The Final Stretch
09 November 2015 | 34 27.9'S:173 21.4'E, 70 miles to go
Colin
We are now 12 miles off the east coast of New Zealand with about 70 miles to Opua where we will clear into the country. Wendy has made a small pile of all the food that will be confiscated, so I am feasting as we make our approach. Although the winds have been light and we have motored quite a bit, this has been a remarkably comfortable passage. Our ETA for Opua is approx midnight local tonight (Nov 10). Which is just shy of 8 days at sea and a tad over 1000 nautical miles. This is the third time we've crossed this patch of water and every trip has been different, but none has been as terrifying as the reputation this passage has. I credit our weather router Bob McDavitt with finding us the best weather windows and also having the patience to wait for the right time. We were in Noumea a month waiting for this one. Anyway, it looks like we're gonna make it in one piece. If I haven't just queered our luck with that statement...