Turtlebones at sea!
Turtlebones has left the marina. Once again. Finally underway.
Farewell, New Zealand. Haere ra, Aotearoa. We have loved our time here.
Once again, we’re setting out on a multi-day crossing. Back on April 5, 2023, we left the Puerto Vallarta marina and embarked on our first ocean crossing. It was a long but gentle crossing – 20 peaceful days at sea, from Mexico to French Polynesia. This one will be quite different – only 7-8 days at sea, but a boisterous passage is promised, typical for this journey from NZ to Fiji.
Also quite different because we’re more seasoned now, lots of nautical miles under our belts. But even so, it has been 20 months since our last crossing, from Tonga to NZ. So … it’s super-exciting to get underway!
It can be frustrating to wait for that “good weather window”. We’ve been watching for weeks. An endless procession of back-to-back low pressure systems, marching across the Tasman Sea from Australia, bringing strong northerlies to the top of NZ – exactly what we don’t want as we set out northbound to “the islands” and warmer weather.
Just last evening, we saw 35+ knots from the north, right there in the marina, cold and rainy. But as promised, we awoke this morning to flat calm water, not a cloud in the sky, and less than 1 knot of wind. Seize the day and get away!
All the formalities taken care of – pumped-out, fueled-up, cleared-out. As they say down here, we’re “all sorted”. Sorted and sailing!
Bravo 👏👏
Safe seas and travel, my friends. It sounds so exciting, Sharon. Hello to Bill. I downloaded the app you suggested. Very cool! Be well!⛵Beaner
Good luck Turtlebones! You are brave and to be admired! We will be waiting for news of your progress!
Fair winds mates!
Patti and I hope you are have a safe and smooth ride. What an adventure!!
Bon voyage Sharon & Bill. Wishing you the best conditions on this leg of your trip. Fiji is your reward!
Congratulations! We’ll be following you on NoForeignLand to make sure you keep heading in the right direction.
Have a wonderful trip! Watching your progress on No Foreign Land, of course.
The new tender looks very spiffy, taking pride of place on Turtlebones. It must feel wonderful to have all the new upgrades installed as you set out on this next exciting leg of the adventure.
…and thanks for sharing NoForeignLand!
Wishing you fair winds and smooth sailing.
Thinking about you and hoping the passage is not too boisterous!