New Zealand Attained

Papillon has arrived in New Zealand!  Although we had been warned that the sail from Tonga to New Zealand can get pretty peppy (a boat was lost the week before we left), we had the quietest passage on record.  There was so little wind that we had the spinnaker up for a few days, and many people had to motor for up to 100 hours.  (This is usually the point at which Erik accuses me of being a wind killer.  I can’t help who I am; maybe someday I’ll get work travelling the country dousing tornados ).

So, what did we do on passage?

For school, we chopped up plants to separate out their pigments.

And nobody lost a finger!

We crossed into the Eastern hemisphere.

All Erik noticed was our speed.

We admired lovely sunsets as the days got longer and longer.

Lovely sunset, glassy seas.

We repatriated misguided flying fish.

Oh, fish.  Why do you want to die in our scuppers?

We pulled out our cold weather gear when things got too chilly.

At least Indy wasn't cold.

 At the quarantine dock, we had a visit from India, the drug dog.  Stylish fell in love with this very sweet Labrador, and followed her up and down the dock on her rounds.

Please, Mom?  Please, please, pleeeease?

India was also being followed by a cameraman for an episode of “Dog Squad”.  Stylish quickly made friends with the cameraman.  When interviewed about what it is like to live on a boat, she told him about a) her stitches, b) Indy’s stitches, c) getting bitten by a sealion, and d) breaking the mizzen.  I drop my head into my hands.  We really have had some fun times too, you know.

"And then I hurt myself when I..."

 We are now getting settled in Opua.  So far, life has been one big party as we all reconnect with friends we haven’t seen for months.  Tomorrow, the work begins.  We have to start on sail repair and ordering a new mizzen.  Cyclone season has begun!