Crewing the Monarch

So this is my boat, really :)

I'm getting to know her well, along with the handful of other crew and skippers I manage her with. It was a slow day with Ed and Thomas here onboard. Cold but sunny, with gale force winds, up to 52+ kilometers per hour out at Tairoa Head! Still, this boat was made for much worse.

What a joy to crash through the waves on a bluebird day out at sea. We could see for miles in the clear, rarified air out to the Kakinui Ranges covered in snow far inland. While on the open seas beyond shags, gulls, and terns migrated over the waves. Fur seals hauled up on the rocks. Royal Southern Albatross's rode the winds like giant kites. And thousands of sooty shearwaters skimmed over the white-caps painted sea foam green in the bright afternoon light.