I’ve really been remiss in staying in touch on this trip. I have fond hopes of building a website with photo-illustrated travelogs, but it is slow going due to some technical glitches. So in the meantime I have just uploaded some photos for you to see (slideshow link above), and here’s a quick update on our activities for the past week.
Rod met us at the airport when we arrived first thing in the morning last Monday. From Auckland it is about a three hour drive north to Opua Marina where Raven is berthed. Since our last visit Rod has been hard a work repairing and refitting – some major jobs that are best done here in New Zealand where the workforce is really knowledgeable about yachts. Among the many improvements he has accomplished for us:
- New bottom anti-foul paint
- Repainted the boot stripe (at waterline) – formerly red, now dark blue
- Installed a 42″ flat screen Sony LCD TV – great for DVDs and photo slideshows
- Repaired the rudder bearings
- Currently in the process of installing replacement Lexan hatches as the old ones were fairly cloudy and scratched up from time and use.
- New canvas covers for awnings, cushions, etc. above deck
- Lots of other repairs and improvements
Raven was hauled out on a hoist for a lot of this work and only went back into the water on the Friday before our Monday arrival – she was sparkling clean and looked like a brand new boat! We know Rod had a huge clean up job to do from the time she hit the water until our arrival only some 48 hours later. It’s great to have an obsessive-compulsive captain who treats Raven like an only child.
The bad news for us is that Anouk has decided to change her lifestyle and stay in Holland – she will not be returning to Raven. Her vacation home reminded her that she missed her family. She plans to open a café in Amsterdam jointly with her sister and name it the Sunset Bar, complete with South Seas decor. She should have lots of expertise and props to develop an authentic atmosphere.
This is a big loss for us, as Anouk was a true asset to Raven. Her winning personality and diverse skills leave a big hole aboard ship. Rod seems confident however that he will be able to find a replacement First Mate that will fit in with our lifestyle.
The day after our arrival a sub-tropical low came into New Zealand’s north island and poured buckets of rain all day long. Raven was cozy and dry, so we just fooled around getting unpacked, organizing computers, and getting our bearings. That was the wettest day, but the entire week to date has been grey and dreary, threatening (and sometimes delivering) showers. After the severe dry spell in Arizona however, the humidity feels good. The temperature is in the 70s or so – mostly it’s pretty pleasant. However we haven’t done much in the way of sailing…instead hiking and sightseeing in the general vicinity of the marina, as well as the nearby towns of Opua, Paihia, Kerikeri and Russell.
Rod was overdue for a vacation so a couple of days after our arrival, as scheduled, he headed for the airport and flew to the Philippines (by way of Hong Kong) where he plans to backpack for the month and snorkel with whale sharks. So now it’s just Mike and aboard Raven – we’re enjoying having her all to ourselves. I am now the chef and have discovered it’s fun to cook in such a small (and well-equipped) galley because everything is within arm’s reach.
We did take Raven out for a few hours one day. Rod had put us in touch with a friend of his named Nick to call upon for any boat-related needs, so we took Nick out with us to supervise docking practice. This past week has been a Sailing Race Week here in Opua, and there has been a lot of regatta activity, so we went out on the water to watch some of the racing. After practicing on moorings in the harbor, and then the quarantine dock, I docked Raven myself and you will see her prettily parked in her Opua berth right where I put her!
The day Rod left we were temporarily without a car, so we hiked the coastal walk from Opua to Paihia. It takes about 2 hours and we guesstimate it to be five or six miles. The walk winds along the beach on one side with native bush on the other, and is quite beautiful. As we approached Paihia we stopped at a roadside produce stand and bought peaches (it’s late summer here) for a snack, and then went into town for a cappucino and some tourist shopping. We weren’t keen on hiking back, so we caught a tuk-tuk (a little open air motorized vehicle) for transportation and motored quickly back to the marina.
Yesterday we took the car ferry across the bay to Russell, a charming waterfront town with quite a checkered history. We wandered the streets and shops, had lunch in an inviting cafe overlooking the waterfront, and toured an old mission house that was used in times past to print and bind books to convert the Maori tribes to Christianity. The tour was excellent – absolutely fascinating to see a demonstration of old-time book manufacturing.
The weather is looking somewhat better today and Mike is hot to go cruising, so as soon as I fire off this email we are headed out to Urupukapuka Island to anchor in a bay, hike the island, and otherwise dip our toes into cruising life – just the two of us.