After the idyll of Tonga for 3 months, we headed out to
sea on Nov 6, 2008, southbound for New Zealand, into
the treacherous South Pacific.
We weathered several multi-day storms,
cold, blustery, bummers which Bob typically fended off
with a tot of scotch!
NEXT->
Red skies at night, sailor's' delight;
green flash at sunset, the best evening yet!
Basically we sailed from one frontal system....
.... to another.
After four day's sailing we stopped to rest with others at
Minerva Reef, an atoll in the middle of nowhere, to wait
for the next weather window.
This is NOT a picture of a fine weather window!! But
some of the worst weather makes the best light shows.
Bruce and Rikki Going dining al fresco aboard ¡QB!
inside the protection of Minerva Reef.
When we met in Tonga, we bonded immediately and
became instant friends-- At Minerva Reef, Bruce & Bob
fished and Barb & Rikki played cards and Scrabble.
Bruce took Bob fishing outside Minerva Reef on the 50'  
   steel boat he built, SeaGoing, and they caught a     
boat load of tuna, and a dorado.
Once a professional fisherman, Bruce showed Bob his
methods of cutting and gutting.
At the next calm weather window we all sailed south
again away from Minerva Reef, day....
and night, for another 9 days.
Almost to NZ, we needed to motor against the current,
and just before running out of fuel, we reached
NZ's Bay of Islands.
We arrived in NZ waters on Nov 21 in early morning,
but it takes hours to sail from the coastal waters of
North Id, down Victoria Channel....
...and finally into the welcome protection of
Opua Harbour and Marina, and the embrace of the
super-friendly Kiwis.
When the bustle of town life was too much and the
"witha foin" we sailed to explore the islands in the Bay.
History abounds in the Bay of Islands--we anchored in
Cook's Cove off Robeton Id.
The views from the trail summits are awesome.
The North Island has been a stronghold of Maori people
for centuries. They favored high sites with sea views for
their fortified villages, called "pa".
A typical "pa" site of the early Maori where they
defended themselves well against the French and
English until the peace treaty of 1840.
Many of the islands in the Bay of Islands are scenic
reserves, and for good reason.
The entire Bay of Islands is a marine wildlife sanctuary,
though fishing is permitted.
It was summer in the southern hemisphere, and though  
the Kiwis love boating, we often had whole isolated
bays to ourselves.