Almost home again

Tonight we are in Urquarts Bay again after a very pleasant, albeit slow, sail down from Tutukaka. The wind never rose above 10 knots except for the last half mile or so and so it was a good chance to try out our UPS again and it worked well. In those light conditions it probably gave us half a knot more speed but anything is worthwhile. And we practised gybing it and it all worked a treat. Last night we had a meal ashore at Tutukaka Marina (we weren't berthed in the marina) which was average but at least a change from eating on the boat. We'd had a good trip down from Mimiwhangata the day before but it was only 2 hours under power and as we needed to make water and charge the batteries we motored all the way.
The weather has been great the whole time but now showing signs of some deterioration - the farmers need the rain. We'll top up our fuel at Marsden Cove Marina in the morning and then make our way the 12 miles up to the Town Basin on the flooding tide. That gives us an extra 2 knots over the ground in places.
We're signing off now but will be back on the air again with more nautical news as soon as we set sail again. Lots to do between now and next April (only 5 months max.) before we leave for Vanuatu and ultimately Malaysia. NZ is undoubtedly beautiful but doesn't have a monopoly on beauty. We are looking forward to the next big adventure in our lives checking out parts of Indonesia, then Malaysia and Thailand. Seems very daunting sitting here in NZ but it's just a matter of one step at a time.
Once more watch this space!
Cheers,
Jim and Jean (Gina)

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