April 9, 2016
Now that the northerly/southerly wind pattern was finished, we had a few days of windless weather ahead. We decided to use this window to make the 29-mile trip to Portage Bay in the Kenepuru Sound, stopping for a night on the way. But first we’d motor along the west coast of the Tennyson Inlet and check out some of those anchorages there.
Once we exited Ngawhakawhiti Bay, we headed across the channel to Penzance Bay, a very pretty area with private homes ashore. Motoring along, we had a clear view down to the ends of the long fingers of Te Mako and Tuna Bays. It’s a pretty impressive sight to see those channels of water surrounded by a sea of green mountains.
Penzance is a popular area, which became apparent as we got close and saw a large number of private moorings pretty much filling the anchorage. We could eek out a spot if we wanted to, but it probably wouldn’t have the terrific view of Tuna Bay and its surrounding mountains. Still, we thought we’d consider trying to come back here before leaving Pelorus Sound. In spite of Penzance having some issues (it’s big, not well protected and full of moorings), there is something really appealing about it that’s hard to put into words. I’d love to try to stay there, but for now we had other plans and it was time to head on. –Cyndi
