Today about 11 am we were a few miles north of north Cape we were sailing straight south with 25 knots behind and doing good speed then all a sudden we got an instant wind change 20 knots out of the SW with no prior warning. It was a welcome to NZ wind-change moment. Certainly a reminder that sailing isn'€™t 15 knots of warm breezes over the aft quarter anymore. Shorts Tee shirts and bare feet are a thing of the past.

All'€™s going well on board. Logues was very pleased to see the green hills of home. He has had a great last few days of feeling good and being fascinated by the big wide blue ocean. We'€™ve had some great chats.

We lashed ourselves to the Q pontoon in Opua just before midnight and went inside for the tie up rum. The gentleman of the customs and excise should be on board in the morning to check us in to NZ. Nero and Wanderlust are about 20 plus miles behind and will be in the the early hours.

So 18 months after jumping on this little racer on the other side of the world we have reached the place we love best and the only country we would ever want to live in from now onwards. Its so very nice to be back in our turanga wai wai.

Tewaka crew

80 miles in last 12 hours. Flying straight down wind with double reef main and 60% genoa sitting on 7 '€“ 8 knots and occasionally hitting the 10s. Just how we like finishing passages. Go little Waka. Alls going well on board. Logues put in another big movie marathon knocking over 3 + hours of Hucklebery Fin on the Mississippi. Haven'€™t seen any more beautiful big blue\ black petrels or the Albatros. We are within 110 miles of Opua and could be seeing North Cape about lunchtime. We are expecting a southerly change and then I think we will smell .....Sheep. Nero and Wanderlust are still nearby as of last night, at one stage Wanderlust was within 10 miles of us but we could hear them on the radio. We passed 2 yachts overnight one was a 45'€™ sloop called Elaka heading for Tauranga and another was just a light who we couldn'€™t raise on the VHF. We'€™ll be in Kiwi today Yeh Tewaka crew

253 miles to Opua. Late Monday is still looking good. We have done more motoring on this trip than any other. I suspect we will have motored half the way and this is on a trip that gives many a cruising yachtie (in the words of an old master mariner) ?anal flutter? Our buddies on Wanderlust and Nero are a few miles back and a little west of us. We are looking at having a couple of days in Opua which should give us time to tank up on a couple of quiet rums (Ron) cookies and cream ice cream (Logues) and all of the above plus Vogels, hokie pokie ice cream L&P (Chris).

2 November 1600 hrs Rolling along at about 6 knots in full sun. Inside NZ 200 mile zone. A nice little northerly has filled in (right on the clacker of course) Logues has produced a magnificent banana cake with the last of the pecans. The nanas weren?t going to make the last 200. It?s his best yet by far. The pecans go in half the loaf which means Ron and I get a taste as pecans don?t feature in Logues stringent 12 year olds diet.

380 to Opua Lots of motoring in the last 24hrs and only 140 miles covered. At times pushing into a knot of current. Late Monday is looking like a possibility. Looks like quite a crowd arriving in about the same time 10 plus from Minerva and 4 of us from Fiji (that we know of).

Hi All

just another day being able to see jackall especially with mountainous hills of long rolley swells , the water is clear and beautiful blue pretty amazing and fun trying to catch little sailing jellyfish with buckets and looking at flying fish , which a couple have ended dead on the boat and looking, they have amazing aerodynamics and design.

Logan MacDonald

2nd mate.

Tewaka

Been motoring now for 24 hours. 520 miles to Opua. All?s good on board. Logues likes motor boating so he thinks when he grows up and gets a marine engineers job on a superyacht that it will be a super motor yacht. Logues & I managed to scoop up a man of war jellyfish that was sailing by. So he?s ticked that off as the marine biology section of his homework. Still close to Nero and Wanderlust. Bob caught a huge Dorado yesterday about 5? long so they have fish meals thru to Opua. My texts to Sophies Sat phone are not going thru but Bob is relaying for us as he is in VHF range with them.

Just started the motor wind has dropped.  660 miles to

Opua.   All?s good on board with Logues almost back to true

form.  We are within 20 odd miles of Nero and

Wanderlust.  Enjoying watching the flying fish.

Yesterday morning

we sailed past a overturned vessel probably 59 ? 60? long probably steel launch

or fishing boat.  She just had her keel and  bottom out of the

water.  We were doing 8 knots at the time and if we had hit her it would

have been the end for this boat I suspect.  The hulk had a large amount of

marine growth and plenty of guano from the seabird perched on it?s keel. 

Leaving us to believe that she had been that way for some time.   We

informed Taupo Maritime, as it is definitely a hazard to shipping.  It

might be worth a mention for those leaving Fiji to Opua.  It was about 250

miles out to the right of the rhum line.  Position  21° 53' S - 174°

04' E.

Good run overnight. 89 miles in last 12 hours. Alls going well on board. Logues has been a bit squeezy but brighter today. We are within 40 odd miles of Nero and Wanderlust. Enjoying watching the flying fish. Good run overnight. 89 miles in last 12 hours.

At anchor outside Denerau Fiji