November 2003.The beginning of the voyage. We collected Balvenie from her previous owner in Picton, nestled in the scenic Marlborough Sounds, the northernmost point of the South Island. With 3 friends onboard we left the Sounds on the back of a low and flew up the West Coast of New Zealands North Island in strong southerlies and big seas. By the time we got to Cape Reinga at the top of the North Island conditions had calmed and we motored around and had a lovely sail down to Westhaven Marina in Auckland.
We based ourselves here over the next 5 months, with excursions to Waiheke Island, Great Barrier Island for New Year then 3 weeks cruising up to and around the beautiful Bay of Islands. Then it was back to Auckland to wind down our life there while making all our preparations for leaving New Zealand permanently, cruising off into the sunset and living the dream.
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