Our 2 weeks in Auckland have been successful and enjoyable- all systems are repaired and up and running! We’ve enjoyed learning more about this fascinating city, as we’ve toured the museums, aquarium, Sky Tower, libraries…even the Urgent Care centers! I took an intensive 2 day Offshore Medical course, and promptly broke my great toe 2 days later, tripping over my yoga mat in the salon. I will be in a boot for 6 weeks, and must keep the open wound dry for 10 days- quite a feat, living on a boat. Most of you know that I like to move, so I’m having to get very creative!

Bright and Pat arrived several days ago, and we are thrilled to have our Fiji crew all present! Everyone has been busy prepping the boat and helping with the to-do list. Dalton and Hall were thrilled to have “fresh blood” on board, and have enthusiastically welcomed Pat and Bright with questions and an eagerness to join them on errands.

We have had days and days of rain, but the sun finally came out yesterday and things are drying out a bit. We are grateful not to worry about flooding, which is second nature in Charleston, and we’ve adapted to rainy outings and damp everything.

Yesterday (Saturday here), John, Pat, Bright and Hall took Nogal for a sea trial: a two day offshore jaunt to test all systems for our upcoming passage to Fiji. The morning started off with John acquiring a nasty orbital laceration from the foil of the wing foiler while tidying up the aft deck. Luckily, Bright and I had recently organized the First Aid kits, so we were prepped and ready! After realizing that sutures were not necessary, Bright made all things new with Super Glue, and they were on their way! They’ve living their best lives, fishing, flying the spinnaker, and skipping showers. Dalton and I took Captain’s orders and booked a hotel room for a staycation. We are living our best lives taking long, hot bubble baths, and sleeping in plush, still, quiet beds! We visit the hotel gym, where Dalton enjoys the treadmill and I can get creative with rigid boot-friendly exercises! We watch movies and drink hot chocolate in bed and talk about how we already miss the boys!

The culture here is quite entertaining, and thoroughly enjoyable. We make lists of chuckle-worthy NZ terminology and stories of interactions the locals. We try to remember that no one tips in NZ, perhaps justifying why we wait 1.5 hours for the food at a restaurant, and why none of the servers know if there’s a “special” or have any knowledge of the ingredients of most menu items. We laugh at ourselves and the amount of trash we generate: “trashy Americans,” we say! No one here ever has any trash. Ever. I think they eat it. Truly, we are charmed with the lack of single-use plastic and the extensive efforts taken to keep the streets, public areas, businesses and restaurants clean and environmentally friendly. The commitment these people have to loving their land and spreading kindness throughout it is wonderfully inspiring.

The weather is currently looking like we’ll have a window to head up to Fiji in about a week. Similar to Charleston, it could change multiple times between now and then, so we continue chasing the rainbow…

until then, we are joyful and healthy and thankful.

s/v Nogal

Latest photos on Instagram: @warrenssetsail