The night watches last night onboard Te Kaihōpara went by quite peacefully as we sailed towards Cape Kidnappers (home to the largest Gannet colony in the world). A unexplainable situation did come up with a particular watch (comprising Kevin, Luca, Gaynor and yours truly) as we observed a particularly large number of shooting stars during our time at the helm. As the night went on, I returned to sleep in my cabin, closing my eyes and hoping to dream up a possible explanation for all those shooting stars. I was startled out of my slumber as I realised that engine wasn’t running anymore!

As I ran/ stumbled out of my cabin out into the wheelhouse, I was greeted by bright sunshine and Skipper inspecting the sails carefully. The sun was shining now, I had obviously slept for more than 3 hours (feeling like my head had barely touched the pillow) and most importantly, we had enough wind to give the engine a break. Phew! The challenge of sailing was a bit advanced as we had departed out of Picton without any wind instruments data available to us (Thanks B&G!). But I guess that’s what makes these adventures, and we have adapted by the wind indicator at the top of the mast and some dinghy sailing skills to trim sail and heading. It makes life a bit more heart-pumping at night and the next gets a little sore from gazing upwards regularly in the shifty conditions. An Albatross accompanied us for a few miles as we touched the 10.5 knot mark for the first time since I’ve been onboard (whilst purely under sail). I’m so proud of good ol’ Te Kaihōpara today!

The day went by smoothly as the Mother and Son duo of Gaynor and Luca cooked up a feast for dinner and even managed to serve up some dessert for the hard-working crew. As I write this, up on watch, Kester, Barry and Daniel are in the wheelhouse practising their best Freddy Mercury impressions (Te Kaihōpara and I have no doubt Barry’s got the best one). The race between us and Silver Fern is neck-and-neck as our approach towards Cape Kidnappers is imminent.

The super late night watch was even more hilarious, as a half asleep Daniel accidentally, almost gave Luca a full Nelson (that’s a wrestling move) whilst trying to gain his balance, missed Luca completely and ended up  flat on his backside underneath the saloon dining table. The Pink Panther himself would’ve been proud of that move! As long as no one got hurt, Te Kaihōpara and I can laugh out loud.

- Arjun Thimmaya, Chief Mate, Te Kaihōpara