A dash of new blood, quarter of a blue moon and oodles of Thai green curry

Everyone just looks a tad cooler and more important in red lighting

With the Magic Miles and Silver Fern side-quests finally behind us, Te Kaihōpara and I were finally reunited, after I drove down a long windy road, in a rather comfy rental car all the way from the Northern peaks of Opua. I wasn’t alone as I was joined in the front passenger’s seat by the the accidental mathematician and Karl Marx-fetishist, Jason Haigh, a.k.a, Jason. Taking up a majority of the backseat, were John Chambers, a.k.a JohnBoi, a connoisseur of tasty idioms and exotic tobacco blends and Olivia Carrigan, a.k.a. Liv, a New York bagel-fanatic and a fellow Isle of Wight trained Yachtmaster, just like yours truly! Last, but definitely not the least, was Hannah Wilks, a.k.a. Hannah, one of Nelson’s finest Sailing Instructor’s and budding botanist, who just wanted to listen to her podcast on the car-ride, but somehow never seemed to be able to.

Lovely Auckland weather as always

The crew got together as Te Kaihōpara slowly, but surely, revealed her secrets to the virgin Skipper & Chief Mate trainees as I looked on, proud of the new blood being introduced to the Ocean Sailing Expeditions team. I was glad to have a little human company in Gulf Harbour Marina for a change, rather than an occasional glimpse of my reflection in the still marina waters, that didn’t run quite as deep as Te Kaihōpara’s lore. As we prepared Te Kaihōpara for her trip up to New Zealand’s northern port of Opua, I finally got a chance to go and say hello to Shakespeare Park’s local resident, glow worms. Hannah was kind enough to share their Māori name, ‘Titiwai’ which translated to a very apt, ‘lights reflected in water’. Soon enough, our severely caffeine-dependent and highly functioning Skipper, David Hows, was back onboard, armed with enough Bras for Fiji to make a customs agent suspicious of his true brassiere-istic aspirations.

Karleen paying attention to the exact opposite direction that I requested her to on lookout. (She took this picture whilst being lookout on the bow)

Many moons had passed since our arrival at Gulf Harbour Marina and it was now time to say goodbye. Joining us for our adventure to our destination of Opua, (before heading for Fiji) were the mother-son duo of Karleen and Ben, both who stated the most boring thing about themselves being, that they were a mother-son duo on the yacht. I think quite the opposite actually! Karleen was strict at keeping the scurvy at bay by ingesting orange-rinds by the mouthful while Ben looked on, ever-so proudly. Now that’s a mother-son combo! Joining them was Robyn, a self-proclaimed breaker of generational-hoarder cycles, who prayed dearly each night for a return of the disco-yesteryears. Rounding up the last of the crew was Sean, who had run away from the disillusionment of Californian temptations to the peaceful meadows of Christchurch. The crew joined forces and set sail for Two House Bay, where we decided to anchor for the night. The gusty winds en-route could do nothing to foil Te Kaihōpara motoring along in all her glory. Opua awaits as we spend the night in the one place I imagined, just might have housed Giraffes in New Zealand. If not now, maybe in another timeline! JohnBoi cooked up a storm in the galley, as he mesmerised the crew with a veggie green curry and turmeric rice. He almost made up for undercooking the mushroom-risotto the previous night!

- Arjun Thimmaya, Chief Mate, Te Kaihōpara