It’s finally warming up in New Zealand!
As you can see from the new pictures in the media gallery, we have been busy trying out the waters of the north island. It is a little chilly, but we’ve managed to water ski, spinnaker fly, ride in the bosun’s chair while under sail, and kayak. We’ve even done a little swimming!
We spent New Year’s Eve on a 100-foot custom sailboat named Dharma. We were anchored with them and our friends on Azul for the weekend. There were scallops (caught by Molly), mussels (caught by Jim), Kingfish and lamb. The boat is elegant and understated; so many of the larger yachts are very gaudy and brassy. Dharma looks like a true sailing yacht.
Ruby Slippers is being hauled out this afternoon. We moved all our stuff into a condo for 4 days. I was humming “Well, we’re moving on up, to the east side, to a deluxe apartment in the sky-y-y-y”, while carrying all our laundry and food to a lovely condo just a couple of blocks from the marina. It’s actually been thrilling to use the dishwasher, do 100 loads of laundry (it seems), and take showers without turning off the water to soap up. I’m sure the excitement will wear off soon, but for now, it’s the cat’s pajamas. I’ve decided to take all our dishes and silverware, and run them through the dishwasher, just because I can. Who says we don’t know how to have fun?
We are hoping that the haulout will be painless – just a pressure wash and quick bottom job; inspect all the thru hulls and fittings, change the zincs, buff and wax the hull, and back into the water. I’m sure Jim would rather be running the Travelift himself; it will be hard for him to be at the mercy of strange, possibly inept boatyard personnel.
We are getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road, with the gear shift on the wrong side of our body. It’s easier for me when there is traffic to follow. Left to my own devices, I tend to wander over to the right. I usually just whisper to myself, “Stay left, stay left,” and it has turned out okay, so far. We are planning a road trip to the south island as soon as we get our boat back in the water. All the locals say it is beautiful down there. We have only used our tent a few times, and are looking forward to really breaking it in.
2008 will bring the Rard family back home, and back to life on land. Mostly what I hear from cruisers who have ended their journey and are back home, is that their friends are just busy living their own life, and they weren’t all that interested in the cruising details. That’s okay. Those who are curious have been following along on the website, and we will have our pictures and memories to sustain us. I wish every sailor could have an opportunity to go to sea, even for a short time. There are many lessons to be learned from nature, not the least being, it’s worth exploring! ~Jeanna~