Well, we had a hectic day yesterday but finally left the country and are on our way north to Fiji. Sophie was splashed at 10:AM after the workers did some final adjustments to the new rudder bearings. We then motored down to Marsden Point to clear customs and fuel up. NZ Customs took 10 minutes, but the fuel dock was broken. We were promised it would be fixed in an hour, but after a 4 hour wait we decided to motor 24 miles north to Tutukaka to fuel there. (With the permission of NZ customs, of course).

We cleared the fuel dock in the dark at 7:15 PM. We are heading north through a high pressure system, and there is no wind. We motored/motorsailed 121 miles over our first 16 hours on 1 engine @2400 RPM. Sophie is much faster with a clean bottom, and we are making good time.

Noon (UTC-12) local position is 33.39S 175.05E. Last night’s dinner was vegetarian tacos with prime rib on the side. Our guests Ravi and Alison are vegan, and Dan eats meat. We were able to strike a happy balance. 🙂