NZ here I come

After a busy busy three days, which included a 24 hour sail to Lautoka & two full non stop days cyclone proofing Barraveigh we have finally left Fijian waters!
It really has been a task getting everything done in 2 days. Both the sails had to come down & be packed away, kayaks, fuel jugs, ropes, cockpit cushions & the rest of the equipment on deck had to be taken off & put in storage. The fridge was emptied & cleaned, all dried food was checked, resealed & restored. Bilge floats were checked, some were replaced, all the thru holes were shut off, fresh water run through the outboard, all the water tanks were topped up & most importantly the gas (propane to you guys on the other side of the pond) was disconnected. Somewhere in the mist of all this I did the mundane laundry & attempted to pack my many souvenirs from the South Pacific into my rucksack! Being tied up in a marina is fab but it does have its disadvantages, one being wildlife! Ants climb onto the boat along the ropes, rats can swim into the exhaust holes, birds make nests inside the boom (we learnt our lesson from Panama!) & we won’t even mention the dreaded c word (cockroaches!). Barraveigh has been left with Vaseline on her ropes (stops the ants), the exhaust holes have been blocked with rags & the end of the boom has been taped up.
We left Barraveigh at 4pm, joined Golden Opus & set sail at 6pm. Exhausted we opted for the final shift & were immediately taken to our beds for some well earned sleep. With six crew & one captain this is going to be a luxury shift pattern compared to passages at sea on Barraveigh, 3 hours on watch with 6 hours off to sleep & relax. We are pretty excited about the leg to New Zealand & both keen to experience being onboard a different sail boat.
That’s all for now as I’m off to catch some zzz’s, so its goodnight & sweet dreams from me.