The mission was to find a few crays so we left Waikawa Bay launch ramp on board Sea Hunter and cruised down Queen Charlotte Sound at a good clip. Jim and Dana made up the rest of the crew and anticipation built with the pre dive chatter.
We pulled into the defunct and derelict whaling station to tog up before dipping our fins into Kura Te Au or Tory Channel. Nestled at the head of Fishing Bay on Arapawa Island, this was one of three whaling stations established by the Perano family of Picton but the most important. Established in 1924 by Joe Perano, the early whalers initially used handheld lances and harpoons to hunt down the whales tracking south through Cook Strait. Must have been a brutal existence.
Suited up in my Moray Camo Revolution 5mm wetsuit, I was keen to get my hands on a bug. The first few spots were scenic but unproductive so we elected to try a spot known to hold decent crabs. Over the side and a couple of kicks—this was shallow water. Unbelievably, it was ‘feeler city’; a forest of feelers gently swaying and testing the current for a sense of danger. Without much effort I managed to grab a couple of good bucks from what was on offer—not too tardy for 6m of water.
