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Adventures New Zealand Ocean Crossings Sailing Tonga Videos Recipes

Our Most BRUTAL Sail (& breaking stuff)

Nikki Wynn

Nikki Wynn

— 2 min read
Our Most BRUTAL Sail (& breaking stuff)

Most borders throughout the Pacific are still closed due to the pandemic. But, New Zealand has an application for vessels needing major refit work…and that’s definitely us!

We applied, were approved, and now we’re setting sail for a 1,300 nautical mile voyage from the tropics in The Kingdom of Tonga to the wilds of winter in New Zealand. We’ll drop 20 degrees in Fahrenheit and latitude. (hello roaring 40’s)

It’s our most ambitious voyage yet and is supposed to be a non-stop 10-day passage. But, we have a brutal start that has us altering the course just three days in.

Chocolate Banana Coconut Bread

As promised at the end of the video, here is my tropical-inspired banana bread recipie.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup toasted and chopped walnuts
  • 1/3 cup toasted coconut
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 2/3 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 VERY ripe large bananas mashed
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Mix in chopped walnuts & coconut. Whisk bananas, sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Fold the flour mixture into the egg mix.
  • Scoop into muffin cups or spread into a brownie pan. If you’re feeling fancy, sprinkle the top with a few extra nuts, coconut, and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
  • Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (14-18 min). Let cool and serve at room temperature.

Why NOT Stop At Minerva Reef?

You might be wondering why we were so hesitant to stop at Minerva Reef. Well….because of covid, typical maritime law and regulations have disappeared all around the world. The new rules in New Zealand state that days at sea will only count towards quarantine from the last port of call. So any stop, even at a reef where there isn’t any land or people, resets the clock. AND, because we had checked out of Tonga (the country that claims ownership of Minerva reef) we were no longer allowed in the country for any reason…including emergencies. So, if the Tongan navy wants to show up and kick us out, they 100% can.

But when at sea and there’s a scary storm headed our way and our boat’s compromised..we do what we gotta do to stay safe (rules be damned). So we stopped.

🎥 CAMERA GEAR USED TO FILM THIS VIDEO

🎶 MUSIC IN THIS VIDEO:

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