Arrived Opua
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Noon Position: 35 18.78 S 174 E07.33 We have arrived. After a night of some frustrating calms with a disturbed sea but mostly light headwinds. So, with a bit of help from the BRM, we arrived off the entrance to the Bay of Islands at a little after 0600. Winds continued light and fickle in the confines of the bay and eventually we had to give up on the idea of sailing and resorted once more to the BRM for the last several miles. The BRM has certainly enjoyed a good workout over the last few days. We found the quarantine dock without difficulty and eventually managed to contact New Zealand Customs through Maritime Radio. Officers from Customs and the Ministry of Primary Industries arrived at 1100 and, with the exception of Oli, Sylph and crew were cleared into New Zealand with a minimum of fuss. Oli will be collected by Quarantine Pet Services tomorrow morning and taken to Auckland to be checked over by a government vet before being given the all clear to be able to enjoy residency status along with the rest of Sylph's crew. I have just dropped Kate off ashore so that she can organise a hire car to drive down to Auckland to pick Oli up and bring him back, hopefully the same day. As I think I have mentioned elsewhere, it seems a bit of a crazy system but, I guess, when in Rome … Once Oli is back onboard we will spend two days in the marina here to clean up and top up with water, fuel and food then likely we will go and explore some of the islands before continuing south. All is well. |