Location 36° 51S 174° 46E
Wednesday12:00, 06.06.2007

The Schooner Maggie B is safely docked at the Viaduct Marina in downtown Auckland. We are at 36° 51S 174° 46E. If that looks to be right in town, it totally is. We are surrounded by condos, office buildings and great bars and restaurants. When we were in Cape Town, we though that we were right in the middle of things, but here it is astonishing, especially after being in smaller places for a bit. We are like Midwest farmers staring at the tall buildings in Manhattan.

Coming across the Hauraki Gulf was relatively easy. Easy for the Hauraki Gulf with only 20 knots right on the nose. But then it blew 40 here yesterday and is due to blow again tomorrow. Coming in the channel at night and docking (back in, please) wasn’t much tougher than a night carrier landing. There were more lights of every color than at O’Hare Airport, and we had to dodge two big container ships outbound, four or five ferries, three Pilot boats, and some odds and ends. Great fun.

More news tomorrow and more photos.

All is well.