Greetings,
I know there has been much anticipation for the story of our Deadliest Catch Ferry Ride. So, without further ado I bring you the hair raising story.
Monday morning started off at 0-dark thirty. I had to sneak around the B&B to find a phone for us to call a cab. Once I successfully found the phone and mad the call it was time to pack our bags and get a move on it. The weather in Wellington had not changed (rain, wind and COLD). The cab ride took us about 15 minutes to get down to the harbor. We checked in and waited until 7:45 am to board the boat. There were about 20 other brave souls that were going on this daring journey across the Cook Straight.
The boat ride started off in the calm harbor of Wellington. The rain had eased up a bit, but the wind was blowing about 35 mph, with guests probably reaching 50 mph. A lot of the passengers were eating breakfast and just chatting with their friends. Ken and I both were thinking to ourselves how this was such a bad idea to be eating (FORESHADOWING).
I stepped out on deck to take some pictures of us leaving the harbor and the North Island. As soon as we left the safety of the harbor the swells hit us, and they hit us strong. Some of these swells were probably about 7 to 10 feet. As our luck would have it they were on our port side (left side) for the crossing. It was causing us to roll and have a horrible crossing. All those passengers who had decided to eat breakfast earlier were paying the price. Out of all the passengers Ken and I were some of the only ones not to get sick.
The crossing of the Cook Straight took about 90 minutes, but it felt a lot longer. Once we made it to the South Island it was like we were traveling on a lake. The safety of the sound we had entered was like Christmas coming early for a lot of the passengers. It was bright and sunny with no wind. I have included some pictures above for your viewing pleasure.
Overall, I would only recommend this crossing to be done in the summer or when you know that there are calm seas. The beauty of the Sound was well worth the crossing for us, but we do wish that the Cook Straight would have been a little more kind.
That's all for now. Until next time may you all have a smooth crossing.
BC
Hell Blake, you have had sooo much experience in rough weather going to Catalina on 2ndwind, that little run accross to South Island was not much more than routine for you guys. However, it sounds it is better done in the Summer! Mahalo, Papa
ReplyDeleteI think I would have died if it was the 2nd wind.
ReplyDelete