We arrived in Opua yesterday 11/5 at 13:00. NZ Customs and Biosecurity check-ins went smoothly, but we had to ditch quite a few beans. The hills surrounding Opua seem to be manicured. The marina is really nice, new and modern. Quite a few yacht-focused businesses meters away from dock. Lots of space to anchor too. Opua will be a good place to be for at least a month if not longer.

20171104 1800 UTC. 2 POB, Douglas & Morgan, all is well. More dolphins! We have 36nm to go to the Q dock in Opua and are busy eating the last of our delicious tropical fruit. We are really looking forward to our time in New Zealand.

20171103 1800 UTC. 2 POB, Douglas & Morgan, all is well. Dolphins! After a night of below ~10 kts wind and boat speed of 3-4 kts, we decided to motor for a bit to avoid missing our Sunday 11/5 target for landfall at Opua, New Zealand. We have 155nm to go, and after a few hours of motoring to get back on schedule, we plan to turn the engine off and sail in with the better wind forecast ahead of us.

20171102 2300 UTC. 2 POB, Douglas & Morgan, all is well. At daybreak we set about to deploy the whisker pole for the genoa, so that we could point the boat dead downwind, and immediately several problems popped up. Of these problems, all minor, the Monitor windvane power train lines had developed chafe and had to be replaced. While repairing it we lost track of time and missed the Gulf Harbor Radio SSB net. We'll be sure to post and to dial-in to GHR tomorrow.

20171101 1800 UTC. 2 POB, Douglas & Morgan, all is well. When there is brief lull, we keep thinking the winds are subsiding, but they keep roaring back. Last night we had hours of 25-30kts. This is now day 5 of good sailing winds, straight toward our destination, Opua, with an ETA of 0800 Nov. 5 local, 2 days ahead of schedule.

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20171031 1800 UTC. 2 POB, all is well. Another spectacular day of sailing. Beautiful clouds and seas with fresh winds. Winds last night were sustained in low 30's with gusts to 40 kts, all completely comfortable ( relatively) without sail changes. Winds are beginning to back anti-clockwise gradually as forecast. We are one full day ahead of schedule, with expected landfall at Opua, Bay of Islands on Sunday Nov. 5. Special thanks to Patricia & David for the excellent Gulf Harbor Radio. Weather discussion is superb.

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Wonderful sailing. Seas are 3m but relatively smooth with longish wavelength, so we are able to sail beam to seas, riding the ridges and troughs. Must hang on tight though. We are making record time for Tumbleweed with the help of the South Sub-tropical current, sog often +9 kts., which is above our hull speed of 7.8 kts. 740 nm to go, and we are headed straight for Opua NZ, thanks to the big blocking 1038 high east of NZ. Concerned about landfall weather on Sunday, Nov 5, our current ETA.

Wonderful sailing. Seas are 3m but relatively smooth with longish wavelength, so we are able to sail beam to seas, riding the ridges and troughs. Must hang on tight though. We are making record time for Tumbleweed with the help of the South Sub-tropical current, sog often +9 kts., which is above our hull speed of 7.8 kts. 740 nm to go, and we are headed straight for Opua NZ, thanks to the big blocking 1038 high east of NZ. Concerned about landfall weather on Sunday, Nov 5, our current ETA.

all well

Thrilled to get back onto the open seas. Looks like the 20-25 kt winds forecast for our area are here. It's what we wanted for a fresh sail, we hope it's not too much. We plan to call in to the Gulf Harbor Radio net tomorrow morning (radar interference this morning).

Moored in Tapana, Vava'u Tonga. Checked-out of Tonga and ready to set sail to Opua, NZ tomorrow, 10/28. Thrilled to get back onto the open seas.

Moored in Port of Refuge, Vava'u Tonga. Preparing to set sail to Opua, NZ on 10/28.

We are still in the Vava'u island group, Tonga, having fun and preparing for our passage to New Zealand, with a target departure date of November 1, 2017.

We're planning our passage to Opua, New Zealand, targeting November 1, 2017 for departure from the Vava'u Group in Tonga.

In La Paz, Mexico, finishing up preparation for our passage to French Polynesia in March, 2017