Since then we have been based in and around the Bay of Islands and New Zealand is a new chapter. I very much wanted to spend time with friends – Peter and Cathy on Leto, Nick on Wylo, Ian and Kathy on Ariel, the Argos and Sareis and other friends we’d made. Trevor, as ever, was keen to move on, but we’d agreed that New Zealand was to be under my orders. We spent time up the lovely Kerikeri River, sailed up to Whangaroa for Christmas and went walking and day sailing both there and in the Bay of Islands. Trevor decided that he should go to work for one last time and then he can retire. One last time actually means three separate contracts and this all took a while to set up. Finally, he left on 21 January to work in Siberia – in the winter! And this has finally left me the time to sit down for hours on end at my computer to write this account! I hope you’ve enjoyed it.

Annie