The Final Leg: Sailing the Tasman and Finishing Our Circumnavigation | E064
3 July 2026 · 10 min · 451 views · Tasman Sea
What this video covers
Nicki and Mike complete a 15-year, roughly 70,000-mile circumnavigation by sailing Zen Again from Opua, Bay of Islands, New Zealand, to Southport on Australia's Gold Coast.0:02 The Tasman crossing takes about a week and delivers sustained 20–35-knot easterlies with seas up to 4.5 metres, qualifying as gale-force conditions for much of the passage.0:10 Early days bring frustrating adverse current off North Cape and Three Kings Island, forcing repeated motoring in near-calm conditions.2:15 By day four the boat is charging west in 3-metre seas, surging past 7 knots under storm jib and double-reefed main, with breaking waves repeatedly filling the cockpit.3:23 A wave strike knocks a solar panel off its mount and nearly kills the boat computer.5:14 A cold front near passage end produces gusts to 38 knots before the southerly buster clears and winds ease on the final approach.5:20 Zen Again motors the last few miles into the Gold Coast Seaway, crossing their outbound track to close the circumnavigation.6:17 After clearing Border Security and Customs at the quarantine dock in Southport, the crew moves the boat to Hope Harbour Marina and then to Manly near Brisbane for a long-term stay.8:10
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