After much deliberation, Te Kaihōpara is heading straight to New Zealand. The last two days we have spent working hard and making very slow progress towards the east and Minerva Reef. Unfortunately, our boat speed hasn’t been fast enough and combined with an easterly wind and waves, Minerva Reef has become out of reach if we want to get to New Zealand before Christmas.

Watchkeeping is going well, on watch right now are Dora, Matt and Suzanne. Dora is enjoying sailing on a nicer angle and has got our boat speed up to 7kts, touching 8kts occasionally. Matt is learning the ropes thoroughly and becoming an extremely helpful crew member all round. Suzanne spent the first two days curled up in the wheelhouse with varying stages of seasickness but has perked up and is working sheets and checking sail trim with the help of Dora.

Up next on watch is Jaq, Adrian and Jen. Adrian is my saviour with his mechanical skills and willingness to fix anything under my diagnosis, it’s nice to know he’s keeping an eye out when I’m busy or asleep. Jaq is a diligent watch leader and is keeping us on track and had a tricky situation yesterday when a 60 degree wind shift accidentally tacked us! We sorted the sheets out and he tacked us back onto course. If you look carefully at our tracker line, there’s a wee zig zag in there somewhere. Jen, having overcome a short spell of seasickness, has been a star in the galley and an overall bubbly person. If I hear any laughter, it’s probably Jen cracking up at something that’s not actually funny but she’s laughing anyway. Currently Jen is down in the galley gathering ingredients to make peach muffins.

Loitering off watch is David, Nathan and Jim. David never seems to sleep as he’s always up doing something or chatting away, having just vacuumed the carpets. Jim has been keeping the potatoes company in the galley bilge checking it for water. Nathan is in his bunk getting some well earnt rest after being the ship’s fitter and turner yesterday, repairing some latches, reinstating the aft compass (that mysteriously fell off) and helping me repair a leaking toilet. He almost needs to be on the payroll!

Te Kaihōpara on the other hand is trucking along under full sail. She is loving the seas off to the side and a beam reach wind. The big old engine is getting a workout and maintaining a good SOG straight towards the Bay of Islands. We will shortly turn off the engine and sail for the day while we have wind. Her windows are encrusted with salt and her sheets are tight. Water and fuel tanks are looking good and her motion is much more comfortable now we aren’t trying to fight our way upwind. Anything that has broken we have managed to repair but I’m sure she’ll appreciate a good rest and some repairs once back in New Zealand. As for fishing, Te Kaihōpara has caught three flying fish in her scuppers while Jaq has caught none. Boat 3 - Humans 0.

Te Kaihōpara on a gentle lean. If you look at the horizon long enough, NZ might appear!

That’s all for now, I’m going to watch for whales.

-Hannah - Captain - Te Kaihōpara

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