Along time a go on wharf far, far, away… well not too far away yet but it kind of feels like it.. we left our families and friends this morning. Motor sailing down the Waikare we learnt each others names, unpacked our bags and decided to go to the Black Rocks. We anchored up, had lunch, and got taken to one of the small islands in the tender. We had to swim ashore and then walk up and through beautiful diverse bush on top to get to the rocks on the other side. There everyone made the leap, jumping down into the depths where the tender picked us up again. Back at the ship and warm, we hauled anchor again and went across to Motuarohia. Orientation on the way helped us to get to know the ship better and once there we anchored and set off in the tender once more. We had quick games on the beach before walking up to the look out and setting our sights for the week and beyond. With charts and some local history we set short and long term goals and made a brainstorm of things we want to do. As we walked back down the hill, the light was fading and we ended up making a last move of the ship in the dark. Our crew are impressed at how well we helped lower sails and anchor on Day One in these conditions. It’s been a big day but with nacho dinner down and another hot chocolate on the way, we are ready to make the most of the Bay before getting on our way down to Whangārei.
