We have just crossed into 29 degrees. Things are looking good. The weather is warmer, seas are smoother with less chop and the sun is shining. It is nice for me to be able to look at a screen to type an update in the blog. The first several days of the voyage I certainly was the princess on board. Not the pretty kind who is heading off the ball, more like the high maintenance variety who spent most of her day with her head in a bucket. Absolutly nothing pretty about that. I will report on the first few days of the passage as a sort of vicarious, out-of-body experience. Without Google, I am not sure the tense lol We pulled away from the customs dock at 6:10 on 10 June in the USA that would be 6/10. We had patiently been waiting for a great weather window. We wanted things to be easy. The forecast was for a whole lot of nothing. We expected to motor for about 12 hours to Fairwell Spit. Well.... As we left the cut, we passed the northern cardinal mark and became surrounded in a fog. We scooted along under motor with the fog closing in. It was very low visability. As we made way towards the Abel Tasman National Park, the winds picked up and we were able to put up some sail. We were pleased that the forecast was a bit off and were able to make some progress under sail. As we got about 10 miles off Anchorage, the winds increased. There were reports of winds going to 55 knots in the Cook Straight so we debated what we should do. When we started to get gusts of 40 knots true, we were reefed and decided to heave too off of Anchorage rather than peek around that corner in case we didn't like what we saw. We had a couple of hours heaving too and decided to head towards the spit. This is about the time my feet levetated out from under me, I went down the stairs bashing my back and head on each step. This is where the pink bowl comes into the story, the bowl is not really part of the boats story but from where I listened to all the sounds and activity going on around me with my head looking into the pink abyss. This is where the fun began, we had not even managed to leave our local stomping grounds when the second reef parted . There is no better way to shake down a boat than in 40 knot winds. This was good exercise for the crew to re-lash a reefing point from the top of the hardtop in 40 knot winds. On the 11th, the starboard bilge alarm sounded. While moving along in forty knots of wind, the salt water wash hose decided to split. A squall moved past the north of our position during this time and we had 40 knots apparent gale at Hokiange Harbour. (We were still in the forecasted weather report of receiving 15 knots). Just to keep things interesting, at 1515 on the 12th June when we were at 36.06 S 172.59 E we were getting 30 knots apparent so went to put in an additional reef. This is when the tear/rip in the head sail was noticed. We were wanting to be prepared for the squall heading our direction. We put in the final reef which was timely. At 1540 the gale hit with 40 knots apparent and 50 knot gusts. This was not enought entertainment so it was appropriate for the port bilge alarm to notify us of a new problem. The port forward bunk's hatch (Martin's berth) started leaking. The bed was drenched and bilges collecting water. Not exactly sure of what happened there. We haven't had any problems with leaks in the hatches. A couple of weeks before we departed, Ron even went around all the hatched to make sure they were tight. The 12th of June also offered up a batten car separtating from the mast travelor and the main traveler winch cog did not survive the 50 knot gusts. These all combined a real team building opportunity for the boys. I feel a bit bad that I was having my own issues of not being able to lift my head from the bucket and missed all this, but realistically things work in mysterious ways and I am a bit greatful to have missed out! The 13 June brought about the flogging kayak tied to starboard rail. Turns out getting beaten in high winds and seas for days is hard work for the stanchion. We now are making the presumption that the flogging kayak is what loosened Martin's hatch. Ron and Zach moved the kayak to the port side, returned to the cockpit to see that the paddleboards (deflated in their bag) had also shifted. We opted for the fingers crossed method at this stage. It worked after we sailed past Three Kings Islands on a heading of 15 degrees we noticed that the paddle boards were still hanging in there and they got secured. The boys opted for a nice hot shower after their adventures. I opted out, I could not fathom the thought of trying to balance, vomit and wash my hair. I was still not able to multi task, I could barely hold my bucket at this stage. Today, it a different scene. The sun is shining, seas are comfortable, things are staying where we set them. Zach has just put on his harness to step out on the deck to put our first rod out. We joked a couple of nights ago that no one was very interested in the thought of catching a fish, cleaning a fish, cooking a fish or eating a fish. I think there is a good possiblity Zach will catch fish. This morning Martin collected a flying fish that joined us overnight and wedged itself behind the mast. We are all enjoying the respite of the past couple of days. It looks like the forecast is going to give us a nice ride. We have decided to stop at Minerva reef in about 48 hours. We do deserve some crayfish. Spirits are good, all are well and we are looking forward to the coming days. -Princess Shannon Sent from Iridium Mail & Web.