Te Kaihōpara carefully dropped her anchor at Cook’s Bay in the wee hours of the morning. I decided to have a quick kip but woke up confused as my surroundings were completely different. Turns out the crew had decided to shift our anchorage to the more scenic bit of Mercury Bay. Very sneaky! Thereafter, Te Kaihōpara’s crew spent an adventurous day on land exploring the various art galleries and coffee shops in the quaint little town. Kester braved the cold water with quick dip, jumping off the yacht’s bow and coming back in one piece. Iain swam all the way from the yacht to the beach and back in extremely neon-pink coloured swimming gear. I was equally impressed with his bravery regarding the swimming distance as well as the choice of colour of a swimming gear. Bravo!

Evening pre-race departure checks were completed and the crew feasted on roasted veggies, roast lamb, barbecue yellow-tail, veggie cutlets and self-saucing chocolate cake. Tactics and weather was discussed as the crew also made sure everyone knew their role for the final piece of this exhilarating adventure. Thereafter, there was a bit of a mini-fiasco, as just a few minutes after our 10pm departure, I got well and truly stuck around a corner in the bilges whilst greasing the propellor pitch gear mechanism. The trick to getting out of an enclosed space without having any real control over your body weight is to maintain your calm and not let the brain run wild with worst case scenarios, communicate with whoever is in earshot that you have a problem and slowly try and get out of the space, from the exact same angle that you got in. Remember, even if gravity isn’t your friend at the moment, the volume of space is still the same and you will be able to get out. Most importantly, avoid shallow and short breaths, you’ll hyperventilate and create excess CO2. Breathe normally and try and keep your weight off your chest. You’ll make it out, trust me, I’ve been in much tighter spots and I’m not a slender fella.

Te Kaihōpara roared across the coastline as the moonlight glowed in her presence. The symphony of winds made for a sweet melody as Silver Fern seemed to have sneakily gotten themselves at least half-an-hour’s head start. A wild night awaits us and Te Kaihōpara and her crew are more than ready for it.

- Arjun Thimmaya, Chief Mate, Te Kaihōpara