Customs should clear us out at 10:30, so we'll be able to head out right after that. Hopefully there won't be too much of a delay since I expect a lot of people to be checking out today.
We will be sailing alongside our friends aboard "INTIAQ", another Catana 471. They are headed for Vanuatu, but that takes us along almost the same course. Like Austin says, Race on!
The last couple of days have been a bit busy since I discovered a leak in one of our hot water heaters. It wasn't really a discovery since I've been noticing this leak over what, probably the last year? But it got a lot worse during the last few days and required attention. After removing the heater and pressure testing it, we found a pinhole on a weld. We rented a car and went down to Whangarei to try and find a new one. We ordered something "close" and had it couriered up from Auckland for delivery yesterday morning. It arrived as promised, but "close" wasn't "right", and installing the new one would have required major modifications. So, back on the phone with the vendor in Whangarei and turns out they have one that should fit better nearby. 
They actually sold it to a boat in a yard, but the shop offered to go over there and "steal" it back for us. I grabbed a car and did a quick round trip to Whangarei (which, by the way, is pronounced Fangarei) leaving 3 hours of light last night to finish the install. Nothing on a boat is plug-and play, so after a bit of sawing and grinding into the brand-new heater, it was ready to go back in. All I knew was that, Damn the torpedoes, I was, after 3 days, going to have a hot shower that night! And indeed, we all did.We've downloaded all our weather data. Looks like we'll have good wind first couple of days, then it will get light. Waves look pretty big, up to 20' with a short period, but from behind. We're hoping to arrive in New Caledonia around Friday morning (our time).
