Sailing to New Zealand | E061
30 December 2025 · 7 min · 2K views · Bay of Islands Marina, Opua
Sailboat cuts through beam swell at dusk, golden light glinting on choppy sea.
What this video covers
Zen Again completes a 900-mile passage from Minerva Reef to Opua, New Zealand, in the Bay of Islands.0:01 Departure conditions were near-calm, requiring motoring until mid-afternoon before light wind allowed sailing; the boat crossed the International Date Line on day two.0:59 A large windless hole dominated days three and four, with motoring interrupted by brief squalls that briefly restored sailing.1:34 On day five, 20–30 knots from the east-northeast with an ugly beam swell arrived; the crew reefed to a trysail-sized mainsail and storm jib.2:16 To avoid a night arrival at Opua, they reduced sail deliberately, then motored the final 35 miles.2:38 Thick fog reduced visibility to 100–200 metres entering the Bay of Islands.3:18 Zen Again tied to the quarantine dock at Bay of Islands Marina by 0700; Customs and Biosecurity cleared the boat that afternoon with no issues, validating extensive pre-arrival hull cleaning.3:30 Ashore, the crew drove to Whangarei for provisioning, arranged fabrication of a stainless steel stern anchor bracket in preparation for Fiordland, and refilled propane tanks.4:54 The passage completes roughly 13,000 miles sailed in 2025 from the Eastern Caribbean via Panama, French Polynesia, Samoa, and Tonga.4:18
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