Te Kaihōpara and I started the next day refreshed, as we knew today was the day we would pass our favourite pass in the Marlborough Sounds region, Oui, you guessed right, it was French Pass-time! Our journey towards it had sublime sailing conditions and hence we could give our Gardner engine friend a break. I despise the usage of the slang ‘donkey’ w.r.t. the yacht’s engine, irrespective of its size.

If the ‘donkey’ refuses to cooperate, you have get a ‘Mayday’ call going, matey. Maybe it’s the engineer within me, or I just like anthropomorphism. Just give the engine its due respect. My personal favourite slang for the engine is ‘The Iron Sail’. No one messes with the Iron Sail!

Luck was on our side as the minute we put our sails away, the weather turned absolutely atrocious. We took shelter for a few hours in Te Puna bay as the rain clouds dispersed, leaving us with a mysterious mist in all four directions. Fans of Stephen King’s ‘The Mist’ would’ve been delighted, but me and Te Kaihōpara felt bad for the rest of the crew, that were going to miss out on the beautiful scenery that the French Pass had to offer. We also learned about the ship (late 1900’s) and drift divers (early 2000’s) that this treacherous pass had gobbled up.

We settled down in Catherine Cove for the night as the dreadful weather came to an end. David and Sharon surpassed themselves yet again, with a middle eastern inspired feast of freshly made kebabs, chargrilled bell peppers, onions and burnt-skin sausages. The night was peaceful up until a smoke alarm’s dying battery got us up and alert. Good ol’ Te Kaihōpara and her tricks.

- Arjun Thimmaya, Chief Mate, Te Kaihōpara