Still playing catch up, and under pressure because the crew of Vulcan Spirit are now doing lots in Australia that needs recording here but the Blog is still in NZ. But not for much longer.

 

So, winds were checked. And rechecked, at least twice a day. The passage north from NZ is not for the fainthearted and can be horrible indeed, so ensuring as far as possible that the weather would be, if not benign, at least acceptable is really quite important. The crew decided that Sunday 25 May would be the ‘go’ date, and arranged a hearty breakfast in the Opua marina cafe before checking out with Customs and leaving NZ for good. Here is most of the crew on their way to the caff:

 

 

From L to R: Me (note the garb required by the NZ late summer weather – but only in NZ can full ocean protective gear be worn with flip-flops), Jenny Martin and Robbie Martin.

Most cruisers had already fled northwards by then, but our American friends Jon and Heather joined us for our last meal:

 

 

L to R: Jon Turgeon of Evergreen, me, Robbie, Jenny, Ali. Immediately after this we left, in drizzle. Sails were spread in the Bay at 1430hrs and we were off. The plan was to head out into the tail end of a passing weather system that would give us heavy weather on the nose for a few hours before it turned easterly and carried us north. It worked, but boy did it rain. And rain. And blow.