January 21, 2008 - Whangarei

Since yesterday the remnants of a tropical cyclone have been lashing the North Island. Sleeping on the boat last night was tough with the wind howling through the rigging and causing the hull to vibrate. This morning, neither of us was in a hurry to get up. We wandered into the kitchen around 9:30, just as the Dockland 5 crew were tucking into their mid-morning tea, complete with meat pies, a kiwi staple. We're usually breakfasting no later than 7:30, so we caught a bit of ribbing for our late start (we love the kiwi sense of humor - it is so understated; for example, a cyclone is referred to as a willy willy, as though it were some cute, harmless breeze). Then we opened the fridge and realized that during the one night we were in Auckland our beer and wine was nicked from the fridge. At least the cream for our morning coffee didn't go walk about - that would have been a real setback. Working on the boat in the rain is no fun, so we spent the morning running around town and following up with vendors.