Sharing with Friends is Always Fun
02 November 2017 | Opua, Bay of Islands, NZ
Once again, we were fortunate to have friends join us for the passage between Fiji and New Zealand. Our good friends Brent and Jen from Austin have spent time with us on the boat most every season. This year they elected to do the passage to NZ. We were lucky to get a few days in the islands before leaving on the passage, and we arrived in NZ early enough for them to see a little of NZ before returning to the US.
While it is impossible to experience a passage any other way than just doing it, you do get the bad with the good as Jen found out. Unfortunately we started the passage with the roughest conditions (25kts T, going upwind into 2.5m seas), but the last 4 days were very calm (lots of motoring), allowing Jen to bounce back and be able to enjoy night watches, sunsets, and the positive parts of an ocean passage. Brent was a real trooper during the first 24hrs, and helped make the passage much easier for me (and Cindy)..
I especially enjoy their sense of adventure. They jumped at the opportunity to go out to some of Fiji’s finest surf spots, including Cloud Break, Wilkes and Namotu Left. While we were all quite humbled with the experience we had a great time giving it a go - them on surfboards and me on the standup paddleboard. While neither Cindy nor I joined them for their marathon hike to Pahia, Russell and back, they had a full day of enjoying the Kiwi outdoors.
Thanks Brent and Jen for the company, assistance and above all your friendship!