Author: Scott
Did we say that Great Barrier Island was spectacular? Let me clarify, Great Barrier Island is windy, rainy, sometimes cold, and the only fish here are dwarf snappers that cleverly suck your bait off the hook and occasionally allow themselves to be caught just so they can mock you on the surface because they are all too dinky to keep.
Bad attitude you say, well we just spent the past three days wallowing around on the anchor with winds so fierce they broke the wind generator. What kind of wind generator gets broken by wind, can you tell me that?
Seriously folks, the Barrier is still awesome but we have had miserable weather over the past three days. Jane and Roger’s decision to go home a day early was a good one. A high pressure system has formed to the northeast of Barrier while a nasty low has been creeping up from the south. When the air is pulled from the high pressure system to the low then you get a squash zone between the two systems, and baby let me tell you, we have been squashed plenty!
Monday morning started out normal enough. Pam and I took the dinghy over to Port Firzroy to inform the owners of the Boat Club that there would no longer be a Super Bowl group at noon, as Wings n Strings had left to avoid the weather. We also wandered around the fragment of a town, checked out the little store, bought bread, and I bet you guessed it, we found the local cheeseburger that was billed as the best in the world. Let me tell you right here and now, if ever you travel to Great Barrier Island, the school lunch tasting, mystery meat wrapped in a bun, smothered with beetroot, spewing that pink watery stuff they refer to as ketchup, excuse for a cheeseburger in paradise is vastly overrated! Get the chips (fries) and call it good.
The rest of Monday was spent on the boat working on inside projects like sorting manuals and Pam’s favorite sport of cleaning. The high point of the day was when Aaron and Michelle arrived on their boat Mawingo. We were invited over to Aspect of Arran for drinks and to welcome the new arrivals. Mawingo would not only turn out to be great new friends but also the source for Pam’s need to eat anything that lives in the water and wears a shell.
Tuesday was more, more, more of the same weather. We stayed on the boat all day. We did invite the group over for drinks, appetizers, and a rousing game of Chicken Foot. Friendships and rivalries were made at the flick of a domino and fun was had by all.
Finally the weather improved slightly and we were invited by Mawingo to go look for scallops on their boat. In truth, it could have been blowing a Force 10 and Aaron would have gone to look for scallops. Not only is he the most enthusiastic hunter gatherer that I have ever met, but he was really board. Aaron the mighty hunter did find enough scallops for us all and this prompted a gathering on Aspect of Arran for a impromptu potluck dinner. Pam and I threw together some chicken in a Thai coconut and lime sauce and we joined the group. The night was full of LOTS of good food including the interesting orange rimmed scallops, many a sailing yarn, and much laughter, another example that even in the worst weather cruising is really about the entire wonderful experience.
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