38:46:44S
178:24:31E
Wednesday 09-03-2011
Just South of the infamous East Cape I passed at midnight Poverty Bay with Young Nick’s Head at the South entrance. One can only wonder why this name was given. Was it to remember a hostile meeting with the local fearsome Maoris or was it the similarity of Young Nick’s and the cliff face.
The heritage of other place names is more obvious. Sinbad’s Mistake or Chasland’s Mistake and Cape Turnaround all point to navigational events.
Shag Point, Seal Point or Gull Rocks refer to wildlife, as do Cannibal Bay and The Sisters. Good old times.
It never fails to impress me what difficulties and hardship the discoverers and settlers had to endure. Some were away from home without communication for years but most had no home to go back to and just lived life as hard as it was.
All that has changed. I sail as much from inside as from outside my comfortable yacht. First I consult the screen on the nav. table to check on the position and progress and the possibility of neighbouring vessels on the AIS. Then I check if emails have come in without me noticing. Only then I stick my head out to check for changes in wind direction or strength and if non-AIS fisherman are around.
Then another 45 minutes to bed; what luxury.
