Riverhead Seagull Run

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Wow! The Beach Haven to Riverhead run was a great success. With a turnout of 11 boats and more than 25 attendees, there was no shortage of action! What started out as a warm morning… of 5°C…, we set out at 9 in the morning,making our way the 11.9km to The Riverhead. Arriving at 10.30 and parking up alongside the jetty. Thankfully, we only had one engine break down on the way there, who was thankfully close enough for an easy tow back to the start by our rescue boat. Waiting for the tide to turn, about two hours were spent between the pub and the restaurant, regailing tales of jaunts, mishaps, and other great moments with our outboards. It was great to see John Crighton again after a few years.
We left at about 12.30, heading back towards Beach Haven. Of course, nothing can go exactly to plan! It was smooth sailing until Greenhithe, where it was wind against tide and got rather choppy. Nothing that our avid group of boaties couldn’t handle, but it certainly added some extra challenges. One boat took the opposite side of the harbour to the rest of us in an attempt to get some more shelter. This meant, however, that he had to rapidly cross the roughest part of the harbour to join back in with us, but he had a following sea, so this didn’t last toooooo long. Another boatie turned too soon and attempted a quick detour to Greenhithe instead of heading towards Herald Island, and had to be chased back on route, adding another 1.7km to his and his follower’s journey. With nearly everybody back to Island Bay Road, another boat (a Red Hartley Trailer Sailor) decided that they hadn’t had enough of the rough water and added on an extra joyride, heading towards the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
This resulted in: one broken prop spring
One very wet rescue crew
An extra hour on the water
Another 3.82km travelled
A very long tow back with a 20ft boat and a Silver Century (not the actual rescue boat)
Thankfully the rescue crew decided to bring some extra fuel just in case!

The rocks at the Island Bay Road boat ramp were as slick as snot on a doorknob (yummo), with a couple of people nearly ending up back in the water, sans boat. Jandles and crocs were the shoe of choice for staying upright, and were much better than lace up sea boots. The shoes of choice were dive booties, both for running around like three year olds, and for filling up to keep our toes warm and squidgy.

We also tried out the Timekeepers project for the first time, with great success. Here’s to hoping it’ll be up and fully functional for the next event.

Thanks to all that came, whether with boats, or just to catch up for lunch, we hope to see you all again very soon!

Beach Haven to Riverhead Organisers





Some of the photos look like they are upside down . If you click on them they are larger and up the correct way.

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A few more photos

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And more

[Oyster 49]

Looks like a fun day for all