Let’s do this…Passage to NZ, Day 1

Well unlike Georgia against Florida today we do have our game faces on. This morning we pulled out the positive attitudes, along with all the cold weather clothing we have onboard, and eased our way out of the harbor around 7:30. Our chartplotter’s eyes were manually set on Opua, New Zealand. Mileage-1010 miles. So far we’re about eight hours in and if we manage to maintain six knots our estimated time of arrival is early morning about eight days from today. We put about as much hope on maintaining six knots as I do on Tom Brady leaving that Brazilian bombshell for yours truly. The weather window is calling for light winds with fair seas for about ten days but naturally that is subject to change. As a sailor you quickly learn that you only usually trust weather reports through the first three days or so no matter how long the window they predict. We will check weather at least twice a day, everyday. On the horizon we see the sails of several other boats who left shortly after us this morning and while most of them are planning to do a little layover at Minerva Reef, we are in this for the long haul. As long as the weather window stays in our favor then we are trucking along. Nonetheless, for now I find comfort in the site of their sails knowing that help is a few miles away if need be.

There’s a funny rumor amongst cruisers that more injuries on sailboats happen at anchor than at sea. That rumor proved itself to be true in Nuku’Alofa. One cruiser slipped a disk in his lower back, has been hulled up for about four days now, and he and his wife will now fly to New Zealand where he will have surgery after having found crew to deliver their boat for them. Just yesterday morning, a woman who had flown in to help crew yet another yacht fell on the stairs inside the boat and severely broke her leg. She was flown to New Zealand last night and was scheduled for surgery today. There were two doctors onboard their own boats in the harbor with us and they both stayed fairly busy their entire time in Nuku’Alofa. As much as you hate to see any cruiser go down like that you can only imagine they must be somewhat thankful that if it had to happen that it happened at anchor. Could you imagine being 400, 500 miles into a passage such as this one and something like either of these two cases happen?

Spilled some salt making Drew a BLT for lunch today so quickly threw a little over my shoulder. We don’t need any bad luck hanging over our heads right now!