Day 1: Passage NZ to Fiji

Enjoyed our cozy night in our quiet, warm boat. Watching boats leave about every 30-60 minutes, as they check out with Opua Customs. The weather window is looking better and better; we have our normal pre-departure anticipation, excited and a bit nervous to go. 1pm appointment with Customs – the Customs Agent who checked us in, checked us out and he remembered us. We had a few strikes against us, the biggest that we weren’t successful in fishing here! Nicest Customs person we’ve ever met – great personality, but also very serious about his job.

Underway by 1:45pm in a parade of boats heading north to the Islands.

We are anticipating our roughest days at the beginning and end of this passage, tough now as we don’t have our “sea legs,” therefore the scopolamine patches are on and Cora and I added a bit of Dramamine to the mix to ensure we are capable crew. We are about 1,200 nm to Suvasuva, Fiji. We have the assistance of Sailing Totem helping with weather and passage planning for this voyage.

People who are not sailors comment to me about the “peacefulness” of being on the ocean; yes, it is peaceful and freeing in its own way…but it is LOUD! Waves breaking, splashing on the hull, vibrations through the hull, and the waves hitting both of our hulls with bridgedeck slap. When it’s quiet, it’s because we’re becalmed. Then the sound of the motors appears. These are not complaints, but just the reality of being out here for those not familiar.

Calder caught a small kingfish which we released. But then the telltale whir of his line indicating a bigger fish. At 25 miles out from NZ, he caught a beautiful large yellowfin tuna; just at sunset when the moon rose. The tuna was a fighter and we slowed the boat down to bring him in; what a passage gift! Watching Calder filet the fish by headlamp in these seas impresses me; he’s in his element out here.

We have winds and waves on the beam. Waves a solid 2-2.5 metres, boat handling great. Winds are also on the beam at an average of 20 knots, but ranging from 4 knots (we motored for an hour) to 31 knot gusts. Poor Captain Chris got called up on deck for frequent sail adjustments overnight; he’s napping now. We’re moving right along at an average speed of about 7 knots, have the main and the genoa up, have covered 146 nm thus far.