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.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Journal Entry – February 4, 2007 – Off and Fishing
Author: Pam
Getting out of bed and actually walking wasn’t as bad as I had envisioned this morning after the marathon uphill hike yesterday. My feet and ankles hurt so bad, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to walk three steps today. After breakfast the guys decided it would be a good morning to head out fishing. All four of them (Scott, Bill, Jeff and Roger) piled in two dinghies with fishing rods and bait and headed out for Scott’s first real dinghy fishing trip. He has been gathering information and input on Starship’s fishing gear for the past week, with anticipation of this trip and his chance to finally catch some fish. He is determined Starship will have a better score than Tournesol.
While they were gone I puttered around on the boat, tidying and cleaning. I was thinking about the comment a friend made about our prior journal entries and how I always seem to have something to say about cleaning and Scott’s entries usually include food. Well, I decided that probably won’t change, especially since Starship feels ten times bigger when it comes to cleaning her inside and out. Around 11:30 Jane called over the VHF radio and invited the ladies to shore for a post hike walk to stretch out those tired muscles. She came by in her dinghy and she and Yvonne and I headed to shore. Raewin passed, she had hurt her foot running across the boat when they arrived. We kept our walk to an hour and on the mostly flat surface of the road, a welcome sight after yesterday’s mountain goat trek.
When we returned from shore the guys were tied up to Starship, sitting in the dinghies and watching Bill and Roger intently as they cleaned their catch. Scott did catch a couple of snapper, but they were all under the limit, so he threw them back. No fish for Starship for lunch.
After lunch Scott was keen to head out again in our dinghy, he was sure there was at least one snapper in Port Fitzroy with his name on it. I agreed to go, but only as morale support. I could hardly stand the smell of the bait and I was not about to touch it, but I was supportive of any that would not be going back into the refrigerator. Off we went and anchored the dinghy beside the little island near where Starship is anchored. I spent my time keeping us off of the shore with the oars and watching Scott cut up bait in our brand new dinghy, that made me squirm worse than the idea of touching it. Scott spent his time feeding the fish, I am sure they thought they had died and gone to heaven as they stole all of his bait. He did catch four fish, he even caught two at one time, but again they were all under the limit. So, the first day of fishing leaves the score at Starship 0, Fish 1.
Tonight was Windsong’s last night and possibly Wings n Strings too, the weather is suppose to turn tomorrow, so they may leave a day early. The evening was spent on Wings n Strings learning how to play the domino games Mexican Train and Chicken Foot. It was lively and I dare say quite competitive. Jeff won the Mexican Train game, but there was much suspicion at the end when three dominos were found between the cushions next to him. It was a classic cruiser day and it ended with hanging out in the cockpit of Starship under a huge, bright full moon, life couldn’t be more perfect.
Getting out of bed and actually walking wasn’t as bad as I had envisioned this morning after the marathon uphill hike yesterday. My feet and ankles hurt so bad, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to walk three steps today. After breakfast the guys decided it would be a good morning to head out fishing. All four of them (Scott, Bill, Jeff and Roger) piled in two dinghies with fishing rods and bait and headed out for Scott’s first real dinghy fishing trip. He has been gathering information and input on Starship’s fishing gear for the past week, with anticipation of this trip and his chance to finally catch some fish. He is determined Starship will have a better score than Tournesol.
While they were gone I puttered around on the boat, tidying and cleaning. I was thinking about the comment a friend made about our prior journal entries and how I always seem to have something to say about cleaning and Scott’s entries usually include food. Well, I decided that probably won’t change, especially since Starship feels ten times bigger when it comes to cleaning her inside and out. Around 11:30 Jane called over the VHF radio and invited the ladies to shore for a post hike walk to stretch out those tired muscles. She came by in her dinghy and she and Yvonne and I headed to shore. Raewin passed, she had hurt her foot running across the boat when they arrived. We kept our walk to an hour and on the mostly flat surface of the road, a welcome sight after yesterday’s mountain goat trek.
When we returned from shore the guys were tied up to Starship, sitting in the dinghies and watching Bill and Roger intently as they cleaned their catch. Scott did catch a couple of snapper, but they were all under the limit, so he threw them back. No fish for Starship for lunch.
After lunch Scott was keen to head out again in our dinghy, he was sure there was at least one snapper in Port Fitzroy with his name on it. I agreed to go, but only as morale support. I could hardly stand the smell of the bait and I was not about to touch it, but I was supportive of any that would not be going back into the refrigerator. Off we went and anchored the dinghy beside the little island near where Starship is anchored. I spent my time keeping us off of the shore with the oars and watching Scott cut up bait in our brand new dinghy, that made me squirm worse than the idea of touching it. Scott spent his time feeding the fish, I am sure they thought they had died and gone to heaven as they stole all of his bait. He did catch four fish, he even caught two at one time, but again they were all under the limit. So, the first day of fishing leaves the score at Starship 0, Fish 1.
Tonight was Windsong’s last night and possibly Wings n Strings too, the weather is suppose to turn tomorrow, so they may leave a day early. The evening was spent on Wings n Strings learning how to play the domino games Mexican Train and Chicken Foot. It was lively and I dare say quite competitive. Jeff won the Mexican Train game, but there was much suspicion at the end when three dominos were found between the cushions next to him. It was a classic cruiser day and it ended with hanging out in the cockpit of Starship under a huge, bright full moon, life couldn’t be more perfect.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Journal Entry – February 3, 2007 – The Dam Hike!
Author: Scott
After our hike from hell on Bora Bora, Pam said she was done with mountain climbing. Time must heal all wounds because today found us balancing across streams, pulling ourselves up steep inclines on our hands and knees, and most challenging of all descending down steep terrain while getting the oh so attractive “brown butt” look. When we woke to our second day on the Barrier we got a radio call from Bill on Windsong asking if we would like to go for a three hour hike up to the Kauri Dam. Apparently the Kauri Dam was used early in the 20th century as a way to bring massive Kauri logs from atop the mountains to the sea. The loggers would pull the logs to the dam with horses and when a sufficient quantity of logs was attained the dam would be released and the logs and water would flood down the mountain tearing trees, rocks, and anything else in the path down to the bay.
The hike or tramp (in Kiwi) was along the Kaiaraara Track and the map said the round trip would take us approximately three hours. Sounded like a great way to see the island to Pam and I, so we quickly agreed to join in the fun. We packed our snacks, water, first aid kit and other tramping gear and headed to shore in the dinghies. We pulled the dinghies up on a grassy embankment just as the rain started to pitty patter on us. The gentle sprinkle turned to real rain as we made our way over to the information station and we huddled under the porch for protection. When the rain returned to a taunting sprinkle we set out to find that dam. At first we were lured into believing the hike would be on well groomed roads and trails as we wound our way to the base of the mountain that would make up the remainder of the hike. The first real obstacle we encountered were various streams that needed to be crossed by jumping across paths of dry stones. With Pam and I both challenged with depth perception someone was finishing the hike with soggy socks. As the forest grew denser (apparently there are no vegetation eating possums on Great Barrier) the hill grew steeper it soon became clear that our gentle hike was to be an all out, crawl on all fours, slip slide and grapple, potential ankle twister! Our vow to avoid mountain climbing that was made in Bora Bora was now shattered on this dam hike.
For lunch we found a beautiful spot next to a waterfall and licked our wounds, and massaged our joints under a beautiful summer sky. We shared our various snacks and carefully savored our supply of fresh water. Another forty-five minutes brought us to the Kauri Dam and although interesting in an engineering sort of way it was not the spectacular vista we were rewarded with on Bora Bora after half a day of conquering the mountain. We all turned away slightly more informed on the mechanics of logging dams, trigger points, and mathematical stress calculations. Now our task was to retrace our path back down the hill without going for a tummy toboggan minus the slippery snow. We grabbed, groped, slipped, and slid our way back home. Now, you may recall that I mentioned earlier that the hike was estimated on the map to take approximately three hours, well that must be for eighteen year old Olympic marathon athletes, who have not yet been busted for stamina boosting steroids. There is no way that we were on a three hour hike unless the estimated hiking time is calculated using some complex Kiwi time space worm hole paradigm that we were intellectually incapable of working out for ourselves.
Upon our return to earth we found that someone had moved the coastline because somehow the edge of the water had miraculously moved out to sea about a quarter of a mile leaving a muddy bog for us to cross in order to return to our boats. The slog across the muddy sand gave Pam and I a chance to test out our new dinghy wheels and overall they did the trick without sinking into the slime.
We spent the evening recovering from the ordeal over on Windsong. We shared drinks, snacks, and company and as the sun was setting our friends Jeff and Raewin arrived on their boat Aspect of Arran. Jeff and Raewin joined us and they were deluged with stories of the Dam hike.
After our hike from hell on Bora Bora, Pam said she was done with mountain climbing. Time must heal all wounds because today found us balancing across streams, pulling ourselves up steep inclines on our hands and knees, and most challenging of all descending down steep terrain while getting the oh so attractive “brown butt” look. When we woke to our second day on the Barrier we got a radio call from Bill on Windsong asking if we would like to go for a three hour hike up to the Kauri Dam. Apparently the Kauri Dam was used early in the 20th century as a way to bring massive Kauri logs from atop the mountains to the sea. The loggers would pull the logs to the dam with horses and when a sufficient quantity of logs was attained the dam would be released and the logs and water would flood down the mountain tearing trees, rocks, and anything else in the path down to the bay.
The hike or tramp (in Kiwi) was along the Kaiaraara Track and the map said the round trip would take us approximately three hours. Sounded like a great way to see the island to Pam and I, so we quickly agreed to join in the fun. We packed our snacks, water, first aid kit and other tramping gear and headed to shore in the dinghies. We pulled the dinghies up on a grassy embankment just as the rain started to pitty patter on us. The gentle sprinkle turned to real rain as we made our way over to the information station and we huddled under the porch for protection. When the rain returned to a taunting sprinkle we set out to find that dam. At first we were lured into believing the hike would be on well groomed roads and trails as we wound our way to the base of the mountain that would make up the remainder of the hike. The first real obstacle we encountered were various streams that needed to be crossed by jumping across paths of dry stones. With Pam and I both challenged with depth perception someone was finishing the hike with soggy socks. As the forest grew denser (apparently there are no vegetation eating possums on Great Barrier) the hill grew steeper it soon became clear that our gentle hike was to be an all out, crawl on all fours, slip slide and grapple, potential ankle twister! Our vow to avoid mountain climbing that was made in Bora Bora was now shattered on this dam hike.
For lunch we found a beautiful spot next to a waterfall and licked our wounds, and massaged our joints under a beautiful summer sky. We shared our various snacks and carefully savored our supply of fresh water. Another forty-five minutes brought us to the Kauri Dam and although interesting in an engineering sort of way it was not the spectacular vista we were rewarded with on Bora Bora after half a day of conquering the mountain. We all turned away slightly more informed on the mechanics of logging dams, trigger points, and mathematical stress calculations. Now our task was to retrace our path back down the hill without going for a tummy toboggan minus the slippery snow. We grabbed, groped, slipped, and slid our way back home. Now, you may recall that I mentioned earlier that the hike was estimated on the map to take approximately three hours, well that must be for eighteen year old Olympic marathon athletes, who have not yet been busted for stamina boosting steroids. There is no way that we were on a three hour hike unless the estimated hiking time is calculated using some complex Kiwi time space worm hole paradigm that we were intellectually incapable of working out for ourselves.
Upon our return to earth we found that someone had moved the coastline because somehow the edge of the water had miraculously moved out to sea about a quarter of a mile leaving a muddy bog for us to cross in order to return to our boats. The slog across the muddy sand gave Pam and I a chance to test out our new dinghy wheels and overall they did the trick without sinking into the slime.
We spent the evening recovering from the ordeal over on Windsong. We shared drinks, snacks, and company and as the sun was setting our friends Jeff and Raewin arrived on their boat Aspect of Arran. Jeff and Raewin joined us and they were deluged with stories of the Dam hike.
Journal Entry – February 2, 2007 – Ah, Sailing Again!
Author: Scott
I’m sitting at the table in the salon with the wind raging outside as Starship drunkenly wallows on her anchor chain. We are anchored out at Port Fitzroy, one of many “protected” anchorages at Great Barrier Island (the fourth largest island making up New Zealand). Last night we had to sleep on separate ends of Starship to better monitor our anchor situation. I was tucked up in the forepeak in a nest of blankets listening to every moan, groan, and lurch of the anchor chain. Each vessel has her own song made up of the many sounds produced by the outside environment, her many systems, and the unexpected. Being aboard Starship, Pam and I have tuned into a new radio station and we are not yet familiar with the music made by our new Starship. Last night we had horses running in the mast, anchor chain gnawing away on the bow, wind singing in the shrouds, and of course the many mystery noises that we have not yet identified. It was a night of unease and yet we are loving it. We are back at it, as they would say here in Kiwiland.
On Thursday February 1st we threw off the dock lines and continued our adventure, this time aboard Starship. In the early evening with plenty of daylight we motored up the thirteen mile river closely ghosting Bill and Yvonne’s yacht Windsong. Somehow the mood made the normally muddy river glisten as I sat on the bow seat guiding Pam our pilot, while we chatted on our new headset radios. We wound our way down the river to Urquhart’s Bay, an anchorage just inside the Whangarei Heads, with the open sea waiting for us just outside the bay. Thursday night was our first night on anchor in over a year and it felt great. So much work has gone into the refit of our boat and the continuation of our voyage; work in the states, endless boat work, communication with contractors, severing the ties with our family and friends again, and as we sat on the hook on a beautiful full moonlit night the past year’s efforts evaporated into the peace that comes rarely when you are completely content with your situation in life, and with the thrill and anticipation of the continuing journey.
This trip is only the first of our New Zealand shakedowns but we are in action again and it feels wonderful!
Friday morning we set out on a forty mile trip to Great Barrier Island. In theory Starship was ready, but this trip would be our first opportunity to find the bugs before attempting a blue water passage. The engine was humming away (a welcome sound) as we rounded the point of the Whangarei Heads and heading out into the sea. Starship clung to the edge of the shipping channel and wouldn’t you know it, there was a container ship steaming in to the port of Whangarei. The ship wasn’t a threat to us but she was a sobering reminder of the many threats that lurk at sea.
The first challenge we encountered came when we went to raise our mainsail for the first time. Normally when we would raise the main on Tournesol, Pam would steer into the wind and as the boat turned to windward I would often cheat the main part way up the mast. This maneuver would allow me to shorten the distance the sail would need to travel up the mast before there was significant load on the sail, allowing me to finish the job quickly when we came fully into the wind. No can do with Starship! Starship has a full battened main (for our armchair sailing readers, this is a sail with battens or flexible strips in the sail that provide a more ridged sail and shape). As I cheated up the sail the first batten got caught in the lower shroud (the lower wire holding up the mast) and it was stuck real good. Fifteen minutes later and a climb up the mast to the spreaders, the problem was solved, and we were underway again.
On the trip over to Great Barrier Island we were traveling in a convoy of three boats. Windsong quickly took the lead, followed by our friends Jane and Rodger on Wings and Strings who we met at the anchorage on Thursday night. We took up our favorite position in the rear. As we sailed we refined many things. The fairleads were not adjusted properly and after making some changes we picked up at least 1.5 knots. Our friends saw dolphins that we unfortunately could not see. We prepared and ate our first meal at sea in over a year (grilled cheese). Overall, we had a brisk sail with spot on waypoints to follow with the GPS. We arrived at Great Barrier Island at 1630. The entrance to Port Fitzroy anchorage is through what looks like a pin hole size pass on the GPS, but in reality there was plenty of room, however as you approach you have to trust that there is in fact a channel to pass through. I felt like I had to say “Open Sesame” to have a rock wall secretly slide away and provide us entrance. We wound our way through two more turns and laying ahead of us was a small island with a handful of yachts peacefully anchored between the shore and the small island. Bill from Windsong came out to greet us (and guide us) into the anchorage. We thoughtfully picked our spot and I let the anchor fall, unfortunately it only dropped about five feet and then came to an abrupt halt. Here we were in our boat, now boldly lettered with www.blindsailing.com on the side and we could not release our anchor. Apparently our pile of anchor chain had shifted after falling into the chain locker and it required me to pull free the chain from below as we could not get any purchase on the chain from above. In total, we had to make three attempts and one pass outside the anchorage before Starship was safely moored in her new home on Great Barrier Island. I felt like screaming “she’s a new boat and that is why we could not anchor the first time”. Oh the challenges of sailing a new boat!
Our first night at the Barrier was under a full moon with a gentle breeze blowing across the bay.
I’m sitting at the table in the salon with the wind raging outside as Starship drunkenly wallows on her anchor chain. We are anchored out at Port Fitzroy, one of many “protected” anchorages at Great Barrier Island (the fourth largest island making up New Zealand). Last night we had to sleep on separate ends of Starship to better monitor our anchor situation. I was tucked up in the forepeak in a nest of blankets listening to every moan, groan, and lurch of the anchor chain. Each vessel has her own song made up of the many sounds produced by the outside environment, her many systems, and the unexpected. Being aboard Starship, Pam and I have tuned into a new radio station and we are not yet familiar with the music made by our new Starship. Last night we had horses running in the mast, anchor chain gnawing away on the bow, wind singing in the shrouds, and of course the many mystery noises that we have not yet identified. It was a night of unease and yet we are loving it. We are back at it, as they would say here in Kiwiland.
On Thursday February 1st we threw off the dock lines and continued our adventure, this time aboard Starship. In the early evening with plenty of daylight we motored up the thirteen mile river closely ghosting Bill and Yvonne’s yacht Windsong. Somehow the mood made the normally muddy river glisten as I sat on the bow seat guiding Pam our pilot, while we chatted on our new headset radios. We wound our way down the river to Urquhart’s Bay, an anchorage just inside the Whangarei Heads, with the open sea waiting for us just outside the bay. Thursday night was our first night on anchor in over a year and it felt great. So much work has gone into the refit of our boat and the continuation of our voyage; work in the states, endless boat work, communication with contractors, severing the ties with our family and friends again, and as we sat on the hook on a beautiful full moonlit night the past year’s efforts evaporated into the peace that comes rarely when you are completely content with your situation in life, and with the thrill and anticipation of the continuing journey.
This trip is only the first of our New Zealand shakedowns but we are in action again and it feels wonderful!
Friday morning we set out on a forty mile trip to Great Barrier Island. In theory Starship was ready, but this trip would be our first opportunity to find the bugs before attempting a blue water passage. The engine was humming away (a welcome sound) as we rounded the point of the Whangarei Heads and heading out into the sea. Starship clung to the edge of the shipping channel and wouldn’t you know it, there was a container ship steaming in to the port of Whangarei. The ship wasn’t a threat to us but she was a sobering reminder of the many threats that lurk at sea.
The first challenge we encountered came when we went to raise our mainsail for the first time. Normally when we would raise the main on Tournesol, Pam would steer into the wind and as the boat turned to windward I would often cheat the main part way up the mast. This maneuver would allow me to shorten the distance the sail would need to travel up the mast before there was significant load on the sail, allowing me to finish the job quickly when we came fully into the wind. No can do with Starship! Starship has a full battened main (for our armchair sailing readers, this is a sail with battens or flexible strips in the sail that provide a more ridged sail and shape). As I cheated up the sail the first batten got caught in the lower shroud (the lower wire holding up the mast) and it was stuck real good. Fifteen minutes later and a climb up the mast to the spreaders, the problem was solved, and we were underway again.
On the trip over to Great Barrier Island we were traveling in a convoy of three boats. Windsong quickly took the lead, followed by our friends Jane and Rodger on Wings and Strings who we met at the anchorage on Thursday night. We took up our favorite position in the rear. As we sailed we refined many things. The fairleads were not adjusted properly and after making some changes we picked up at least 1.5 knots. Our friends saw dolphins that we unfortunately could not see. We prepared and ate our first meal at sea in over a year (grilled cheese). Overall, we had a brisk sail with spot on waypoints to follow with the GPS. We arrived at Great Barrier Island at 1630. The entrance to Port Fitzroy anchorage is through what looks like a pin hole size pass on the GPS, but in reality there was plenty of room, however as you approach you have to trust that there is in fact a channel to pass through. I felt like I had to say “Open Sesame” to have a rock wall secretly slide away and provide us entrance. We wound our way through two more turns and laying ahead of us was a small island with a handful of yachts peacefully anchored between the shore and the small island. Bill from Windsong came out to greet us (and guide us) into the anchorage. We thoughtfully picked our spot and I let the anchor fall, unfortunately it only dropped about five feet and then came to an abrupt halt. Here we were in our boat, now boldly lettered with www.blindsailing.com on the side and we could not release our anchor. Apparently our pile of anchor chain had shifted after falling into the chain locker and it required me to pull free the chain from below as we could not get any purchase on the chain from above. In total, we had to make three attempts and one pass outside the anchorage before Starship was safely moored in her new home on Great Barrier Island. I felt like screaming “she’s a new boat and that is why we could not anchor the first time”. Oh the challenges of sailing a new boat!
Our first night at the Barrier was under a full moon with a gentle breeze blowing across the bay.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Journal Entry – February 1, 2007 - NZD – New Zealand Dollar
Author: Pam
One of the cultural experiences that has certainly been different everywhere we have been so far is the money. In Mexico it is pesos, French Polynesia is the Pacific francs and the Cook Islands and New Zealand’s currency is the NZ dollar, made up of 100 cents. In Tonga we dealt in Pa’anga. When we arrived in NZ in November 2005 there were 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1 and $2 coins and $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 notes. They have not had a 1c coin for many years. When we arrived back in NZ in December 2006 we discovered they had abolished the 5c coin in October and are now making the 10c coin out of copper and the 20c and 50c coins are now virtually the same size, however the 20c coin has a scalloped edge to help distinguish them. The former 50c coin was very large and very heavy, I am sure it was very expensive to produce.
I find it interesting that they still price items with .99, so if an item costs $9.99 and you pay with $10.00 you receive no change. The other day we returned an item to the grocery store that cost $2.85 and was part of a larger purchase paid for with a credit card. The refund in cash was $2.80, they round down to accommodate for not having a 5c coin.
The bills are made of plastic and are all different sizes and colors. They definitely considered people who are blind and visually impaired when they designed their money. If you accidentally wash your wallet, the money comes out looking fine, perhaps just a bit cleaner.
They do not have a name for each coin, in fact we were chatting with Barbara the Marina owner’s wife and she expressed how confusing she found the names of the coins in the US. She couldn’t keep straight which was a penny versus a dime. I honestly had never even thought about the fact that the coins all have a name, some of them not obviously descriptive.
Outside the United States you use the exchange rate, the rate at which one currency can be exchanged for another to determine the value of your money in the country you are visiting. Today 1 NZD = 0.695048 USD, which means if you buy something in New Zealand it would cost .31 less than it would in the United States. The whole thing makes my brain hurt.
We have been saving coins from each country we visit. We decided we couldn’t afford to keep the bills, so from now on we will rely on photographs to refresh our memory. So far our favorite coin is a triangular two dollar coin from Rarotonga in the Cook Islands depicting a Tangaroa (a well endowed fertility god). There are so many more currencies and coinage to experience throughout the voyage!
One of the cultural experiences that has certainly been different everywhere we have been so far is the money. In Mexico it is pesos, French Polynesia is the Pacific francs and the Cook Islands and New Zealand’s currency is the NZ dollar, made up of 100 cents. In Tonga we dealt in Pa’anga. When we arrived in NZ in November 2005 there were 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1 and $2 coins and $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 notes. They have not had a 1c coin for many years. When we arrived back in NZ in December 2006 we discovered they had abolished the 5c coin in October and are now making the 10c coin out of copper and the 20c and 50c coins are now virtually the same size, however the 20c coin has a scalloped edge to help distinguish them. The former 50c coin was very large and very heavy, I am sure it was very expensive to produce.
I find it interesting that they still price items with .99, so if an item costs $9.99 and you pay with $10.00 you receive no change. The other day we returned an item to the grocery store that cost $2.85 and was part of a larger purchase paid for with a credit card. The refund in cash was $2.80, they round down to accommodate for not having a 5c coin.
The bills are made of plastic and are all different sizes and colors. They definitely considered people who are blind and visually impaired when they designed their money. If you accidentally wash your wallet, the money comes out looking fine, perhaps just a bit cleaner.
They do not have a name for each coin, in fact we were chatting with Barbara the Marina owner’s wife and she expressed how confusing she found the names of the coins in the US. She couldn’t keep straight which was a penny versus a dime. I honestly had never even thought about the fact that the coins all have a name, some of them not obviously descriptive.
Outside the United States you use the exchange rate, the rate at which one currency can be exchanged for another to determine the value of your money in the country you are visiting. Today 1 NZD = 0.695048 USD, which means if you buy something in New Zealand it would cost .31 less than it would in the United States. The whole thing makes my brain hurt.
We have been saving coins from each country we visit. We decided we couldn’t afford to keep the bills, so from now on we will rely on photographs to refresh our memory. So far our favorite coin is a triangular two dollar coin from Rarotonga in the Cook Islands depicting a Tangaroa (a well endowed fertility god). There are so many more currencies and coinage to experience throughout the voyage!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Journal Entry – January 29, 2007 – Bottom’s Up
Since our last post life on Starship has continued to be chaotic. We ended up hauling the boat out of the water on Tuesday of last week, definitely much sooner than we expected our next haul out to be since we had only been back in the water for a little over a month. Unfortunately, the newly installed centerboard (drop down keel) was sticking and not raising and lowering properly. The contractor who was responsible for the repair decided the best way to deal with the issue was to put Starship back in the sling to grind down the sticky spot caused by the anti foul paint. Well, that would have been simple enough, but another issue had raised its head in the meantime. When we put Starship back in the water several of the sea cocks began to weep. A sea cock is a through hull valve, a shut off on a plumbing or drain pipe between the vessel's interior and the sea. The boat was not going to sink, but this problem made it difficult to operate the sea cocks properly. . We decided we would change all of them the next time we hauled the boat out, presumably in Australia. Well, one month later she is getting lifted, so we decided to go for it and replace all ten bronze sea cocks with plastic ones. It took some major psyching ourselves to undertake another project and financial commitment after an almost 12 month refit that we thought we were at the end of. We were supposed to be “on the hard” from Tuesday until Thursday, but best laid plans of mice and men seem to always come into play when you are working on a boat. The centerboard grinding went quickly and smoothly (no pun intended) and they were off and running on removing the sea cocks on Tuesday. On Wednesday the new ones arrived only to be the wrong ones, this changed the splash day to Friday, they need 24 hours for the Sikoflex to dry.
In the meantime, we had decided to also undertake the other project we were going to do the next time we hauled out. We had purchased new instruments, but had only installed the wind instrument. The decision was made by several people that we did not need the speed and depth instruments at this time, since we could get this information from the GPS and Fish Finder. It meant putting two more holes in the bottom of the boat to install the paddle wheel and transducer. With all of that said, we decided to wait on the instruments to only realize after the fact that we would not be able to keep a distance log without keeping our display screen on all of the time. This was not going to be feasible at a power usage of 3.5 amps per hour. Long story short we now have all of our Raymarine instruments installed and we should hopefully always know how fast we are going, how far we have gone, how deep the water is and if there is a whale under the boat, in some cases we have three different ways to find out this information. If we ever run aground it will be very embarrassing.
Ok, that is not the end of the our saga on the hard. On Friday after the mud that had attached itself to Starship’s newly painted bottom dried we were able to see that some of the new paint had already peeled off. Yikes! We did not go back into the water until Saturday afternoon, 24 hours later after about a foot of the bottom under the waterline was sanded, primed and repainted. You can imagine our surprise to find paint already gone after only being in the water for a little over a month and the boat had not even been moving. It appears when the bottom was prepared for painting they did not take off enough of the old paint for the new paint to stick to old waterline. Scott helped sand this time and besides changing the color of his skin to black from the paint dust, breathing in way too much dust, not feeling well for the rest of the day, he believes the new paint should stay on for the expected year. He will never sand the bottom again without the proper protection, he paid a price for his eagerness to jump in and help.
We spent the rest of Saturday cleaning the layer of dirt that quickly accumulated on the boat in the yard to make her feel inhabitable again. It always feels great when you are back in the water, the dirt mostly washed off, you have running water and the use of the heads again. Unfortunately, all is not perfect with the new sea cocks, several of them are weeping from one of the connection points. Hopefully an issue that can be resolved by speaking to the manufacture, and not one that makes me weep. Today is a holiday (Provincial Anniversary Day – a holiday to celebrate the founding days or landing days of the first colonists of the various colonial provinces), so the contractor won’t be back until tomorrow.
It isn’t all work and no play. Last Friday we went to the movies and saw Blood Diamond. It was one of the most intense movies I have seen in a long time. I had no prior knowledge of the issue of child soldiers in Africa or the history of the diamond industry. I almost had to leave the theater and during many scenes was wishing I had chosen Happy Feet, the animated movie about the penguins. In the end, I think Blood Diamond is a well done and well acted movie, but definitely powerful. After the movie we went to Bogart’s for dinner. We ordered their “famous” pizza, carefully choosing one without egg, beets or pineapple. A few minutes later the waiter came back and very sheepishly said “I have a bit of a strange request”, we of course were expecting a change needed to our order. He continued, “that table over there is a Hen Party and the guest of honor has a list of challenges to complete this evening”. We look over and realize the “Hen Party” is a bachelorette party and the bride to be is heading our way, just as the waiter finishes telling Scott she needs to kiss a man wearing white socks and as luck would have it he met the criteria. Scott agreed and after also getting my blessing she mustered her courage and planted a big kiss on his cheek and in the end mine as well. We realized that finding a man wearing white socks is a worthy challenge, since most people in New Zealand wear jandals, their word for sandals.
Will we ever go sailing? Yes! We have now transitioned into the very exciting preparations for our maiden voyage on Starship. If all goes well the next few days we will be heading out for a twelve day sail to Great Barrier Island (40 miles from Whangarei) with friends on three other boats. Everyone that is going has not been sailing for a year or more and there is much excitement as we all make our homes ready to be at sea. We are very excited to find out for ourselves what Starship is capable of and to shake down all of the work we have had done over the past year. We both certainly need to shake down ourselves as well. It has been thirteen months since we have been at sea. Stay tuned for news away from the dock.
In the meantime, we had decided to also undertake the other project we were going to do the next time we hauled out. We had purchased new instruments, but had only installed the wind instrument. The decision was made by several people that we did not need the speed and depth instruments at this time, since we could get this information from the GPS and Fish Finder. It meant putting two more holes in the bottom of the boat to install the paddle wheel and transducer. With all of that said, we decided to wait on the instruments to only realize after the fact that we would not be able to keep a distance log without keeping our display screen on all of the time. This was not going to be feasible at a power usage of 3.5 amps per hour. Long story short we now have all of our Raymarine instruments installed and we should hopefully always know how fast we are going, how far we have gone, how deep the water is and if there is a whale under the boat, in some cases we have three different ways to find out this information. If we ever run aground it will be very embarrassing.
Ok, that is not the end of the our saga on the hard. On Friday after the mud that had attached itself to Starship’s newly painted bottom dried we were able to see that some of the new paint had already peeled off. Yikes! We did not go back into the water until Saturday afternoon, 24 hours later after about a foot of the bottom under the waterline was sanded, primed and repainted. You can imagine our surprise to find paint already gone after only being in the water for a little over a month and the boat had not even been moving. It appears when the bottom was prepared for painting they did not take off enough of the old paint for the new paint to stick to old waterline. Scott helped sand this time and besides changing the color of his skin to black from the paint dust, breathing in way too much dust, not feeling well for the rest of the day, he believes the new paint should stay on for the expected year. He will never sand the bottom again without the proper protection, he paid a price for his eagerness to jump in and help.
We spent the rest of Saturday cleaning the layer of dirt that quickly accumulated on the boat in the yard to make her feel inhabitable again. It always feels great when you are back in the water, the dirt mostly washed off, you have running water and the use of the heads again. Unfortunately, all is not perfect with the new sea cocks, several of them are weeping from one of the connection points. Hopefully an issue that can be resolved by speaking to the manufacture, and not one that makes me weep. Today is a holiday (Provincial Anniversary Day – a holiday to celebrate the founding days or landing days of the first colonists of the various colonial provinces), so the contractor won’t be back until tomorrow.
It isn’t all work and no play. Last Friday we went to the movies and saw Blood Diamond. It was one of the most intense movies I have seen in a long time. I had no prior knowledge of the issue of child soldiers in Africa or the history of the diamond industry. I almost had to leave the theater and during many scenes was wishing I had chosen Happy Feet, the animated movie about the penguins. In the end, I think Blood Diamond is a well done and well acted movie, but definitely powerful. After the movie we went to Bogart’s for dinner. We ordered their “famous” pizza, carefully choosing one without egg, beets or pineapple. A few minutes later the waiter came back and very sheepishly said “I have a bit of a strange request”, we of course were expecting a change needed to our order. He continued, “that table over there is a Hen Party and the guest of honor has a list of challenges to complete this evening”. We look over and realize the “Hen Party” is a bachelorette party and the bride to be is heading our way, just as the waiter finishes telling Scott she needs to kiss a man wearing white socks and as luck would have it he met the criteria. Scott agreed and after also getting my blessing she mustered her courage and planted a big kiss on his cheek and in the end mine as well. We realized that finding a man wearing white socks is a worthy challenge, since most people in New Zealand wear jandals, their word for sandals.
Will we ever go sailing? Yes! We have now transitioned into the very exciting preparations for our maiden voyage on Starship. If all goes well the next few days we will be heading out for a twelve day sail to Great Barrier Island (40 miles from Whangarei) with friends on three other boats. Everyone that is going has not been sailing for a year or more and there is much excitement as we all make our homes ready to be at sea. We are very excited to find out for ourselves what Starship is capable of and to shake down all of the work we have had done over the past year. We both certainly need to shake down ourselves as well. It has been thirteen months since we have been at sea. Stay tuned for news away from the dock.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Journal Entry January 18, 2007 - “Get your tongue out of my ear mate…”
Author Scott
They say sailing around the world is really all about fixing your boat in exotic places. This past month has sure lived up to this viewpoint. We have settled into serious project management trying to get all of our final projects completed prior to leaving New Zealand. Our days start around 0730 as we try to drag our carcasses from below deck to meet the boat contractor(s) of the day. Once they arrive they make themselves at home removing our treasures from lockers, lying tools around the boat, and generally creating chaos aboard starship. Yacht tradesmen seem to have a psychic link to predict when the other tradesmen (who are usually missing in action already) will show up out of the blue, creating a impromptu work party, with each of the workers dancing to stay out of each other’s way while they issue taunting insults to each other. The other day we had two workers squeezing through the hatch to the engine room, ribbing each other about who had whose tongue in whose ear… The days are full of supervision, decisions made on the fly, and quality management, leaving us exhausted by noon.
Around 1630 the workers depart and Pam and I start the process of post nuclear cleanup, just so we can have the boat tidy for the next day’s onslaught of worker cyclones. When we aren’t managing boat work we have been trying to sell items on Trade Me, New Zealand’s version of Ebay. So far so good, not only are we downsizing all of our extra gear, but we will have our PhD in Kiwi‘s shipping techniques before our departure.
We have also had a few special events in recent days. First, there was the Intergalactic Holiday of Pam’s 45th birthday (can you believe she is a full five years OLDER than me). We were fortunate to have a visit from our friend Gill who we meet in Nuku Hiva last year. Gill is a Kiwi (now living in Utah) and she was visiting New Zealand. We had a nice visit which included our indoctrination to the experience of eating the finer quality of meat pies that are consumed by the truck loads in New Zealand. When Gill found out that we did not like meat pies she was shocked and determined to introduce us to the genuine savory pies loved throughout the county. We found adequate specimens at an Pahia bakery and had a lovely picnic lunch grazing on steak and cheese pies in the grass – mooooooo. Gill also introduced us to lime milkshake, another Kiwi specialty. I like the lime and Pam is not too keen.
Finally, the other headline news event in our lives is the addition of two kittens that have turned up and captivated the entire marina. Christine and Phantom (both female) are gray tabbies and I must admit they are really cute. Pam has been known to spend hours each day with the kitties. If Pam didn’t have a fear of kitty overboard I am sure we would be making our first ark acquisition. Otherwise, life has fallen into a nice cruiser routine. We have our Tuesday night cruiser dinner at Reva’s, Sunday BBQs, and many new and old friends to talk with about sea toilets and the best way to keep a cabbage fresh for a few more precious days.
They say sailing around the world is really all about fixing your boat in exotic places. This past month has sure lived up to this viewpoint. We have settled into serious project management trying to get all of our final projects completed prior to leaving New Zealand. Our days start around 0730 as we try to drag our carcasses from below deck to meet the boat contractor(s) of the day. Once they arrive they make themselves at home removing our treasures from lockers, lying tools around the boat, and generally creating chaos aboard starship. Yacht tradesmen seem to have a psychic link to predict when the other tradesmen (who are usually missing in action already) will show up out of the blue, creating a impromptu work party, with each of the workers dancing to stay out of each other’s way while they issue taunting insults to each other. The other day we had two workers squeezing through the hatch to the engine room, ribbing each other about who had whose tongue in whose ear… The days are full of supervision, decisions made on the fly, and quality management, leaving us exhausted by noon.
Around 1630 the workers depart and Pam and I start the process of post nuclear cleanup, just so we can have the boat tidy for the next day’s onslaught of worker cyclones. When we aren’t managing boat work we have been trying to sell items on Trade Me, New Zealand’s version of Ebay. So far so good, not only are we downsizing all of our extra gear, but we will have our PhD in Kiwi‘s shipping techniques before our departure.
We have also had a few special events in recent days. First, there was the Intergalactic Holiday of Pam’s 45th birthday (can you believe she is a full five years OLDER than me). We were fortunate to have a visit from our friend Gill who we meet in Nuku Hiva last year. Gill is a Kiwi (now living in Utah) and she was visiting New Zealand. We had a nice visit which included our indoctrination to the experience of eating the finer quality of meat pies that are consumed by the truck loads in New Zealand. When Gill found out that we did not like meat pies she was shocked and determined to introduce us to the genuine savory pies loved throughout the county. We found adequate specimens at an Pahia bakery and had a lovely picnic lunch grazing on steak and cheese pies in the grass – mooooooo. Gill also introduced us to lime milkshake, another Kiwi specialty. I like the lime and Pam is not too keen.
Finally, the other headline news event in our lives is the addition of two kittens that have turned up and captivated the entire marina. Christine and Phantom (both female) are gray tabbies and I must admit they are really cute. Pam has been known to spend hours each day with the kitties. If Pam didn’t have a fear of kitty overboard I am sure we would be making our first ark acquisition. Otherwise, life has fallen into a nice cruiser routine. We have our Tuesday night cruiser dinner at Reva’s, Sunday BBQs, and many new and old friends to talk with about sea toilets and the best way to keep a cabbage fresh for a few more precious days.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Journal Entry January 8, 2007 - Don’t Wash Your Hands in the Mussel Water
Author: Pam
While cruising there are many cultural experiences you expect and some you may not think about in advance. Well, going to the grocery store has proven to be a cultural experience and somewhere we have actually spent a fair amount of time. In Mexico and French Polynesia we struggled with reading labels in Spanish and French, thank goodness pet food usually has a picture of a dog or cat on the box or can. In New Zealand we are able to read most labels. However, there are some very interesting differences at the grocery stores, whether it is a different word, phrase or name of food items. There is also a difference in the way the Kiwis use signage such as when selling dog food or enforcing hygiene standards.
First of all, when you arrive at the grocery store you get a trolley, not a grocery cart. We shop at three stores in Whangarei, New Zealand. The best deal for meat is at the Mad Butcher. You can always count on the Kiwis to come up with creative and extreme names. If you want to make cheese burgers, you buy mince; they do not call it hamburger or ground beef. The primary meat eaten in New Zealand is lamb, however we have heard they export the best cuts. We are both still warming up to lamb, but last night at the weekly BBQ we were introduced to “lamb popsicles” (rack of lamb renamed by Bill & Yvonne). They do not have much meat on the bone, but the flavor is mild.
We shop at Pak n Save when we don’t have a ride to the store, it is within walking distance to the boat. Pak n Save has a warehouse feel and philosophy. You bag your own groceries and pay ten cents per bag if you don’t bring your own. We have been to several grocery stores in the Cook Islands and New Zealand that have a large refrigerated room for the dairy section. It is very cold and not somewhere I am interested in browsing, I usually grab the milk and run back to the warmth of the rest of the store. Pak n Save has a design flaw in our opinion, when you enter the store you are forced to walk through the produce section, which means there is only one way to get back there if you forget something. Unless you enjoy feeling like you are swimming up stream or on some days taking your own life into your hands you usually don’t go back. Pak n Save also gets the prize for my favorite sign so far (they love their signs in NZ, there seems to be a lot to say). There is a tank of fresh green lipped mussels with a posted sign that requests for “Dear Valued Customers, for hygiene reasons please refrain from washing hands in mussel water, thank you”. I have only one question, why would you want to do that?
We also shop at New World, the more up market grocery store. The first time I walked into New World last year after cruising, the word WOW actually came out of my mouth. It is the nicest grocery store we had seen in over a year of cruising. We often go to the store with our friend Yvonne on Sunday and the list is usually mostly food and beverages in jars, cans and bottles that are too heavy to carry if you are walking, with of course the yummy bread and very expensive meats from the deli thrown in. However, Scott needs managing in New World as he stealthily slips almond cookies and chocolate coconut logs into the trolley in the blink of an eye.
Being resourceful and not wasteful is very important to the Kiwis, hence the many options for dog food. It appears perhaps no parts of the animals go unused. Next to the ham and bacon you will find the dog food in the refrigerated section. They are 5-6 pound large sausage-like rolls of dog food, such as Hound Log or Wag. The casual shopper not paying attention could easily end up frying up some wag in eggs on accident.
Eggs are designated by the numbers 6, 7 or 8, which equate to medium, large and jumbo. If you are a potato chip lover some of your choices include, lamb & mint, chicken (very popular), baked ham & Dijon mustard, zesty lime & black pepper and onion & balsamic vinegar. It is very difficult to find my all time favorite BBQ. Meat pies are more popular than the all American apple pie. They are not only sold at the grocery stores, but the gas stations and every café and bakery. We have heard, but have not seen that there are meat pies made with possum, an animal that is causing a national problem and is far from endangered. Possum or any other kind of meat pie is not even close to making it to my favorite food list.
If you are looking for zucchini, you have to look for courgettes, portabella mushrooms are flat mushrooms, turnip is Swedes, cantaloupe is rock melon, papaya is paw paw, eggplant is aubergine and kumara are the local sweet potatoes that are gold, orange or red. I have never liked sweet potato, but the kumara are really quite delicious.
Once you have finished your shopping the checkers are very friendly, they are always sitting down and they will ask you if “that is the lot”.
While cruising there are many cultural experiences you expect and some you may not think about in advance. Well, going to the grocery store has proven to be a cultural experience and somewhere we have actually spent a fair amount of time. In Mexico and French Polynesia we struggled with reading labels in Spanish and French, thank goodness pet food usually has a picture of a dog or cat on the box or can. In New Zealand we are able to read most labels. However, there are some very interesting differences at the grocery stores, whether it is a different word, phrase or name of food items. There is also a difference in the way the Kiwis use signage such as when selling dog food or enforcing hygiene standards.
First of all, when you arrive at the grocery store you get a trolley, not a grocery cart. We shop at three stores in Whangarei, New Zealand. The best deal for meat is at the Mad Butcher. You can always count on the Kiwis to come up with creative and extreme names. If you want to make cheese burgers, you buy mince; they do not call it hamburger or ground beef. The primary meat eaten in New Zealand is lamb, however we have heard they export the best cuts. We are both still warming up to lamb, but last night at the weekly BBQ we were introduced to “lamb popsicles” (rack of lamb renamed by Bill & Yvonne). They do not have much meat on the bone, but the flavor is mild.
We shop at Pak n Save when we don’t have a ride to the store, it is within walking distance to the boat. Pak n Save has a warehouse feel and philosophy. You bag your own groceries and pay ten cents per bag if you don’t bring your own. We have been to several grocery stores in the Cook Islands and New Zealand that have a large refrigerated room for the dairy section. It is very cold and not somewhere I am interested in browsing, I usually grab the milk and run back to the warmth of the rest of the store. Pak n Save has a design flaw in our opinion, when you enter the store you are forced to walk through the produce section, which means there is only one way to get back there if you forget something. Unless you enjoy feeling like you are swimming up stream or on some days taking your own life into your hands you usually don’t go back. Pak n Save also gets the prize for my favorite sign so far (they love their signs in NZ, there seems to be a lot to say). There is a tank of fresh green lipped mussels with a posted sign that requests for “Dear Valued Customers, for hygiene reasons please refrain from washing hands in mussel water, thank you”. I have only one question, why would you want to do that?
We also shop at New World, the more up market grocery store. The first time I walked into New World last year after cruising, the word WOW actually came out of my mouth. It is the nicest grocery store we had seen in over a year of cruising. We often go to the store with our friend Yvonne on Sunday and the list is usually mostly food and beverages in jars, cans and bottles that are too heavy to carry if you are walking, with of course the yummy bread and very expensive meats from the deli thrown in. However, Scott needs managing in New World as he stealthily slips almond cookies and chocolate coconut logs into the trolley in the blink of an eye.
Being resourceful and not wasteful is very important to the Kiwis, hence the many options for dog food. It appears perhaps no parts of the animals go unused. Next to the ham and bacon you will find the dog food in the refrigerated section. They are 5-6 pound large sausage-like rolls of dog food, such as Hound Log or Wag. The casual shopper not paying attention could easily end up frying up some wag in eggs on accident.
Eggs are designated by the numbers 6, 7 or 8, which equate to medium, large and jumbo. If you are a potato chip lover some of your choices include, lamb & mint, chicken (very popular), baked ham & Dijon mustard, zesty lime & black pepper and onion & balsamic vinegar. It is very difficult to find my all time favorite BBQ. Meat pies are more popular than the all American apple pie. They are not only sold at the grocery stores, but the gas stations and every café and bakery. We have heard, but have not seen that there are meat pies made with possum, an animal that is causing a national problem and is far from endangered. Possum or any other kind of meat pie is not even close to making it to my favorite food list.
If you are looking for zucchini, you have to look for courgettes, portabella mushrooms are flat mushrooms, turnip is Swedes, cantaloupe is rock melon, papaya is paw paw, eggplant is aubergine and kumara are the local sweet potatoes that are gold, orange or red. I have never liked sweet potato, but the kumara are really quite delicious.
Once you have finished your shopping the checkers are very friendly, they are always sitting down and they will ask you if “that is the lot”.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Journal Entry January 1, 2007 - Update - Back In New Zealand
Happy New Year friends and supporters of The Blind Circumnavigation!
It has been some time since you got one of our little updates in your inbox. Some of you might even think that we were swallowed whole by a giant sea squid with purple spots and slimy green tentacles, or perhaps you thought we were marooned on some tropical island subsisting on lobster, coconuts, and pina coladas. You might even have thought we threw in the towel to raise rescue hippopotami in Zimbabwe. Well, absolutely none of that is true. If you will kindly read along for a bit, we will give you a recap of our past year and some insight into our continuing voyage.
Let’s set the Wayback Machine to November 10, 2005. On this significant date in Blind Circumnavigation history we arrived in New Zealand after sailing over 9,000 nautical miles, visiting six countries, and most significantly crossing the Pacific Ocean to become the first legally blind people to accomplish this milestone.
Upon reaching New Zealand we decided to retire our trusty Valiant 32 Tournesol, to live out her remaining days in the warm tropical waters of the South Pacific, and we became the new owners of Starship a Pearson 390 cutter rigged swing keel sloop. It wasn’t that Tournesol needed retirement, in fact we weren’t even looking for a new boat, but serendipitous cosmic forces came into play and we found ourselves on a new old (1973) boat with more living space and a whole new list of boat projects.
As 2006 approached we also had Mother Nature to deal with and she inconveniently hurls a few cyclones each year during the summer season down here in the Southern Hemisphere. So, with a new boat to refit and the cyclone season to wait out, we decided that our cruising kitty could be better fed by working in the United States, besides we really weren’t cut out to be kiwi farmers or sheep herders. On February 10th we boarded a plane to the states, and after thirteen months of sailing we retraced our voyage in just thirteen hours.
We arrived in the states with no home, no jobs, and no real plan. I guess our transformation to blue water sailors was complete, but as fate would have it and with some wonderful intervention from some of our dear friends we found ourselves with plenty of work, living in a cozy flat in San Francisco. Pam found work at Backroads an adventure travel company and I worked as a technology and management consultant working with many of my friends and past business associates. Our life in the states was drastically different from our sailing life. We jumped back on the rat wheel with gusto. We quickly became cell phone talking, marathon commuting, workaholics. We could eat whatever we wanted, we could find virtually anything we wanted to buy, there was always a wireless network connection, showers were warm and did not come from an insecticide sprayer, and of course there was Starbucks. Ahhh - life in America can be bliss.
While we were back in the states boat work continued in New Zealand, and we were keenly reminded there really is no free lunch. Although we purchased Starship at a very reasonable price it became clear that lack of maintenance and poor attention to safety from her prior owners made the refit of Starship much more complex and therefore expensive than we had originally anticipated. We could practically hear, and we certainly could feel the money sucked to down under to feed the boat projects.
All together we ended up spending nine and half months in the states. We worked hard, had way too little time for our friends, and we were reminded of how fortunate we are to come from such a prosperous country.
On December 4th we arrived back in New Zealand fueled with ambition to get back on the water and to continue our circumnavigation. Our many upgrades to Starship seem to be real improvements and we feel she is now a safe and reliable blue water cruiser. For us, she feels huge! It is hard to image that we will actually have a place to hang out below deck while the off watch person gets some shut eye in the aft cabin. And though we know that things will always break down aboard Starship, for this is the nature of boats, for now we have all of her systems in good order.
Since returning to New Zealand we have been busy completing boat projects, sorting, organizing, and downsizing all the gear that was left behind on Starship. Even Pam with her proclivity for order is tired of organizing! Well, as of 1930 on December 29 we officially have a place for everything and everything has a place!
For the holidays we had a delightfully warm 70 degree Christmas that included a holiday BBQ with our neighbors on the dock, and for New Year’s we cooked up a gourmet dinner, rang our ship’s bell at midnight, then danced on the dock to bring in the new year.
So what now you might ask? A wise sailing quote states that sailors don’t make plans they have intentions. Our intention is to sail Starship on the east coast of New Zealand to shake out the bugs from her refit, then in late March or early April we will probably depart for Australia via the South Pacific, visiting some incredible places like Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Whatever we do our marvelous adventure continues and each mile sailed brings us closer to our goal of sailing back through the Golden Gate. We will now be making weekly journal entries to our new log-blog at www.blindsailing.com, and then more frequent entries once we leave the dock. Please read along and share our voyage with us.
May you all have a safe and wonderful New Year!
Cheers,
Scott and Pam
It has been some time since you got one of our little updates in your inbox. Some of you might even think that we were swallowed whole by a giant sea squid with purple spots and slimy green tentacles, or perhaps you thought we were marooned on some tropical island subsisting on lobster, coconuts, and pina coladas. You might even have thought we threw in the towel to raise rescue hippopotami in Zimbabwe. Well, absolutely none of that is true. If you will kindly read along for a bit, we will give you a recap of our past year and some insight into our continuing voyage.
Let’s set the Wayback Machine to November 10, 2005. On this significant date in Blind Circumnavigation history we arrived in New Zealand after sailing over 9,000 nautical miles, visiting six countries, and most significantly crossing the Pacific Ocean to become the first legally blind people to accomplish this milestone.
Upon reaching New Zealand we decided to retire our trusty Valiant 32 Tournesol, to live out her remaining days in the warm tropical waters of the South Pacific, and we became the new owners of Starship a Pearson 390 cutter rigged swing keel sloop. It wasn’t that Tournesol needed retirement, in fact we weren’t even looking for a new boat, but serendipitous cosmic forces came into play and we found ourselves on a new old (1973) boat with more living space and a whole new list of boat projects.
As 2006 approached we also had Mother Nature to deal with and she inconveniently hurls a few cyclones each year during the summer season down here in the Southern Hemisphere. So, with a new boat to refit and the cyclone season to wait out, we decided that our cruising kitty could be better fed by working in the United States, besides we really weren’t cut out to be kiwi farmers or sheep herders. On February 10th we boarded a plane to the states, and after thirteen months of sailing we retraced our voyage in just thirteen hours.
We arrived in the states with no home, no jobs, and no real plan. I guess our transformation to blue water sailors was complete, but as fate would have it and with some wonderful intervention from some of our dear friends we found ourselves with plenty of work, living in a cozy flat in San Francisco. Pam found work at Backroads an adventure travel company and I worked as a technology and management consultant working with many of my friends and past business associates. Our life in the states was drastically different from our sailing life. We jumped back on the rat wheel with gusto. We quickly became cell phone talking, marathon commuting, workaholics. We could eat whatever we wanted, we could find virtually anything we wanted to buy, there was always a wireless network connection, showers were warm and did not come from an insecticide sprayer, and of course there was Starbucks. Ahhh - life in America can be bliss.
While we were back in the states boat work continued in New Zealand, and we were keenly reminded there really is no free lunch. Although we purchased Starship at a very reasonable price it became clear that lack of maintenance and poor attention to safety from her prior owners made the refit of Starship much more complex and therefore expensive than we had originally anticipated. We could practically hear, and we certainly could feel the money sucked to down under to feed the boat projects.
All together we ended up spending nine and half months in the states. We worked hard, had way too little time for our friends, and we were reminded of how fortunate we are to come from such a prosperous country.
On December 4th we arrived back in New Zealand fueled with ambition to get back on the water and to continue our circumnavigation. Our many upgrades to Starship seem to be real improvements and we feel she is now a safe and reliable blue water cruiser. For us, she feels huge! It is hard to image that we will actually have a place to hang out below deck while the off watch person gets some shut eye in the aft cabin. And though we know that things will always break down aboard Starship, for this is the nature of boats, for now we have all of her systems in good order.
Since returning to New Zealand we have been busy completing boat projects, sorting, organizing, and downsizing all the gear that was left behind on Starship. Even Pam with her proclivity for order is tired of organizing! Well, as of 1930 on December 29 we officially have a place for everything and everything has a place!
For the holidays we had a delightfully warm 70 degree Christmas that included a holiday BBQ with our neighbors on the dock, and for New Year’s we cooked up a gourmet dinner, rang our ship’s bell at midnight, then danced on the dock to bring in the new year.
So what now you might ask? A wise sailing quote states that sailors don’t make plans they have intentions. Our intention is to sail Starship on the east coast of New Zealand to shake out the bugs from her refit, then in late March or early April we will probably depart for Australia via the South Pacific, visiting some incredible places like Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Whatever we do our marvelous adventure continues and each mile sailed brings us closer to our goal of sailing back through the Golden Gate. We will now be making weekly journal entries to our new log-blog at www.blindsailing.com, and then more frequent entries once we leave the dock. Please read along and share our voyage with us.
May you all have a safe and wonderful New Year!
Cheers,
Scott and Pam
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Journal Entry – February 10 - 25, 2006 – Update from the United States
Author: Scott
Hello to our website visitors. This is a journal entry to update you on our adventure since we have temporarily returned back to the United States. As many of you know we have decided to return to the United States while we refit Starship and attempt to sell Tournesol in New Zealand. As the start of the 2006 South Pacific cruising season approached it became apparent that we could not successfully get all of our ducks in a row in time before we would have to leave New Zealand to continue the circumnavigation.
So, what is our plan you might ask? The plan as of today (always subject to change) is to spend much of the 2006 South Pacific cruising season in the United States while we work to feed the cruising kitty and seek additional sponsors. This will keep us in the states until September 14th.
While in the states I will be working as a consultant in the adaptive technology industry and Pam is currently working as a Book Manager promoting her friend Betty’s new book, as well as seeking other temporary employment. We also hope to spend time working on the story detailing the blind circumnavigation and speaking to groups about the voyage. If you know of a group that would benefit from hearing about our adventure (especially within the disabled population) pleas send us an email.
Once we return to New Zealand we will finish boat work on Starship and spend time learning the nuances of sailing a completely different vessel. We hope to cruise much of the eastern coat of New Zealand while we acquaint ourselves with the new boat. We have targeted our departure from New Zealand for February/March 2007 with our next stop being Sydney Australia. There is also a possibility we will return to the South Pacific visiting Vanuatu, New Caledonia and then continue east to Australia. I’m sure these plans won’t be cemented until right before we throw off the lines to continue the circumnavigation, we are cruisers/yachties after all. One thing is certain however, and that is we are definitely continuing the voyage. Some of our supporters have sent us emails asking if we have decided to call it good enough now that we successfully crossed the Pacific, and though we think this is an awesome accomplishment we are more motivated than ever to complete the circumnavigation.
Since arriving back in the United States we have been staying with our friends Richard and Joan in San Francisco. Yesterday we started a two week house sitting stint in the Oakland hills for our friends Steve and Betty, they have a beautiful house with a panoramic view of the bay and a wonderful hot tub to enjoy the view from. After house sitting we will be returning to Joan and Richard’s where we will be staying for the remainder of our time in the states. When we aren’t working or promoting our voyage we hope to spend a little time sailing on the bay and enjoying the conveniences in America, wonderful sites and cuisine that the Bay Area has to offer. Please keep checking in on the website as we hope to use this time to fill in a few blanks in our journal and enhance the overall website.
Hello to our website visitors. This is a journal entry to update you on our adventure since we have temporarily returned back to the United States. As many of you know we have decided to return to the United States while we refit Starship and attempt to sell Tournesol in New Zealand. As the start of the 2006 South Pacific cruising season approached it became apparent that we could not successfully get all of our ducks in a row in time before we would have to leave New Zealand to continue the circumnavigation.
So, what is our plan you might ask? The plan as of today (always subject to change) is to spend much of the 2006 South Pacific cruising season in the United States while we work to feed the cruising kitty and seek additional sponsors. This will keep us in the states until September 14th.
While in the states I will be working as a consultant in the adaptive technology industry and Pam is currently working as a Book Manager promoting her friend Betty’s new book, as well as seeking other temporary employment. We also hope to spend time working on the story detailing the blind circumnavigation and speaking to groups about the voyage. If you know of a group that would benefit from hearing about our adventure (especially within the disabled population) pleas send us an email.
Once we return to New Zealand we will finish boat work on Starship and spend time learning the nuances of sailing a completely different vessel. We hope to cruise much of the eastern coat of New Zealand while we acquaint ourselves with the new boat. We have targeted our departure from New Zealand for February/March 2007 with our next stop being Sydney Australia. There is also a possibility we will return to the South Pacific visiting Vanuatu, New Caledonia and then continue east to Australia. I’m sure these plans won’t be cemented until right before we throw off the lines to continue the circumnavigation, we are cruisers/yachties after all. One thing is certain however, and that is we are definitely continuing the voyage. Some of our supporters have sent us emails asking if we have decided to call it good enough now that we successfully crossed the Pacific, and though we think this is an awesome accomplishment we are more motivated than ever to complete the circumnavigation.
Since arriving back in the United States we have been staying with our friends Richard and Joan in San Francisco. Yesterday we started a two week house sitting stint in the Oakland hills for our friends Steve and Betty, they have a beautiful house with a panoramic view of the bay and a wonderful hot tub to enjoy the view from. After house sitting we will be returning to Joan and Richard’s where we will be staying for the remainder of our time in the states. When we aren’t working or promoting our voyage we hope to spend a little time sailing on the bay and enjoying the conveniences in America, wonderful sites and cuisine that the Bay Area has to offer. Please keep checking in on the website as we hope to use this time to fill in a few blanks in our journal and enhance the overall website.
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