Four weeks and we're still not quite on top of our comms and downloads. Nearly there. IridiumGo and PredictWind are great but the setup is something you wouldn't believe. Ian has been working on this almost non-stop. These apps will enable us to download weather forecasts from satellites when on passage or from anywhere in the world. Very slowly, of course. Apparently you start the download, prepare and eat breakfast, then, voila, you have the latest forecast for your specific area in the Pacific Ocean. Two of the Apps work better on an iPad, so off we went to buy an iPad Pro - just another purchase of $1 boat dollar. ($1 boat dollar = $NZ1,000.) Back to the iPad, nothing would download. Even though Noel Leemings salesperson had told us all iPads had GPS, we should have bought a GPS assist and cellular iPad. They were going to swap it for us but there were no cellular iPads in the country according to their system (all the cruisers to the Pacific had bought them) and it would take two weeks to get one from the US. Twelve days before we leave NZ shores. Just order one and we'll let the universe take care of it - what will be, will be. Would you believe that, coincidentally, the very next day two of these cellular iPads were delivered to Noel Leemings in Kerikeri - thank you, universe. So, now we're downloading every possible navigational App with maps of the Pacific onto Microsoft laptop, our Samsung smartphones and tablet, and our Apple iPad. Each brand takes a different version of the app so when you think you've got one mastered, you start all over again for the next device. And, yes, we have a chart plotter and all the paper charts required for this voyage. Life was so much simpler with paper charts but then again weather was left more to chance and patterns than it is now. We've got four days until our ETD so it looks like we'll get there but progress is slow.

The plan is that we leave Opua and sail to Minerva Reef, sheltering and exploring in both South and North Minerva; however, it looks like the wind may die out part way up and we'll have to motor part way. Not to worry, we have 400 litres of fuel - 200 litres in the tank and 200 ltrs in gerry cans. If we stick to 1500 rpms we'll be right. After a couple of days at the Minerva Reefs, we'll set sail for Tonga. We're one of 32 boats on the Island Cruising New Zealand Rally to Tonga. This week of preparation has seen us all meeting one another and helping each other out by sharing whatever skills. A great social time as well as lots of hard work going on; not to mention purchasing replacement items and spares. Self-sufficiency has a whole new meaning!! Burnsco Marine must be doing a great trade.

At the moment, it looks like we'll be leaving Opua Sunday night or Monday morning. Just watching that weather forecast.