A life on the ocean waves

A happy little Jack Current location: Fairway Bay Marina, Gulf Harbour, 36 37.2 S  174 47.6E We are back in Fairway Bay, where we began this adventure in March last year.   This is the place where the children and I first set eyes on Victoria.   (Angus had already seen her some months earlier).   It was our home for several weeks while we were getting ready to set sail for Tonga, which feels like such a long time ago now.   We have all come a very long way since then, both literally and metaphorically.   Angus and I were amazed by our crew as we approached the dock when we arrived;   all three were  on deck, bursting with energy and keen to help us.   Eloise stood at the bow, Jack amidships, and George at the stern, each confidently clutching their coiled ropes, ready to throw or pass to me once I was on the pontoon.   They jumped ashore as soon they could make the leap, and were extremely proficient in tying the lines around the cleats.   We could hardly believe what aw

Current location    Smokehouse Bay, Great Barrier Island, New Zealand                              36 12S  175 20E Victoria has felt strangely quiet and empty for the last couple of days, after the departure of my sisters, Serena and Rosie.  Angus and I are now cleansing our livers, facing up to the vast amount of recycling we have on board, and have restarted "normal" boat life - homeschool, varnishing, laundry etc.  Serena has written a fantastic guest blog for us, which will give you a fresh perspective of life on board. Before handing over to Serena, I must mention Australia, who are in our thoughts and prayers daily.  The smoke from the bush fires, more than 1000 miles away, reached New Zealand a couple of days ago.  In the early afternoon, the sky turned an eerie yellow-orange colour, and it became so dark that all the boats around us turned their anchor lights on.  Below decks on Victoria, we needed all the lights to see properly.  It felt like the