A few jobs had to be completed before we could leave.  We had a wee leak around the toilet.

Monty fixing the toilet

The new and old choker valves

An eléctrical guy checking our alternator and trying to find the cause of a voltage drop

Broken negative terminals at the block found by another electrician in Opua, the cause for the voltage drop.

On April 22nd, we managed to leave the dock in Whangarei.  We headed downriver to Urquhart’s Bay and met 360 Blue anchored there.  We had a brief social with them and heard their news from the Bay of Islands.

The bridge opening for us. We stopped a Walk-a-thon that was in process.

We sailed up the coast and around Cape Brett the next day.  We tested our new sails and rigging.  We had up to 27 knots of wind and surfed down a wave at 15.9knots, a new record for us, not that we plan to see that again for a while.

One of our new chart plotters. No, the water temp is not 34.2, that gauge has never worked for us.

Just around Cape Brett, a dolphin jumped clear out of the sea next to the boat.  I yelled so loud, Monty thought something was seriously wrong, but it was just so great to see it!

The Hole in the Rock at Cape Brett

We anchored that evening in Omakiwi Cove near Blue Summit. We had a little roll over night, so we both moved to a spot that would have good protection from the south winds the next day.  We had a nice visit with Kate and Steve that evening, enjoying a lovely sunset.

With the water clean enough here, Monty was able to get the water maker set up.

Coming into Opua, a large cruise ship was anchored.

Margaret and Tony from Joalea, a Vancouver boat!

While in Opua, we attended some seminars on weather, passage planning, fishing, and, of course, the mandatory sausage sizzle!

A fishing seminar at Burnsco.

Monty had our rods, fishing lines and tackle all checked by their expert, Chris. He complimented Monty on having an excellent tackle box. (Thanks, Christian!)  Monty bought a few new lures, and we hope to have some great fish footage for you as the season progresses!

Our view from the dock on a foggy morning in Opua. A monster boat called Pacific HQ next to us, the ferry to Russell steaming by, every half hour from 6am to 10pm.  A little bumpy on that dock but easy to leave in any conditions.

Sunset from the Bay of Islands

We are now heading to Tonga so this will be the last blog until we have internet again!  Hugs to you all!

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