Waking briskly in the morning has never been one of my strong points, and this morning was no exception. As I pulled the blankets high around myself, trying to fight off that inevitable waking, I thought for a moment - and then it dawned on me. This was no awful working weekday; it was Saturday which of course makes getting up so much easier.
Somehow, without even looking, I could tell it was a nice day and sure enough, apart from a little low lying mist which is common in the upper reaches of the Auckland harbour, it was as near perfect as one could get.
The moored boats in the channel between Herald Island and Greenhithe were perfectly still and facing down stream. The tide was flooding and I could see from the amount of mudflat showing that it was about half tide. An ideal time, I thought, to explore some of the creeks in this unspoilt, dinghy cruiser’s paradise. I so often have it entirely to myself and find it hard to believe that I am still within sight of the largest city in the country.
I hurriedly had breakfast and, collecting a pair of oars from the workshop downstairs, made my way down the path to the beach where I keep my Shoal Bay Drifter, a 16-foot lug-rigged, hard-chine dinghy. Even though the path is steep in places, I try hard not to steady myself by hanging onto any of the trees, because if shaken in the early morning, their heavy dew-laden leaves can create an instant downpour. Halfway down the path I catch a glimpse through the trees of the Drifter lying at her halftide mooring. I can tell she is not quite afloat yet, lying across the current and rocking Jerkily to the small chop coming in around the point. She never falls to impress me from this view with her traditional looks.
She has a strong sheer with a small amount of tumble-home blending into a high transom which is slotted to take the tiller through below the rail. Her mast is fairly short with only a forestay to control the amount of aft bend when hard on the wind. When not in use, the tan sail is furled along the boom and yard which are supported between lazyjacks which also double as topping lifts.
I negotiated the remainder of the path and waded out to the Drifter. As usual the first job is to bale out the rainwater and remind myself once again that I should make a boom tent to keep the rain and leaves out. As I hoist the sail, the long orange pennant flutters out from the peak, adding further to the boat’s already old-fashioned charm, and indicating that the light sou’wester is developing into a good sailing breeze.
By the time I ship the rudder and tiller, she is completely afloat and on casting off the mooring she gathers way quickly. I am soon in deeper water and the centreboard which is a pivoting type operated by a lanyard can be lowered. Sheeting in hard I tack across the southern side of Herald Island.
After passing close astern of a fibreglass; launch, I go about and head across toward the Upper Harbour bridge. Then, bearing away and easing the sheet, I head north between the island and Greenhithe. This small stretch of water is often very difficult to sail through as the high ground on both sides blankets the wind. It is for this reason that I try to time it with a favourable tide.
With the wind and tide helping, I am soon at the mouth of Lucas Creek and, gybing over, I run up past Salthouse’s boat yard. This is always an area of great interest, with many different types of boats being built and repaired. A little farther on, after passing the last of the moored boats, the creek narrows a little and then widens into what looks like a- ake with mangroves all round and rolling hills behind.
There was absolutely no sign of civilization at all - not a single roof top, jetty, or even a boat could I see. I could have been a thousand miles from anywhere. Over to starboard I noticed a small gap in the mangroves and I decided to take a look. It turned out to be a small creek and an island formed by mangroves with a deep channel separating it from the land. On checking my old, well-worn chart I saw that the creek was called Struggler’s Gully. I sailed quietly through the channel. All was peaceful - not even the birds made a sound, but every now and again I could hear the clicking noise made by the tide rising slowly over the mudflats.
I came out of the channel behind the island into Te Wharau creek which I was tempted to explore, but I decided to make the best of the flooding tide to get farther up Lucas Creek.
Farther upstream to port, I could see some wooden masts protruding above the mangroves, and as I got closer I noticed they belonged to some very interesting craft. It was like a scene from the past, for there I could see a double-ended whaler, a clinker-built, open ketch of about 16 feet and a gaff-rigged scow. Apart from her plywood construction, my Shoal Bay Drifter was truly among friends, and two equally traditional looking, bearded gentlemen gave me a discreet wave as I sailed past their bay.
Farther on, the creek was more like a narrow channel and as the tide had now started to ebb, I decided to head back. As I turned, I noticed how much stronger the wind was now and with the sheet hard in, the Drifter really started to go. It was exciting sailing, tacking back down the creek with the wind against the tide kicking up quite a chop. I was pleased I was carrying my bag of sand ballast which compensates for not having someone else aboard.
It wasn’t long before I was back at the mouth of Lucas Creek and as, I had some time before I would have to be back on my half-tide mooring, I decided to carry on round Te Urituohope point, past the Paremoremo wharf, and up towards Riverhead. The water was much smoother here, and although I was punching the tide-, I was really sailing well, the orange pennant streaming from the peak.
However, before long it was time to reluctantly turn for home. I began to wish I had brought some supplies and a sleeping bag and could spend the night out, as I had so often done in the past. This is such a magnificent place for dinghy cruising which I am sure will increase in popularity as the cost of larger boats continues to rise.
Once back on the mooring with the gear stored, I made my way up the steep path to the house, already planning my next cruise.

HARD CHINE BOATS FOR HARBOUR AND GULF

15 FOOT (4.6 m) SHOAL BAY DRIFTER BY DENIS GANLEY
The Shoal Bay Drifter has been designed for dinghy cruising. It is of developed plywood construction. The interior layout is such that two people can sleep on the floor boards under a boom tent. The aft seat extends well forward on both sides to enable the helmsman (especially when sailing single handed) to keep theweight near to amidships. The pivoting centreboard is fully encased to prevent flooding if capsized. However, the well flared topsides and relatively small centreboard area make capsizing a remote possibility.
The Shoal Bay Drifter has proved to be a very popular design. Many have been built and some quite remarkable coastal passages have been made.
Study prints are available for $5.00 and the plans are $90.00 plus GST.
Specifications L.O.A. 15 ft. 1 in.
LWL 13 ft.
Beam 5 ft.
Draft 7 in & 2 ft. 6 in.
Displacement (including crew and gear) 936 lbs.
Sail area 75 ft2.