Yep, I ran the engine quite extensively on my "maiden voyage" to Annapolis. Ran fine for the trip, but after a week of sitting at the dock, the engine would not start. The rest is history.
And yes, I worked the outlet to prevent ANY possible ingress (both internal and external). No problems since and I left the generator as original. With the water/gas separator on the genset I have never had an issue.
Safe travels and enjoy New Zealand. Stay away from Australia for now though.
Jamie