The Great Barrier Storm

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One of the most significant draw backs to living on a boat is having to deal with the increment weather.  A storm was forecasted for the entire north island, especially, the northland area.  So, we specifically selected a “protected” bay called Kiwiriki Bay at Great Barrier Island to hide from the storm.

There are loads of bays and anchorages in Great Barrier. About 50-75 boats are in this general area spread across 5nm (noted in yellow below). 

We selected Kiwiriki Bay where we’ve anchored many times and have had very good holding.

We look at multiple weather sources using a variety of weather models.  Neither looked good.  We were in for bad weather for more than 48 hours.

Blue, green, yellow, and even orange are considered good to decent weather conditions.  Red, gray, and black are not good.

Below are two models from two sources. 

We are the small white dot. 

As you can see we have winds gusting to 45kts, lots of rain, and really unfavorable conditions.

NZ Met Service weather warning.

Kiwiriki Bay

We arrived at Kiwiriki Bay in Great Barrier Island a few days before the storm to claim a good, protected spot. 

There are 10 boats well spread out in Kiwiriki Bay.

We first dropped the hook at 36°11.95S / 175°21.02E in 7m of water with 60m of chain out.  We pulled back to 2400rpm and had  a strong jerk and bounce back indicating a solid hold.

During the start of the first night of the storm we saw 20-24kt of wind and we were holding good. 

By 10:30pm, we were seeing gusts 32-35kts. 

By 11p our first anchor alarm went off.  Of course, it is pitch black outside, sheets of rain coming down, and the wind is howling.

Matt put his dry suit on and I get my foul weather gear on.  Both suits soaked through.

We let out more scope, reset the bridle and wait.  The anchor alarm went off again.  

We set a secondary, fortress anchor off the starboard bow. 

This worked for a few hours as we nervously waited and watched.  But, no, the alarm went off again.

We decided to reset both anchors so back out into the rain we go.  It is somewhere around 2:30am by the time we get settled again.

We held in place but we were both up all night. 

By first light we decided to move to a different spot within Kiwiriki Bay.

2nd Anchor Spot

This time we dropped the hook at 36° 12.27S / 175°21.22E in 6m of water.  We splayed out 70m of chain and extended our bridle. 

The boat was swirling around so we decided not to get the 2nd anchor out.

It rained all day as the winds increased from a consistent 18-22kts with gusts to 38-40kts.  We were holding good.

Until we weren’t.  It was close to 11:00pm when our anchor alarm went off.  It had been blowing a consistent 40-42kts and the last big gust kicked us back 12 meters.  We both suited up in our wet gear and got ready to either re-anchor, move, or deploy the 2nd anchor. We sat, waited, and nothing.  She was holding again – even with the strong winds.

The storm started to dissipate leaving us with 25-30kts of wind which seemed like a huge reprieve.  We both slowly crawled into bed around 2:00am.

The Day After the Great Barrier Storm

We have several anchor watches and all looked like a bowl of spaghetti.  

The exception is the bottom photo.  There are 2 red marks and the top red mark is actually the track from the boat next to us.

Matt took some drone shots which showed the muddy brown water we were left with after the storm.  The mud came down the river from the mountains and turned the entire area into muck.

We are the 2nd catamaran from the bottom of both photos.

The sun was trying so hard to clear the sky and brighten our day.  You can see pockets of blue sky reflecting off the water below.

This is the river entrance during low tide.

I guess we don’t often share this side of the cruising lifestyle as it is truly no fun. 

This situation is my absolute least favorite thing about cruising. In the end, we were fine, the boat was fine, and all was ok. 

We are short 2 nights of sleep and had loads of soaking wet clothing, but we were ok.

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events. 

We were in the storm at Great Barrier Island toward the end of March 2026.

An Auckland Stopover: Westhaven Marina

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Matt and I decide to take Sugar Shack into Auckland.  It was our first time sailing into the City of Sails and it was rather tricky!  The normal high traffic includes multiple ferries, power boats, cruising boats, and cargo ships. In addition, there was a regatta going on so we had lots of sailboats dashing about.

While Matt was trying to navigate around all of the traffic I was busy prepping the boat for the dock. 

The fenders and lines have to retrieved, fenders inflated, and everything positioned on the boat for the dock.

Westhaven Marina

We were headed toward Westhaven Marina which is a very, very large marina in the center of Auckland.

Home to 1,800 recreational boats, four yacht clubs and a variety of marine businesses and hospitality establishments.  It certainly is a tourist destination.

They have a very large fuel dock with 4-5 fuel stations.  This is the biggest fuel dock we have ever stopped at.

The Plan

Our original plan was to fuel up, meet up with a friend, and grab a berth to hide out from the forecasted storm.

The problem was we did not have a berth reservation and the office was closed as it was Sunday.

We contacted the after hours number and reached Michael who helped us tie up at the fuel dock. 

Our friend Tony meet us at the fuel dock to give us a new device that we are testing (more on that later).

Fuel was necessary due to the “fuel crisis” so we filled up with 426 liters even though we still had 400 liters in the tanks.

Two out of three done.

We asked Michael if he had a free slip for a week and to our surprise he did.  

Now we were hungry so we decided to find a place to feed our faces. 

During the walk we checked things out at the marina…in search of toilets, showers, trash, laundry, etc…

We stopped at RNZYS (Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron) for lunch which overlooked the beautiful bay. 

As we sat there we both realized we did not want to be back in the marina.  Huh!

Change of Plans

We finished lunch, grabbed some shopping bags, and called an Uber. 

We did a quick dash to the market for fresh produce and beer and zipped back to the boat.  

Matt and I stowed everything, did a quick trash run, and pulled off the docks. 

We had 15 miles to Rakino Island.  

Why did we change our plans?  Well, part of the reason is we had been on the hard for 3.5 months and then  went to Port Nikau Marina (work on the fridge) for a week.

The next 3 weeks were cruising, but then we were in the Tauranga Marina for another week. 

So, we had spent an unusual large amount of time in yards and marinas and we were done.  

The marina was lovely, but it is not set up to be a live aboard marina. 

The toilets, showers and laundry are sparse and limited and the rates are very expensive ($175/day for us).  So, we left.

The New Plan

Now, we had to get to the Great Barrier Island before the forecasted system. 

We made it to Rakino for one night and then spent the next day sailing to Great Barrier with a lovely beam reach.

Best laid plans are usually changed.  Sailors moto is “our plans are written in sand during low tide.”

Our blog posts run 6 weeks behind actual live events. 

We were in Westhaven Marina during the middle of March 2026.

Pinqueque Rose All Day

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We move the boat from Hooks Bay to Man-O-War Bay which is famous for its delicious wine.  We discovered their Pinque Rose the last time we were here and  devoured it!  We aptly named it “pinqueque” because it made us giggle.

When we arrived to Man-O-War bay we were the only boat.  We quickly snagged the best spot protected from most winds.

The conditions were perfect, the sun was out, the sky was blue and the water was glassy.  It lasted until night fall when a few boats started to arrive.

We decided to go for a walk on the very long pebbly beach and then grab some lunch at the winery.  

Man-O-War Winery

The winery has groves and groves of vineyards which are beautiful to see as you explore the island.

We spent a lovely leisurely lunch on the expanse of a lawn under a shady tree.  We enjoyed a chilled bottle of pinqueque rose, margarita pizza and steamed broccoli (it is Friday during lent).  

Lots of children and folks enjoyed the beautiful day on the grassy area with lawn games.

Man-O-War’s t-shirts say “Make Wine Not War” which was so appropriate at this particular time (March 2026).

The Maritimo Boats Descend on the Anchorage

However, by mid-day we had over 30 boats anchored in our peaceful harbor.  

Evidently, there was a Maritimo event being held at the event hall.  That would explain why over 30 Maritimo power yachts converged in our bay!  What a sight to behold.

Maritimo partnered with Sea Legs to transport all of its guests from their private yachts to shore.  Talk about class!  These amazing amphibius dinghies are fascinating to watch.  They seamlessly convert from water dinghies to land yachts with the push of a button!

They are a little too big and too heavy for Sugar Shack – but one could dream 🙂

There is no better way to spend the day then at Man-O-War winery on Waiheke drinking Pinque Rose.