Month: May 2013

May 29, 2013

The morning of May 29 was cold and breezy, but overall it looked like a good weather window. We were the only ones leaving from Tauranga that day, but other boats were jumping off from Marsden Point (outside of Whangarei) and Opua, including the ill-fated Nina headed for Australia. Those other boats had the advantage of being a day or two north of us, but we had the advantage of being east of them, and those of us heading to Fiji would not be arriving very far apart.

During the morning we made final preparations and got checked out with customs, who actually came to our boat. It was about 12:30 when Rich fired up the engine and we were about ready to go. Rich asked if I was hungry, and I said I was. We both looked up at Phil’s restaurant perched just above our slip. Maybe if we went and had lunch, the gusty winds would die down. At least we could leave on a full stomach! With that, Rich turned off the engine and we marched right up to the restaurant for seafood chowder. What a treat! After another round of good-byes, we were back on the boat. Oh how we’ll miss everyone here.

After dressing up in layers of long underwear, jeans, T shirts, sweat shirts, hats, gloves and foulies, we were set. People came down to see us off, but I was too nervous to enjoy it. It took everything I had to focus on the tasks at hand. The current was running and was a bit of an adventure getting out of our slip. Tony from the marina was standing by to assist in his dinghy and give helpful advice. Once we maneuvered out of the slip, Rich had to go fast to keep the boat moving forward. Legacy kind of headed down the fairway sideways, but Rich kept her in the middle, then made a skillful high speed exit through the S-curve to the main channel.

We were still riding the fast current but now had a lot more room. It was quite an adventure passing the Mount at an involuntary 9.5 knots amid impressive (and slightly scary) swirling currents. We soon shot out through the harbor entrance and into the open ocean. The wind was gusting but all our layers kept us warm, and we’ve found that when we’re warm and dry, we feel much more calm. We actually felt good and excited about heading north into warmer temperatures. We knew our immediate future held some squally weather and choppy seas, but the GRIBS predicted it would get really lovely in about 3 days. –Cyndi

May 29, 2013 in Tauranga, New Zealand

We’re just completing the final, small tasks before heading out onto the big ocean again – bound for Fiji this time.  We’re getting weather routing advice from Bob McDavitt and he says it’s a go.  Here’s an image he sent us showing what we can expect by way of winds (red wind feathers) and currents (small arrows) along our planned route.

Wish us luck! We’ll try to post along the way.  -Rich

May 28, 2013 in Tauranga, New Zealand

OK, I hope not totally our last meal – just our last meal at a restaurant in Tauranga before we take off tomorrow to sail up to Fiji.  The weather for the passage is looking good, the boat projects have come together, and it’s getting COLD here!  That’s why lunch by the fire.  We couldn’t get the table any closer!  It’s time to head north before it gets any colder.

Phil’s Place is our favorite restaurant in Tauranga, and we’re lucky ’cause it’s right at our marina.  The food, atmosphere and service are all great.  We’re going to miss this while we’re away, but we’ll be back.  -Rich

December 2012 thru May 2013

“No fair New Zealand!” was a phrase we’ve uttered many times as we’d arrive at yet another place of staggering beauty. “Save some pretty for other countries!” we’d demand. Sometimes just driving along, we’d say, “Stop it; stop it this instant! We can’t take any more!” A person can only take so much scenic beauty before their eyes need a rest! Sometimes the nonstop beauty gets so overwhelming it’s like being assaulted by feathers.

New Zealand is definitely nature’s combination plate, encompassing vegetation and terrain from around the world. We used to joke: What plants does New Zealand have? All of them! New Zealand is like a combination of everyplace, yet it looks like no place else. What’s amazing is the unusual combinations of plants and landscape never look strange or haphazard–they always work.

If I were to make up a legend about the creation of New Zealand, I’d say God finished the rest of the Earth first and ended up with leftover bits from everywhere. He then combined these bits to create the final masterwork that is New Zealand. Of course such a masterwork needs to be properly lit, so a sky was created with special clouds that would filter the sunlight into a soft warm light and create shadows on the landscape for drama. Aotearoa is the Maori word for New Zealand and means “the land of the long white cloud.” It’s very fitting.

It may be apparent by now that we have fallen in love with this beautiful country. The warm and wonderful people, the amazing food and wine, and the laid-back lifestyle would be reason enough to make this place worth visiting. The astonishing beauty of the landscape is quite a bonus.

By now we’d spent six months here, but there was so much to see both by land and by sea that we felt we’d barely scratched the surface. We’d pretty much seen only the north half of the north island, and there was never a question that we’d come back to see more of this fantastic country. New Zealand felt like a second home to us and we looked forward to returning for the December ’13 – May ’14 cruising season.

Below is a gallery of random pictures from our time here, in no particular order. They aren’t from our best pictures; they are the final leftovers that never even made the last-chance galleries. But all together this strange combination of pictures makes a fitting collage for the season. As always click to enlarge and scroll. –Cyndi