Merry Christmas from Whangarei, New Zealand!

So after the delay, 2 guys arrived promptly at 9am and began the clearance process. I must say it was the smoothest, nicest clearance process we've had. We'd got out all the food stuffs we weren't sure about - but all they took was our last eggs (expected), the mung beans (expected) and the popcorn (which I expected, but still don't know why). All our wooden things and shells were fine.About 30 minutes and we were legally in NZ. We didn't stop to set foot on dry land though, the moment they were

The wonderful sailing conditions lasted far longer than we had hoped or believed from the forecast, but we finally had to turn an engine on at 4:30am. We motorsailed a bit longer, and by 7am we were heading into Whangarei Harbour.Now we had notified officialdom we were coming. In fact, when I emailed our advance notice of arrival documents, I had no reply - so I followed up, only to receive a terse reply. Underway, I emailed again and got an acknowledgement albeit after a few days. So when I did

We had to motor most of the night as the wind was light and directly behind us, and we're definitely keen to be in now! However, as dawn broke, I got us sailing. The wind moved more NW and we unrolled full main and screecher and have been flying along since then. The day has been beautiful with winds about 10-12 knots from aft of the beam, smooth seas, sunny. Champagne sailing really.As we head into the evening, the wind has picked up, and we've just reefed the main. I think it will drop again a

No wind overnight, plenty of rain but the day turned out beautifully. Plenty of sun, calm seas (still no wind of course). Which was handy, as the cooking gas chose today to run out (fortunately just after lunch whilst prepping food for tomorrow). As the cylinder is located in the anchor locker, it can be a challenge to change in rough conditions, so I usually check before we leave. I did this time as well, but it felt like there was enough. I was wrong!Cylinder change didn't take long, and the w

The promised wind did finally appear, and we've been making good progress today under screecher, after using the engine a bit last night. The forecast still shows some light stuff ahead, unfortunately. Its tending towards a Sunday arrival, but we'll do what we can to bring that arrival sooner. A full nights sleep on the pontoon is very appealing over an 8th night at sea!The swell has also been building today but its not got as big as original forecast, and isn't forecast to get any bigger now -

Last night was the total lunar eclipse. I was lucky enough on my watch that the clouds cleared a bit and I could see the shadow progressing across the moon. However, shortly after that, the clouds hid it, and then it was a very dark night for the next few hours. The darkest night watch either of us have had in a while!The wind eased a lot, so we ended up motoring and motor-sailing for most of the night. Then the wind returned and we've been making good progress since. The temperature has dropped

We knew our luck couldn't last. This morning we had plenty of rain as the wind shifted quite a long way aft. I ended up putting the main away and continuing under genoa alone. This gave us enough speed to keep up with our target of arriving on Sunday morning. We could go faster, but the swell forecast is rather putting me off that, though the weather does look to ease considerably at Whangarei by Friday evening. We should have light NW winds by that point.The temperature has also noticeably drop

Its been a slower day today. The wind has eased and the sea is much calmer - so conditions are very pleasant. We've seen plenty of squalls, reefed for some but they've all missed us. Our luck can't continue too much longer!We now have 730nm to go and looking at the weather, decided we'll aim for a Sunday arrival. This means we miss the worst of the wind and swell, and should have some NW breeze in the last day to Marsden Cove (where we clear into New Zealand). Our target speed is a very easy 5 k

The wind picked up a bit overnight, and we ended up with 2 reefs in the main and genoa - but still making good speed. It meant the day was a little bumpy, but this afternoon the wind has eased a bit and started moving aft. The main is still well reefed, but the genoa is back to full. We may even get the screecher out at somepoint. The forecast is for 12knots or so, ENE (so well aft of the beam) which will be quite comfortable for the next couple of days.Weather looks like it may be ok to arrive

The day started out with motoring in non-existant wind, but by 11:30 we were sailing. 35degrees off the desired course, but the engines were off! Fortunately, the wind shifted as we cleared the main island of Fiji and we could lay a course that will put us east of the rhum line to Whangarei.The usual advice is to be west of that line, but we are looking at some strong NE or E winds as we close on the land, so I'd rather hold off a bit. After that, there's a lull where we'll head for the coast -

After nearly 5 months, its time to wave goodbye to Fiji and head south. The weather here has definitely changed over the last few weeks, getting hotter and hotter. We will appreciate the cooler weather in New Zealand for a while - though I think we will miss the tropical sea temperatures.A few technical difficulties with the blog mean I can't share the photo of the rather beaten up courtesy flag that has been flying on the mast for the duration. That will follow in New Zealand.About 1080nm to go

We’ve been bouncing around between the reef and Musket Cove with weather that has been hot with no wind, to very windy and lots of rain.We’ve had some spectacular sunsets and its mostly been pretty nice. We’ve scrubbed the hulls, props, saildrives and waterline so everything is squeaky clean ready for NZ.Looks like we’ll head out in 2 or 3 days. First part should be wind-on-the-beam sailing in nice winds, then the wind heads aft and picks up into the high 20s with some rain. However, it

We headed over to Denarau for fuel and provisioning. Many many boats were there clearing out ready to go, and today they’ve been trickling out heading south. I don’t like the look of this window - there’s periods of strong winds, and then 4 days or more of motoring. Plus 2 fronts to take. So we’ll wait a bit longer.Instead, with the calm conditions expected here for a few days, we’re back on the reef to swim and enjoy things. We’ll get the hulls scrubbed squeaky clean ready for New Z

So whilst we’re generally waiting for a decent window to sail to New Zealand, and it still being a bit early, we decided to head up to Sawa-i-Lau towards the top of the Yasawa chain. Neither of us had been there before - the main draw being the caves that seem to have turned into a major tourist attraction in the area.We had a pretty good sail up there, and anchored near a couple of super yachts and a few cruisers.It was quite windy, so we passed on the first day. The second day a cruise ship

We had a great time with Bryan and Sammie at Musket Cove and the reef. I’ve been a bit slow to update the blog, sorry, and then the data centre where it’s hosted had some power issues.After our trip to Cloud9 we went back to Musket cove for their Meke (buffet and then traditional dancing) which was as good as ever. The next morning we had planned to go to Denarau but the weather was flat calm, so we opted to head to the reef again.After a morning on the reef, we headed to Denarau and onto a

Cloud9 was a surprisingly nice way to spend a few hours. The staff were great. They saw us approaching and helped us off the dinghy, then one of them took it out to one of the waiting resort boats, who’s skipper then brought them back returning to their boat in our dinghy. This saved us a swim as they don’t want the dinghy tied to the bar restricting other boats from coming up.So as well as the bar, there is a wood fired pizza oven, and the whole platform is designed to be used by swimmers.

We managed a dive at Castaway Reef which was lovely. Bryan’s first dive for many years, and he loved it. From there, we went to Musket Cove and picked up a mooring for a few nights. The first day was windy, which resulted in many boat jobs. Alas, the generator is still playing up a bit, so we’re still pondering that. The pizza and bar at Musket Cove has been used a couple of times, and its still good. Its a lot less busy than regatta week, but the World Odyssey mob arrived last night and we

After Bryan and Sammie arrived, we had dinner at the marina which was very pleasant. Next morning, we dropped the lines (well, they were untied from the various points by the staff of the marina) and we left.We headed over to Castaway reef as the weather was calm and had a lovely swim and lunch, then went over to Mana island for the night.Mana is lovely, but all too often they are filming Survivor here which can get in the way. Fortunately though, filming has finished for the season now, so the

We’re back in Vuda Marina. This time we’re in the inner basin which means dealing with the tides and working out how to get on/off the boat. We can’t go bows in, which is the simplest way due to our bowsprit. So we back in, and then have to use the plank. This time we found a longer plank, so its not as scary as when I did it in 2019. Then, at low tide, the plank was very steep, and very worrying. Now its just a question of balance.The inner basin was the original part. The outer basin is