A Bloody Fine Stay.

Our November 2021 visit to French Pass & d'Urville Island was from Thursday 18th to Sunday 21st November 2021 It was memorable for a variety of reasons. The Blood Red Super Moon was seen - the longest partial lunar eclipse in 580 years! The sky was clear and we had a good view of it.

Blood Red Moon

A couple of Rugby matches featured and we had the luxury of Sky Sports to watch the NPC final (Waikato beat Tasman) and the Test Match - (France beat the All Blacks). Not a happy time for the local viewers.

Watching defeats on TV

Knitting?

The fishing featured Cod & Mussels from Current Basin on Thursday, a poor catch of assorted fish on Friday at the Rangitoto Islands, a rough trip and few fish from Greville Harbour on Saturday and our quota of cod from Current Basin in the rain on Sunday.

Linchtime at the Rangitotos

The Masked Stranger

Sashimi anyone?

Lunch Stop

Steve's new bait board,

Retrieving boats at French Pass

On the home front, we ate and drank well; Glen and Richard made Spring Rolls, but the proposed wine tasting competition was put off till another day.

Pie are round!

Maori Bread!

A small portion please!

Spring Roll Chefs.

A note:

The GPS function of a lost hearing aid is not very accurate in a region of poor cellular reception. The aid is still lost and the insurance company is poorer. (Have you ever heard of a poor insurance company?)

Dry July?

 Dry July? 

I think not. 

The Saturday of the Flying Wok trip was a terrific storm with heavy rain and strong Northerly winds. Nevertheless the trip went ahead although two of the wokkers elected to stay home and Tom left "Doris" in the Nelson marina and travelled to Webber's house in French Pass by car. 

While driving to French Pass we saw a lake before Rai Valley which had been pastures, It extended across the road through Ronga Valley. Several small slips over the road were cleared and the yard outside Webbers holiday house was a pond because of the blocked stream. 

The Saturday night dinner menu specified fish cakes but as the weather prevented launching George's "Bossanova" and the menu could not be changed, tinned tuna was obtained from the local store to make the fish cakes. 

The house TV had Sky Sports and so the All Black vs Fiji rugby featured as did the Tour de France race for the cyclists. 

A pond? No, it's the car park.

Sunday was a little better (weather wise) and so we made a couple of trips in 'Bossanova" to catch fish and mussels (as specified in the weekend menu) in Current Basin. Tom and Dick left early in the morning to return to Nelson to pick up "Doris"

"Doris" arrives.

Pelorus Jack was here!

A new game was introduced on Sunday night - Beer Tasting. I wonder if Stoke Brewery will sponser beer for the next Flying Wok trip!

Beer Tasting results & comments

Monday saw us travel North to the Rangitoto Islands where we caught fish - gurnard, snapper, tarakihi and blue cod. It was good weather with little wind, flat sea and only a little rain. As usual, we ate well. George caught a crayfish over 9 pounds. 

Crayfish for nine. 

George found his lost weight belt - it had fallen from his boat. The Webber graveyard has an appropriate sighn on the gate.

March 2021 - Here we go again!

 Nine wokkers went again to French Pass & stayed at Webber's old house. Two boats - Doris & Bossanova. Three vehicles. Motored to Rai Valley's Brick Oven shop for luncheon then on to French Pass on the Saturday. A quick fish for teatime food. All complained of tiredness so no cards that night. 

This adventure (March 2021) saw old & new things. The usual old things - fishing, food, drinks, card games & staying at Webber's house in French Pass. Old but new saw new/old foods. Along with mussels, snapper. smoked moki and fish pate we had freshly made quince jelly and bread & butter pudding. Not the bread & butter pudding that I remembered from boarding school but a gastronomic delicacy. More please, chef!

Other new items were the electric motor powered burley mincer. However after a bucket full of frames mincing, it broke down on a cod head and has gone to mincer hospital for repairs and a future trip. 

The mincer in action.

Our chef had entered the national (age category) cycle championships and brought his cycle and a fan to create a breeze while cycling on the spot. He claimed that he was "on the wagon" but somehow he broke this promise. 

Cycling to nowhere. Note the drink bottle on the chair.

On the way from French Pass to Greville Harbour we encountered a large pod of dolphins and so stopped off to see these creatures 

Dolphins

Both boats had setlines. aboard. On Sunday Doris laid the setline in Greville Harbour and were surprised to catch half a dozen gurnard. On the Monday Bossanova and Doris laid lines around the Rangitoto Islands. Bossanova were blessed with several snapper while Doris caught sharks - both Spiny Dogfish and Carpet sharks. So the laid the line again. More sharks!

 

Gurnard

We went fishing around here and were rewarded with a lot of Tarakihi - between the two boats we caught over forty Tarakihi by winding up above the bottom. If the line was left on the bottom, it was taken by a blue cod within seconds.