…from an email dated Mar. 19, 2005
“It took a few days to get our internet connection going. There always seems to be some catch every time we come into port and try to get online. However on this stopover we have a wifi connection being broadcast throughout the marina where Raven is presently berthed, enabling us to sit in the cockpit and surf the web with ease. Very nice for a change!
After we dropped Amy back ashore after our outing to the Poor Knights, we started cruising north towards the Bay of Islands at the very northeastern tip of New Zealand. The weather is warmer and more settled here and the wind and waves have been more moderate. Good conditions for Mike and me to practice boat handling without too much stress. Navigation is interesting, due to all the islands and shoals, but we have a really cool computer program called MaxSea that runs on the computer and shows our live position and current course via GPS overlaid on accurate charts of the area. Really simplifies steering!
Every anchorage we stop over at is located in some beautiful little bay with a pleasant swim or snorkel or dinghy ride to shore and some kind of vigorous hike around the island. Since all the hiking tracks start at sea level, they all strike off directly uphill – no switchbacks in New Zealand – the path goes straight up! When you arrive at the top, the path then heads straight down again in order to allow you the privilege of climbing straight up again on the next ridge!
A storm with lots of rain was forecast but never materialized, so we have been having truly wonderful weather day after day with the exception of a five-minute downpour on our shopping day in Paihia.
Anticipating the above bad weather, we headed to civilization this past Thursday and anchored near a town named Russell. It was once quite notorious as a wild and wooly hangout for whalers and other assorted seafarers but now is peaceful and charming. Russell was the site of the so-called War of the Girls inby 1830. It started when two Maori girls got to fighting over the favors of a visiting whaling captain. Their argument deteriorated to insults and slapping, and their families joined in to avenge the insults to each side. The result was an actual war in which hundreds were killed before the local missionaries negotiated a peace settlement.
The local church is the oldest in New Zealand, scarred by musket fire and cannonball. Some of the funds for its construction were donated by Charles Darwin on his way by aboard the HMS Beagle. We joined in on $10 steak night at the local Boat Club and shopped every store in town.”
