Thread: boating across foveaux strait

Do it all the time, flat sea takes us about 35 minutes. Rough sea up to an hour or more. We usually stop to fish on the way over though.

I have crossed it in 4-5 metre confused seas in our 7.5 but have turned back in worse (like 6+ metre seas with waves going over the boat). So like stug said, you have to be flexible. Almost every time we've gone for an extended trip, we altered what day we come home. I know quite a few people that go over in <6m boats.

Just pick your weather properly and you'll be fine. Early morning crossings are the best, preferably on slack tide.

Generally the worst part first 3rd of the way from Bluff heading over, same coming back - if its rough in the strait, the last 3rd to Bluff will generally be much rougher.

The mouth of the harbour can be pretty exciting on a shifting tide, but in a smaller boat you can skip around the sides of the rough stuff normally. Again, if weather is good, you'll piss in.

The worst thing about the strait is it is shallow, so it cuts up real quick. Knowing what the forecast is for the day is pretty important.

Over on the island there are plenty of places to anchor up in shelter around the eastern side. There are moorings in Halfmoon Bay which are spare, most guys wont worry about you tying up, if they're not in use. It pays to ask around first though. Otherwise pull up on the beach outside the pub like we do. Haha.

You can buy fuel on the island, its not any more expensive than you would expect. We always take our own fuel because we know what we are getting, and we are more versatile that way. We normally head over with 300-400 litres total for a 4-5 day trip (350 chev jet). Normally we head way down to Port Adventure or even down to Pegasus so normally so a fair way from home.

I watch this Boating Forecast Conditions and Marine Weather Information from WeatherMap and this Southland Boating Forecast from MetService.com to check on weather conditions.

Also, make sure you let Bluff Fishermans Radio (Meri) know of your intentions before leaving harbour, Ch61 & 63 off the top of my head. She's happy to take a phone call prior to heading down if you want to check on strait conditions, normally I will call her a couple of hours before heading down and make a call based on her advice. She's very knowledgeable and helpful.

Just be prepared, take all the safety equipment you would anywhere else, don't over load (to prevent overloading you can organise to send stuff over on the ferry), let people know where you are going, more than one form of communication, life jackets etc etc. You should be sweet.

Any questions just ask.