School Bay is so named because in the 1920s a school operated on the flat at the southern end of the bay serving the residents of this, Erie and Te Pangu bays.
There is a shallow sand bank extending across the mouth of the bay from Kaihinu Point: Boats drawing more than 1 metre should enter from the eastern side.
The beaches shelve gently and a reasonable distance should be kept from the shore.
Holding is good in all parts of the bay but is exposed to the prevailing winds from NW to N, and to some ferry wash.
In S winds Kaihinu Bay is the most sheltered part; the rest of the bay gets some wind but the water is calm.
Kaihinu Bay is steeped in Maori legend and was tapu until the 1960s. The then-owner of the bay reported noises and sounds of people from the past.
The tapu was the result of the massacre of the local tribes and subsequent feasting of Te Rauparaha’s victorious fighters.
