The sailing adventures of SV Meriwether and her crew
We made a break for it while the weather was playing nice. Out of Whangarei, around Busby Head, and north back toward the Bay of Islands. Going back up bought us three things: a change of scenery (badly needed), more anchorages to pick from, and nearly a full day shaved off the passage to Fiji, for whenever the forecast decided...
We ended up staying two months at Town Basin. That was not the plan. But winter here brings foul weather every few days, and both Kerri and I had a mountain of work we wanted to finish before the big passage, so we settled into the comforts of city life. We don’t sit still this long very often. Usually the...
Our past month has been one of ease, at least by cruising standards. Being tied to a dock in the middle of a proper town has slowly pulled us into a very different rhythm of life than the one we had while bouncing from anchorage to anchorage around Great Barrier Island. Neither of us has much interest in heading back...
Kerri and I spent a few days tucked into The Nook, hiding from what was forecast to be a pretty solid blow. As it turned out, The Nook did exactly what we needed it to do, cutting the wind down enough that what could have been a rough few days turned into something far more manageable. Instead of getting hammered,...
I wake up at odd hours sometimes. Two in the morning, eight in the morning—it doesn’t seem to follow any sort of logic, and I’ve long since stopped trying to understand it. What I do know is that once I’m awake, that’s it. There’s no rolling over, no drifting back off. I’ve learned not to fight it, because that only...
We were still on Great Barrier Island as the final week of March rolled in, holding onto a bit of hope that the weather might give us a window to leave the greater Port Fitzroy area—maybe even circumnavigate the island. Kerri was still optimistic about that plan. I, on the other hand, was remembering what April looked like last year...
The second half of March picked up right where the first left off—two days of wind, two days of calm, and then right back to wind again. It became a rhythm whether we liked it or not. Rather than making miles, we spent most of our time shifting from one anchorage to the next, always looking for the best protection...
After a much-needed morning of sleep, we got straight back to it. We lifted anchor and motored Meriwether deeper into the protected waters of Great Barrier Island, where a network of anchorages offered plenty of options for both shelter and exploration. At that point, we weren’t chasing anything specific—we were just happy to be afloat again, protected, and slowly easing...
Well, we did it. The day after our resupply stop at Marsden Cove, we finally left the greater Whangarei area behind. There was one small detail: no wind. That didn’t stop us. It just meant the engine would do the work for now – a good test of the old diesel donkey. Our destination sat about 20 nautical miles offshore—a...
After splashing Meriwether, we motored the three miles to the nearest anchorage at Limestone Island and dropped the hook. The plan was simple: rest a few days, let our bodies recover, and slowly shift back into sailing mode before starting the 2026 season. It was the first time in months that my body had a chance to relax. Unfortunately, boat life...
