Delightful cruising grounds of Tasman Bay

Press, 14 July 1982, Page 32

Delightful cruising grounds of Tasman Bay

Motueka

Each summer. Nelson is the stepping-off point for scores of yachtsmen attracted to the cruising grounds of Tasman Bay. Hundreds more in runabouts and cabin cruisers churn up the waters from both Nelson and points further west such as .Motueka and Kaiteriteri. All are attracted by the delightful beaches and anchorages of Abel Tasman National Park; accessible only by water or by wellkept walking tracks from Totaranui in the north or Marahau in the south. For most of the smaller, power craft, visits to the park's many spots are but day trips. For yachtsmen, the visit is longer and more leisurely — although a sudden wind shift in a popular anchorage can produce feverish activity if poorlymoored craft start to drag.

More and more trailersailers are appearing in the anchorages. and even “disappearing" in them. Many of the coastal beaches are. in fact, bush-topped sand spits, dividing tidal inlets and bays from -fresh . water lagoons formed by many of the. numerous streams along this coast. At high water, trailersailers can negotiate the channel between lagoon and sea and moor in the shallows of the lagoon beach amongst the bush, out of tide, out of wind, and hidden from the rest of the world except for a foot or two of mast.

A prudent weather eye is necessary, as always, for smaller craft, but Tasman Bay's winds and weather pattern are reasonably predicatabie and the short trip across the bay from Nelson is within the capabilities of most. Nelson now has a bareboat charter sevice, using small cruising .yachts, and these are heavily booked for much of the year. The compact marina at Nelson can usually provide an overnight berth for visiting yachts and the on-shore services for repairs and maintenance are good. Most people working in Nelson's chandleries, rigging shops, and marine repair yards cruise the bay extensively themselves/ and . can be a valuable source of information for the stranger.. The trip across the - bay from Nelson takes the average cruising yacht somewhere between four and six hours depending on wind. The use of an auxiliary in any flat spots which might occur can guarantee the trip is accomplished in daylight. A word of warning is necessary to those contemplating use of the Nelson marina. The chart should be studied carefully because the channel is notorious for the embarrassment it causes first-time visitors and for the amusement it causes the regulars; A wide swing on the corners can mean hours on the mud and worse.. Kaiteriteri — watch out

for-the water-ski lane — is not popular with yachts; the holding is reasonable, but the anchorage is exposed to surge and laying in the bay can be nerve-wracking as well as uncomfortable.

The launching ramps at Kaiteriteri make it ideal for small power craft, however, and the shop there means many yachts make brief calls to replenish stores. A few miles north of Kaiteriteri is the first of the park's anchorages. This is in Astrolabe Roads, between Adele Island and the mainland. Approach from the south should favour the landward side, because a sand spit runs west-south-west from the island and dries at low water.

The anchorages itself is tucked close to the island in with room for half a dozen -yachts to swing at anchor. At low water is a wide expanse of golden sand, ideal for barbecues or beach picnics, but this disappears almost entirely at the top of the tide. Opposite is a trailer-sailer lagoon. Further north again is the undisputed drawcard of this coast, Torrent Bay. Good holding in a very sheltered anchorage, sweeping golden beaches, and a good supply of fresh water make Torrent Bay the hub of the national park’s coastline. Torrent Bay also provides

the first slopping places on the walking track from Marahau. One is at the anchorage where a hut and a sheltered camping green cater for those who tramp in with their gear. A brac’ingly chill shower and freshwater outlet, fed by pipe from the slopes behind the bay, bring a queue of trampers ' and yachtsmen alike each morning for an au nature! scrub on the beach. The other base for campers is at the back of the Torrent Bay lagoon, a few kilometres on. As many as four dozen vessels can he found anchored in Torrent Bay overnight. The bay .. is well sheltered from aiiv sut ge and provides one of the most peaceful spots on the coast, although at the high time of the "season," a quick sundowner soon turns into a round of visits from boa* to boat, followed bv a beach barbecue, followed by . . .

One of the best sidelight walks starts at the anchorage. that to Cleopatra's pool. A long afternoon's round trip from the anchorage will take the "explorer" over the hills, through the bush-rich valleys behind the bay, and , up the Torrent Stream. Bird life is still a little sparse — they have not moved back in great numbers since fires caused by

carelessness burnt out the hill-tops a few years ago — but the bush in ihe valleys is thick and varied. Groups walking the tracks are unaware of each other's presence until a surprising turn of a corner brings them face to face.

A little way up the defile that carries the Torrent Stream, a tributary joins from the south x and. after wading across 'the chilly water, the explorer will find the pool.

Just above lhe confluence of lhe two streams a broad waterfall cascades in two jumps into a deep, shinglebed pool. 'The name crimes from the ledge breaking the fall in two - it looks remarkably like a reclining nude woi'nan. Between the’ buttress and the lower pool is a narrow chute which carries most of the water in the stream.

The gradient of the chute and lhe volume and force of the water means that there is only one way to travel — down. By approaching the ledge from the eastern side, one can reach a small pool at Cleopatra's "head" where one can stand under a shower created by the full force of the fall.

If the tides have been timed correctly, the return to the anchorage can be made by a different route. This follow’s the river down to lhe Torrent Bay lagoon (another of those sand spit lagoons, but the biggest on the coast). Here is the second of lhe trampers overnight spots and a small settlement of private baches.

With the tide out, the lagoon exposes a wide expanse of sand flat braided by channels, all of which makes easy walking back to the anchorage. At full tide the channels pose a danger in the midst of a wadeable expanse of water. From the anchorage, too. more open beaches on the Tasman Bay coast can ■ be reached by a brief walk (a half hour or less) over the protecting peninsula that makes Torrent Bay so secure: On entering Torrent Bay. the peninsula should be given a wide berth. Tidal rise and fall, can be over 4m. and a spur of rock runs well out to sea from the tip of the peninsula. It claimed another yacht this year.

Apart from this reef, two isolated rocks close to the beach, and a particularly nasty brick close to the cliffs on the eastern edge of the bay, Torrent Bay is free of danger and adequate ground

tackle will give perfect security. .

Night approaches can be tricky to the stranger since the lights of the Torrent Bay baches; more than a mile north of the anchorage, will show up long before the small navigation light on the end of the peninsula. This light is on land, not on the end of the reef, and should be given plenty- of clearance.

North of Torrent Bay are a collection of inlets and bays, all worthy of a visit though a little insecure for deep draught vessels. Most prefer to visit these by way of the walking track from Torrent Bay. The bush-edged lagoons and waterfalls which can be found here are a photographer's delight. . Further north still is Bark Bay. another source of good freshwater, and possessor of a picturesque lagoon. Vessels can be left unattended in the bay and a trip made by dinghy through the lagoon to the multi-tiered waterfall at its head. Bark Bay, which is a good stretch of the legs ( from Torrent Bay. also has another trampers' overnight spot. It can also provide a secure anchorage for one or two vessels at most in a small niche on its northern, rim, where a freshwater hose also hangs over the sea, but security depends largely on the wind.

More beaches extend north, out of reach of the casual walker and insecure for vessels that cannot be run ashore. For runabouts and trailer-sailers that can be drawn up and anchored ashore, however, they arcideal. The Tonga Roadstead, behind Tonga Island, has many pretty and private beaches and larger vessels can anchor off, or moor ’ between anchor and a-line ashore to a tree, with safety in. reasonable conditions. The smaller bays are for the most part steep-to and isolated rocks can be seen easily enough through the clear waler. From Tonga it is but a short hop to Totaranui, a glorious beach but a very limited anchorage (hard against the northern bluffs) suitable only in ideal weather and of, only fair holding. This, very briefly, is an outline of a short bit of coast that forms one border of the Abel Tasman National Park. Within its’few miles several hundred people and scores of boats pan be accommodated without crowding on each other.

At some times of the year wasps can be problem; at others the jellyfish. Commonsense is the best protection. In addition the yachtsman will need an up-to-date chart, and will find the “Cruising Guide to the Marlborough Sounds" an invaluable aid; trampers will need the right gear and will find the park board literature both helpful and informative.