Kia ora friends and family of the R. Tucker Thompson!
Day one has gone off with a bang. Already there are loud voices and laughter coming from the saloon, with all the trainees teaching each other the ‘correct’ rules of last card and some busy trying to tune the guitar. Luckily for the crew, the noise is drowned out by the sound of the engine as we are currently motoring our way towards the Cavalli islands, our anchorage for tonight.
After we left Opua, waving goodbye to all the friends and family that came, we played a name game and then trainees unpacked their bags before a deliciously cheesy mac’n’cheese was served up. After lunch, we dropped anchor at Wai iti bay on Moturua Island for a trip ashore to walk around the island, listening out for rare bird song and playing beach games. Scott was busy picking up beach rubbish and finding unique shells and Freda tested her sprinting skills against D’Arjae, Remutai, Thomas and Alex.
Back to the ship and those that were keen jumped in the water for a swim. Breanna thought about backflips but did a few bombs instead, Ellie pushed herself and jumped from the second ratboard, D’Arjae did a pretty good manu from the bowsprit and Scott jumped in and quickly got out again.
After the chilly swim, we upped anchor and headed off to our next adventure up to the Cavallis with the smells of Mich’s wonderful cooking wafting around us. Everyone quickly came up to admire the beautiful sunset before ducking back in to the warm saloon again. Chloe spent some time trying to photograph the shy little blue penguins. As we’ve been motoring along, Tia, Keisha and Maya have both been busy in the galley helping Mich prepare an apple crumble for dessert later!
Now we’re about to have dinner, still making our way up the coast to our anchorage for tonight, ready for a stunner of a day tomorrow up in the Cavallis.
Po marie.
