The delivery trip on Akatea back to Auckland from Hobart was really good. We left a day later than planned because Akatea hit something during the Hobart race and no one had noticed that there was a huge chunk out of the keel until the day of the planned departure. So we had to haul the boat out to check and repair the underwater ship. But we finally left on January 3. We had such beautiful weather, especially for the Tasman Sea, known for its rough storms. It wasn’t a very fast trip, as we arrived early on the 10th after 1500 nm. I hadn’t realised how much I missed sailing until I was back on sea. Seven days was way too short, but the excitement in being back in New Zealand and seeing Guppy triumphed over wanting to stay on sea forever. I gave Guppy a real nice long hug when I got back. She waited so patiently for me while I was gone and still she looks as beautiful as ever. Like always, I didn’t stay long in Auckland. I’m not really magnetic to big cities and after the busy month of traveling and having people around me all the time, I decided to go out to the countryside for a bit to work on a farm somewhere between Auckland and Whangarei. It’s so lovely to hear the birds and the wind in the trees when I wake up in the morning. I even quite enjoy working on the farm in the warm sun. I definitely wouldn’t want to do this forever but it’s a really nice change and I have been learning a lot of things in the past few days, that plants are a lot more than just green and what al goes on before you have meat or veggies on your plate. It’s amazing!

Laura