11/12/01: We’re into our third day of sailing since leaving Tongatapu. We listen to the "Flying Fish Net" reports every morning at 0800, on the single side band radio, to get the current weather reports. These are live reports from other cruisers, like us, that are also on their way to New Zealand. This information will give us the opportunity to prepare for, or avoid, bad weather. We also hear about each other’s current weather and progress. The sailing has been nearly perfect so far -- we may have to pay for it at some point. Cosmos is in excellent condition, the crew is healthy, well fed, and in good spirits, the weather is ideal, the sea state is comfortable. These are fragile, unstable, conditions.

I can’t help but wonder if my ‘notes’ about the islands that we’ve visited have been too brief; lacking in description and detail. The first island, Hiva Oa, of the Marquesas, had the most impact on me. Of coarse, after having been at sea for twenty-one days, anything would have been welcomed. The shear beauty of the islands, the people, and the sea around them, is simple to define. These were the basic, uncomplicated, unspoiled, features that we encountered at every stop throughout the Pacific. To me, it truly is pacific. All these islands with their natural beauty, struggling to hang on to their traditions, pride, and lifestyle, yet still manage to cope within a world of commercialism, materialism, and exploitation from outsiders. Yes, they tolerate the tourism and have benefited greatly from the industry. This made our visits even more special as we were able to see, and do more as well as acquire the provisions needed to continue our voyage.

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11/22/01: We made it. But we did pay for that nice sailing and weather. As previously stated, the first two days of the last passage were great. Then, two days of windless motoring, two days of rough sailing with 25-30 knot winds, 1 1/2 days of rough motoring, and 1 1/2 days of calm motoring. As we traveled south from French Polynesia, the ocean water temperature dropped from the low 80’s to 67 degrees F. I don’t think I’ll be doing any more snorkeling or diving for a while. The dining is still 1^st class on Cosmos. During this last passage, Don made more bread, pancakes, and Captain Joe made chocolate cake.

We arrived in Opua, New Zealand, on a beautiful sunny afternoon; November 19^th. The Customs and Immigration officials were professional, courteous, and a pleasure to deal with. However, they did confiscate our powdered milk, eggs, cheese, butter, popcorn, onions, and honey. This loss severely affected the quality of our Happy Hour celebrations and pancakes. After enduring this experience, we proceeded from the wharf, to the adjacent anchorage, set the anchor, and opened the bottle of champagne that my mom and dad gave us that had been cooling patiently in the fridge. We celebrated Thanksgiving here, aboard Cosmos, at anchor. Captain Joe prepared canned turkey, spinach, potatoes, and made stuffing from toasted bread, mushrooms and other ingredients. It was fine; a suitable Thanksgiving dinner; and we were thankful. Thankful for the experiences of the last five months, our safety, and well being.

It appears that we have caught up with the typical, annual, group of cruisers. We are enjoying Opua, and Paihia, immensely, with their shops, restaurants, and chandlery. Tomorrow, we may cross this Bay of Islands to visit the town of Russell. We are finding New Zealand different and look forward to working Cosmos south to Whangarei, after cruising throughout some of this Bay of Islands. We are feeling rather proud of our accomplishment, to date, and Cosmos, as we arrive at the end of the first leg of our circumnavigation.

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11/25/01: In the tiny port of Russell, we shopped, ate, got haircuts, and worried about Cosmos dragging anchor with the stiff wind blowing into the anchorage. We left Russell yesterday afternoon as the weather cleared up into a lovely sunny sail to Jack’s Bay. This is a well protected bay with a perfect beach, rocky cliffs on its sides, and clear sunshine above to help accentuate our tans before we head home for the winter. We also had time for an exploratory dinghy ride and then celebrated Happy Hour out in the cockpit. It was just one of those perfect afternoons. If the rain stops this afternoon, we will sail to Urepukapuka Island. We’ve been doing chores today: rebuilt the starboard head pump, replumbed the refrigeration cooling water pump strainer, refastened the galley counter top, and several other little things too numerous to mention. The boat comes first.

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12/4/01: Late on 11/25 we did sail from Jack’s Bay to Otehei Bay at Urepukapuka Island. This is a very attractive and popular island. All day long, tourist boats bring visitors from Russell, Paihia, and Opua, so they can hike the many scenic trails up into the clouds, play on the beach, buy local craftwork, dine, or drink beer. We managed 4 out of 5. We didn’t play on the beach.

We left this lovely island on the 27^th of November and sailed down the coast to Tutukaka Harbor. We had a difficult time setting our anchor on this harbor’s shale bottom. It was a convenient location to stop for the night, but there was nothing to keep us here, and we left the next morning, the 28^th, for Whangarei. This was a pleasant, scenic, day trip, down the rocky North Island coast punctuated with sandy-beached bays. Then we motored up the river to Whangarei. It didn’t take us long to locate one of the better restaurants, where I announced and celebrated my 60^th birthday. We have become quite accomplished at finding good restaurants.

Cosmos is moored in the Whangarei Town Basin. This harbor is stuffed full of sailboats and anything you need for, or done to, a sailboat is available. It was a bit drizzly on the 28^th and has been raining, constantly, until today. With Cosmos being far up this river, and in this crowded Town Basin, there is no noticeable motion of the boat. We are not accustomed to this lack of motion. It has become increasingly damp inside Cosmos due to this rainy weather. It didn’t take long for us to get used to the stillness but the soggy clothes, cushions, sheets, and dripping hatches and bulkheads made life uncomfortable. Today was our first sunny day since we arrived in Whangarei and we opened the boat up to dry it out. We have been doing a lot of work to Cosmos in preparation for the four-month interval of inactivity while we wait out the storm season here in New Zealand. Cosmos will sit, idle, at her mooring, and we will return to our homes and families for the winter. With today’s sunny weather, we started doing chores outside as well as inside.

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12/8/01: After two days of sunshine and Cosmos’ starting to dry out, it started raining again. It was raining as we left Whangarei, today. I think that I said something a short while ago about having to pay for all of the good weather we’ve had. I guess we paid-up in Whangarei. It has been awkward trying to coordinate the work with the weather but it all has to be completed before we leave. The work includes: change oil, oil filter, primary and secondary fuel filters in both engines; pickle the watermaker; install and wire four 12 volt outlets; remove, fold, and bag sails; get mainsail batten pockets repaired and sail head modified; replace coolant in both engines; clean heat exchangers in both engines; remove seawater pump impeller and slacken v-belt on both engines; clean both engine rooms; deflate and stow dinghy; stow outboard engine; stow kayak; set-up chafing gear for all six mooring lines; replenish spare engine parts consumed during last five months; replace leaking hatch seals; tie down tarps covering cabintop and cockpit; clean boat interior; close all thru-haul valves; and stow any other loose items. This is not a complete list; there were countless other little things done that I didn’t keep track of. Again, the Boat comes first.

Last night we ate dinner out, and we each did a last load of laundry. It is important not to leave any damp clothing on the boat during our absence, as it will mildew. Anything that was damp went into the dryer last night. In spite of all the effort we have taken to prevent mold and mildew, we know that it will be a problem when we return in April.

We had a very pleasant trip to Auckland this afternoon in Don’s rented car; in spite of the rain. From Cosmos we only see the coast and harbors of the countries and islands that we visit. Today we traveled inland and enjoyed inner North Island, New Zealand; mountains, lakes, forests, very green and clean from all the rain they’ve had. Now I am lying on a bed, in a hotel, in Auckland, trying to think of something meaningful, wise, and memorable, to say about the last five months that have been so special. I have been privileged to have accompanied Cosmos, and Captain Joe, from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to Whangarei, New Zealand. I have traveled and experienced a part of the world that most people only dream about. I can only hope that these writings of mine, Don’s, and Captain Joe’s, have enabled those that read them to derive some pleasure from our experience.

In a few days I will be with my family, at home, for the winter. Then, I will join Cosmos in the Spring, for the second leg of the circumnavigation.

Merry Christmas,