Boatyard blues..........

Yes we've got the boatyard blues.

We are high & dry "on the hard" as us boaters call being out of the water.

We are in a town called Warkworth about 30 miles north of Auckland. The yard is way up the Mahurangi river.

Usually we don't mind being in the yard, but this time we had torrential rain holding up progress initially, and now as of today one of the top painters on the crew ( Jackie ) is incapacitated and can't go near the paint.

Had an allergic reaction to all the toxic stuff in the yard, so had to be invalided out to a beautiful local bed & breakfast!!

(Yes I spent hours during the night punching myself in the eyes to make them swell up, the wheezing and tongue swelling took a little more ingenuity to pull off!)

Seriously Neil is having to finish off the painting on his own, which is hard work, but I did book a room with a huge bath so he can soak his aching muscles.

Back in the water soon, hopefully I can stand the fumes for the time it takes to relaunch the boat.

Off to our new home ........Bayswater marina, and starting work Monday Dec 14th.

DEJA VU!!!

Cetacea with Old and new owners.

Cetacea with old and new owners.

Captain of the Land yacht.

Had the shock of our lives last Sunday, went to check out our new marina in Bayswater (opposite the city) and look who we found lurking in the slips...........CETACEA!!!

Cetacea was the first boat we owned . We bought her, and sailed her through the Bahamas and Caribbean, then we sold her in Florida in 2003, and now she's HERE!.

Of all the harbours in all the world, we found her here!

Now just have to keep an eye open for Voyager ( our second boat) and the "family" will be reunited.

Here are Brian and Clare Cetacea's new owners, they sailed her from Florida a few years ago, they added a wind steering vane and radar, and set off

We had fun telling them the stories behind each scratch and scuff ..........and there are plenty of stories!

They also added baby Quinn, so they are staying here for now.

The last photo is of our new "land Yacht" a Toyota Camry we bought the other day..........really makes a difference having a car,

no more rationing shopping etc on the grounds of not being able to carry the weight on the bike, also enjoying getting reacquainted with Auckland and surrounding area.

Auckland at last.

Bay of island Oysters served by a couple of "pearls".

Bay of islands.

Whangarei marina on the river.

Peacock, and very plain Peahen Kawau island.

Peacock Mansion house bay Kawau island.

Wallaby Kawau island.

Old Coppermine Kawau island.

Catch of the day.....Kawau island.

Sauntered into Auckland harbour yesterday after a run down from Kawau island.

It's all business now, rushing around getting work visas, car etc etc.

Opua New Zealand

Bay of Islands New Zealand.

"Anzac" the customs dog.

Boarded by customs offshore.

They ask permission, but I wouldn't like to say no!

Squall alert!!!

Norfolk island.

Dock party, cruisers and locals Norfolk island.

Norfolk island........notice red and blue parrot in foreground.

Cascade bay Norfolk island.......sailors you can see why it can get rolly in here.

Trying to download important documents via wifi in bright sunlight!

Isle of Pines New Caledonia.

Isle of Pines New Caledonia.

Highest point, Isle of Pines New Caledonia.

Kuta Bay Isle of Pines New Caledonia.

Relaxing in Opua marina and watching the daily arrivals from the rest of the South Pacific, at least 5-6 boats daily chug in for clearance.

Of course we are having to celebrate with all our old friends as they roll up, its a terrible trial !

In between boat cleaning and celebrating we've been busy hiking and cycling.

The weather has been lovely so far, sunny & settled.........it won't last, a front is forecast and we hope the boats heading in from Fiji will make it in port before the big blow.

On Monday we start the work visa process, and have to go to Whangarei and Auckland to submit paperwork, we'll hire a car or buy one to do this, so the partying will  be over !!

Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet?......04/11/09

Yes we bloody are!!!!
Arrived in Opua New Zealand this morning, November 4th.
Our weather was good for the trip, so we consider ourselves lucky.
Some other boats are still out there and the storm is on its way. We're tucked up nice and cozy in the Marina.
Later on we'll crack the champagne and start reminiscing about the 12,468 nautical miles we've done.

Land Ahoy...........(02/11/09)

Position 33 degrees, 39S, 172 degrees, 08E.
We can just see Three Kings Island off the starboard bow!!!
67 miles to North Cape, then another 80, travelling down the east coast to Opua. Should arrive in Opua sometime on November 4th.
Windlight from west, cloudy but no squalls yet!!
Fingers crossed for good weather to continue.

Brrrrrr getting cold (01/11/09)

Position 32 degrees 23S / 169 degrees 48E
Its getting chilly down here in the old Tasman sea. Our depth sounder has a thermometer built in and its reading 17 degrees C, down from 26 degrees C in the Isle of Pines, which was the last time we were in the water doing a last minute cleaning of the boat bottom.
But let me mention a particularly nice boating pastime related to colder weather..........hot bunking, yes hot bunking is a lovely thing. When we change over watches one of us climbs out from under a heap of quilts and blankets whilst the other dives under the warm inviting mound and wriggles into place in the warm bunk, ecstasy!
Anyway still mooching south slowly; all the weathermen say we'll get south westerly winds soon. We keep searching around for them, but no luck yet. A nice SW breeze would be just the ticket for the last couple of hundred miles, so fingers crossed. At present we are sailing in light southerlies - its like clawing your way up hill, whilst looking over your shoulder watching for squalls and storms creeping up to give us a whack. Speed is everything on this passage, there is a low pressure system (nasty big winds and waves) slowly moving our way, and we hope to outrun it and breeze into harbour with it firmly behind us, here's hoping.
The good news - the Kiwi sailors tell us "no worries" from now to NZ we are in range of the NZ search and rescue helicopter, and can be plucked off our sinking vessels. Don't fancy dangling on one of those helicopter cables!! Definitely keep that as plan B.