Perfectly placed half way from New Caledonia and New Zealand is Norfolk Island. It's a gorgeous, cliff island about 35 square kilometers with a population about 1,800 (it's in my encyclopedia). It is home of the Norfolk pine, mostly a tourism industry.
We've had a good passage thus far. We left when it was windy and wavy in order for a more smooth approach to New Zealand. We sailed nicely for almost 2 days (bumpy for the first 36 hours). We had to aim farther west than our goal due to the winds, we kept it at 30 degrees to our port side, and we can't aim any higher into the wind. We did great, as we entered into the high and light winds, we turned and motored to Norfolk. We are now nicely sheltered when the winds blow up to 35 knots in the next day or two, then we are lined up for a nice approach to New Zealand when the winds come around. In the meanwhile, we can explore this beautiful mountainous island, which is described as a culture of neighborliness, self-help and bartering. I find that to be a GREAT description, one that I would be proud of. We can also claim to have sailed to Australia, as it is an Australian territory.
There are grey clouds looming on the horizon, so we may get some rain and squalls over the next few days as we sit between weather systems. That would be great to wash the salt off our rigging, solar panels, and hatches. We definitely took on a few (or more) big waves along the way. Had a great pizza dinner, everyone is filled up and ready for a great night sleep before going to shore to check in and check it out!!! Happy for the stop, glad someone thought to put an island just midway on our journey!
Shannon
Norfolk Island -
We are safely nestled in cozy Sydney Bay. The water is a luscious green that is super clear. I can make out pebbles on the bottom in the 25 feet of water we are anchored in. We had a good sail with a triple reefed main, and have found this to work very well for us.
No need for late night reefing!
The first day and a half was quite rough with three different wave directions keeping the boat in constant motion. I am not really sure how the mono-hull sailors do it. We even had some books fall off the shelf!
The plan is to enjoy this beautiful island until a perfect window opens to jump for New Zealand.
Everybody is doing great and we even spotted a sandy beach! What else could you want?
Courage
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