After spending a few days in Milford Sound we headed down the coast to George's Sound for two nights and then onto Charles Sound for a night after a very blustery sail in an offshore sou-easterly. Unfortunately the height of the coastal peaks causes the wind to vary from zero to 40 knots and back to zero in very rapid succession when it is blowing from the land. The weather in these latitudes is either very, very good or very, very ordinary. So you have to make the most of the good days and then when it turns foul just read, do little jobs inside, watch movies or cook. At Alice Falls in George Sound during the pouring rain I ventured out in the dingy in my wet weather gear and managed to catch a feed of Blue Cod (together with a contribution from Eric from the stern of Monkey Fist). Together with the Albacore previously caught Eric commented that he had never eaten so much seafood. He also said that our Blue Cod and chip was "the best homemade fish and chips he's ever had" - now that's a big call.

We continued onto Thompson Sound which is interconnected with Doubtful Sound. In Deep Water Cove, the only other place in Fiordland with road access (besides Milford) we bid farwell to Eric who had to catch up with family on the North island before heading back to Darwin. We managed to catch up with Windora and our other French friends on Shana, Tone and Celine.

We endured some more miserable days which included our first "storm warning" i.e. 64+ knots. But luckily we were too far inland to be affected by the wind. These storm warnings we have since found out are a regular occurrence, especially down on the south west corner of the South Island.

Windora, Shana and Monkey Fist spent the next few days exploring Doubtful Sound and after having heard stories about the abundant lobsters we decided to try our hand. Phil from Windora, his crewman Paul from the U.S. and myself went SCUBA diving after being given a "hot tip" on a good spot by another yacht. Wetsuits and hoods are a must here with the water temperature around the 11o to 12o it's a wee bit cool(Kiwi talk). Anyway with a couple of hours work we managed to catch 9 lobsters, the biggest was about 2kgs. In NZ you are allowed to use SCUBA to catch crayfish but you must only use your gloved hand. It is quite a skill and heaps of fun. This meant for the next few days we all gorged ourselves on lobster in every conceivable recipe.

At some of the anchorages and with the use of lines to shore or tying up to a stern line or mooring that had been rigged previously by fishermen we were able to raft our yachts together. Notwithstanding the social benefits of rafting up, it was often necessary due to the limited number of places to anchor in any particular area.