A Week Aboard S/V Sabado: 5/24/2026 – 5/31/2026

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Last Sunday, we decided to install our new transducer. We had been putting it off, knowing that after we splashed, we would be motoring to the nearby dock and sitting in nutrient rich river water while testing our new systems post-refit. We were hoping to avoid the paddle wheel getting clogged with growth. But as things progressed and we knew we wanted to anchor out soon, we decided it was finally time.

Once installed, we noticed significant fluctuations. The depth reading bounced between 13 and 24 feet. Errors like that are not just annoying at sea; they can lead to misjudging anchoring scope or, even worse, running aground. Naturally, our minds went straight to the worst case scenario: the brand new unit must be faulty. So we ordered another one. Thankfully, it was in stock in Auckland, which meant fast shipping. Since we finally sold our car, we hitched a ride into town and picked up the package on Tuesday afternoon.

We installed the replacement and saw the same fluctuations. Since we never throw anything away, we dug out the old transducer and tested that too. Same result. Three faulty transducers seemed pretty unlikely, so we started looking beyond our original assumption. After checking the rest of the system piece by piece, we finally realized the problem had to be coming from outside the boat.

We grabbed our handheld depth sounder and measured 8 meters from the starboard sugar scoop and 4.2 meters from the port side sugar scoop. The transducer must have been picking up the slope! We should have thought of that sooner; I guess we have a couple of spare transducers now… We’ll know for sure once we leave the dock. 

Wednesday morning was gloriously calm. We had a rental house when we were hauled out, right next to a river; we could see the ocean in the distance, but there’s something special about being back on the water. For us, being in a house near the water was like listening to your favorite song through a wall. When we’re on the boat, afloat, everything feels clearer. 

We slipped away from the dock just after 9am and made our way to Smugglers Bay, a secluded area on the Northern end of Bream Bay. Rumor has it that, back in the day, alcohol (particularly whisky) was hidden in the dunes to avoid customs duties when entering Whangarei Harbor, hence the name Smugglers Bay. It was a leisurely ~2hr motor from the dock. Our depth readings were steady; mystery solved! 

We dropped our new anchor and bridle for the first time. Watching with the kind of cautious excitement that comes when testing something important for the first time. 

We were the only boat there, probably because it’s fairly exposed and despite little to no wind, it was a bit rolly. Since we’ve finally silenced the clanking wires in our mast, however, we didn’t mind. In the South Pacific, an anchorage with nothing but sand underneath feels almost suspiciously easy. No coral heads to dodge, no need to float the chain…  a little bounce in exchange for that sort of peace of mind feels like a pretty good deal.

We were grinning from ear to ear, using our binoculars to spy on the herd of cattle patrolling the grassy hill above the beach. We opened a couple of beers and did our classic “we’re here cheers”, reminiscing on the last time we did that: after our brutal passage from Minerva Reef to New Zealand last September! 

The sky quickly shifted, and we watched a wall of grey clouds move toward us. We spent the rest of the day in the salon listening to the rain, working on our computers, and enjoying our panoramic view of the ocean. Ray has been building a custom anchor alarm system for us that now needs some fine-tuning after its first use. I was working on our YouTube video.

It got dark fast. One of the perks of being so far from any light pollution is that our bodies slip back into a more natural rhythm. After dinner and cleanup, we lingered at the stern, watching the bioluminescence flicker in the water; it never gets old. By 8pm, we had crawled into bed and slept like rocks. 

Around 6AM, I heard Ray start the generator. We hadn’t gotten much solar over the past few days. A little later, he brought me a coffee in bed. Most mornings, I nurse it slowly while working up the courage to leave my blanket cocoon. It has been brutally cold here in the mornings. But today I threw the blankets back and hurried upstairs, where the heater was already on- what a luxury! 

I switched on the bread machine, where I’d left a ball of sourdough to proof overnight. This is a new method for me. I add all the ingredients at once and let the machine handle the mixing and kneading, then unplug it overnight and run only the bake cycle in the morning. The loaves aren’t pretty, but so far it’s the lowest maintenance and lowest power consumption method we’ve tried, and it makes great sandwich bread. 

Ray decided it was time to commission the Spectra watermaker, which had been pickled since our time in French Polynesia, after it started giving us trouble and we couldn’t get parts or service. Thankfully, we also carry a Rainman portable watermaker, which kept us supplied with water all the way to New Zealand.

While we’ve been here, we’ve replaced the Spectra’s feed water pump and motor, hoping to resolve the original issue, only to be disappointed when it still wouldn’t build up enough pressure. Apparently, the Clark pump now also needs to be replaced, which is just too expensive for us right now. Plus, it took months to get the new feed pump here, so I’m not sure the lead time for another part would work out for us anyway. 

The Rainman has been far more reliable thanks to its simple design, but it’s still a pain to pull out of storage every week for flushing, and we can’t run it while underway. We’ll be exploring our options, so if you have a watermaker you love, we’d love to hear about it! 

We took the dinghy for an evening lap around the bay and grilled steaks for dinner to celebrate the approval of our visa application. In New Zealand, there is no extension option, so we had to apply and pay for another visitor visa to stay beyond our previous visa’s June 6 expiration date while we wait for a suitable weather window to sail to Fiji. We are now permitted to stay until July 31st. 

We left Smugglers Bay on Friday morning and motored toward the Bay of Islands. The sea was calm, and there was no wind, but a storm was in the forecast, so we wanted to reach a more protected anchorage before it arrived. It was a beautiful, relaxing trip up the coast, with tall rocky mountains rising from the water and a whale waving hello.

We decided to anchor in Whangaruru Harbor, a smidge south of the Bay of Islands. It seemed just as well protected, and it was empty. We strategically chose our anchoring spot, positioning ourselves with mountains between us and the direction of the forecasted strong winds. 

Right on schedule, the wind began to build Saturday night. I was restless, listening to it whistle through the rigging as gusts reached 30+ knots. We’re still building trust in our new ground tackle and alarm system, but there was no better place to do it. We were tucked into an empty sandy cove with plenty of room astern, giving us a safe margin if the anchor decided to drag. We held firm through the night, but the storm is set to stick around until Tuesday…