After we crossed the finish at the Northern tip of New Zealand we enjoyed an overnight sail to Opua in the Bay of Islands were we met up with the other boats, it was great to see everyone again and compare our adventures.  After finally clearing customs whose strict rules on entry into New Zealand had meant that we were stuffing ourselves full of any fresh produce and trying to get rid of egg shells. Gill sent seven eggs across the galley during breakfast as the boat was rolling in an attempt to help.

After finding berths for all 3 boats and enjoying a luxury shower which didn’t mean you had to hang on to the toilet at the same time it was time to relax.  We held a drinks party on board Discovery for all three services so we could buy the others a beer and share stories.  We discovered that Christian our Navy stowaway had been forced to clean the heads with his RAF t-shirt!  We know he will wear it with pride really!  It was a beautiful evening in the marina and I think everyone had a great time.

Earlier in the  afternoon Jim had persuaded the local café that they really wanted to stay open that evening and cook for 42 people. Antoinette, the owner, seized the opportunity to entertain us and I think the fact her husband was New Zealand Air Force swung it for us.  The Navy and Army joined us and it was a lovely evening together which resulted in lots of singing and frivolity.  Many thanks to Antoinette who drafted in some friends to help look after us.  Those of us with any energy left headed into town for a boogie, but tiredness got us all in the end especially Phil who was asleep at the table.  The Navy took the opportunity while we were away to change a few things on our boat some of which are still being discovered!  However, we had our revenge - I hope your boat smells less fishy by now guys!

The next day we sailed to a bay near the small colonial town of Russell where we had a chance to explore what was once planned to be New Zealand’s capital, it was idyllic.  After returning to the yacht we spent the afternoon swimming and halyard swinging, Simon seemed very keen on this activity, it was a really relaxing time after our week.   We sailed overnight to Auckland down the coastline which was a shock to the system getting back into our watches and doing lots of sail changes.

We have arrived into Auckland on a beautiful afternoon and have started the clean up operation.  We are looking forward to a days free time in Auckland after we have scrubbed the boat clean.  The boat will have 2 weeks maintenance before the next leg to Montevideo.  I think we all agree that will be a tough leg, we found our leg quite tough and the next guys have 5 weeks at sea so good luck and all the best to the next crews and remember to keep the RAF in front!!

Thank you so much to the Skipper Vaughan and the Mates Carl and Henry, you have been fantastic!  We had a lovely meal served by our Mates last night, the Tiger Prawns with curry mayonnaise were great and I’d like to say the main was lovely, but tinned stew is not really lovely – scraping the bottom of the barrel is the phrase! 

Also a huge thank you to Neil, Clive and Andy at the Trans Globe office for all your hard work.

Skippers footnote:-

This was a fantastic trip for me as skipper, all the crew worked well together and made the trip really enjoyable for all of us. I wish all of the crew a safe journey home you worked hard to get line honours and you deserved them, I look forward to seeing you out on the water in the very near future. To the other two yachts crews I would also like to thank you for your support, we were indeed 3 yachts on a tri service exercise showing how well we can work together. I hope you all come back to JSASTC soon. Vaughan

Siobhan says thank you to Mum and Dad for following the blog and see you soon! X

Gill says thanks to Fiona, Wenders and G I Jane for the texts and Neil of course! X

Steve says hello Munch, hope your not too cold! And thanks to Hedley for putting out the bins! X