and just like that, i become a deckhand, a sailor soon to be. although still a young rook, i do have two sails under my belt -- having accrued a grand total of 140 nautical sailing miles up and down the new zealand coast line. indeed, i still have much to learn but am keen as can be. my enthusiasm to learn, in fact, is bursting at the seams. good thing, as we shall soon set sail aboard the good ship ferdinand bound for fiji and warmer climes.

ps, i received a note from my mother the other day that read as follows: "why did i let you watch treasure island so much when you were a kid?" HAHA, indeed, once upon a time in my youth i used to watch the movie an average of oh, say, two times a day. tis also my favorite book. so mom, you might say this was bound to happen eventually.

bring on the tropics!

the ferdinand!

dinner prep down in the galley.

we got our cap'n a roomie!

no luck thus far. however i just bought a deep sea rod and reel and a spear gun! YES!

rob and cap'n dave on the sail up to whangarei.

good god there are heaps of rainbows in new zealand. i will miss you new zealand.

just another day at the office.

sunrise at sea on my first ever sail. we went from whangarei to auckland, new zealand.

i'm a sailor now?!

you may be asking yourself, how does someone just become a "sailor" all of a sudden. well, allow me to explain. for me it was simple. i met this dude, a fellow hitchhiker. he told me about how he had sailed from tahiti to new zealand. there's this web site he tells me, findacrew.com, where captains are looking for crew for upcoming voyages. a few months later i find one such captain on his way to fiji and like that i become a student of sailing on a boat bound for fiji and warmer waters.