November 29 2011

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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 cold, tired and slightly uncomfortable. We drop anchor and sleep soundly till mid-morning in the calm anchorage. The 'unknown' is what this bay looks like. (the fun thing about arriving in darkness) Being from Arkansas, the word "Hick's" conjures up a particular series of images, so imagine my surprise as I stumbled sleepily on deck this morning to view the broken down cars, burning trash barrels and firecracker wars and instead gazed upon a lush green valley cradling a sleepy village. Mountains rise in Grey layered shadows behind the valley like silent big brothers. Sheep and cattle graze peacefully in the green fields and the forest seems to be celebrating it's sweeping ocean views by waving it's branches happily in every shade of green. And this is our home for the next 48 hours or so as the conditions deteriorate and we hide before jumping around the next cape (which is known for some nasty conditions if not timed right).

The only 'Hick-like' happening thus far was that GIANT flies that sound like small airplanes came one by one by one with the offshore wind and I watched them happily make a U-turn and descend down into the salon. Inside, the cabin sounds like a droning airfield and the guys amusingly watch them slowly circle. Cyrus announces that he has shut of the Master cabin and there are no flies. If the flies decide to attack, we can run to this 'safe room'. The wind clocked around suddenly an hour ago and the temperature dropped. As if on cue, the flies all one by one filed out of the cabin in a single file line and back to shore while the guys silently sat, watching them depart. Dre' decided they arrived and were disappointed there was not enough sheep sh$* so apparently they decided collectively to take the favorable winds back to where their Eden awaits.

We are now about to accept the mission to head out into a Grey drizzled cold windy day, and try to make it to shore as dry as possible so to meet a 'Hick-resident'. We will see how that goes. Dre' just read a passage from our New Zealand Lonely Planet Guide...

Cyrus: "Does it say anything about it here?" Dre: "Yes, it says a 'real middle of nowhere settlement with a grand beach'".

Lets see if we can't land on that beach, shall we?

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