Our first experience of a storm on a mooring ball

Episode 027 Well, it wouldn't be New Zealand if we didn't experience a low pressure weather system every couple of weeks. Its location in the South Pacific ocean positions New Zealand near the 40 degree latitude, and with its mountainous and small landmass, means the westerly winds usually dominate. The tropics to the north of New Zealand and Antarctica as well as the southern ocean to its south also influence our seasonal weather. After all, they don't call it the roaring 40s for nothing! New Zealand's weather is known for being 'predictably unpredictable'. But what has made sailing even more challenging for us in the last 12 months are the effects the La Niña has had on our weather, at times making the weather even more unpredictable. Bringing with it strong dominant easterly winds and lots of rain. We have spent many days seeing out strong winds and low pressure systems since moving onboard Tāiko fulltime. In this episode, we have been on the hook for a week when a low pressure system makes itself known in the forecast. We head to a mooring ball we secured to sit it out. Since becoming fulltime liveaboard sailors, we have experienced at least 7 adverse weather systems on anchor (one on the mooring ball) and a number in the marina, making the draw of the tropics and trade winds very appealing. Please note that this episode was filmed in November 2022 (so it is not quite summer) showing you how far behind we are with our videos! We hope you enjoy it! As always, thanks for watching. Sincere thanks to Charlotte Rockstar Jones for composing and recording Te Tāiko's theme song. Please remember to subscribe, like, comment - it helps us out! If commenting, we ask that you be respectful. Any comments made that are intended to be hurtful, disrespectful, antagonistic, and inappropriate to us or our viewers will be deleted and you will be blocked from our channel. Ways to support us: Subscribe to YouTube (it's free) 👉https://www.youtube.com/@adamandvickistravels?sub_confirmation=1 Become a Patreon 👉patreon.com/adamandvickistravels FOLLOW US: Website 👉https://www.adamandvickistravels.co.nz/ Pinterest 👉 www.pinterest.com/adamandvickistravels Facebook 👉 https://www.facebook.com/adamandvickistravels/ Instagram 👉https://www.instagram.com/adamandvickistravels/ Music from Epidemic Sound. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------We’re Adam and Vicki. After a few years of studying and working hard we decided it was time to make a change. We needed a change that would allow us to spend more time together, give us a better work/life balance, and the freedom to travel. While we still had time on our side, we wanted to use it to live rather than use it to chase money. Learning to sail was the answer. In December 2021 we moved onboard Te Tāiko, a Chico40, and since then we have been so fortunate to explore many of New Zealand’s pest free islands and its beautiful anchorages. With our love of travel and adventure, this lifestyle has enabled us to experience so much more than we could ever have imagined. From new experiences to meeting incredible people along the way, our life has been enriched in so many ways and makes us ever so more appreciative of our environment and the footprint we leave behind. Tāiko is our floating home. She gives us the freedom to go anywhere the wind and weather allows. By living a more minimalistic and sustainable lifestyle, she has provided us with a better work/life balance and has taught us to live and be present more in the moment. Tāiko has also taught us to be more independent and less reliant on services. Some of these experiences have taken us out of our comfort zone many times but as the saying goes, ‘a comfort zone is a wonderful place but nothing grows there’. Our plan is to do blue water cruising. So, over the next year we will be completing some maintenance work on Tāiko and be getting her ready to meet New Zealand’s category 1 requirements to be able to go offshore. In the meantime, follow along with us as we navigate this new lifestyle whilst sharpening our skills exploring New Zealand waters. #boatlife #boat #travelvlog #digitalnomad #lifestyle #sailing #travel