April 19-29, 2015
Some visits by some very special people…
Logbook – April 19, 2015 (Opua)
Daily Notes
- McCrary’s here!
- Boys rescue dragging Exodus
Logbook – April 20, 2015 (Opua to Sunset Bay)
Passage Log Highlights
- 0940 Engines on
- 1026 Depart fuel dock
- 1027 P engine off
- 1215 P engine on
- 1232 Engines off Sunset Bay
Daily Notes
- T/Bryan – dive for lobsters. Yellowtail gets away.
- D/Heather/Boys – island hike on Motorua Island. Saw Tuis for 1st time.
Logbook – April 21, 2015 (Sunset Bay)
Daily Notes
- Everyone hikes Motorua island. Track goes all the way around the island. Tim makes friends with “the help” at the house at Sunset Bay
Logbook – April 22, 2015 (Sunset Bay to Opua to Russell)
Passage Log Highlights
- 0650 Engines on
- 0705 Depart
- 0905 Arrive Opua
- 1645 Engines on
- 1650 Depart Opua
- 1737 Engines off Russell
Daily Notes
- Andrew here! Lunch in Whangarei (If I remember correctly Andrew took the train from Auckland to Whangarei and I went alone to pick him up.)
- Afternoon motosail to Russell
- Dinner @ Stone Grill
Logbook – April 23, 2015 (Russel to Opua)
Passage Log Highlights
- 1400 Depart Russell
- 1500 Engines off Opua
Daily Notes
- Hike to sundial & flagstaff
- Sailed off anchor – raised manually
Logbook – April 24, 2015 (Opua)
Daily Notes
- McCrarys leave
- Lazy boat day
- T helps Novae with weather routing
- D/Boys play games and relax
- Windy & Rainy – max 26 kts
Email to family and friends dated April 24, 2015
Subject: Exodus – Hello Again
Hello friends and family,
Our time in New Zealand is winding down, and when we leave, our internet presence will diminish once again, so I thought I’d start getting in the habit of sending these status emails again. We are still in The Bay of Islands, and we just had a great visit with The McCrarys, who were able to pop over to NZ to see us after their work travel to Australia. It was so good to see them after so long! We were able to show them a bit of the cruising life anchoring off the small island of Motoruaiki. We were the only boat there and had the whole island of Motorua (a slightly larger adjacent island) all to ourselves for a hike. We also showed them the social aspect of the cruising life thanks to s/v Novae for hosting a potluck last night.
We are also really excited, because…
Andrew is here!
He arrived 2 days ago, and I am one happy momma having all my boys here with me. The weather is crappy, and it’s looking like Monday we’ll get to show him what gale force winds are like, but no matter. We are just so happy he is here.
Some of our friends have already departed for Fiji, and we hope to catch the first weather window opportunity in May ourselves. We have just a couple boat projects remaining and final provisioning to take care of after Andrew leaves.
I know it’s been a while since I’ve written, and we’d love to hear back from people.
Love and miss you all,
-D.
Logbook – April 25, 2015 (Opua)
Daily Notes
- Anzac day, wineries closed
- Hike up Opua Forest, picnic lunch
- Treaty grounds for cultural show – Tim got to be chief
Logbook – April 26, 2015 (Opua to Orokawa)
Passage Log Highlights
- 0852 Engines on
- 0802 Depart Opua
- 0929 Main + genoa + both engines
- 1109 Engines off Orokawa
- 1155 Engines on
- 1215 Engines off re-anchor
Daily Notes
- Anchor @ Orokawa to weather the storm
- Afternoon happy hour on Exodus w/ Field Trip
Logbook – April 27, 2015 (Orokawa)
Daily Notes
- Storymy day, max wind 35 kts
- Lazy day. Phase 10.
Logbook – April 28, 2015 (Orokawa to Opua to Auckland to Matamata)
Passage Log Highlights
- 0656 Engines on
- 0705 Depart
- 0853 Engines off Opua
Daily Notes
- Road trip!
- Auckland Bungy
- Drive to Matamata – stay at O’Reilley’s Motel
More Bungy Photos here and a homemade movie here
Email to family and friends dated April 29, 2015
Subject: Exodus – Auckland Bridge
The boys had a great time yesterday jumping off the Auckland Bridge. Both Alex and Brenden said this was better, well scarier at least. This time the bungy was attached to their ankles, and they had to penguin walk out to the end of a ledge (plank?), hang their toes off, and then jump. They thought it was easier to jump with the blind running start they had at the Ledge Bungy in Queenstown. Andrew requested his head dunked, but he didn’t quite make it that far. They had said they might not be able to, not sure why. The walk up to the top of the bridge was pretty scary for me, since the wind was howling, and it was a pretty far walk. Today, we are going to bring it down a notch and go see some hobbit holes. It’s raining right now, so hopefully, that clears up.
Love and miss you all,
-D.
Logbook – April 29, 201P5 (Matamata to Hobbiton to Auckland to Opua)
Daily Notes
- Hobbiton
- Drinks
- Andrew leaves
More photos of The Shire here
Gresham Family Exodus 