Lat: 27 17 57
Long: 178 38 50

After four days of being stuck on the boat in the Kermadecs without the possibility of going ashore (the NZ Department of Conservation is very strict about this), we were all getting restless to the point of craziness. It didn’t help that the sun never came out, and with winds gusting to ~60 knots each night from all directions, we were on shifts all night long to assure ourselves that our anchor wasn’t dragging toward the volcanic cliffs. Even so, we got enough sleep to have energy to burn during the day and had to find something to do with it. Beyond the boat maintenance and repairs that Dallas discussed, we ended up doing some cleaning (apparently vinegar works really well to break down salt and mildew), lots of cooking (mmmm, pumpkin bread), a bit of dancing in the cockpit to Ash’s eclectic playlist of highlights from the last two decades (OK, that was just me), and a bit of explaining lyrics from the songs to Shiroma, who just started speaking fluent English 7 months ago while in NZ (very impressive!).

One of the best uses of restless energy for Shiroma and I was taking a bath in the sea in the midst of winds strong enough to flip over the dinghy and dislodge the solar panels. The water temperature was just right, and we just had to hang on to the swim ladder so that we wouldn’t get carried out to sea! Shiroma thought it was especially funny that I decided to shave….”you took your shaver into a hurricane?!” Why not?

Thursday morning we awoke to a sunny, blue sky and calm seas (finally!). The anchor pulled up without too much difficulty considering how dug in it must have been, and we were out of the bay by 7 a.m.. Raul Island looked especially gorgeous as we were leaving, and the large dolphins and sea birds that had welcomed us in came back to see us off.

Good bye Kermadecs!

We were surprised at the size of the dolphins

We weren’t expecting any wind but ended up able to sail along the rhumb line most of the day. We’ve had the bimini rolled up since we almost lost it in the wind, and sitting alone in the cockpit under blue skies with wispy white clouds, surrounded by calm but undulating seas, I decided that sailing is not the worst way to travel after all!

Today (Friday) is overcast and the wind has virtually died, so we are motoring, but we are moving forward. Shiroma hasn’t been too queasy since leaving the Kermadecs and has started doing night watches, which is really good for her morale. She and Ash seem to have called a truce for the moment, but I have a feeling that both of them will be leaping to the dock to get a break from the boat and each other when we get to Fiji. Only 580 miles to go…