Urupukapuka Bay, Urupukapuka Isl, New Zealand
To no surprise to most of you, yes indeed, we are back to the cruising life. What may be a surprise is that we have transitioned to the “dark side”, that is, we are now power boat owners. And we could not be more thrilled! Our new cruising platform, MV Dragonfly, is a Nordhavn 43, and by purchasing her in New Zealand we already sit in one of our favorite cruising grounds.
The story of our transition to the dark side has been in the making for 5 years, ever since we determined that for our next phase of life we wanted to spend our time primarily cruising the higher latitudes. The lure of sitting in a pilot house, slippers on, cup of tea in hand, making our way with the primary “sail change” necessitated by rain squalls and storms simply a flick of the windshield wiper breaker. Ah, the good life.
So here we sit, having moved aboard at the beginning of this month, getting to know all of this somewhat complicated ship. We left Whangarei Marina a week ago after Dragonfly participated in their annual Maritime Festival (featuring boats of all ilks, including steam boats, Maori war canoes, and NZ pilot, Customs, and work ships), and now sit in the beautiful Bay of Islands.
New Zealand truly is a special place, and we are excited to visit friends and anchorages we have not seen for 10 years. The last time we were here Sophia was 7 years old. Now she is off to university literally half way around the world from us, 12 time zones (and 90 degrees of latitude!) away in Scotland. Oh how the times have changed – many new adventures and experiences await on both of our paths.
Pinching ourselves.
35 13.3 S 174 14.4 E
At Anchor, Urupukapuka Island
Bay of Islands
New Zealand
Great update and photos guys. Thanks. More adventures 😁! Didn’t see a pic of the slippers 😉 🛥️.
So great to hear from you both. Randall is on a Cat from VA to Aboco
Enjoy. Go BSU
Beautiful photos. Looking forward to seeing you both soon now we’ll be in the same hemisphere. 🌏
Chasing your dreams!
I am glad you have adapted to and welcome the “dark side” which to me looks like the luminous side.
Keep us posted about your adventures. They are so fun, to help me live vicariously !
Safe and fun travels.
Thanks for the update guys! Dragonfly looks awesome and your beautiful photos of New Zealand bring back great memories. Enjoy your travels aboard your new “ship” and keep the blog posts coming.
Lovely update. Come back to Town Basin for Thanksgiving with us!