Waiting for a “perfect” weather window to sail to New Zealand – and we are off to see the wizard

It is amazing how time flies but it has been almost 3 weeks since we started to look at a “perfect” weather window to head south to New Zealand.  There is lots of advice out there and lots of sources of information but I think what was the most important thing for us was to buddy boat for this passage to New Zealand.  I won’t bore you with all the weather jargon nor all the discussions we all have had with other cruisers about the best routes and the usual “recipe” to make a safe and less eventful passage…..but let’s just say this passage is different from the crossing from Mexico to French Polynesia and the other westing passages we have made even though this passage is only about 8-10 days while the pacific crossing was 23 days……  mostly because we are headed to higher latitudes meaning closer to the south pole rather than closer to the equator….this means the weather is a bit more severe, not to scare anyone!  My point being we, and all the other cruisers headed to New Zealand and Australia, take extra care in planning their trip south.    After pouring over multiple weather models for weeks we finally decided to take the leap and head out of Fiji.  Our next post will likely have some technical stuff on our route and stuff but…. for now I will share what we have been doing for the last 3 week.

Musket Cove … STILL… but loving it!

Bingo night – I had originally purchased bingo cards and dobbers for the kids to play as we knew there would be lots of kid boats….. But the true inspiration was Aimee off SV Terrapin who LOVES bingo… So it turned out to be an adult bingo night as the kids preferred to playing tag and such…it was super fun and all the other guests at the bar were a little jealous (LOL)

Cloud 9 – I was invited to tag along aboard SV Wilhelm (Ann-Helen and Halvard) to go diving at a site called “Gotham City” where there were a school of bat fish?! Long story short…there was no place to anchor safely so the girls stayed aboard and the guys took a dive….the current was high so this was not a beginners dive.

On our way back to the Musket Cove anchorage, we decided to take a little detour to a floating bar called the Cloud 9…. becuase why not

Funky Fish resort – SV Me Too and us decided to take a break from the BBQ at Musket Cove and head through the reefs to a semi-close by surfing resort for dinner and drinks, the Funky Fish.

Cast Away Island-really Modriki Island – SV Wilhelm and Slow Flight boarded SV Te Poe Rava for a day trip to dive and visit Modriki Island where the Movie Cast Away was filmed.  Originally Trevor and I thought we wouldn’t make it to this island but since we hadn’t left yet…. why not!

Back at Vuda Point – Preparing the boat and Casting off –  We returned to Vuda Point Marina where we could easily access the the offices to check out of the country (Musket cove is not a place where you can do this).  We had started to prepare meals earlier on, do some boat projects/maintenance in Musket cove but now it was on…we had a window that looked decent and we were planning to leave.  Last few stops and now were are off!

This will be our last post until we get set up in New Zealand, in about 8-10 days, weather depending.  Some of you may look at the weather and see models brewing up stuff down there…and we know….we will be safe and feel like we have prepared for what we can but there will always be the unknown.  Despite all the drama around sailing and getting “lost”, Trevor and I don’t pretend to be better or smarter than any of these individuals who have made the news in recent weeks, but trust me on this…we will call for help if we need it… Again this passage is the most nerve wracking for me (at least) but I will do my best to make sure you all know where we are at.

Loves and hearts…next post…we have officially crossed the ENTIRE Pacific Ocean!