8 November 2024 -New Zealand- Marsden Cove Marina

I was woken by noises on a next-door boat which turned out to be a fishing boat called Nimble II taking people out fishing. This was a little annoying but once awake I had to get up. It was a lovely sunny morning and again there was no wind.

We had a leisurely breakfast and the electrician came about 8.45am and he was to look at the anchor light switch. This was a plastic switch and it appears that the plastic had deteriorated and broken. It looked easy to potentially switch them over but there were wires and connections and I did not feel comfortable doing this. Kyle had a look and was able to switch one of the spare switches to replace the one that had perished. However, when we switched the anchor light on we could not see in the sunlight whether it was on. Kyle used to work on super yachts and offered to go up the mast to check. We therefore got out the bosuns chair and up he went. However, I had to winch Kyle up and he was a good 100kg. This took a little time and I had to pause for breath a couple of times but it was working. It was therefore fixed. Kyle did say that some of the switches did look a bit fragile and I guess they are original and now some 21 plus years old.

Erika and Joyce did some washing and Carolyn packed. She was due to get a lift to the bus stop which would take her to Auckland. We all said goodbye and wished her a good trip. She is now getting off Stormbird and will make her own travels around NZ until she flies home about 13 December. She has been a good crew member joining in Tahiti since the end of September and we wish her well.

Once she had left I cleaned the deck and filled up the water tanks. We then had a salad nicoise lunch using the last of the tuna since Tahiti which was delicious. We then rested and then Joyce and Erika went off to Ruakaka Beach which they said was lovely and there was a café there (more of a restaurant) which did supper and suggested Keith and I joined them. However, we contacted all the taxi companies and they were all busy or not working.

We therefore stayed put and enjoyed the sun reading and relaxing and had a sundowner. We then headed over to the Marina Café (restaurant ) for supper in the lovely evening sun. We watched lots of small fishing boats with outboards being launched or taken out by the slipway adjacent to the restaurant. It was a great meal and still lovely and light.

We returned to Stormbird and read and hoped the ladies will be able to get back bearing in mind the tax situation. We are now down to 4 and will head off tomorrow to head further closer to Auckland where we may try to anchor on Kawau Island which is round Tokatu Point. This is about 43 nm so will leave around 11.00am when the tide is rising and when the Northerly wind starts to pick up.

It has been a nice relaxing day, the anchor light is fixed, the water tanks are full, the deck is clean and Carolyn got off safely.

The picture of the day is the marina from the restaurant.   

Opportunity Year Two

In year two I will be going from New Zealand in early January 2025 across to Sydney and up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025. I will need some more crew.

If there is any interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com