We were incredibly lucky to meet Jonathan, Kerry and their eight year old daughter Emily when they anchored near us in Portobello.  A couple of days later they arrived in Shelter Bay where they were hauling out to re-do their antifouling before their transit.  We were delighted that they were keen to come with us as line handlers for our transit so by mid-afternoon they were all aboard and settled in.

L to R – Carol, Kerry, Mike, Emily, Brad and Jonathan.

At your allotted time you leave the marina and go into the main harbour to anchor and wait for your pilot. Leaving the marina seemed straightforward enough.  Dockmaster ready to throw the lines, crew ready to receive and fend off if necessary……  Mike puts Tashi Delek into reverse and nothing happens.  Carol and Mike exchange glances both thinking, “Not moving, something wrong, what now?, what kind of delay will this be?  How much is it going to cost?”  and then very slowly she starts to move.  Brad looks up and, at just the moment Carol and Mike are thinking it says “Heavy, eh?” 

Full water tanks, fuel tanks, extra fuel and water in jerry cans, 4 ½ more people on board, food to cross the Pacific with, yes indeed, she was very heavy.

All well, phew, so we motored out to the anchorage, known as The Flats. 

Every boat has a pilot, or advisor as they are correctly called for we little boats.