21/5/09  12:00

Tuesday I called Customs to arrange out departure and they said as they require 72 hours notice we couldn’t leave until Friday. We immediately downloaded and faxed the pre departure notice and went to see them to collect a “departure pack.” We chatted a bit and pointed out that it was bad luck to leave on a Friday and the agent smiled and said he would see what he could do. He  rang back yesterday and gave us a slot this morning. So by 10:45 we were off. 

Yesterday when we went to take on 700 liters of diesel we were treated to a squall with lots of rain and wind. It took several attempts to get back to our berth between poles with very little clearance either side.   

In the end Steve managed it without scratching the new paint job.

Today we had blue skies with the occasional rain burst but it hasn’t been too bad.

We’re in a fairly protected gulf with a Southerly (cold) Force 5 and nipping along at more or less 8 knots.  It will take quite a few hours to  reach the Southern Ocean proper.

We are joined by Jon Spencer, a young man of New England stock.
He has done a lot of sailing in Vermont and Maine and doesn’t seem to notice the cold. 
He completed an Associate Degree in architecture and then discovered he didn’t like working in an office. So he’s thinking again.  He will fly back to the States from
Papeete, assuming that’s where we wind up. 

Hopefully our first port of call is Raivavae in the Austral Islands, about 2100 miles from here and 350 from Tahiti. It is reported to be one of the most beautiful islands in the South Pacific so I feel obliged to check it out.

Our new computer and  Navigation system draw only 2/3rds of the power of the original which is very good news as it save us over 10 amps/hour.

13:30

Wind has dropped and gone totally aft so we are motoring for a bit, we’re in the middle of the Hauraki Golf and still have another four or five hours to get clear of land.

15:30

Wind is now SSW Force 6  behind the beam and we are able to make a good course towards Raivavae. The books say we should keep well South and not turn North until nearly under Tahiti.  Our weather router will give us a report tomorrow, but for the moment we’ll carry on on a direct course. Boat speed is back up to well over 8 knots.

18:00

Just had our first sunset at sea for a while. I also enclose a snap of Jon and the curious New Zealand phenomena of blue skies and a rainbow. Next posting will be a noon tomorrow when we’ve finished  our first 24 hours.