brookeandcyrus

This year brought us thousands of miles, through storms, perfect sunsets, remote islands and to our most Southerly destination in the Marborough Sounds, South Island, New Zealand where we wish you a Merry Christmas. We hope all of you are having a beautiful time surrounded by family, friends, festivities, great food and lots of love. We are enjoying the peace and quiet of glassy bays, perfect weather (for the moment :) ) and many bird songs. We are currently exploring the sounds with the family who owns Volpaia and they are deeply moved by the beauty of this area... as we are too. Of course our thoughts and hearts are constantly drawn to all of you who make our lives so rich. We will be BBQ-ing on deck tonight at sunset and toasting to health, happiness ... read more

40 05.89 S 177 12.36 W Motoring 7.6 knots Wind: 4 knots cloudy & cool Crew: Cyrus reading, Dre eating an apple, Colby found celery & peanut butter.. brooke about to make dinner 6:15pm local time Comments: As we entered the long entrance to Gisborne (or Gizzy) harbor, we instantly smelled the fresh cut pine. Not a little whiff, but as if a forest had been cut,,, and it had. Giant cranes lowered giant trees into the holds of a giant rusty Panamanian barge... called.. wait for it... "Sea Sparkle". I would have to say that I have never seen a vessel less like a 'Sea Sparkle" than this one, so of course I had to smile. A dredger must of heard we were coming and was clearing the entrance as we approached... apparently word on ... read more

38 42.58 S 178 07.40 E Motoring 9.2 knots Wind just died, so rolled up sail and are heading towards Gisborne Crew: Cyrus shaving off the stern, Dre' eating apple on deck, Colby sleeping, Brooke just coming below to uplink mail Commments: After an uncomfortably rolly night at the anchorage, we woke at dawn, pulled anchor and headed for the 'dreaded East Cape'. The wind was supposed to be changing today and the winds lighten in the mornings.... and as we passed around the cape at 7:30am, we enjoyed a postiive current with us and seas that were quite comfortable. We have been sailing most of the day, watching birds dip and dive, rolling pastureland, cliffs and spires of rock of every color and shape rise out of the churning green ocean and a few dotted ... read more

37 34.35 S 178 18.27 E Anchored at Hick's Bay Wind: 20 knots about to move to other side of the bay for better wind protection as it is clocking around to a different direction. Comments: Enjoy the unknown.. yes, I did say that. We sailed all day with favorable winds and arrived under full sail at 10 knots into Hick's bay at 2:30am this morning with dark clouds creating a dark windswept seascape of ... of blackness with a whiff of sheep. A few lights flicker in the distance like dancing gems from the small Maori settlement here. Sea spray stings my face as we come into the wind to drop the sail... I think of all those warm sleeping people curled up on their flat still beds within a mile of us. We are ... read more

36 50.49 S 174 45.61 E After Tahitian surf, breaching Humpback whales, Rarotongan jungles, Niue caverns and climbing, Tongan feasts, gliding fruit bats, glimmering reefs, glowing volcanoes , sunsets, sunrises, moonsets, rain, wind and moonlit rough sails to the sounds of Pink Floyd.. we are in New Zealand. We are in Auckland. We are a bit in shock. As we came through a raised pedestrian bridge under the shadow of the rotating restaurant on the top of a 'needl'e where people bungee jump from... sky scrapers and sculptures, people walking with their latte's staring at the salty big eyed crew slowly gliding into the center of the city. I said "We ain't in Tonga no more, boys." And they all stood there on the port deck, holding dock lines, staring in shock and nodding at me. ... read more

36 19.76 S 174 52.47 E True to form and daily occurance, the conditions have COMPLETELY changed.. sailing in a perfect brisk breeze with flat seas watching the green fields... read more

36 01.88 S 174 52.01 W Wind: 35-50 knots Sailing double reefed Mainsail 8 knots Course 187 Seas: 2-8 feet: sloppy and white. Crew: Colby making his bed, Peter trying to rest, Brett, Cyrus & Mac on deck.. me soggy and just down to write you and marinas/customs, etc. Comments: The sunset last night and suddenly we realized it was sliding behind LAND! We could see the North Cape of New Zealand and with a "LAND HO!" Cyrus announces it.. Peter chimed in with a huge smile on his face. "What a perfect ending to an incredible day!" he says. It was also the beginning of quite the night.. with winds and seas changing by the hour, we were busy with constant sail changes and tweaks... trying to move as quickly to port as we could ... read more

29 21.02 S 175 02.52 E Wind: 3 knots Seas: 1-3 meters: glassy Course: 206 Speed: 8.7 knots Motoring with Mainsail Volpaia time: 8:10am Nov. 8th Zulu time: 2010 Nov. 7th Comments: This morning a mad tangerine, with long crazy hair sticking up in tufts (if tangerines had hair) laughed wickedly and lit the horizon on fire in tribute to himself. This is reflected in the glassy seas.. for now. The seas will likely be quite different in an hour or two. In the past 3 days we have had more sail changes than many many legs previously. The wind seems to be indecisive on where it wants to go, where it is coming from and how hard it wants to blow. It changes it's mind several times a day.. sometimes several times an hour. The ... read more

27 10.69 S 176 59.51 E Winds: 12 true (18 apparent) S 200 Seas: 8-10 feet (rollers) Speed 8.0 knots Course: 225 Crew: All sleeping: Cyrus and I on deck Comments: Yesterday's seas were not so comfortable, making everything more difficult and tempting to avoid.. such as sitting at a computer. This morning I woke before sunrise and walked on deck. Peter is bundled in shirts and sweatshirts, jeans and ipod. I hear him singing and whistling from the helm. The seas are large but with a long period, so we are sailing up and down hills.. storm clouds are in the distance to our East but blowing rain on us. I see Peter's face.. he smiles and I can see he is about to say something important. Now for those of you who do not ... read more

24 28.90 S 179 30.86 W Wind: hardly anything Seas: not much crew: Bret hanging from the ceiling, Colby, Peter & Cyrus on deck, Mac sleeping, Brooke writing. Comments: We woke. Our electric blue calm lagoon had transformed and turned an ash Grey ominous lake, mimicking the dark clouds hovering slowly over us. In the distance, the sky is ink. The cruiser boats huddle together in anticipation of their journey. The sail from Tonga to New Zealand is one that seems to cause people anxiety. Indeed, it should be carefully planned with the weather and due to the proximity to the more Southern Oceans, the weather can churn up quickly. There have been some famous storms that have snuck up and surprised a few boats, trying to eat them. Some were eaten. Minerva Reef is sort ... read more