Sometimes, you just have to be the bigger man (and yacht)

Night time adventures on the bow

As the days and nights blended in to each other like fine wine and conversation, Te Kaihōpara sailed towards her first pit stop at Tauranga Marina. Considering Silver Fern’s skipper’s recent recovery from a medical issue and their relatively green Chief mate, Te Kaihōpara and me decided to let them win this leg of the race to Auckland. I mean, everyone deserves a warm welcome (back) to the Ocean Sailing Expeditions team, right?

Action packed days and adrenaline pumping nights onboard Te Kaihōpara

Tackling blocked heads, pesky galley sinks and cooking a hot lunch (not necessarily in that order) was pretty much how me and Te Kaihōpara got through the morning as we approached Tauranga marina. The engine gave us a bit of a scare as a isolated instance of a metallic knocking sound was heard when motor-sailing. But once the engine was stopped, parameters rechecked and restarted, the sound was not heard again. Me and Te Kaihōpara will keep a our ears open for the remainder of the trip. We did manage to get a glimpse of Mōtītī Island and Whakaari (White Island) on our way to Tauranaga marina, the latter being famed for being an active andesite stratovolcano. We might stop-over there on another adventure in the future.

Watch ‘C’ turning in a grade ‘A++’ performance time and again

Yet another smooth berthing was carried out by the crew as we settled into Tauranga Marina for the night. The horrid weather did nothing to dampen our spirits as Silver Fern’s Skipper and crew joined us for a night of drinks and pizza. Te Kaihōpara’s skipper was at his best behaviour as his father-in-law popped-in for a visit, bring along with him enough snacks to feed an army. Wine flowed as freely as the rain outside Te Kaihōpara as both crew exchanged war stories and revelled in the warmed after having endured the past few hours of rain and freezing sea smacking them right in the face.

- Arjun Thimmaya, Chief Mate, Te Kaihōpara