It is now 1:30am and the wind has died down a bit more to about 8-10k. Though the seas have calmed down a bit they remain very lumpy with the remnants of that huge sea felt every now and then. Of course, being dark it is hard to see any waves. No moon tonight either - the New Moon phase begins today. We are making about 7k over ground on a heading of 189M.

We have 125nm to get to Opua. Current estimates by the Nav-O-Computer are for an arrival at 6:45pm tomorrow night. However, the target is the entrance to the outer bay (Bay of Islands) and not to Opua itself which lies another 10 miles down into the bay. We have been told that a night entrance to Opua is easy and the entrance is well lit, providing we have good weather we may do it. Or, we may decide to push on to Tauranga instead which would mean no landfall till Sunday morning.

It is now 2:30pm and we are 49 miles from the entrance to the Bay of Islands (Opua) and we expect to arrive at midnight tonight. A night entrance was decided upon as the harbor is very well marked, another boat we know will be entering a few hours before us, also at night, and will be available for consultation on VHF as we ourselves enter. The crew is exhausted and we need a couple of days of rest. The idea has also been entertained that we remain in Opua for the season instead of going to Tauranga. The advantages are that it is a warmer, drier climate, is closer to Fiji and is more scenic and picturesque. The disadvantages (that we know of) are that it does not have as many options for service and technical workers available in Tauranga and second we know of 2 other boats with kids that Jonah has played with who will be at Tauranga. We do not know what boats with kids may be at Opua.

It is now almost 6pm local time here and a nice wind has come up from the West and we have been sailing since about 3pm. We have about 15-18k from the NW and are making 7.5k over ground. We have 37 miles to go to Opua (27 to the harbor entrance). Our new ETA to the harbor is 9:45 and 12 Midnight for Opua.

At 12:45 we tried up to the quarantine pier at Opua. We are exhausted. The nighttime entrance was nerve wracking but not a problem. It is good to be not moving.