Exciting news! I am moving to Auckland next week. Guppy will have a great berth right in the middle of the city at the Maritime Museum, where I will do some presentations and things with kids when they visit the museum. I am very excited for the move. I love Whangerei but I think Auckland will be a perfect place for me right now with easy access to things like uni, great sail races, and also the opportunity to study for my captain’s license. And I have been spending so much of my time in Auckland already, it is only logical to have Guppy join me here. So I will go back to her today and sail over to Auckland this week. Guppy and I had such a wonderful time staying in the place of my birth and I know this won’t be goodbye forever. I’ve made many great friends who I plan to visit as often as possible. It is truly one of the most beautiful, friendliest places I have ever been and I am grateful for the perfect homecoming I’ve had there. This past week, I’ve been pretty busy over here and having a lot of fun. Saterday I raced again on Akatea. It was a great race and we came in first on handicap :). With the same race boat, I will sail at the end of December from Hobart, Australia back to New Zealand after they have done the Sydney – Hobart race. Before that time, I have also been invited to Tokyo and Germany for shows. So a lot to figure out! Yesterday, we where taking the ice cream trailer to a festival. Yeah, Edwin’s parents have an ice cream trailer, and go with it to events. They say; let the kids run it so they can make some extra money–quite cool :). What an amazing beautiful place this country is, with so many wonderful people. I really love it.

Laura