Long Bay. The gold standard of wild weather holes to hide out in.

Long Bay, and Ferndale immediately to the east of it, are some of those fantastic wild weather escape places that are also pure paradise, and a great all round "Marlborough Sounds" experience. It can be blowing a HARD 30 - 35 knots from the north or nor west in the Kenepuru Sounds quite often, but all is quiet in Long Bay. Surrounded by amazing New Zealand coastal forest this bay is GOLD and a place we keep coming back to. 

GPS: 41°18'84.72"S - 173°98'29.63"E
Depth at anchor : 5-10 metres depending on which bit of the bay
Moorings : Yes - Pelorus Boating Club 18m / 35T
Ocean Floor : Very Sticky mud
Holding : Excellent 9/10 
Sheltered : from all winds except direct Southerly
On anchor : light impacts from mussel boat, busy in summer
Cellphone Signal : 1bar - 3 bars 4G but variable based on weather. 
Beach : Mussels, oysters, small rocks, mud at low tide, and sand / small pebbles high tide and above
View : amazing native forest park surroundings
Fresh Water : small streams in both areas of the heads of the bay
Bugs : minimal on the boat

Exploring the Marlborough Sounds by boat is always going to include a whole lot of compromises. If you are there for any length of time, regardless of the season, you are going to confront a wide range of different weather. This is one of the best aspects to cruising any region though because it adds to the variability of life on the water. Different views, different beaches to explore, different bays to swim in, and different weather to contend with. When things start to look a bit hairy in the forecast it is great to have some places to go in the back of your mind.
Long Bay, and Ferndale immediately to the east of it, are some of those fantastic wild weather escape plans. It can be blowing a HARD 30 - 35 knots from the north or nor west in the Kenepuru Sounds quite often, but when you head for Long Bay all of that just seems to disappear as it rolls over the top of the ridge. The catabatic effect in Long Bay is far less than other bays we have stayed in whilst riding out wild weather, and if you tuck into the cove on the eastern edge where the Pelorus Boat Club mooring is you will find an even greater layer of protection, and an amazing sense of serenity.

"Long Bay is sometimes also referred to as Gold Reef Bay on some of the charts we have looked at. The kids were very excited that there could be a reef made of gold here, alas there is not, but we have certainly spent a good deal of time looking for it!"

Photo: rowing back to the boat after a beach campfire.  Photo: nothing better than a fire on the beach at Long Bay. 

This bay is a fantastic place to experience that "Marlborough Sounds" vibe. There are no visible houses and a Scenic Reserve wraps right around the bay, so it is very peaceful and quiet and you don't feel like you are anchored up in someone's front yard. Every bit of beach upon which you make landfall disappears up into majestic native forest, and the walking track at the head of Long Bay is an extra treat for the brave and sturdy of foot. The walking track all the way over to Double Beach used to be a DOC track but has not been maintained since 2006, but don't let that stop you! If you are fit and agile, and have some good sturdy shoes, you can make it quite far around. We have yet to make it all the way around due to slips and small kids, but we will keep trying until we do!
The club mooring in the eastern cove is one of our favourite spots to head to in the event of storms or big winds, especially if they are coming from the general direction of the North. The mooring however is quite close to the beach, and even closer to a rock face on a very low tide if you are on a 17 or 18 metre boat. The mooring line gets longer in the low tide and you feel like you are getting perilously close to the rocks, only a boat length away from the back of the boat. It was such a significant thing for us early on in our journey that we even made a video about it for the kids homeschooling. The difference in tide between low and high tide makes for a very interesting experiment and gives you a bit of a better overall view for the mooring setup. 

Anchoring. 

The holding here is excellent with a thick, compacted sticky mud over most of the bay. There are a couple of private moorings towards the head of the main Long bay so watch out for them, especially if you are coming in at night as they are hard to see. If you are not seeking protection from heavy weather most of the bay is great for anchoring, and we have seen boats anchored all across this bay. We have anchored in the main part of the bay, as well as tucked into the eastern cove with the club mooring, which we also spend a lot of time on. 
At one point there used to be a yacht moored on one of the private moorings all of the time, however on one visit we discovered it up on the beach run aground at the head of the bay, so not sure what happened there, but let that be a warning to not get too complacent. When the storms come they come, and if you happen to be in the wrong bay facing the wrong wind direction, it can all get pretty hectic in the Sounds. That being said you will be pretty good here in most weather except for Southerlies unless you can tuck into the eastern edge and maybe stern tie, and use the hill as protection. The angle of the beaches in this bay are reasonably steep so you can get quite close to the beaches with plenty of water under you in most areas of the bay except for the head where the stream rolls in. 

Exploring the bay. 

There is no better way to explore a bay other than slowly, and even better, in the rain! 
We made a video of a quiet paddle around Long Bay on a wet and raining mid summer's afternoon as a bit of an activity, so it will give you a really great appreciation of what this bay has to offer. It's a 10 minute long glimpse into life in Long Bay, you will be glad that you added this bay to your trip log. Absolute gold.