Admittedly, travelling 3.87 NM on the first day of our 1400 NM passage to Austrailia is nothing to write home about. The important thing to know about this small step is that getting off the dock is in fact a giant step. When I completed the Advance Notice of Departure for NZ Customs I indicated we would depart at about 11:00. When we checked out at 09:30 this morning we asked the Customs officer if we could stay until about 15:00. He graciousely agreed and stamped all our paperwork for a 15:00 departure. Clearly 15:00 came and went as the crew (including me) scurried about getting last minuite tasks done and at about 17:45 everyone concluded there was no place else to scurry or tasks to be completed. So about 15 minuites later I lit up the diesel, turned on all the running lights and we cast off. That was the giant step. Nearly 2 hours later we had travelled an asstonishing 3.5 NM, it was pitch black when you could see through the fog, colder than......and lightly ra ining. All four of us had been up since day break, working on finalising all the little bits and peices necessary to make a passage, thus as we were passing by the little anchorage at Russell, (made famous by Captain Cook and infamous by whalers from New England, and the rowdy reprobates that tended to flock to where the whalers were) we decided to anchor for the night, get some sleep, dry out and have an early start tomorrow morning. It may sound fanciful or even naieve to associate this boat with an "early start" in the morning. However, remember the giant step of getting off the dock. Essentially that means no more errands, no more running around to get last minuite stuff; no more "just a few more more minuites" etc. So I am off to bed at 19:30 for my good nights sleep, and dreams of something pleasant, knowing in the back of my dreamy mind that the alarm will go off at 06:00, shortly before sunrise. More later