Annual Summary of 2000

January: New Year's Eve with local Kiwis on Great Barrier Island. Entered Russell Tall Ships Race. Three weeks in Kerikeri. America's Cup races had New Zealand entranced.

February: Sailed north to Whangaroa, then had a quiet trip around Cape Reinga and down the west side of the North Island to Nelson. Kayak camping in Abel Tasman Park with Polly and John.

March: Sailed through scary French Pass into Pelorus Sound. Hiked, heard & saw Bellbirds, ate green-lipped mussels and relaxed. Sailed into Queen Charlotte Sound. Saw "Endeavour" replica. Gusty winds & cold water required hot soup, quilts and blankets.

April: Boat work in quiet anchorages, mixed with reading, hiking and relaxing. Finally went (fast!) through Cook Strait the 27th.

May: Sailed north (from cold 43 deg. S) around East Cape and past White Island's active volcano. Stocked up in Tauranga, and left New Zealand on the 25th. Made fair progress the first few days of our passage to Fiji, but fronts filled the forecasts.

June: Headwinds plagued our passage so 1582 miles took 17 days. Great to be back in the warm seas & winds of the Tropics. Revisited Indian friends in Savusavu despite the coup. Sailed northeast to revisit Fijian friends on Yanuca Island.

July: Visited Banabans living in thatch huts on Rabi Island beach for two weeks. Visited the Fijians of Qaranivai Village on Vanua Levu. Tremendous interaction with the locals. Much traditional food, kava & games. Jerry's poem "Electric Fever" was published.

August: Spent two weeks with families of Kia Island fishermen. Good walks, origami, songs, "hokey-pokey" and gift exchanges. Sailed around the west end of Vanua Levu to marvelous Yadua Island, where we spent two weeks mostly by ourselves. Found our first Nautilus shells.

September: Worked south through the Yasawa Islands, enjoying the Sawa-I-Lau cave, the famous "Blue Lagoon," Soso Village and Waya Lailai. Sailed to Lautoka the 15th, and didn't watch the Sydney Olympics. Caught up on email after all those weeks out-of-touch. Finally left Fiji on the 27th. A somewhat lumpy ride for the first few days as we tried to find our sea legs again, then a nice sail.

October: Entered New Caledonia through Havannah Pass, and anchored in Noumea on the 3rd after a 735 mile passage. Car camping trip for 5 days to northern Grand Terre. Started revarnishing boat interior. Attended many wonderful Pacific Arts Festival events (27 countries, over 2000 performers). Enjoyed French cuisine and email cafes.

November: Scraped weeds from the bottom of the boat, then left Noumea on the 8th in light wind. After some 25-knot headwinds, we had days of beautiful running before the SE trades. Crossed the Tropic of Capricorn to 30 deg. S at Coffs Harbour, Australia. Arrived the 15th after 917 miles. Aussies started introducing us to their language and customs. The US$ was very strong, and we spent many.

December: Haulout on Coffs Harbour slipway for bottom paint. Replaced some rusty galvanized steel fittings with new stainless pieces. Christmas camping at New England Park, hiking the rainforest to see Crimson Rosellas, Lyrebirds, Kangaroos, and a Spotted Quoll.