Birthday

It feels as if the year is still too new for the round of birthdays to start,  and it does not feel to me (Doreen) that it has been a whole 12 months since the last one.
Nevertheless,  there is no arguing with the calendar.  Anyway, it is really quite nice having a day when people are bidding good wishes.

I woke up to a nice cup of tea courtesy of John ( he DOES make a good cuppa) and the mail that he had been saving for the day.  Thank you everyone very much for the lovely cards and phone and Skype calls.  You have all made me feel quite important.

 How good does it get !  By the time I finally surfaced from the bedroom John had cooked a great breakfast  ( he is good at that, too). 
We enjoyed our evening meal at "Snapper Rock" which rounded off a lovely day.

I think summer has slipped away before it got properly started and taken Autumn with it because although it is not really cold it has been quite stormy already.  Northland almost got washed away again and everyone at the marina is feeling caged in and tired of the dampness.  It is ususally June when we get these sort of storms but it does not seem to be any use relying on regular weather patterns any more.  I see that New South Wales and Queensland have been getting more than their share as well.
Cheerio until next time ! 

A Look Over "Asterion"

I have taken some photos of the interior of our new boat.  As you can see the creature comforts are there and it is very live-aboard friendly. 

In the saloon looking down to the dining area (left) and galley (right) and the forward cabin and forward bathroom (through th door)

From the galley/dining area looking up to the saloon then up the steps into the sun deck.

The aft cabin and bathroom (at right out of sight)

John in the flybridge where all the boys toys are.

Me enjoying the sun deck.  A great place to relax.  It has its own fridge, ice maker, sink and drinks cabinet.

John in the galley.  Good newish gas stove. It is great having an upright fridge/freezer again.

Aft bathroom.  Forward one is similar.

Mia and Coco often visit from the neighbor's boat.

And finally,  an outside shot of her in our berth on "E" pier, Tutukaka.  The dinghy and outboard motor are quite large and are too heavy for us to lift between us so we are going to have to change them both.

The New Boat

Well,  our new boat DID arrive before we had to vacate the apartment in Oceans Hotel with a few days to spare.  Our broker arranged to have it taken from Picton, over the Cook Strait leaving it for us to pick  up at Napier.  I (Doreen) was supposed to have driven the delivery team consisting of John, boat neighbor Ken and Bill, who is a fishing buddy of theirs.  However,  due to a health problem I was unable to do that so but Garth, another boat neighbor kindly did that for them.  In the meantime Erin came to stay with me at the apartment and it we had a good catch-up time.
The trip from Napier went well and was enjoyed by all those on board.  The weather was good and there was only a one day delay setting off from Napier.  The only mishap was the loss of the anchor (some pin or clip failed) which meant having to go into Gisborne marina to try and find another.  It was a long holiday weekend and everything was closed but fishermen there lent them their spare which meant they could carry while the weather was still good.  By all accounts it was a nice journey putting down the anchor each night somewhere sheltered and enjoying good food and drink and a good nights sleep.  They phoned to let us know when they reached Tutukaka and I was able to go down and meet them.  I took these photos of their arrival from a big boat at the end of our pier.

     That is Bill in the cockpit.  John is at the helm up top.
We had a few days to slowly move our stuff on board and it did not take long to feel at home.
On the second weekend after the boat arrived  (the first was getting settled) we took the boat up to Wangaruru Harbour and I was able to enjoy the boat as a boat.  It sure is different to a sail-boat!  Most of the boats on our pier at the marina had the same idea so we were all there.  One of our neighbors took this picture of us.

That is John sun-bathing on the deck and you can see my head in the sun deck.

Linda and Sophie Visit

It was school holiday time and Sophie came over to stay with Linda in Auckland.  They took a trip up to Northland and stayed with Jane's in-laws at Parua Bay then came over and spent a couple of nights with us in the apartment. I had not seen Linda for quite a long while so it was lovely to have them and to catch up.





I took a photo of Linda taking a photo of Sophie  -  then got one of them both.  Taken in the Game Club's rooms.











After dinner in the Oceans Hotel Restaurant.

Sophie working off her dinner.

The weather was not great for their stay and the day they had to drive home was awful but they were keen to get back before Jane's family left for their holiday so they had a very careful trip back to Auckland in the rain. 

Landlubbers for Five Weeks

The eleven days we spent on "G-Force" quickly passed and it was time to ferry what we needed over the next 5 weeks over to apartment 209 in Oceans Hotel which was to be our temporary home.  We had been looking forward to it as a sort of "holiday" from living on boats.  It is a lovely apartment situated on the top floor at the end of the building so we were close to the bank which is covered with native bush.  We saw and heard a lot of wild life going about their bsiness.                                                 

 A couple of photos - towards and from the kitchen. A staircase behind the kitchen goes up too an upstairs ensuite bedroom and large store room

The views over the marina were fantastic.  I used to enjoy watching the day get light in the mornings sitting in bed with a cuppa.  This pohutukawa tree was still in glorious bloom when we moved in and during the day the birds and the bees came to feed on the honey from the flowers and there was a pretty red carpet underneath from the falling needle- like petals.  There were many tui birds who also liked to feed on the flax flowers on the Village Green over the road.  One summer rain storm finally did away with the last of the pohutukawa flowers.

One beautiful morning sunrise.

Looking out over the Village Green - well half of it because there is as much again at the left of the photo.  This is popular for picnics and ball games and it can be hired as a venue for wedding marquees, markets etc.  The annual "Wine Tour" concert is set up here when it comes to Tutukaka (last one was 3 weeks ago sorry no photos) and as you can see helicoptors can land (by permission from marina management only). It is also used on fishing competition days as an overflow carpark for the cars with boat trailors.

During our time here we managed to arrange the purchase of our next boat.  We had been watching the market while waiting for "Irrepressible" to sell so we knew what was available of the sort of boat that we wanted and were delighted to get our first choice.  It is a very live-aboard-friendly power boat with all the creature comforts.  No sails !!  We saw the actual boat a year ago when we went and stayed with Dave and Bev near Picton so it has not been bought sight unseen.  The biggest concern now was to get the boat here before our time at the apartment expired because it was booked out to someone else after then.

Christmas and New Year on "G-Force"

It was a busy time for us at the marina as 2011 drew to a close.  There were deaths in the families of two of the staff members and a bad accident in the family of the host and hostess for the Christmas Party so that had to be rearranged and we ended up having it at the marina.  There was a spit roast in the car park below and the food was served in the large social room upstairs.  There was a good attendance and it ended up being a fun day with the live-aboards invited to join the Trust and staff members and families.  

While all this was happening our boat "Irrepressible"  quickly sold.  By quickly I mean that the buyer knew exactly what he wanted and he wanted it before Christmas.  Our boat filled the order and he bought it on the spot and asked if we could be off it in a WEEK !   So there was a  mad scramble to get our belongings boxed and ferried up to the truck.  You would not believe how much stuff you can get on a Young 43 boat !  We thought we had a problem with accommodation because the hotel was booked out with an apartment free in 11 days time  (which we booked)  and a marina neighbor, Alan Going,  kindly lent us his fishing charter launch,  "G-Force,"  for the 11 days. This is the second time Alan has been a land-lord to our family.  Angela and Zane rented his house for a week while they were on holiday here about 4 years ago.   It was quite comfortable and we grateful to be able to stay on the marina because John worked right through keeping the office open for the many travellers who stop over at that time of the year.  Actually, a lot of the visitors ended up staying here instead of moving on to their chosen destinations because the weather was so bad during that time. 

Here are some pictures of "G-Force."  It had all we needed for the 11 days and the bunks were very comfortable. 

On Christmas day we cooked a dinner which we had late in the day.  We had thought that it would be a good idea to eat out for dinner this year but all the businesses were closed for the day  -  including the hotel kitchen.  Their guests were given pre-prepared food and meat to barbecue if they wished.

We did not see the New Year in.  There was a function on at the Game Club but we preferred to keep our normal bedtime hours.

News From Tutukaka

I have been back from Australia for over a month now and it feels like longer than that.  It felt like summer was still here when I first got back but now that has all changed - warmer clothes are creeping in, and so are the heavier duty bed clothes.
On a more personal note,  I was still getting used to John having a job before I left but I think we have both got used to the new way of life now.

                                                 Here he is at his desk in the marina office. It is almost like a flight tower because the staff have to see what is going on all over the marina.  Through the window you can see our car park all fenced off by the company "Total Marine" who are doing the marina upgrade. We have to walk right around the perimeter to get from E pier to the office building which makes it quite a long way at present.

Outside the office building.  When we say we are "going to Tim's " for dinner it is at that pizzerea.  The laundry and 'Ladies' and 'Gents' and 'Telephone' are all off to the right under the office rooms.  

The biggest thing happening here at the moment is the marina upgrade.  All the old wooden piers are past their use and are of concern in the event of bad storms and tsunamis.  So we are getting the latest floating piers with full length fingers and longer poles that pin it all in place. There are five of them and each takes about a month to complete.

The pier we are on was the first to be done.  When I first got back from Australia it was to find our boat located somewhere else and the work under way dismantling the old "E Sreet."  The workmen chain saw it into pieces and crane it out of the water piece by piece. Everyone is impressed with their performance and they certainly seem to be a "Class Act" with both the dismantling and the assembling of the new.

The last of the old E Pier.

Up on the carpark the old bits and the new bits are stored within the fenced off enclosure.  Here the first of the new bits is being put on the crane to go into the water.

The first bits of the new E pier being pushed in to place .

All done ! We can go back now.

Owners and marina staff getting the boats off  D Pier and over to E so work can get started on D.

Me and "Irrepressible" proudly in our posh new berth.  We went in nose first this time to take advantage of the sun and better view.

John standing at the end of the deseted D Pier jsut before they started work there.

John spends a lot of time wandering around the site and was given this outfit by the workmen.  Go, JW !