Before being granted it’s European moniker, the local Maori referred to D'Urville as ‘Rangitoto ki te Tonga’. This translates as ‘Blood Red Sky of the South’, and after a frustrating Summer chasing yellowfin tuna with little luck in the North Island, the team were looking forward to venturing South to spill a bit of blood, both warm and cold, as D’Urville is also home to a healthy population of red and fallow deer.
Over the course of a hot and dusty day, they made the long, winding trek out to French Pass, a quaint little settlement at the Northwest tip of the Marlborough Sounds. After rendezvousing with Tim and Jordy, who’d been diving commercially in the area over the previous few days,they wasted little time in saddling up Tim’s new Stabicraft and setting sail for their Island home, along with a small dinghy for excess baggage and gear they didn’t mind getting a little salty.
French Pass is named for the body of water separating D’Urville from the mainland, and holds a notorious place in the nation’s maritime history. It’s treacherous currents and vicious tidal flow have seen the end of a number of ships over the years, but they had no real drama navigating their way through the fast currents. However, upon nearing the bay on the Southern side of D’Urville that they’d planned to drop anchor in, the pair of craft hit some pretty short sharp slop - steep waves that crashed over the bow and into both boat’s cockpits. Thankfully though, they had the sense to load up the little open top dinghy with their YETI Pangas, GoBoxes and Tundras, so the only things to receive a drenching were the boat’s occupants.
