Yachting

Learning to Sail

Ever since my first outing in a sailboat at the age of ten while on holiday at Mullet Point in 1944, I had quietly hoped to be able to sail someday. My mentor on that occasion had been a family friend on leave from the wartime navy. 

When Judy died I was searching for diversions and decided to buy a sunburst dinghy. I found one advertised and bought it in Auckland from an old school friend, Jim Feist, who we later met up with again at Sea of Faith Conferences. Its name was “Solace”, which I thought highly appropriate. 

Derek and Lynne Challis had invited me to spend a week with them camping at Mahinapua, near the Cavalli Islands, in early January, so I took the dinghy with me and Derek taught me to sail it on that sunny northern coast between Whangaroa Harbour and Mahinapua. 

I spent a lot of time that year at weekends sailing near to Paihia and teaching myself the rudiments. I only had one mishap: I had taken a friend out to Roberton Island and we were sailing home happily when the wind got up and the boat broached because I had too much sail on. We were tipped into the harbour, and were picked up by a passing runabout.  The dinghy was towed to Russell by a following boat and I collected it a day or two later. 

By the end of the year I reckoned I had had enough practice to try something bigger.  Derek encouraged me and I eventually bought a 27-foot keeler, Stiletto class, designed by John Spencer and soundly built of plywood. It was in Auckland and two sailing friends willingly came with me to Auckland and they and I sailed “Shamal” back to my newly-acquired mooring at Opua, taking a day and a night, non-stop.

 

The only photo of Shamal, at anchor, somewhere in the Bay of Islands,

on a showery day.

 

In January of 1975, Terry and I sailed Shamal on our first major sailing adventure. Before Christmas we headed north along the coast to Mahinapua, and then on to Whangaroa Harbour. Next stop was Taupo Bay for a break, and then we sailed on to Cape Karikari (Matai Bay), where we turned around and headed back to the Bay of Islands for Christmas. This had taken about a week. 

Shamal had four berths, two in the stern and two in the bow. In the middle was a galley, table, navigation desk and storage. Above the stern berths was the cockpit, and between them a motor. 

 

 

 

After Christmas we set out again, this time towards the south. We called at the Poor Knights Islands, spent a night at MacGregor Bay, and carried on to Kawau island, where we spent a day or two sailing around the sheltered waters where I had first sailed all those years ago from Mullet Point. Then we set out across the gulf to Great Barrier. We explored Port Abercrombie and Fitzroy Harbour, and climbed to the top of the island at Mount Hobson to enjoy the view back towards Auckland. 

We set off again towards Whangarei, where I had an appointment with the optician, steering close to the Mokohinau Islands on the way. After a couple of days on the Whangarei Harbour we sailed back to the Bay of Islands by way of Whangamumu Harbour, with its derelict whaling station. 

This trip was when I grew my beard, which has never been shaved since.