Oops, suddenly 2 weeks in NZ have flown by and Christmas has come and gone! Hope Santa's sack was full of all sorts of lovely goodies for you! We sailed from Marsden Cove to one of the stunning bays in Port FirzRoy at the Barrier Island today. Glorious conditions - nothing like beam-on 18-22k winds and flat(ish) seas. We calculated our average speed at 10.2k, with my max speed while on the helm at 16.6k and Lionel's 19.1 - bastard! It's pretty busy all around - good to see the Kiwis out and about enjoying their boats too.

Just had a glorious 5 hour sail from Moturua Island in the Bay of Islands to Mimiwhagata Beach. And we can see crazeeee Kiwis swimming in the 18 degree water. Brrrrrr, a bit too chilly for us wimps, having enjoyed water temps of 27 degrees for the last 6 months! Lionel is going to try and catch a snapper for dinner again.

We sailed out of Opua Marina this morning and are now anchored off a small island in the Bay of Islands. Once settled Lionel casually cast a soft bait off the back step and I kid you not, within 3, no make that 2 seconds flat we had dinner on the line. A decent size snapper which we will bbq for dinner. yum YUM!! This island has had a fairly intensive revegetation program and consequently the bird song as we sit here is lovely.

Here we are, back in the land of beautifully flowering pohutukawa trees.. All in all our passage from Vanuatu went very well - ending by being spoilt with a pod of dolphins surfing our bow waves in the dark of night. The only reason we could seen them was because of the phosphorescence trail they left behind them. Nature's glory, to be sure. We plan to spend a few days here in Opua and will then make our way southwards.

It's 3am and we have just pulled up on the Customs dock in Opua. Enjoying a lurvely cuppa tea before we head to bed. Had a great few hours of sailing earlier - even had the spinny up for about 4 hours - but ended up motoring the last little while as the wind died off and came more and more from behind. All in all a fabulous passage from Vanuatu. Big thanks to Jo and Mods for helping make it so.

Hooray, throwing 'skippy' back yesterday worked! At lunchtime the forecast light ENE wind filled in beautifully, which saw us fanging along too fast to put the lures in the water. This morning the Captain woke up having thought of a slightly different way to configure the screecher - a new attachment point for the sheet - which has resulted in a closer-haul sailing angle. Right now, at 8am Kiwi time, we are consistently cruising pretty close to wind speed....... aaaah, this is the life. With the benefit of hindsight we are pleased we were initially so far west - consequently we are now in this light northerly flow of air, and on the rhumb line. With 150 nm to go we are looking forward to spotting Cape Reinga at some stage this afternoon. Oh and the jury is out as to who is the rummikub champion!!

Aaaaaah the old "catch a fish at sunrise" yarn...... well it's true! We've just landed a nice size skipjack tuna but decided to try and bribe the wind gods by releasing it - I say that 'cause we are hoping for more wind than the 3-5k we've had through the night. We've had very light winds to sail with for the last 30 hours, so the iron genoa has been ticking over. Hopefully the forecast ENE fills in, otherwise it looks like we'll be motor sailing the whole way back to Opua (305nm away). Hey but at last we are on the rhumb line, not heading to Tassie anymore! We should arrive in the early hours of Thursday morning. Our buddies Sel Citron are back over the horizon somewhere, not too far away, but we miss seeing their mast light through the night.

What a fabulous day of sailing we had yesterday. Kiapa was in her element, gunning along at 8-9k in 11-14k of breeze and so munching up the miles - pity it was still in the wrong direction! We spotted Norfolk Island around midnight but now, at 6am the island is way back on the horizon. During the night the breeze had a tad more east in it, so we were able to change course and head a bit more towards North Cape. Phew! Right now we are motor sailing, which is good as it gives us the opportunity to make some water, charge stuff etc. Yesterday conditions were comfortable enough to play a few rounds of different board games - Rummikub and Pictionary. One thing's for sure - the 4 of us are hopeless at drawing. When a leopard looks like a spotted cow, a guard dog looks like a pig, a bolt is thought to be a tornado, and a bathing suit a fox we realised none of us would ever earn any $$$ from our sketching. Can you tell all is very well on board??

Glorious sailing right now - the wind has backed off a tad and the sea state is a bit more settled, and we have a gannet catching the thermals off our heady looking for breakfast. The wind is supposed to get a bit more east in it today, which will be nice - means we can aim a bit closer towards Opua! Our passage buddies Sel Citron are about 10nm behind us and we could see their nav lights during the night. Our crew, Jo and Mods, really are the crew from heaven (sorry Maunies!). Yesterday we were treated to Jo's freshly baked date scones, and a delicious meatball dinner created by Mods.

The trades have set in, as forecast, which means Kiapa is slowly zig-zag tacking south. While we are covering good ground we feel like we've got the handbrake on 'cause our DTW (710nm) doesn't reflect this! Currently we are pointing to Norfolk Island!

Yeehah, we are underway to Opua. Waved goodbye to Vanuatu with our beautiful turquoise spinnaker which we doused at sunset. The wind dropped during the night so we are currently motor sailing. Sel Citron is about 5nm to port. Saw 2 huge vessels in the night, neither of them on AIS!! Jo and Mods are great company to have on board! Lots of laughs! 831nm to go.

WE'RE OFF. NZ, here we come. Looking forward to it!

The forecast tropical depression has arrived here at Aneityum - it's a calm, grey drizzly day. Our water tanks are overflowing with collected rainwater - yah. So we are relaxing some more, doing a 'wasgij' jigsaw while we talk some more shyte! Looking at the forecast ahead we may leave on Friday and do a detour via Norfolk Island........ we'll see how the forecast shapes up after the worst of the TD passes, supposedly tonight.

Mmmmmm, a few sore heads this morning, I'm thinking. We had a mixologists' "cocktail competition" last night between Sel Citron and Kiapa. SC created the 'Salty Lemon', fancily decorated with bright red hibiscus, and Kiapa mixed up a 'Mango Magic' and a 'Kiapa's Coconut Painkiller', decorated with frangipanis and little umbrellas. The verdict is still out as to which creation was the yummiest. And then the dancing began!

After conferring with The Lemons over a coffee this morning we have decided to stay put here at Aneityum for a few more days. The forecast is for light winds for the next 2-3 days and then big swell .......... also it's a whole lot warmer here!! Aaahh well, that means time for more mangoes and pawpaws!

Arrived in Aneityum in time for lunch. Had a fast and bumpy sail yesterday arvo, then a slow motor sail through the night (the winds were fluky between Erromongo and Tanna Islands and we had a strong adverse current), but a ripper of a sail this morning which saw Jo getting 14k when on the helm! We will wait here for our mates The Lemons on Sel Citron to arrive, and then we plan to depart for NZ buddy boating together.

The Captain has made the call......... we are off! We plan to sail out of Port Vila shortly and will do an overnighter to the southern most Vanuatuan island, Aneityum. We'll wait there for a weather window to NZ - early indications dictate that may be by the w/e. Will keep you posted.

Moored in Port Vila, doing last minute provisioning, clearing out with Customs and Immigration etc. Our crew Jo and Anthony are on board, so all in all we are ready to begin our passage south to NZ. From here we plan to go to Erromongo, then to Aneityum (Vanuatu's southern most island) where we will sit and wait for a good weather window.

Anchored off Hideaway Island, not too far from Port Vila. Our good friends on Sel Citron are 'next door'. Must be the nearby local school's swimming lessons here in the bay as we can see and hear lots of kids having fun! Just had a lovely snorkel.

Motored in to 'the big smoke' of Port Vila this morning - time to do some laundry, drop off a few bags of rubbish, buy some fresh fruit and veggies and access better internet. Caught a whopper of a wahoo along the way so guess it'll have to be 5 star fresh fish for dinner for the next few nights!

Still anchored off Lelepa Island, and at the minute listening to beautiful singing from the church choir as it carries across the water. Had a swim/snorkel earlier and were treated to a dugong mum and her calf slowly swimming past us. What a treat as it's not often these shy animals come close. Also saw huge huge clams.

Moved to the southern tip of Lelepa Island, close to the village. Went ashore to have a look at the ENORmous limestone cave which forms part of this area's World Heritage listing together with nearby Eretoka Island where Chief Roimata and his 25 wives are buried. Planning on going scuba diving later today.

Now anchored in 8m over white sand

We are leaving our happy kiteboarding grounds today heading for Havana harbour 10 miles downwind.

Sadly we are saying goodbye to Bart and Lil from Tranquilo after breakfast . They are headed to the northwest passage and over the top of Canada. Brrrrrr

We haven't moved very far in the last week as conditions have been excellent for kiting. The wind cranks up around 8am and then backs down around sunset, there's a perfect white sandy beach to launch from, there's no reef to avoid, and it's not tide affected. Oh and the local villagers give us more fruit than we can consume! Heaven!

Anchored in very calm conditions off Nguna, Kakula and Pele Islands which are small islands to the north of Efate. These are also pretty volcanic islands, but extinct volcanoes, so phew, no ash fall around here!! We had a great 6 hour sail to here yesterday - flat water with a nice breeze which had us tacking for the last couple of hours, but hey, who minds when conditions are so comfortable.

We arrived in Port Vila yesterday afternoon after a great overnight sail from Tanna. Huh, the ash that changed Kiapa from her pretty aqua colour to grey grey grey chased us away. We had to use buckets and buckets of salt water to try and clean the decks, and luckily we have had a soft drizzle for the last 12 hours to wash the salt off. But boy, the spectacle of the volcano made it all worth while. My bucket list is now one item shorter.

wow Wow WOW!! The active volcano, Mt Yasur, which we all come to see when anchored here at Tanna, is truly quite something. We had postponed heading to the summit to wait for 'perfect' weather conditions - our patience paid off BIG time. All day yesterday we could hear rumbling and roaring from the anchorage and when we arrived at the base of mountain we spotted tephra/pyroclastic debris (aka big lava bombs) flying 100's of meters into the air. What a spectacle! Our guide warned us to keep an eye on where these landed....... a timely warning because about 10 minutes later a sizeable piece landed about 25m away from where we were standing. Yikes!! And then the sun set and the real fireworks began (due to the darker sky). Photos will have to follow at a later stage (due to this report coming in via sailmail).

Snugly anchored in Port Resolution Bay, Tanna Island for the last few days with our friends on Tranquilo, Speakeasy and Marilyn. We have been made to feel very welcome by the people in the nearby village, having already experienced a little 3 year old boy's special ceremonial birthday party amongst other things. Yesterday some of us took a truck ride to the bigger town of Lenekal on the western side - quite an experience, while Lionel and Bart helped a local fellow install/connect his solar panels to his batteries and inverter. He was SO chuffed because they don't have power here, but now he will have lights at night. I am sure he is going to be the envy of his mates! Today one of the ladies is going to teach me how to hand wash some laundry "the local way". Hopefully the weather will clear a bit so that we can make our way up the volcano.

Arrived safely yesterday and now happily anchored in the bay near Mystery Island, Aneityum, Vanuatu. It's lovely to see an island nearly totally covered in virgin forest! Went ashore to 'clear in' this morning, and plan to go for a snorkel this afternoon.

The wind has backed right down and is now mostly from behind - even the spinny won't stay up, so we have just started motor-sailing. All very well on board.

This cat is lapping up the milk..... oh I mean miles ..... in purrrrrfect cruising conditions. Have covered 218 nm in the 24 hours since we left Fiji yesterday morning. Yesterday we lost a monster fish right at the back of the boat, but then at sunrise this morning the good ole squidly-jig-thingo caught us a fab size tuna. Guess we'll be having fresh tuna for the next few meals!! We're on our way to Aneityum, Vanuatu.

Farewell fabulous Fiji. Thank you for the AWESOME time we have had in your beautiful island nation. We have departed for Vanuatu.......

On a mooring at Port Denarau Marina getting all those last minute things done before heading west to Vanuatu. We plan to clear out by the weekend some time.

Boo hoo, it's our last morning at Musket. Had a great farewell potluck ashore last night - sad to say goodbye to so many great friends. Later today we will go to Denarau Marina and fill gas bottles, do laundry, provision up....... and generally get ready for our crossing to Vanuatu in a few days time.

After a fabulous 5 days of Regatta activities we are happily anchored off one of our favourite islands, Namotu, searching for that elusive wave. Probably just as well there's not much surf - we need a couple of days to recover from all the fun!

Hoping to leave for Vanuatu soon, but there's no wind forecast for the next week......

Suddenly our time in Fiji is nearly over! Boy, the 4 months have flown by! But not before we enjoy the shenanigans of the regatta here at Musket Cove. Pirate Day, Coconut Olympics, hobie cat racing, hairy chest competitions.....We also welcome Georges, our crew from Paris, on board Kiapa.

Back at Musket Cove after 5-6 weeks of exploring. Lovely to see everyone again. This morning there were around 75 boats moored/anchored here, and while kiting this afternoon about 10 more pulled in. Let the Regatta party begin!

Loving our sojourn here. Anchored up with 4 other cruising boats (all mates) so organised a most enjoyable bbq pot luck on the beach close by. Oh and this was after a great kiting session in the afternoon. Happy happy!

Yip, it's windy here all right, and that's why we plan to stay here for the next little while! Kiters heaven!!

Up early this morning to get a head start on the typically strong breeze across Blight Water. Spent the night at Nabouwalu (aka Coconut Point) after a great sail down from Savusavu. Nothing like sailing in 15k of beam-on breeze in flat water (due to nearby fringing reefs)!! I suspect today's sail across to Viti Levu will be a tad more boisterous!!

Quick overnight stop in Savusavu - did the laundry and offloaded a bag of rubbish last night and this morning will visit the market to buy fresh fruit and veggies before heading out again. 'Twas lovely catching up with various cruising friends last night, but on on.....

We are now at Fawn harbour, anchored up with Bart on Tranquilo. Great kitesurfing to be had!

After 4 fabulous days of diving in Viani Bay we're thinking of moving on...... the wind's up so we'll probably sail down to Fawn Harbour. But what a memorable time we've had here - Rainbow Reef certainly deserves its reputation. The world renowned White Wall was spectacular, as was Jerry's Jelly and the Cabbage Patch, but even more breath taking (in our humble opinion) was the Purple Wall. A true underwater feast for the eyes. Thanks to a fellow diver for sharing his photos (out little camera doesn't go to the depths we dived to).

Woke up to glorious 100% blue sky, a rarity here in the tropics. Off to dive the Purple Wall and Cabbage Patch later today. Yeehah!

As they say in the classics......OMG!!! The scuba diving has been quite simply FRIGGING AWESOME. Those of you who have dived sections of the Rainbow Reef will know what I am talking about, but for those of you unfamiliar with this area of Fiji know that it is recognised as one of the best diving locations in the world - a worthy reputation. Have done 3 scuba dives: The White Wall, Jerry's Jelly and The Fish Factory. All mind blowing. If you read this and are still in Fiji and haven't been here....... you should come!

After a great few days in snug Naiviivi Bay, Qamea, including a rather adventurous dinghy ride across the straight to the eastern side of Taveuni to do the scenic Lavena Coasteal Hike, we upped anchor to move on. We had a great (mostly) aft-of-beam sail to Viani Bay, and are looking forward to some scuba diving, including on the famous White Wall of Rainbow Reef.

Just WHERE does the time go? Maybe something happened when we sailed over the International Dateline? Suddenly it's the end of the week and we have moved from Paradise Resort on Taveuni to stunning Naiviivii Bay on Qamea Island. It's a deep bay surrounded by mountains - very scenic indeed. Went searching for surf yesterday, but it was a bit too windy. So went and socialised in the village instead. Loving life!

Had an 'interesting' sail across to Taveuni. Stared off motoring in 0.5k of breeze, but the it picked up to a very nice 15k half way across which had us blitzing - all the while in low cloud drizzle which meant very poor visibility. Luckily we caught dinner before we got cracking. Now on a free!! mooring in front of small but stunning Paradise Resort (on the southern tip of Taveuni) where we are allowed to use all the resort's amazing facilities.

In Savusavu for a few days - nice to be back after a couple of years. It's been raining quite a bit, so Kiapa is squeaky clean and our water tanks are full. Hired a car and went on an 'off the beaten track' road trip to hunt down some ancient petroglyphs I'd read about. Awesome inland scenery with wonderfully friendly villagers along the way. Could see evidence of Cyclone Winston here and there.

Another great day's sail. After an early start (6.15am) we dropped anchor just off Cousteau's Resort 9 hours later. Caught a nice fish for dinner. Tomorrow we'll head in to Savusavu.

Had an absolute rip-snorter of a sail across the notoriously rough Bligh Passage (between Fiji's 2 big islands) today. 20-25k beam-on winds saw Kiapa flying along at an average of 10k, as she (and we) loves to do. Luckily the sea state wasn't too bad, and even though we were prepared with a double reef in the main all went really well. And a bonus was being escorted part the way by a big pod of spinner dolphins - but they whispered to us it was a bit too rough to show off with spins and twirls. Now happily anchored in tranquil Bua Bay, en route to Savusavu.

Arrived safely at the northern end of Viti Levu earlier this afternoon. This spot, Nananu-i-ra, is well known for its windy conditions, so we hope to enjoy a few days of kiting. The forecast looks promising. After the "busy-ness" of Musket Cove it's delightfully peaceful here.

Yeehah, we are on our way north! Motor-sailed this morning and are now anchored, very peacefully, off the only stretch of sandy beach in 200km on this NW side of Viti Levu. Even caught a 'mystery' fish for dinner.

Anchored off Denarau, waiting out the rain. (it's been 3 days now of rain). Kiapa is washed clean and the water tanks are full.

Tomorrow we head around the top of Vitu Levu, the big island and to the NE kiteboarding corner Nanu-i-ra.

Back at Musket Cove for a few days, waiting for the predicted 4 day "rain bomb" to pass. We were hoping to head north after dropping Steve off on Friday, but the weather gods won't allow this. Hopefully we can watch some Olympics at the resort.

Happily anchored off the world famous Cloudbreak. Well, not quite at the surf break itself, but just behind the reef which picks up the swell. The blue dot in the photo shows our location and to the 'left' is Cloudbreak. It's a gloriously windless day and the surf looks good (but a tad crowded), which is lovely for Steve 'cause he leaves tomorrow.

Had a totally AWESOME spinnaker sail back to Musket Cove. We'll be here for a couple of days before Steve flies back to Western Australia.

Have been anchored off Likuri Island (better known as Robinson Crusoe Island) for the last couple of nights. Went to the spectacular "cultural show" last night, which, through dance, told the story of Fiji's history from the early cannibal days to the arrival of 'palangis'. Then today we went exploring up the mangrove-lined creek in the dinghy, followed by a stint of estuary fishing - but no luck.

Back at Denarau Marina for a couple of days to farewell my sister as she flies back to Holland and to welcome Steve who flies in from Western Australia.

Anchored in 8m on a sandy bottom in a very protected little bay which forms part of the larger Somosomo Bay. Visited the chief of the nearby village with our bunch of kava and to our delight discovered the chief is a 91 year old lady!! Did a beaut snorkel and happy to see evidence of 'coral farming' on 3X4m lattice work, and also to see my favourite little fishies that I haven't seen in ages - the Longnose Filefish. But bummer, not too far from that saw quite a few Crown of Thorns, so donned gloves, bbq tongs and with big breath holds and managed to nab 12. Into a big bucket they went, to be buried on the beach.

Arrived back in beautiful Blue Lagoon yesterday - Lionel is still looking for Brooke Shields! Quite a windy day which meant Vera and I had loads of time to gas-bag while Lionel went kiting. But we did go for a nice snorkel in the lee of the island. Saw a moray eel, a school of squid, clownfish and lots of very colourful little reef fish.

What a FABULOUS place this is, way way at the 'top' of the Yasawas. It is incredibly beautiful, and oh so peaceful. We have snorkelled, explored the surrounding area in the dinghy, the village chief took Lionel fishing at his favourite spot, his wife invited us to her birthday afternoon tea....... we certainly hope to come back.

So now we are anchored up at beautiful Champagne Beach (Yasawairara) and the eager chief of the village has requested kava tonight. I just hope the Kava does not turn our legs into lava...

Tomorrow its diving and kiting...on jelly legs.

Here is a pic of happy fisherman Irene gave free Sunnies on behalf of the Lions Club New Zealand

After a beaut few days of 20-25kn winds at Blue Lagoon, we are headed up to Champagne beach on the northern most island of the Yasawas. Blue Lagoon provided kiting, kiting, and more kiting, as well as a visit to Toki and Meri's fabulous veggie farm and a cuppa with chocolate cake at Lo's Tea House. Oh, and a fun sunset 10 dinghy raft-up. And best of all, my sister Vera is here with us.

Well, Kiapa has finally broken free of its mooring at Musket Cove and collected Vera, Irene's sister who is visiting us from Holland. We are now anchored off the manta ray pass , waiting to interact with these gentle giants..

What a fantastic day! For the better part of this morning we were out at Cloudbreak watching the men's Fiji Pro Surf Competition. The conditions were perfect: big surf, no wind, warm sun, and a very festive atmosphere. For those who don't know, Cloudbreak is a reef break, far far offshore, and the only way to watch is from a boat, so we took Kiapa out there, anchored her safely nearby and dinghied over. Together with scores of others! Brazilians and Aussies dominated the quarterfinals, with Gabriel Medina vs Aussie Matt Wilkinson in the final. Much to the delight of the very vocal Brazilian supporters, Medina won.

Snakes Alive!! Happily anchored off beautiful Namotu Island, combining going for a surf with watching both a beautiful banded sea snake sniffing out Kiapa's back step, and going out in the dinghy to watch the Fiji Pro Surf Comp at Cloudbreak. All in all an awesome day.

surprise surprise, back in Musket. Waiting for surf

Anchored off beautiful Namotu Island. It looks like they lost quite a bit of beach and some trees as a result of Cyclone Winston, but the water is as turquoise as always and the surf just as good.. Arms still feel like spaghetti!

We're baaaaaccckkk at Musket Cove, our winter home, and loving it already. On the way out here from Denarau Marina we deviated to Namotu to check out the surf, and consequently Lionel and I both had 'spaghetti arms' last night! The result of not having surfed/paddled for quite some time! But the water was 27 degrees, everyone was mellow in the surf, and we both managed to catch some waves. Then arriving at Musket Cove we were promptly invited to a pot luck dinner with all the other "old timers" of Musket. It was lovely to see them all again, and to hear their summer-time stories. Yes, it's great to be back.

BULA!! Oops, we missed a day's log! Must be because we have quickly moved on to 'Fiji time'. Well, what a totally fantabulous ending to our passage back to Fiji. We furled the screecher, dropped the main, and hoisted our beautiful turquoise spinnaker for the most glorious 6 hour finale just about right up to where we dropped the anchor for the night. In 6k of wind we ghosted along and since we weren't going to make the 3pm cut-off with Customs and Immigration we decided to 'detour' past the world famous surf break, Cloudbreak. OMG!! The enormous swell we had been sailing with/over (?) since Minerva had reached this reef and while I was sort-of nervously in charge of helming (a bit too close to the break for my comfort) trying to keep wind in the spinny, Lionel was watching the guys being towed in to the huge surf. As the sun started setting we celebrated with beers and champagne. The stuff dreams are made of. Big BIG thanks to Norm and Ian for helping us on this passage.

We cleared in with Customs, Biosecurity, Health - no problemo. Rather than pulling up to the purpose-built dock at Vuda Marina in Kiapa herself, Lionel asked permission to anchor outside and dinghy in with all the filled in paperwork, our passports, etc. (The dock is too small for Kiapa, and the turning circle to get out again is uber- tight!) Usually all these officials want to step on board to check everything for themselves, but he was given the 'okay' to do this. Awesome!! Lionel managed to clear us in very quickly, all good. Norm and Ian disembarked, we sailed to Port Denarau Marina, and here we are, back in our winter home. Smiling Fijians, lots of Bula-ing, frangipanis, warm breezes, Fiji Bitter........ We'll stay here on the dock for a few days, washing the salts off, servicing/checking a few things, refuelling, doing the laundry...... and then we'll head back out to the islands.

Vinaka Fiji, thanks for welcoming us back.

One of the frequently asked questions asked of cruisers is 'How do you spend the time when it's your watch?' Over the years I've heard all sorts of responses: from sitting diligently at the helm keeping an eye on the horizon and the instruments, to reading, to doing puzzles, to snoozing (with the alarm clock set), to baking, to doing a routine of stretches, to practising knot tying...... Can you work out what I do for part of my shift? "Hello There. Life Beyond Work is Offshore, Sailing So Far Away. Changes in Latitude. All I need are Dolphins and Albatross, Aquamarine. Anything is Possible. It's Almost Full Moon and it's a Starry Night, So Beautiful. Feeling Good, a Change is Going to Come, as i Farewell the Darkness with a Little Ray of Sunshine. So Happy Together." Yip, you guessed it, I enjoy listening to music.

What a rip-snorter of a run we had from Minerva yesterday up until 4am this morning! 202nm in 22 hours! But bugger, wouldn't you know it, as I came on to my shift at 4am the wind died, so we are bobbing around - I hesitate to start the motors which would be a horrible alarm clock for the crew! But maybe I should, as the sunrise is looking pretty 'spekky' at the moment! But hooray, we had a GREAT day's sailing yesterday.

After too a short stay at Minerva Reef we are just about to get underway again, and while we would have preferred to stay for a few more days, as is often the case, the weather dictates our movement. A breeze associated with squally conditions has been forecast for today, Sunday, so after the very light wind conditions of last week there is going to be a mass exodus - at last count yesterday there were 24 of us anchored here. I can hear the crayfish breathing a sigh of relief. We had a great day yesterday - very social, with morning tea here, afternoon tea there, sunset drinks with the neighbours..... but best of all was the AMAZING snorkel we had just outside the pass. Stunning corals 'decorated' with antheas, royal angel, clown, trigger and job fish, a school of trevally, peacock trout, sweetlips, and of course sharks. The visibility was around 30m. yip, AMAZING.

Happily anchored in Minerva North with about 16 boats. Domino kindly offered the entire fleet drinks on board. What a party! Kiapa may head off to Fiji tomorrow morning. We are hoping for a two day passage....in a perfect world.

How lucky was I yesterday? I went on an International Date - not only with Lionel, but Norm and Ian as well!! And now I am all confused, is it today, or is it yesterday?? (Is there the equivalent of a Shellback/Pollywog in this case?) We hope to make landfall - oh, oops, there isn't any land!! - at North Minerva around lunchtime today.

After listening to various SSB net schedules yesterday and this morning, what I am picturing right now is not quite the ITCZ, but the NMCZ - the North Minerva Convergence Zone. Yip, it sounds like the proverbial 'ants to the honey pot' as those of us who left NZ last weekend get closer and closer to what, I think, is going to be rather a festive anchorage. Those poor crayfish, they must be crawling further back in their holes.....

Yesterday was a combination of a yoga/pilates/aerobics/tai chi day as we reached this way and that, squatted down to retrieve this, stretched out to grab that as we changed sail configurations again and again, trying to maximise boat speed in light and variable wind conditions. (I'm convinced this is the Captain's way of keeping his crew strong, supple and flexible!)The heady was furled, the screecher went out, the screecher was furled, the spinny went up, the spinny was doused, the heady and screecher were goose-winged, then furled, the spinny went up a second time...... all in gloriously warm conditions under blue skies. By dinner time a few squalls threatened, but with these came a gentle SE, so our muscle-building/maintenance routine came to an end. Another good passage-maling day.

You know the mental image some people have of cruising....... that it's all about the wind in your hair, sailing off over the horizon to a coconut tree lined white sandy beach in the tropics, a nice breeze from behind with a gentle swell to push you along, curled up with a good book while one of the crew keep an eye on the instruments, freshly caught fish bbq-ed for dinner, good company, all the while listening to soothing instrumental music like Ocean Radiance by Ken Davis and Starry Night by Jo Satriani......well if you can imagine that scene, that's what it's been like on the good ship Kiapa for the last 24 hours. Enough said! Long may it last.

What a fabulous start to our passage. Blue skies, mountains off to port, and while still in the Bay of Islands we landed our first fish - a nice size bonito, but oops, being 'fussy' fish eaters we decided to release it. And just as well, 'cause WHAM, an hour later, a monster strike. This time a big big-eye tuna! Light and variable wind conditions continued, but with delicious homemade fruit cake (thanks Doreen), visiting albatross', noise-cancelling earphones to make listening to the iPod even more enjoyable, yummily cooked on the bbq (I kid you not) tuna steaks for dinner, followed by an entertaining game of DOH Cranium (thanks Maunie), who can complain?? We've seen quite a few AIS targets, all enormous commercial cargo carriers, so it pays to be vigilent.

We cleared with Customs nice and early this morning and are now officially underway to Minerva Reef. The soft grey fog has lifted and we are motoring out the Bay of Islands in beautiful sunshine. Hopefully the wind kicks in soon. There are 4 of us on board: Lionel and Myself, and our trusty crew, Ian and Norm. Here's to a safe and comfortable passage.

The weather gods still say Sunday morning, so Sunday morning it is!! Winds should be no more than 18kn...in theory

After looking at the forecast once more we have decided to delay our departure to Minerva Reef (and then Fiji), so no longer leaving today but now on Sunday. Thankgoodness NZ is still enjoying relatively warm weather - mostly still in thongs, sorry, jandals, and boardies.

On a mooring in Opua. Waiting for a departure to Fiji on Thursday 12 May.

We are now in Marsden Cove, Whangarei enjoying some social activities before heading to Opua in the next few day

Nice and snug with Fusio last night in Omaha cove. Today we both sail to Whangerei. Winds should be light.

Very happily anchored in a scenic bay off beautiful Sandspit after a pleasant sail from Great Mercury Island. Solo sailing was fun! Irene back on board, as is Brian (aka Brainy), one of our crew for the passage to Fiji. Welcome back on board, Briany, it's good to see you again.

So my deck grip is all finished and Kiapa is ready to go. I will sail (and Irene will drive the car) from Tairua to Hauraki Gulf tomorrow and then start to pick up our crew for the passage to Fiji.

Ok, so today we got our new dick grip for Kiapa. All the way from the good ole USA. We will fit the grip to my dick tomorrow and then head north to Whangeriei over the weekend, Then off to Opua to wait for a weather window to Fiji. The crew heading up with us are Brian, Norm and Ian.

Back in Tairua after a lovely week out exploring the Coromandel Coast, all the while enjoying freshly caught seafood. Now for our next adventure on South Island - we fly to Queenstown later today.

Anchored at Opito bay. 6 miles south of the Mercs. Tomorrow back to Taiua which is 18 miles away. Tonight is fresh snapper and scallops again. Ho hum

At last in Great Mercury Islands. Last night we ate Thai spiced scallops and the best snapper EVER. The cook was Dave Chrisp on Furtuna . Well done Dave. We will head back to Tairua on Wednesday and leave Kiapa there while we fly of to South Island to do a cycling, kiting and a great white shark dive. We will be back on Kiapa at end of March

Happily anchored off privately owned Slipper Island, not too far from Tairua on the Coromandel. Have just returned from a scuba dive where we gathered some paua for dinner. Yum YUM. Lionel is cleaning them as I type this.

After an early 5am start (to ensure we "crossed the bar" coming into the estuary mid morning at high tide) we are now berthed in the spectacularly located, brand spanking new Tairua Marina. We'll be based here for the next month, giving us the opportunity to explore the Coromandel by boat, bike and car.

Comfortably anchored in Kennedy Bay on the eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsula after a very pleasant sail from Fairway Bay. Saw quite a few whales along the way - we think they were Bryde whales. Plenty of wind here, but feeling snug, with aerobatic gannets diving for their dinner all around us. Two other yachts anchored close by.