Position: 41 12.63 S  174 16.95 E

At anchor Jacksons Bay

Wind: calm   Sea: calm   Swell: nil (except for when the ferries go by)

Weather: sunny, warm

Last night an alarm came through on the mobile phone advising that New Zealand has moved to COVID alert level two with Auckland at alert level three. This change has caused me to rethink my plan to sail to Wellington tomorrow. While the risk is no doubt low, it seems to me that the risk is nonetheless significantly higher in the densely populated capital on the north island than the more remote regions such as the Queen Charlotte Sound. Then again, it also occurs to me, an even more remote region that I have been wanting to visit is the Chatham Islands and looking at the weather forecast the passage looks quite manageable if we were to leave here tomorrow as planned.

So, with this option in mind, I departed Picton this morning and enjoyed a pleasant sail to Jacksons Bay just two miles in from the entrance to Tory Channel. I will have another look at the weather tomorrow morning but, given that we are fully provisioned with full fuel and water tanks, and most importantly plenty of cat litter and cat food on board, I reckon if the weather looks half okay then we will give the Chatham Islands a go.

All is well.