“Mummy, I’m breathing out steam,” says Lukie from his cabin, where he is rummaging around for a clean jumper to wear.
David shoots me a glance. “Definitely time to leave,” he says. “Before it gets any colder!”
The last day and a half it has been getting progressively colder, with icy southerly winds relentlessly blasting the bay, only occasionally interrupted by heavy rainfall.
We’ll leave Opua after lunch today, hoping for fair winds and following seas. The reality looks more like moderate to strong winds, but nothing too extreme, and certainly nothing we haven’t been out in before. The first two days we’re expecting 25-knot winds, but as we’ll be sailing downwind it shouldn’t be too uncomfortable. During the strong winds, we’ll be in the wave shadow of New Zealand where the seas won’t exceed 3-4 m. On day 3, the forecast is moderating, bringing lighter winds and smaller seas.
Lots of boats are leaving today and tomorrow, the little community of sailors brought together in a small Northland marina spreading out over the vast Pacific, some heading to Tonga, some to Fiji, and some to New Caledonia.
Like most of the other yachts, we plan to stop at Minerva Reefs on the way. These are two mostly submerged atolls located about 150 nautical miles south of the southernmost bit of Fiji. Yachts commonly anchor up in the calm waters of the lagoon for a night or two, getting some much-needed sleep. It will take us 4-5 days to get there, and then another 2-3 days to Savu Savu, our destination port in Fiji.
On this their last morning, the boys are saying farewell to their new friend Martin, a 10-year-old Peruvian boy who is heading to Tonga next week. He and the boys immediately bonded over common interests, with their initial meeting going something like this:
Martin: “Do you like Lego Starwars?”
Lukie: “Yes! We have Cad Bane!”
Martin: “Me too!”
Lukie: “Do you have many lightsabres? My brother has a General Grievous. Let’s go to our boat and play”.
And off they go, deep in conversation, shoulder to shoulder, heads huddled together, discussing the intricate details of Lego Starwars.
LEGO. Uniting boat kids all over the world.
Now, however, the time has come to leave, and we say our goodbyes, promising to stay in touch, hoping to meet again when they get to Fiji later in the season.
The sky is blue and the sun shining. Millions of reflected diamonds glitter on the sea surface changing shape as they ride the waves, forwards, forwards towards distant shores. We ride amongst them, happy to finally be off.
SV Bob The Cat 