It's hard to believe we arrived here in Auckland NZ 6 months ago. We have had great adventures and met many wonderful people. But, as always in our wandering cruising life, there comes a time to move on.
We have been waiting for over a week for a reasonable weather window to head north to Fiji and it looks like we will depart Auckland late morning tomorrow, (Wednesday NZ time.) This will be an unusual passage because Bear and I will be joined by two experienced 'superyacht' crew members. Ann has had a series of stomach issues and has undergone numerous medical tests. Nothing serious has been detected, however, we feel it is best for her to fly to Fiji and wait for us there.
Our crew members, Jo and Sam, are both very experienced sailors and each has logged many sea miles aboard a variety of boats, including superyachts. Sam is a Kiwi and will be making the 6 day passage with us and then return back to NZ. Jo has become like one of the family and is planning on staying with us for a while in Fiji. She is also trained and experienced in teaching and speaks multiple languages. She is helping Ann with Bear's homeschooling and doing miscellaneous housekeeping.
Life aboard Oso Blanco has taken on a new look and feel as we head back to sea. We'll keep you posted and try to do a better job of plotting our position on the blog.
Eric
