Tall Ships Race
08 January 2010 | Bay of Islands - New Zealand
Scott
Happy New Year! Can you believe that the first decade of 2000 is behind us already?
We spent a wonderful news year's eve with friends, anchored between two charming towns with a ring side seat for the firework spectacular at the stroke of midnight. What a way to celebrate, eh?
This morning we watched the start of the Bay of Islands tall ships race. New Zealand is obsessed with boating and this was quite an amazing spectacle. We anchored with the spectator fleet and watched a half dozen historic tall ships and nearly 100 classic (and some not so classic) sailing boats circle in stately confusion until the cannons booming from shore signaled the start of the race. It is pretty jaw-dropping considering that there are probably fewer than 10,000 residents in the bay of Islands. This is representative of the country though, in a country of 4 million residents an amazing 1.5 million go boating each year.
This afternoon we are finally leaving the Bay of Islands and starting off down the coast to Auckland. We hope to arrive within the week.