Although I felt like the voyage was pretty much over when we arrived in Opua last week, the real goal and final destination for Starlight was Auckland. This is where the owners will make their new life, having left their home country in search of greener pastures.
Now I can finally say that this voyage is complete, almost exactly 9 months after I first set foot on the Beneteau 445 that was named Livin On De Edge at the time. Along the way we have sailed from the freezing temperatures of the east coast of the US in winter down through the tropics all the way to cool weather again south of the equator. The boat’s owners have gone from having zero offshore experience to having thousands of bluewater miles on their sailing resumés. I don’t think they really knew what they were in for when they started this voyage, but they stuck with it and shared a rare experience together as a family that they will remember for the rest of their lives.
It is good to be in Auckland, but I won’t be staying long. Idle Queen has been waiting a long time now for me to finish her repairs and refit.
Hi Baz. Nice to read your last port was reached safely and that you are on your way back to IQ. Magic stuff! I solo-ed up to st Barths from Trinidad. Mostly a great trip but I had a chain plate failure on back lower shroud so my last 10 hours Montserrat Gustavia was pretty savage. I was pretty keen to throw in the towel for the first few days after the trip but we have decided to keep putting one foot in front of the other hoping that we will earn enough in st Barths to keep afloat. We so much want to get out of the Carib and into the Pac. New Zealand seems so far away.
Mate well done you sure did a fine job with your crossing. I was a bit concerned you were leaving too late but you seemed to have a good crossing and all went well. Nice job! All the best with IQ
Ciao Craig and Christ?