O WNER REPOR T – SEA R O VER
“Minerva is yet another unforgettable experience in a year already packed with enviable memories of our cruising life.”
until the last night of the trip when a front brought gale-force winds. Rarotonga is yet another place we were sad to leave, having relished its culture, the friendly people and the fact that they speak English which allowed me to pack away my still lamentable French. Increasingly it seems that travel does not make the world a smaller place, rather it gets bigger as we become more aware that we are only scratching the surface of the destinations we reach. We stayed in Rarotonga until late October so that we could watch their Gospel Day celebrations, an authentic local experience marking the arrival of protestant missionaries. It is a public holiday even though the missionary record is at best questionable and soon raised consternation in the UK in the mid nineteenth century as news emerged of the ‘Blue Laws’, the social code British missionaries were imposing on the islanders.
It is seven days aſt er the wedding and we have been downloading GRIBS by sat phone and New Zealand weather fax by SSB. T ere never will be a perfect window for this 900 mile, south westerly passage but we are setting off for our slalom through the rough weather that sweeps east across our path, making this sail such a cold, bumpy prospect. We leave with many more boat cards from acquaintances, whose tracks we hope to cross in the coming years.
Minerva is yet another unforgettable experience in a year already packed with enviable memories of our cruising life.
When heading to New Zealand, the textbook advice is to get in as much westing as possible before the prevailing wind moves round to the south west but our weather forecasts give us the confi dence to sail the shorter, rhumb line route. It is a decision that serves us well as we approach what the Maoris called ‘Aotearoa’, the Land of the Long White Cloud, a couple of days ahead of other boats following the traditional advice. Our route towards Auckland takes us through the great sailing playground that is the Hauraki Gulf and even before we arrive in the ‘City of Sails’ we are already planning next year’s cruising! Only as we fi nalise details of our fl ight to the UK to catch up with family and friends does it slowly begin to sink in, that in safety and comfort, we have actually sailed our new home halfway around the world.
The Robinson’s account (with minor alterations) was fi rst published in the Royal Cruising Club’s Roving Commissions, earlier this year.
Photos: Mike and Devala Robinson
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