a teenager I spent one night sailing out of the west coast on a friends boat, sailing still felt like a lifetime away.
When it was suggested by a friend at the start of 2021 to head up to Auckland for the America’s Cup 2021 and spend 5 days on a sailboat I was adamant at first but as I thought more about it, it only made sense. 5 days on the water around the Hauraki Gulf in search of wildlife, nature and watching a world renowned race, why not?! What is there to say no to?
What first started as an idea started to form into a plan after a couple of weeks of pondering and researching the area. Mal took charge in finding a boat and after some inquires we settled with the Liberté, a 32 foot sailing boat which would comfortable sleep 4 people. We applied for leave at work which was luckily approved and next was booking flights. The flights to and from Auckland was booked and the rest of the details was sorted out for our journey.
We drove together to Christchurch, a 2.5 hour drive from Kaikōura and got ready for our flight. Arriving in Auckland after a 1.5 hour flight we made our way to our booked accommodation, hidden amongst the university buildings in the centre of the city.
The next day we made our way to Half moon bay and found our home for the next couple of days. As we were going to spend a lot of time on the water and were not planning on making any land stops along the way, we stocked up on food and drinks for our journey. Did I say drinks?
We slowly motored out of the marina at 4-5 knots of speed and as soon as we got out of the marina we set the sails up. Shan grew up sailing and has had a lot of experience in sailing and racing so we had a great teacher to show us the ropes (literally). We got our sails up and slowly started making our way out, we got up to a speed of 2-5 knots and throughout our journey we reached a maximum speed of 7.7 knots! The first thing we encountered on our trip was a young Hammerhead shark cruising along the surface and my excitement got going straight away, my first Hammerhead sighting ever!
As we were testing the sails we made slow progress on our first day and just enjoyed the scenery and being on the water. When dark started to fall we found a spot on the Northeastern side of Waiheke Island. The first spot we tried was not favourable as the swell was too big and our anchor would not hold. After a short move we found another spot that was more sheltered and we anchored up for the night. The night sky was clear and we were rewarded with a great view of the starlit sky as we had our dinner outside.
In the morning Mal and I went for a quick cruise along the bay in the dinghy to see what we could find, which was not much but got nicely wet and salty along the way! As the day progressed we made our way across the Hauraki Gulf towards the Coromandel Peninsula. We had some great crosswinds on our way over and it did not take us long to get across the gulf.
As soon as we got to the other side we were ready to plunge in for a swim. Mal was adamant to catch a fish on her speargun that she brought all the way from Kaikōura, alas it was not meant to be. We certainly got a great swim out of it and I spent a great deal of time in the water finding different things to photograph. It was refreshing to see a different kind of seabed than what we have further south in Kaikōura. We also saw a second Hammerhead shark cruising along the surface while on the boat. After having a go with our hand reels and foraging for food on a nearby shore we had snapper and mussels ready for dinner!
We found a sheltered part of the bay along the western side of the Coromadel Peninsula where we anchored up for the night. Allan got our drone out and managed to capture some great footage as the sun set over the horizon. With a few drinks and great dinner we were happy spending another night on the water with the waves lapping against the hull.
Anchored along the Coromandel Peninsula.
Photo: Allan Cronin
Waking up the next day we were ready for another day of exploring. We started to cruise along the coast of the Coromandel and went in search of wildlife. We saw plenty of gannets, shearwaters and Blue penguins. Again we had good crosswinds along the Hauraki Gulf which made it easy for us to cross. The Hauraki Gulf is known for having lots of wildlife, not just birds but also dolphins and whales. We did our best to try and spot them but for whatever reason we did not manage to find even a dolphin throughout our time on the gulf. I guess this means we have to come back right?
After our crossing we made our way to Tiritiri Matangi Island and anchored up in the bay outside Hobbs beach. It was a popular spot as many vessels parked up here in order to be close to the courses where the America’s Cup took place. We had a great swim and played around the boat for the remainder of the day. Through the night we could hear the calls of the Kiwi coming from the predator free island. What a way to sleep.
The Kakariki were already awake as we woke up and their calls could be heard coming from around the island. We got ourselves ready and made our way onto the island on our dinghy. As I step onto the island I see Kakarikis and Saddlebacks foraging in the trees and on the path that leads into the island. Once everyone was on land we started to explore. The island is full of endangered birds and we had an amazing time exploring the island and encountering unique birds. We saw some species of birds that I had never seen before, such as the North Island Kōkako. Takahe could be seen foraging in the open fields and a Kererū was perched on a nearby branch. It was difficult to leave the island (bird nerd) but after spending most of the morning there, it was time to make our way back to the boat. We still had much more in store for our journey!
As soon as we got back on the boat I managed to sneak in a quick snorkel along the sea grass along the beach. Resting along the seabed I found a New Zealand eagle ray in amongst the sea grass and this ended up being one of my favourite encounters of the whole trip.
New Zealand eagle ray
Tiritiri Matangi Island
We then made our way to the course set for the Cup and got a nice spot along the front line. We arrived early to secure our spot and wait for the race to start. Unfortunately it was not meant to be today and the race was called off at the end of the day (5 minutes before the race was meant to end) due to a lack of wind. We motored off and made our way to the other side of Rangitoto Island. Our last night in the boat was to be spent in Islington bay and we found our spot. As we anchored up the sun was setting and once again Allan got the drone out and managed to capture this beautiful moment. Being fully protected against any wind in the sheltered bay we had the best sleep as we were slowly rocked to sleep.
Sunset at Rangitoto Island
Photo: Allan Cronin
Our last day started off with a visit to Rangitoto Island. We got the dinghy out again and made our way onto the island as set of on a hike. Being a pest-free island there were plenty of birds to be seen such as Tui and Saddlebacks. We made our way through the ancient lava fields and the pōhutukawa forest as we made our way to the top of this volcanic island that emerged only 600 years ago. The view from the top was certainly worth it and although we were not prepared for the hike and barely brought water with us, we are happy that we made the hike up. After making our journey back to the Liberte we set off towards the race course set for the day! One last stop had to be made as we got into the water for a last swim along the reefs, this time off Motuihe Island. I managed to view a nudibranch and I loved observing the sea grass flowing with the waves.
Today was to be THE day for the race and we managed to get the perfect spot along the finish line of the race. After waiting for a few hours again, using up the remaining drinks on board we were ready for the race to start. This ended up being a thrilling race between Emirates Team NZ and Luna Rossa and the crowd was on edge throughout the race. Team NZ came out as the winner after an exciting day on the water which completed day 5 of the Cup and day 5 for us! We left the course on a high and slowly made our way back towards Half moon bay where we berthed the Liberté.
We made our way back to the city, found our accommodation for the night and went our for some food and a celebratory drink. Early next morning we set off for the airport and got on the 1.5 hour flight back to Christchurch. As we drove along the SH1 making our way back to Kaikōura, as soon as we hit the coastline we observed a Humpback whale tail slapping along the surface on that windy day. That concluded our sailing trip around the Hauraki Gulf and trip to Auckland.
Emirates Team NZ
Day 5 America’s Cup 2021