Crossing Cook Strait
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: General Forums
Forum Name: The Boat Shed
Forum Description: Discuss all things boating.
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=140131
Printed Date: 27 May 2026 at 10:11am
Topic: Crossing Cook Strait
Posted By: modcar
Subject: Crossing Cook Strait
Date Posted: 02 May 2026 at 9:53pm
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The thought of crossing the strait has always made me nervious.. I've known people who have crossed this piece of water and even after years of doing it have somehow become 'lost at sea' and never to be seen again. I've been going between Picton and our house in Tory Chanel (approx 40 mins trip) for about 30 years, but in my own boat for the last 10 years. I know the boat is more than capable. All the research I've done says get the tides right, which is my downfall. I've always been terrible at reading tides and wind I'd be wanting to go between Mana and Tory Chanel. I try to get to the sounds house about once a month. Ferries are expensive and quite unreliable, which is why I'm looking at crossing myself. Any assistance or pointers is apreciated. Thanks in advance :)
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Replies:
Posted By: BotStomper
Date Posted: 07 May 2026 at 10:21am
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I've done it in a big trailer boat and spent a fair bit of time in that stretch of water. Wind is awkward because you want a southerly once you're in the lee of the north island, but even a relatively light southerly can push a swell up the east coast of the south island. You want to pay attention to what the wind was doing yesterday and what it's doing off Kaikoura because a swell in the strait will amplify whatever else is going on.
Tides are indeed the tricky part. They do all sorts of funny things around the Strait. You really want to shoot the gap on slack tide; if you get wind against tide it can get really messy very quickly and result in sea conditions far worse than just wind. I would skirt around Fishermans Rock as well, as the upwellings there can produce strange conditions. It would be worthwhile picking up a copy of paper chart NZ 206, the NZ Tidal Stream Atlas, as it gives you a decent idea of the flow direction and strength in different areas of the strait at given times and will help you plan for a window. Unless it's a glass off you'll probably need a good hour or so window. Course-wise, from Tory I'd be running it pretty much straight at somewhere between Makara Beach and Pipinui Point (Boom Rock) and then turning up the coast once you're in the lee of the island. There are some gnarly rips/turbulence that form around Ohau Bay southward - which also means don't get tempted to follow the ferry too far across, as they will pass to the south of the real doozy (Karori Rip) which will ruin your day if you end up on the wrong side of it. |
Posted By: modcar
Date Posted: 10 May 2026 at 12:58pm
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Thanks for all the info - very useful. Where abouts is Fishermans Rock ? Re the course wise, thats confirms my thoughts about the course. noted about resisting the urge to follow the ferry :)
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Posted By: BotStomper
Date Posted: 11 May 2026 at 11:07am
| If you take a straight line from Cape Koamaru to Wairaka Point it's pretty much smack in the middle. Comes up from around 320m to roughly 11m on top. You can't really miss it on a chart. It is a very impressive bit of structure and extremely fishy, but having all that tide run into it makes the currents very unpredictable around it. If you can get it on the turn of the tide on one of your crossings it's well worth dropping a line. |
Posted By: modcar
Date Posted: 11 May 2026 at 4:34pm
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weird, it wasn't shown on the first 2 maps I looked at. found it on wetmaps.co.nz If I was coming out of Tory and heading between Makara Beach and Pipinui Point, I wouldn't go anywhere near fishermans rock?  interesting, looked at 3
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Posted By: BotStomper
Date Posted: 12 May 2026 at 11:35am
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Yep you would be well clear of it. For some reason in my head it was further south. A lot of the boats you see going back and forth run around the top of Mana island but they will likely be heading for Queen Charlotte or Durville, if I had to guess. It is worth noting that the sea between Mana Island and the mainland can also do weird things in that shallow area known as "The Bridge" when you have wind against tide which may be why many people opt to go north of the island.
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