Throwing off our bowlines in Auckland to sail dream and discover we soon learnt the difficulties of leaving the land of the great white cloud for it was not only the weather that made our departure difficult but also the fond memories of the friends we had made in this beautiful country, New Zealand.  As we motor sailed away in the distance was the salute on the horizon of the tower.  Little were we to know at that moment that this icon of Auckland would remain in our view for many many hours. We sailed between the mainland and Great Barrier Island and were rewarded with the delights of the ocean, a nice size fish the identity of which still remains a mystery.  We turned South under sail though our progress was painfully slow however the joy of fish head soup followed by fish and potato stew filled our evening.  A fine bottle of red wine shared between the nine of us was wonderful and certainly reminded us of the past since October.

Over the next few days there was very little wind however the fantastic part of this was that my crew became accustomed to the sea and our yacht.  Often people comment on the length of her however it is not long before an eighty five foot yacht with nine crew on board shrinks to a twenty footer.  Never the less our crew is made up of a great bunch of men with us all wide eyed in anticipation  of the weeks ahead. 

We sailed South for several days taking in the splendor of the East coast as we swept slightly East to round the East Cape.  During this time we all had a chance to phone our loved ones but soon we were away with only the sound of the breeze and the waves to send us to sleep.

It has been a funny old journey so far for eight Russians and an Aussie.  With only one crew speaking fluent English the remainder of the crew have had much joy in teaching me Russian.  I am proud to say that now my Russian word bank has increased from, Russia, Vodka, Mosco and Lada to ordering a cup of tea and thanking them. Of course another important aspect is out diet and I am quickly discovering the many many ways potatoes and onions can be cooked.  All meals are garnished with cloves of garlic so I guess there will be no colds on board.  Thank goodness it is only us.

We passed to the North of Chatham Islands on an Easterly course as the wind changed sending us due South.  As we approach the forties we should at last make a positive move in the right direction.  Our forecast for the next few days is for mild winds from the South West meaning our progress to our destination will quicken.

Yet another fish was caught this afternoon and no sooner had it been landed, by our some what professional fisherman Alexander Elistratov, Fedor whipped it to the galley with sashimi being our lunch washed down by a bottle of fine white wine again shared by us nine.  A taste is enough.

As evening closes in the winds have again eased so we will motor sail through the night.  I expect some good South West winds early tomorrow morning to push us East.

Through tonight we will travel a little further South, to perhaps forty five degrees or so.  Of course we tripped over the international date line yesterday so we are now running, UTC, New Zealand daylight, Western Australian and Moscow time which makes the shifts rather difficult to coordinate much to everyone's amusement and laughter. 

The stars are simply beautiful and I know that someone very special to me is watching the same sparkle above.

Mark McRae

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