Lisa's graduation

All the graduates met at Albert Park in the center of Auckland, it was a beautiful sunny day and there was a wonderful atmosphere in the air.

Lisa chatted to many of her fellow students and caught up with their news.

Then there was the walk to the Town Hall for the capping ceremony, led by a Cook Island band on the back of truck, great fun, and Queen street was closed off for the procession.

What a great day, I was so proud of my lovely Lisa. It is a day I shall never forget, and glad that Jay could join us too.

She is now a Bachelor in Performance and Screen Arts.

Lisa and I having a coffee in Cornwall Park, close to where she lives and works.

A lovely spot on a sunny day, I can never have too many flat whites!!!

Puerto Rico/ Turks and Caicos Islands

Our first anchorage in Puerto Rico. It was a weekend and all the local boats were there to watch a local air show. A great atmosphere as the jets flashed over the anchorage in formation.

In San Juan, there was a huge yacht, rumoured to be owned by a famous Russian, who shall remain nameless!

Here they are, winching the tender, a 52' yacht on board! On the other side is a 50' motor boat too! More money than sense.

In the Turks and Caicos Islands we met a remarkable man.

Andrea Stella is an Italian, who was shot in 2000 in Miami. He ended up in a wheelchair and had the crazy idea of crossing the ocean. He had a catamaran especially designed to accommodate the wheelchair and set off.

He now sails around the globe promoting the integration of disabled in society, taking as many as possible out sailing.

We had several good evenings with him and his crew. They had plenty of good 'prosecco' on board and we had just caught a Mahi-Mahi, so it made a good combination!!

Andrea's cat called Lo Spirito di Stella, with all the sponsorship stickers.

These waterspouts appeared behind us, we motored as fast as we could to get away. Apparently they are quite common in this part of the world because the sea temperature is high.

It all looked fairly scary to us though.

Leaving 'No Rehearsal' to go to the airport.

Anchored off the beach in crystal clear waters.

The Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands were beautiful, clear water and great snorkeling on the reefs in crystal clear water.

Met some good people and enjoyed some good food ashore too.

Necker Island is the home of

Richard Branson, and the flag was flying, so we assumed that he was home, but sadly we weren't invited for a drink though!!

Every evening at 5pm during Happy Hour, the locals feed the Tarpon. They are huge fish about a meter long and they fight over the tasty raw fish. Apparently great fun to catch, but very boney and not good eating, that's why they get to grow so big, I guess. A good crowd puller!

The local cocktail is a painkiller, which is excellent after a hard day in the sun!

Tortola quay and these two huge cruise ships almost look like the twin towers.

We wonder how they don't fall over after counting the decks.

The island of Culebrito is part of the Spanish Virgin Islands. We climbed up to the lighthouse and took this photo of the bay.