And finally Goodbye New Zealand

We have been in waiting mode for the past month, and yes this has been a bit tedious, but we mustn’t grumble. On the positive side we have had our second Covid vaccinations in Auckland, so a very big thank you to the New Zealand health service. We have had plenty of time to say goodbye to our many cruising friends, although some may be wondering if we were really leaving.

Three flight changes later the day finally came for loading. What an event, and yes a little nerve wrecking, but finally all done.

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The Dynamogracht arrived in Auckland on Wednesday 26th of May. She had a rough ride from Brisbane as there was a tropical storm just off the North Island of New Zealand. She was only making seven knots into the fierce winds down the east coast from Cape Reinga. Quite frankly we go faster than that, albeit we were very glad not to be tackling 40 knot winds on the nose, and five metre seas. We learnt later that there was an engine problem which is now fixed, and hopefully the ship will go a bit faster during the voyage back to Southampton.

The unloading, boat shifting and loading is a slow process. We were told that the crew are very unhappy as they are unable to go ashore, and so on a go slow. These are difficult times. We are delighted that the America’s Cup boats, Ineos and Luna Rosa plus their various chase boats, masts and twelve boxes are joining A Capella on the trip back to Europe. The loading list makes for interesting reading.

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After loading we were delighted to meet up and have supper with Marie and Deitmer from S/Y Greyhound who were loading their boat the next day. We spent our final night in New Zealand in the delightful DeBretts hotel.

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