Day 9, Year 2: First Day of Passage from New Zealand to Fiji
Date: Thursday, May 3, 2007
Weather Today: Warm and Sunny, Winds WSW 6 to 10 Knots
Temperature: Air, 64 degrees F; Water, 62 degrees F
Latitude: 34 degrees 55.65 minutes S
Longitude: 174 degrees 13.43 minutes E
Miles to Go: 1,040
Location: Passage from New Zealand to Fiji

We made it. We have left the Bay of Islands in New Zealand and we are on our way to Fiji. The seas are calm, the winds are light, the sun is shining, and it is warm. From port to port it is about 1,070 miles to Suva, Fiji, and it should take us anywhere from seven to ten days to get there. Winds are currently light and from the WSW and are supposed to come around to the SE tomorrow. Tomorrow the winds will be under 10 knots and we will have to motor, but after that it should get a little better. There is a chance that sometime Sunday or Monday it could get a little windy for a day or so, but for the most part, this is predicted to be a passage with winds in the 10 to 15 knot range. If we can be on a beam reach, that will be great, but if the winds go more southerly they will be behind us and we will probably have to motor. In fact, we are motoring right now. We have the mainsail up, but each of the three times that we have put out the headsail and turned off the motor, we slowed a whopping 3 knots. We will be glad to sail at 4 knots, but below that, we motor.

We didn’t get away today until just about noon. We were in line at the Customs Office at 8:30 AM, but by the time we had made two more trips to the boat and back to get things we had forgotten, had taken showers, spent our last New Zealand money at the little grocery store, and said our goodbyes to everyone, it was 11:30 before we got back to Windbird. Yesterday when we were rushing around trying to get ready to go, Randy of Procyon asked us what it was about doing nothing the day before you begin a passage that we don’t understand. We really didn’t have an answer for him, but whatever it is, we have the same problem on the day of departure. We were going full tilt today right up until the moment we dropped the mooring and headed out of the Opua Marina mooring field. Mark was checking email using he wireless connection for the last time and I was vacuuming the carpets only minutes before getting off the mooring. But once we headed out, things changed. We are both driven individuals and if there is time in a day, we seem always find a way to fill it. As we motored out of Opua, I scurried around to fix lunch and to get dinner under control, but now I am in passage mode and am sitting here in the cockpit enjoying the beautiful afternoon. When I am on Watch I am either working on my computer or reading. These are both things I get to do little of when we are near land. I think that is why I like passages so much.

Many of us left today and I can stil see about five boats in front of us and about three or four behind us. That will mean that we have to keep a keen watch tonight, but by tomorrow, we will all be spaced out. For those of you who read the cruising magazines, Fatty Goodlander left today just before we did. Windcard was our neighbor in the mooring field, but we never got a chance to meet. Arctic Fox, Ohana Kai, Araby, and Ranger are headed our way to Fiji. Makani left about the same time as we did, but they are headed to Australia. Procyon, Endangered Species, and Wind Pony also left today, but they are going to Tonga. Tomorrow morning at radio check-in time, we will find out just who is out here with us.

We can still see land behind us and that long white cloud that hangs over New Zealand. It is now about 5:15 PM and the sun is getting low in the sky. There was a full moon last night, so we should have plenty of light tonight. While I have been writing, Mark has been on the VHF radio talking to Ranger and Procyon. Since Procyon is heading in a different direction, this is probably the last VHF contact we will have with them, but we will be keeping in contact with Ranger all the way. It is now time to send this email and get dinner. And watch the beautiful sunset and the rising full moon. Life is good.

070503 Day 9–Passage to Fiji 1st Day